Cherry

This place is very sexy great date night spot. Maybe even to sexy one night it really seemed like the place was overrun by sugar baby/​daddy set.
The food is amazing the FOIE GRAS SHORTRIB GYOZA are not to be missed. Well if you dont have an ethical issue with foie gras. Personally, I find it too tasty to lose sleep over. The BLACK BASS CARPACCIO is simple and a totally perfect mix of flavors that really let the fish and texture shine. UNI CRISPY RICE another one that should not be missed. The BBQ eel
avocado, candied bacon taste just as good as it sound. The LOBSTER TACO were the only miss of the night for me. Not terrible but not great.

A 4 star rating is a little overrated for Cherry. Realistically it is 3.5. It is located under the dream hotel. I came here with my girlfriend and one of her friends from out of town. Everything about this restaurant is good not great. The décor feels a little inauthentic, the food was good not great, and the drinks good not great.
Probably won’t be back in the future.

Cherry is a date friendly, Japanese-​French fusion restaurant, high on specialty cocktails, plush seating, and a vintage glamour. The menus remind me of Tao but with smaller portions and better plating. As evidenced by the almost secretive entrance and dim descent, the setting is intimate, and almost speak-​easy-​like in elegance, with luxurious elements and vintage photographs of unknown Asian personages. I’d say if Tao was for a big night out and going to be seen, Cherry is for intimate conversations and classy affairs. Pair it with a late night stroll at the High Line or more drinks in MePa and you’d got a great date.
Perry and I sat down for dinner during restaurant week. It was a Tuesday at 7:30 pm, and there were plenty of tables. Several other tables appeared to be restaurant week excursions and they handled the larger groups easily. Service in general was unobtrusive, expertly handling table affairs while giving diners the maximum privacy and space. They were happy to answer questions and were pleasant.
We decided to mix up the Restaurant week menu and the regular menu to try and sample the classic items and try to mitigate the remorse I usually have after only getting pre-​made resto week items. The restaurant week menu is pretty good, as it comes with a good mix of sushi rolls, an entrée, and the signature crispy rice. The drinks menu is exhaustive and looked pretty interesting. But we don’t drink, so no comment.
Foie Gras Short Rib Gyoza — a signature dish, meant to be eaten quickly, lest the skin loses its crispiness. The filling is tender and rich, savory and truffle scented. I did like the cherries on top but found the plum sake glaze too sweet and didn’t detect foie gras in the dish. I think I would have preferred something green to counter the richness of the filling rather than the over saccharine glaze that tends to be the hallmark of Asian fusion food.
RW — Miso Soup /​Mixed Green Salad — The miso soup has a rich mushroom taste to it that would make mushroom lovers happy. It also has a faint acidity compared to a standard miso soup that I found off putting. The mixed green salad was good, with high quality greens, a light dressing, and thankfully no iceberg lettuce.
RW — Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice — I liked the presentation, play on textures, and the flavoring of the spicy tuna. I thought the crispy rice was a bit too crispy, which made it hard to chew without having it get stuck in your teeth and then making weird faces at your date. This is a challenging bit of technique however, so points for trying, but not a dish I would order again.
RW — Miso Glazed Seabass — a very hearty portion of seabass, but again, with an overly sweetened glaze that makes the palate tired. The fish was fresh and cooked well, but I am thankful I didn’t have a larger portion.
RW — Steak Au Poivre — a few thin slices of premium beef, cooked medium, with a delicate sauce. Tasty, but also meager portion when compared to my seabass. From other reviews, it sounds like the paltry serving is typical of the non restaurant week order.
RW — Several pieces of the shrimp tempura roll, barbecued eel, and salmon avocado. The tempura shrimp was excellent. If you like eel, this roll is pretty good. The salmon avocado was not memorable. Based on the texture of the rice, I believe some of the rolls were premade hours earlier and refrigerated…
RW — Suntory Bread Pudding with yamazaki whiskey, toffee sauce. Well executed, rich, custardy bread pudding with a definite whiskey flavor. Of the many tasty sounding desserts on the regular menu, I wouldn’t have chosen this one, but I wasn’t unhappy with this option.
For the space and service, and most likely drinks, I’d rate Cherry 4 stars.
For the menu and balance of the food and kitchen, I’d go with a 3.

Came here on a Groupon deal with my boyfriend on a Monday night. We arrived at 7pm for a 7:30 reservation; hostess seated us no problem as there were only about five other tables occupied.
The ambiance is really romantic as almost every other table was a couple. Seating was a little awkward at first because only a few tables were occupied, but as the night went on the room started filling up with more chatter. The lights are dim all around and tables are pretty well spaced. I didn’t have a problem with hearing my neighbors conversations.
I ordered the Cherry Bomb and my boyfriend got the Saketini. Pass on the Saketini and try the Cherry Bomb if you’re into tequila. I’m usually a really picky drinker and cocktails always taste too strong BUT the Cherry Bomb was more than acceptable. Even my boyfriend was surprised I liked it. Highly recommend it.
Now onto the food. We ordered Tuna Tarts, Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice, Salmon Tartare, Miso Glazed Seabass, Black Seabass Carpaccio, Pressed Salmon Avocado Sushi and a Yellowtail Jalapeño roll. I loved everything except the Yellowtail roll. I was pleasantly surprised with some of the flavors especially from the Tuna Tarts and Seabass Carpaccio. The Carpaccio is like nothing I’ve ever eaten before. The texture of the fish with the oil is just great– a must try. I literally have no complaints about everything else.
On top of the amazing food menu, the service was just great. Our server wasn’t overly pushy and checked up on us just the right amount of times. Our glasses were never empty and our empty dishes never sat for too long.
We were a little bummed at first because we thought we made a poor choice of using the $ 80 for $ 125 worth of food during restaurant week. However, seeing as how we were able to try a lot more items than on the limited Restaurant Week menu (first course is miso soup or a salad lol), we don’t regret our choice. All in all, I really enjoyed our meal and I would definitely come back again

Came here on a date with my boyfriend at 6:30PM on a Saturday. The outside door is very mysterious looking and after you go down the steps to the restaurant /​lounge downstairs, the space opens itself up. When we got there, only one other group was seated.
The atmosphere reminds me of a Shanghai-​nese Lounge from the 1960s — an awkward yet inviting mixture of Western and Asian cultures. The red hue of the room probably made it even warmer. It seemed like a hot date spot, almost everyone who got seated after us showed up in snappy outfits and in twos. Interesting to note that the age range was pretty big too. However, I could also see this as a super fun girls night out dinner spot with dimmed lights and flickering candles — perfect quiet gossip session backdrop.
The walls were decorated with portraits. I thought it was nice but mostly creepy.
Our waiter was super attentive. We ended up getting grilled squid, lobster tacos, salmon avocado press and crispy snapper roll. For drinks, we ordered the lychee martini and a glass of rose.
I loved the lobster tacos — super fresh and served in generous portions. The grilled squid was a little burnt, I thought it was only okay. I loved both the salmon avocado press and the crispy snapper, though! You’d probably have to kill me before I could tell you which one I liked more.
The bathroom is also worth mentioning. It has a backstage dressing room type of feel to it, which I thought was mildly fascinating.
Would definitely like to come back for the tuna tarts next time!
PS since there are no windows in the place, it also felt super nice to go to dinner early and come out to see that there was still sunlight out! Felt like I cheated aging lolol

There are few things as disappointing as an unsatisfactory meal. Sure, perhaps I should have known better going in; Cherry’s location in the Dream Hotel right in the center of the Meatpacking District should have forewarned me. Unfortunately, not all dining decisions lie in my hands, so I found myself apprehensively entering Cherry on a weekday evening.
The venue is located in the basement level, and carries itself in the manner you’d expect most restaurant /​lounge /​bars in the area to be — dimly lit, sultry and red-​hued, with a variety of Asian paintings adorning the walls and ceilings. Appropriately, Cherry’s menu shows evident Asian influences, including a selection of sushi and sashimi as well as a number of appetizers and mains.
We’d been lured in initially by the Foie Gras Shortrib Gyoza, a dish that clearly brought to mind Annisa’s signature Foie Gras Soup Dumplings. The iteration at Cherry, however, fell short of the original. Five small pan-​seared dumplings were served to us; the filling was miniscule and the addition of foie gras undetectable. Topping each piece with half a sour cherry proved thoughtless, in retrospect, as there was no way of keeping it on top of the gyoza when we ate it. It was a dish that looked attractive on paper, but fell short completely on execution.
The entrees didn’t fare any better. The Chicken Sausage I opted for was unimpressive at first glance, a meager potion that was paired with a handful of shishito peppers against a taro purée. There were few redeeming features about this place, aside from the purée, which had a pleasant sweetness to contrast the other elements. The shishitos were underseasoned and bland, and the chicken sausage, while tasty, disappeared in less than ten bites. A similar story followed for the Steak au Poivre; the protein was sliced so thinly and came in such a small portion that it was better suited to be an appetizer course.
I have no qualms paying more for good food, but Cherry gave us less-​than-​inspired interpretations of dishes that left us still hungry afterwards [1]. Was it worth the $ 100 bill? Absolutely not.
–
[1] We did go to Coppelia afterwards to split a Cubano — one of the best in the city, in my opinion.

I’ve been here twice so far and I’m glad I waited until now to write a review because my first time wasn’t nearly as good of an experience, but I realized I ordered some of the wrong things.
Must get: tuna tarts (that truffle oil makes everything awesome)
Must get: miso glazed sea bass (cooked absolutely perfectly with great subtle flavors)
Must get: one of the best lychee martinis (not too sweet if you ask for it like that)
good: black sea bass carpaccio (it was good, but not to die for like some of the reviews imply)
good: ROLLS (surprisingly, these plain-​sounding rolls all had a twist to them. the shrimp tempura had some sort of truffle and had a crispy outer shell that added so much to it, and even the salmon avocado)
good: tempura seafood (you might think its small and plain looking, but there is oyster, lobster, and perfectly cooked sea bass in there in addition to shrimp and scallop)
don’t get: uni crispy rice or their uni (ehhh not the absolute freshest here, at least when I had it)
great service both at the bar and at the table. and a great atmosphere to grab food/​drinks with friends OR date night if you get those back couches. dark/​dim lighting in most of the restaurant. heads up on the bad cell phone reception down there.

Nice job on the restaurant week selection @killacrystal
Quite the stylish place, if I do say so myself. A beguiling red door served as the threshold separating the outside world from the charming interior of this joint. Narrow flights of stairs, atmospheric lighting, and smiles-​on-​their-​faces very attractive hosts/​hostesses are some of the initial standards that you will be greeted with upon visiting this place.
A 7:00 p.m. reservation for a party of four, a 7:10 arrival time for three of us, with a straggler (Mar!!! *shakes fist*) arriving just a tad before the halfway point of the hour. In a valiant display of fortitude between the three «punctual» peeps in our party, though we were offered spots at the bar (which was quite an impressive set up, adorned with a number of bottles… effulgent with a dim golden luster), we abstained from the generous offer; motivations for doing may have differed between the three of us (e.g. to save our wallets, our livers, our waistlines, and so on and so forth), the display of restraint was equally and uniformly impressive across the board.
When our party was finally made whole, we were escorted to our seats in the middle of the dining area; an appropriate place of honor for such a neatly and well-​attired group of young adults. We all partook from the restaurant week selection, and for the most part (with the exception of our black sheep not-​punctual party member… luh you @marmar) our dining party made identical orders: miso soup (salad for the aforementioned mis-​matching member), miso-​crusted sea bass, and Suntory bread pudding.
I’ve had plenty a bowl of miso soup in my career/​life, but this one had certain idiosyncrasies to it that made it a tad more memorable when compared to others I’ve tasted. Do not mistake the word «memorable» to mean «stand out», rather, the soup was different. A bit saltier, a bit cloudier… didn’t amount to soup that was better or worse from that which I had consumed in times gone past… rather, it was just different.
With the soup out of the way, the main course followed in hasty fashion. Alongside the sea bass was an assortment of sushi rolls and the signature Cherry tuna on top of crispy rice. While the miso crust on the skin of the sea bass was a bit saltier than I would have liked, the meaty parts were seasoned beautifully, and proved to be a tasty bite. While the sushi pieces were satisfying and fresh, they were a bit unremarkable in conjunction with the rest of that night’s offerings. The crispy rice tuna was a fun dish; texture-​wise, it was quite a remarkable thing; soft tuna slathered on stick-​to-​the-​bottom-​of-​your-​bicuspids crispy rice definitely had my sense of touch in a flux. While the tuna crispy rice was tasty, it was more of a fun bit of noshing as opposed to a paragon of flavor.
As seems to be the trend during a collective of my most recent dinner excursions, the dessert options have been the most impressive part of my dining experience; this night’s dessert was no exception to this phenomenon. In my experience, bread pudding has a soft spot in my heart… surprising, as it was I dish I didn’t grow up with, and even more astounding given my lukewarm attitude towards dessert in general. Nevertheless, the Suntory bread pudding was quite the finale to a very solid meal. Luscious flavor permeated each bite, and the Suntory whiskey caramel glaze had an excellent balance of smokiness (from the booze) and sweetness. Bravo.
Cherry has definitely earned it’s spot in the rotation of go-​to joints. Impressively intimate ambiance, relatively reasonably-​priced menu (after a quick perusal through the non-​restaurant week menu), and tasty bites should be more than enough evidence for a verdict in its favor.

I bought a gilt deal after seeing all the rave reviews. But I found the food mediocre, not worth coming back for at full price.
I ordered 5 dishes. Tuna tart, tuna on crispy rice, foie gra gyoza, bbq eel roll and the miso glazed seabass. Favorites of the night were the gyozas and seabass.

Wow.
Cherry was one of the best dining experiences I’ve ever had. My wife and I came for restaurant week.
When you walk in, you’re immediately looking down a dimly lit stairway that looks like you’re entering The future. The stairway is lit and it just sets a great tone for what to expect.
Once you’re inside, your greeted by Cherry’s fantastic ambiance: dimly lit, tufted velvet seats and boots, a lit up bar, and just an overall swag feel. It’s really great and ideal for a nice dinner for two, or a more laid back, group vibe.
We started with a small carafe of the Yoshi Gensen sake, which was delicious. Smooth, a little sweet and served cold, this was the perfect companion for the meal ahead.
+Appetizer
Mixed green salad with carrot ginger dressing. Delicious. Fresh.
+Entrée
Crispy tuna sushi, chef’s choice sashimi (salmon and yellowtail tonight), and miso-​glazed sea bass. This entire entrée was done PERFECTLY. The presentation was spot-​on: a boat containing all of the ingredients. The waiter explained and pointed to each of our ingredients in the entrée. The sushi was as fresh as I’ve EVER tasted and extremely soft — it could’ve melted in your mouth. No fish smell (meaning you know it’s fresh), and wrapped beautifully. The sashimi was also extremely fresh and soft, a true sign of quality fish. The miso-​glazed sea bass was the real delight: the miso flavoring did such a great job of complementing the sea bass over a base of crispy white rice. The flavors used at Cherry worked perfectly together, and after the meal, I was sitting there upset that it was over. Throughout the entire meal (sipping the Gensen with the fish), I couldn’t believe how fantastic everything tasted. Just a dynamite order.
+Dessert
Yamazaki scotch bread pudding. What could be better than a delicious, warm bread pudding mixed with a flavoring of a delicious Japanese scotch (Yamazaki). It was presented beautifully and the portion size was perfect for dessert. You tasted a nice, sweet flavor with a hint of the scotch to top it off.
Cherry was absolutely dynamite. I will be back. I will recommend this place to anyone who asks for a Japanese spot in the city. I MAY be as bold to call Cherry my favorite sushi place ever. If it isn’t, it’s surely up there.

Straight off Cherry during restaurant week. I absolutely go 5. Located directly next to Dream Hotel. The entrance alone screams 5 star. Neon red «Cherry» sign. Love at first sight.
Ambiance is right up my alley. Swanky, dark, old school vibe. The chairs are mostly tufted with low tables. Very plush and comfortable seating. The bar is IMPRESSIVE with plenty of seating. A great place to grab a drink with a friend to catch up. or even a date night.
Now I wouldn’t be able to frequent Cherry on any old night because of price alone. I went for the Restaurant Week $ 38 prefixe which still felt heavy in my pocket. Ordered the traditional Yoshi Gensen sake which was $ 24 a carafe. The beers were reasonable at $ 8 – 10. Forget a cocktail at $ 16 a pop, but I should stop because I realize it’s NYC.
The miso soup was one of the best I’ve tasted. Thicker and darker than most, it was filled with these tiny mushrooms I’d never had before. The broth was dark brown and so tasty. Wish I had more!
The sushi/​sashimi was melt in your mouth. The yellowtail and salmon sashimi was so fresh and crispy tuna was like nothing I’ve ever had. The texture was perfect.
Had the miso glazed sea bass which was the best prepared, most moist sea bass I’ve ever had. Now I regularly catch fresh sea bass in the summer off Montauk and this still rivals in freshness. We even create our own Asian inspired marinades and dipping sauces but Cherry’s miso glaze was one of the best I’ve ever had.
The bread pudding contained Yamazaki scotch flavoring. Amazing. The texture was also to die for.
I would LOVE to come back… if someone will take me… and pay for me.

Wow amazing!
I came here Wednesday night for dinner. Its in the heart of Chelsea and a short walk from the A/​C/​E/​L.
A very initmate setting, romantically lit and Asian fusion design.
Here’s what we stuffed ourselves with:
–Foie Gras Shortrib Gyoza: plum sake glaze, sour cherries —— This was very good and perfect for splitting!
–Spicy Tuna: kochujang mayo — — - I’ve been a sushi snob for some time but this was very good.
Salmon Avocado-​sundried tomato purée, ochazuke — - Sundried tomatos were a niceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee touch!
Sea bass — — - oh my gosh… the glaze was amazing and the rice was perfect!
Dessert:
We had the green tea dessert…
All in all a great way to spend a Wednesday night!
There’s a coat check that is very useful!

So let me tell you about Cherry.
You are first greeted by a red door. Their neon Cherry sign is a bit a hard to read in the night. The door leads you down a flight of stairs that is only lit by the small spotlights that are in the walls by the steps of the staircase. You are guided by velvet covered banisters. Velvet = Fancy Shmancy! And then there is another red door that actually opens to the restaurant itself.
Very dimly lit. Not crowded at all on a Tuesday night. Only three tables being served out of lets say 30 tables? A bar just across from the entrance. Red velvet chairs and seats. Dark brown polished tables. Old fashion chandeliers hanging from ceiling and walls.
The host took our coats for coat check and seated us in the back. A candle per table. The pebble or rock on the table are used as chopstick holders which simply defeats the purpose because my chopsticks fall right off. Such a fancy place should invest in flat surfaced chopstick holders or find some flat rocks/​pebbles.
We asked the one server for recommendations and we ordered most of what she suggested. Service was good since she had to serve at least 8 tables throughout our night.
Our order for two guests:
Pisco Provencal drink — Yum! Love the yuzu citrus taste
Tuna tart — So delicious! slices of raw marinated tuna on a crispy cracker? with mayo in between.
Tuna crispy rice — Very good. spicy tuna on top of crispy potatoes?
Wagyu beef tataki — pan seared beef which was good too.
Foie gras short rib gyoza — love the sweet plum on top
Miso glazed sea bass — a bit salty for my taste
Green tea meltdown dessert — basically a green tea molten cake with red bean ice cream, bits of chocolate, and whip cream. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Overall good experience especially since I bought a groupon for it :)

Long overdue but I have to pay tribute to the scene of my 2013 birthday dinner! Cherry is a wonderful underground Japanese restaurant located under the bowels of the Dream Hotel in Chelsea. It was recommended to me by a coworker who is always at the forefront of what is hot and happening in Manhattan.
We ordered a billion things and asked for them to be brought out whenever they were ready… each round got better and better:
–Kanpachi appetizer (avocado, celery, cilantro, citrus soy)
–Miso soup (hon shimeji mushrooms, scallions)
–Foie gras shortrib gyoza (plum sake glaze, sour cherries) *THESE ARE AMAZING*
–Tuna crispy rice (Korean chili mayo) another favorite of mine…
–Lobster roll (dehydrated orange, creamy sansho)
–Spicy tuna roll (kochujang mayo)
–BBQ eel roll (avocado, candied bacon)
All of the sushi rolls were served in a giant bowl that almost covered the entire table. The presentation of everything was astounding. Each individual piece on the lobster roll had a meticulous teeny tiny salad of clover and greens on top. I would never have the patience for that unless there was a cash prize involved.
Throughout the meal the ladies were provided with excellent cocktails and the boys were very content sipping on their neat glasses of Yamazaki whiskey.
For dessert we all ordered something different so we could try pretty much the whole menu:
–Green tea meltdown (red bean ice cream)
–Fuji apple gyoza (hazelnuts, mascerated cherries, vanilla crème anglaise)
–Plateau des chocolats (assorted chocolates)
–Suntory bread pudding (Yamazaki whiskey, toffee sauce) MY favorite… the whiskey sauce is absolutely delicious
I have gone back to Cherry a few times since my birthday where I have enjoyed the bustling bar scene before heading to PhD next door. They have some freaking hot waiters and so many interesting characters to watch. Service is phenomenal and I love the ambiance which is mainly comprised of red velvet, dim lighting and what I believe are Shogun paintings and photographs. This restaurant is great for a trendy dinner, a drink out with friends or a sexy date. Although expensive, everything I have had is so tasty and honestly I always get full when I did not think I would. Their small plates really fill you up!
If you’re looking for a new underground sushi scene with sex appeal, Cherry is your next destination.

I love hidden restaurants. I can’t get enough of them. Whether they are just difficult to find, or actually a secret (like another favourite of mine Bohemian), it will take a lot of crap for me to have a bad experience at a place like that. So Cherry — which is visible from the street by only a small red circular archway and a «Cherry» script above — was certainly starting out ahead.
That circular archway leads down a dark staircase to the restaurant in the basement below. The scene itself is typical of a trendy New York restaurant — dark (but somehow well lit), well designed, and busy; Cherry exists in the vortex between well-​recommended New York restaurants by New Yorkers and well-​recommended New York restaurants by Tourists. You can’t exist there forever, but it works for now. More from the review and pics are on my blog.

I’ve been wanting to try Cherry for a long while, but I’m ticked off, and don’t think I will give myself the chance to try Cherry anymore. It’s a Wednesday night and there’s NO ONE to pick up the phone? I literally have one question to ask before I go about a reservation, but I can’t get through to anyone.
In addition, this place needs to fix their automated messages. It does NOT make sense for a phone call to ring for 15 – 30 seconds just for the call to be led to a bot telling the person to press 1 to speak to a reservationist… just to be listening to more ringtones. Now I wouldn’t actually be so pissed if I didn’t wait through all that bullshit just to not have anyone pick up the phone during their hours of operation.
For the prices Cherry charges, there’s no excuse as to why there isn’t one single soul to pick up the phone. What? Did everyone pass out in the kitchen after shoving their faces with Uni or shit? If by any chance a call is missed (which yes, does happen, and i’m OK with), there should be a call back ASAP.
Oh, and I tried from 8:49PM — 9:05PM. Unacceptable bullshit.

My wife took me here on a Monday night to celebrate my birthday. What’s funny is that we are in the meat packing/​chelsea area all the time and have walked on by hundreds of times without even realizing what the place was. Situated in the lower level of the Dream hotel, you’ll need to walk past the hotel’s main entrance and find a «recessed» red door. Open the door and there is a long set of steps that will take you to the hostess desk. You’ll never have any walk in traffic here. They surprisingly do not pop up on any of the «hot spot» lists in either… a good thing!
When you walk in to this place, you are immersed with a sea of red/​velvety textures and lots of leather and wood. It’s beautiful! They seated us in one of the many «semi booth» style seats and presented us with their slick menu’s to us. The menu here literally is a combination of french and asian american cuisine, but it is done so much better than their neighbor (not gonna mention their 3 letter name).
We ordered 6 different cocktails (I believe they had 7 on their list). All of them were great, but the most memorable were the Cherry Bomb and the Sesame Whiskey.
For our apps, we went with the almond crusted shrimp and the lobster sushi roll — both awesome. The cuts of fish that they used were awesome. For the entrees, we went with the Steak/​Pomme Frits and the chillean seabass.
The chillean seabass served on top of a rice cake was amazing. The steak was nicely cooked and melted in your mouth. It’s not what you’d get from a famous steakhouse, but it was excellent for the type of restaurant it was. The fries were battered up and served in airy globs of potatoes… it created a really cool effect.
To end the night, we got the vanilla crêpe cake and the bread pudding. For some odd reason, I was expecting to see them serve me the crêpe that Lady M sells, but I was glad it was their own version of it… it was great! As for the bread pudding… quite possibly the best I’ve ever had.

I was looking forward to a nice meal at Cherry. I got five friends together and made a reservation for six. We had a groupon so we did it through their system. I received a confirmation and let me friends know we were on. It’s a group of very successful professionals. We all live in the neighborhood. We are all foodies. One of us blogs. Could have been a good thing for Cherry. Then, late yesterday I get an email that my reservation has been cancelled.
Hence one star. An apology would be nice, too.

Came here again for the Gilt City voucher and what a great deal! Omakase dinner for two for $ 165 and it comes with way toooo much food but everything was amazing as usual.
To start we they gave us each our own tuna pizza.
Cold apps to share: Salmon tartare, beef tartare
To share again?! Sure why not… foie gras dumplings. (Amazing), and crispy almond shrimp
Chef Selection of sushi and sashimi — Beautiful presentation and at this point was pretty full already
Entrees: Seabass on top of crispy rice was awesome, and also had the Steak. by this point I could only have a small bite of both.
Dessert: Bread Pudding and take home mini chocolates.
If you have this gilt city voucher it’s so worth it. I love this place, everything was so good, but wished I had more capacity to eat it all.

Cherry is one of those places that you’d swear was trying to stay hidden. It’s nestled at the base of a hotel right next to another eatery. I walked by it three times before finding it. Even then you have to go downstairs and wait until it’s opening time for dinner to go in. Walking in is sort of like going into Club Obi Wan from «Temple of Doom». There’s a lot of elegant furniture, wood and a sense that the color red is coloring everything even though it isn’t really everywhere. I went in wearing business casual and I felt severely underdressed (but the staff never even batted an eyelash).
I was waiting for friends so I hung out at the bar for a while, and that’s where this review focuses.
The bartender was immediately welcoming and courteous. I looked up and saw a wonderful selection of liquors, Sake and other bottles I didn’t recognize. Some, I noted with amusement, were based on the Chinese Zodiac — fun! Then I saw them: Japanese Whiskey bottles. I pointed and asked excitedly «What are *those*?!»
What followed was a very well rehearsed (or perhaps oft repeated) speech about the various Japanese Whiskeys and what he prefers to do with each one (mix or drink it straight up, the type of food it goes with etc.). After my head stopped spinning he didn’t even miss a beat and said «You want to taste them?». I think I said something like «Would I?!» and turned into a little boy who was just offered pizza AND ice cream for dinner.
Much to my surprise, the bartender poured me a not-​insignificant amount of each bottle (three in total). For those keeping track I tried the Yamazaki 12, 18 and 25. It was kind of like whiskey heaven. I wound up choosing the 18 on the rocks. Much to my delight, the «rocks» wound up being a gigantic ice cube instead a bunch of small crushed ones (as is appropriate with such a drink).
In addition I ordered the tuna tacos, which were surprisingly delicate in flavor. I’m used to tacos slapping me upside the head with flavor, but not so with these and it was nice with the whiskey. I also had the tuna crispy rice which is a *must have*. Crunchy and savory, I wound up getting a second order!
Heads up: This place is NOT cheap. This is a higher end venue and it is priced accordingly. That said, I think the experience was worth every penny and I would definitely visit again.