Salt + Charcoal — Restaurant in New York

Wow! We came here last night and we were VERY impressed.

We were a party of 3 and made reservations for 7PM so we were seated promptly. Service was very good. We came to celebrate a birthday and this was the perfect spot - an indulgent and special treat.

First off, we ordered a drink each. The lychee martini, the old brooklyn, and the pineapple express. The lychee martini tasted very good - if you have ever mixed soju with lychee calpico, it tastes like that. I had the old brooklyn which had toki japanese whisky - very very nice and smooth! The pineapple express had a ... distinct flavor. Not for me but it grew on my dad and he seemed to like it.

As for the dishes, everything we had was EXCELLENT. The portion sizes were good and not skimpy. Here’s what we ordered:

Kaisou Salad - Seaweed salad, very light and fresh - very good. Nice flavor, not overpowering. Kimpira and Kale Salad - Kimpira (simmered root veggies) and kale - very nice, perfectly dressed. High quality kale! Crunchy Oyster - Wow, this was one of our favorites! The presentation was beautiful and the taste was yum. The oysters were huge! The sauce that was paired with it complemented it well. These were like little juicy treasures. A must! Grilled Vegetables - Lovely selection of vegetables, pairs great with the meat we got. Cooked nicely and also came with 2 sauces (house made hollandaise and anchovy oil). Glad we got this. Lamp Chops - I ordered these medium rare and they were cooked perfect. So juicy and tender! Comes with 3 pieces and hollandaise which goes very well. Also I really liked the potato (?) that came with it surprisingly - it was a very tasty and comforting taste? Uni Filet Mignon - Very very good! Unique and although it may sound over the top, it all paired very well together. The uni was creamy, the ikura roe provided a hint of saltiness, the filet mignon tender and soft. It also had a bit of watercress on the bottom, and was accompanied by 2 sauces - an onion sauce and a wasabi sauce. The wasabi sauce was very good.

Everything was so succulent and scrumptious! Wow! We will definitely be coming back. It is pricy but you definitely get what you pay for. Ambiance, service and food...

Went here on a date, my partner was super excited about this place. We ended up sitting at the bar to wait for a table. After idle chitchat, we were seated downstairs, and the immediate impression was that it's a decent restaurant. It is cozy, downstairs is intimate, the music not too loud. Good vibes all around.

Until I sat down and took in more of the space. As we waited, I felt constantly distracted by conversations at other tables, appprently sound carries really well in this place. No matter! We ordered the fried eggplant and mushroom in broth, and the porter house [we came late so they were out of sea urchin].

The starter plate come out first. It was decent, homely, and average. That set the mood down for me. I knew the porter house wasn't going to wow me. We chatted a bit about the day while our table was cleared for the main course. When it arrived the plating was messy, but the meat looked absolutely perfect. Maybe I shouldn't judge a place so quickly? I started to second guess myself...until I ate it.

What could you taste? The outside, with all its perfection..if you can ignore the rubbery texture of the middle, which surprise! You really can't. Alone these slices were intolerable, the overall texture and the extreme disappointment for the chalked up quality was hard to get past. The only saving grace were the sauces that arrived with the dish. With both slathered on the cuts, the plate was gone in a few bites.

It didn't make any sense. The marbling was nice, the meat cooked just right. The only reason it came out this way...has to be the quality of the aged porter house? I was so confused. I felt like I was missing something and was relieved to not have ordered their signature plates. I felt like I would have wasted more money for an underwhelming experience instead of a half decent meal. Honestly, if I came back, I'd probably just sit at the bar after eating somewhere else.

Tldr: Overpriced for a home meal. For your own sake, skip the porter house unless sauced meat is your thing. It's a really nice place to wind down, because you're...

Terrible service. Not sure why the line here is long other than the fact the staff are slow as hell. They pride themselves as a special place where they specially prepare their steak. It was awful and I didn't even have any of it. For starters we waited a while to be seated. When we were finally seated, we sat right in front of the hot grilling area. We weren't there for the theatrics, we just wanted to eat and see what this place was about. The menu presented an experience--nothing but. I had to ask to be moved to a both since there aren't that many people there that night, but service was extremely SLOW. From the time you sit and wait to order to getting your food, it was just slow. The server took their time bringing the drink order from the bar. It was awful. The drink was spicy, as it was described, but it should never be a drink itself. There was a few jalapeño peppers floating around the cocktail like it was a cool thing to have on their. We had the drink sent back to the bar. We were comped premium whiskey instead. Their cocktails are not to be messed with. I ordered one of the sushi rolls, that was probably one of the only things that was good about the place and the fact that we were moved quickly from the hot grilling seating area, who in the world thought it was okay to put people in front of this grill??? The presentation of the food is nice, although the steak was the highlight of the night, it was literally charred. Awful. It's not Benihana, it's supposed to be a nice sit down restaurant. It's nothing but. The steak was burnt. Literally charcoal. The steak was $50 and I felt bad for my date. Haven't had this kind of experience in a while. They pride themselves on their preparation of food, but they most certainly suck at grilling steak. Their edamame was good at least. Slightly charred with sea salt. If they had cooked the steak like how they cooked the edamame, they'd probably be okay. Pretentious in every letter of the word. Definitely not worth...