Izakaya NoMad — Restaurant in New York

My group of 16 visited Izakaya Nomad last Wednesday and had a great experience. I did have to contact them through their website to request the reservation, and they got back to me in around 48 hours. I put down my credit card info and signed an authorization form for a hold of $50.

The menu is great for a big group since there aren't an overwhelming number of options. I'd say the main categories are appetizers, skewers, and sushi. We ordered a couple appetizers and sushi rolls to share, and individually ordered around 3 skewers each. I'd say each appetizer could be split comfortably between 4 people, and my side of the table ordered the Chicken Karaage ($15), Mina Roll ($21) and three skewers each. I tried the Thigh w/ Scallion ($5), “Famous” Tsukune - Chicken Meatball ($10), and Pork Belly ($9). The sizing does match the price - the Thigh was one piece, the Chicken Meatball had 3 balls on each skewer and an amazing egg based dipping sauce, and the pork belly skewer has two pieces as well. So I thought the skewers were definitely worth it. The karaage was also amazing and we ordered another. The Mina Roll was tasty but nothing too special for the price.

The rest of my table ordered a lot of other mains such as the Okonomiyaki, Hot Pot, and every Roll on the menu. I can't speak for how good they were as I didn't try them but they looked happy.

We also had a variety of drinks. They are quite pricey ($17 each) so that's something to look out for. I think that's what made up the majority of the bill, as the food options are actually quite reasonable in price. On average we spent $70 per person including tax and a mandatory 20% tip. We did get a really nice section of the restaurant for ourselves which was worth the higher price. I would definitely recommend this place for a date night or for bigger groups that want to have a more private...

We enjoyed the food here, but the service needed major improvement.

Here are some notable dishes: okonomiyaki: my favorite! And trust me when I say that because I DO NOT like okonomiyaki. I've had the best-rated okonomiyaki in Osaka, and I didn't enjoy that as much as the one here. teriyaki ika (squid): another delicious dish! pork belly yakitori: the perfect amount of fat. Dasai (sake): 720ml was a great bottle to share among four people.

Now comes the ugly part. We came here specifically for the yakitori. The server warned us that the wait time for yakitori was about 20 mins, which we acknowledged and proceeded to order other stuff while we waited.

The server came back 5 mins later to tell us that the wait time for the yakitori had increased to an hour due to a backlog in the grilling station since another party had placed a large order. So we asked the server if he could offer us anything for the inconvenience...he walked away to place our order (I am not sure why the order wasn't placed in the first place) and never returned again.

We flagged him down in passing to see if he had spoken to the manager, and that's when he finally realized what we were asking. I was trying to be smooth about our request, but I guess it didn't translate well. I get that it is not always possible for the restaurant to comp the customers for the extra wait time. Still, there is a better way to handle this than just being defensive towards the customers, especially after placing the order on large ticket items.

I understand that there is a labor shortage in the leisure & hospitality sector. Still, basic customer service training is a must in every job sector, despite the labor...

Used to come here a lot as I lived close by and foods were good. Today, came here again with a reservation after COVID. AWFUL experience. Stayed here from 630 to 8pm. They came bugged us several times: reminding us to give them back the table by 8. Asked us to order more foods once the last dish arrived, when we said we didn’t need more foods, they asked us “more drinks”, then again and again, even before 730pm, half hour before they want the table back, “u need to give us back the table by 8pm”…at last, at 754pm, again, someone came and basically asked us to leave…I said to him that the other staff said we needed to leave by 8pm and we will leave by then…just please give us peace finishing my sake. That guy said: we needed them to clean up so u need to leave earlier than 8pm…I said: but another staff said 8pm…….then we just left right away….when we left, at least the table next to us was empty and there was no one waiting at the reception…..conclusion: it was a dinner that we got interrupted several times to either order more foods or to leave by 750pm during the 1.5 hrs we were there. That means we got interrupted like once every 12 mins throughout that 1.5 hours there. Btw, why did u ask us to order more food and wine yet u didn’t give us enough time to finish it? I literally needed to leave my sake unfinished there as they kept bugging us to leave.

Is it a izakaya or a fast food restaurant that customers are expected to just flow through? Btw I never got rushed like this even when I was...