TOWA — Restaurant in New York

TLDR: Towa is an awesome choice for modern Japanese dining, both an omakase and an elevated izakaya concept in one. Personally - I prefer the tables as opposed to the sushi counter. Don't forget to try the truffle croquette, the prosciutto maki or the yaki gani.

We've tried every Hand Hospitality concept at this point, Towa became one of our favorites this year. We've done both a la carte and omakase, we prefer the former.

For the omakase, it's a fair price point with some cooked dishes in between the nigiri courses. I would recommend the omakase for someone graduating from the more budget tastings into the mid-tier price range. If you're accustomed to the $200+ sushi-yas, you might be a bit underwhelmed.

For me, the a la carte menu is something I find myself craving every couple of weeks. Towa is something like an izakaya that also happens to have omakase in the front. The team is great, especially the GM Natsuki and our favorite server Dana.

The menu is broken up into various sections based on the style of dish it is. There are small plates, fried stuff, rice pots, noodles, sushi, etc.

For the smaller plates, the truffle croquette is our favorite. A fluffy pillow of potato puree breaded in panko and topped with shaved black truffles. It's the grown up version of all those croquettes you ate when you were younger. It's rich, it's luxurious, it's strangely light on the palette as you eat through it.

The wagyu tataki is a good choice too. On our most recent visit, we tried the monkfish tatsuta-age. So unique. Plump seasoned nuggets of monkfish with a very light batter and a squeeze of lemon to balance it out. Very unique.

During the winter they also have a winter yellowtail shabu shabu. This truly caught my eye. The dashi broth is brought hot on top of a flame, there are some chrysanthemum greens, julienned carrots and thinly-sliced mushrooms to place in the soup. Sashimi-grade slices of winter yellowtail you can poach quickly in the broth. It's wonderfully fatty, the dashi is piping hot and it's perfect for the cold days lately.

The sushi is good and there is a separate a la carte menu for the nigiri. The prices are fair but the nigiri is also on the smaller side. At $10 for a seared wagyu piece though, you can't really complain. The prosciutto maki is both unique and tasty. The outer slice of prosciutto is salty, the capers are briny, the dill and shiso flower lend this freshness of herb with a bit of sweetness from the crab and a creaminess of the avocado. It's a lot going on but it all works well together.

Unfortunately my shrimp mazemen is no longer on the menu but the duck soba is excellent. The dashi is flavorful, the noodles are bouncy and the slices of duck are cooked to perfection.

Our favorite dish on the menu though is the yaki gani. Period. Pieces of king grab are grilled in the shell and they're served with a side of miso sauce made with the crab innards. The meat is roasty, the sauce is rich and although it is pricey at $42; each bite your mouth will be filled with happiness.

Don't leave without getting that hojicha panna cotta. The perfect accompaniment to the complimentary hot tea.

PS - If you're into sake, the GM doubles as...

Well, we tasted the Fall tasting menu at this esteemed Japanese establishment (recommended by friends). The bad news is, nothing is good. There's no rhyme or reason to the serving order — bouncing between hot and cold, and then there was this salty persimmon and pomegranate jelly before the main course. The wagyu was good quality but completely smothered in too much bean paste sauce. And the sashimi, while fresh, was lost in an ocean of salt.

For the reader's reference, we're not the sort who can't handle savory food. On the contrary, we are all for rich flavors. However, all the dishes lacked balance, starting from the appetizer, which was overwhelmingly sour and salty. The mashed potatoes were not salty, but they lacked the aroma of potatoes, and the truffle slices seemed to exist in their own realm, adding no value to the dish, though I understand their purpose was to elevate the dish's prestige.

The sashimi's soy sauce was saltier than the Dead Sea, defying all my prior understanding of sashimi. When our feedback reached the waiter, we were informed that this special soy sauce was concocted with dashi and other ingredients, offering a unique taste. Sounds like they think the saltiness is normal. Based on my shallow understanding, sashimi is often paired with low-sodium soy sauce enhanced with dashi or other seafood elements, to highlight the quality of fish.

The miso soup was the only normal item, identical to the miso soup you can find in any Japanese restaurant.

The good news is, tomorrow is the last day of the fall tasting...

It was a very average experience for me, and at this price point, there are many more options. We chose the omakase. When we arrived a bit earlier than our reservation time, we found that the first dish was already prepared and ready to be served as soon as we sat down. I didn't specifically request to watch the preparation of this dish, but having it completed and waiting in front of the chef before we even arrived was not a comfortable experience for the customer, I believe.

The sake I ordered was poured and taken out in the back without bottle. You can't see if it's real or not.

Aside from the sashimi, the dishes, such as the hand roll shown in the picture, were made from fairly ordinary ingredients. Unlike in most omakase sessions, there was no ask for your preference on the portion size of sushi rice. The chef only told us the name of the fish throughout.

The final dessert, ice cream, didn't even have a choice of flavors and was very extremely sweet. It was overly frozen, tasting more like a slush than ice cream or gelato.

After finishing, the staff didn't ask how it was and just handed us a menu with additional items we could order. Perhaps it would be better to offer this after asking. The whole process felt very hurried, commercial, and...