Torien — Restaurant in New York

Absolutely fantastic place. I have been to many yakitori restaurants around Japan and this spot is comparable to some of the best I've had there. Total duration was about 2 1/2 hours with 15 courses incl. a break between skewers, a more filling dish towards the end, and a dessert.

The entire meal was excellent from start to finish, I can not name one piece I was even lukewarm about. Each piece of chicken was incredibly juicy, flavorful, meaty, and cooked to perfection. There were many standard skewers like the thigh, chicken breasts (prepared two different ways), wings, etc... But there were also some interesting ones like the shoulder with whole grain mustard and knee (did you even know chickens have knees? I didn't!). Each vegetable skewer was also cooked to perfection, each one made differently as to draw out the most flavor from their individual characteristics. The broccoli was definitely my favorite with it's smoky and char tastes. The shiitake was meaty, flavorful, and a meal in itself.

Right before dessert, a filling meal of either paintan (chicken) ramen or oyakodon was served. Fortunately I came with my partner so we could sample both. The ramen broth was rich and savory with the distinct flavor that comes from using the chicken bones as the base. It came with what I call chicken cha-siu that was just as good as the skewers themselves. The oyakodon was silky smooth, hearty, and accompanied by the chicken soup it was served with, it definitely will fill you up if you're still hungry.

Service was impeccable; something I would find in the highest of fine-dining restaurants. The servers were very attentive and proactive in all their actions. The chefs were a hoot to eat with; while the master chef would cook the meal and present it to us with zeal and flourish, his sous chef kept us entertained the whole time with funny stories, fun facts about chicken, or just general commentary that made the whole experience that much more pleasant.

Overall I highly recommend this place to anyone who is even remotely serious about enjoying some of the best yakitori the world has to offer. I would bring my parents here next time or even come alone to experience the magic that is a man, some Japanese charcoal, and skewers of chicken...

Torien was an absolute dream; easily entered our top 3 meal experiences of all time. The chefs’ experiences on the binchotan grill really came through with perfectly cooked skewers from all different parts of the chicken from the heart to the tail, but what really blew our minds were the 6 month aged sweet potato and broccoli! I never thought sweet potato could taste like buttery candy and broccoli could be so crisp and smoky. I was literally dancing all night in my seat everything was so good 💃🏻

The best part was watching the chefs prep the ingredients and work the grill right in front of us, it truly felt like a chef’s table experience but every seat in the house had a different view!

We also had the option to add 5 extra skewers to our menu including shoulder, tail, and inner thigh as the stand outs - highly recommend as the extra skewers were super affordable and we shared each one amongst our group!

My top 5 items: Sweet potato - buttery candy, like how?? Tail - soooo juicy and chickeny Inner thigh - couldn’t believe how tender this was Heart - normally i’m not an innards girlie but this was soooooo good, a little snappy and so flavourful Broccoli / Shiso sorbet - ok this one was so hard for me, the broccoli was insane but the shiso sorbet literally punched me in the face with shiso flavour and I was so sad when I finished my scoop 🥹

Honourable mention: the oyakodon was absolute perfection - the dashi, the seaweed, the juiciest chicken thighs UGH

Now normally we don’t comment on service, our focus is on food, but this was truly exceptional service: Staff member unlocks door for guests and locks behind you Little baskets by your chair for your purse Towelettes to keep fingers clean after handling skewers The napkins smelled good LOL this is a first for us Water glass never dipped below half Anthony was telling us how excited he was for sweet potato and the chef overheard and cooked the largest piece for him When I went to the bathroom before dessert, they didn’t plate my sorbet until I returned so it wouldn’t melt 🥹

Ok I could go on and on about Torien but I’ll stop here. This definitely was a pretty penny but trust me when I say it’s a life changing experience. Highly recommend if...

I normally don't post restaurant reviews but I felt like my experience tonight warranted one. I came in with high expectations and Torien still blew me away.

I went in a group of 3 celebrating someone's birthday. The immediate impression I got from the service was The Menu-esque (I only recently watched the movie). However, rather than coming off as intimidating, the coordinated yells of the staff provided a sense of occasion - like you're walking into something special and bespoke.

The food doesn't need any elaborating: this is the best Yakitori I've ever - and likely will ever - taste. The portions were just right (I eat a bit more than the average person fyi), the chicken was succulent, and the flavor in each and every stick was juuuuust right. Maybe it's the sake that soothed the entire meal, but if I were to note down any imperfections I'd be nitpicking. Every detail in my experience felt intentional. For example, the menus are printed using a traditional Japanese printing method from the pre-Meiji era, and the water is filtered with the charcoal that they use to cook their meats (don't know if it actually does anything but the water sure tastes better).

Most importantly, it was the service that made the dinner truly special. Sirus and Mayumi, our waiter and waitress, made us feel like we were eating and drinking with friends. Chef Rodrigo spared no expense explaining to us all the small details throughout the night, from the story behind the charcoal used by the restaurant to his own personal life story. Everything the staff did made us feel homely and whatever shred of awkwardness was washed away by their sincerity and personability; it all felt very human.

I've been to high end restaurants in every time zone and corner of the world, but Torien is something truly unique. I don't think any of my future trips to New York would be complete without a visit here. I'll...