Skip to content

Unveiling New York’s Heavenly Haven for Authentic Japanese Cuisine: A Must-Read Guide for Every Expat!

Are you in New York and craving top-quality Japanese food? You’re in luck because the city has a wide variety of options to choose from. In fact, New York has more Michelin-starred Japanese restaurants than other foodie cities like Paris and London. Additionally, there are many excellent, more casual Japanese eateries as well.

As someone who came to the US from Tokyo, I understand the desire for authentic and affordable Japanese restaurants. When I moved to New York, I was pleasantly surprised by the extensive Japanese-restaurant scene in the city. It’s so vast and profound that I stopped feeling the need to return to Japan for the cuisine.

In a city with over 25,000 restaurants, New York chefs have to constantly be at the top of their game. This is especially true for Japanese restaurants, where one bad meal can ruin a reputation. That’s why I’ve put together a guide to the best Japanese restaurants in Manhattan, with one exception in Brooklyn.

1. Tsukimi (East Village)
Located at 228 East 10th Street, New York, NY 10003, Tsukimi is the perfect place for a quiet meal for any occasion. Keep in mind that reservations require payment and are non-refundable, with rescheduling allowed only with 72 hours’ notice. Tsukimi has earned one Michelin star and offers a tasting menu starting at $265.

2. Yopparai Ronin (Lower East Side)
Situated at 69 Clinton Street, New York, NY 10002, Yopparai Ronin provides attentive service and specializes in yakitori. The restaurant offers an omakase menu consisting of an appetizer, nine yakitori skewers, rice, and dessert for $110. For a lighter option, you can choose a menu with five skewers for $60. Yopparai Ronin creates an immersive experience with its old-style Japanese furniture and tatami mats.

3. Nakamura (Lower East Side)
If you’re looking for a quick slurp of ramen, Nakamura is the place to go. Located at 172 Delancey Street, New York, NY 10002, this intimate restaurant offers a light yet complex chicken-based ramen. Chef Shigetoshi “Jack” Nakamura’s ramen will surely satisfy your cravings. Nakamura also serves gyoza and is open from Monday to Thursday, noon to 9 pm, and Friday to Saturday, noon to 10 pm.

4. Hakata TonTon (Koreatown)
Gather your friends or family and head over to Hakata TonTon located at 35 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001. This restaurant is known for its hotpots, but it also offers a variety of Japanese soul foods like gyoza, okonomiyaki, and karaage. Don’t forget to save room for their delicious desserts, including an Earl Grey-flavored baked cheesecake. Hakata TonTon is open from Sunday to Thursday, 5 pm to 9:45 pm, and Friday to Saturday, 5 pm to 10:15 pm.

5. My Coffee and Cream (Brooklyn)
For a relaxed atmosphere and Japanese-style tea and ice cream, visit My Coffee and Cream at 309 Graham Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11211. This cozy spot also offers Japanese-style toasts and pastries.

These are just a few of the incredible Japanese restaurants you can find in New York. Whether you’re craving a high-end omakase experience or a casual meal, the city has something for everyone. Enjoy exploring the diverse and vibrant food scene that New York has to offer!

—————————————————-

Article Link
UK Artful Impressions Premiere Etsy Store
Sponsored Content View
90’s Rock Band Review View
Ted Lasso’s MacBook Guide View
Nature’s Secret to More Energy View
Ancient Recipe for Weight Loss View
MacBook Air i3 vs i5 View
You Need a VPN in 2023 – Liberty Shield View

This article is part of a guide to New York from FT Globetrotter

This is part of a collaboration between the FT and Nikkei, in which Nikkei journalists and correspondents write about their favourite Japanese restaurants in cities around the world.

Are you in New York and craving top-quality Japanese food? You’re in the right place. The city has the highest number of Michelin-starred Japanese restaurants outside Japan — even more than other foodie metropolises such as Paris and London. There is also a host of excellent, more low-key Japanese restaurants, too.

I came to the US from Tokyo almost 20 years ago, arriving as a cash-strapped student in Austin, Texas, where I was constantly dreaming of authentic and affordable Japanese restaurants. Two years later, I moved to New York and discovered an ever-growing range of Japanese eateries from high-end omakase and kaiseki to casual motsu nabe joints. The Japanese-restaurant scene in the city is so vast and profound that I even stopped feeling my urge to return home to my country’s fare.

In a city with more than 25,000 restaurants, New York chefs need to be constantly at the top of their game. One bad meal can ruin a reputation. Japanese restaurants are no exception. Here is my tried and tested guide to the best of the bunch. All are in Manhattan, with one exception in Brooklyn. 


1. Tsukimi (East Village)

228 East 10th Street, New York, NY 10003 

  • Good for: A quiet meal for any occasion — dates, business dinners or catch-ups with friends

  • Not so good for: A big group. Reservations require payment and non-refundable. You only can reschedule at 72 hours’ notice.

  • FYI: One Michelin star 

  • Website; Directions

Before the pandemic forced NYC restaurants to shut, my best friend – an intellectual property lawyer – and I used to treat ourselves once a month at a Japanese restaurant. The idea was to get away from our spouses’ food restrictions and indulge ourselves in our native cuisine. She has an American vegetarian husband, while my British husband finds some Japanese dishes “cold and slimy”. 

 A trio of small bites on a rectangular patterned-glass tray: Wagyu tartare, unagi (freshwater eel) and karasumi (dried mullet roe) croquette
The author’s tasting menu began with a trio of small bites: (from left) Wagyu tartare, unagi (freshwater eel) and karasumi (dried mullet roe) croquette

Executive chef Takanori Akiyama prepping a white-fish sushi dish with tweezers on a small round dish
Executive chef Takanori Akiyama is from a family of sushi chefs

After a three-year hiatus, we decided to revive the tradition. Our first choice was Tsukimi, a 12-seat kaiseki joint named after the Japanese “moon viewing” custom where people gather under the moon to honour seasonal food and sake. 

The tasting menu ($265) started with a trio of small bites of Wagyu tartare, unagi (freshwater eel) with crispy sesame rice crackers and karasumi (dried mullet roe) croquette. Executive chef Takanori Akiyama, who was born into a family of sushi chefs in Japan and has worked in New York’s restaurant industry since 1995, gives Japanese food a contemporary twist. His signature dish is a layer of caviar, uni and egg over a small bed of sushi rice — a mini-bowl that gives you the sensation of sushi and chawanmushi (savoury steamed custard) topped by delicacies in one shot. 

A small red dish containing uni from Hokkaido with Kaluga caviar, on top of soft scrambled egg, potato foam and sushi rice
The tasting menu might include uni from Hokkaido with Kaluga caviar, on top of soft scrambled egg, potato foam and sushi rice . . .

Aori ika (bigfin reef squid) from Oita prefecture with kumquat, served on a nori seaweed crisp, sitting on a folded orange napkin on top of a solid grey, circular vessel
. . . as well as aori ika (bigfin reef squid) from Oita prefecture with kumquat, served on a nori seaweed crisp

Dishes are presented like jewellery on tableware that is rotated seasonally. The counter setting keeps intimate conversation very private – a huge plus in a city where, in most restaurants, you can barely hear yourself think.

Ending with a matcha expertly whipped on the spot, our two-and-a-half-hour supper is over. My friend remarked on how fun it is to eat out and share a good meal with a good friend; I had to agree. An estimated 4,500 restaurants permanently closed their doors due to the economic downturn caused by the pandemic. I am glad that Tsukimi was not one of them. Open Weds–Sun (seatings at 5pm and 8pm)


2. Yopparai Ronin (Lower East Side)

69 Clinton Street, New York, NY 10002

  • Good for: Attentive service

  • Not so good for: Vegetarians. The speciality here is yakitori 

  • FYI: A menu consisting of an appetiser, nine yakitori skewers, rice and dessert is $110. A lighter menu of five skewers is $60. The restaurant’s sibling, Yopparai, which offers izakaya fare (Japanese tapas) à la carte, is a few doors down 

  • Website; Directions

Chef Kazumi Motoi of yakitori-specialists Yopparai Ronin
Chef Kazumi Motoi of Yopparai Ronin, a yakitori-focused restaurant on the Lower East Side . . .

 . . . which the author describes as ‘a virtual trip to Japan’

Yopparai Ronin is more of an experience than a restaurant. Once you walk into the intimate space with its old-style Japanese furniture and tatami mats, you totally forget that you are in the heart of the Lower East Side.

Grilled skewers are served one by one at a perfect tempo, reminiscent of a style of service you might find in a ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn. Wagyu steak from Miyazaki prefecture is a worthwhile addition to the omakase menu (an extra $30). It tastes more like beef sashimi as it melts in your mouth.

The Wagyu steak at Yopparai Ronin

 The interior of Yopparai Ronin, with a large navy-blue cloth banner on a red-bricked wall depicting a large wave and a crescent moon, with ‘Yopparai New York’ in Japanese and Roman lettering; opposite it are blond-wood tables and seats with blue cushions on them
 ‘More of an experience than a restaurant’

I have to admit this is not a typical yakitori restaurant. It’s rather a virtual trip to Japan that comes with meticulously prepared yakitori. If you’d prefer a lively, quintessential yakitori-bar atmosphere, try Torishin (362 West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10002). Tues–Sat, 6pm–10pm


3. Nakamura (Lower East Side)

172 Delancey Street, New York, NY 10002

  • Good for: A quick slurp 

  • Not so good for: A big group. This place has fewer than 20 seats

  • FYI: It isn’t located at the prettiest part of Manhattan

  • Website; Directions

Tonkotsu is the classic style of ramen found in New York City. While its thick, pork-bone broth is irresistibly tasty, this ramen from Kyushu, Japan’s southernmost island, is still foreign to me – I grew up eating Tokyo-style soy flavour. 

Instead, chef Shigetoshi “Jack” Nakamura serves a kind of ramen I used to eat in a local eatery. His chicken-based stock is light but complex and satisfying. After a big success with his first ramen shop in Japan at the age of 22, he moved to New York and partnered with Sun Noodle (a top ramen- noodle maker in the US) to open Ramen Lab. He later launched his own restaurant, Nakamura, at this location near Williamsburg Bridge. 

All you need for a freezing evening in NYC is a big bowl of ramen (from $18) with a sizzling plate of gyoza. They keep you warm for the rest of the evening. If you would like tonkotsu instead, try Ippudo – the global ramen chain has three locations in Manhattan. Mon–Thurs, noon–9pm;
Fri–Sat, noon–10pm


4. Hakata TonTon (Koreatown)

35 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001

  • Good for: A gathering for a group of friends or family 

  • Not so good for: A light meal

  • FYI: Don’t give up when the online system says all reservations are full – the restaurant always keeps some tables available for walk-ins. Make sure you get there hungry

  • Website; Directions

Six pieces of sashimi resting on a metal grid sitting on top of a an ice-filled metal dish at Hakata TonTon
A selection of sashimi at Hakata TonTon

head chef Koji Hagihara at work in the restaurant’s grey-brick-walled kitchen
Hakata TonTon head chef Koji Hagihara

Hakata TonTon, which introduced motsu nabe (intestine hotpot) and tonsoku (pigs’ feet) to New Yorkers in 2008, closed its doors in 2020. In 2022, it reopened in Koreatown. The new location is a seven-minute walk from Penn Station, and has become a very popular destination with Japanese and Asian foodies who are looking for good hotpots (from $38).

 Gyoza on a square black dish resting on a wood platter, with small bowls of soya and wasabe beside it, at Hakata TonTon
As well as its speciality hotpots, Hakata TonTon does Japanese staples such as gyoza, ononimyaki and karaage

A selection of the restaurant’s desserts including an Earl Grey-flavour baked cheesecake

While you mustn’t leave without trying Hakata TonTon’s specialities, labelling it a hotpot joint doesn’t capture the depth of its culinary endeavours. It serves a wide variety of Japanese soul foods such as gyoza, okonomiyaki (savoury pancake), and karaage (Japanese fried chicken). The Chinese dishes, especially the mabo tofu, are worth trying too, as head chef Koji Hagihara was the right-hand man of one of the chefs in the Chinese cooking category on Japan’s culinary TV show Iron Chef.

The desserts, which include a Japanese-style, Earl Grey-flavour baked cheesecake, are worth saving room for. Sun–Thurs, 5pm–9.45pm; Fri–Sat, 5pm–10.15pm


5. My Coffee and Cream

309 Graham Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11211

  • Good for: Relaxed atmosphere with Japanese-style tea and ice cream. It also offers Japanese-style toasts and pastries 

  • Not so good for: Manhattanites

  • FYI: A sibling café called As You Like is five minutes away by foot. Both are co-owned by Yuji Haraguchi, an evangelist of Japanese fish culture in New York. He runs a much-loved fish shop, Osakana, and a restaurant (Okonomi + Yuji Ramen), which serves Japanese-style breakfast during the day and seafood-based ramen in the evening. 

  • Website; Directions

I have focused on Manhattan so far, as most tourists and business travellers tend to eat in the most centrally located borough. But it’s very hard to find good cafés where you can relax. 

 A tubs of green matcha ice cream and a tub of yellowish yuzu ice cream at My Coffee and Cream
Matcha and yuzu ice cream at My Coffee and Cream . . . 

 The interior of My Coffee and Cream with blond-wood seating and chairs and a pale-green wall
 . . . which is one of two cafés recently opened in Brooklyn by Mai Bakel

Just three stops away from Manhattan, you will find this cute little café where you feel at home as soon as you walk in. “I was always confident that I could run a comfortable café,” said co-owner Mai Bakel. As a café otaku (obsessive), she visited hundreds of them in Japan and abroad before opening two places last year in East Williamsburg in Brooklyn. 

This branch serves coffee as well as Japanese teas, matcha and hojicha (roasted tea) imported from Shizuoka prefecture, the most famous tea region in Japan. Hojicha with kuromitsu (sugar syrup known as “black honey” in Japanese), a rare combination to find in the city, is a favourite with customers. 

My Coffee and Cream co-owner Mai Bakel pouring hot water from a machine into a metallic jug
Co-owner Mai Bakel visited ‘hundreds’ of cafés in Japan and around the world before launching My Coffee and Cream

Adzuki paste and a knob of butter on a piece of milk-bread toast at My Coffee and Cream
Japanese comfort food on the menu includes adzuki paste and butter on milk-bread toast

Americans young and old, Bakel told me, seem to love ice cream. She offers three Japanese flavours, matcha, hojicha and yuzu (Japanese citrus), which are exclusively produced for the café by an ice-cream shop in neighbouring Greenpoint. If you feel peckish, try the sweet red adzuki beans and butter on milk-bread toast ($7) — a common western-style dish in Japan that you can eat as a breakfast or a dessert. Sun–Thurs 8am–7pm; Friday, 8am–9pm; Sat, 9am–9pm


6. Kosaka (West Village) 

220 West 13th Street, New York, NY 10011 

  • Good for: Formal dinner 

  • Not so good for: A casual gathering with loud conversation 

  • FYI: Omakase at the table costs $225 ($250 at the counter). One Michelin star. Open Tues–Sat, 5pm–11pm

  • Website; Directions 

7. Juku (Chinatown)

32 Mulberry Street, New York, NY 10013

  • Good for: Affordable omakase 

  • Not so good for: The Chinatown location is a little walk from any subway stations

  • FYI: The omakase menu (served upstairs) starts at $180. On the ground floor, the restaurant recently started offering a French-American menu featuring Japanese ingredients for four courses at $89, or you can order à la carte. Open Tues–Weds, 6pm–midnight; Thurs–Sat, 5pm–midnight

  • Website; Directions

The omakase bar at Juku © Patrick Dolande

Over the past year or so, the average price of an omakase dinner (a selection of dishes chosen by the chef) in NYC has shot up from $350 to about $500. Needless to say, the hefty price tag doesn’t include sake and tips. The city still has world-class sushi restaurants such as Sushi Noz (181 East 78th Street) and Noda (37 West 20th Street), but I can no longer afford to eat at these places without breaking the bank. 

Instead, Kosaka and Juku have become my go-tos. Both offer good omakase under $250 but in very different ways. Kosaka is an elegant restaurant with soft jazz music whose atmosphere resembles an upscale hotel lounge. While chef Yoshihiko Kousaka prepares classic sushi with a modern twist (on my visit, scallops were served with a yuzu foam), waiting staff in dark suits (who somehow reminded me of Korean boy-band members) meticulously clean and set the counter for you after each dish. 

Hairy crab with monkfish liver at Juku in Chinatown © Patrick Dolande

The restaurant’s chopped horse mackerel © Patrick Dolande

Kosaka is the kind of spot you might visit to impress a potential business partner or a date. Juku, on the other hand, is more where you go to to chat to the friendly chef as he prepares your omakase feast. Kazuo “Sushi Boss” Yoshida is trying to provide the same quality that you’ll find at $500-plus sushi restaurants with his $180 omakase. A trip to this hidden gem on a Chinatown backstreet makes you feel like a real New Yorker. Don’t forget to visit Straylight, a speakeasy beneath the restaurant, for a post-prandial cocktail. 

If I feel a sudden urge to have raw fish during the day, I rush to MakiMaki (1369 6th Avenue) for lunch. It’s three minutes away from Nikkei’s office in midtown Manhattan. A handroll sushi made with fresh ingredients costs from $5 per piece. 


8. Katsu Hama (Midtown)

11 East 47th Street, New York, NY 10017

  • Good for: Price. The set menu is under $30 

  • Not so good for: The health-conscious diner – most of the foods are deep-fried 

  • FYI: Open from 11.30am to 9pm every day, so you can have lunch and dinner, and no reservation is necessary

  • Website; Directions 

If you live on the other side of the pond, you might think that katsu means a Japanese-style curry. You are wrong. Katsu is a deep-fried pork cutlet. The meat should be thick and juicy, while the breadcrumbs on the outside are golden and crispy. The dish usually comes with a mountain of thinly-sliced crunchy cabbage. 

While this no-frills joint serves other Japanese dishes, don’t miss its traditional-style katsu. The katsu set, including a bowl of rice and miso soup, is around $25; all you need to add is a bit of brown sauce and sharp yellow mustard. It’s a steal in New York, where the average price of a martini is $25. If you still think katsu is curry, you can find katsu curry here too. 

Where do you go in New York for Japanese food? Tell us in the comments. And follow FT Globetrotter on Instagram at @FTGlobetrotter

Cities with the FT

FT Globetrotter, our insider guides to some of the world’s greatest cities, offers expert advice on eating and drinking, exercise, art and culture — and much more

Find us in New York, London, Tokyo, Paris, Rome, Frankfurt, Singapore, Hong Kong, Miami, Toronto, Madrid, Melbourne, Copenhagen and Zürich




https://www.ft.com/content/0c070c76-5f66-4323-9c71-ba5e3af4a208
—————————————————-