Articles about
Shota
Discover Shota through the voices of those who have experienced our craft, from Michelin recognition to features in leading culinary publications.
Kate Heddings' The Best Japanese Restaurants in NYC
Set on a quiet street in Williamsburg, Shota Omakase serves traditional Edomae-style sushi, where marination, curing and aging showcase the best of each ingredient. Chef Cheng Lin sources everything from Japan, including a rare seven-year aged vinegar, rice from the most ideal mountainous terrains of central Japan, and fish for courses like tokujo uni (sea urchin) from Hokkaido, zuke akami (lean tuna) from Ehime, and sawara (king mackerel) from Fukuda sourced directly from fishermen in Japan.
The Design Release: Leo Lei
Seven years of vinegar and two years of shoyu sit behind the counter at Shota Omakase before a single piece of fish is ordered. Cheng Lin, the MICHELIN-starred chef and owner of the Williamsburg restaurant and a James Beard Award semifinalist who came up through Sushi Seki, Blue Ribbon, and ITO Tribeca, has built an Edomae program in which the fixed costs are measured in years and the variable ones arrive daily from Hokkaido, Ehime, and Fukuda. Most restaurants treat seasoning as consumable. Here it functions as capital, purchased long before there was a room to serve it in.
TimeOut.com: Best Sushi on NYC
New York City has all manner of marvelous Japanese food options, including top-notch ramen spots, excellent izakayas, and fabulous food in food courts. We also have an abundance of sushi options, and narrowing them down can be a happy challenge. Here, we’ve collected our favorite special occasion destinations and more casual spots, all amounting to the best sushi NYC has to offer.
At Shota, chef-owner Cheng Lin is crafting an omakase experience exalted by many as one the best in the city. With an emphasis on sourcing the finest aged soys to enhance the curing process, and zeroing in on razor-sharp technique, this meal is worthy of the splurge.
Congratulations to the 2026 James Beard Award semifinalists!
The James Beard Awards® represent the pinnacle of culinary recognition in the US. Since their inception in 1990, the Restaurant and Chef Awards have made icons out of the nation's top restaurant and bar professionals. Today, these semifinalists join a constellation of James Beard Award–recognized leaders who collectively embody the breadth of American culinary excellence.
Restaurant and Chef nominees will be announced on Tuesday, March 31, and winners will be celebrated at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards Ceremony on Monday, June 15, 2026 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Here are the James Beard Award semifinalists for 2026.
Far from the subway stop on a quiet street in Williamsburg, find this welcoming omakase counter hidden away near Domino Park. Chef Cheng Lin sets the tone as a friendly, relaxed guide for the night’s proceedings.
Morgan Carter
Within a year of its opening, Shota Omakase earned its first Michelin Star. And while that accolade is enough to draw customers to this far-reaching Williamsburg restaurant without complaint, it is chef Cheng Lin's passion that will keep you coming back for more. Here, chef Lin is ready to feed and educate you, readily sharing how his bluefin tuna is sourced within a 10-kilometer radius of Southern Japan and why three months is the perfect time to age ponzu sauce. It all culminates in a one-of-a-kind, transportative experience that will get you moving to Domino Park, time and time again.
Patrick Dolande, courtesy Shota
Tucked on a Williamsburg sidestreet, walking into Shota could be mistaken for a wormhole to Japan. A minimalist space, the long sushi bar is on full display with the brightest lighting accenting the Chef’s workstation (or the star of t...
Kat Odell
New York City has long been a culinary capital, celebrated for its wide-ranging pizza styles, chewy bagels, and creamy slices of cheesecake. But over the past decade, it has also emerged as a world-class sushi destination — particularly chef’s choice omakase experiences rooted in Edomae technique, the traditional Tokyo-born style that showcases pristine, often aged or cured seafood atop seasoned rice.
