I thoroughly enjoyed my private dining experience at @tsubameny! It is a Kaiseki inspired omakase…read more Chef Jay took the time to explain every beautiful dish that was meticulously prepared. Make sure to check them out. #tsubame #nycrestaurants #finedining #nycfoodie #foodie #food #chilebougie #chilebougieeats #foodreview #chilebougietravels #foodiegram #champagne #chiamakalkalu #blackfoodie #foodcritic #tastemademedoit #blackgirltravel #FoodGoals #LuxuryDining #newyork #sushi #sushilover #omakase #kaiseki #japan #japanesefood #privatedining

I came here during the grand opening and really enjoyed it. Was really excited to come back again…read moresince it was a favorite for me. Really disappointed last night, I'm not sure if 8 people at the counter were hard to serve or something. I noticed he had to remake some other couples sushi cause the rice was falling apart. If I'm paying this much I'd at least expect the seaweed on our hand roll not to get stale, my bf and I had to chew and try REALLY hard to rip it. My uni piece was falling all over the place on the sides. My bf really enjoyed the sake pairing though. Maybe it was just that night but just disappointed in the quality compared to the first time.

This is an intimate omakase spot with a delicious line up of sushi! I recommend making a…read morereservation in advance because I saw a couple try to walk in but couldn't get a table. Its no surprise this place is high in demand!

Food 5/5 was impeccable, everything was extremely well plated and paired. Including only some…read moresnippets here. Service 5/5 was above and beyond. Two things I appreciated a lot - the chef asked if I was left handed so that he could rotate the piece for ease of picking it up with my dominant hand; the dishes that were meant to be served hot, he would wait to smoke the pieces individually for guests that went to use the restroom. Ambiance 5/5 very intimate and friendly, as the chefs and waitstaff said, really felt like all the guests were family. Bowie also made an appearance and it was great to meet him in the flesh!

I've had many omakase experiences, but few have been as close-up and intimate as one at The Office…read moreof Mr. Moto. Chef Toshio Matsuoka has been a sushi chef for longer than I have existed on this planet and curates an incredible experience with fish flown in straight from Japan. Getting to watch him work just three feet in front of us was its own kind of gratifying. Highlights for me were trying things I've not seen on a menu anywhere else, like gizzard shad and chicken grunt. Flavors were clean, deeply savory, and balanced. There are six seats at the bar. We had the first three seats, which meant Chef Matsuoka was serving the absolute largest and best parts of the best cuts to just us. Is it fair to everyone else? No. Am I complaining? Also no. (And suddenly I kind of understand Republicans.) I thoroughly enjoyed every touchpoint, from the speakeasy phone that is so New York, to the selection of fish, to the departing memento with one last puzzle -- every detail was highly considered with a thoughtfulness that is seemingly harder and harder to come by in this world.

Wow, just wow. This is some of the best sushi that i've had. I got this to go but will definitely…read morebe visiting the restaurant. However, I still want to talk about the to-go sushi. The packing is beautiful and so thoughtful! Made it so fun to open! Every piece was super flavorful and delicious! So so impressed, would highly recommend.

I took my sister here for her birthday--and I haven't been this ambivalent on an opinion since I…read morewatched the theatrical cut of 2001's Moulin Rouge. Did I like it? Did I dislike it? Was I dazzled by all the spectacle and then left hollow by the empty pretty? I think that's where I netted out with Kappo Sono: Empty pretty. The dishes for our weeknight Abridged Kaiseki were lovely to behold and taste, but felt bereft of real warmth or personality. There was a lot of trademark Japanese hospitality, but it felt performative and rehearsed, not genuine. And for ~$350pp, I guess I expected to walk away feeling better than I did. The foods: - Sakizuke: A simple dish of grilled wild prawn with sesame tofu tempura. Not remarkable. - Zensai: Probably our best course, given the diversity and complexity of the bites. I enjoyed the crab cake wrapped in sakura leaf, dashi-marinated octopus roe, apple potage, and wagyu roast beef with almond miso. Gave my sis the simmered abalone, as it's not my fav, which she said was good. Overall, well done but not as impressive as similar zensai courses I've had at other kaiseki. - Owan: An okay dish of Manila clam dumpling with fresh kelp and dashi. Nice hot broth, but otherwise rather sterile. - Otsukuri: Our assorted sashimi was fresh and well cut, but I've had more interesting seafood with prettier presentations from other kaisekis like Hakubai. This couse was disappointing. - Yakimono: Sauteed king butterfish with spring vegetables and butter soy sauce. Nice, but....forgettable - Nimono: Dashi-marinated golden eye snapper and vegetables. Again, well cooked but otherwise rather bland and forgettable too. - Oshyokuji: Grilled Spanish mackerel and taro over rice, inaniwa udon soup and pickles. Lovely and homey, but very straightforward with no small twists or surprises to make it feel personalized. - Amami 1: Japanese strawberry parfait. Our first dessert, and of course it was focused on strawberries. It was tasty but not too sweet--as expected. - Amami 2: Sakura mochi with vanilla and rhubarb. Our second dessert, and it was a unique creation, though "sakura" wasn't really the actual flavor (it rarely is). I liked the marriage of vanilla and rhubarb. - Complimentary cookie box to take home: Free and scrumptious. Wish there'd been more of this creativity in the actual meal. I think my disappointment with Kappo Sono came down to the fact that the price + difficulty of getting a resy + the chef's pedigree just didn't add up to a wow meal. I paid much less for the kaiseki/tasting menus at places like Hakubai and Raymond Yuu and walked away not only dazzled by the culinary talents, but also--and most importantly--feeling like I'd gotten my money's worth. Kappo Sono was Ootoya cooking at Per Se prices, and in these inflationary times, that just doesn't cut it for me.

Excellent Kaiseki fine dining in a beautiful space. Extremely high touch service. Masterful…read moreelevated Japanese cuisine with innovative dishes maintaining a reverence for classical techniques and dishes. Top notch ingredients shine through here. Exceptional

- recommend: sashimi appetizer, cream udon, fried rice -…read moreattentive pleasant staff - casual hole in the wall, happened upon it by chance and happy we did - everything was great, 1 small shared plate, 2 apps and 2 entrees was more than enough for 2 hungry adults - warm comforting meal without being overly heavy

I give my people a lot of flack for being uncreative with their restaurant names, but this…read moreredundantly named East Village izakaya called....well....Izakaya might just take the cake (Japanese people always gotta be surpassing other Asians, SMH). Anywho, redundancy aside, I get the appeal. Food is cheap and tasty. The Clam Sake was a comforting bowl of chewy molluskss mixed with butter. The Mushroom Garlic Fried Ricewas starchy, crunchy and garlicky. Even my Calpico-Hi was like a throwback to my childhood, except with ethanol added. And those lemon tower drinks....mmm, so refreshing on a humid night. Decor is bare bones, with chairs and furniture as uncomfortable as the real izakayas in Piss Alley, but with more English spoken. In these tariff-filled shrinkflation times, it's nice to have one spot in the city that manages to be authentic, delicious and affordable.

Where should I even begin? It's so refreshing to give a place a 5-star review--when it's deserved,…read moreit's absolutely deserved. A dear friend recommended this spot for my NYC trip, and I wasn't sure we'd be able to fit it in. I'm so glad we did. We arrived right when they opened and were seated immediately, no reservation needed (although recommended). The staff is warm, kind, and welcoming, and the service from our lovely server Dulce was truly top-notch. The food felt fresh, clean, and thoughtfully prepared. I'm a sucker for agedashi tofu, and even though it wasn't overly bold, it was still comforting and delicious. We also had miso soup, sushi rolls, mushrooms en papillote, wagyu yaki shabu, kisu tempura, and the matcha crème brûlée--which was perfectly balanced and not too sweet. The discovery of matcha salt was a highlight on its own--such a simple detail, but completely mind-blowing. Every dish showed an incredible attention to detail and balance. A truly wholesome and satisfying dining experience!

Overall 3.5/5 Food 3/5…read moreService 4.5/5 Ambiance 4.5/5 Hasaki's $96 Omakase is a great value, encompassing 12 pieces of nigiri, along with chawanmushi, soup, vegetables, and dessert. The experience itself was great made up by the the service since they were very attentive, and the ambiance was perfect, ideal for a date night since they never rush you. A standout moment was their thoughtful gesture of comping the dessert for my friend's birthday. The only noticeable drawback was the sushi itself, I felt the fish could have been fresher overall. Despite that, I was surprised and impressed to learn this restaurant is a sister establishment to Cha An and Hi Collar

A really great restaurant. Yamada focuses on Japanese kaiseki and does an admirable job bringing a…read moreform a dining that you can only find in Japan. The food at Yamada follows a traditional kaiseki path: featuring a variety of traditional cooking techniques from steaming, frying, poaching and grilling. The plating is a work of art, and the ingredients are as fresh as can be. Serious technique is featured here, and the food is authentic (but may be a bit bolder than what you normally find in Japan). The service and warm and friendly, and the servers do a great job making you feel at home. The restaurant is small and features around 10 or so seats, surrounding where all cooking happens. Yamada is a pricey meal, but it's memorable. If you're deciding on a kaiseki spot in NYC, it's as good an option as any.

Yamada has excellent service and is inside what we used to call "the tunnel" in Chinatown--totally…read moredifferent now, all high-end Michelin-type spots instead of the small restaurants back in the day. Food was good and presentation was nice (could be better), but honestly... pricey lol. Didn't feel 100% satisfied for what we paid. We did order extra uni on top of the omakase (+$75) and it was just ok for that price. The Maine lobster clay pot at the end was actually delicious, and you can get refills--but by then we were already pretty full. Would've been nice if they let us take it home My sister did go for a second bowl though and she was happy. Also wish they had mocktails--seems like only tea options for non-alcoholic drinks. They did give us a little matcha powder package to take home, which was a nice touch. Overall, glad we tried it once

Icca in Tribeca is a Michelin-starred omakase restaurant where we experienced a VR omakase by Epic…read moreNow. The meal consisted of a miso tuna amuse buche, 9 pieces of nigiri, a hairy crab and uni handroll, a tamago and eel maki and a lovely chocolate creme brûlée with Japanese strawberries. The meal was divided into four courses with a VR sequence accompanying each course along with a sake pairing. The VR transported us to Tsukiji fish market, the ocean and a Japanese Village. It made of a unique and immersive experience that played to our nostalgia of our previous trip to Japan. We also appreciated the VR fish swimming in our field of vision as well as text referencing the upcoming dishes and sake pairings. Our fish brains tend to forget the name of the piece right after it's been dropped in front of us so we sincerely appreciated the visual reminder of what we were eating. Standouts for the meal were the filefish, hairy crab and uni hadroll, medium fatty tuna tartare, tiger prawn, golden eye snapper and scallop. The fish quality was outstanding and was flown in from Japan that day. This was one of the most memorable dinners we've had in recent memory. We did think the VR added an interesting lens to what would otherwise be a traditional omakase experience. The food and sake paints were also excellent. For those interested in the intersection between technology and food, we can't think of a better venue than Icca X Epic Now Full menu: Miso tuna Red Snapper (Madai) Nigiri Filefish (Kahawagi) Nigiri Yellowtail (Buri) Nigiri Hairy Crab (Kegani) & Sea Urchin (Uni) Hand Roll Lean Tuna (Akami) Nigiri Medium Fatty Tuna (Chutoro) Nigiri Fatty Tuna (Otoro) Nigiri Japanese Tiger Prawn (Kuruma Ebi) Nigiri Golden eye snapper (Kinmedai) Nigiri Scallop (Hotate) Nigiri Tamago (Sweet Omelet) Chocolate creme brûlée with Japanese strawberries

5/5 stars. Impeccable service and selection…read more I love it when the omakase nigiri section has an interesting selection. Chef was friendly and engaged with everyone. Everything was my fav but if I had to choose three : Filefish, Abalone liver sauce nigiri, & Hokkaido hairy crab & uni pasta