Hi-Collar — Restaurant in New York

Great lunch spot for omurice, come early so you don’t have to wait. I always also get the royal milk tea which is refreshing, they give you syrup on the side to adjust to your taste. Nice decor and service. If you’re coming on a weekend expect at least at least an hour wait, I would not recommend more than 2 people here. You will notice a high pitch sound sometimes, if you have sensitive ears it will be irritating.

Update: April 2021 I went to their new location, the indoor space is very nice. Outdoor space pretty uncomfortable but understandable. They seems to still be getting into the groove of their new expansion. there wasn't much of a wait at all on Sunday at noon which was the busiest time for them in the old location. But it also meant that with their current staff number there was just a long wait and it was hard to flag anyone down within the restaurant.

I'm dropping two stars for the following reasons: inconsistency in food, drop in service, relative rating to similar restaurants in the area. We ordered the usual - omurice with demi glace, mentaiko spaghetti, match latte, katsu sando, and hot cakes. Not sure if there was a change in chef, but the omurice was surprisingly bad, overcooked rice with just ketchup taste, the demi glace was overwhelmly wine like and that's it, and the pork sausage felt like it warmed up in the microwave. Matcha latte was way too sweet that you get an aftertaste and when we asked for it to be made with no sugar unfortunately it seems it was premixed and they were not able to separate it. The spaghetti was fine, katsu sand was also fine albeit a little dry. The only one that was the same as the old location were the hot cakes.

This might be a nitpick and I didn't include these in the drop in stars, but the disposal utensils was an odd choice. We had to grab another set ourselves when the hot cakes came out but it was just flimsy plastic ones. I get that covid might be harder but then you're already using real plates? Oh and the high pitch sound is still present.

I would not return unless I know I can get the same food in the previous location. What made this place special is no longer present, and you can similar if not better quality version of these dishes within...

My all time favorite spot for Japanese comfort food. Came here twice (once pre-pandemic and another this past summer) and they have failed to disappoint. On our recent visit, we ordered the Mentai Cream Pasta (cream- based cod roe sauce with shimeji mushrooms), the Katsu Sandwich (Berkshire pork katsu sandwich), and my all time favorite Omurice with Demi glacé sauce (this time topped with Japanese sausage). As beverages we ordered the royal milk tea and an iced latte with oat milk.

The cream pasta was delicious, but not being a crazy noodle fan, I did get tired of the flavor after 2 bites or so. The omurice, once again won my heart. The Demi glacé sauce was a bit thicker than ketchup and so rich in flavor, it complimented with the subtle fluffy flavor of the egg. There was a hint of tangy flavor reminding me of ketchup, but not as all up in your face, as ketchup normally is. The sausage was a nice addition in texture though I preferred the pork cutlet more as a topping. This past visit was the first time I ordered the Katsu sandwich, and it definitely did not disappoint. The bread to meat ratio was definitely to my liking (other places that make these sandwiches tend to put too much bread over meat). The cutlet was amazingly tender and there was no layer of fat, that I normally taste when I eat anything pork related. Try dipping it with the Demi glacé sauce from the omurice and there you will find a whole other depth of flavor.

In terms of the service, it was great. We came during opening and though we were a bit shy, thinking it was still closed, but the servers were really friendly. You can tell they were Japanese with their soft accents when they spoke English and how they also spoke Japanese with each other. This tiny shop is really a worth it place to go to, as before pandemic this place had lines out the door. Luckily this time, they have outdoor dining.

If you are ever in the St. Marks/ NYU I highly recommend you visiting this place for some light / cafe eats. Also, this area has two more Japanese spots (Sobaya if you are around in the evening, and want some Japanese noodle dishes, and Cha-an, if you are in the mood for some...

Bigger space doesn't mean better. Huge disappointment. I hesitated to write this review, because it used to be our favorite place in NYC, back in the days, when the restaurant was smaller and you had to line up outside waiting. Last time we've been here in the end of December 2019, and then the Covid happened; so we were extremely excited to be back in September 2021. The restaurant got spacious and decorated well, very pleasant to an eye; although there's still only one bathroom, and everything else just got worse. You have to wait to be seated, you have to waited for the menus, for someone to take an order, for the food to be cooked and delivered to your table LUKEWARM. Back in the "old" place one lady behind the bar was making 4 to 6 coffees at the time, meanwhile assisting with other drinks and needs; obviously it wasn't the typical American service, but it was friendly enough, very efficient and professional. During the last visit we were the only people at the bar, had to wait for the coffee, and even the beer to be put in front of us; never got asked if we want anything else. The food took ridiculous 40ish minutes to make, wasn't even hot when got delivered, presentation was poor, half plated half in plastic cups. The food runner looked completely lost and unsure what he's delivering. We asked for Demi-glace omurice - got one with the ketchup; ($13-$15) the Katsu sandwich had to sad pieces of pork with huge chunk of fat, extremely dry, lacked any flavor; ($16) the hot cakes were barely warm, not fluffy at all, dense and saggy at the same time (tasted like regular pancake mix that you can get in any supermarket); ($12 + extra toppings available for extra $) the pork sausages were neither good, or bad, just eh. ($10 for 5 pcs) the siphon coffee was bitter. ($6.8 + $1 or $2 extra for certain beans)

Overall, if you have a lot of time to waste and pay regular prices for low quality food, this will be a perfect spot.

This place used to be starred on my map, now it's moving to "NO" list; It was so bad, that I realize I don't want to give a second chance. I also attached some photos from 2019 that I found on my phone...