We got in to this secret, 17-course sushi dinner. Here's what makes it so tantalizing

"Leave as friends." That was the password I was given to enter Ridgefield's mysterious Sushi by Sea.

Standing in front of an unmarked door (which had no handle), I uttered those three words to a man in a suit. At the time, the phrase was just about all I knew about the restaurant, but it was enough to get me into the evening's hush-hush omakase dinner.

To this day, there are still holes in the story that I do know — gaps of information that were intentionally left to my imagination.

But I guess that's what you get in a place who's owners thrive in anonymity.

Secrecy, and some damn good fish.

Discovering an invite-only omakase in North Jersey

To be honest, I don't remember exactly how I first heard of Sushi by Sea. When I look back, it just seems as if everyone in my inner circle of industry friends was talking about it. There was an exclusive, 17-course omakase dinner happening somewhere in North Jersey, they said, and I needed to get in on it.

Using my @northjerseyeats Instagram handle, I felt confident I could snag a seat.

I messaged the team, they confirmed, and that was the last I heard from them until 24 hours before my reservation.

A secret restaurant in cool, intimate digs

I arrived at Sushi by Sea with a college friend and an appetite. From the outside, the only indicator of the restaurant's existence was its logo on a glass door next to a smoke shop. When I opened it, we were greeted by the suited man, who — after we said the magic words — escorted us to our seats. He introduced himself as Jay.

The restaurant was cool, dark and intimate. A large, open-concept dining counter (which sat 12 guests) filled most of the space. Luckily for us, our fellow diners were very easygoing and chatty; two traits that would prove to be quite fun over the next two hours we spent shoulder-to-shoulder.

Sushi by Sea's executive chef is a man who goes by Chef Cris, or Chef C, for short. Throughout the course of the evening, he never revealed his full name — even when I prodded him for it. Later, I would figure out why.

Not knowing what we were in for, but somehow trusting this mysterious chef and our host, Jay, we began our meal.

17 courses of internationally-sourced fish

The first course we were served was a fatty toro wrapped tight into a crisp-shelled hand-roll and topped with osetra caviar. When it arrived on our plates, it did so with the loudest possible silent statement — screaming, without words, that Chef Cris (whoever he was) meant business. With a stunning aesthetic, and taste to rival its visual appeal, I wondered how any of the subsequent courses could possibly live up to those indulgent first bites.

But the dishes kept coming. And they did.

Up next was a Korean fluke and wild bass sashimi, accompanied by some information on Chef Cris's background. He revealed he was of Korean and Brazilian descent, and that his nationality would play into some of the dishes — such as the aforementioned, hailing from East Asia — that he was preparing. As an adult, he studied the art of sushi in Japan, an experience that would influence his cooking as well.

Chef Cris's multicultural upbringing and international experiences were present not only on the plates he served us, but in the concept of the restaurant. When we received the third course, a deep-red Spanish Akami (and the first nigiri dish of the night), it was quickly evident that he was intentionally sourcing his fishes from various countries around the world. Eating at Sushi by Sea, therefore, was like taking a culinary trip across the globe.

More nigiri courses to come included a raw scallop, blow-torched salmon with house-made miso and various tunas. On each piece, a small touch of wasabi lay between the fish and the rice. Hand-crafted sauces and marinades, like a decadent uni butter and homemade soy sauce, were drizzled over the dishes, ensuring that nothing — even the sticky rice under the fish — was bland.

My favorite dish of the night was an uni nigiri. Imported straight from Japan, the chef assured us that "no other restaurant in America" was "using the same urchin supplier," and that the uni was the "best we could get in the US." When I bit into its smooth, buttery body, I was smitten with the fish; blown away by something that, just by existing in its unaltered state, was irresistible.

Other standouts from the evening included a barbecue eel dish, warm miso cod and a wagyu nigiri with quail egg.

Behind the restaurant's global theme

Somewhere between fishes, Jay approached my friend and me. As he revealed his involvement as the co-owner of the business, his accent simultaneously gave away his South African nationality. His background, he explained, further contributed to the restaurant's global theme by bringing even more nationalities under the same roof.

I asked him for additional information on himself and Cris, and he started to speak about how they met. He was eventually distracted — perhaps intentionally — though, by the concept's logo on the wall, which he began to describe as a cartoon combination of he and the chef.

Once again, I found, answers alluded me.

Quietly crafting excellence

Eventually, the parade of courses slowed to a stop, and our new friends began to depart. The room quiet, Cris took off his apron for the night and draped it from a hook against the wall.

Thoroughly impressed by the $185 meal I had experienced, which — mind you — would run at around $750 a head at Masa in Manhattan (a restaurant which Sushi by Sea has mutual suppliers), I attempted, one last time, to get the talented chef's last name.

He shook his head.

"As soon as people know who you are," he said. "This becomes your whole life. And it becomes about you, instead of the food. Sushi, Michelin, restaurants; those aren't my life. I have a three-year-old daughter, and I want to go home to her at the end of the night."

So, respectfully, then I leave the story there, knowing — as much as he loves delicately slicing a tender crudo — chef also loves toasting up dino nuggies.

And understanding that, for a great meal to evolve into something incredible? It must be served with a side of humility.

Sushi by Sea is a secret, referral-only restaurant in Ridgefield. To make a reservation, visit sushibysea.com and use "North Jersey Eats" as your referral code.

Kara VanDooijeweert is a food writer for NorthJersey.com and The Record. If you can't find her in Jersey's best restaurants, she's probably off running a race course in the mountains. Catch her on Instagram: @karanicolev & @northjerseyeats, join our NorthJerseyEats Facebook group, and sign up for her North Jersey Eats newsletter.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Sushi by Sea, a secret 17-course omakase in Ridgefield NJ: Review