Think you know all about Japanese food? You may be surprised by the dishes on offer at New York City’s Kirakuya Sake Bar.
Despite frequenting Japanese restaurants in New York and vacationing for a week in Japan, it turns out I’d only scratched the surface of Japanese cuisine. I’m used to California rolls, house salads with ginger dressing, and sake with a harsh aftertaste.
Leslie and I enjoyed our "Princess Sake" at Kirakuya Sake Bar.
Fortunately, I had the opportunity last week to sample innovative Japanese dishes that expanded my horizons.
As guests at the Travel Zoo “I Heart NY” Tweetup,we received vouchers for a meal and drinks at Kirakuya Sake Bar, located in Manhattan’s Koreatown neighborhood.
Read on for the highlights of this Travelzoo Local Deal– and don’t forget to click on Downtown Traveler‘s latest video!
Hidden Gem
Since we each received a voucher for two, we invited our friends Alyson & Artie to join us. The one catch: they had to participate in the video that appears here!
When we arrived at the restaurant, we realized we would never have discovered this place on our own. Kirakuya Sake Bar is located on the 2nd floor of a generic office building, with very little signage outside.
After passing through a narrow hallway and making our way up a set of stairs, we found ourselves in an authentic Japanese restaurant. Businessmen lined the bar and labels from sake bottles covered the walls.
The restaurant was on the 2nd floor of a generic office building.
Different Cuisine
The Travelzoo Local Deal included 2 appetizers, 3 tapas, 2 desserts and a bottle of sake per couple.
Many of the menu items were unfamiliar (e.g., Japanese bruschetta made with cream cheese) or were fresh takes on Japanese standards (e.g., grilled instead of steamed edamame). It helped that the menu had large color photos of the dishes; we randomly selected a variety of small plates.
There were limited vegetarian options; only a few appetizers and no tapas were meat-free. Leslie’s meal consisted of edamame, french fries and dessert.
Artie & Alyson ordered the stronger, more traditional flavored sake.
We were equally mystified by the sake choices. Alyson & Artie ended up with Tomoju Sake, which was described as “sweet like nectar” but ended up tasting quite strong. Our choice, the Kogoyahime Sake, was described as a “princess sake” and was sweet and tasty.
We had a massive selection of artfully presented appetizers and tapas.
Most of the dishes were delicious, with a few exceptions. The best dish we ordered was a tuna sashimi with soy sauce, served in a martini glass. The tuna was incredibly fresh and unlike most of the sushi I’ve had, the taste didn’t have even a hint of fishiness. Also delicious were pork sashimi wrapped in okra, asparagus wrapped in fried pork, and beef with scallions.
The tuna sashimi, served in a martini glass, was my favorite dish.
Several of the dishes were unusual for a Japanese restaurant, including rosemary seasoned french fries and cream cheese brushetta. Both tasted good, but seemed out of place.
The asparagus wrapped in fried pork was a delicious and unique tapas dish.
For dessert we each received three pieces of a dense chocolate fudge and a serving of yogurt with jelly topping. The fudge was good, though bitter. We liked the yogurt but found the jelly was more fun to play with than to eat.
Local Deals
This was our second experience with Travelzoo’s Local Deals; previously, we had purchased a discounted dinner to an expensive seafood restaurant in Chelsea. The food was good, but that was almost besides the point.
The real value in these promotions is experiencing an exotic or expensive place we normally wouldn’t splurge on. It’s a chance to sample the full range of the menu, including appetizers, cocktails and dessert.
For more information on these deals, visit the Travelzoo website.
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yum, i’m jealous!
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It was tasty! (Well, my fries and edamame anyway- lol)
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The grilled edamame was AH-MAZING!
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Glad you made it! Yes, the edamame was the best I’ve ever had 🙂
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you already went too? the edamame was good but did you try the tuna?
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That sounds great. I love places that are out of the cuisine-box. If you get to San Diego, we discovered a and Japanese small plate and sake bar restaurant that was reasonable and wonderful. Here’s our blog post that includes it: http://www.santafetravelers.com/food-thoughts/dining-like-the-locals-in-san-diego/
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sounds good. I loved San Diego when I visited so we’ll be sure to check it out
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Sounds like a concept that’s spreading across the country– Japanese tapas!
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Mmmmm, that sounds so good. I’d love to try Japanese food in Japan, but Japanese food in NYC sounds like it’s pretty much the next best thing.
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Wow, tuna sashimi, I had this in sushi place in Barcelona. Really enjoyed, along with tiger prawns. Sorry, I have a prawn thing 🙂
Interesting to see you point out about some menu items being out of place. Do you think this is done to try and entice the local people to come in, and then get them to go for sushi afterwords?
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Interesting point! Actually, I suspect the unusual menu items at the sake bar were put there for their standard clients, the businessmen who lined the bar. Because of its location– hidden on the second floor of a generic office building– I don’t think the sake bar gets many drop-ins from people passing by.
It’s hard to make the distinction in NYC between “locals,” travelers or expats, since our city is so diverse!
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Gosh you made the tuna sashimi so irresistible! I would love to take a bite of that right now! And the asparagus wrapped with fried pork? Already sounds heavenly!! *drools*
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Aw, thanks! You inspired us with your amazing food photography 🙂
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We had such a great and fun experience dinning with you guys! It def. was an experience we would not ever be searching for, considering the place was so tucked away and hidden. It was well worth it. It was our first time drinking saki and we were pleasantly surprise on how much we enjoyed the food and drinks. Thanks for a great time!
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Hey Alyson! Thanks for joining us on our sake bar adventure. It was fun sampling these exotic dishes with you 🙂
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I liked the video, it gives the reader a more hands on experience as if we were there!
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Cute video! Looks like a lot of fun!
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