Jianzhong Cao, who currently serves as a chef at a Michelin-starred sushi restaurant in the West Village, is opening his first restaurant, Zen Sushi Omakase, in the Lower East Side.
Cao has over 15 years of experience working as a sushi chef at various establishments around the city. His new spot is billed as a “unique” and “affordable” sushi restaurant that will specialize in fresh, high-quality fish mostly sourced from Japan. It is also seeking a liquor license to serve beer and wine. It will be housed in a mixed-use, five story building at 235 Eldridge St. in the Lower East Side.
“It will be a very fun, casual but very high-quality food restaurant,” Cao tells What Now New York. “Our signature omakase experience [will] focus on freshness, flavor, texture and high quality ingredients with affordable price.”
After graduating from high school, Cao says he worked at a small, traditional Upper East Side establishment where he “accidentally” started his career as a sushi chef. There he was trained by an elderly Japanese chef who had over 20 years of experience.
After getting the basics under his belt, he started rising up the ranks. First, he started a sushi chef at Hari in Times Square. Then, he became the executive chef at Ten Japanese in Park Slope, and later moved on to do the same at Bondi Sushi in Nomad.
All of this experience helped him to land his current role as omakase counter chef at Michelin-starred Sushi Nakazawa in the West Village, where he says he learned new skills and techniques. Now, with over 15 years of experience, he is opening his first ever establishment.
