Zutto Japanese Ramen Sushi Bar — Restaurant in New York

• This review is my personal experience. It may differ from others *

Admittedly, I am not the best at making any type of sushi or hand roll. When I was recently told about a place that allowed customers to make their own temaki rolls I thought it might be worth a try. Zutto has another location that is pretty popular but a new one opened on Broome St in NoLiTa recently.

The concept design of this place has the kitchen and food prep area in the front near the host podium. The dining area, drink bar and sushi bar are in the back. The place generally has some very nice decor with, of course a Japanese theme. The brick walls give the place a nice rustic feel to the overall ambiance with modern design.

The menu has a nice selection of alcoholic drinks with signature cocktails, appetizers, ramen and the sushi options. For this visit, I did not order any ramen as my guest and myself had decided to get more appetizers instead.

For the initial drinks we ordered:

Miyada Old Fashion - Iwai Whiskey, Chocolate Bitters, Honey and Orange. True to any old fashion drink, this was strong for but tasty.

Jamasakura - Tito's Vodka, Lychee Puree, Sakura Shrub, Rhubard Bitters. This drink was recommended by our server for my female guest and it was a solid one. Not only did it look nice but also tasted sweet.

For our appetizers we chose:

Pork Belly Steamed Buns -Iceberg lettuce, scallion and miso mayo. The use of the steamed Chinese bun has gained a lot of popularity across Asian restaurants. The pork belly slices were quite thick and savory. Finger licking good.

Kara-age (crispy chicken) - Ponzu sauce. This is a popular appetizer in Japanese restaurants and I always tend to order. The pieces were fried golden and a generous portion was provided. I enjoyed every bite.

Pan Fried Gyoza - homemade pork dumplings. So the keyword here is 'homemade' and that was very apparent when they came to the table as they were filled with more pork than an average store bought gyoza. If you go, definitely order the gyoza if you have room in your stomach.

Now the main reason why I was there...the hand rolls!

The Zutto DIY I went with as it was the namesake of the restaurant and offered a lot of what I was looking for (other options are listed after this paragraph). It consisted of Salmon, Tuna, White Tuna and Yellowtail pieces accompanied by avocado, cucumber and tamago (Japanese egg) all in one elegantly plated platter. The sides included kani (crab) salad, seaweed salad, nori, sushi rice and Zutto rainbow sauce. The mango sauce sticks out for me but there is definitely a sauce that will appeal to the different palates.

** For a lesser price point you can choose a vegetable only diy platter or for the higher price point they have a deluxe platter that offers a few more things. But for the average person, the Zutto platter offers a great experience.

So the method usually of making your own hand rolls spreading the sushi rice on the long piece of nori, then choosing your fish and then other toppings. Then you can roll either from the side to try and get a perfect "roll" or you start folding from the corner and the resulting hand roll looking more like a cone. I prefaced this review in the beginning stating that I was certainly no expert but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience with my guest. The portions provided in the kit allow for several rolls to be made so this can be a fun group food event, an option for date (casual or intimate) or in extreme cases if you are hungry and still want to make your own rolls.

The restaurant offers preset specialty rolls that you can order. This is a nice incentive to come back to try a different dining experience.

Overall, a very nice experience during my particular visit. The food and service were very good. My guest had a good time and that was important to me as well whenever I invite anyone out to eat. The place is charming in its own way since it is not as big as the original location. If you are near Little Italy in NYC, give this...

I truly believe that even a rating of 1 star would be too generous for this establishment. One can only wonder who granted this place a 4.7 rating! If the individual preparing the food is Japanese, they must have learned their craft incorrectly.

Before the main dishes arrived, the salad was served. To my shock, the salad contained black and discoloured leaves. Upon further inspection with chopsticks, I noticed that the greens were not fresh, but rather wilted and beginning to decompose, with black and green spots throughout.

The Katsudon and Udon took nearly 20 minutes to arrive despite there being few customers. The chicken in the Katsudon was exceedingly tough, and the curry contained ground pork, which raised serious doubts about its safety. One must question whether it is even safe to eat such a dish.

However, the most perplexing of all was the Kimchi Udon. It was far closer to a porridge than an udon soup. As I tried to enjoy the broth, I tasted a thick, greasy sensation from the sesame oil. The few pieces of kimchi were overwhelmingly salty, the broth was absent, and the udon noodles themselves had an unpleasant raw flour taste.

How can such food be rated at 4.7 stars? I feel utterly deceived and greatly offended.

I discontinued my meal and looked around the establishment. I was struck by the thought: why is this place so dimly lit? The photos on Google Reviews seemed utterly misleading, as the restaurant felt more like a cave than a dining establishment. I could not help but wonder whether there had been a change in ownership or the head chef. Staff service? There was no service to speak of at all.

Such an establishment must be reviewed accurately and these issues must...

Came here for a weekday work lunch. The food was pretty good and the service was attentive (we were one of three tables so it'd better be attentive) The scallops were fresh and sweet and parred well with the lime- it's no different than other sushi place appetizers. The rock shrimp was crunchy and had good flavor and it's a generous portion- a definite must try. Their main thing is the ramen. I had the spicy miso ramen. Their broth which I consider the soul of the ramen was rich and flavourful but unfortunately too salty. The ramen they paired is the thick ramen; it goes but it wasn't ramen al dente. The sides of wood fungus, ground pork, etc works pretty well as it definitely added different flavour levels and texture profiles to the bowl of ramen. The chashu pork had good thickness so there is enough to bite into, marinated well for good flavour, and charred just right for that smoky flavour; making it the best part of the ramen. Overall decent but not nearly close to the best I had. I would go back to try other things if I am around the area again but it's not a crave to go back. Pricing without drinks was a tad high for the area but...