Taiyaki NYC Japanese Ice Cream — Restaurant in New York

When is the best time to go to a very popular, super tiny ice cream shop? On a day that is snowing like crazy. Yup. I have been sooo wanting to go to Taiyaki NYC for a while, but I know they usually have lines, so I waited until the right moment. When the moment called "crazy snow" came, off we went. Yes we are that kinds of nuts. The place is really small, I mean, if you blink, you will pass by without realizing it.

The inside is really small, the kitchen area takes up a lot more space than the ordering and eating space. There is no table, just one wooden bench and another seating spot around the window. I say many total of six people can sit, and that is it.

We ordered Straight Outta Japan and You’re Berry Lovely. They are all at $7. The more topping you add, the higher the price is going to become. All the Taiyaki comes with two toppings, so if you want to add more, it will cost you 50 cents per topping, which is pretty cheap (until you add gazillion of toppings). The ice creams were really good and tasty, almost surprisingly good! The “filling” is inside the Taiyaki, so it is not a large amount of filling.

We also ordered their Croyaki, their version of cronut, I say. Croyaki also comes with a choice of filling, either custard or red bean. We chose custard filling. They are made to order, and took a good while for it to get ready.

I was thinking that the middle part, the fish-shaped part to be more exact, will be the regular taiyaki with pancake-type dough. However, the entire thing was made with the croissant or puff pastry dough. The filling in the inside was not very much, which was a bit disappointing.

I am happy I got to go for a visit. I enjoyed the cute, adorable ice cream, even though it was really cold that day… I would love to go back again for more of their picture perfect dessert! Read my full review of this shop and food on my food blog,...

I’ve been so excited to try this spot however I was pretty dissatisfied today. We stood in line outside for about 40 mins due to it being lunar new year which we didn’t mind because we were determined to try out this spot. My son and I came from Jersey to experience mainly the soufflé pancakes (we came at the recommended times 1pm-4pm Saturdays and Sundays). I kept seeing multiple people come out of the parlor with soufflé pancakes. As soon as it was time for us to order, they told me they weren’t making anymore soufflé pancakes despite our wait time and ordering before the time ended. So we ordered our ice creams and as she handed them to me, they were melting down my hand and the fish cone was bending in half/wasn’t holding. She noticed and told me to hold it with two hands. I laughed as it was ridiculous how she didn’t mind that my ice creams were literally falling apart as she handed them to us. At this point I was so overwhelmed by the experience that I just grabbed some napkins and we headed out. The mango ice cream was delicious! Despite it falling apart and spilling all over the sidewalk. The matcha ice cream, not so much. Maybe add some vanilla to balance the flavor because it was almost powdery and bitter if that makes sense. I’m a matcha fan as well so I know how matcha should taste. Very...

If I could only leave you with one sentence: it lives up to the hype.

Everyone at the counter was super friendly from the moment we walked in - they gave us suggestions and offered samples if we wanted to try a flavor. Normally I would have tried one before going all in (I mean, who's had black sesame ice cream before?) but I committed to the Straight Outta Japan option and my boyfriend went with Classic.

The Straight Outta Japan is a matcha sesame swirl, red bean filling inside the fish waffle cone, mochi and a wafer. I was a little hesitant but the sesame mixed with matcha was just the perfect amount of sweet and not too sweet, and the texture of the ice cream was amazing. When I finally got to the cone, it was much more thick than I'd imagined. Then, paired with the red bean filling it was a little heavy especially after the HUGE amount of ice cream they give you. The cone was amazing though, so make sure you make it that far to try it out. The Classic is vanilla ice cream with custard filling, strawberry, wafer and chocolate drizzle. My boyfriend isn't a huge ice cream fan but he loved this.

Lastly, the presentation. I'm blown away that each and every cone this place sent out was BEAUTIFUL. Every single one is prepared to the same standard, probably because they know these things are made...