05/10/09

EN Has Gone Down Hill

by HighLo

I have frequented this restaurant before and have found

that the qualities that once made this restaurant superior

are now lost. En's specialty is Tofu and they were out

of two of the favorite tofu dishes. The waiter tried

to have me order a Tofu dish that I did not want without

telling me that the two dishes I did want were not available.

I should have walked out. This waiter was brash

making fun of my mother with another waiter laughing

out loud in Japanese because she didn't like the dish

she had ordered. I ordered a dashi crab soup that was full of salt and a fishless piece of crab. I gave it to my husband because it was awful. I ordered the Perch which was fishy with a cheap sweat sauce that I hardly touched, The waiter brought out a salad that wasn't ordered thinking this too was funny until I called over the Manager saying this meal and the waiter were unacceptable. For the price this meal was bad news. The only thing redeeming about this experience was the promise never to go back.

10/03/08

great place

by melnishimura

My favorite restaurant in the city. It is expensive but it has great ambiance, beautiful dishes and everything tastes wonderful.

• Pros: best japanese in the city!
• Cons: pricey

07/14/08

Editorial Review

by Contributor

A stunning setting for sushi-weary New Yorkers to expand their Japanese dining vocabulary.

07/08/08

AMAZING RESTAURANT

by irashaimase

This place is beautiful. I travel a lot, I look at a lot of architecture and if I ever made a restaurant I would rip off EN from floor to ceiling. May be not completely, but I would definitely take my liberties. To me dining is more than just eating it encompasses the entire experience, I think that's why it's such a popular experience for dating, and this place is totally perfect for a beautiful experience.

I had the amazing kaiseki menu which was a perfect 8 courses, it kind of shocked me to see the pacing which is based on the way in which food is prepared as apposed to our western tradition of what it is we are preparing.

In addition the tofu here is amazing. I can't believe how good it is. I don't even think they should call it tofu or may be the commercial tofu shouldn't be called tofu. I was talking to my server about it, who happened to be really well informed about tofu. He told me that the tofu made fresh is like a totally different animal to the tofu that's made in a store because there are no additives, fresh tofu only lasts for a couple days and really only has that amazing custard consistency for the first few hours.

• Pros: delicious, beautiful, rare gem, can't wait to tell you about it afterwards

07/20/07

authentic Japanese, delicious, fresh

by cathing78

This restaurant is the closest I've found to the food I had in Tokyo. Although the interior is very New York, with high ceilings and a loft-like feel, everything else - the presentation, the service, and most of all the cooking - the cooking is straight outta Japan.

Sushi is here but is not the focus - rather try some of the smaller plates, like Crispy Sea Bass, Fresh Tofu (so creamy!), Mochi Croquette, Stone Grilled Beef. Do as they do in Japan, and order a bunch of plates for the table to share. Servers are helpful in navigating the menu, and there are many exotic options for more adventurous eaters as well as the standard Miso Black Cod, etc.

Sake and shochu list is extensive and well-selected.

Presentation is exquisite, and the tableware is lovely, very different.

Overall, a great place to get a little experience of Japan.

• Pros: Authentic, Delicious Food, Great Interior

05/11/07

Decent sushi... Small portions

by mner354

Not the best place. Nothing much really to say about it either. The service was attentive, but it was also a Wednesday night, the decor is nice even with the fake sushi bar in the middle. It accommodates groups well because its never overwhelmingly packed given its location. They allow you to bring sake home, which is good if you wanna spend the big bucks on a nice bottle and not have it go to waste. They also have sparkling sake which I guess isn't always easy to find. Besides that, I don't really have a desire to go back unless you're looking to make a last minute resi on a peak dining hour. Order a lot.

• Pros: Not busy... Last minute resi... Not the worst quality
• Cons: Small portions... Not the best quality

03/25/07

Food good, service needs to step it up!

by englishgirlrebecca

I made a reservation, using Open Table, for this restaurant after it was recommended to me by a work colleague. We arrived 20 minutes late for our reservation, even though I had called ahead to let them know we were stuck in traffic, was told that they could only hold the table for 15 minutes, so when we arrived we had to sit at the bar for about 20 minutes, minor gripe! We then were seated, had to wait for menu's then our waitress had to be dragged over by another waitress to take our order, all of which seemed to take a very long and unacceptable amount of time. The food was good, the grilled oysters on their own little bbq was a novel idea and delicious! However, the food was not amazing, have had much better sushi (the sushi roll menu was very limited too) and the fact that the service was so bad prompted me to write this review. Just average I am afraid, they need to get more waiting staff maybe.

• Pros: Ambience
• Cons: Terrible service

12/27/06

Great service!!

by grejas

I had my birthday there a few weeks ago and reserved a table for 18. I got there early and the table in the lounge was all ready for us. And let me tell you, the service was impeccable! We had at least 3 servers giving us their full attention and the bartender was giving us free drinks throughout the entire night! The prix fixe menu was a requirement for parties over 12 (which I didn't particularly like but it's understandable) and although the portions were a bit skimpy, the food was delicious overall. Just don't expect to walk out of there feeling full.

• Pros: Great, friendly staff
• Cons: Small portions

11/26/06

The tofu is good, but the service is terrible.

by wetwilly

My wife and were seated by the MD, then asked to move after we had gotten our first drinks. The reason for moving us made no sense, "these seats are for couples only (???)". But we went along. They apologized, and moved us to a horrible location (next to the service station). Strike 1. They said they would give us a bottle of sake for our troubles. None came. Strike 2. Then, when we asked then if we could be moved to any of the empty tables that we noticed away from the service station and doorway, they told us that those tables were reserved for a party of 8. Which never came. Instead, one table of 3 and one table of 4 sat there later. Strike 3. All of that hassle, and the food was just so-so. And our service was almost non-existent. We had to ask several times for water and another drink. We'd only go back for the tofu.

• Pros: Cool decor, creative tofu dishes
• Cons: Horrible service, rude staff

11/21/06

looking for serious japanese food? this is it.

by waynes_candi

the best ganmodoki, the best yaki-takenoko, if you want to know what real dashi tastes like, this is the place. it's trendy and the ambience is very cool...and, the service, impeccable.

• Pros: real dashi
• Cons: a bit pricey