72 Kenmare Street
New York, NY 10012
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Have you ever been to Tokyo? Had a proper Yakitori meal in Tokyo? If you have, you’ll understand our obsession. We’ve been desperately searching for a proper Yakitori meal in NYC since our return from Tokyo back in January. Ugh the nostalgia…
I’ve done a TON of research, and there’s only a handful of proper Yakitori restaurants in NYC, YAKITORI TORI, YAKITORI TOTTO, YAKITORI TAISHO, and TORISHIN. While they may be independently great, the bar now is at a whole new level.
The verdict:
- Space – Love it! It’s quiet, quaint, clean, definitely that Tokyo Izakaya feel!
- Service – This needs work. The waitresses do not know the menu, and moves at an absolute snail’s pace! I know true yakitori takes time, but water, napkins, another bottle of sake, those do not!
- Food – Flavors are good, but needs more/longer margination.
- Cost (Food) – At roughly 5 bucks for EACH skewer, this is a bit pricey. We recently tried Kenka for the first time, there, it’s 5 bucks for four skewers. At Yakitori Taisho, it’s roughly 2 bucks per skewer, and at Yakitori Totto, it’s roughly 3 bucks per skewer. Yea, it’s pricey here.
- Cost (Sake) – At roughly 140% mark up, this is decent. (Dassai 50 was $65, retail is $27)
Our dinner tonight:
- Chicken Heart – just ok, and Berkshire Pork Rib, VERY GOOD
- Chicken Gizzard – Delicious
- Plum Seaweed Cucumber (too strong plum taste)
- Chicken Thigh with Japanese Scallions (scallions were great, but the chicken did not have much flavor), Berkshire Pork Cheek (good but not great), Berkshire Pork Rib (great), Chicken Gizzard (yes, a repeat, still great), Chicken Liver (eh, I love chicken livers, but this wasn’t all that good)
- Charcoal Grilled Beef Tongue (love the natural chewiness of the tongue, very good!)
- King Oyster Mushroom and Okra (mushroom had little flavor, okra was better)
- Foie Gras Rice Ball – Very good, the Foie gras was perfectly cooked, just wished there were more of it
- Salmon Roe Rice Ball – Even better, IKURA was still raw, how did they do that?
- Chicken Wing (not as flavorful as the thigh) and Shitake Mushroom (better than the oyster mushroom, but still lacks flavor)
- Chicken Thigh (thought I would like these more, but I didn’t…)
- Berkshire Pork Rib (yes, this was our third, because it was that good!)
- Chicken Gizzard 3 and 4 (yes, a total of four of these babies, YUM!)
Overall Thoughts:
Overall, we are happy with the meal, but a really far stretch from Tokyo yakitori. We are too spoiled…