4 new spots in NYC
We had dinner at 4 spots over the last couple of weeks that are worth noting or not.
Our first place was Amane, a new sushi spot in mid-town. Lots of hype around this tiny spot that only seats 8 is in the basement of a larger sushi restaurant, Mifune. The Michelin chef comes from a coveted restaurant in Japan. I wanted to love it but we didn’t. There is something amazing about being handed a piece of sushi just made from the chef that you immediately put in your mouth and then that incredible explosion of taste. If you are with someone, you look at each other and just nod knowing how unbelievable it is. We did not have that experience and for the huge price, that is just not ok.
I had lunch at Shuka, from the same owners of Hundred Acres. They took Hundred Acres, changed up the menu and the concept into a Mediterranean restaurant. I had lunch there a few days after opening. I am hoping that food gets better over time but I was less than impressed. The meats good especially the kabobs but the watermelon was the best thing we had. The watermelon was sprinkled with pieces of halva from Seed + Mill.
Next spot was Uchu. We sat at the sushi bar although there is another bar room as well. The restaurant is beautiful. The attention to detail is everywhere. Gorgeous wood ceilings and the bar is dark and chic. There is a small door with Japanese lettering on it from the street. You knock to get in. Once you walk in the door, you are transported to another place. Really special. The food, well that is another thing. Again, wanted to have that OMG on many more pieces and we didn’t. For the price, not ok.
I would have been happy with the 4 pieces that were amazing and nothing else. This is one of them.
The last spot was Cote, a Korean steakhouse from the owner of Piora in the West Village. Big fan of Piora. Cote is the next generation of Benihana and much higher end. Extremely clever and the meat is delicious. Not sure this is my thing as garlic is in all sides and I felt it for the next twenty-four hours. Cote recently got major kudos from Ryan Sutton at Eater so what do I know except there is no doubt that I should not be doing reviews for them.
Comments (Archived):
As a counterpoint, on a warm evening last week I had shrimp tacos (a few servings) at 10 Bells with glass after glass of natural wine.Down home. Tattooed knowledgeable happy people (know many of them) and just bar snacks that fit in.Sometimes local and fresh and quirky and authentic is the answer for me. Especially in LES.(Love your reviews so pls keep them coming.)
I need to get back to 10 Bells!
They just nailed it. Authentically itself.Hub of almost weekly natural winemaker bashes going into the mornings.Big fan. Often rent out the very back room for little dinner parties.
Uchu was REALLY underwhelming for that price tag. Bummed. Cote looks legit. Need to check it out.
Thanks for scouting out the sushi places! Manhattan sushi can be challenging.I’m trying this place out next week: http://www.mayanoki.com/
Let us know how it is
We did not have that experience and for the huge price, that is just not ok.Probably not your style but if I had paid those prices (I just checked what they were) I would have 100% complained. Not because I need the money but because if you are charging high prices you should be delivering a high end product.
I knew what I was getting into. Just because I did not think it was amazing doesn’t mean other don’t.