omakase
/ˌoʊməˈkɑːseɪ/
CommonA Japanese dining style where you let the chef choose everything you eat.
The word literally means 'I'll leave it up to you' in Japanese. In food contexts it implies trust and respect for the chef's judgment, but it's also become a flex word online for any chef's choice experience.
Real-world examples5 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | did omakase last night and the chef served 18 courses, worth every penny | Had a long chef's-choice dinner and found it worth the cost. | instagram, 2024 |
| 02 | i always do omakase at sushi spots, the chef picks better than i ever would | Trusting the chef to choose rather than selecting from a menu. | x, 2023 |
| 03 | not gonna lie omakase for $400 felt like a lot until i actually sat down | The price seemed high but the experience justified it. | tiktok, 2024 |
| 04 | told the chef just do omakase, didn't even look at the menu | Chose to give the chef full control rather than ordering individually. | instagram, 2023 |
| 05 | we do an omakase at home sometimes, i cook whatever and nobody complains | Using 'omakase' humorously to mean cooking without input from others. | x, 2024 |
Use it when
- Describing a meal where the chef chooses every course.
- Referring to a high-end chef's table or tasting experience.
- Using it loosely to mean 'surprise me' at any restaurant.
- Discussing Japanese sushi restaurants specifically.
Do not use it when
- You mean a fixed tasting menu with predetermined courses.Use “tasting menu” instead.
- You mean a prix fixe where you still choose from options.Use “prix fixe” instead.
Omakase vs tasting menu
omakase
Omakase is fully chef-driven: no set sequence, chef decides based on what's good that day.
VS
tasting-menu
Tasting menu is pre-planned: same courses for every guest, printed and fixed in advance.
Origin and context
From Japanese, meaning 'I entrust to you' or 'I'll leave it up to you.' Traditional in high-end sushi restaurants in Japan. Became popular in Western fine dining and food culture circles in the 2010s.
- First seen
- pre-2000s
- Confidence
- high
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/omakaseUpdated: 2026-08-29License: CC BY 4.0