Chef
Don Pham
- Discipline
- Chef
- Based in
- New York City, New York, United States
i. Biography
Don Pham is chef and owner of Sushi Ishikawa in New York City, the title that defines his work today. Vietnamese-born, he came to the city and, over time, made his way through a succession of New York kitchens that each sharpened his voice in a different register. The arc of his career traces a steady move from Executive Chef posts to chef-owner authorship, and through it all runs a distinctly personal approach to sushi: an omakase shaped by product availability, seasonality, and his own whim, always responsive to the moment rather than locked into a script.
Coming Up
Early in their career, Don worked as Executive Chef at Geisha in New York City (from 2003), a role that marked one of the first formal chapters in the city’s demanding sushi landscape. He later served as Master Sushi Chef at Geisha Table in Upper West Side, Manhattan, New York City (until 2013), where the work continued to deepen around precision, tempo, and the quiet discipline of serving one course after another with intention. From there, he moved to Sushi Chef at Morimoto in Chelsea Market, New York City, then Head Chef at Kitaro in Upper West Side, New York City, and later Executive Sushi Chef at O Ya in New York City (from 2015). Across these kitchens, the throughline was not simply movement from one address to another, but the gradual shaping of a sensibility: one that valued restraint, timing, and the ability to let the fish, the rice, and the season lead. Today, Don is chef and owner of Sushi Ishikawa, and that distinction matters. Ownership gives his cooking a different kind of freedom, allowing the restaurant to reflect not just a technique, but a point of view. In Sushi Ishikawa, the meal is not something repeated mechanically from guest to guest; it is something assembled with close attention, adjusted to the person in front of him, and made to feel immediate.
Where They Are Now
Today, Pham is chef and owner of Sushi Ishikawa in Manhattan. The restaurant stands as the clearest expression of the method running through his career: he customizes sushi selections for each guest, creating a personalized omakase experience rather than a fixed, identical meal for every seat. That idea gives the room its energy. Instead of a menu that simply announces itself and stays unchanged, Sushi Ishikawa operates with a sense of responsiveness, as if each dinner is being composed in real time. Its signature work is the MATSU 17 - COURSES Omakase, a 17-course menu that changes based on product availability, seasonality, and Pham’s whim. The structure is fixed, but the feeling is fluid. Seventeen courses provide a clear frame, yet within that frame the sequence can shift, drawing strength from what is available and from the chef’s instinct about how a meal should unfold. The result is a balance between precision and improvisation, between the discipline of the counter and the freedom of the hand behind it. At Sushi Ishikawa on the Upper East Side, his omakase priced below $200 drew notice from Eater, which said it became known as a not-so-common occurrence in NYC. In a city where sushi counters often climb far above that line, the price point became part of the restaurant’s identity without displacing the central craft: a chef-owner tailoring the meal to the person seated before him, course by course, with the sort of focus that makes the experience feel intimate rather than transactional.
Signature
Don's signature dishes include Signature MATSU 17 - COURSES Omakase.
Honors
The recognition attached to his work centers instead on Sushi Ishikawa’s personalized omakase, the MATSU 17 - COURSES menu, and Eater’s note that an omakase below $200 became a not-so-common occurrence in NYC.
Profile updated August 2026
FAQ
Asked of Don
What is Don Pham's current role?
As of 2026, Don Pham is Chef and Owner.
Where did Don Pham work before?
Don Pham's earlier career included Geisha Table, and Morimoto.
What is Don Pham known for?
He customizes sushi selections for each guest, creating a personalized omakase experience.
