Secchu Yokota 折衷よこ田 — Restaurant in New York

Overdue review from 2021!

The service was great. The waiter was quick to refill our glasses of water whenever they were less than half full. He also introduced each dish with detail and for the tempura dishes, provided recommendations for which dipping salt or sauce to eat it with.

The interior feels very modern and sophisticated. There's a classy feel to it while also maintaining that Japanese restaurant vibe with the wooden chairs and counter.

First course, daikon soup! I've never had salmon eggs before so this was a new experience for me. The bonito jelly (?) and salmon eggs added to the salty flavor of the soup which made it overall too salty of a dish (for me and my brother at least).

Second course, mini sampling plate! Not a fan of raw foods and the tuna sashimi did not make me a fan. Some people are a fan of tuna but sashimi is not the way to get introduced to it (I suppose). Not to worry, you can totally request no raw foods (which in hindsight I probably should've done). The egg sandwich was amazing with the soft buttery bread holding egg salad in the middle. The sea bass (?) over soba noodles in a...jelly broth had potential but the wasabi oil made it hard for me to enjoy the dish fully as it was too spicy. Duck with vegetables was pretty good, it was a good two pieces of duck!

Tempura time! An assortment of ingredients fried in the lightest tempura batter and served piping hot. My favorites were: the tiger shrimp, the crab leg, the mushroom and the scallop. There were also broccoli, fish, eggplant and sea urchin wrapped in shiso leaf.

I opted for the A5 Miyazaki wagyu add on...and wow the beef sure was juicy! It was cooked medium rare and served alongside mixed grain red bean rice with half a...baby potato? It was just alright, I guess I have to go to Japan if I want really good A5 wagyu! Waiter was so nice to let us pack up what we couldn't finish in takeout containers! So don't worry about not finishing your meals because we were absolutely stuffed.

Our dessert dish was raspberry sorbet on top of candied red beans served next to a slice of mochi cake. A cup of piping hot buckwheat tea is also served along with dessert (I may or may not have poured my glass of water into the glass of tea in order to cool it down). The raspberry sorbet was the star of the dish (for me), I wouldn't mind another scoop of that!

Overall it was a very intimate dining experience as it felt like we were getting VIP service as we could see our food being made and our waiter was very attentive. This was a good experience for an...

Secchu Yokota is special. First, the quality of the tempura here is on par with many high end tempura restaurants in Tokyo. While it is a tempura focused meal, Secchu Yokota is more than a tempura restaurant. The meal combines elements from traditional Japanese cooking, tempura, and yoshoku. While it sounds like fusion, it is not. It's a reflection of who Chef Yokota is, it is accumulation of his life experiences in to a meal. That, to me, is true authenticity which is rare. (Took me several visits to truly appreciate this.)

The meals at Secchu Yokota is seasonal, hence while the structure of the meal is the same, the courses served are different based on the time of the year. The meal usually starts with an amuse, then a generous set of appetizers that borrows from Kaiseki but often incorporates yoshoku elements as well. Then comes the tempura courses based on seasonal ingredients. You will be treated to tempura that's thinly battered and crispy, showcase the flavours of the ingredient at it optimal doneness. The shrimp and scallops in particular are always highlights. Depending on the menu you have chosen, the shime(last course) will be a rice course that’s different on each visit. In this past visit, we were served ochazuke, i.e. rice with dashi, topped with snapper.

Daimo, who is the main front of house staff, is friendly and gentle. He will help you with suggestions on what condiment goes well with each course and help you choose sakes to have with your meal based on your preferences. On weekends, the chef's wife also helps out at the restaurant, and she's also very friendly and knowledgable on sakes.

On the point of sake, Secchu Yokota has an excellent list of sake, so it's a great restaurant to try out different types of sake with your meal.

Secchu Yokota is a rare gem. It's a family run restaurant that treats you like family. It is a restaurant that serves food with a rare authenticity that's from the heart of the chef. It one of the few places in the city where you will get top tier food, great service, AND the warmth that only comes from a family...

Secchu Yokota is one of the few restaurants that give a sense of seclusion while offering quality tempura omakase. The outside is very unassuming with the only indication of the resturant existing is the sign above the establishment. The front window is blocked off with an semi-opaque sheet that gives the interior a cozy feeling. Inside, you will be greeted warmly by the hostess, who is actually Chef Yokota's wife. Our coats and bags were taken and stored on a rack so that we were seated comfortably in front of the open kitchen, bar style. The interior is well done with wooden floors and wooden tables. Near the front is a couch for those who want to relax after dinner and order additional items.

There is a good selection of alcoholic drinks, mostly wine or beer and a extensive list of different sake choices. The course starts with a vegetable soup in these insulated airgapped cups, which I hadn't seen before. It is followed by a cooked tuna roll with very good daikon. A chilled noodle dish topped with tomato and wasabi roe on the side followed.

The main section is after, which is the tempura dishes. You are given lemon, wasabi salt, charcoal salt and tempura sauce to enhance the flavors as needed. We had a variety of tempura dishes such as mushrooms, scallops, bamboo shoots, tiger shrimp, king crab legs, sea eel, uni, and others. Each tempura dish is cooked in front of us and served with an description of the tempura as well as the origin of the ingredient. All of them were done particularly well with the scallops being the highlight.

If you weren't full enough, a wagyu beef sandwich is prepared medium rare to rare with a hint of wasabi, which was excellent as well. The dinner then concludes with an excellent dessert consisting of chocolate flan, strawberries and red bean.

During the entire 2 to 3 hour experience, the chefs, waiter and hostess were very kind and chatted with us throughout the dinner. Overall, this is a unique experience that warrants repeat visits for those looking for culinary excellence in secluded and cozy...