Megu

Came here for my 5 yr anniversary n came with a gilt city deal… Thank goodness the good is good but not filling and being 6 months pregnant did not help either… The server was excellent and very attentive… We had excellent seating… Décor is nice and bathroom very stylish… Glad I came with a deal because as a city employee I don’t know if I would’ve been able to afford this place! P. S. The bf still had to feed me when we got home… Smh

Talk about PERFECT service and awesome food.
We went to Megu for a special date night in the city. Instead of a regular table, we got this really cool booth, which was like a half moon shape, which gave us a lot of privacy. The sake we ordered was so good that we ended up having two bottles !
Appetizers, mais course and desert were delish. Definitely will be back !

3.5 stars.
I dined here recently using a Gilt voucher, which was ~$ 70 for three-​course pre-​fixe dinner for two people. The shrimp tempura I got for appetizer was pretty good, but not as good as the rock shrimp tempura from Morimoto. I got the stone-​grilled Kobe beef steak for entrée; it was decent although the portion was a bit small. And for dessert, I got the yuzu crème brûlée, which I enjoyed the most from the entire course meal. I think the deal we had was pretty good, but I’m not sure if I’m willing to pay the regular price for their food.
That being said, I must say I liked the venue and ambiance. The venue is very spacious and has a lot of large tables, so it would be a great spot for a fancy group dinner. The décor felt a bit cheap compared to the similarly-​themed Buddakan though. Overall, my experience here certainly wasn’t bad, but given there are so many Japanese restaurants in the city that are similarly priced yet are more delicious and authentic, I doubt if I would ever return.

Atmosphere and décor is pretty. Center of the dining area is a large gong hanging from the ceiling. Below the gong is a big carved buddha ice sculpture that they change everyday said by our server. Fancy (mock?) leather seats. Small gong light hung over our table.
The boyfriend had a groupon deal that came with two ebi katsu (deep fried shrimp) burgers. Parmesan french fries cooked in white truffle oil. Spicy edamame. And two kirin draft beers. A bite of burger leaves you a mouthful of chunky shrimp. Not the lame mushy kind. The bun had flavor on its own. Overall, burger was good and filling. The fries were delicious. No condiments necessary although spicy mayo is very good. Tasted different and more yummy than from any other restaurants. I think it was the truffle oil that made the difference. And the beer was the best! It was the coldest beer I’ve ever had.
Dessert was not included in our groupon deal but we couldn’t miss out on it. Ordered the Kakigori. A shaved ice dessert. It was absolutely delicious. Texture was smooth, not chunky. Tasted sweet but not too sweet.
Our server was attentive and answered all my curious questions. Overall experience was great! Except for that one tiny fruit fly that flew into my beer…

This place is huge and could be a hoppin’ spot, but perhaps due to its location in quiet TriBeCa, it was dead on a Thursday night when we dined here. There were literally only 2 other people dining here at 7 PM! A few more came an hour later.
The space is grand and airy (though nowhere nearly as ornate as Buddakan or Tao, which all, btw, house the dining room downstairs). The service was good and the food was tasty, though certainly not worth full price, especially for such tiny portions. (We used a Pulsd deal, which was the equivalent of a Restaurant Week dinner.) I liked my Tuna Tartare appetizer, which came with crostini, but it wasn’t anything special. The Kobe Beef was delicious, of course, and was set en flambé tableside. It was topped with garlic chips and plated on a pretty box filled with stones. The cheesecake was equally yummy, as was the refreshing, sweet, tiny scoop of fruit sorbet that came with it.
This isn’t a restaurant I’d come back to, but it’s worth checking out once. Just dine here on a Friday or Saturday when it’s probably busier.

This place is so beautiful! But on a Thursday night, it was absolutely empty when my friend and I got here at 7pm. I kind of liked having the whole place to ourselves haha, but some more guests came in around 8pm. This place is so pretty and huge, I dig it!
So, we got two 3 course meals for $ 75 total via a Pulsd deal. I started off with the seaweed salad (pretty good, I liked the clear looking noodles) and of course had their steak (I loved how it was on a stone and everything!). The steak was tasty but I just wish there was more of it! I was left pretty hungry after I ate everything, boo.
For dessert, I had their crème brûlée which was tasty, as was my friend’s cheesecake. This place had great service and a pretty ambiance-​I just wouldn’t pay full price for a 3 course meal that leaves me hungry after!

I’m a picky eater and in general have not been impressed by any restaurant week deals this year. So came to megu with the full intention of only spending 38 dollars for a three course meal from a four dollar sign restaurant. Maybe our waiter was too persuasive or maybe I felt a little festive, we did not go exactly as the restaurant week menu. Everything we ordered was pretty solid, but the kobe beef is just extraordinary — they would serve that in front of you with all the fire and stones (excuse my inability to fully describe how amazing it looked like with poor writing skills). You can also adjust how well done you want the beef to be by layering some hot rocks on it, very cool. The beef would melt in your mouth, enough said?
I, however, did think the kobe beef worth the hefty price I paid. I still recommend you should go just for that kobe beef — was heavenly. And yes it is overpriced, but hey, I got two free spicy sake shots (our waiter was so sweet)! So it’s not bad!

Restaurant Week 2014 Review.
First & most notably, the ambiance here is so lush. It’s a very large restaurant with two floors (one ground-​level with a hostess stand & bar area, and the basement floor for dining). The lower dining level was truly luxurious, packed with comfy cushioned chairs and, of course, the infamous ice buddha. I’m giving an extra star for atmosphere alone.
RW customers it seemed were all seated in a row along the outer part of the dining area (away from the full price-​paying customers), but our waitress was very kind & attentive. Surprisingly, we had to specifically ask for RW menus and weren’t offered them off-​the-​bat. RW menu includes 3 courses, with 4 options per course. The infamous kobe beef was $ 5 extra. Portion-​wise, plates were pretty small, and the kobe beef, though delicious & perfectly medium-​rare, was again too small and served with a large side of plain white rice in an effort to fill us up on the cheap. But all in all, we had a very nice dining experience and I would recommend giving Megu a shot.

To all the haters– yes it’s overpriced, yes it was cooler ten years ago when you ‘discovered it’ and yes the waiters want you to spend money, but judging the food and ambiance alone, this place is tens.
Our waiter was very sweet, the steak was divine, the drinks were strong in a good way, and the setting was perfect.
Leave your pretensions at the door and enjoy some good food, particularly if you can get here on a deal or expense as part of a business trip.

My bargain hunter wife got a crazy deal through Gilt City for the Omakase tasting menu at Megu, and on top of the amazing deal, she had some coupons to use on Gilt City, which made this meal a real steal (How does that feel? Feels like a deal.)
ONE
So this seven (and a half) course meal began with a really beautiful, delicate, and palette-​opening salmon tartare, topped with caviar. Holy shit the rhyming is bizarre. Have I gone too far?
TWO
Next up was grilled asparagus on a stick, covered in a crispy semi-​fried coating that was a little too thick. Nice, but a dipping sauce would have been pretty sick.
THREE
After that bowlshit came some shit in a bowl: sebring to be exact, atop an oriental salad of shredded veggies, assorted nuts, and herbs. The waiter drizzled some hot grape seed oil over the fish to give it a quick sear, and then deftly placed two goji berries on top, there and here. Mine looked like a ghost, or a KKK member; either way it was something to fear.
FOUR
Then we have a nice little trio of appetizers. Softshell crab with a house made tartar sauce. I usually hate soft shell crab, because usually the shell is not truly soft, because crabs are constantly molting at different rates across different parts of their body, because they are inconsiderate assholes (the crabby fucks that they are). This one, however, was nice. No choking on flakes of chitinous shell.
Along with this was some grilled veg, consisting of tomato, shishito pepper, and shitake mushroom.
Last was a chunk of miso black cod. Fucking delicious.
FIVE
After that came the mutherfucking sushi. A full spicy tuna roll (too much, in my opinion: three pieces would have been fine instead of six), along with three pieces of sushi: tuna, live octopus, and yellowtail. Everything was good except the octopus. it was too chewy; difficult to get down.
FIVE AND A HALF
Here comes that 0.5 course: liquid. First beer, and then miso soup. The soup was very fragrant and aromatic, but just average in terms of flavor. The good thing is that it was not thin or light, yet not overly salty or too robust.
SIX
The good shit. I had the Kobe steak, which was a sirloin cut. It was cooked perfectly to medium rare, and presented on a hot stone for the extra earthy sear. The waiter poured a little cognac across it for showmanship. Check that shit out below:
Here’s a pair of close up shots of the meat. It came with some crispy garlic chips. I was hoping for a nice thick core of onion too, but whatever. Who can complain with meat of this quality?
My wife had the grilled salmon, which came with some various mushrooms, squash, and veggie items. This was nicely cooked. Juicy but a good crust, flavorful but delicate, topped with chives.
SEVEN
Last was the dessert plate, which had green tea cake, vanilla ice cream with mango sorbet, chocolate truffles, mixed fruit compote with yuzu, and yuzu crème brûlée. All were pretty good here, but I slurped at the leftover yuzu compote liquids like a baby goat at the teet. So, so sweet. Tingles from my head down to my feet. And now my rhymes are complete, because it’s getting late, and I’m fucking beat.
BUT WAIT!!! There’s more. I almost forgot the fucking décor. Take a look, you little foodie whores:

Full disclosure… this is the location where I decided to propose to my wife. The restaurant knew what was going on, so they might have offered me a finer level of service.
We got here a bit early and the hostess immediately knew who I was and asked to check my coat (so she could get the ring and engraved chopsticks out of my jacket and hand it off to me when the time was right). Silly me, I said no because I didn’t understand what was going on. Poor judgement as a direct result of pre-​gaming… anyways…
They seat us at the bar where we enjoyed a few of their signature cocktails, all of which were very good. They took us to the dining area and seated us right behind the Buddha ice sculpture, which was beautiful!
So we ordered some the kobe beef/​hot rock appetizer and a few other goodies to start… everything was awesome but I needed my wife to leave so I could set the engraved chopsticks on her side of the table. The liquor was pouring until finally, she got up. The Hostess came by and asked if I was ready… I set those chopsticks down, my wife came back around about 2 drinks away from being completely wasted and did not notice the chopsticks for an additional half hour. At this point, everyone in the surrounding tables knew about what was going on… I felt the pressure. The hostess bought out some sashimi which we did not order so that my wife would be encouraged to try to use her chopsticks… BULLSEYE.
She picked them up, and read the engraving… «Will You Marry Me?» I got on my knee and she said yes… I heard the round of applause and the waitress bought out two glasses of Moet Rose and their amazing green tea crêpe with «Congratulations» written below it.
It was a great night indeed… all the food was awesome… service was great and I can’t wait to return!

Full disclosure — We did not eat here. After a very negative experience with the front of the house staff, we decided to leave. I have never left a restaurant immediately after being seated but we felt compelled. We ended up going to Nobu and enjoyed their delicious food and friendly service.
The place was empty and it was pretty obvious why.

Bad. Trash. Horrible.
Strike 1. Waiting at the bar until the rest of my friends arrived and waiting a good 25 mins until the bartender/​waitress noticed me. Management, get her help!
Strike 2. The food. Our party of 6 all received our food at different times. My entrée came out and was eaten before my side came out. Seriously?
Strike 3. The price. Oh my, oh my. $ 12 for a side of rice? Really? $ 22 for chicken that was bland and looked like it belonged on a kids menu? It was devoured in 4 mins.
Next time, oh wait, there won’t be next time… I left still hungry. Our bill was $ 640 and quite honestly, the food/​service was worth $ 40. The pizza down the block is good. I had a slice when I left from this dump.

The 1^st time we went, the two of us shared the 7 course Osusume and Umami, so we get to try a lot of different dishes. We both liked the food very much, especially the sashimi and sushi, so when gilt city has the sushi omakase $ 144 for 2 deal, we came back to give that a try.
The Sushi Omakase 7 Course includes:
1) Salmon, tuna and yellowtail Salad
2) Crispy okaki asparagus
3) Kobe beef skewer with 3 different kind of salt (red chili, yellow pepper, green tea)
4) Salmon nanbanzuke (marinated fried salmon)
5) 9 pieces of nigiri sushi — snapper, red snapper, yellowtail, chu-​toro, tuna zuke with truffle, botan ebi, shiro ebi, scallop with habanero pepper sauce, uni
6) Red miso soup
7) Dessert platter (green tea crêpe, orange crème brûlée, fruit cup, and mango sorbet)
All the foods were carefully prepared and presented nicely. The sushi chef explained each piece to us and we loved his selection. That said, I would prefer less cooked dishes and more sushi given that the course is a sushi omakase.
Overall, the food was great and presented nicely. The service was exceptional and the ambiance was romantic. Even then, I felt that the original prices that charge are way too expensive. I would consider going here only if there are significant discounts offered.

Wow.
It’s definitely about the experience. Everything is unique.
The food items were great, too, but all in all, not really worth the money.
Free parking after 7 p.m. on weekdays right in front!
Service is responsive, but at these prices, honestly they better be.
The receptionists are gorgeous. Bona Fide Occupational Qualification? Ask an employment law attorney.

This place is «okay».
When I first walked in, I was super impressed by the display and atmosphere of the restaurant. I was under the impression that this is a fancy restaurant and it is. But when it came down to the food, I was not so impressed.
For some reason, I just felt that everything was mediocre even though the presentation of the food was awesome. I came with a group of 15 so we pretty much ordered everything that was on the menu. Nothing really stood out to me to the point where I thought «OMG this is delicious». However, I did really enjoy my drink (Lychee Colada).
My husband & I mainly ordered sushi and I was slightly disappointed. The fish didn’t seem fresh and the «specialty» rolls didn’t really seem all that special. I say this because if I’m going to pay for quality, I do expect quality. If I were blind folded and fed Megu sushi, I would think it was some sort of take out sushi. Not sure if Megu is considered an authentic Japanese restaurant or Americanized one, but either way… Megu’s fish quality is subpar. I wouldn’t recommend coming here; there are plenty of other cool restaurants to visit in the area. I’d say that I would not come back here again.

I came here with a travelzoo deal. 69 dollars for 2 pre-​fix dinner and 2 cocktails. which I think it was a great deal.
Yes. I came here with my girl again. aha! We love good cocktails and some nice japanese food. We both started of with the rock shrimp and fried asparagus. I like the asparagus because it was pretty unique. It tasted like asparagus coated withs some salt, nuts, and crackers. not as oily as I thought. Don’t really know how to describe it. but you should try it. It was served on a stick. The rock shrimp was good but it was pretty normal. just like any other japanese restaurant.
We both got the kobe beef. I love how they served it raw and you have to cook it on a hot stone by yourself. so you can enjoy sizzling beef until the end. It also came with some wasabi and other unique sauce. it went well with the steak. It also came with miso soup.
Lastly… we finished our course with the molten chocolate cake and famous LADY’s M green tea crêpe cake… If you know Lady M then you know how awesome the green tea crêpe is. I am a huge fan of chocolate so the chocolate cake never disappoint me as well.
They do have pretty good cocktails. Served with some fresh fruits. I don’t remember what I ordered. I think it was 3 berries. something like that.
Service was excellent and I love the décor of the restaurant. Upon entering. I was waiting at the bar and was brought down to the dining hall. I can see many people ordering some entrée that was serve with some ice igloo. Have no idea what was that but it was interesting. The lights were dim so it can be very intimate. good place to date if you wanna impress your girl. :)

Came here for a company related dinner and we were seated in a private room.
Décor: like Wendy G, I also find the iced Buddha very cliché. And I find the ambiance just ok, spacious yes, but nothing special.
Food: for the price, I expect excellent food, but everything we had that night was really just ok.
–edamame, which needed more salt and how hard is it to messed up edamame really?
— rock shrimp: too much breading, too much mayo, not good
–fried asparagus: fried crispy and dipped in nuts (think it was almond), good but not amazing
–Kobe beef on sizzling rock: best part of the meal, the beef was tender and juicy and the grilled garlic added a nice flavor to it
–sushi rolls: including regular California rolls and spicy tuna rolls: rice was too soggy, flavor and freshness was not there. disappointing
dessert: mochi green tea and strawberry ice cream: just okay, the mochi wrapping was a bit on the tougher side
service: decent, had to stop them a few times to fill our glasses, etc
overall: overpriced and mediocre food.
I would not come back if I had to actually pay for the dinner

I’ve been here about 5 years ago and thought to myself tourist overpriced venue. I returned last weekend and not much has changed.
Venue: (²⁄₅) There is a gorgeous ice buddha in the middle which is stunning. The venue itself is impressive for out of town guests (a bit of a las vegas feel). The crowd is touristy, business folks, older dates.
Food: (¹⁄₅) we had a table of 8 and we ordered many many dishes. Nothing I remember that was great except the check at the end. This place is OVERPRICED.
One thing that is a plus which raises from one star to two is the presentation… very pretty and unique. The asparagus appetizer is gorgeous!
Service (³⁄₅) Good but nothing exceptional.

I’m obsessed with Megu. Megu has everything that I love… Amazing food (both delicious and fresh). They have relatively decent service (I’ve had days where it’s a tad on the slow side but also other days when the service is above and beyond). I’m also one to never pass up good cocktails which you can enjoy at your table or in the M Lounge which overlooks the dining area. There is also great Japanese décor that is unique and modern that sets a slick ambiance. The ice Buddha is changed daily, so you can always enjoy this extra little touch. This is without a doubt one of my usual stops for RW but I also enjoy coming here without the pre-​fixe when it’s not hustling and bustling with RW foodies. This past Winter RW, I will admit that my family and I came here twice!
If you’re a first timer to Megu at either location for dinner… be sure to try a few of their signatures and I promise you won’t leave with your taste buds unsatisfied.
My usual consists of:
Beverage– Pearadise
Appetizer– Try the Tuna tartare or one of their rolls.
Entrée– you would be silly not to have the Kobe beef on the sizzling rock.
Dessert– To finish off your delicious meal and to send you properly into food coma, have a green tea crêpe before you hit the road.