94 E 7th St
New York, NY 10009
Refer also to our Kyo Ya Oct 2016, Jun 2017, Sep 2017, and Nov 2017 Postings
Kyo Ya does not have a website, but here’s Yelp
This is my fifth write up on Kyo Ya. As per my latest SUSHI BY BOU post, I’ve committed to myself, New Year’s Resolution-ish, to not continually write new posts on same restaurants unless something changed. I realized I tend to just jabber on when I get excited about something. And I tend to visit the places I love, frequently. So I get that it can be a bit redundant… almost annoying… I get it! I just can’t help myself though! When you have something great, you want to shout it to the world!
Well something have changed with Kyo Ya, so I am allowing myself this quick write up, but primarily a “best of” photo log of my recent THREE trips to Kyo Ya! See how disciplined I am?
If you’ve been reading my many KYO YA posts, you’ll know that I consider Chef Sono Chikara exceptional in picking out, preparing, and serving some of the best cuts of fish in NYC. I absolutely adore him. He’s one of five that’s earned himself a “SushiGirl Star” rating, which is my way of classifying a restaurant to have the exceptional fish, decent-ish value (decent value in sushi standards, knowing sushi=never budget friendly), and an all-around great time. Did the change knock Sono-san off the “SushiGirl Star” rating? No… I still love him… but I have to say, I do not agree, and is quite disappointed with their recent decision to discontinue to BOTAN EBI, UNI, KANI, and IKURA don. A don (rice bowl) that I consider the BEST IN NYC.
Kyo Ya’s BOTAN EBI (Spotted sweet shrimp), Santa Barbara UNI, KANI (snow crab), IKURA (Salmon eggs) don isn’t great purely due to the high quality fish, which many restaurants skimp on when they put together a “don”, it’s also the combination of the fish, the quality of rice, AND the delectable, mouth-watering daishi that they provide, to be drizzled over the entire bowl. It is mind boggling how great this don is. It was always my perfect ending to Sono-san’s meals. The BEST dessert in the world. And I stand behind that!
That said, Sono-san did add a few great new items to the appetizer list, so it kind of balances it out, but not entirely… I now do leave here still longing for that final touch…
The “best of” photos of our recent 3 meals:
- A few of our West Coast oyster servings (~$9 for 2 oysters)
- Fresh BOTAN EBI & UNI Appetizer ($16)
- AMAEBI SHIOKARA (Sweet shrimp marinated in a fish sauce) ($10)
- NORESORE (Baby sea eel) ($18)
- JUNSAI WASABIAN (Firefly squid with Japanese sea fruit) ($16)
- ANKIMO (Monkfish liver)
- TSUBUGAI (Whelk)
- TOKOBUSHI (Baby Abalone) ($28)
- HOKKAIDO UNI ($18-$22 per “tray”)
- SAYORI (Needle fish)
- NAMADADKO (Fresh Octopus from Hokkaido) ($20-$22 per serving)
- KINMEDAI (Golden eye snapper)
- SHIMA AJI (Striped Jack)
- Salmon Trout from Scotland
- AKAMI (Lean Blue Fin Tuna)
- CHUTORO (Fatty Tuna)
Overall Thoughts:
Very sad that my BOTAN EBI, UNI, KANI, and IKURA don is no longer being served, but all else was fantastic!