Ikyu 一休 — Restaurant in New York

Update: we came back and everything is still excellent. The scallion pancake was amazing as well. Crispy and well flavored. I also loved that they actually were able to make a Thai iced tea with less sugar - most places have it premade.

Food: There are a lot of options when it comes to food and drinks. There are so many veggie rolls to pick from and they even made something off menu for my husband. I got the veggie tempura roll and it was so yummy. They actually had all types of veggies in it and it was perfectly crispy. We got 2 appetizers there - the veggie gyoza and the scallion pancake. The scallion pancakes were delicious and perfectly flavored. I will say that the veggie gyoza tasted like all others I've had at other restaurants, good but not excellent. There are a few other veggie apps I definitely plan to try when we go back. My husband got an off menu avocado peanut roll. This is one of the few sushi places where I felt like they didn't skimp on the avocado or peanuts. The drinks menu looked delicious but we weren't really feeling like alcohol so we got a pot of tea. The tea comes in this beautiful pot with very nice cups. We're big tea drinkers and are pretty specific about our teas and their jasmine tea was very nice - beautiful blend of different flavors. This whole pot of premium jasmine tea was $3!? We were stunned!

Service: The staff is very friendly and the service is very fast even when they are really busy.

Ambiance: This place is so cute. I love the theme, it feels very modern but comfortable at the same time. It's great spot for dates or small groups. All their dishware and glassware was so beautiful and perfectly in theme with the restaurant.

Price: The prices are very reasonable and I was very surprised at the amount of food we were able to get for less than $40 for 2 people. We got 2 appetizers, 2 sushi rolls, and a big pot of tea. Bonus: Unlike most places, they didn't charge us extra for sriracha or spicy mayo.

Overall, this was such an amazing dining experience. I am so grateful it's in our local neighborhood so we can keep coming back. Our favorite sushi place closed down post COVID so we are ecstatic to have found Ikyu.

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I wish I could give this restaurant a -1 review. After making a 7pm reservation for only 2 people, and showing up early at 6:50pm specifically for a table seating, we walk in to find out that there’re no table seating available in the restaurant. After asking the hostess, why did we even make a reservation then? Our question was not acknowledged, and she had an extremely unkind disposition, stating that there is a wait time of 30 minutes for a table. Also stating that everyone else at the restaurant had made reservations, which is extremely poor planning on the restaurants part, since on open table there were multiple reservation slots available. After telling her that we would wait, she stated that it will be 30 minutes again, and that we should sit at the countertop in front of the kitchen. Not the experience wanted!! Since we specifically wanted to sit at a table due to my back issues. Most importantly, there was a table for 6 seats available. When I asked if we could take two seats, the hostess lied, stating she doesn’t see any table with open seats. And then proceeded to state that that table was reserved. As if we didn’t MAKE reservations!

The most disappointing aspect about this is that I have ordered from here before and the food was actually ok, but after this experience, my friends and I will never come here again, due to the horrible experience of an unkind, and rude hostess! If the hostess had just been a bit more understanding and apologetic for making a mistake, my friends and I would have stayed and waited for a table. Living close by to this restaurant, they have truly lost many...

9/10!! Ikyu had amazing staff. My girlfriend accidentally dropped a chopstick, and they immediately came to give a new one. Sometimes, it’s the little things. The sushi rolls were slightly expensive anywhere from $10-20. The plate in front of me is the Salmon Fizz Roll and a Shrimp Tempura Roll behind it. The one on the other plate was a Salmon Skin roll. All of them were served well. The fish was fresh, the ingredients were prepped properly, and overall was a very enjoyable experience. For desert, we tried the cream cheese ice cream with honey and peanuts (I know sounds weird). The server even made shredded to ask if we were allergic to peanuts which some servers don’t do enough honestly. After a while it did grow on me, and it felt like the dish only came together when you had all three on a spoon. The honey with only the ice cream felt misplaced. So I’d give desert a 6.5/10. The ambiance is really nice, and definitely makes for a great spot to eat whether you’re on a date or by yourself (They have stools in front of the sushi bar). Definitely...