J's Kitchen New York — Restaurant in New York

J’s Kitchen is possibly my favorite casual Japanese spot for quick meals. Everything is wonderfully cooked, from sando to don to udon. The ingredients they use are premium, and the taste very much reminds me of the food I had in Japan.

＊Pork Tenderloin Cutlet Sando w. Cheese* Listen, their asakusa sando is TO DIE FOR, comparably to those in Japan! The pork katsu is so tender and coated with crispy thin breadcrumbs, while the honey mustard adds sweet tangy flavor. They use milk bread, which is nicely toasted on the crust and very pillowy on the dough. I’ll 100% come back for their sando.

＊Roast Beef Don** They strongly recommended us this roast beef don and I’m so glad we tried. The roast beef is well seasoned with pepper. The raw beef somehow tastes like tartare. It was actually my bf’s order but I kept stealing beef from his bowl.

J’s Kitchen launched a summer-limited menu serving cold shake udon. The plastic cup made the udon more portable. I carried it over an hour back home on a rainy day and it didn’t spill at all!!

SHAKE UDON ($8.99) add ons - ＊Roast Beef ($5.99) ＊Chicken Karaage ($4.99) ＊Onsen Egg ($2.99) ＊Deep Fried Tofu Skin ($2.99)

Cold udon is extra delectable on hot days in NYC. It’s basically build-your-own-udon in a cute boba cup. The udon is very bouncy and holds up the soy sauce soup well after shaking it.

For the add-ons, roast beef is good and reminds me of tartare. Onsen egg is cooked to perfection with a runny yolk to mix into the udon. The yolk will further thicken the sauce. They gave a good amount of chicken karaage yet it is a little salty. Tofu skin is sweet and soaks up the soy soup well. It is good as snack or quick bite, or you can add extra udon for a more...

I visited this place with my family. I have two toddlers and the seating pretty high without back support was not comfortable for little kids’ heights. They felt uncomfortable and started to get fussy. Meanwhile, I ordered and an older lady at the cashier was not friendly at all. I was placing an order in English first because I didn’t recognize her as a Japanese. She took my order without a smile. Then, when we received our meal, I needed forks and a small dipping sauce cup so I requested to her. She didn’t say a word and gave me those, once again without a smile. Things have changed, when she heard me speaking my children in Japanese. My kids were getting fussier and she came to us and ask how old my kids were and told my kids to “don’t cry”. She continue to tell this phrase every time if our kids get cry. You might think “don’t cry” is not rude in this case, but the way she was telling our kids made us feel so uncomfortable because it is kind of rude to say that to a customer’s kids. If she really cared for us - having already difficult situation trying to comfort our kids - then she can help the kids get distracted but the way she did was simply because she was annoyed with our kids getting fussy, as a proof, she didn’t even smile once toward us before. There was a much louder college group behind us and we were surprised she didn’t say anything to them. Perhaps not as annoying for her. Too bad the food was fantastic if I could have enjoyed without getting judged by that lady constantly. Also, need a coat hangers for the winter besides the bag hanging hooks under the table if they don’t have a chair with...

J's is quickly rising in the ranks to be THE best and most real Japanese food in the East Village. Unassuming and with a menu that might not seem remarkable at first glance, there is some seriously excellent food happening here and some items you might not even know about if you're not leaned in on Japanese cuisine.

The Hakata black curry is a must, no matter how you try it, and the katsu sandos are excellent too and seriously make me wish I still ate pork (I've had their pork ones though and can attest to their awesomeness). Right now I'm still exploring their menu and am VERY curious about their Kurobeko beef cutlet and don't think I'll be disappointed.

Staff is friendly and legit Japanese (if that matters to you) and the space is surprisingly clean and modern, though better suited for a quick bite than a proper sit down. They also have an interesting touchscreen menu for ordering that doesn't feel impersonal like at a fast food place and is a nice way to figure out what you want as you explore their interesting, multifaceted menu.

A heads up: As of writing this, Seamless charges a huge markup on their mains, around +$10 each. I've seen some 20% promos from J's but if you can walk there and order in person, you'll get a much better deal. This is all to say that you shouldn't skip J's if you look at the Seamless prices and balk. It is definitely worth a try and deserves to be your next go-to for genuine, best-in-class neighborhood...