Temakase Hand Roll Bar - 2nd Ave — Restaurant in New York

Temakase is one of the newer businesses that had opened up recently. The theme of this establishment is to offer an Omakase experience with fresh hand make Temaki rolls (longer rolls you eat with your hands). Your order is made right then and there with fresh seafood, warm rice and crisp seaweed. I had first heard of them when I saw a photo posted online and was very intrigued. At that time, they were only offering take out as there was a ban on indoor dining. I had decided to wait to visit since the rolls are ideally eaten fresh to get the best experience as opposed to take out.

I checked online using OPENTABLE to make a last minute reservation for a very busy day, Sunday February 14th. I was very surprised to see that there were slots left for later that night. The curfew had also been expanded to 11p so when I set my reservation for 9pm it seemed like plenty of time to be seated and enjoy some quality hand rolls.

I got there early but it was SUPER BUSY with quite a few people waiting due to it being Valentines Day and limited seating capacity. There was a couple ahead of me whom I thought was waiting to speak to the host. They informed me they were already checked in. When I got to the podium the host, Marco checked me in but was very apologetic because they were behind schedule and they would seat me as soon as possible. I appreciated the acknowledgement and courtesy.

** All employees were wearing masks. Those who were prepping food were also using gloves.

I think the wait was at least half an hour or more before I was actually seated. Luckily it was just me dining in and I understood that it was busier than it would normally be with the busy indoor dining weekend and the strict reduced capacity rules. The interior is designed quite nicely with a very relaxing ambience. There is a full bar near the entrance (not in use per current guidelines), and a decent amount of space for waiting. The dining area consists of two sides of bar seating with countertop and a view of the chef via a see through divider.

They recommend the rolls to be eaten within 15-30 from when the Chef delivers the roll to you. The dining and prep area is separated by a clear divider . You get your own plate and a dish for dipping soy sauce by the counter but there is a larger tray up top within a small window where you are provided with gari and wasabi. That is where each roll is placed ever so delicately.

Due to time constraints I was only able to try one set of rolls. The process for ordering is scanning a QR code that links to a mobile site with all menu items. You pick your items including drinks and add it to the cart. You then submit your order and pay. I had opted for the HUNGRY set menu which included Shrimp, Salmon, Blue Crab and Yellotail Jalapeño.

Drinks are brought to the counter first. Each roll is made one by one and placed on the larger plate / tray due to the face that it was busy. I would have liked to have had all the rolls at once for a photo op but it was still tasty. The seating was spaced out between customers or there were dividers for areas where they could not space people out. The area I was seated at has two empty spaces to my left but the right side had a divider for the patrons.

During my visit, Marco let me know that there was a reservation for two and wanted to know if I was comfortable with someone sitting right next to me. I asked if they were going to use a divider and he informed me that they were all currently in use. I told him that due to the current situation I was not comfortable with anyone sitting so close and he understood. I was super appreciative he had taken that initiative to communicate the situation.

The rolls were all very tasty and fresh. The chef checked in on me afterwards to ask how everything was and she apologized that I had to wait for each individual roll.

I wanted to try out Temakase on my own before bringing any friend or date. I can see why it has become so popular recently as patrons get a very good experience at an...

I walked into this space knowing it was less expensive than the competitor right next door, unsure of what to expect. The ambiance is clean, but a bit cold with lots of exposed metal, which I quickly realized was perhaps purposeful, as the service and turn over was notably quick just from glancing around, even before I sat. I chose to go with the recommended set of 4 - deciding on two spicy and two without the spicy. The scallops were a good portion for under ten dollars a roll, and fresh, the crab had much too much Mayo, but the regular salmon and tuna were surprisingly fresh and well-seasoned all served with real wasabi. My big issue with this venue at the time I was there, is the woman making the rolls seemed to also be the only one serving the patrons, which led to an inefficient scenario of guests continually having to ask her for water, drinks, and wasabi from distracting her from concentrating on making sushi. As I was finishing my last roll, the hostess and the woman making the rolls drifted to the end of the bar to engage in some lively banter together forgetting to ask me if I would like anything else. Asking a customer if they would like another roll is probably the easiest way for the restaurant to make extra money here. When I checked out at the front, and gratuity was included, I came to realize that the attitude around the restaurant is: since tip is included, the staff do not feel they have to please the customers anyway, rather than the traditional Japanese mindset that the service is expected to be so fantastic that the customers are happy to leave after having given a fair fixed tip. I would come again mostly because it is a good deal, and probably bring my own water bottle, and ask for extra wasabi...

I had come for Valentine’s Day with my boyfriend for dinner. As soon as we walked it, the server/chef was yelling at this couple to take their waters from the bar, to their seats. For whatever reason, they did not. Instead of walking the two steps to bring over their waters he threw them into the sink and began complaining loudly to the bar tender, in front of customers. My second issue is that the seats were not fully set. There were things missing and the soy sauce plates were dirty..which is fine, when it’s busy and you’re understaffed, you don’t always have that quick second to double check. I brought it up to the guy (same guy who was yelling) and he took mine and my boyfriends. They didn’t get replaced so when the first set of rolls came, I asked for a soy sauce plate, and he told me” well.. there is soy sauce at the end of the rolls”…. I don’t know why that was his response, instead of just handing me one, because that doesn’t really matter. So after eating the first set of rolls, he brings over just a plate for me and not my boyfriend. Unfortunately, the fish quality was also sub-par and the scallop hand roll was almost like it was frozen in the middle. The drinks were good but came half way through our meal. I don’t remember the final total but was around $130-ish. Over all, completely disappointing, and I know next time to actually read reviews for a place instead of just looking at how many stars. We wound up making a reservation for a place we’ve been dying to go to in the middle of the meal, so at least we had a redo. I’m hoping this was just a fluke and just a busy understaffed holiday because I would like to see what all these other customer reviews are...