Visited in May 2017
109 1st Avenue
New York, NY 10003
Website
How times have changed! When I met my boyfriend years ago, he was happy enough having from the cafeteria. Today, I have to DRAG him to any restaurant that doesn’t serve a true/traditional omakase. No joke, he fought me every step of the way over to Senya. Even after we sat down, he wanted to get up and go!
I’m very happy to share, that after our meal, he was converted! He was plenty satisfied with our meal, as was I. There are definitely pros and cons, and tips to ordering, but Senya ranks up there for à la carte platters. Senya now ranks along with the likes of KYO YA, KANOYAMA, and TOMOE for PLATTERS. I’m not saying that Senya has the variety OR quality of either Kyo Ya or Kanoyama, but for an omakase platter, it is pretty darn good.
There are two kinds of omakase platters:
- 10 Piece Sushi Omakase $55
- 10 Piece Sashimi Omakase $65
Of the two, options, the Sashimi platter is the more economical one. If you NEED to have rice, order a bowl of plain or a bowl of sushi rice on the side. We ordered one of each, one sushi omakase, one sashimi omakase. While the fish is served is “almost” the same, you get a lot more bang for your buck in the Sashimi option. You get close to twice the amount of fish.
But if you want to really “enjoy” and try the bests of the best Senya can offer, do the Sushi Omakase. You only get 10 pieces, which is not enough to fill not even a 10 year old, BUT it’s the best “fish servings” that Senya has to offer, so this is the “real way to go”. Unfortunately, Senya skimped us on the sushi omakase. We only got 8 pieces instead of 10. I clearly love using quotes by the way…
Our Sashimi Omakase (left to right):
- SHIMA AJI (Striped jack) – Decent
- KINMEDAI (Golden eyed snapper) – Very good!
- KING SALMON – Another very good item – we are impressed
- BOTAN EBI (Sweet shrimp) – Good, but the cleansing of the shrimp needs work…
- SHIRA IKA (White squid) – We enjoyed the jalapeño, but the squid itself was not all that special
- TOKUBUSHI (Abalone) – topped with UNI and Hackelback caviar. Beautiful, but this was fishy, very fishy, borderline gross…
- MADAI (Seabream) – Incredibly smokey. I always get suspicious when I taste something this “smokey”, this much of anything…
- TORO (Fatty tuna) – Served with a soy seaweed paste and a gold flake. The soy seaweed “paste” was not good and severely overpowering. What are they thinking???
- UNI – Decent, but not “good”. Why is good UNI so hard to find this year? Why is there no publication about that?
- TORO with Truffle – Unlike the TORO with seaweed and gold flake, this one was super tasty! Kinda ugly to be honest, and still chewy as the fish alone, but still very tasty…
Our Sushi Omakase:
- AKAMUTSU (Rosy sea perch) – Decent, but AKAMUTSUs are one on my favorite whites, yet this one, I would not bother a second order… That’s not good….
- KING SALMON – This was fine…
- KAMASU – Served with fried seaweed and radish. The ABURI (torching) and dressing is perfect. This was the only “great” piece.
- TORO – Please kill me with this seaweed paste crap…
- MADAI (Seabream) – Just like the sashimi, this was great!
- SHIRA IKA with UNI – Decent…
- BOTAN EBI (Sweet Shrimp) – served with Hackleback Caviar and gold flakes.
- HOKKAIDO UNI – Boyfriend said this was just “OK”, meaning it was not all that special…
Beware of the specials, especially the oyster.
- MISO INFUSED FOIE GRAS ($16) – Served as an individual piece, and well worth the price! I you are a lover of foie gras, come for this piece alone!!!
- BAIGAI ($15) – We LOVE a good single clam mollusk! This BAGAI was fantastic, but could be more tender…
- KUMAMOTO Oyster with YUZU foam ($4.5 each) – I liked the yuzu foam, but bf thought it was over powering…
- KUMAMOTO Oyster with Ponzu Sauce and chopped chives ($4.5 each) – Very good!
- KUMAMOTO Oyster with a Vinegar dressing and a Hackleback Caviar ($7.5 each) – Decent!
- KUMAMOTO Oyster with UNI & IKURA ($7.5 each) – Fantastic! The UNI was just ok, as was the IKURA. But three mediocre somethings make an awesome something!
Dessert:
- Water Cake with a side of red bean paste & maple syrup – Give me a break! The most tasteless dessert ever! And I’m Chinese, we are the kings and queens of bland desserts
- Truffle torte with green tea ice cream – This was much better than the other. Truth be told, our tastebuds are very partial to chocolate. This was YUMMY!
Overall Thoughts:
Senya has one of the best omakase PLATTERs. Comparing to SUSHIGIRL faves, Kano and Kyo Ya, this is good, but needs work. We will most definitely be back though!!!
