I came here for dinner recently and thought that it was alright. The interior of the restaurant consists of an omakase bar in the back and a cocktail bar at the front. As we did the 11-course omakase, we were seated at the cocktail bar (the omakase bar was reserved for only 15-courses that evening). The host (and our server for the evening) was absolutely amazing and so kind.
The sake that I was recommended to be paired with the course was amazing. I really loved how light, fruity, and a bit sweet the sake was. The course consisted of 2 appetizers, 8 nigiri, and 1 dessert. The two appetizers were probably the highlight of the meal. The first was mackerel paired with fermented miso, and I've never had anything like it before. The second was a 3-bite tuna on pumpkin tempura, with one bite consisting of a caviar topping, another with wasabi, and the last with truffle. I loved both appetizers, and thought they were some of the most unique ones I've had from an omakase experience. The nigiri, however, were thinner cuts of fish, the garnishes weren't paired well (I felt like it didn't highlight the fish), and the rice felt a bit dry. Overall, if the nigiri were just a bit better I would've loved this.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Victor Li
My last experience at Kissaki this past weekend was SUBPAR. It took TWO hours to be served an 8 piece course. Not all the pieces were fresh, the Chef seemed to be overworked as he was the only one available for all the workload that was there.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
Abhi
Hostess seemed hesitant to let me order drinks without ordering food for some reason and seemed to be watching me very carefully. Bartender was very kind and warm. Drinks were great.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Jackey Chan
There were two great things about this place: the waitress was incredibly gracious and she tries really hard, and there were many other diners who were attractive looking people in beautiful clothes.
But food wise… meh. Unfortunately it was quite average for the price. We were sitting in front of the bath rooms and that wasn’t so good either.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 5
Tim
Excellent location and food—next time I would sit at smaller open bar as our chef seemed to get caught up and distracted by larger crowd at time. That said, the bar and extra staff service was wonderful. Sushi excellent!
Michael Nguyen
James was the best!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Dakotah
We made a reservation for the $100 omakase and were given the menu for the more expensive one when we arrived. Our reservation said we were doing the standard and we were the only people in the restaurant. if we hadn't said anything they would have served us the premium one without asking us what we wanted. Secondly, we asked for a sake pairing and they unilaterally decided to give us the “premium” one which was almost twice as much. They also wouldn't apply our deposit to our meal even though the reservation stated that was what would happen. Great food but scammy experience.
L L
It is NOT recommended!
The purpose of this visit was I've been there before for $150 for 15 courses, it was so great that I wanted to introduce this restaurant to my friends by taking advantage of NYC restaurant week, hoped my friends would like it too.
BUT THIS TIME THE EXPERIENCE WAS AWFUL!
1. We arrived there 10-15 minutes early, the restaurant was empty, an employee asked us to leave, the reason was the restaurant was not ready to open, our appearance would interfere with their work. ??? We asked if we could sit somewhere, and the employee reluctantly agreed. Apparently she was not happy.
2. For restaurant week, there is a 3 course fixed menu, but the portion was so small that we had to eat somewhere else after Kissaki. FYI, all of us are fit and diet oriented, we control the amount of food we intake, but the amount of Kissaki 3 course fixed meals was too small.
3. The dessert option is Vanilla Ice Cream or Chocolate Chip Mint Ice Cream. Nothing special, you can have these 2 ice creams anywhere. We asked if we could have a Kissaki dessert, and the employee said it would be an additional $12.
4. When we were there, the whole time, only 1 employee was working behind the bar, doing his own things, he had nothing to do with us, no greeting, no eye contact. Another employee who tried to reject us in the beginning was a server, she didn't greet us, didn't smile, and looked unhappy all the time. She showed us a kind of attitude that SHE ONLY WORKED THERE, THAT IS IT!
In short, the quality of food including appetizer and main course was good, but the amount was small, the food was prepared in the kitchen, you couldn't see how the chef made food artistically and you wouldn't have interaction with the chef. The ice cream as dessert was ordinary, you could have it somewhere else.
So why Kissaki? Kissaki used to bring us warmth, hospitality, a state of art when a chef was making food in front of you, having interaction with you ... it was a fine dining experience in the restaurant, and a fond memory after leaving. And now, it was so down that we were quite disappointed!
A personal suggestion to Kissaki: if you can't do NYC Restaurant Week well, don't do it; you can just focus on your $150 for 15 courses which was successful. You don't want that 3 course meal to ruin your reputation. However, how to manage the restaurant, how to train the employees are essential to run a restaurant, a fine dining restaurant requires higher standards.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
Casey Robbins
We came for restaurant week and were very happy with the meal. Appetizers were delicious, and the 8 piece nigiri was excellent. I can’t speak for the full omakase experience but we thought the $60 pp restaurant week menu was a great value.
I paid for the “10 course dining experience”. It was more of an appetizer with a plate of eight pieces of sushi. Plus, the service is really slow and the ambience was not that impressive. To add insult to injury, the “dessert” included was a mere scoop of vanilla ice cream. For the price I paid, I expected a lot more, but unfortunately, I was disappointed. I will say the food was really good, but if I pay for an experience, that’s what I expect
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 3
LJ With no K
Been here twice, most recently for the tuna cutting. The fish, service, and atmosphere are amazing. Be sure to check it out
Raphael Seung-Ho LEE
Refined course menu that I enjoyed very much. Very good overall.
Jennifer Mesa
Quite delightful and so so fresh. Pricey but delicious
Jamie L
Kissaki is a popular spot with a dedicated following, and the interior is undoubtedly stylish and inviting. However, I found the pricing to be a bit steep for what is essentially basic sushi. None of the nigiri stood out as particularly memorable, and it was clear that the focus is on a fusion-style omakase. Given the high price point, I'm unlikely to return or recommend it to others.
I came here for dinner recently and thought that it was alright. The interior of the restaurant consists of an omakase bar in the back and a cocktail bar at the front. As we did the 11-course omakase, we were seated at the cocktail bar (the omakase bar was reserved for only 15-courses that evening). The host (and our server for the evening) was absolutely amazing and so kind.
The sake that I was recommended to be paired with the course was amazing. I really loved how light, fruity, and a bit sweet the sake was. The course consisted of 2 appetizers, 8 nigiri, and 1 dessert. The two appetizers were probably the highlight of the meal. The first was mackerel paired with fermented miso, and I've never had anything like it before. The second was a 3-bite tuna on pumpkin tempura, with one bite consisting of a caviar topping, another with wasabi, and the last with truffle. I loved both appetizers, and thought they were some of the most unique ones I've had from an omakase experience. The nigiri, however, were thinner cuts of fish, the garnishes weren't paired well (I felt like it didn't highlight the fish), and the rice felt a bit dry. Overall, if the nigiri were just a bit better I would've loved this.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
My last experience at Kissaki this past weekend was SUBPAR. It took TWO hours to be served an 8 piece course. Not all the pieces were fresh, the Chef seemed to be overworked as he was the only one available for all the workload that was there.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
Hostess seemed hesitant to let me order drinks without ordering food for some reason and seemed to be watching me very carefully. Bartender was very kind and warm. Drinks were great.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
There were two great things about this place: the waitress was incredibly gracious and she tries really hard, and there were many other diners who were attractive looking people in beautiful clothes.
But food wise… meh. Unfortunately it was quite average for the price. We were sitting in front of the bath rooms and that wasn’t so good either.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 5
Excellent location and food—next time I would sit at smaller open bar as our chef seemed to get caught up and distracted by larger crowd at time. That said, the bar and extra staff service was wonderful. Sushi excellent!
James was the best!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We made a reservation for the $100 omakase and were given the menu for the more expensive one when we arrived. Our reservation said we were doing the standard and we were the only people in the restaurant. if we hadn't said anything they would have served us the premium one without asking us what we wanted. Secondly, we asked for a sake pairing and they unilaterally decided to give us the “premium” one which was almost twice as much. They also wouldn't apply our deposit to our meal even though the reservation stated that was what would happen. Great food but scammy experience.
It is NOT recommended!
The purpose of this visit was I've been there before for $150 for 15 courses, it was so great that I wanted to introduce this restaurant to my friends by taking advantage of NYC restaurant week, hoped my friends would like it too.
BUT THIS TIME THE EXPERIENCE WAS AWFUL!
1. We arrived there 10-15 minutes early, the restaurant was empty, an employee asked us to leave, the reason was the restaurant was not ready to open, our appearance would interfere with their work. ??? We asked if we could sit somewhere, and the employee reluctantly agreed. Apparently she was not happy.
2. For restaurant week, there is a 3 course fixed menu, but the portion was so small that we had to eat somewhere else after Kissaki. FYI, all of us are fit and diet oriented, we control the amount of food we intake, but the amount of Kissaki 3 course fixed meals was too small.
3. The dessert option is Vanilla Ice Cream or Chocolate Chip Mint Ice Cream. Nothing special, you can have these 2 ice creams anywhere. We asked if we could have a Kissaki dessert, and the employee said it would be an additional $12.
4. When we were there, the whole time, only 1 employee was working behind the bar, doing his own things, he had nothing to do with us, no greeting, no eye contact. Another employee who tried to reject us in the beginning was a server, she didn't greet us, didn't smile, and looked unhappy all the time. She showed us a kind of attitude that SHE ONLY WORKED THERE, THAT IS IT!
In short, the quality of food including appetizer and main course was good, but the amount was small, the food was prepared in the kitchen, you couldn't see how the chef made food artistically and you wouldn't have interaction with the chef. The ice cream as dessert was ordinary, you could have it somewhere else.
So why Kissaki? Kissaki used to bring us warmth, hospitality, a state of art when a chef was making food in front of you, having interaction with you ... it was a fine dining experience in the restaurant, and a fond memory after leaving. And now, it was so down that we were quite disappointed!
A personal suggestion to Kissaki: if you can't do NYC Restaurant Week well, don't do it; you can just focus on your $150 for 15 courses which was successful. You don't want that 3 course meal to ruin your reputation. However, how to manage the restaurant, how to train the employees are essential to run a restaurant, a fine dining restaurant requires higher standards.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
We came for restaurant week and were very happy with the meal. Appetizers were delicious, and the 8 piece nigiri was excellent. I can’t speak for the full omakase experience but we thought the $60 pp restaurant week menu was a great value.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Wow the Tuna cutting event was next level
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
I paid for the “10 course dining experience”. It was more of an appetizer with a plate of eight pieces of sushi. Plus, the service is really slow and the ambience was not that impressive. To add insult to injury, the “dessert” included was a mere scoop of vanilla ice cream. For the price I paid, I expected a lot more, but unfortunately, I was disappointed. I will say the food was really good, but if I pay for an experience, that’s what I expect
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 3
Been here twice, most recently for the tuna cutting. The fish, service, and atmosphere are amazing. Be sure to check it out
Refined course menu that I enjoyed very much. Very good overall.
Quite delightful and so so fresh. Pricey but delicious
Kissaki is a popular spot with a dedicated following, and the interior is undoubtedly stylish and inviting. However, I found the pricing to be a bit steep for what is essentially basic sushi. None of the nigiri stood out as particularly memorable, and it was clear that the focus is on a fusion-style omakase. Given the high price point, I'm unlikely to return or recommend it to others.
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