Sushi chef Ambrely Ouimette will open Anbā (92 Ludlow Street), an intimate omakase chef’s counter on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, on February 12th, anchored by an all-female culinary team. Tucked discreetly behind the Anbā cocktail lounge inside the Concord building, Anbā is conceived as a deeply personal dining experience, where seasonality, fermentation, and the careful aging of ingredients guide a refined, contemporary expression of omakase.
“Anbā is about honoring where I’ve come from while allowing myself the freedom to evolve,” said Chef Ambrely Ouimette in a statement. “It’s a space where technique and instinct coexist, and where the menu can change with the season and the freshest ingredients that we can source.” “I wanted to create something intimate and human,” she added. “At the counter, there’s nowhere to hide. Every decision, every flavor, every gesture is intentional, and that closeness is what makes the experience meaningful.”
Anbā is a 10-seat counter offering a 16-course seasonal tasting menu priced at $220 per person. Each menu evolves throughout the year, reflecting the natural rhythm of the seasons while drawing on Ouimette’s culinary journey. The experience blends classical Japanese technique with global influences and a modern, ingredient-driven sensibility, emphasizing balance, restraint, and storytelling over spectacle.
The menu highlights Ouimette’s signature approach, moving fluidly between crudo, nigiri, and composed warm dishes. Early expressions of the season may include chutoro and isaki crudo with Italian salsa verde and fresh herbs, Maine scallop with garlic ferment and pecan miso, and chawanmushi enriched with wild mycelium and jidori. Nigiri selections showcase carefully aged fish such as shima aji, amberjack, snapper, zuke akami, smoked sawara, and otoro, accented with house-made salts, kosho, ferments, and layered umami elements. The menu concludes with dishes such as dry-aged tuna steak, American unagi ochazuke, and a seasonal dessert, including kakigori made with fruit, sunchoke caramel, and fermentation-driven components.
Anbā will feature a thoughtfully curated beverage program led by Ouimette, with a focused selection of sake, Japanese whiskey as well as a tea service and mocktail selection chosen to complement the menu, reflecting her personal approach to balance and seasonality. The offering is rounded out by a concise list of wines and spirits, alongside seasonal craft cocktails that will evolve throughout the year.
Anbā marks Ouimette’s return to New York following a career that has spanned some of the country’s most respected sushi and seafood kitchens. Born in Greenwich, Connecticut and raised in New York’s Hudson Valley, she grew up cooking alongside her Ukrainian grandmother, an early influence that instilled a lasting respect for craft and discipline. She began working in restaurants in her early teens, discovered sushi at 16, and persistently worked her way toward the sushi counter before studying culinary arts at SUNY Delhi.
A formative period in Ouimette’s career came early under Chef Norio Ishii of Latitude 43 in Gloucester, Massachusetts, her first mentor and the chef under whom she formally trained at the sushi counter, developing the technical foundation and confidence that continue to shape her career today. As a mentor, Chef Ishii continued to support his pupil beyond her initial training, later working alongside Ouimette to help execute her menus as she began opening restaurants early in her career with Opus in Salem, Massachusetts being one of her first. She went on to help open Matsuhisa Denver under Chef Nobu Matsuhisa, before working across San Diego’s seafood and sushi landscape and later leading Sushi|Bar ATX in Austin, where her omakase counter became one of the city’s most sought-after reservations.
Designed by Ouimette herself, Anbā reflects a modern wabi-sabi sensibility, with natural materials, muted tones of sand and stone, and a tactile, understated atmosphere. The omakase counter is intentionally minimal, allowing the focus to remain on the exchange between chef and guest, while the front Anbā cocktail lounge offers a relaxed counterpoint, featuring a seasonal Japanese-inspired cocktail program that transitions into a late-night space with a roster of rotating DJs after 11:00 pm.
Anbā Omakase’s hours: Anbā’s intimate omakase counter will initially operate Thursday through Saturday with one nightly seating. Following the opening period, service will expand to Wednesday through Saturday with two seatings per night, beginning at 6:00 pm and 8:30 pm, offering a refined, technique-driven sushi experience in a focused, intimate setting.
Anbā cocktail lounge’s hours: The Anbā cocktail lounge will be open Wednesday through Saturday from 5:00 pm to 11:00 pm, transitioning into a late-night program from 11:00 pm until 4:00 am, featuring a curated selection of cocktails, sake, shochu, and spirits.
For more information and reservations visit www.anbanewyork.com and follow @anbanyc on Instagram.
