As a regular patron to Momoya, I felt it necessary to post this review. After tallying my receipts, I spend between $500-$800/month on sushi there. To cut to the point, the Sushi is good, the chefs friendly. The Nasty, old world staff and managers are incredibly rude and do not understand the concept of "regulars" or "respect." This managerial staff belongs in a Sammy's Noodle Shop and actually does a disservice to the establishment's image. A great example is after January, 2009, I walked into an empty Momoya at 6:00 pm and sat at the bar to order "to go" with the chef who knows me well and was approached by an obnoxious female manager who "ordered" me to get up and stand in the "lobby" -- about 6 feet from the empty bar. She said "New Policy, you must wait here." So, no water while I wait, no small talk. I looked at her + said, "Are you kidding me? I spend a fortune here and I am not allowed to sit at the bar and wait for my $40 sushi?" She said "No. Sushi Bar only for eat-in." Then, two weeks later, I walked in at 7:15pm to get some sushi take-out, and the stoic male manager looked at me with deadpan eyes and said "No to-go anymore after 7pm." I said, "Listen, it's just 10 min. after and I'm a pretty good customer here, can you cut me a break?" He said flatly, "No, sorry. I can sit you in the corner over there and you can eat in." Bottom line is if you are looking to establish some type of special relationship or hang-out with a good local sushi place, you won't find any love here. You want to spend lots of money at Momoya? That's your choice, but there is no extra respect or kindness shown, whether it's your first trip here or your 67th. It's a shame really, because I think a large part of this is due to the place always being packed by 7:30pm, so the arrogant managerial staff sees no real need to give special accommodation to anyone -- it doesn't hurt the business financially (in their minds) if you never come back. However, for my fellow savvy New Yorkers who demand a special little something "extra" -- you are looking in the wrong place. If you want that, try MORIMOTO on 10th avenue + 16th street. I can safely say I have always been treated special there, and it makes the overall experience better. But if you just want a good spicy tuna roll and don't care about hospitality and are cool with a Sammy's Noodle Shop mentality and some broken English, then you will be perfectly fine with MOMOYA. But be prepared you are number to them. And yes, you can trust this review as being accurate. read more