Sendo — Restaurant in New York

Honest review FYI I have eaten sushi Japan a good amount of time so my taste buds might be picky I am big on taste than visual/atmosphere

**There is a small Sendo sign on the left of the door, walk up one flight of stairs then it will be the light brown (pine) door on your right (no Sendo sign) - inside 10-12 seats so if you want to eat right away I recommend coming at least 15-30 minutes before opening, but the course is pretty quick so it shouldn’t be too long of a wait no parking, nice staff and great atmosphere

Now let’s get into the sushi (w/o wasabi cause my taste buds are very sensitive and wanted to taste the fish) I got the Tokyo Set (8 nigiri, 3 handrolls, 1 kaisendon), but was a bit hesitant cause a lot of sushi places that I went to that do not specialize in handrolls use low quality handrolls (exactly what I was afraid of), I didn’t even take picture of the handrolls so can eat it as soon as he (sushi chef Roberto) made it, but stillll I was chewing on the seaweed for years to the point I was annoyed eating the handroll. One in the beginning (seabream with shiso/ light lemon taste), one in the middle (salmon) and one at the end (blue fin tuna). Fish was fresh nothing special.

Overall the sushi (nigiri) pieces were small and the fish to rice ratio was pretty good (little less fish), but personally the rice and fish didn’t fully compliment each other cause the rice was chewy at first bite, but grainy as I kept chewing. The quality of the fish were pretty decent for Seabass, Ocean trout, Seabream, and Hokkaido Scallop (see bottom of review for descriptions) For the other ones let me explain, yellowtail was soft chew, but flavorless and Spanish mackerel both lacked in flavor too, but I would say that the mackerel wasn’t fishy tho. The lean blue fin tuna a soft chew, but a bloody after taste which is cause it is iron rich (usually only like otoro and chutoro, the only akami cut I enjoyed was in Japan). The King Salmon had a smoked salmon taste to it which I was not as fatty like the other king salmons I had. The last part of the meal was a mini Kaisen don which if I had a regular size spoon, it would have been 1 maybe 2 scoops. Just a good way to use the end pieces of the fish (bits of daikon with the fish). I left hungry, but no urge to order more. With tip came out to $50.27

Seabass - chewy with a creamy taste Ocean trout - fatty and creammy the rice fell Seabream - smooth, marinated in lemon Hokkaido scallop - subtle yuzu taste (pretty decent

**Recommend: a tamago at the end of the set? Or a small dessert like a panna cotta or at least a mint?

I, personally, don’t think I would be returning cause it’s not my cup of tea and I had a fishy not so clean after taste that was lingering in my mouth after I left. But for the price I think the quality is not bad for nyc? aside from the handrolls, but I have had better sushi for a more affordable prices in LA and Korea. Also I came with high expectations due to a lot of reviews (in my opinion...

Very cool, understated sushi place with a great vibe. Don’t let the 1-star reviews from others spook you; I’ll elaborate later, as I think I saw one in progress.

My experience: Saturday. Got there a little before they opened at 5 and the line was already down the stairs and out the door to get on the list. We ate at like 7ish. Party of two. The staff is friendly and quick, the fish is great, and the sake menu is concise and quality (try the Abe). I got the Tokyo set. The hand rolls are especially good. The sushi chef we had (Korean guy, didn’t catch his name) is an absolute star and does not put a foot wrong. The food needs no extra condiment or anything, it’s served as good as it can get. I’m not some snob with a gilded palette (kikkoman soy sauce has PLENTY of my money) but all I needed here was the fish in front of me. The place is really small which makes for a neat vibe but also means seating is limited and the wait can be long and, since they take good care of you and don’t rush you to finish, this means wait times are estimates.

As for the 1-star reviews, I can’t speak to them as a whole but here’s something I saw as we were leaving: I think some girls were miffed about the wait not being exact and not getting preferential treatment. They were rude to the staff and were saying they’re going to give one star reviews then asking if the staff would like to “fix that”. Basically using a threat to get their way. My guess is it was some entitled amateur food “influencers” used to abusing staff to get stuff. I don’t know their story (maybe it was the friendly kind of extortion, who knows) but that’s the brief moment I saw. The wait can be long and might get longer at peak times. People forget that a popular restaurant with very few seats at the peak time on the peak day in a city of 8 million people might have a long and unpredictable wait time. It’s New York City, you’re here, that’s part of it.

Here’s what I did and what you can too: They take your number down and text you. It’s not a Cracker Barrel in the 90s, you’re not hanging out on the porch with a little buzzer playing that peg game. You’re in the middle of Manhattan, so there might just be something to do while you wait. Personally, I went to Watchouse for a pastry and small cappuccino, did some (window)shopping, and then went to Osamil Upstairs and had an old fashioned (highly recommended) when it got...

This is a PSA ; for anyone that wants to plan on bringing a date or a new squeeze this place might not be for you. This sushiya is very difficult to identify, because its squeezed between a newly constructed storefront and a corner store bodega which is run by by some honest folks that have to respond to every tourist looking for some sushi next door. We were directed by fellow sushi hunters, the restaurant is not on the ground floor as described on google, call us European, the restaurant is actually located 1 flight of stairs up, which is actually European version of the 1st floor, in America we call it someones apartment. To those that want to dare and bring their squeeze, the scenery at the entry isnt very sexy, forget about the cast iron stairways at a tribeca loft, think early 90s soviet/chinese style polished, yellow colored wood floor with clinical lighting.

Will give the owners some credit for exquisitely designed interior that resembles an authentic japanese sushi-ya. Unlike other sandwich board omakase spots in the city, the interior screams japanese aesthetics other than the half-hidden bathroom where one finds fake flowers and half-peeled off wooden siding which reminds you the price you are about to pay is worth it.

As far as the food, the Japanese sushi master will convince you with his authentic Japanese accent that the food is worth every penny until he introduces to you 2 different types of Salmon, 1 from Spain and one from New Zealand, we dont know too much of a difference but we know they are both farm raised.

Dont get fooled by the exotic origins of any of these fish, whats more important is the sauce the Master puts on the fish and the balance. We all have seen Jiro dreams of Sushi, where he says ' Ultimate simplicity leads to purity” when talking about what makes great sushi, here we have the absolute complexity of the flavor of the sauce (shizo, ginger, yuzu, ponzu) overpowering the flavors of the real fish. You actually dont even know what youre tasting. I couldnt help but wonder do these farm raised fish posses any flavor or are my taste buds too simple that I couldnt comprehend the complexity of the sauce.

The hype is strong, go solo first before you bring...