Izakaya Noname — Restaurant in New York

I ordered the special curry (with chicken) right before they closed, and I was kind of nervous because I had never tried this place before, and it was a last minute quick order on uber eats before everywhere else closed. When my food arrived, quite quickly I may add, I was so relieved. I am a huge fan of Japanese cuisine, and I am very particular about my curry. The egg, crispy juicy chicken, and curry sauce all worked together to make a lovely, home cooked flavor. No bells and whistles, but that’s what I’m looking for when I order a Japanese curry. I want to feel cozy, like I’m at home. The curry itself was thankfully complex and flavorful, and was not overrun by any type of meaty flavor like some other curries I have tried nearby. I detest a curry sauce that tastes like I’m eating sausage. I ended up eating half and saving the other half for the next day, and was filled up both times.

I am writing this having just placed another order, this time I’m trying their Mentaiko pasta as well. How does it compare to Izakaya Fuku or Ozakaya’s mentaiko pasta? Well, it doesn’t quite measure up, which is a shame. The noodles are standard spaghetti noodles, so they aren’t as thin as they are in the other versions I’ve tried. The sauce was also very sparse, it wasn’t creamy because the sauce to noodle ratio was very off, which resulted in a quite dry dish. Unfortunately, possibly due to the lack of sauce, the flavor was not there at all. Mentaiko is usually bursting with strong umami flavor, accentuated by the bacon and spice. In Noname’s version, the flavor was muddled down and tasted watery. Even the bacon wasn’t very powerful. There was still a nice slight spice that shined through despite the lack of sauce, which was a relief. I wouldn’t order this again, but the special curry that I ordered for a second time is consistent in quality and flavor with the first time I ordered, so this is a confirmed safe and delicious choice :)

Noname is not quite at the caliber that MEW is at, which is my favorite Izakaya in the city, but it’s a wonderful Brooklyn option. I am excited to try my other favorites on their menu in the...

cozy izakaya with yummy food and great variety! i loved the atmosphere and the music was phenomenal. not too loud to the point where it drowns out conversation, but loud enough for a 90’s ambiance. it’s mostly japanese city pop! very fitting for the delicious food.

dishes:

takoyaki (9/10) honestly the best i’ve had from a restaurant so far, and i always tend to get takoyaki when available. generous octopus portions, crispy and tender like how a classic takoyaki should be, and tastes pretty close to a street stall (which, imo, serves the most authentic tasting ones according to my japanese friends). beautiful presentation as well.

purple sweet potato ube tempura (8.5/10) i looooove ube and this tastes exactly how you’d expect it to taste. almost like a sweet potato french fry!! super yummy but a bit on the oily side. not sure if i’d get again but I’m really glad i tried it out.

chicken okaya udon (8/10) looooove the hondashi broth. HOWEVER i would not recommend the okaya udon just because the fried chicken cutlet was soaked entirely in broth and was veryyyy soggy. seriously, i tried my best to find a crunchy piece but i had no luck. hopefully i just got unlucky? or maybe this is the way that the dish is supposed to be made? not sure. but if you’re not into soggy chicken cutlets then i’d suggest avoiding this dish. but very yummy broth and udon!

shrimp tempura roll i didn’t personally try this however my company very much enjoyed it and the portion was good!

overall would visit again. seriously cannot stress how much i like the vibes and the food here!! also curious about their drinks so id definitely stop by another time.

pricing is similar to what you’d see in manhattan, and expected in LIC. so $70 including tips! service was great, honestly just the right amount of attentiveness because i feel like some places visit our tables too much ahaha.

parking is what you’d expect in LIC, plenty of metered street parking but not many available spots. luckily was able to find parking about a block away on a saturday afternoon. would recommend public transit if possible since it’s always a...

Stopped by for an impromptu weekend dinner for two recently -- I've been meaning to give this place a try for a while so was looking forward to finally visit.

Highlights:

We tried the pork belly and chicken thigh skewers, which were both very yummy. Price point is on the high side but I think it's one of their specialities (and of course it's an izakaya).

Gyu don / buta don: I thought both rice bowls were quite good. I really liked how tender and savoury the sliced pork was on the buta don. Sliced beef was not bad too, although a bit more bland and dry compared to the pork. The added soft egg was a nice touch that I enjoyed

Various appetisers: we got the akino yuki fries, which come with a super addicting cheesy flavour powder, and the grilled corn, which had the cheese powder as well as a generous topping of mayonnaise. Both were quite delicious, I'd recommend either of them.

Service felt a little brusque throughout, from when we were getting seated, to how the dishes were served/collected, to even getting the final bill to pay. Nothing was egregious, but it felt as though the servers were somewhat impatient or inconvenienced by us, which didn't quite leave us with a good taste in our mouth (figuratively).

Overall, though, I think the food was yummy for a reasonable price, and I'd love to come back again to try the rest of the fairly...