Yoko Ocho is this really cute little Japanese restaurant that I randomly found on social media, and I'm so glad I ended up trying it! My server was SO friendly, which always makes such a difference, and the food was honestly really good and filling. The food itself is pretty simple, but everything we got was just really well done. Sometimes you don't need anything super crazy or unique when the food is just good!! I really enjoyed it, and it ended up being such a nice first meal back in the city. I was actually really wanting to try their clams, but unfortunately they were out of stock that day, so that's definitely what I want to come back for next time. Overall, such a cute little spot with really good food and great service! read more

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Celebrated a very lovely and precious friend bday and wow must say me and my friend really love, love the food, vibe and service each dish we ordered was absolutely tasty and not overly salted, it's like you can really taste the freshness and quality of the dishes. As much as we loved each dish, my top favorite was the Kani Lava clay pot...each bite was tasty to the last, had a lot of fun and happiness putting the ingredients in the crab shell onto the rice and that creamy smooth orange golden yolk beautiful a bit sad they didn't have the steam clams but next time because we would absolutely come again The starter I ordered was the shoyu hamachi Kama, was a bit unsure if it'll taste fishy but I was totally wrong and it was very fresh and yummy and I also ordered the unagi tamagoyaki, that light sweetness of the egg and eel combined with the eel, excellent and throughly enjoyed it. Each dish was just the perfect amount for us ladies, it wasn't like too much so we can enjoy everything and not waste food. Soooo happy I ordered the tonkotsu ramen and added black garlic since we both love that punch of flavor. Such an authentic taste of what I love about Japanese cuisine....was not overly salty and very flavorful and unique in every taste, broth was very good and wow as well, I would have love to buy some black garlic sauce to go lol. It was just that good. read more

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The lava kani was everything. It was so good and they gave us a side of rice with it. My favorite thing here truly. Everything else was good but I would prob go for something else when I come back. Service was ok. Servers were in and out for taking orders and dropping stuff off. The ambiance was clean and the place was a little small. Definitely put a reservation in because I think this place got popular from Tik Tok as well so long wait. read more

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Casual but cozy restaurant. We got the crab claypot and the kani lava. As expected, not enough crab to rice ratio but the crab itself is tasty lol. I do wish it came with pickles or soup on the side. I was full after but im a small eater. You'd probably have to order an entree plus app for a full meal read more

Yoko-Cho - Kani lava - Salad Near Me - New York, New York

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We went here after several reels come through my social media feed on this restaurant. Curious on how crab row was cooked in a crab shell on a small grill in front of you, we decided to go on a whim for lunch. We were a party of eight people. The restaurant has several seating, but glad we went on a non-busy day during the week. They were able to accommodate us right away. The food was very delicious. I ordered the crab on a grill. Some folks ordered the Ramen. Cooking the crab roll on the grill was definitely an experience but I felt the portion was to the smaller side. Take a look at the pins of what we ordered read more

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Yoko-cho serves one of the sauciest unadon I've had in NYC so far. It's now run by the Suki Desu team, which means you can also order their signature chirashi bowl starting at $20. Super convenient location near Union Square, and the inside is really spacious. ＊Unadon $28 ** SOOO SAUCY and I loved how buttery the grilled eel was. The tamago wasn't the fluffy kind, but it was lightly grilled for a nice charred aroma. I personally didn't think the ikura was necessary since the unagi was already super saucy and flavorful. I could barely taste it anyway. If you don't want the rice, they also have a mini appetizer version too for $12. ＊Suki Desu $20 At this price point, they still give you so much sashimi. You can eat it three ways: (1) mix it all up (def add soy sauce since it's pretty bland), (2) make handrolls with nori + shiso, or (3) my favorite way: add dashi halfway and turn it into ochazuke. The ochazuke version slightly cooked the fish but it was super comforting. ＊Salmon Cold Soba $28 * Jaw dropped when I lifted the extra-long salmon lol I really didn't expect the bowl to come with so many thick chunks of salmon. The shrimp tempura did get soggy quickly. Definitely enjoy it while it's still fresh. We also kept going back for the tsuyu broth. ＊Sakana Chudo $16 * ＊Hotate Lemon Cream $14 The ponzu dressing on the sakana chudo was so addictive we ended up dipping everything into it！ The lemon cream was more dessert-like, almost like a key lime pie? ＊Matcha Red Bean Mont Blanc $6 Their desserts are super affordable, like matcha mont blanc and yuzu cheesecake are just $6 each. But honestly you get what you pay for. The mont blanc tasted similar to a convenience store one and was too sweet for me. read more

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I tried Suki Desu first and I was thrilled to find out they had this sister restaurant. This place is much larger, so more ideal for larger groups and has a more extensive menu. So far I haven't had any issues with getting seated promptly without having a reservation so it's a nice option for a spontaneous meal as well. The dishes don't look very big but they're deceivingly filling in my opinion. I highly recommend the No. 1 Fresh From the Sea, salmon cold soba, and I would go for the kani lava over the crab clay pot. In general, all their menu items are fresh, yummy, and reasonably priced. read more

Yoko-Cho - Salmon cold soba, Crab claypot, and Under No.1 Fresh from the sea - Salad Near Me - New York, New York

I was able to get a table around 530 during the week with no wait. The food is fresh and tasty. I got the scallops,the eel egg and the seafood pasta bowl all were good. The portions were ok but probably could of got more. The drink was a jelly drink. The service was fine. The restaurant was bigger than it looks and has a dark vibe. read more

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The food was solid but the portions were a bit small for the price. We ordered the grilled crab shell and $20 kaisendon bowl. The crab shell was definitely the highlight with presentation and flavorful dish. The sashimi kaisendon bowl was ok not bad but nothing special. We were literally the only ones inside during lunch time on a friday afternoon so the vibes felt a little awkward. Total with tip was $55 for two entrees. I'm glad we went but in no rush to come back. read more

It was a Sunday night with bustling streets but it was dark and empty in the restaurant even an hour after opening during peak dinner time which was very off putting and had us very confused. We found a table of workers in the back who got up and had us seated anywhere we liked because no one else was there. Got the viral crab $18 (yummy but not thaaat yummy and way overpriced especially as it was smaller than advertised!) the gyudon $18 (very little beef, not much flavor, too much & undercooked onions) and unagi don $28 too much bone in eel and overall needed more flavor as well. Service was alright they didn't do much, it was a chill vibe. However, the food quality and amount and prices did not seem to match. Lots of better options elsewhere Menu is via QR on website https://www.yokochony.com/menu read more

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Walked in ~10:40 for lunch on a Sunday and there was plenty of seating. We were quickly given menus and explained the popular dishes. we ended up getting a few different items to share. My favourites were the crab and the chirashu bowl which were also pretty decent prices given the portions and this being in NYC. The apps felt a little small and harder to share but if you're just 2 people then it's a good amount. read more

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Below mediocre food. Did they hire people to post about their food because I am confused as to why this restaurant became "viral"? It is certainly not deserved. Do not get the salmon soba - the salmon comes in a a long tough, chewy piece that is inedible. The Kani Lava is TINY. read more

Service was good. There was only 2 folks working in the front. The fish could be a lot fresher. Salmon cold soba was alright.

I ordered two small dishes instead of an entree. One of the dishes, the scallop dish was delicious. The second, clams in a miso broth was pretty boring and disappointing. I tasted my friend's salmon with cold noodles entree and it was just good just not amazing. There are other dishes that looked interesting so I might give it a second try. read more

Came here for dinner after work with a friend to try out this recently new Izakaya spot. Scrolling through their IG page, I had an idea what I wanted to order and they did not disappoint. Starting off with some of the flashy food items, the most dangerous one I would say is the Wagyu Hot Stone ($22). They give you a plate of raw wagyu slices where you cook it on the hot plate yourself. Because of the cooking process, the grease leaks down the hot stone and you essentially have an uncontrollable mini flamethrower. I advise you not to sit at the hightop by the window where there's very flammable wheat. Fun experience and great for wagyu lovers. My favorite dish is the Kani Lava ($18) which is a Japanese dish of a grilled crab shell with crab egg, scallion, and tobiko. I probably could have three of these if I could. The Chirachi Don ($28) is pretty typical dish if you like raw fish and rice. This has an assortment including salmon, tuna, yellowtail, shrimp, shredded egg, cucumber, and shiso leaf. They have a pretty extensive Yakitori selection, ranging $4 to $5 each. We ordered the Chicken Thigh, Enoki Bacon, Beef, and Kibinago, which we enjoyed each one. The Clam Miso Butter ($18) was a pretty refreshing dish. The best part is not the clam, but drinking the broth. So don't waste that broth. One of the dishes we did not like was the Omu Soba ($16), which is a pan fried noodle dish wrapped in an omelette. He found the noodles within the omelette to be super salty and we needed to chug water from the dehydration. We informed the staff about it and hope they will improve on the dish. We ended the meal with a Yuzu Cheesecake ($6), which was absolutely delicious. Overall, I would come back again. Hopefully not everybody is ordering the Wagyu Hot Stone as the restaurant will get pretty smoky. read more

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Service was 5.0. waitresses kept coming to refill our waters and saké Kani Lava was very good. Very unique. Flavor was excellent. Uni and Ikura were fresh. We ordered the clam miso twice. The chairs were uncomfortable. Wish there was padding and backing. read more

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Had to try this viral place out! We started off with the sakana chudo and each piece was delicious especially with the flavorful sauce. Obviously had to try the popular salmon cold soba dish. The salmon & soba noodles were chewy and buttery and the broth was refreshing. Then we got the suki desu which was packed with lots of fish and other ingredients. Overall I could see this being a nice date spot! Their presentation on each piece was excellent! But, I think it's very pricey for the portions they give. Also the dishes didn't really stand out to me, I think TikTok overhyped it a lot lol but it wouldn't hurt to try this place out! read more

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Really friendly service! But not that frequent when needed, had to go ask for everything on foot to the register. Insanely loud vibrating music. Needs baffling. Unreasonably chaotic for this reason. Very stuffy, they keep their AC very high. Kara age over fried and tough. K sausage cold and not cooked through. Hamachi kama delicious and perfectly grilled, but needs salt, under seasoned. Huge sake menu! read more

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Came here after seeing tons of food vloggers visit. Made a reservation for 2 at 6:30pm on a Wednesday evening but could've just walked-in. Very friendly staff. I wasn't expecting for my orders to be so creamy, I feel like Japanese cuisine is usually pretty light. Like some other posts say, it may be too creamy. Mentai is heavy on Mayo, and Kani Lava is heavy on cheese (?), but I didn't mind the richness. Nonetheless everything still tasted pretty clean and light. I wouldn't rush to come back here but the Kani Lava def Instagrammable, so I get it. read more

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I saw this on IG and was excited to try but was unfortunately a bit disappointed with the food. The famous kani lava tasted more like Alfredo pasta sauce to me instead of crab roe, and the sushi rice was a mix of overcooked/mushy with some undercooked pieces. Some pieces of rice was so raw that I thought there were bones in my sushi... service was good however, and the space is a good size. Prices were reasonable as well. read more

Yoko-Cho - Salad Near Me - New York, New York

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A mutual friend recommended this spot, and while it's not widely known, I was intrigued by their izakaya-style menu featuring dishes I hadn't seen before. The atmosphere: A small, dimly lit space with a cozy, authentic izakaya vibe. It's perfect for a laid-back night out with friends or a casual date. The food: - Hamachi Kama (yellowtail jaw): Good, but not the best we've had. More on the drier side. - Kani Lava: Completely wowed my partner and I with its great presentation, rich and creamy flavors, and overall standout quality. - Chicken Yakitori skewers: Tender, juicy, and served with a side of a dipping seasoning. - Sashimi Set: Fresh and fairly priced given the variety. - Mentai: Was the only disappointing dish during our visit. Turned out to be overly salty and too heavy on the cream and/or mayonnaise, making it unbearable and difficult to finish. The service: Service could use improvement. We had to flag down our server several times to check on our orders, and the food took quite a while to arrive. read more

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Some hits, a lot of misses, but overall definitely overpriced. The interior is really nice with dark wood and Izakaya style seating with small chairs. The service is also very good despite being given the wrong bill and then needing to pay the correct one. We bought small desserts for a birthday - $10 for bringing outside food in (even though they don't have desserts nor did the small desserts require cutting - but they chose to put them on these little wooden boxes - it felt over complicated). The only thing I would really get again is the Kani Lava ($18) bc of the uniqueness - this comes with scallion, crab egg, uni, and tobiko. The uni upcharge on dishes is crazy but given it's the most popular fish, we got it. It's very good and very rice but they don't really tell you what to do - it comes on the crab shell and starts boiling over onto the portable stone heater. They should definitely serve it with rice because it's super rich - we used the rice from our Chirashi Don. The mentai ($16) was pretty good, a bit too salty but very nice to look at, and flavorful. The chahan ($28) with scallop and uni and crab fried rice was also good. The Chirashi don ($28) is nothing special, and neither are the squid legs ($10 for literally 5 pieces), agedashi tofu ($10), salmon tartare ($12) or the shishito peppers ($8).Again the portions are really small. Just because you call it an Izakaya doesn't justify the small portions for the price. The ramen was also just ok, and we ended up ordering the chahan just because we were still hungry. Overall I'd come again if someone else wanted to. read more

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Yoko-Cho is a fun izakaya on East 13th Street. The menu is varied and the food is well prepared. Service is excellent. read more

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Came in on a Wednesday night with a reservation, but didn't seem to be needed since there were plenty of open spaces. The service was quick and friendly. The food was very tasty, though the portions were small. We ordered 4 dishes for 2 people and it was just the right amount of food. The mentai was my favorite, creamy with heaps of roe. We also ordered the wagyu hot stone which was ask pretty good. The prices weren't too bad and I would recommend if you're in the mood for an ikazaya experience read more

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This was the most missed yakitori spot in the East village with the secret bar in the back. This was a great spot to drink and eat. Food was always great. Got drunk there couple of times and brought my wife to be which is my wife now. Now we both can get drunk there and eat good food. read more

Another solid izakaya to add to the list - overall enjoyed the meal: - Kani lava crab: favorite thing we ordered - tastes as good as it sounds! I wish I ordered another one and some rice to go with it - Oden and Chirashi don: just ok - Scallop uni fried rice: I liked this one! Nice seafood centric dish read more

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The kani lava appetizer was very good. Wish i had crusty bread to enjoy it with though. Make sure to take it off the fire or it over boils. The chirashi had good amount of fish and was very pretty, however, the rice wasn't great and there was this weird sweet sauce that was poured over everything. Made the whole dish too sweet. Karaage's batter was too thin and not crispy, though the chicken was juicy. read more

Yoko-Cho - Kani lava - Salad Near Me - New York, New York

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Food at Yoko-Cho was amazing! I came for their Kani Lava but ended up really loving their Sashimi Salad and Oden as well. The Sashimi Salad was so refreshing and the broth for the Oden was very tasty. I ate here with one other person and I think we definitely should've ordered two entrees instead of one entree and 4 appetizers. The service was good and we were able to get seated immediately without reservation. I'd be excited to go back and try more entrees in the future. read more

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the food was genuinely so good and came out so fast. Cute atmosphere and waitress was kind. The crab portion was kind of small read more

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A solid izakaya in the union square area!! Stopped by on a weekend night and was still able to get seated without reservation! Apps: Kani Lava was quite interesting but I liked the umami combo. It was smaller than expected but definitely enough. The fried octopus had a nice light batter with a classic Japanese mayo sauce. The sashimi salad was as expected. Fish pieces were fresh for the most part and salad was already tossed in a sesame dressing. Yakitori: I really liked the mushroom ones including the shiitake and enoki. The hotate was good and tender but I felt like didn't mesh with the bacon. The meatball was well seasoned. Mains: The mentai udon was probably my favorite dish overall! The udon was super chewy and soft. The sauce was creamy and mayo-based and perfect with the umami flavors of of the masago and bacon! The unagi don featured solid unagi and a chunky piece of tamago. However, I was a little disappointed with the rice itself because it was overcooked and a little mushy. The ratio of ikura was too much for my partner but appropriate for me. Staff were polite. The space is kinda futuristic and maybe more like minimalistic. Food came out really quick. read more

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This place is a must try, it's a bit small on the inside but the food is totally worth the wait. Kani Lava is a must, so is the wagyu on hot stone. My ultimate favorite was the unagi don! Service was quick and friendly. 10/10 would recommended read more

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Really loved my meal here! Everything was delicious and the service was great. Would recommend getting a bunch of different things to try for the table. My favorite was the sashimi salad. It was a good portion size and the fish tasted fresh. The gyu don was also very good. We ordered five things for the table and I left feeling very full. Would definitely come back to try more menu items. There's decent seating and I like the intimate vibe of the restaurant. read more

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Popped in here for dinner with 2 girlfriends on a Tuesday night with no reservations and even though it's a small spot and they were packed, they seated us pretty quickly. We ordered the wagyu hot stone which was so fresh and delicious, the clam miso butter which was filled with flavor, the chirachi don which was fresh and flavorful, the kare udon which was good but a little sweeter than I personally would prefer, and of course the kani lava which was absolutely amazing! We also ordered some yakitori which honestly is the only thing I would skip next time. Overall, a great spot for some delicious food! read more

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Solid izakaya spot with a large variety of interesting dishes. Small metal stools with no backing was uncomfortable. Staff was alright - sometimes nice, sometimes disgruntled seeming. The star of the show for my group was the kani lava. I'd come back for that and the san ko alone. Everything else was tasty enough - you can't really go too wrong with the food here. read more

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The infamous crab with Uni dish and the beef dish were the only good items here. Everything else was pretty bad, including basic dishes like the agedashi tofu (which used a really firm tofu and lacked flavor). Even the chirashi was not good - the fish tasted quite fishy and not quite right. Sadly will not be returning. read more

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We went on a Thursday and the restaurant was not pack. It's a relax restaurant vibe and good for drinking The food was delicious. We got the it was delicious but small portion for $16/18. The menti udon was too creamy as in too much mayo. I wish they reduce the mayo and added more tobiko egg. The fried chicken nothing special. The uni /tobiko / salmon roe rice done delicious but I wish there was more seaweed . The yuzu cocktail was good and there was peach cocktail that has shark gummies in it. Would I come back? Yes. read more

We came in on a really rainy Sunday so that could've been why the restaurant was completely empty but that meant that everything came out really fast. The crab kani lava doesn't come with rice but you should definitely order some to eat with it. It was delicious and my favorite thing that we ordered. I also got the mentai udon which has kind of a similar flavor to the kani lava but a little bit more mayo. My friend got the shrimp tempura curry and the shrimp tempura was super crispy. The tempura smelled like a traditional Japanese curry. The Hamachi crudo was fine, but I don't know if I would order again because the portions are very filling and there were things I liked better. Everything was only around $16-$18 each so definitely good price for New York. read more

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Came here for dinner on a Saturday without reservations. Luckily we got a table for 5 pretty quickly. Modern interior. Nothing like the old Yokocho village so I'm not sure they're related. Menu had some interesting items like the kani-lave as everyone mentions. We ordered 2 of those as recommended by the waitress. This was my favorite dish paired with the kani fried rice which was more like a donburi. Because of its richness it needs rice. We also got bacon wrapped quail eggs (3 per stick). Skewers came out room temp so bacon was chewy. Wouldn't order again. We wanted smelts but told they didn't have eggs so we skipped. Didn't see ankimo, beef tongue, chicken heart or gizzards on the menu. We ordered takowasa which was a hit and sashimi. They have a good selection of sakes. Overall a good meal but they didn't have some key dishes I normally would gravitate to at a izakaya. read more

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This place was delicious and I can't wait to come back. The crab was so so good and rich and went with rice so well. The sizzling beef was really fun, but the fire kept coming out from the side and it was a little scary. The charashi was ok--I think the rice was too hard for my liking. The taiyaki was surprisingly good! read more

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New izakaya restaurant near USQ, with a plenty of starter options, ramen, rice bowls, and sushi. We came for a casual weekday dinner and there was plenty of seating available for us. Even though there was only one server, I felt service was pretty good and we were able to order and get our food quickly. We shared the salmon tartare, kani chahan, and a few pieces of nigiri. I was really happy with all of our food, even though I usually don't like raw fish. Pricing is pretty reasonable for an NYC Japanese restaurant. Looking forward to going back and trying other things on their menu. read more