A special treat this week! Shut Up ‘n Eat’s own intern, Irene Adeline Milanez — who’s been cutting the excellent Reels you’ve been loving on our Instagram feed — reports in on the world of temaki, a lesser-known and lower-priced cousin of the dominant omakase restaurants that is starting to make inroads in New York City. Enjoy! —Matt

In Manhattan, you could throw a rock and hit an omakase restaurant. New York City, with more than 500 sushi restaurants, is the largest sushi market outside Asia. In the past six years alone, 127 omakase spots have opened and have become reliable watering holes for finance bros looking to flex their wealth and consume lean protein. Yet dedicated temaki, or handroll, bars remain few and far between — although they offer a similarly personal dining experience without the steep price tag.

One of those is Himitsu Handroll Bar, a new Long Island City location from Himitsu, a “speakeasy” omakase restaurant located behind Siam in Flushing. It’s run by chef Mark Garcia, who you might know if you watched Eater on YouTube religiously during the pandemic (like me). The restaurant sits on the mezzanine of LIC’s Mettra food hall — past a chicken sandwich counter, a spicy hot pot station and a rice noodle shop, then up a flight of stairs. At the top is a dimly lit, moody space that seats 32 people, some in high chairs facing the sushi prep area and others in two-tops overlooking the food hall; you can hear the muffled speech of customers below. 

A meal at Himitsu begins with a heavy tray laden with several ceramic dishes. Inspired by ichiju-sansai, or a traditional Japanese dining format of one soup and three dishes, Himitsu differentiates itself by providing a well-rounded meal rather than fast-paced handroll counter service. 

The tray holds miso soup made with simmered fish bones; a cup of chawanmushi, or jiggly steamed egg with vegetables; and a watermelon radish salad with tofu sesame dressing, plus wasabi and sunomono, thin slices of cucumber seasoned with sweet rice vinegar. The five-piece temaki set ($38) comes with spicy tuna, salmon, unagi, scallop and yellowtail. Each roll is made-to-order, with chef Garcia keeping a careful eye on the meal’s progress, deftly placing each new next roll after the previous was eaten. A light amount of seasoned sushi rice in each roll allowed the fresh fish to shine.

Sitting at the bar comes with the charm of observing the restaurant staff at work. While slurping on steamed egg, I watched Garcia place a silver box full of raw, pre-sliced fish in shades of pink and white on the counter. He assembled donburi bowls with precision, carefully arranging salmon in pleasing layers, spooning ikura and straw-thin slices of green onion. Garcia is a seasoned sushi chef with two decades of experience. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he led the charge redirecting Kissaki’s Bowery location (now closed) to take-out service.

Upon my second visit, I ordered the six-piece nigiri set ($26), which comes with two pieces of akami, or lean tuna, yellowtail and salmon, each lightly seasoned with soy sauce and wasabi. While I enjoyed the buttery salmon, the akami blew me away with its soft, melt-in-your mouth texture. The yellowtail’s slight metallic taste made it the weakest of the three, but not enough to be off-putting.

Compared to the two other handroll bars in LIC, Himitsu offers more food for the price, with sets ranging from $24 to $65. Matsunori Handroll Bar does not offer sets, while Sushi Saint NY’s cost between $20 and $80. The only similar option in price is the national chain Kazunori, but all four of its New York locations are in Manhattan, and its sets do not include sides.

Himitsu Handroll Bar invites people into an intimate experience without pretension. You won’t bump elbows with your seatmates (families with young children, a group of friends and a handful of solo diners), but you will be close enough to listen in on their conversations. And after that first bite of Himitsu’s toro tartare handroll ($11), you’ll forget you’re in a food hall altogether. With such pleasant service, carefully prepared fish and reasonable prices, I’m likely to return for lunch again. 

Himitsu Handroll Bar 
28-17 Jackson Ave, Mezzanine, Long Island City. himitsuflushing.co/handrollbar/
Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursday and Sunday
Accessibility: Elevator access to mezzanine
Noise level: Moderate
Menu: Handroll, nigiri and donburi sets, Pacific oysters and toro caviar
Drinks: Sake, beer and tea from Kettl