Izakaya
“As I'm sure many other reviews, and even the NY Times now, have said, you are strongly encouraged to start with the addictive cabbage.”
“The chicken nanban is rich – perfectly fried chicken covered in a thick tartar sauce, mmmmhmm!”
“Kagua beer–I have to write something about this because this beer was actually very good.”
Izakaya
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Nanban chicken – wish it was crispier but the sauce and salad was divine
Curry doria – best curry I've had in a while, authentic and loved the mozzarella cheese topping
Yam with vinegar – as described by the waiter, loved by Japanese ppl and hated by americans. Slime like texture but the vinegar sauce and wasabi helped even out the taste and texture.
Corn edamame croquettes – sort of dry and plain. Exactly as described. Disappointed they no longer had the pork/beef croquettes everyone was raving about on yelp.
Milk pudding – bsst I've ever had, hands down. Would come back just for this. Absolutely reminded me of moms home cooking/baking and more milky/creamy
Red bean pudding – good but the milk pudding was better
Izakaya. The Japanese label these places as an after work drinking spot which serves drink and shared plates. Basically pub food.
I consider this place a hidden gem in the east village and would very much like to keep it that way but I feel that an izakaya in NY which mimics real izakayas in Japan deserves a write up.
Let's get this out of the way first. First and foremost the two dollar signs on Yelp can be slightly misleading. While this is considered "tapas", the general rule here would be about 3-4 tapas per person. Portions are not big and If you come here for quantity over quality, you'll be sorely disappointed. It does add up but It's worth giving this place a shot.
Forgive the photo quality. Lighting wasn't in my favor so I stopped after a few.
The space is cozy with a minimalist approach in decor. Our server ( I didn't get his name) was amazingly polite and humble with a sunny deposition. He explained all the dishes we ordered as well as gave us advice on the best way to eat them.
Let's start with the "addictive cabbage". Honestly, this is a wonderful appetizer to get the palette wet. Slightly salty with traces of sesame flavor. Our waiter ( I'll call him John for now, lol ) had told us when he was in Japan, that they would test out new restaurants by ordering this tapas. This alone would decide whether or not they would be staying. After placing the dish on our table and telling us this niffy info, he comically told us that he hope'd we would stay. Well John, where do I sleep? A must order if not for the first time.
With 2 choices of sashimi, John recommended the fluke. Although slighty hard to understand some of his English, we understood most and describe that there was a certain spice that kept the fluke fresh and full of flavor. I'm not a big fan of shiso leaf ( plum leaf ) but the nuisance of that flavor with the fluke seemed to go well together. Don't forget to add on their homemade ponzu sauce chalk full of daikon.
The chicken nanban is basically a take on fried chicken. On top of the chicken is their home made tarter sauce and on the bottom is this light and sweet teriyaki broth. I loveeeeeed it. A perfect textbook example of sweet & savory.
Another dished we loved was the salmon over rice with uni. If you love all three then you must order this. The uni was so fresh and creamy.
The menu also seems to be changing due to what's fresh and available which in my opinion all restaurant should follow. If you're looking for a difference experience with delicious and light fare and you're not trying to penny pinch, I recommend Izakaya. Just don't spread the word… too much, I still want to grab a seat for dinner.
P.S – The Agedashi tofu is a MUST order for fans of this particular dish.
I don't know how many time i can update my review for this business but i will keep saying it is one of my favorite place in new york. I just like the atmosphere and the fusion Japanese with some delicate flavors of Italian cuisine always amazed me. I have my favorite dishes ( chicken nambam and vanilla pudding and sake and more) but i am always willing to try new things. I already took my mother, best friend, coworkers, friends, roommate. Will definitely do my birthday there in April (already on all my friends calendar ahah). As long as this place remains open i won't be able to start a diet :p Izakaya, see you very soon!
The place is small, maybe accommodating 30ish people. The man and woman who own the place (and are your servers) are very friendly and love to explain the history behind the menu and what they offer. They apparently also own a Brooklyn fashion company/store, although I didn't ask them about it.
The dishes:
Addictive cabbage – Amazing. Salty, with a slight hint of fishiness
Scallop carpaccio – Mediocre
Mushroom butter rice – Decent. Had a nice peppery taste.
Chicken nanban – Juicy, rich, flavorful, tangy. Covered in tartar-style sauce.
Omelette – Average
Sashimi trio (came w/ 4 varieties of seafood) – Tuna was amazing (and I'm not usually a huge tuna fan). The scallop was also good (my friend thought it was the highlight of the night).
Drinks:
Sparkling nigori sake – Some of the best sake I've ever tried. Naturally bubbly, smooth, w/ a slight sweetness to it.
Kitaya sake – Classic sake taste. Satisfying
Kagua blanc – I was expecting more to be honest from all the reviews. It wasn't bad though, slightly sweet. The owner had an in depth explanation about its history
KenScale: 8.0/10
In a city that already has tons of Japanese izakayas, it's probably a mistake to call your restaurant "Izakaya" without any other name that could distinguish your name. I certainly had a problem finding this place tucked on a quiet corner of East Village. Even the location doesn't really help actually; located a couple of blocks from the always rowdy Saint Marks, this place might as well be non-existent. Which is actually not a bad thing because I very much enjoyed the home-style Japanese cooking coming out of the kitchen without all the stress of dining at a loud, crowded space.
The restaurant has the izakaya concept, but really it is closer to the restaurant. The light is brighter than a typical dimly-lit izakaya, and it doesn't really strike you as the kind of place where you are supposed to enjoy a bottle of sake with some bites along the way. Instead, it is the place where you get to savor the straightforward yet delicate cooking of chef Dai Watanabe. Cold tofu was certainly a nice welcome to the meal, and my dining companion couldn't stop raving aqbout the excellent mushroom fried rice that had an excellent balance of flavor. The pleasant surprises kept coming, in the form of absolutely delicious chicken nanban in sweet vinegar and tartar sauce (the chicken was moist and juicy too) and the curry dish that kept me craving for more. Ironically, the downers of the night actually belonged some of the dishes that the restaurant was more well-known for. The "addictive" cabbage was crisp, but I felt it was a unnecessarily oily instead of having a more citrusy flavor. The Neapolitan spaghetti, an attempt to cross over the Japanese-Italian boundary, was not bad, but the tomato paste felt a bit more overwhelming it should be, and such heavy aftereffect was calmed down only after a scoop of sweet and delicate panna cotta.
Getting a reservation wasn't challenging at this restaurant, and the dining space (despite its tiny size) was about half-filled during my meal, which tells that this place hasn't probably got the buzz that it deserves with satisfying cooking. There are some solid sake menus, obviously, and each pour on a glass was quite generous. I heard that chef Watanabe will be going back to Japan soon and the restaurant will close and re-open under a new Japanese concept, which is a bit of a bummer, but I'm also excited to see what the owner will bring to the table under the new establishment. If they keep up the good work here with the new chef, I do think Izakaya (or whatever that will follow) could become a sleeper destination for solid Japanese dining.
How funny, this is an izakaya called Izakaya. Its like calling a restaurant, Restaurant.
I read about this place in the NY Times and came here to try the dishes… unfortunately, their menu has been updated, so not all the dishes mentioned in the NY Times were on the menu. Boo.
This is a small hole in the wall, so I recommend making reservations. Also, you don't have to tip! 🙂
There is a decent sake menu, I decided to have a saketini (I think that's what I drank, I definitely drank some cocktail) and it was good. It was perfectly sweet and not too strong.
For food, we had the addictive cabbage. This was a dish recommended in the NY Times. Was the cabbage addictive? Not really… it was good though, but it was just cabbage with some sort of dressing. I wish I was more addicted to it, so that I would eat more cabbage and lose weight.
We also had the chicken nanban, which was recommended by the NY Times as well. Imagine crispy pieces of fried chicken covered in creamy dressing, oh that was good.
We also had the agedashi tofu, which was decent. I really liked the curry rice doria, I saw almost every table eating that too. Imagine a warm bowl of curry rice covered with cheese, oh, so good.
I can't wait to come back here to try the other dishes!
it's a small eatery, but when we arrived at 7 pm there was plenty of room and we were seated easily. the place filled up an hour later, but was never packed.
the simple wooden fixtures and design fits perfectly with its homey menu. and they have the most kawaii (adorable) hipster waiters! they make helpful food suggestions without being pushy and describe the ingredients of each dish when it is served. it's a great place for casual dinner with friends and almost a good date location except for its poor acoustics. when the place began getting filled, the conversational noises become deafening and my friend and i were pretty much shouting to each other at one point during the meal.
that aside, the food here is impeccable. it's tapas style eating so be prepared to share dishes. we started with a special from their specials board: tofu and mushrooms ($11). the dish is a block of soft tofu with enoki mushrooms in a thick dashi gravy. it was the perfect gentle note to start the meal. this was our favorite dish of the night. it was just… umami.
foods are served whenever they're ready, so halfway through our first dish, the grilled mackerel ($12), another special of the night, arrived. crispy and salty grilled skin containing tender flesh inside, it's served with a side of grated daikon and lemon wedge which help round out the savory salt.
next up was the addictive cabbage ($6), a simple raw cabbage dish dressed with salt and pepper and a very light dressing (sesame oil and something else i can't place). you may want to dismiss this dish, but, aside from providing a nutritional balance to the meal, it's just damn good and just the kind of dish you want to munch on while drinking sake.
the scallop carpaccio ($12), another dish from the specials board, was the prettiest dish of the night. meaty slices of raw carpaccio were simply seasoned with just a little tang, and garnished with ikura. the ikura were perfect little bursts of flavor to accompany the scallop.
before we could start on the scallop, the famous chicken nanban ($15) was delivered to the table. juicy pieces of boneless fried chicken dressed in a tangy sauce and generously topped with homemade tartar sauce. although the dish could have been crispier, the flavor was spot-on. a little sweet, a little tangy, with wedge of lemon for some nice acidity.
lastly, we were served a scallop, avocado, and pork roll ($12), a special of the night, and a last minute substitute for the miso grilled beef tongue we had initially wanted to order. it was a recommendation of the adorably hipster waiter (he was japanese, with bleached blonde hair and thick-framed glasses. total hipster). the scallop and avocado are rolled up in the pork, breaded and fried. then sliced like a sushi roll. while the insides get a little mushy since it's heated avocado, the pork remains juicy and it creates an interesting flavor compilation. this is probably the only dish that i wouldn't have ordered again.
although the noise level of the restaurant was sometimes overbearing, the food was always gentle and comforting. the food prices are very reasonable considering we were the perfect amount of full and the quality. be aware that the sake prices are pretty steep, with glasses averaging $11-14 and bottles starting at $65.
How much confidence it requires to name an Izakaya category of restaurant "Izakaya"? (Izakaya means: informal Japanese gastropub). I visited izakaya with that question on a Saturday night and izakaya didn't disappoint. Food is solid, and the ambiance is nice and talk-easy.
We ordered sake in glasses since they ran out of the small bottles. There are many choices – dry, smooth, and sweet tastes; light, medium or thick texture etc. Food wise, I highly recommend the signature chicken nanban, fluke sashimi, addictive cabbage, stir-fried noodle with egg, and beef tongue. Everything is solid. My favorites are chicken nanban and beef tongue. The chicken meat is super juicy and tender. The tasty meat juice ooze out when you bite. Unlike other places, izakaya serve thick BBQ beef tongue that is a bit more chewy but still well seasoned.
Overall, izakaya food is on the lighter calorie end among bar food choices. Highly recommend this place! Plates are in small portion. Slightly pricy – 40pp for us (no tips in izakaya).