Hiyake Yakiniku BBQ — Restaurant in New York

My coworker and I visited Hiyake for the first time this past week and had a lovely dinner. Neither of us had ever had Japanese style BBQ before so we opted with getting items from the ala carte Yakiniku menu. I really liked that the menu had pictures of all of the cuts of meat that was offered. This was a life saver for us newbies. The server also gave us recommendations on which ones to try. We ended up getting the short rib, ribeye steak, chicken breast, garlic shrimp, eel, and mushrooms. We also got some cooked appetizers of takoyaki, shrimp tempura, and seaweed salad. We loved the cooked appetizers that we ordered. The Takoyaki was delicious, and the shrimp tempura was fried perfectly. The seaweed salad had bits of fried garlic on top which was a nice touch.

The staff were very attentive, and our server cooked all of the meats for us. Most of the meat are either lightly marinated or just seasoned with salt and pepper. There is sweet soy sauce and chilli powder for dipping the cooked meat. The focus is really the cut and taste of the meat, and you use the dipping sauce to add flavor. The ingredients all were fresh and good quality. My favorite was the short rib which had really nice beefy flavor. It was tender and juicy. The ribeye steak was more filling, had more bite and was a bit chewy. Another favorite was the eel. It came to the table partially cooked and then was grilled at the table. It was very tender and juicy. The shrimp was just okay. On the menu it said it was garlic shrimp but I didn’t really taste any garlic flavor.

Although the portions were small, the quality of the food was great. I also liked the straightforward approach to how the food was cooked and served. And I must say this was a really great introduction to...

It’s times like this that I wish I left more reviews. I’ve lived in Wburg for 8 years and this place has by far made me the most at home. This is the beginning of a rant, so if you don’t wanna read further than the answer is yes: come here before you go out, come late on a Sunday, come if you’re having bad day and wanna consume a bunch of high quality beef. Come for the vibes…OR, get them to cater an event (yes they do that…)

I first came here for a date a few years ago, and sadly, the date never showed up. The owner was around as he always is and honestly, thank god she didn’t come. I was showered with shots, random meats to try, and amazing banter. Not to say this is the experience you’ll always get, but these are the type of people you’re dealing with - helping you when you’re down.

The food here is exceptional. I’m not sure if this is how all Japanese steakhouses are but they make the meat for you. Take that as you will. They definelty know more than me and maybe more than you. That’s cool. Kickback. I know the quality is there - I eat a wild amount of steak that I often overpay for. While this place isn’t an overpay, it’s certainly on par with anything you typically spend a lot of money on. It’s value. That seems to be the general vibe here: quality and good company.

There is like, 1 place in Williamsburg that serves on an open grill and it’s Korean. It’s great but the prices are kinda nuts. While eating high grade meats is never that affordable, this doesn’t break the bank that much.

Maybe I’m biased by the fact that the owner is simply a lovely guy, but I’d be reminded to say that the food is really the highlight here (and the Japanese folk music). Grab a Sapporo. Grab a bottle of sake. Hang out and eat some amazing food. You...

We visited for their Snow Crab Course but left deeply disappointed. The food quality was poor, and most courses were served out of order. Surprisingly, the hotpot arrived before several other dishes, even though it’s traditionally served last, just before dessert.

In the middle of the meal, the waiter tried to tell us that the shiso tempura and crab leg tempura were a single course, despite being listed separately on the menu. After raising this issue, they eventually served them as two courses, but the experience left a sour taste.

The restaurant did offer complimentary Wagyu to make up for the situation, and after I complained about the sea urchin portion was minuscule comparing to the pictures posted on the Chinese social media app xiao hong shu, but we declined. After such a disappointing experience with the Snow Crab Course, we didn’t expect the Wagyu to be any better. Moreover, we wanted to share this review without any contingencies.

Service was slow, likely due to understaffing, but that’s no excuse for attempting to mislead customers. Overall, the dishes were really unremarkable, and the disorganized management only added to the frustration. The servers were cordial, and the bathroom was clean were the only reasons that I gave two stars.

P.s while we were there, there are two other tables having the same snow crab course were also complaining about the food and the slow service. I believe one of the tables accepted the complimentary Wagyu and the other table accepted a discount...