Looking for authentic Japanese restaurant to take visiting Japanese ex-pat

[colfaxBee]

Looking for a "real" (not fusion-y), affordable Japanese restaurant to impress a Japanese friend who now lives in Italy. Other requirements are that it can accommodate a group of about 8 including a well behaved toddler and must have good sushi. Midtown would be ideal, but further downtown is also ok

[chowbie]

I eat at Sakagura and Aburiya Kinnosake (both are in Midtown) often with Japanese colleagues and they do say they are both very authentic. Shouldn't be a problem with a kid in AK's tatami rooms. You should check with the friend if s/he'd prefer a grill place (AK) or a sake bar (then I'd second Sakagura's authenticity, though it is likely less kid-friendly). Both are not too expensive, and have limited but good yummy sushi/sashimi choices.

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Sakagura
211 East 43rd Street, New York, NY 10017

[alley]

I second the recommendation for Sakagura: if you are careful with the sake selection, you don't have to spend too much and it is authentic.

I would also recommend Kyo Ya in the East Village: authentic, not too expensive, kaiseki-style.

Both places have great atmosphere.

Neither of these places have a wide selection of sushi/sashimi, but the selection that they do offer is interesting and high quality.

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Sakagura
211 East 43rd Street, New York, NY 10017

Kyo Ya
94 E 7th St, New York, NY 10009

[RGR]

We were just at Kyo Ya. I don't think it's an appropriate place to bring a toddler.

[kathryn]

They have an enclosed private room in the back -- that's the only place I can think would work for Kyo Ya.

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Kyo Ya
94 E 7th St, New York, NY 10009

[silverlainy]

I would recommend Yasuda if they can take the larger group and you can afford it. Otherwise as mentioned, Kanoyama downtown is a little cheaper but the seating is cramped. Sakagura and Aburiya are supposed to be very good, as is Yakatori Totto/Soba Totto but all of these are more limited in sushi options. Sakagura does have some raw plates though.
I did not know Aoki closed but I'm pretty sure it was Chinese-run...decent for rolls but nothing special.

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Sakagura
211 East 43rd Street, New York, NY 10017

Kanoyama
175 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003

Aoki
234 W 48th St, New York, NY 10036

[klb3129]

Omen in Soho is great - the only have a bit of sashimi - it's country Japanese and very authentic. Sushi Sen-nin on 33rd is EXCELLENT. The ambiance leaves a bit to be desired but the fish is off the charts. They also have private tatami rooms. A bit of a hidden gem and truly o-toro that makes you shudder. They also serve fresh wasabi upon request. Of course Sushi Yasuda is very pure and straightforward but not sure if they do large groups.

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Sushi Yasuda
204 E 43rd St, New York, NY 10017

Sushi Sen-nin
30 E 33rd St, New York, NY 10016

[ExFlexitarian]

I've been told by some Japanese friends that Aburiya Kinnosuke is *very* authentic.

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Aburiya Kinnosuke
213 E 45th St, New York, NY 10017

[cubeoccupant]

Few that I can think of:

Totto or Tory's (prefer Totto)
No sushi on the menu, but the food/service is authentic Japanese, and really good. You can reserve the private table section, Totto takes resevervation up to 7PM - which is a reasonable time for a toddler to start eating dinner anyway.

Sushiden
decent sushi, and you can reserve the ozashiki (private room upstairs), so you don't have to worry about a 'well behaved' toddler not behaving poorly all of a sudden. may not fit the bill of affordable.

Riki
Reserve the private box, sushi is an option although not great, but the izakaya style food is good, and it's casual and pretty rowdy so you don't have to worry about the toddler.

Kanoyama
Downtown, but decent sushi, not stuffy like some of the more prominent midtown sushi establishments, it gets loud enough so toddler shouldn't be that much of an issue.

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Kanoyama
175 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003

Sushiden
19 E 49th St, New York, NY 10017

[kathryn]

Note that Kanoyama doesn't take reservations on Fridays and Saturdays. It's walk-in only.

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Kanoyama
175 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003

[yebo]

Aoki is closed; there is a different restaurant there.
Also, have you checked with your friend that he/she would like Japnese-in-NYC? Lots of times people from elsewhere would prefer to eat food of the locale or exotic, finding that the restaurants of their nationality fall short of their memories.

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Aoki
234 W 48th St, New York, NY 10036

[Quine]

I would have to +1 this. Are you assuming your friend wants this, or maybe they are wow, we get a chance at....american steakhouse, What ever.?

I've been on the wrong, but all SO and I do know this; SO WELL MEANT idea of what I want to eat in a place I am visiting. A Brazilian grill maybe what they might want...or maybe Mexican in a country that is actually close to Mexico?
Did your friends say they want Japanese especially sushi or is that what you think they are missing?

[colfaxBee]

I agree it doesn't always make sense to take someone from another country to that type of restaurant in the US. But in this case, our friend no longer lives in Japan, hasn't had sushi in a few years and is specifically craving it.

[uwsister]

If your friend is specifically craving sushi, go to Sushi Yasuda or 15 East. 15 East has cooked food as well, so that might be a good choice. Neither is cheap, but not crazy-expensive either. A real Japanese restaurant has a specialty, whether it be sushi, yakitori, ramen, etc. Similar to how there's no "American restaurant" that serves hamburgers, steaks, or whatever, other than crappy diners. Both Sakagura and Aburiya Kinnosuke are authentic and serve some raw fish, but they are not sushi restaurants.

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15 East
15 East 15th Street, New York, NY 10003

Sushi Yasuda
204 E 43rd St, New York, NY 10017

Aburiya Kinnosuke
213 E 45th St, New York, NY 10017

Sakagura
211 East 43rd Street, New York, NY 10017

[RGR]

Yasuda and 15 East are not appropriate places to bring a toddler.

[uwsister]

Maybe at one of the tables for Yasuda? But then again, I don't think Sakagura, Yakitori Totto, or Aburiya Kinnosuke is any more toddler-friendly.

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Yakitori Totto
251 W 55th St, New York, NY 10019

Aburiya Kinnosuke
213 E 45th St, New York, NY 10017

Sakagura
211 East 43rd Street, New York, NY 10017

[Spiritchaser]

You could check out Sakagura, see if it's meets your needs, "affordable" means different things to different people but see what you think.

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Sakagura
211 East 43rd Street, New York, NY 10017

[colfaxBee]

I liked Sakagura's menu, but it seems like they don't have a lot of sushi options. Other places I'm considering are Sushiden and Aoki. Thoughts?

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Sakagura
211 East 43rd Street, New York, NY 10017

Sushiden
19 E 49th St, New York, NY 10017

Aoki
234 W 48th St, New York, NY 10036

[Spiritchaser]

I'm not familiar with the two you mentioned, and it looks like yebo knows that Aoki is closed.

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Aoki
234 W 48th St, New York, NY 10036