We had walked over the Queensboro bridge to do some casual shopping at the Bloomingdales on Lexington on the Monday of a Memorial Day weekend. Surprisingly, there weren’t many people out and about probably due to people escaping town. Because this was around lunch time, we decided not to trek too far from the department store. This Japanese restaurant was connected indoors to the first floor of the department store. On the outside, they had private transparent glass huts with their own heaters, but we decided to eat indoors.
Ambiance
Because we ate at an odd time towards the end of lunch hours on a weekday, there was not much foot traffic inside or outside the restaurant. I could imagine later at night there might be more people, but overall, it feels like a typical Americanized Japanese restaurant.
The service was very fast and attentive, and the price was comparable to other similar types of restaurants.
Food
Unfortunately, I don’t remember exactly what the pink drink on the right. I vaguely remember it having alcohol that just did not mix well with whatever fruit liqueur they decided to use. The left was simply a water.
Because we both got the lunch specials, it came with a miso soup and a side salad. The dressing on the side salad was similar to the orange salad dressing at some Japanese restaurants.
The yaki ika was grilled squid served with ginger teriyaki sauce. The squid had a very noticeable grilled char smoke taste, but the meat itself was tender and bouncy. The sauce was actually pretty mild and not deep in ginger after tastes.
The grilled salmon lunch set came with teriyaki sauce and steamed Chinese broccoli and carrots. The salmon was decent and without frills. It was pretty tender though it did come out lukewarm at best. The sides starting from the top left counter-clockwise are: assorted fruits (orange / strawberry), shredded pickled carrots / cucumbers, siu mai / grilled egg plant / gyoza, and rice. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, but for those that like various things to eat, it was playful.
The kurobuta tonkatsu lunch set came with pork tonkatsu. The little woven basket had some semi spicy Chinese-style mustard in it, similar to the ones you would get at a Chinese restaurant. The real difference compared to the grilled salmon set was this also had tonkatsu sauce for the pork. For those that don’t know what kurobuta pork, it’s actually meat coming off a pure Berkshire pig. These tend to be really tasty in flavor and also a little more fatty than normal pork chops. The crust was crispy, and the pork was very tender and juicy. Like the salmon set above, it came with the same little side dishes.
Final Verdict
If you are around the Bloomingdales area in NYC and are open to Japanese, this restaurant offers a very no frills experience but decent tasty food.
Yelp Jabs
A must go to! Absolutely delish… The quality is fantastic and you must try the yellowtail collar… cooked to perfection!
No, it’s not a must go to. Believe it or not, there’s nothing super complicated about the “cook” on some of this food. What is good about this place is the food is fresh and not low quality.
My boyfriend and I had been excited to try this restaurant for a while, but the experience was just underwhelming. The restaurant has really cute transparent tents over individual tables and heat lamp inside each tent. I appreciated the effort that went into making their outdoor seating safe and comfortable to sit in, even on a cold winter day.
Well despite the review, it looks like the restaurant’s outdoor set up still ended up luring gullible people. Even with the most intricate outdoor setup, make sure you set your expectations for the food. The decor is likely not going to make no frills food taste exponentially better.