Genji Izakaya
Genji Izakaya
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
3 reviews
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This place is thoroughly unacceptable, and these "fellow reviewers" giving it 4 stars must have pretty unrefined tastes. I stopped by to get a bowl of ramen, which left me with dry mouth. It was only filled up to the halfway point of the bowl, too, so I felt like I was eating a soggy bathtowel. The pork tasted like beef jerky. There's also only one tiny bathroom in the whole facility: not a smart thing if you're trying to run a BAR. (When I tried to go in, some dude yelled back: "IT'S GOING TO BE AWHILE!!!!")
I wanted to give this a fair shake, but it was a stupid decision. Going for ramen in a Whole Foods instead of the dozen izakaya joints in the area is like going to Panda Express while in China. #FACEPALM
Izakaya is super convenient Japanese snack place sharing the space with On Tap (the bar) in Whole Foods.
They are a much better alternative than the usual bar food that Whole Foods used to have here.
Great for a casual weeknight lunch and dinner.
Great for families. You always see parents having a cold one here.
*Food*
Their tonkatsu ramen is salty chewy bowl of ramen. The broth is a little too salty to drink but a solid affordable filling meal at $8.
Their spicy miso tonkotsu ramen ($8) had two small pieces of pork and tender mushroom with the slightly spicy tonkotsu broth. K liked this a lot! He slurped up the broth and gave me a huge grin. I didn't really taste the taste the miso but that is ok.
Their chicken gyoza is good but not comparable to Chinatown's best. Tender flavored chicken breast cooked in chicken broth.
The pork chasiu bun was perfectly seared pork belly in a light fluffy white bun in a bed of shredded scallions. It was so good, it quelled my craving for Ippudo's pork buns. The only difference between the two buns is that Ippudo's bun has a thick cut of pork belly and more of a sear.
Overall, this is a good value and decent meal. I wouldn't come out of my way to eat here but if you are shopping or in the area, this is a great food alternative (vs Nathan's or Le Pain Quotidien).
The prices at the sit-down counter of this corner of Whole Foods is comparable to what you might find throughout Manhattan, but I would consider the quality to be, at best, middling compared to the competition.
Granted, their presence here is probably only to fill a very specific ethnic cuisine niche by Whole Foods, and variety does seem to be king when it comes to their pre-packaged take out offerings. But the sashimi in the glass display cases did not appear to be kept on ice; the dumplings and shrimp tempura were clearly pre-made and then heated up to order; and the white fish sashimi – well, it wasn't white.
The calamari salad was a nice touch and tasteful contrast, but in the end, I think the next time I am in Whole Foods, I will just skip the counter service and just grab take out, or one of the other zillion things that Whole Food's has to offer.