Kyo Ya

You don’t need a special day for a special meal, you just need a special meal to make a day special. Kyo ya provided me with that unique feeling tonight, with its renown Kaiseki menu.
A side general reminder — if you plan to enjoy the tasting menu, make sure you are calling them at least one day in advance; otherwise only a la carte menu would be available.
Through out my nine course tasting, there were hits and misses. I definitely enjoyed the oyster with yuzu sauce and the sashimi assortment — nothing could beat a self-​made uni hand roll dipping into the soy sauce! The grilled monk fish with liver was another amazing dish, as the fish meat was chewy and has completely absorbed the juice. Dessert added further towards the positive side, with sweet potato mousse so soft and soba cha sorbet so refreshing. Other courses were a bit mediocre nevertheless.
Kyo ya was for sure a decent place for some authentic type of Japanese food, the Michelin star already justified that. Next time I would like to try the pressed sushi, the other signature dish.

For occasions like this, I would highly suggest Unilocal created the rare, by nomination only, the sixth star, for dining Kaiseki style at Kyo Ya rocked my world, and completely changed my view of Japanese cuisine, so much so that it took me sometime to even write this review, for I feared that the review would not do its justice.
Wiki will tell you that Kaiseki means a multi course Japanese dinner. In the Bay Area, allegedly a few restaurants do a few variation of it, but none that I know and have tried, compared to the level of dedication, intricacy and perfection I experienced here at Kyo Ya.
To order Kaiseki menu, one must place the order 24 hours in advance, the whole table must participate, and it has 6, 9 and 12 course options. We optioned for the 9 course option but added sashimi and oyster. Kaiseki meal is limited to 10 people per night, as it’s a huge production and super time consuming.
The way the meal was served was in the order described on wiki
, with no deviation. By the third course you feel that you have stumbled onto a national treasure.
The restaurant’s setting is very traditional Japanese, with beautiful simplistic décor, but reading prior reviews on Unilocal,one must try hard to locate the restaurant, as it’s in the basement, and down the stairs you go. It’s not set up to be super crowded, so one could enjoy a nice meal without feeling that you’d be cramped in a basement. The ceiling was of very good height.
The waitstaff will explain to you what each course means and why it’s called that way. You start light and graduate into to medium heavy with lots of stews, soups, and fish to make you feel well fed. By the time the finale comes into play, the rice cooked in a clay pot, with fish and mushrooms, you think you’ve died and gone to the rice heaven. To note, the sashimi is generous in portion and extremely fresh. The soup dish had uni and vegetables, with a creamy rice as the thickening agent. I would love to know how they made it for I don’t think I’ll ever eat anything that good ever again, and home base being San Francisco, I suspect nothing like that existed in the bay area (googled Kaiseki dining in the bay area, and came upon a few, and none served these dishes).
But the surprise does not end there. Don’t forget pressed sushi. I have never had PRESSED sushi. That evening, there were only two mackerel pressed sushi and by the time I asked, they said, there was only one left. So I ordered the second one just so no one else would have it. The rice was very seasoned and flavorful, the mackerel was seared and done in perfection. This might be the only pressed sushi I had ever had, and certainly I’ve never seen anything like it in the bay area. The wait staff told us that it’s done as an ancient Japanese tradition for making sushi rolls, before the introduction of Japanese fast food, aka nigiri, the typical sushi you see on a bed of rice, just a lonely piece of fish.
Remarkable dish well executed. Absolutely must have.
Finally, as I exclaimed, «I’ve never had blow fish before», so came the fried blow fish dish. It’s very good and meaty. Though I felt like a blow fish after eating the last bite.
Kaiseki dishes like this level of preparation is what was expected to be served at the court during the ancient Japan in Kyoto, and therefore, whenever you mention Kaiseki cuisine, it’s also known as the food from Kyoto, which is not the same as Osaka or Tokyo or Hokkaido. I have fond memories of all of these regions and now it feels that my trip was short changed because I did not have Kaiseki for I only traveled through Kyoto on my way to visit Nara, where my now passed grandparents first met, went to school, and felt in love.
I did something I’ve not done in a while, I booked a flight to Japan while dining there. Yes I kid you not, I can show you on my United app. There is a flight to Japan during the same week I’m supposed to return to France. I’m torn, but I’m leaning towards Japan. I will have nothing but Kaiseki for a week upon arrival.
I hope this restaurant gets their second Michelin star. Perfect food, perfect service, and what a treat to Japanese cuisine and culture. It’s a six star rating, and I will be back.

To show our gratitude to our amazing friends who hosted us for the month and a half while we were homeless (to sum up, we were in between leases for a month followed by many delays on the opening of our new home due to ongoing construction), Phil and I treated the two to thank-​you dinner at Kyo Ya, one of our new favorite restaurants! The entrance is a little hard to find, with you having to go down a flight of romantically lit stairs in the east village. Pricey, but well worth it!

From the moment I walked in & was greeted, the most unique experience I’ve had in the NYC area. The tea choices from the start to the unique creations of the kaiseki 11 course meal we had. The whole experience took about 3 hours & not one moment during that time was dull. Memorable dishes include the monkfish liver with Granny Smith Apple to the persimmon sorbet… words do not justify… definitely will be back!

One of the best meals I’ve had, a taste of Japan’s kaiseki
The servers were very knowledgeable, and to my surprise they explained every distinctive ingredient very well. I learned a lot about food that day. This meal was eaten almost a year ago but I never finished the review. Since then I’ve still been thinking about what a wonderful experience it was.
Every single dish was deliciously crafted, fresh and very different. The chef was super friendly and funny. There were no particular plate I didn’t like.
Give this a go, if you’re a japanese foodie. I’d definitely come back !

Kyo Ya is known for their kaiseki course menu but note that reservations are required at least 24 hours in advance. There are three menu options, starting from 8-​course to 10-​course, $ 95 and up. Everything at Kyo Ya is supposedly seasonal. There is no website to carefully plan out your meal so dining feels a bit more spontaneous.
To make it even more spontaneous, we didn’t even go for the kaiseki this time. Instead, we ordered a la carte, awkwardly deliberating our menu choices out loud in front of Chef Sono. He was a tight-​lipped man while working most of the time but surprisingly friendly when he did speak up.
It’s no exaggeration that the pressed rolls here are excellent. There is a limit of how many one can order but I highly recommend the Tasmanian Salmon Trout, if it is available. The rice is perfectly seasoned and the entire roll comes wrapped in a unique marbled kombu seaweed.
If you are going to order sashimi, don’t skip out on the uni. The uni was incredibly fresh, creamy and delicately sweet as the flavor lingered. The «Yuba and Uni Yoshino Style» dish was also one of my favorites, although it was the yuba that stood out in that dish, rather than the uni.
Service here by the way, is extremely attentive. Even though our server was literally running around taking care of a bunch of diners at once, he always took the time to explain each dish very thoroughly, demonstrating his knowledge and care when it came to the best ways to enjoy the dish.
My only qualm with Kyo Ya is that the menu can be a little inconsistent. For example, Kyo Ya will excel at certain dishes like the «chicken dango with lotus root» but then drop the ball on things like «Seafood shuotan» (scallop, blue shrimp, king crab in cured bonito sauce). Actually, «drop the ball» isn’t the right term; they don’t mess up in terms of quality but the flavors don’t seem to shine apart from standard izakaya fare.
Still, I’m a fan of Kyo Ya and will likely return one day for their Kaiseki + the Tasmanian salmon trout pressed roll.

This is one of my go-​to places in NYC for Japanese cuisine. Good food and excellent service. Sashimi offering varies daily and are serviced in a beautiful setup. I especially like their sweet potato tempura and black bean ice-​cream dessert. The duck breast slices and fugu tempura are good too.

Fans of traditional Japanese cuisine and otaku take note! This place is wonderful. It is a bit hard to find due to its no-​branding or signage status as a one-​Michelin star restaurant, tucked away in the East Village, you’ll have to have a sharp eye and know where you’re going to find this place.
We were seated promptly in the stylish restaurant, oblong and winding with curved and undulating walls with a sleek wood finish. Even the bathroom is super cool as it’s in a hidden door frame with a mostly attentive staff waiting to push it open for you! Cleaned out and checked after every guest which is a plus!
Due to its somewhat elusive nature, whether or not because of its award-​winning status, it was a bit hard to prepare for the dinner. We knew there was a kaiseki dinner but didn’t know that it requires a one-​day advance reservation (they also serve fugu which is the same policy). We rolled with it and looked forward to trying some of the pressed sushi they are known for but halfway through our order, the server informed us that there is a limit of 2 pressed sushi rolls per party so that kind of threw us in for a loop. Little details like these can be easily outlined on the menu (which it wasn’t for the pressed sushi). My final gripe was that our server was a bit dismissive in explaining the very intricate nature of how to eat some of the dishes. Services was fine and attentive however!
Now onto the goodness! Our table got a selection of items from the appetizers, specials, and entrees. We started with roasted ginkgo nuts served beautiful with hot stones that were a unique experience, as well as the monkfish liver, sweet potato tempura, Kyo Ya salad, and kurobuta pork belly — all of which were delicious and stunningly presented. The two pressed sushi were ordered, the eel and salmon, were good as well though I don’t know if I am convinced as a fan yet of pressed sushi in general though I am sure by most standards Kyo Ya’s was excellent. I ordered the chazuke with snapper sashimi which was an experience as there were about 10 parts to the meal that requires assembly so it was fun and delicious; the snapper was served sashimi style in a pool of their 7 nut sauce (or was it 8? I don’t remember; there were a lot of nuts). Dessert was a bit forgettable after a memorable dinner though I think that may just be because of the nature of the cuisine.
Definitely would go back — next time for the kaiseki!

The most delicious sushi in New York City. Fabulous service. Lovely miso soup. Everything about this place is delightful and delectable. I could not think of any better place to go for his type of food. The combination of high quality ingredients, exceptional service, and a comfortable atmosphere make for an excellent dining experience.

Wow… What an excellent restaurant!
I had the pleasure of having Akiko as my waitress and she was wonderful. Let’s get down to business:
Get the Pressed sushi rolls ! They only have a limited amount a day and it is truly different! I believe it’s the seasoned rice and of course the delicious and fresh fish.
I also recommend the sashimi. I ordered the fat Tuna toro and a red snapper sashimi which was perfect.
The place itself is very comforting and relaxed. I didn’t feel like it was hectic and you can actually have a conversation with your guests.
I will be coming back. Highly recommend!

I did come back for the regular menu when I was hankering for some pressed sushi (how pretentious of me).
I’ve had high expectations for pressed sushi since trying it for the first time in Kyoto. Since then, I’ve had it at a number of restaurants, all of them falling short of that exquisite first experience in Japan. Kyo Ya’s rendition, though, is simply perfect.
We had the salmon and the mackerel. I figured we had to have mackerel just because it’s the quintessential fish for Kyoto/​Kansai style pressed sushi. Next time, I’ll go for the eel since mackerel has never been high on my list of favorite fish. First of all, the mackerel was amazing. It’s difficult to do this well, as mackerel can taste unforgiving. But Kyo Ya’s was perfectly presented and executed – I loved the alternating yuzu and ginger pieces. It was decorated with edible flowers. I didn’t think it could get better when the salmon came out, but it did. I’m not even going to try to describe the salmon here – just go, get it. I think it’s called «soy marinated seared Canadian salmon» on the menu.
Not cheap, but worth your money!

Came here for my birthday dinner.
I had high hopes for this place but it fell short of my expectations.
I was kind of disappointed.
TIPS:
— Call in advance to make a reservation. It is required that you leave your credit card info when making a reservation. There is probably a cancellation fee if you don’t show up. If you want to do the tasting menu you must tell them in advance. $ 90 for 9 course menu (no sashimi). $ 120 for 10 course menu (has sashimi). $ 150 for 11 course menu (has sashimi).
— Tasting Menu can last 3 HRS LONG and AC is on full blast and ladies its FREEZING! Bring a sweater or cardigan with you.
7÷25÷15 Tasting Menu Review:
1^st Course: ZATSUKI — {1 STAR} gobo nitsuke lunch pack sandwich — came in a cute hamburger box only to find out there was super small cheeze it sized sandwich. It didn’t really taste that good. Tasted a little bit like tuna fish sandwich. Also not filling.
2^nd Course: SAKIZUKE {1 STAR} (noodle like senryo eggplant with dashi broth) Sort of bland tasting and very healthy.
3^rd Course: OSHINOGI {1.5 STAR} (sakura shrimp and ginger omu rice with broccoli sauce) — this tasted alright. very healthy tasting again. I did however like the broccoli sauce.
4^th Course: OWAN {1.5 STAR} (edamame tofu in clear soup with junsai and kinshi squash) — kind of bland. tofu was very silky and slimy. Taste wise it was kind of bland but the hot broth helped with the taste.
5^th Course: OTSUKURI {5 STAR} (Fresh oyster and sashimi of the day) — this is by far the best course I have after going through 4 mediocre dishes. The oyster was fresh and juicy. The sauce on the oyster was phenomenal. Sashimi and uni was likewise fresh and delicious. I typically don’t like uni but it was actually OK here. I didn’t really taste the bitter aftertaste I had at other places. 2 thumbs up here.
6^th Course: YAKIMONO {1.5 STAR} (grilled yaki tomorokoshi butter soy sauce with bekko sauce, ponzu sauteed kikurage, peaman, scallion, and kale) I thought the corn was too buttery. The white stuff in the between the corn tasted like fish balls (the type I’m not very fond of) The asparagus tasted like the usual. The kale was pretty good however it was a little sour.
7^th Course: NIMONO {1.5 STAR} (kuruma fu touba age with winter melon an) Basically tempura veggies (tomato, peppers, and melon) This was a lot of tempura for especially since I hadn’t for a long time because I typically don’t like tempura. The tempura tomato was very good however. It was very juicy. I’m glad there was some non-​fried veggies in the midst of all the tempura — the yellow chives and green chives really helped make a difference.
8^th Course: TOMEZAKANA {3.5 STAR} (rock shrimp tempura) I love anything shrimp and this was pretty good even though it was yet again another tempura dish. The finger lime was also very interesting. It tastes like lime and you are supposed to squeeze the little tiny balls of sourness onto the rock shrimp tempura. It was a pretty interesting dish.
9^th Course: OSHOKUJI (3 STARS} (soft shell crab kara-​age and string beans kamadaki rice) Why you might say that I would give it 3 STARS? Well, there were 4 us and there should have been at least 1 soft shell crab for each of us but this was not the case. It looked more like a whole pot of rice with 1 soft shell crab chopped up into tiny pieces. There was more rice than there was soft shell crab.
10^th Course: FRUIT PUNCH UME SYRUP {5 STAR} — Delicious! Fruits (strawberry, cherry, melon were fresh and they paired well with a mini cube of tofu and black seed like things) SHISO SORBET {3 stars} — I felt like Shiso was very prominent through out the whole tasting menu. The sorbet was refreshingly good.
_​_​
A La Carte:
We were going through tasting menu courses 1 — 4 and felt like we were not going to be full if every course was going to be like courses 1 — 4 which was small and not filling.
— TASMANIAN SALMON PRESSED SUSHI ROLL {4 STARS} — Salmon was fresh. The sushi roll was wrapped in shiso rice paper and the shiso leaf flavor was very prominent. What I didn’t really like was that there was a little too much rice on the bottom compared to the thin sliver of salmon on top but I guess that’s pressed sushi for you.
— PORK BELLY {4 STARS} — Moist and Fatty. Very flavorful. Problem was there was only 2 pieces. Too little for 4 hungry girls.
— EEL PRESSED SUSHI {1 STAR} — I was unimpressed with this sushi. This particular pressed sushi roll does not require soy sauce. Eel was kind of dry and again too much rice. PASS ON THIS.
— CHAWANMUSHI {3 STARS} — The steamed egg was moist and soft. Contains Mushrooms, shrimp and a piece of crab meat. Delicious but the price not so much.
TL;DR
— No, I would not recommend this place to a friend. Too expensive for ehh food. The damage was approx $ 180 per person.

I am Japanese and Kyo-​ya is my favorite favorite place!!!
I love the chef Sono-​san, and his dishes are just amazing. It’s always best to sit in front of him at the counter and to watch him cooking!
I love their sashimi, Ebi Shinjo and Junsai!!! They are perfect with Dassai 23.
I want to go there every time I come to NYC.

3.5 stars.
The restaurant itself has a nice and traditional Japanese decoration. Waiters are nice and courteous.
Regarding the food, some parts were delicious and flavorful and some were «ok». Main frustration was to leave the place not feeling full. But that’s the deal with top stars chef restaurant I guess.
We had :
–the Uni $ 12: very good
–the shrimp/​crab/​salmon roe don $ 32: alright
–the Canadian salmon pressed sushi $ 23: good
–the Tasmanian salmon trout pressed sushi $ 25: awesomely good. It was the first time we experienced a sushi with «oborokobu» seaweed and it was a real bomb. Would definitely recommend it.
Btw, we tried their green tea but did not like it. We were expecting premium teas like the Menu said. But the Sencha we tried was just ok and astringent so it didn’t reach our expectations.

I have wanted to come to Kyo Ya for a long time and am happy I finally made it here. In the age of social media domination, Kyo ya does not even have their own website! When you get there, there is no sign no number outside. I really applaud them for their understatement and their focus strictly on their food.
We were promptly seated at the chef’s counter and were given hot towel to wipe our hands. Our server suggested about 5 – 6 dishes to share. They also offer Kaiseki menu which you need to reserve couple days earlier. We went with the ala carte route and order a bunch of dishes to share. Our server gave us a detail description and instructions in both japanese and english for each dish which we really appreciate. We got the uni sashimi from Hokkaido and they were extremely creamy and sweet, the portion was pretty generous too. I was really excited to try the salmon trout pressed sushi as I did not get to try pressed sushi in Kyoto last time i visited there. The salmon was already marinated and each piece is simple yet so full of flavor, I dont know how they were able to achieve that. The fried shrimp with shrimp stock and shrimp salt was perfectly fried and crusted with seaweed flakes. The botan ebi/​king crab and fish roe don was very fresh and they even give you the fried shrimp head from the botan ebi to finish. We also order their special Ume soba with corn tempura. The corn tempura was so simple yet so perfect I cant put it to words…
For dessert I got the hojicha icecream and my husband got his favorite an mitsu. The hojicha icecream is pretty strong and bitter so only get it if you are a tea drinker. The an mitsu was topped with a small gold flake and is simply stunning to look at and tasted great too. I really recommend Kyo ya for a special occasion, it is not cheap as we spent over $ 200 for 2 people, also we spent almost 3 hours here as they could be slow at times but it also gave you more time to appreciate the food. Definitely try one of their sake from the extensive sake menu as well. i hope to be back soon!

Kyo Ya was so elusive that it didn’t even have any signs/​name tags on the outside (The passive-​aggressiveness is so Japanese lol).
Here are the 4 dishes I ordered:
Sashimi
Boston Fatty Tuna, Alaska Salmon, and Tasmanian Trout — I wish the pieces were smaller considering Kyo Ya’s so gung-​ho about being Kaiseki. But the sashimi was great!
Fresh Botan Shrimp & Sea Urchin — It was ok. The mushrooms, cucumbers and salmon roes complicated the taste of shrimp and sea urchin.
Chawanmushi — I had high hopes for this dish because I had a similar one back in Asia and it was excellent. This one was good but not to the point that it blows your mind. The steamed egg custard was smooth, soft, and absorbed all the umaminess of the seafood inside. But there was something inside that gave out a faintly foul smell (could it be the frozen king crab?)
Almond Fried Soft Shell Crab — The crab was fried to the exact point where it was both crunchy and juicy. I didn’t quite understand the bitterness in the water cress soup though.
The meal was accompanied with Yanagi Junmai Ginjo. It was a sophisticated sake from Kyoto (which was a bit too mature for me).

I’ve never even heard of box pressed sushi in LA, so when I visited NYC, this place was on my to go to list so that I could try this delicacy.
After sitting, we reviewed the menu and their specials. We were extremely disappointed that they ran out of the mackerel box pressed sushi, and when we asked why it always seemed to be out, we found out it is because they only have two a day… Only two.
We started out with the salmon trout boxed pressed sushi special. The rice was compressed with the salmon trout on top and wrapped in seaweed. The sushi was very interesting as there was a great contrast in textures that made it extremely unique. We really enjoyed it as it was basically a totally different approach to making and eating sushi!
The yuba and uni yoshino style (sea urchin on tofu skin in crystal clear sauce) came out next, and it was yummy! I expected the sauce to be light and of a clear color, but it was actually a little more viscous and creamy. The poached egg and seafood came out next, and it was simply. divine. Clear broth with uni, salmon, inure, nori, and crab with a poached egg that you mix up together. Imagine all of that in your mouth…
We then received the sweet potato that was baked for hours and then deep fried in tempura. Another fantastic dish– the potato came with salt and soy sauce that made for a great pairing with the sweet potato.
Last but not least, the bogan be mani inure uni don– fresh shrimp, king crab, salmon roe, and sea urchin over rice. Kind of like a chirashi bowl, but better. Delicious quality ingredients that were so yummy! The sweet shrimp also came with a deep fried head, and this bowl was the perfect ending to our meal.
Kyo Ya is a fantastic Japanese restaurant with unique menu offerings and great execution. We would have never found this place were it not for our New York friend who knows the restaurants around the area well. Total was around $ 180 for three people. So glad I got to eat here!

Super enjoyable meal and our waiter was knowledgeable on all the dishes we ordered. We had a mixture of plates from the different menus (cold/​hot appetizers, large plates, and daily specials)
A few of my favorites:
Baby sea eel — came in a bowl over ice… so slimy and weird and oddly sweet! You can see the bone forming through the body!
Fried blowfish — 4 pieces with two fried peppers. even though it was fried, the fish was flakey on the inside and it was delicious. Most of the time, fried seafood all tastes about the same. Not this!
PORK BELLY — perfection. Two delectable pieces bathed in sauce.
Canadian Salmon pressed sushi — 9 pieces. A lightly grilled piece of salmon sitting on top of seasoned rice with the perfect amount of wasabi already perched on top of each piece. Plus some fancy microgreens/​micro-​flowers
Miso Cod — comes in 3oz or 8oz pieces. Go for the bigger one or you’ll just wish you had more. So sweet and so flakey and SO delicious.
We also enjoyed the fatty tuna sashimi and the shrimp/​salmon roe/​uni/​crab meat rice bowl!
Overall great experience… Would love to come back!

Skip the 24 hour plane ride to Japan and dine at Kyo Ya instead. Overall, five stars all around for service, décor & the amazing food.
The stars were aligned for celebrating my wife’s birthday. No reservation, no problem. The traditional Japanese Zataku table only enhanced our dining experience. Service was impeccable. Plus, we were star struck, watching Chef Chikara Sono whip out masterful dishes all night. While focused, he was personable with all the guests.
Now we come to the epic culinary adventure– the delectable foods. We ordered their famous sweet potato tempura, hot udon noodles, pork belly, dashimaki tamago (silken rolled egg omelet), pressed salmon sushi & red snapper fish head. My favorites were the pork belly and pressed sushi so recommend trying those.

One of my favorite Japanese restaurant in NYC
I always try to get a seat at chefs counter all the way in the end of restaurant where chef Sono prepared sashimi and other delicate dishes.
Service is also superb.