KOSAKA — Restaurant in New York

My meal at Kosaka last night inspired me to write my first Yelp review, so you know it was either really good or really bad.

It was shockingly bad. I've eaten in the best (and worst) sushi palaces all over the world. I'm stunned by the good-to-great reviews of Kosaka, here and elsewhere.

We ordered the sushi and sashimi omakase. The quality of the fish itself was average. Not bad, but not noteworthy. The fish, both sushi and sashimi, was a bit too cold, which dulled the flavor. The rice was not bad, just passable.

The room is actually quite pretty, but the lighting is tragic. There are halogen spotlights above each diner's head at the sushi bar. They are bright and harsh and distracting. And there is no need for them.

The service was an abomination. We had to beg for someone to take my friend's coat when we walked in. Within 30 seconds of seating us--so quickly that we both noted it independently--they asked if we needed help with the sake list, which we'd not have time to open. 30 seconds later, they asked if we were ready to order. We had to ask to them to explain the menu as it's a bit confusing, as you will note if you look at it online. (What's the difference between "Savory Sushi" and "Supplement," which are both listed in addition to the omakase?)

They recommended a bottle of sake that was good but again nothing special. We asked for something dry of good quality. They sold us a bottle for $250 which was far too much for the quality we recieved.

We did not eat late. We were bang on time for an 8:15 reservation. We were not the last ones seated. Still, they threw food at us as fast as we could eat it. If we paused a minute or two between plates, they would ask, sometimes repeatedly, if we were finished. (If I'm holding a spoon or chopsticks or a piece of sushi in my hand, I'm not finished.) It became a running joke. They criticized me for eating my handroll--which had one too many ingredients in it--too slowly. They kept asking us if we were ready for miso soup when we hadn't finished the sushi course. When I asked to take what I hadn't eaten (hadn't had time to eat) home (for my dog), they first fought me, then boxed it up and set it in a bag right between me and my friend on the sushi bar, instead of on a convenient shelf just behind us.

The red bean miso soup was excellent.

They packed the whole place up before we were finished. They brought the check out on a try, face up, and slammed it down on the counter in front of us before I even asked for it. When I put it off to the side with my credit card, they brought the slip for signature out on the same try and again slammed it down in between us on the counter.

The bill was well over $700 including tip. I recently discovered KazuNori on 28th and Park. It's not great, but it's okay, and you can get the same meal there--essentially the same dishes of a similar or slightly better quality--for two people for less than $40. And it's a nicer room.

Kosaka wins several awards in my book. Second-worse overall dining experience ever. Worst service ever. And worst value ever. I don't even know what to say about the lighting. And I've never actually been angry at a restaurant after having had a...

I’ve never been treated that poorly in my life. My husband and I went to this place to celebrate our 8 year anniversary. The restaurant was completely empty and we were seated on the left side of the bar. The waiter brought us water and we were about to order when the other couple of guests arrived. We didn’t notice what happened but suddenly the waiter came over to us asking to switch seats with that couple. He literally told us that the guy want our seats. That was confusing but we agreed as we assumed there is a specific reason for this request (disability or they have some kind of sentimental value in those seats). I took my purse and we stood up waiting to be seated at the right side of the bar (it’s were they were supposed to be seated) but the couple behaved extremely weird. They were turning faces from us. So we stood there in the middle of the restaurant waiting to switch seats when the waiter came over again whispering so the other couple won’t hear him that they changed their minds and we need to go back to our seats. It looked like a bad prank. My husband told him that’s extremely disrespectful. Here we are agreed to switch seats holding our stuff and then suddenly they changed their minds? And the restaurant personnel is ok to disturb us making us running around to please another client? I don’t care who that client was if he is a regular or a celebrity but this is not the way to treat your customers. Especially in the places like this - Michelin lever restaurant where you’re expecting nothing but the highest level of service. It’s absolutely unacceptable and disgraceful. We left. We didn’t want to stay considering the circumstances. We felt like we’re not important enough to be treated respectfully. And I just want to emphasize the place was empty - we were the only two couples in the restaurant. There were 6 more seats on the left side only but the couple specifically wanted our seats and the restaurant staff was ok to move us even though we already had a bottle of water and was about to order food and drinks? To be honest I think that man wanted to show who is the boss and strangely the restaurant encouraged that behavior. I will never come back to this place. I think that’s totally the restaurant staff’s fault and they need to learn their lesson. I’m going to reach out to the Michelin Guide team and will communicate my experience to make sure they are aware of the the troubled service we were provided at the place with their name on it. I’m an influencer and I feel obligated to share my experience so other people know what to expect if the restaurant have a “special” client in. This place has ruined our Anniversary, as my husband booked it as a surprise weeks prior and it was not easy to find another place available on a Saturday night. To conclude - disrespectful and distasteful service. Not the Michelin...

I’ve been here three times now and can say that this is one of my favorite sushi places in terms of quality of fish and taste. It’s always so tender and fresh, and I’ve been to many omakase restaurants in NYC, Tokyo, etc. Will keep coming back for the sushi.

However... the service is SO spotty.

First time, we sat at a table and our omakase experience took almost 3 hours. It was so slow - it seemed like they overbooked the restaurant. They also messed up our check at the end.

Second time, we sat at the bar - perfect experience! Every piece was presented with great timing, and we had a huge number of pieces (I remember over 15, not including side dishes and rolls). Absolutely no issues.

Third time, we sat at the bar again. It was strange since the sushi chef in front of us was only making sushi for the tables, and our sushi chef had to walk behind him for each piece, which he plopped in front of us with a curt explanation. The price also increased to 175$ for the bar, and we got fewer pieces than last time. It was also slow - we showed up on time, but had to wait 15 minutes to be seated. What annoyed me most was that generally, after your set, you can order more pieces. Since we were seated late (by no fault of ours), I suppose they were in a rush to close, and rushed us through our order. The chef told us that our final piece would be tamago (which is very standard) and after getting our extra pieces, the waitress took away our plates quickly. When asked about the tamago, she just said ‘Sorry, none left’. ?? What?

I would not bring someone here for a date or your family or something where you want to impress - the bad service might make a good sushi experience sour. However, if you’re willing to take a chance, the sushi is phenomenal.

Please management, fix these problems so I can actually enjoy my sushi here without fearing for...