Neo Sushi Studio

Thanks for the awesome sushi! Great sushi. I’ve never had better for the price. I’ll be back

Saw mixed reviews for this place — My experience here was great though. We sat right at the sushi bar and tried a bunch of new things based on their recommendations. For rolls, we had the Yellow Tail Scallion and Crispy Oyster, and also had the salmon with diced tomato on top — surprisingly very tasty!
The host gave us a complimentary dessert — special SPICY-​chocolate-​covered strawberries with sake. Great spot … will be back!

Omakase Review
Food:3.0
Service:4.0
Value:4.0
Overall:3.5
We reserved four seats at the sushi bar and were seated at a table when we arrived. No explanation. There were people at the sushi bar already when we arrived. Oh well.
Some of the food was good. Some was just okay. Sashimi was good. The salmon over quinoa was really good. Sitting at a table, the nigiri was served all at once. There were six pieces if I remember correctly and they were just okay. They gave us Panna Cotta gratis. It was pretty good.
I’ll add more later…
— — — — — — —
Omakase tips
— Rice should be body temperature — so do not complain about rice being too hot
— Fish should be room temperature — so do not complain if the chef used the torch to get the fish to room temperature. Also this is why some places put their fish in a wood or metal box sans refrigeration
— Eat with your hands or chopsticks. Either method is fine. But try to eat it in one bite, never putting any back on your plate. I try to flip the nigiri so the fish side hits my tongue and taste buds first. It makes a difference.
— The nigiri should fall apart once it hits your mouth, that why the rice is sometimes loose. *Reason to eat nigiri with your hands.
— Eat each piece as soon as it is served. Fresh from the chef’s hand to your mouth! That’s why most Omakase places serve one piece at a time.
— Soy sauce should be applied to the fish. At most Omakase’s now, the chefs brush it on. If you are given soy sauce, do not dunk your rice into it.
— Do not rub wooden chopsticks together.
— Omakase’s usually offer around ten nigiri and a hand roll, and can range in price from $ 45 to $ 100+. Of course some places serve more and charge more. ($ 500 for Masa)
— If you’re complaining that Omakase costs too much or doesn’t fill you up, maybe it’s not for you. Go to Key Food and pick up two trays of their sushi for $ 15. And don’t forget the soy sauce packets.

I found this place by accident, boy was this the best mistake I ever made!
The food is always consistent, fresh, clean, and good quality.
The appetizers are really good but can add up and make the bill a bit more pricey.
Manager is really nice and accommodating. He always recommending new And delicious things.
Great spot. I love it!

Ordered the full omasake — but the hot and cold dishes really didn’t shine for me. Cajun crawfish salad was interestingly creative, but not what i wanted from of a sushi restaurant. The sashimi and handroll themselves were AMAZING. I’m disappointed the $ 60 omakase did NOT include more sushi/​sashimi/​nigiri. We literally only got three individual pieces of nigiri and one small hand roll. The other items seemed «cheap» to me… three thin slices of tuna with a big bowl of salad, fried crawfish, three thin slices of white fish with lemon and miso (?), and something else I can’t remember. For what they considered eight courses, I really only saw it as four small appetizer-​y dishes with four single pieces of sushi. Womp womp.
The sushi really was great, so I’ll have to give this another try and just order sushi/​rolls… but the omasake was highly disappointing and expensive, and I slightly regret doing that my first time here.

I’ve been to pretty much every «scene» sushi place in the country as well as the «authentic» sushi places in NYC, SFO & Vancouver as well as had sushi at the 5am fish market auction in Tokyo and I can say Neo gives you as high a quality of sushi as those places, with more creativity (if you do Omakase) at a fraction of the cost. If this place were downtown in Tribeca, West Village or Chelsea and not on 1^st & 75^th, they could charge twice as much and people would still love it, however, the owner wants to focus on the quality of the sushi and be able to provide it at a reasonable cost. The ambiance is pretty basic and it’s definitely not a scene, but great sushi at a great price. Highly recommend.

We have had great experience in food. Really well done, guys. Also warm hospitality and cosy atmosphere. I would definitely recommend to my friends.
I read that some had not such good time in there, but we were on the lucky side, I guess:
Our sushi were fresh and well presented, also the hot dishes.
My only wish, if they can explore a bit more of traditional cuisine… but overall– very nice experience.

It just got better! Sushi with chimichurri — get the omakase and let the chef take you away

After seeing all the reviews I had high hopes for this place. I went with my friend, the waiter/​maître d took our order, I was served my miso soup, and we literally waited for 30 minutes, while staring at the sushi chef making sushi for takeout orders. Hello? The place was not crowded, the only other table was also waiting for their food. When we approached the main guy he said it’s because they’re waiting for me to finish my soup? That was 20 min ago. But what about my friend’s chicken skewer appetizer? It came 10 minutes after we complained, then the rest of the rolls came, which we devoured in 5 minutes.
30 minutes of staring at chopsticks
5 minutes eating
Sorry, maybe I should get take out next time so I actually get to eat when I’m hungry.
Maybe they changed management? Maybe it was the snow? The only thing keeping this review from being one star is the sushi was pretty good. So they kept the sushi chef. Oh, and when we asked to see the dessert menu the waiter said there aren’t any tonight. Interesting.
Yup, we were both still hungry after we walked out.

I need to take a star off. FIrst of all, they indicate on their web site as opening at 5:00 pm, but if you call for a delivery, no one answers the phone until at least 6:00 pm. Correct your web site or answer the phone at 5:00 pm.
The last time we had the rib eye with balsamic sauce it was fatty and we threw out more than we ate. The sushi is still good and fresh but with Sushi of Gari now delivering AND answering their phones at the time indicated on their web site, we would be more likely to order from here.

As a worldwide sushi connoisseur, I can say with confidence that the sushi at this place was high quality. All of the fish was fresh, the cuts were of appropriate thickness and the rice was flavored with just the right subtlety, not to mention the plating made the fish even more appetizing. The service was great and the salad dressing was delicious as well. I put minus one star because the décor is a bit lacking and the prices are a bit high. (To whoever said it was «decently priced» or something to that effect: you have been in NYC for too long.)
Will be back at some point!

WOAW! This place was goooood. I sat at the counter for a quick bite to eat, and I was floored. The chef made me nigiri pieces as I ate, and the cuts were perfect and delicious. Tried Spanish mackerel for my first time, divine.
AND, they had gluten free soy sauce! I didn’t even have to ask for it, just mentioned I can’t have regular soy sauce because of the wheat in in, and boom, Tamari-​style accoutrement!
Will certainly be going back.

Small, cozy, dark, intimate… Nice first date setting, nice service! Very clean and tasty sushi!
Price is very reasonable!

Top 10 meals easily. Sat at the bar and got the chef tasting menu (sushi only). Unassuming place with friendly staff, a hidden gem.
Each nigiri was better than the one before– quality, fresh fish with interesting hint of topping that enhanced rather than hid the flavor, i.e. uni with truffle salt, fluke with chimichurri, sea bass with lava salt and chili, torched fluke, white fish with miso sauce and garlic chips (**best**). Also a creamy yellowtail handroll. They can do new flavors as well as the classics wonderfully.

One star for service and one star for food. wanted to try Tanoshi but no luck, we ended up here based on the reviews on Unilocal.
When we walked in, there were only three other customers, but still took at least 15 minutes to get our first order from kitchen while the sushi chef taking his time making sushi for previous order, and second chef just stood there chatting and did nothing.
We both order sashimi, big mistake. All the fishes were either tasteless (why???) or had fishy taste. My husband said it must came from semi-​frozen meat, that’s why it took so long and the taste of fresh raw fish are gone. HORRIBLE experience!!!
Spent over $ 80 for two main course and one bland appetizer, we will NOT ever go there again.
The only plus side was the waiter was very polite.

I was really skeptical walking into Neo Sushi but pleasantly surprised!
— there’s nothing fancy on the menu but sometimes simplicity is the key
Décor ⁴⁄₅
— very clean, dark, romantic
— seating for about 25~
Service: ⁴⁄₅
— we were promptly seated
— all the waitstaff were very polite and professional
— contents of our dishes were described to us, and suggested how we should enjoy each piece — he suggested they were already well flavored and to try them without soy nor wasabi first
Food: ⁵⁄₅
— the three of us each ordered two rolls and so we were able to try a variety
— crispy oyster
— shrimp jalapeño — comes with ponzu dipping sauce
— eel avocado (x2)
— spicy scallop
— yellowtail scallion
— all the rolls were surprisingly and amazingly well seasoned and delicious. The spicy scallop was my favorite second to the eel avocado.
— while the roll sizes are not as thick as maguros, they are definitely more fresh and better flavored.
— rolls vary from 8 – 13 $ each — a little on the high side
— I’d like to come back to try the omakase the other reviewers are raving about :)

Thanks to Tobin T’s convincing review, I decided to give Neo Sushi Studio a try.
Décor: ⁴⁄₅
–small sushi bar with 2 chefs, seating for about 5
–table seating for about 30
–good ambiant lighting and vibe for hanging out with friends or a romantic date
Service: ⁵⁄₅
–super attentive, the owner (?) saw me looking around and immediately came by to ask if I needed anything
Food: ⁵⁄₅
–due to limited time, I couldn’t try the omakase ($ 60) or chef’s tasting ($ 42)
–Soft shell shrimp jalapeño was served and instructed to try it first without any soy or ponzo (chef provided) sauce. To my surprise, this had a good blend of texture and flavor. The jalapeño wasn’t all hot but gave the roll a nice small kick
–Eel avocado was also surprisingly good. Comparable to Maguro, the sushi rice was soft and room temperature at 2 rices thick while the eel and avocado just slowly melted in your mouth
So far so good. I’ll be back to try the omakase and give Neo Sushi Studio a more accurate review.

I came to Neo to order a take out and asked the guy at the front to recommend me of some vegetarian sushi rolls. He was really nice and suggested the vegetable ceviche. I asked him if they have also a sweet potato roll and he said that they can prepare one for me. I ordered the two rolls and waited for them to be ready.
I really wanted to like them because of the good reviews and the fact that they are really close to my apartment.
I paid $ 13 for only 10 pieces of sushi which is really expensive comparing to other sushi I had before. and it also included extra $ 1 for service which I didn’t really understand…
The vegetable ceviche roll was like a salad with a lot of onions in a sushi. I didn’t like it and throw it away.
The sweet potato sushi was ok but I think it was an ordinary potato and was a bit under cooked.
Altogether I won’t go back to them. too bad.

They call this place «new sushi» but really they should call it «new awesome sushi.» I’ve never been to a spot that hit a home run so many times with their creative sushi + incredibly fresh fish.
We decided to go for the fish-​only omakase, which is a rare choice for us, and we were far from disappointed. The meal started with an amazingly delicious hottish pepper and crazy sauce, and was followed by a cavalcade of great fish with very unique toppings that just made the flavor pop. We finished off with spicy-​chocolate-​covered strawberries plus a lychee sake. Wow.
This is a new standby for us.

A long overdue review of my favorite UES sushi spot.
The upper east side is most definitely a culinary dead zone. Filled with overpriced mediocre Italian restaurants. Strangely enough sushi, on the other hand, is plentiful and spectacular. Sasabune and Gari are arguably the best in their craft with Michelin stars to prove it. Your bill reflects it.
You can satisfy your sushi craving with any one of several average spots in the area. Average fish, grocery store quality sushi rice, average prices ($ 5 tuna roll). You may have walked by 1410 1^st Avenue many times thinking it was yet another UES average sushi spot – but you’d be wrong.
Neo Sushi Studio hits the sweet spot, and hits it hard.
There’s three levels of service in my mind: Bad service (it drives you crazy and hate it), good service (things run smooth, you hardly notice), and Holy Crap, I can’t believe how welcomed I am, I feel great about spending my money here kind of service. Brandon could easily become a captain at Per Se – he’s warm, friendly, makes sure food is prompt and to your liking. I came one night with my wife on a date and sat next to another couple who ordered a bottle of saki. They asked for a dry cold saki, Brandon made a few recommendations and the guy picked a different one altogether. He nor his date liked the saki. Without batting an eye, Brandon brought another bottle of a different Saki on the house. He clearly didn’t need to do that – Brandon just cares that everyone who comes to Neo has a great experience.
On to the food. The fish is spectacular, the sushi rice is short grain (you’ll notice a difference), the wasabi is good coarse spicy horseradish, even the soy sauce is higher quality than usual. Neo is a phenomenal sushi chef, he is innovative but never overpowers the fish, rather augments its flavor in his omakase preparations (chimichurri, a garlic chip, house made creamy tofu, etc), but even a simple tuna maki still shows mastery of his craft. My favorites include the tuna maki ($ 5.50), crispy oyster roll, yellowtail black pepper roll, tamago and miso flakes, and fluke tiradito (a little sriracha, a little cilantro, a little black sea salt – tremendous).
The sushi clearly highlights his skill, but his inventiveness is really seen in the appetizers and small plates. His deconstructed spicy tuna roll is always a crowd pleaser – lightly fried cubes of sushi rice, a tangy spicy seasoned soy, and spicy tuna – its spicy tuna roll meets pomme frites. Its clever, beautifully presented, and delicious. An Uni shooter, creamy uni in ponzu is savory and a great apéritif. The shisito peppers are grilled to perfection and drizzled with a salty and sweet miso glaze.
Even dessert is well done. Strawberries covered in spicy chocolate with chocolate liquor always punctuates the meal. The panna cotta is also excellent.
Since finding Neo I’ve never ordered sushi from anywhere else (I swear!) and as long as Brandon will deliver to me, I never will. Is the sushi better than Gari? No, but it sure as hell ain’t far off, and your bill is a fraction of the cost (I calculated 23% of the price based on my last visits to each). There’s no better value I’ve found — my weekly (or sometimes twice weekly) visit or delivery order is proof.