Masahiro Sugiyama

The Path

The counter is where sushi skill is built, and Sugiyama started there in Tokyo, working at various sushi shops and learning through the measured demands of service. An apprenticeship at Sushi Kanesaka sharpened that foundation, adding the pressure and precision the highest level of sushi work requires. From Tokyo, that discipline carried him to Bulgari Resort Dubai, where he has been based since 2017 and opened his own restaurant.

The Work Today

Since 2017, Sugiyama has run his own restaurant at Bulgari Resort Dubai as Head Chef at Hōseki. The format is omakase, which leaves the structure of the meal in the chef’s hands and asks for judgment, timing, and control. Sugiyama describes that standard plainly: "In omakase, trust isn’t earned with words- it’s earned with every cut, every touch of rice, every silence between courses." The line frames the work in the terms that matter at the counter: technique, restraint, and the spacing between gestures.

In Their Words "Nothing makes me happier than to hear people who have lived overseas come back to Dubai and say, “I’ve tasted sushi all over the world, but yours is the best”."

Acclaim

Recognition here comes less from display than from return visits and comparison. For Sugiyama, the useful measure is hearing from diners who have lived overseas, tasted sushi across markets, and still call his the best when they come back to Dubai. He treats that response as confirmation of the work at hand. He also describes the restaurant as a way of giving back to the customers, staff and producers, and of course to the hotel, who have supported them over the years.