Rule of Thirds — Restaurant in New York

Google doesn’t allow half stars but for me this was more like a 3.5. I hate to leave reviews that are less than stellar as I love restaurants and deeply appreciate their vital place in our culture. I also try to be very supportive as someone who has worked in the industry for most of my life, however I did find the food here to be very underwhelming.

The atmosphere is pretty stellar. Interior of the restaurant is gorgeous and dimly and seductively lit. I would have liked to have eaten inside to take in the ambiance but it truly was insanely loud. No matter seeing as they do have a gorgeous outdoor dining area where after a brief wait we were seated. In this lower decibel environment it really did feel nicely transportive and let me forgot I was in NYC for a while, which I always appreciate. Every staff member was extremely professional and knowledgeable and expertly guided us through the menu and any questions. Without a doubt, the top notch service was the highlight of the meal, specifically from our main server who was incredibly sweet and attentive. He made the night feel very special and is a star employee I have no doubt.

Having said that, we all know good service doesn’t fill your belly or satisfy the taste buds, and sadly when it came time to eat, both myself and my date found ourselves sinking into increasing disappointment. We ordered the tuna sashimi, karage chicken, fried duck hearts, maitake mushroom, a fried rice cake, the wagyu steak dish and a side of cucumbers.

The tuna sashimi was shockingly small and I don’t believe worth the hefty price ($23) - the dish amounted to roughly five pieces of tuna no bigger than half of one’s thumb. They were plated with a very bland peach purée of some kind. Although the tuna was fresh and melt in your mouth, it wasn’t spectacular by any stretch and lacked flavor in addition to the lacking portion size. The karaage, which I always love, was more akin to a nanban and was doused in an overpowering tartar like sauce. Would have preferred to taste the ginger and the chicken more. After maybe two bites a piece, neither my date nor I had any more. Surprising to me as I usually devour karaage before it even has time to cool. The duck hearts, which granted I expected I wasn’t going to be too fond of to begin with (don’t think I’ve eaten a heart before to be honest but wanted to be adventurous) were genuinely unpleasant and chewy. After my date and I each had one we opted not to finish. I nearly wanted to deposit my bite in a napkin but muscled through. The wagyu beef dish was tasty enough but essentially consisted of a bowl of roasted potatoes and carrots and some slim pieces of slightly undercooked beef. I prefer steak with a little more char (not over done by any means) but it didn’t have a flavor that really hit you. The side of cucumbers - a dish I usually love at most Asian restaurants - was really quite inedible. Again, we each took one small bite and immediately agreed they were really not enjoyable and tasted strange. We promptly pushed the small bowl to the edge of our table, signaling we weren’t going to be eating them. I was honestly a little surprised when the busser came by, saw a full order of a dish, and didn’t inquire about the quality or if we were satisfied. It was quite evident we hadn’t even touched it.

The best thing we ate, on which we agreed, was the cheapest item - a $4 fried rice cake cooked in chicken fat. As funny as it may seem, this was the only thing I genuinely really loved. Never expected a little chunk of rice would be the standout. At the end of the meal our server brought us a small cup of absolutely delicious sesame ice cream. Again, our server was stupendous. We wrapped up our meal will taking a takeout box for the karaage and most of the wagyu dish. I rarely, if ever, do not finish my food, especially at a nice spot like this, so knowing I didn’t want to lick the plates clean was unfortunate.

I don’t know that I would come back but if I did it would probably just be...

This review is only for their recent brunch experience as of 3/8/2025:

As always, the service was quick, friendly, warm, and on point! We were seated immediately and kindly, even though we were a bit early for our brunch reservation, which we really appreciated since we also had our one year old with us! The interior was also incredibly spacious and each table was spaced appropriately, which leaves you with enough run to traverse around comfortably. We also love the medicine bottle of sweet soy sauce which allows diners to perfectly apply however much soy sauce they want, which is so clever and thoughtful! So as always, the service and ambiance are both perfect!

Unfortunately the brunch this time around was a bit of a letdown, but I do believe Rule of Thirds has what it takes to improve and are always diligently incorporating feedback to enhance their menu. So let's start off with the good:

Macaroni salad 4.5/5 - Tasty and not overly creamy, with perfectly soft macaroni! The chunks of imitation crab meat were interesting and gave a nice contrast in texture. It's a small side dish so definitely get more than one if you're dining with more than two people.

Yuzu sake 5/5 - If you love yuzu, then this is the perfect drink for you! Very sweet and citrusy, where it can get dangerous because it tastes more like juice than alcohol, which means you might not realize your limit as easily heh, highly recommended!

Chicken katsu 3.75/5 - Very tender and juicy chicken, which were both savory and sizable. Would be even better if it came with some tonkatsu sauce on the side, but that's just a personal preference.

Now onto the dishes that could be improved:

Ajitama egg salad 1.5/5 - Although the flavors were creamy and delicious, the size of the dish was extremely high for its portion. I understand that it's accompanied with osetra caviar, but perhaps because of how much eggs are nowadays, the amount of egg salad was very little. For almost 28 dollars, it was a bit disappointing that the dish itself was almost the same size as a small side of macaroni salad. Therefore, I hope they'll consider either reducing the price or increasing the portion to make it more enjoyable. (For four of us, we all had only two bites =)

Sukiyaki sando 1/5 - I understand that this is the chef's rendition of a wagyu sando, but I feel like the word sukiyak was misleading nonetheless. The American wagyu was paired with pickled veggies on top, and the jus that it came with was more comparable to the jus that comes with prime rib or roast beef sandwiches, with no resemblance of any elements of sukiyaki asides from it being beef. It also didn't come with the toasts that most sando comes in, and was basically just a hero. I believe renaming it to maybe like American wagyu roast beef hero might be more accurate than to try to force it to be something else. I enjoyed the tenderness of the meat, but the flavor profile felt like it was doing too much at once, from savory to vinegary, it was a bit too much.

The bass breakfast set 2.5/5 - Although the sides that accompanied the main fish was delicious (the creamy almond miso, sweet tamago, and the oden-like veggies in dashi broth), the main fish was unfortunately underwhelming. We got the bass and although it was soft and tender, it was very underseasoned and felt like we were just eating a broiled fish. Their selections back then definitely tasted better, where it was fattier and tastier, so I hope this review can help get back to the same level I know they are capable of!

Therefore, unfortunately this recent experience was a miss for us, for the mains we were so excited to try were both underwhelming. I know Rule of Thirds always try their best to improve and provide an exemplary dining experience by always trying something new and taking feedback into consideration to further enhance their menu, so I hope the next time we come back we can give them the 5 stars they are definitely capable of!

Thank you for reading and...

Venture out to this hidden paradise for an exquisite eating and drinking experience. Rule of Thirds is a great place to impress a date, or say, take your partner for Valentine's Day celebrations. The cocktails are creative and showy without sacrificing taste or amount of alcohol served. We would definitely come back just to sit at the bar and try the cocktails we didn't get around to. There is also an extensive and I mean extensive sake and shochu menu that I would love to work my way through. The food is also next-level, and the menu is well organized. A lot of us are used to fancy Japanese food implying sushi, but rule of thirds offers a very different and artful take on gourmet Japanese with some raw options but mostly heartier, cooked ones - perchance this was a seasonal winter menu and I appreciated it. We sat down next to a couple who had ordered the Maitake mushroom and tuna and nori appetizers and that was advertisement enough. Somehow the tuna tartare looks small in all the photos but I promise you it's larger in life. It's a heavenly amount of tuna from with you can make your own nori roll bites. Definitely enough for two to shower. The mushroom, shape alone, is an experience in and of itself. For dinner we shared the white bean stew and the hamachi collar. The stew was huge and served to both of us from a big hot pot by our server. A very fresh and comforting hug of vegetables including one of my favorites - broccoli rabe. And more of the crazy mushroom. The hamachi collar was one of the best things I've ever tasted. The skin alone was so well seasoned and crispy. The meat itself falls right of the bone (they're big bones, easy to avoid don't be afraid!) and tastes like ... stewed chicken thigh of the sea? That's insulting but that's as close as I can get. The depth of flavor and creamy texture is impossible to describe. I'd only had the sushi version of hamachi (yellowtail) before and while it is one of my favorite foods raw, in the midwinter it is even better served like this. We then got dessert - white sesame soft serve ice cream and Japanese cheese cake. I'm such a sucker for sesame and will be trying to order sesame ice cream from now on at places that probably don't serve it. Lastly we tried one of the many shochus off the extensive spirits menu - one made from fermented barley and if you're as big a fan of mugicha barley tea as we are, you will love this spirit. Our server was above and beyond fantastic and knowledgeable without being over the top. The ambiance will make you want to redesign your apartment. We will definitely be back to try the mazemen and the sashimi and all of the rest of the cocktails - also their brunch! It's indeed a pricey outing, but it's a heck of a great way to blow your ducats, celebrate, show off, nourish your soul... :D I really wish I took better photos of everything but I was too excited and bashful about ruining moments and being a vicious phone wielder in such a beautiful...