SSAW Brooklyn — Restaurant in New York

Hot off the plate report! So glad I was one of the lucky 8 getting into the official opening weekend :)

TL;DR 4.5/5 round up to 5. I would go back solo (to better savor and appreciate the food) again assuming the menu would change seasonally. While it was good great, I was expecting to be vowed.

Long form. The vibe, the hospitality and the very limited wine selection were all very good. It was an intimate space - situated in a residential side street, 8 counter seats and 2 seats/2 tables on the side. We were able to watch the actions in the kitchen. Chef Fukuzaki has incredible knife skill :)

Background music - soft, cheerful jazz, at a proper volume, extra half star.

Throughout the meal the hosts/sommeliers were frequently engaging with us, which definitely made the whole experience especially enjoyable.

I don't drink sake so I opted for wine. And I was very impressed with the 3-4 wine by the glass selection - given the delicate ingredients and intricate seasoning, it is quite challenge to navigate the wine paring. The Sicilian pinot grigio, particularly, has a thicker/rounder body, nectar consistency to it, reminding me of the 1992 Fioranello Bianco that I had once tasted, and it went surprisingly well with the wagyu beef tongue.

Food wise, I would say it is a modern take on kaiseki - seasonal ingredients with non-traditional Japanese cooking techniques. Not surprising given chef's pedigree. The level of care, from prepping to plating was incredible.

The food were good/great. My top 3 of the night, based on flavor profile, texture and complexity were the sweetfish (or ayu in Japanese) with roe served with pumpkin puree, mushroom tofu and the beef tongue. I like the unagi; it is just not as memorable as others.

The mushroom tofu, a concentrated version of crab soup, almost gravy like, with Matsutake(?) mushrooms, was fragrant umami bomb and pallet opener.

The sweetfish (ayu) was a rare treat - I haven't had it ever in the States. It was thinly breaded with a crispy exterior, soft/juicy middle and crunchy inner most (the roe). The way I would put it, a double-shots fireworks.

Beef tongue. Perfectly seared, charred outside, juicy toothsome inside, with a slightly crunchy texture. The plating was a beautiful pink (beef), green (some veggie) and yellow (ginkgo) ensemble.

All in all, it was a delightful experience, possibly the best dinning experiences I have had in the past 6 months. I would probably put in a reservation and back in a month or two. Hopefully, reservation won't be a mission impossible :)

PSA: 330 S 3rd is a residential building with an intercom. But the entrance to the restaurant is actually one door to the right. Quite unassuming from the outside; you...

Friends and I had a wonderful time at SSAW earlier this month. We frequent alot of establishments in and around NY and this was one of the best culinary experiences I have had in some time. Unlike many typical Omakases, there was actually some high end cookery involved here rather than 12 to 18 "courses" which basically amount to a piece of nigiri with revised fish selections, sauces and or toppings. The dishes were very innovative and not the kind of cookie cutter and copycat courses you see at every Japanese restaurant. No miso glazed cod here. For example, one dish had fiddle fern, another watercress and several dishes had other interesting herbaceous notes. The vegetables seemed to be cooked in dashi broth imparting a smoky flavor that really harmonized well with the accompanying ingredient. Everything was so well balanced. Standouts were definitely the two sashimi dishes, one a sea breem that came with a jelly and the beltfish with the salmon roe. Also suprisingly, not super alty for a high end japanese experience - one of my pet peeves with japanese cuisine in general is how salty, usually to counteract the lack of fat. Here, no need as every dish was so flavorful. Besides this, we did a sake pairing which was a wonderful experience and highly recommended. Unlike many "pairings" the selections here were genuinely thoughtful and very out of the box but went so well with each course. Finally, RYO - the "host" was so engaging, friendly and a blast to have a meal with - I would categorize him more of an MC then a waiter or server. You will see what I mean. Such fantastic energy here Chef Fukuzaki, Chef IO, and Ryo made a great team, and I cannot wait to come back here in the near future. We felt like not only did we get an amazing meal and have an absolute blast which is not what you say with most dining experiences, but we also felt like we made friends at the counter and with the staff. It somewhat took the sting out of turning 50 to have a meal here with a couple of my close friends. Very...

Recommended by chef from Icca. We came in to try this new restaurant and celebrate thanksgiving holiday with friends. But we were treated badly especially compared to the other table.

The waiter with long hair never smile to us and did a mediocre introduction to our dishes. I felt like I owe him a million dollar. However, he was so happy and proactively hosting and introducing dishes to the other table.

Also we noticed that they give scollops for the Mackerel dish to the other table and when we asked why we don’t have scollop for the same dish, this waiter lied that the other table add scollop as “special”. Wow, why he did not even bother to tell us it can be added as special to begin with? And what is absurd is he recommended adding uni to the rice dish as special and when we see the bill it was 3 pieces of uni for $25.

We end up paying $300+ per person with such an unwelcoming experience. His service is totally unacceptable and unprofessional.

——————————— Update and response to the restaurant: It takes 3 weeks for you to respond to our initial review. Which shows you do not care about our voice & opinion. If it’s not because of the incident of sexism, which you give 3 pieces of steak to female customers and 4 pieces to a male. You probably never bother to reply to my comments above.

And further more, reply with a template to all comments and admit that you treated the other group with special attention and additional scollop made you a horrible example for...