Sushi Yasaka — Restaurant in New York

Went here on a whim last night after hearing many positive reviews for it. We went at 9. The place was packed, and we were told we would have to wait til 9:25, but we actually got seated earlier. The waiters were attentive and there were plenty of staff to attend to us and everyone else. Staff seemed happy and communicated with each other and us very well, were polite and helpful. The food was delicious! Especially for the price. I've gotten sushi at many other locations in NYC, and was really surprised by how fresh the fish was and how well composed each dish was. It really felt like the food was cared for at a much higher level than what I'd typically expect for this price point. I got the akadashi miso soup, the fresh salmon maki, the yellowtail jalapeño, and a salmon skin roll. The salmon was fresh and light. Like higher end restaurant quality fresh!!! The yellowtail was also super fresh and the jalapeño was spicy. The salmon skin was good as well, and came with cucumber inside. But the star of the night was something unexpected that my partner (vegetarian) had ordered - Sautéed mushrooms. I am a BIG mushroom fan, and I have NEVER had mushrooms this tasty and flavorful - and beautifully paired with lemon of all things! Really recommend squeezing that lemon over top for the extra tang. Organic mushrooms are so much better than regular mushrooms, and the butter was just FANTASTIC. I couldn't stop eating the mushrooms and look forward to ordering them again. My partner also ordered the corn tempura with yuzu salt which had unique textures and a nice sweetness and saltiness to it. Very satisfying! He also got a bowl of sushi rice which we ate with some of the mushroom, although the mushroom was lovely on its own. I took pics of the ginger and wasabi offerings - the ginger had a unique earthy flavor and the wasabi had little crunchy bits in it, which I've encountered before. In any case, not the generic kind of condiment, which I think spoke to the level of detail and attention this restaurant pays to every element of the meal! This was truly a refreshing sushi experience and I highly recommend. The only thing I wish was better was the lighting design of the interior. Instead of nice warm tungsten lights for an evening ambience, the establishment uses blindingly bright daylight calibrated spot lights that beam down from above - the kind of lights used in jewelry stores to make the gemstones sparkle. It makes the food look good - as you can see in my pictures (which were NOT taking with flash, only the lighting that was there), everything was brightly lit and visible even thought it was 9:30 at night... but this cold, fluorescent-type lighting was a bit uncomfortable to sit under - I couldn't look up without getting flashed in the eye by the bright spotlight above - and the lighting made the atmosphere feel a bit low-end and less intimate, more like a cafeteria than a restaurant. I will likely be going back during the day (when hopefully the light won't be an issue) to enjoy...

(Review of visit on November 15, 2015)

After reading so many good reviews, I decided this was the place I would like to celebrate my 35th birthday. My husband called to make reservations and was told they do not take reservations for large groups (7 adults, 1 baby) on weekends and that we should come in when they first open to get seats. He confirmed that they would be able to accommodate our party if we walked in.

Upon arriving 10 minutes before they opened, we noticed two people already waiting. As time passed, more people arrived. When the sign finally flipped, we all lined up to get in (I even held the door for everyone since I guessed they would not seat us because we were waiting for part of our group to find parking). When we arrived, I asked the host/waiter for a table, but was told they could not provide a table for us. After explaining what we were told over the phone, he reiterated that they only had 2-4 seat tables at the moment. Finally, I told him that we would be willing to split up and asked for two 4-seat tables instead. He refused and said that we would not be accommodated unless we wanted to wait 2 hours. He showed no interest in continuing our conversation and didn't seem to mind if they lost our business. Disrespectfully, his focus had already turned to the next set of customers. We ended up walking out.

For such a "nice" place with rave reviews - I was disappointed with the customer service. The restaurant was not even half full and they just kept changing their story each time we mentioned something they told us. If they had told us from the beginning they could not accommodate our party of 8, I would have planned to go somewhere else instead of having to regroup and figure something out on the fly. It definitely put a damper on our moods on what was supposed to be a happy occasion. It's a real shame since the pictures of food other users posted look delicious - I will not be able to attest to that since I'm sure I won't...

🥲Me and my friend finally revisited after the first failed walk-in. Was excited!! Made reservations and we arrived early.

👍🏻Food is great! Fresh fish and rare find of yaki sake (salmon) with great value. We live the tempura too!

😢Serve is why i only give three stars! Service before ordering food is fine, even tho it’s not that Japanese Restaurant vibe, I don’t like giving other pressure…. But one things piss us off is : They never tell us there’s table time limit. It’s a pretty chill weekday, so we just talk our talk chatting and finishing food( cause we ordered three dishes and they all unexpectedly big ) we did spent 2hours in total… but we shouldn’t deserve to be treated rudely!!!!!!😡 It will be understandable if they just notice us next party is waiting our table, and if they would like us finish faster…. Instead, the server (a tall guy) just hardly place our bill right after we finished food and cleared our table…. Without saying any words. While I waiting for paying, another front seat lady ( with short hair ) rush to us. ask pay and said that “oooh I’m sorry, but the next party actually waited for so long already”. 😳 I really won’t know if she don’t mentioned!!!!

And after I tell her that we just waiting for billing, she ask me to just walk to cashier to pay 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄 the whole ending is making us SOOOO uncomfortable…. Seems like I didn’t something wrong 😅 we just can’t accept why we need to suffer all these as a customer 😅😅😅

🥲 typing all these mainly for other informations, and hope Sushi Yasaka made a improvements! If not, I may just consider buying takeout...