MINKA NIKKEI — Restaurant in Cliffside Park

What a wonderful experience! They really pay attention to the details at Minka.

I’ve been saving Minka in my back pocket for a special occasion and it was my husband’s birthday, so it was the perfect opportunity to try it. I was able to easily make reservations via Resy for a Thursday at 6 pm. We ordered a bunch of things to share:

-Botan Ebi & Uni (sweet spotted prawns, uni, shiso aguachile, yuzu, shiso oil) - I’m not usually a fan of shiso but I didn’t mind it here. It was a very unique app. I’ve never eaten such a huge piece of ebi before. The aguachile and the little finger limes made it a refreshing dish

-Tuna sashimi special (akame with chives, medium fatty toro with shaved truffle, otoro with uni) - the fish melted in my mouth, even the akame. The truffle didn’t really do anything for me. My favorite was of course the otoro with uni

-Truffle Tuna Toro Don (bluefin chutoro sashimi, truffle soy, shaved black truffles) - this was good but looking back, I wish we had ordered something different; only because it’s basically 1/3 of the flavors from the sashimi special but in donburi form. If I could redo, I probably would have ordered the salmon ikura. However, I did like /appreciate that they didn’t just plop some fish on top of plain sushi rice. Instead, they mix it up with really tiny bits of chopped up oshinko (that yellow Japanese pickle), which really elevated the dish

-Wagyu Steak Donburi (washugyu beef, onsen egg, seared mushroom, black truffle, wagyu beef fat rice) - honestly, we were a bit on the fence with this one because it was $48 but the wagyu beef fat rice really sold us. It was definitely worth the price tag because they actually give you a lot of steak. The mushrooms were cooked perfectly, to a slight crisp. My husband loves these and even said he liked it better than the truffle. Mixing the perfectly cooked onsen egg into the dish was chefs kiss. It brought everything together.

Service was just great. We found out it was BYOB, so my husband went next door to grab a bottle of white. They stuck it in the freezer for us for a few minutes and then brought it out in an ice bucket. We also met the owner, Alex, who was super nice. He mentioned that the restaurant had only been open for about a year and a half (as of April 2023). At the end of the meal, (since I had mentioned on Resy we were celebrating a birthday), they brought out a complimentary slice of matcha cheesecake with torched Hokkaido sugar, which was the perfect ending to the meal.

Their brunch menu looks interesting (and a tad more wallet-friendly), so I’d definitely be interested in checking that out...

I hate writing this review because I adored the original Minka but this was really Beyond disappointing. First of all, my gluten allergy was clearly noted on the reservation and most items were not gluten-free or could not be modified . Everything was in a shared fryer. Soy sauce was used in dishes and I was told safe but it wasn't and the waitress while very nice , could not offer many solutions on what I could eat and not eat. The rock shrimp tempura was overdressed and soggy. The steak was fatty and had a very strange presentation with largely chopped onions and peppers underneath the steak, which made it very difficult to cut. The potatoes which used to be my favorite dish, were undercooked and had crispy onions all over them, which wasn't even mentioned on the menu Dishes which clean to have roasted potatoes actually had french fries which were also not gluten-freeThere was no service as far as checking on our wine or beverages and pouring them into the glasses. The grilled clams did not taste grilled at all. They tasted raw, and it had an overpowering onion ceviche on top of it that left little room to taste any of the flavors, but the onions in fact every dish we had was Covered in onions, had crispy onions or some type of onion flavor. Our clothes even were overpowered with onions when we came home. The highlight of the evening was the tuna. It was very delicious. The worst part of the evening were the oysters, which were very, very briny almost to the point of tasting, like something was wrong with them and overpowered by this very dark Ponzo sauce, which tasted like Soy sauce, so I was nervous to eat it being soy sauce has gluten. The other factor was that everything had corn when you looked at the menu almost every item had corn. I wish chef ALEX would go back to his original concepts, which was absolutely fantastic and gave Nobu a run for its money. This menu needs reinvention and more delicate flavors to truly represent a Peruvian...

Wow. Let’s start there. I haven’t had a dining experience like I had at Minka Nikkei in a whiiiile! I was here for my birthday dinner with my family and as our server Paz said when I asked “what’s good here that you recommend?” the answer she gave was “everything.” Granted, this is her job so she “should” say that right? But homegirl don’t lie! Everything we had was delicious. We ordered: Yuca Frita - crispy outside, fluffy smooth inside, and the huancaina sauce was amazing Crispy Calamari - wasabi tartar sauce was a lovely complement to crisp, tender calamari and the little salad on the side was bright and refreshing Steak Anticucho - the steak was a wonderfully tender bite, and the potatoes were delicious as well with the huancaina sauce Chicken Yakitori - humble surprise, we ordered another one! The chicken is so tender and moist you don’t need teeth to eat it. The sauce is what elevates an already brilliantly cooked piece of meat Arroz con Mariscos - beautiful presentation and ratio of seafood to rice. Everything cooked perfectly— not chewy or tough Mochi - happy mochi in the tummy post meal! vanilla and strawberry flavors Lucuma Ice Cream - Peruvian fruit that was delicious and refreshing. The quality of the ice cream was creamy, smooth, and the perfect texture. Everything in the bowl was licked clean Crema Volteada - warm, smooth, and comforting. Flavors are well balanced and not too sweet

Paz, our server, elevated the experience x100. She gave a concise description of EVERY dish we ordered and was extremely friendly and helpful our whole time at the restaurant. Paz’s Auntie, if you’re reading this, you should be proud of your girl! She made the incredible food an even more enjoyable experience. VERY happy with our meal here, and am confident to try more of the menu on our...