BostonChefs.com - Boston restaurant guide to the best Boston restaurants
 

The Basics: o ya restaurant information

o ya

9 East Street
Boston, MA 02111
617-654-9900

o ya restaurant information
Share o ya share on LinkedIn share on Twitter share on Facebook

Located in a 100-year-old fire station in Boston's historic Leather District, o ya offers contemporary Japanese dining in a comfortable setting.

The intimate 37-seat restaurant, which was named the #1 new restaurant in the United States by New York Times food critic, Frank Bruni in 2008, consists of ten tables and a 17-seat chef's counter, where guests can watch the chefs preparing the dishes.

Chef Owner Tim Cushman, who won the 2012 James Beard award for Best Chef Northeast, offers an Omakase, or Chef's tasting menu as well as an extensive a la carte menu of creative nigiri, sashimi, vegetable, Wagyu beef, Kurobuta pork and poulet rouge chicken dishes. Nancy Cushman, Sake Sommelier, curates an extensive premium sake list.

News and Events at o ya restaurant

What’s New for LifeSavor 2013
For the 2013 edition of their annual fundraiser, Community Servings moves LifeSavor to the Westin Boston Waterfront for the evening.

O Ya’s Spring Sake School
Sake sommeliers Nancy Cushman and Alyssa DiPasquale share some of their expertise with the sake-curious at two upcoming classes at ...

All for One
The city’s top culinary talent have banded together in support of The One Fund, donating a percent of their ...

Newsletter

Want to win a $50 gift certificate?

Subscribe to e-licious and keep up-to-date
with greater Boston's culinary scene.

Tim Cushman

Chef at o ya

Chef Tim Cushman at o ya

A Boston native, chef Cushman earned a Bachelor's Degree in Jazz & Classical Guitar from Berklee School of Music in Boston, then moved to California in the early 1980's to pursue the music business. Cushman took a job in a restaurant, as many aspiring musicians do. That was the start of what would become a culinary adventure around the world.

He has spent years cooking around the world in Japan, France, Thailand, Italy, Germany, Hong Kong, Mexico and Taiwan. In that time, he also served for seven years as a Corporate Chef with Lettuce Entertain You in Chicago, where he developed menus for the group's new concepts.

In 1994, Cushman launched his own consulting business, Ideas in Taste, and developed menus for a variety of restaurateurs, from independents to large operators.

Presently, Cushman and his wife, Nancy, are Co-Proprietors of o ya, an award-winning, contemporary Japanese restaurant in Boston. Since opening, he and o ya have received numerous accolades, including a 2011 James Beard Nomination for Best Chef Northeast and being named by New York Times food critic, Frank Bruni, as the #1 new restaurant in the United States in 2008.

Since its opening, the accolades have been piling up - o ya was awarded a 29 food rating in the 2011/12 Zagat Guide. Cushman was also picked as a Best New Chef 2008 by Food & Wine, which also selected o ya as one of the top 10 new restaurants in the world. Bon Appetit and Details magazines have recognized o ya as one of the top 10 sushi restaurants in the United States. Boston Magazine named o ya as the #1 restaurant in Boston in 2009, and Best of Boston for four consecutive years.

  • food
  • chef
  • info
 
 
Dictionary
 
Aïoli
1. noun A blend of ail (garlic) and oli (oil) in the parlance of the Provence region of southern France. Around here, we'd call it a garlic mayonnaise.
Beurre blanc
1. noun A thick sauce of butter, white wine and vinegar.
Ceviche
1. noun Raw fish and/or shellfish in a citrus marinade.
Chanterelle
1. noun A wild and nutty mushroom with a trumpet-shaped head.
Confit
1. noun Meat (usually goose, duck or pork) that is slowly cooked in its own fat and preserved with the fat packed around it as a seal.
Consommé
1. noun Meat or fish stock that has been clarified.
Coulis
1. noun A thick puree or sauce.
Emulsion
1. noun The mixture of two liquids that cannot normally combine smoothly (e.g., oil and water). Mayonnaise and hollandaise are two familiar emulsions.
Foie gras
1. noun Expensive, silk-textured goose or duck liver that has been enlarged by a process you don't want to read about if you're going to eat this dish.
Haricot vert
1. noun A green string bean with French attitude.
Jus
1. noun French for juice, jus also refers to the unthickened juices from a piece of roasted meat.
Lemongrass
1. noun A lemon-scented herb used liberally in Thai and Cambodian cooking.
Nori
1. noun An edible, dark green seaweed frequently used in Japanese cooking for wrapping sushi.
Pesto
1. noun An Italian sauce traditionally made with basil, olive oil, garlic, pine nuts and Romano and Parmesan cheeses.
Porcini
1. noun Smoky, meaty wild mushrooms.
Ragu
1. noun Tomato and meat sauce from Bologna.
Rémoulade
1. noun A cold mayonnaise sauce flavored with mustard, gherkins, capers, anchovies and herbs.
Risotto
1. noun Italian dish made from rice cooked by intermittently adding small amounts of stock or broth. Other ingredients are added as required.
Saltimbocca
1. noun Sliced veal done up Roman style, paired with sage and prosciutto then sautéed in butter and braised in white wine.
Shiitake
1. noun Bold and meaty, these are called "black mushrooms" on Chinese menus.
Shumai
1. noun Filled Chinese dumplings that look like tiny, just-opening flower buds.
Tamarind
1. noun A bittersweet spice made by drying and pressing the pulp from the fruit of the tamarind tree native to Asia and northern Africa.
Tartare
1. noun Ground or finely chopped, seasoned raw meat (traditionally beef). May or may not come mounded, and with a raw egg.
Tempura
1. noun Batter-dipped, deep-fried fish, poultry or vegetables.
Torchon
1. noun Method of cooking foie gras by which it is placed in a towel (torchon in French) and poached.
Verjus
1. noun Sour liquid made from unripe fruit; used to flavor sauces and condiments.
Yuzu
1. noun A tangy citrus fruit with flavorful rind.