Howell Mill Road Gains an Intimate 15-Seat Omakase Restaurant February 16

Mujo, the sushi pop-up led by chef J. Trent Harris and backed by Castellucci Hospitality (the Iberian Pig, Double Zero), debuts as an intimate omakase restaurant Wednesday, February 16.

Located on Howell Mill Road beside the group’s tapas restaurant, Cooks and Soldiers, Harris intends to blend traditional Japanese dining and culinary techniques with his own takes on edomae sushi and kappo-style hot and cold dishes at Mujo. This includes using fresh fish flown in weekly from the famed Toyosu Market in Tokyo, coupled with local produce and fish from Georgia farmers.

“I’m continually amazed at the doorstep ingredient drop-off from our farmers in Atlanta,” Harris says in a prepared statement. “The local produce and deep relationships are unique to this city and really allow us the opportunity to filter signature edomae through our own experience.”

Ryan Fleisher

With four seatings nightly at the 15-seat sushi bar, expect dinner to begin with a course of zensai dishes, like hakurei turnip tartlets and mustard greens or buta nikomi (braised pork belly) using iberico pork. These dishes are then followed by a succession of nigiri, including golden eye snapper and otoro (fatty tuna). Miso soup serves as a palate cleanser, before moving into heartier dishes, such as atsuyaki tamago (Japanese-style omelet), and desserts of roasted sesame ice cream paired with green tea.

Harris plans to add a second omakase menu in the coming months comprising dishes of king crab, kuro awabi (Japanese abalone), and Miyazaki beef. A six-seat marble bar at Mujo also offers cocktails, wine, and sake.

Accented by deep reds, golds, and black throughout the restaurant and warm wood tones along the walls and at the bars, Mujo does not feature traditional table seating. Instead, designer Elizabeth Ingram divided the space between the cocktail bar and sushi bar with a large, luxe curtain to help set the mood for the intimate dining experience Harris hopes to provide at Mujo.

691 14th Street, Atlanta. mujoatl.com. Reservations required. $205 per person.

Open Wednesday - Saturday for seatings at 5:30 p.m.; 6:30 p.m.; 8:30 p.m., and 9:30 p.m.

Public transit information: Accessible via MARTA busses #12 on Howell Mill and #14 on 14th Street.

Disclaimer: Health experts consider dining out to be a high-risk activity for the unvaccinated; it may pose a risk for the vaccinated, especially in areas with substantial COVID transmission. The latest CDC guidance is here; find a COVID-19 vaccination site here. It is highly advised people wear masks indoors or when in crowded situations, regardless of vaccination status, to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

• Sushi Pop-Up MUJŌ Opens as a Restaurant Across from Westside Provisions District Next Year [EATL]