Eater

Chef-owner Toshio Tomita, who trained for more than a decade under sushi legend Nobu Matsuhisa, works closely with Japanese seafood brokers to ensure his restaurant — and therefore, his customers — get the very best fish available.

Read more: How a Sushi Master Prepares For the Nightly Omakase

New York Times

One minute Mr. Tomita will do the unadorned, noninterventionist thing you expect from a Japanese chef. His ingredients, especially the fish he brings in from Japan, are often exceptional [...] The next he will throw a curve.

[The omakase] shows off all the things Cagen does very well: sashimi with that nervy chimichurri, sushi wrapped in grilled seaweed that crackles like autumn leaves, and zaru soba, served as three small ponytail bunches of cool soba noodles.

Read more: Bending Tradition, and Bowing to It

New York Magazine

You’re coming to Cagen instead for a serious, nearly meditative experience with traditional kappo ryori–style dining, which means the best seats in the house are at the blond-wood chef’s counter, where you can get a front-row look at chef Tomita or one of his acolytes presiding over every course.

Read more: The Thousand Best