Bay Nine Omakase at The Rocks latest to join the Japanese small restaurant trend

Sydney has seen its fair share of food crazes. Remember duck confit, the ramen invasion and the Sex and the City-inspired cupcake trend?

Well, the small, chef-focused Japanese restaurant is giving them a shake. Bay Nine Omakase will join the party when it opens in the heritage-listed Campbell's Stores at The Rocks later this week.

Omakase restaurants – where guests sit at a counter that generally seats fewer than a dozen and place the food selection in the hands of the chef – have been popping up across town.

Last week Besuto joined Haco, Kuon Omakase and spin-off Kuon Tempura. More are on the way in 2022.

Bay Nine Omakase will be run by chef Tomohiro Marshall Oguro. He has worked everywhere from Sushi-e to the sashimi section at Stephen Hodges' Fish Face.

"You can have the freshest seafood prepared expertly and run your omakase counter with precision but if you can't engage with your guests, you're starving them of a true omakase experience," says Oguro.

"I believe it's just as important to develop a genuine connection with each guest sitting across from me at the counter as it is to deliver them a highly memorable collection of dishes."

In a departure from most omakase restaurants, Bay Nine has some tables for customers who don't want to perch on stools.

The omakase counter menu is $180 a head for 11 courses, with 40 varieties of sake on offer for purists. You can even grab a 1996 Penfolds Grange Hermitage Bin 95 Magnum for $3500.

Open Wed 5.30pm-10.30pm; Thu-Sun noon-10.30pm.

Campbell's Stores, Bay 9, 7-27 Circular Quay West, The Rocks, 02 9251 0897