To be honest, when I first walked in to Onsen I was questioning my decision to give it a try. Not trying to be harsh but the decor reminded me of a DIVEY CHINESE TAKE-OUT joint...You know the ones; with the old carpeting, cheap black metal chairs, small formica tables, and no apparent concern for ambiance. Maybe I should rephrase that and try to be more eloquent: "The restaurant's decor was modest and unassuming...blah, blah, blah..:)" Trying not to judge a book by its cover, I decided to trust in my fellow yelpers and I'm glad I did!
Still basking in the glow of my "Sacred Five Star" meal, the highlights were:
-Hands Down, the Freshest Sashimi I've had on LI and beyond! We asked the Itamae (sushi chef) to prepare a selection of his fresh fish of the day. We were served: Sweet Shrimp, Baby Yellowtail, King Salmon, Big Eyed Tuna, and Octopus...I have to say, I've never had better!
-The waitstaff and chefs seemed genuinely concerned about your dining pleasure! We were served by a number of waitresses working in tandem to deliver food, retrieve used dishes, and kept our beverages flowing. The chef/owner even came to our table personally to introduce himself and brought use one of his artful creations to try at no charge!
-Once we placed our order, food seemed to pour from the kitchen and sushi bar like we were the only table of patrons in the restaurant. It reminded me of the dining scene in Beauty and the Beast :)
So lets be real, was there anything I didn't love about Onsen?
-I Don't Want to be HyperCritical on my Very First Visit but at one point during our meal I got the sneaking suspicion that we were being "Up Sold"...appetizers showed up at our table a few times during our meal that I didn't order but when the check came they were on our bill. A Word of Advice, unless the chef personally brings you a dish and tells you that it is "On The House" send it back or you'll be paying for it
-Possibly no fault of the restaurant's, maybe it was just the time of year, but the Kumamoto Oysters were just meh! They weren't rancid or anything but at $16 for a half dozen, they didn't have the fresh, briny taste I was expecting.
Onsen, HERE'S MY ADVICE TO YOU: take a small stack of cash out of the register and hire an aspiring interior design student, even for just a couple of days, to give the place a mini makeover. Your restaurant would have a 30 minute wait every night of the week.
Better yet: Use a helicopter to pick up this restaurant, move it to NYC, put it in a sultry party dress so it looks like Nobu and this place would blow up overnight....it's that good! read more