Linn

Kondo san rocks!!!
He has been managing this restaurant almost since the opening 10 years ago.
Since he became the owner, the food is better and the place is tidy and cleaner.

Shitty place
Didnt notice it was a restaurant
Awful service
Servers cant even speak english
But sushi was good

We ordered delivery from here thought it was too expensive for what it was. Small rolls but decently fresh.

What The Fuck happened to my favorite sushi spot? It went downhill after the chef left… Please reopen and bring back the Chef Tanaka!

I heard the terrible main chef got fired and assistant chef who I really liked is now the main chef. I haven’t visit there yet, but I’d love to go sometime soon.
Hopefully there food quality maintained.

I thought this place serves the best sushi in Astoria so I suggested it to my friend. She had the worst sushi because I didn’t know Linn is not the same as before when I lived in the area 2 years ago. Very disappointing change.

Unfortunately, everything gone wrong, from the quality of rolls to the variety of menu. Used to be the best sushi in Astoria, now it’s another mediocre inauthentic sushi place.
So sad:(

Update of original 9÷9÷2013 post.
I am sad to say that the chef at Linn left.
We first noticed that all the art is all gone, the space looked bland. It wouldn’t have been so bad, but the walls were not repainted and were marked up.
My boyfriend and went last week and were very unhappy with our meals. We ordered from the menu and both received meals that were not what was described. They had some similarities, but were not what we thought we were ordering.
The prices have gone up too, I would not mind that if the food was on the same level as it once was.
Time to find a new favorite sushi place.

I wish I could give this place 0 stars. It’s really unfortunately what happen to our local sushi spot. The service is horrible and the sushi isn’t the same. My friends and I use to go here weekly when the old sushi chef was there. He was amazing! During that time, it was by far the best sushi in town! Now it’s just horrible. They’re rude and they turned the classy restaurant into a dark hole. We want our old sushi chef back! The only good thing they have left is the name, Linn but I hope they change it soon bc it’s really ruining the Linn we use to know.

Does anyone know where Chef Tanaka is now cooking?

I went to Linn about a year ago and was disappointed by their sashimi. I went back there again and really enjoyed their fresh fish. Tsukiji fish market in Astoria.

The atmosphere here is great. They had live music when we went for dinner — two guys on a cello and guitar, playing some lounge-​ishy music. It was really unexpected, in a nice way.
Waitstaff is awkward though (one of the guys kept constantly peeking over my head to see if I was done with my bowl of udon), and food’s so-​so.
Their special sushi rolls were so large that they couldn’t fit in our mouths, and as a result kept falling apart. We got the Linn, Mach3, and Fried Oyster. Flavor wise they were all OK — Mach 3 was our fav — but there was a lot more rice than usual being used and it was just annoying to eat due to the huge-​ness.
Also got the onigiri (mostly rice, could barely find salmon), and the chawanmushi, which was nice and comforting.
Got the flan for dessert, but the edges had a hard crust, like it sat too long in some dark corner… points for cutesy presentation though.
The best part food-​wise was the complimentary green tea and amaazing chocolate balls at the end.
All in all though, I’d come back — it’s just sooo cozy, almost inexplicably so. Will avoid the sushi rolls next time though, and try more of their regular dishes or maybe even the omakase.
Also worth it to note that almost everyone who came for dinner while we were there seemed to be Japanese/​Korean and a regular… so I guess that says something?

Clean and modern Japanese gallery/​food lounge.
Apparently there is live music from 8−10pm but I wasn’t there in time to check it out.
The sushi is authentic and the kara age chicken is deliciously seasoned and fried. I also had the miso ramen which was equally satisfactory.
I was quite surprised with the quality of food here as I’ve been to other sushi joints in Astoria that are takeout standard in my opinion. So after doing some research, I found that Chef Tanaka Shigenori worked at Masa and Morimoto before opening this establishment.
Will definitely be back to try more of the items on the menu.

One of my favorite places in Astoria. Like the cozy atmosphere and the no hassle menu. It doesn’t have a lot to choose from but they’re good with what they have. Service is slow sometimes because there is only one server at a time. Not too creative with the sushi or the rolls.
The boyfriend likes the Japanese beef curry and I usually get the ramen and we split a roll. Both are highly recommended.
They do need to work on a new dessert menu though!

So I’ve been here a few times and this used to be my fav sushi spot in Queens until I discovered Sushi Yasu or maybe the quality is just not the same as it once was. This was my first time doing the Omakase here and it was a tad disappointing. It may also be due to the overwhelming amount of sushi places I have been to and now I expect nothing but the best lol My gripe with the Omakase was the lack of nigiri, there were only 4 pieces and one was mushroom??? Also, rice in sushi is a big damn deal to me, if it’s not to you then it should be! The rice really had no flavor, it felt like rice from the Chinese owned Japanese restaurants. The seafood was still incredibly fresh.
The food:
Fried Oyster– I ordered this separate and I know it’s not really Japanese but I f’in love it. I think the batter adds a nice crunch and the oyster is still succulent. And for $ 5 bucks for two, it’s not a bad deal.
Omakase 1: Clear Soup. It was nice, but very subtle in flavor. Nice on a sick or cold day.
Omakase 2: Tofu Sesame Miso. I know tofu is very mild in flavor but damn. I wasn’t crazy about this dish. The darker tofu had better flavor but not a fan.
Omakase 3: Tuna Salad. This dish was nice. The pic is not a good representation since I ate two pieces of tuna then realized I forgot to take a pic lol This dish is very fresh and bright. The dressing has a slight kick and pairs well with the silky tuna.
Omakase 4: Pork Belly. Had this before and I wasn’t crazy about it then and wasn’t crazy about it now.
Omakase 5: sashimi and nigiri. So this was the Pièce de résistance and I was disappointed. The good: tuna sashimi, salmon sashimi, kampachi nigiri and tuna, shiso pickled radish roll. Bad: only 4 pieces of nigiri, oyster was a little off putting, cucumber roll, mushroom nigiri and the damn rice had no taste.
Omakase 6: Green Tea Flan. Didn’t love it or hate it.
Side order: Scallop, Uni, Unagi nigiri. All three seafood had nice flavor but the bland rice is a sin.

I’ve been to Linn on many an occasion and it truly is something special. If you want authentic traditional Japanese fair, this is it. As far as what I like here, and what I recommend there is a bunch of stuff. To start, I like the onigiri, which is a traditional Japanese snack. Basically a rice ball, rice with your choice of fish in the middle, and a seaweed square. I typically go with the cod. I like this because you don’t really see it many places, unless you get one from sunrise mart, and then its prepackaged. I also like the pork belly here, its excellent, presented in broth, its falls apart when you eat it. Really the fatty parts of the pork belly comes out amazing, the broth no doubt aids the amazing flavors. Umami.
As a main dish I really like the sushi of course and select rolls. My two favorite out of the ones I’ve sampled are the spicy scallion roll and the soft shell crab roll which I ordered last time. Both very unique and savory.
Linn has a relaxed vibe and cool ambiance, I like the projector that shows old seventies clips and nature programming on the front wall. If you go on Saturdays they often have a Jazz duo which is cool as well. The Katsudon is good, but I would just throw out there that the pork cutlet is thicker then I was used to. I’ve only had katsudon a handful of times on my visits to Japan, but typically the cutlet was thinner. Of course, when I got it in Tokyo it had a more fast food type quality, and this is more upscale, but I do prefer the cutlet to be sliced thinner. So just a heads up on that.
Other than that drop in solo if you want and sit at the bar area near the chef. Oh, and grab a sake while your at it.

Update: Linn has gone downhill. Came here Saturday night and the staff could not handle the crowd. One of the worst service experiences I have ever encountered. Had to get up and beg for water, dishes were served in a staggered fashion and at one point in our meal a group of 12 diners got up and left because «their order had not been taken.» While they were leaving the chef got out from the sushi bar and started having an argument with one of the patrons that was leaving, it was totally unprofessional… honestly this might the end of Linn…
They had one waiter on staff and there are only 2 cooks, Saturday night there were probably about 25 – 30 patrons… guy com’on, hire some more people.

Great sushi in Astoria. Made a reservation for 8:00pm on a Saturday. (It was busy at that time so I’m glad I did, but it wasn’t so busy by the time we left around 9:30pm.) We got Sapporo drafts while we decided what we wanted to order. They had live jazz music that night too. Unexpected but not overwhelming or too loud — it was nice.
Dinner:
We got the Pork Belly appetizer as others recommended on Unilocal (did not disappoint).
Sushi/​maki: rice was room temperature, the way it should be served, and it was a great consistency with great flavor. Red Dragon Roll, Linn Roll, Raw Oyster sashimi, Blue Fin Tuna sushi, raw Octopus sushi, Sea Urchin sushi and a few other fish sushi pieces. All fresh and great texture. It’s slightly pricier than some other places, with most sushi pieces being $ 5 each but the quality is also higher than most places too. Will come back!

I love this place! It’s so yummy! I’m japanese and I know !!! It’s real :)
So happy I live close by!!!

I went to Linn for a birthday dinner and they setup a long table for our group of 10. Linn is one of the better Japanese restaurants that is affordable.
Dishes that I really liked:
1. Fried oysters — They were piping hot and crispy on the outside.
2. Kaisen yaki — Baked seafood with spicy mayo is a must order!
3. Futo maki and other various rolls — They were all very delicious.
4. Sushi & Sashimi — The fish were fresh and actually tasted a little sweet.
5. Ton katsu — The deep fried pork was nice and crispy.