Abiko Curry is a Japanese curry restaurant that I had visited before in Koreatown way back in September of 2018. We were near the neighborhood, and I thought to check it out again. I remembered the curry and flavors being one of my favorite Japanese curry places in the city, but I also remembered that the “medium spicy” level was uncomfortably intense. This time around, I want to give it another try to see if I can get a better feel for it.
Ambiance
The restaurant itself is pretty no frills, and the restaurant tables are very close together. If you are still worried about COVID and distance, this probably is not a good restaurant for that anxiety. When we walked in at 6 PM, there was a line already out the door. We were hoping that a table for 2 would come by fast, and it did. We only had to wait about 15 minutes despite having two parties of 2 ahead of us.
After you sit down, the service is very fast since they need to turn tables quickly for the bang for the buck. Most of the restaurants along this street are packed, and it’s prime time for restaurants here to make the most out of the opportunity.
Food
The Beef Curry Rice ($18.99) came with curry, thin slices of beef, pickled onions, and rice. The curry texture here was thick and tasted pretty good. The beef cut is similar to what they put in typical Japanese beef rice bowls, and it has a slight sweetness to it too. Outside of that, this was ordered with mild heat, and it was pretty good.
The Noodle Set ($25.98) comes with basic curry noodle, 2 pieces of fried chicken, fried shrimp, and a can of soda. Not surprisingly, the curry texture here was way more soupy but with a lot of flavors in it. I ordered medium spicy, and it was tolerable enough. I did get some of the sniffles, but it was definitely less spicy compared to the last time I came here. The noodle itself was thick noodles similar to udon. The fried chicken tasted like typical chicken karaage, and the shrimp was typical as well. My partner ended up finishing the broth for me because all the spices and flavors (including little garlic chips) sank to the bottom. Despite my love for noodles, I think the curry rice would be the way to go for next time.
Final Verdict
Abiko Curry is a decent Japanese curry restaurant in Koreatown. You can’t go wrong coming here if you are craving for Japanese curry near Herald Square.
Yelp Jabs
I did not tip on the receipt with my card but when I checked my account after the transaction had posted, I saw that they had added on a $10 tip. If you plan on going here, proceed with caution and make sure you save your receipt.
That is really unfortunate. I’m not sure what this Yelper did, but I make it a rule to never leave the tip field blank. If I don’t tip, I put a “0” there with a solid horizontal line on that field, and also write the total very distinctly.
I like Curry, specially it says " Japanese Curry “, no offense, but this curry definitely NOT Japanese style, it tasted watering and salty, not much Curry flavor in it( a little bit ). The waitress gave me the bill and wrote Cash, I asked if it Cash Only place, it ended up that the waitress said she prefer cash. Lol. I was almost ready to offer wash dishes for them. Cuz I didn’t have much cash on me today.
I’ve been to a dozen Japanese curry places in Los Angeles and NYC, and the curry here was comparable to places like Curry House in Los Angeles. My preference in terms of taste still steers towards Curry House. I am surprised by the cash request, but it certainly never hurts to ask if they accept card.
Revisions
- Oct 9, 2022 - Added Beef Curry Rice and Noodle Set.
- Sep 16, 2018 - Initial revision.