Minato Izakaya & Garden by Porto Salvo — Restaurant in New York

Its unfortunate.. Hoping that I stumbled across a hidden gem deep in the Bronx, I decided to check out Minato...

Summary: Weird odors, located in a basement, seems to havr lost their Sushi offering, & bad service..

Honestly at first I thought it was great to find a japanese sushi spot with a basement-esque vibe. It also had a serene enclosed back yard with Asian themed decorations. I figured it might have been a great after work drink or dinner spot.

Unfortunately, it's not worth a visit due to the following:

they don't serve any sushi.. they had very few traditional Japanese dishes...

While decently decorated, there is a lingering and pretty regular faint smell of sewage throughout the restaurant, or at least the indoor dining area. They did have sake, but it was a low quality and was not served at any kind of regular temperature when ordered hot. Once it came at room temp, another was scolding hot..

The Vibe: Not sure if these guys had some previous instances or if its just a social club with food, but they definitely had a weird kinda of anti social energy towards anyone who wasn't a regular and whom the owner or manager didn't call out by name upon entering. Basically, if they didn't know, you would be prepared to roll the dice at getting treated shady.

There must be an issue with their food health inspection rating. Due to the faint sewage smell that was regular throughout the 3 times I visited, the lack of sushi & other japanese staples, and the horrible service I gotta...

What a charming restaurant! Minato Japanese in the Bronx was cozy and welcoming. It started a bit noisy, but the sound level settled down.

The attention to detail on each plate was impressive and the food was absolutely delicious. Every dish we tried was packed with flavor, except for the karaage chicken. We should have asked whether it was dark or white meat, but we were a bit disappointed with it. We had hoped for white meat chunks, but it didn't quite meet our expectations. The other dishes we ordered, such as edamame, seaweed salad, vegetable gyoza, shrimp tempura, spicy tuna roll, shrimp tempura roll, and soft shell crab roll, were all fantastic. For dessert, we ordered the yuzu ice cream, green tea crème brûlée, and lychee panna cotta, all of which were delightful.

A big thank you goes to Frank for providing exceptional service throughout our meal. His expertise with the menu and attention to detail made the experience seamless. Frank was friendly, attentive, and went above and beyond to make sure we had a memorable dining experience, even discussing custom substitutions with the chef for someone with a shellfish allergy.

All in all, from the moment we walked in, we knew we were in for something special. The whole experience—delicious food, excellent service, and a lovely ambiance—was outstanding. If you're looking for authentic Japanese cuisine, Minato Japanese Bronx is a must-try. From appetizers to desserts, it exceeded all of our...

Echoing some recent commentary by other reviewers that Minato is not what it was. Sushi chef and sushi grade seafood have disappeared so don't come here expecting sushi- because you won't find it-just a few ersatz "rolls" remain on the menu and they are without flavor.

When Minato opened, it seemed simply too good to be true that a sushi restaurant of the first order was operating on East 161st Street...and so maybe we should be grateful for the two years they gave us.

But we are all too familiar with the "downgrading" or dumbing down by business operators that often occurs here in the Bronx after the shine of the grand opening wears off...but we were just hoping it wasn't going to happen at Minato. We'd just been through this before Minato opened in fact, when another popular sushi restaurant in the area likewise cut quality & service -and then abruptly shut down.

Minato remains for now an attractive and authentic looking space that feels surprisingly Japanese-all the more reason that you're expecting to see the sushi guy at his place along the counter when you enter. But now he's gone and the restaurant in current iteration is more or less a generic place for drinks and unremarkable bar food.

Worthy of a big shout out though are Minato's dedicated and longtime employees who continue to do their best amidst the shifting winds to create an inviting atmosphere where all feel welcome. They are the best thing...