YOSHINO • NEW YORK — Restaurant in New York

This is one of the best Japanese restaurants I’ve experienced in New York City. Their cuisine leans toward traditional Japanese flavors, with a master chef boasting decades of experience who brings many dishes to near perfection. They also offer some unique signature courses that leave a lasting impression. While the prices are significantly higher than your average Japanese restaurant—sometimes several times as much—the dining experience here is unparalleled and well worth the cost.

From my experience, a few highlights set this restaurant apart from other top-tier Japanese establishments in NYC:

Exceptional Handling of Traditional Ingredients The chef’s mastery of Japanese culinary techniques shines through, especially with rare and luxurious ingredients like hairy crab, cod milt, and nodoguro. These items, typically found only at the finest restaurants, are elevated here with flavors that are distinct and memorable, offering a fresh perspective even if you’ve tried them elsewhere.

Creative Signature Dishes The chef's original creations are remarkable. For example, the charcoal-grilled mackerel is perfectly cooked with an impressive preparation style that adds a touch of theatricality to the meal, leaving diners both entertained and impressed.

Premium Ingredients and Impeccable Knife Skills The quality of the ingredients is exceptional, and the precise knife work combines them in perfect harmony, turning each dish into a true work of art.

Warm and Enthusiastic Service Both the chefs and the staff are incredibly friendly and passionate, showing genuine care for their guests. It’s touching to see such a famous establishment maintain this level of hospitality and dedication to providing the best dining experience possible.

Seamless Teamwork in the Kitchen Observing the chefs at the counter, you can sense the efficient harmony of the kitchen. Their collaboration is seamless, showcasing the precision and professionalism of a well-run operation.

Despite their Michelin-starred status and well-deserved acclaim, there are a few areas where they could improve:

Limited Innovation in Modern Japanese Cuisine While their dishes excel in traditional flavors, there’s less focus on modern Japanese innovations or fusion cuisine. For instance, their combination of ice cream and white truffle, though interesting, doesn’t rival the creativity of some renowned French-Japanese or modern Japanese restaurants in NYC. It would be exciting to see them explore more inventive directions in the future.

Pacing of Sushi Courses The sushi courses are served with relatively long intervals, as one sushi chef handles all the sushi for the entire counter. This disrupts the flow and makes it harder to compare the flavors of similar items like lean tuna, medium fatty tuna, and fatty tuna. Having multiple sushi chefs could improve the pacing and enhance the overall dining rhythm, allowing guests to better enjoy the progression of flavors.

Inconsistent Plate Presentation The choice of plates feels a bit eclectic, with some leaning toward modern Western styles and others embracing traditional Japanese aesthetics. Some plates have overly busy patterns that distract from the presentation of the food. A more cohesive and complementary plate selection could elevate the visual aspect of the dining experience.

Overall, this restaurant is an outstanding representation of traditional Japanese cuisine and delivers an exceptional dining experience. I hope they continue to maintain their high standards while also pushing boundaries to innovate further and solidify their place as one of NYC’s top Japanese dining...

I booked the reservation one month ago for my anniversary. The restaurant sent me the confirmation email one day before the reservation. I confirmed with restaurant and I was expect to attend. However I waked up in the morning and was shocked because the manger cancelled my reservation at middle night , the day of my reservation ,my anniversary ! last minute the manger cancelled my reservation. I waited for their call, they didn't even give me a call! So I wrote a email to them ask the reason. They just say they define my credit card as scalper's ( that's their explanation which is absolutely insult, I can simply give them other credit card if they doubt, second how they still took my deposit actually two full meal fee 1000$+200$ service+tax if they doubt my credit card ? but without any apology and without communicating with me!!! ( what is funny is , they charge the deposit already ! I don't know whether other people's reservation had been cancelled without refund like this ? whole morning Totally no contact , no detail explanation . They didn't even give a call to explain. In the email , they asked me to contact with Tock, but funny is Tock don't know anything, they check the system they don't the why they cancelled my reservation. Tock asked me to call the restaurant , but I called them. None picked phone at all. Moreover they already deposited with my credit! Tock said the deposit already transferred to restaurant! ( that's so wired , what 's their behavior ) . Around 1 pm afternoon already ( you know you suffered from this disgusting thing, you won't have mood to plan other thing). the first email they just said my credit card is scalper but without mentioning any refund, Yoshino asked me to contact Tock and didn't mention any refund. They are really susceptive. Until I said your restaurant sent the confirmation email ahead and cancelled my reservation after my confirming, and Tock don't know why your restaurant cancelled my reservation! ( luckily I contacted with Tock first , I could stop them using any excuses ) then they sent me second email promise me will refund it. But how can they charge with my credit card already. They deposited already. Back step , They should cancel at least 3 days ahead. They knew the rules that if cancelled within 3 days , no refund. This is seriously problem. If they cancelled my reservation at least one week ahead , I wouldn't be so angry. In addition , I could have enough time to book other restaurant. This restaurant ruined my anniversary totally. Make me feel disgusting. I feel huge depression , sadness. I think none met this situation like me. Anniversary cancelled by a restaurant and didn't receive any apology. The explanation email I only could tell how much rudeness and arrogant of them, there is no single word of apology. Never meet this kind of restaurant before. The popularity is based on their fame from Nagoya ,they chose New York instead of Tokyo. Tokyo is more competitive. We travel to Japan always , my Japanese traveling argent helped us book many local Japanese restaurants. They are so polite never broke the agreement. This restaurant is no thing about food , they thought they are top star , and they are so popular and never lack of costumers. So Disgusting. Moreover if you are regular or send gifts to them , you can book directly from them. So shame on this restaurant. Make me feel nausea,...

We've been to many different Sushi restaurants, and the experience we had at Yoshino is easily one of the worst.

Sushi: The nigiris are a disaster, even without mentioning flavor. Among the about ten pieces we got, three of them has the silver skin (the white connective tissue between muscles) inside. This is never supposed to be found in any sushi or sashimi, even at $50 sushi places. A single occurrence might be an honest miss, but seeing this three different sushi's is plainly ridiculous considering the price and fame Yoshino enjoys.

What makes things more insulting is that, when we asked Sous Chef about this, we got 'educated' that fish are born with silver skin. Lol, fish are born with bones and scale as well, next time the place may serve them in sushi as well.

As if it is not bad enough, one of the sushi I got has undercooked rice. I got yelled at by my mother when I did the same as a 7yo, and somehow this is acceptable for a $500 restaurant with Michelin stars.

Otsumami: When our friends recommended Yoshino, they spoke highly of the Otsumami, and that got our expectations really high. However, it turned out Yoshino recently changed their menu, and the Otsumami's in the new menu are very disappointing.

To start with, the seasoning is all over the places. If you have ever been to a joint performance by multiple high school bands, you'd know what I am talking about - everyone is competing for attention and trying to grab the center of the stage. For instance, the sauce over Hotaru Ika was overly sour. There is no harmony or consistency between different components. There is flavorless mashed potato in dishes, outstanding tomatoes, etc.

Also, they somehow managed to ruin the original flavor of all the good ingredients. The Hotaru Ika I mentioned above has all umami flavor of squids eclipsed by its sauce. The unique flavor of Kinmedai magically disappeared. The truffle in the dessert is so overwhelming that it makes zero sense.

Service: One may consider food quality a subject of preference or a topic of discussion, but the service we received at Yoshino is outright outrageous.

I (M) went to the dinner with my friend (F). The servers literally ignored my friend, served the drink menu to me and only asked me for orders and thoughts.

If this is not blatant discrimination, the response we got from Sous Chef definitely is. We complained about the treatment my friend got, and the Sous Chef goes: they (the server) probably thinks men are hardworking and earning money, and thus gave more attention to men.

Thanks for your lessons Sous Chef. I have been to Sushi places where the chef had been arrested for abusing his apprentice and domestic violence. Even that place doesn't do discrimination like Yoshino does. (Plus, they know how to properly handle fish, but who's counting?)

TL;DR The handling of fish is unacceptable, the seasoning is questionable, the service is full of sexism from Showa era. Adding insult to injury, they feel good about what they do, and we didn't even get an apology for any of the points mentioned above. The only thing we got was lessons on anatomy of fish, and antiquated ideas on gender division of labor.

If lessons and fame are what you are after, the $500 pp experience might be worth it (or is it? Idk, never been in that market). Otherwise, we find no reason to visit this...