Sun-Chan Japanese Restaurant

Regular everyday Japanese fare. It’s cozy, casual and comfortable. Great prices too. If you order sake, you get to pick your own sake cup. Their tempura is very good. We had a delicious pickle dish for an appetizer (daikon, tororo etc). Definitely coming back soon! It’s small so be sure to get there early.

Ordered the unagi hitsumabushi. Prob best unagi rice I ever had. The Nagano hockey wings were ok. Sweet one note but good fried well and tasty. Foil wrapped oyster was delicious.
Need to get more yakitori next time

People all know how much I hate carbs, and today I’m telling you I love the eel rice cooked at Sun-​Chan. Eel rice, in my opinion, could be easily messed up — rice too bland, eel not marinated well, the two elements weren’t combined well… apparently Sun-​Chan successfully avoided all the possibilities of failure and presented me the best eel rice so far I have eaten.
The big bowl was for two people to share, and trust me, there was a lot of fish meat on top of tons of rice. However I did not at all feel too stuffed. The fish soup was a perfect way to clean up my palate after the rice. This eel rice dish worth a full credit! Aside from the main dish, we also shared a small pot of wine-​steamed clams. Less impressive, however still worth a try!
I commuted a long way to get here, now I am so glad that I made that decision.

They have wide variety of casual Japanese foods from yakitori to hot pot. It gets pretty crowded on weekends

Tucked away Japanese restaurant on Broadway which is only open at night and probably why I’ve missed it so many times. We were a party of 3 seated at a 2 person table because they were crowded. It didn’t bother me because they tried to accommodate us as best as they could so we didn’t have to wait so long. I thought I saw Japanese whiskey at their bar but it turns out they have very limited selections in terms of liquor but plenty of Sake options and some beers. I was so disappointed by this but kept an open mind to their food. I ordered two sushi rolls. Yellowtail and scallion and a 4 piece American Dream that sounded delicious. We also had Gyoza as an appetizer. The first roll was pretty average but the American Dream was pure rice dudes. I have had much better Japanese downtown and will probably stick to what I know. Thanks for trying anyway guys!

The grilled bites are amazing (5 stars), especially the bacon wrapped enoki mushrooms and the ribs. The restaurant isn’t a sight for the eyes and service can be hit or miss, but it is on my, «If it was my last day» list.

This little proverbial hole in the wall is all that I hoped it would be! The food is awesome and very authentic. Definitely try the yakitori!

Unagi Don For Two just blew my minds away.
A little bit expensive, but worth it.
Recommend.

My friend and I came to this restaurant and ordered tempura donburi, unadon and some chiken skewers. Duck was over baked and completely turned to black color. Tempura donburi was awful. Shrimps and vegetables were too small and more than ½ were butter. And they were far from crispy tempura. I felt like I was eating food for baby… (Semi-​liquid food) We thought the restaurant was run by Japanese people and expected lots, but foods were very low quality. I don’t give them one star is just because they serve Japanese alcohol.

I definitely had better eel don before, but it won’t be the same price range — actually it would be different scale.
Pretty crowded at meal hour, which is fine for me since I usually arrived as like 1^st or 2^nd table (yes I am hungry early lol) Chicken wings are pretty good considering most of so-​called japenese styled fried wings are REALLY bad.
It would be one of my go-​to in my pocket.

This is my favorite Japanese restaurant in the upper west side neighborhood. The eel rice for two comes with a hot teapot of broth that is unlike any eel over rice in NYC. I highly recommend it. The grilled riceball is awesome. Its décor is rusty with dim lighting.

I can’t believe there’s such authentic Japanese restaurant in this area near columbia! I never noticed it before because it just looks like an average sushi place until I read a review about the unagi over rice here. So I came to try it. It’s amazing! The restaurant is a small family oriented, less business chain feeling compared with ootoya. There are two types of unagi here. One is served for two people. The waitress mix the eel with rice, we then add fish soup and wasabi to mix everything. The other is just unagi over rice. They both taste really good, and the portion is big. The menu also has lots yakitori options.
Anyway, it’s a hidden gem in the uptown are. The place is ideally for two people so you don’t need to wait long.

It’s said it’s the most oishi unagi don in New York City, and I think it is right. Hitsuma bushi — what’s why I came here ! I heard there are 3 steps for eating it. First eat the original unagi don, then add the Yakumi– the additional spice the provide you. The last step is to put the soup in. My god it’s heaven !!!

Tasty food. Nice environment (like those you would see from a Japanese movie). Ridiculously slow service.
But I just keep going there for there unary hitsuobushi.

An experience that is not that good.
1.The light is too dim to read the menu.
2. The waiter is always busy and has little time to deal with us.
3. It took us too long to get our food.
4. My friend got a chicken pot without any chicken.
5. My friend think that the don is not that good, since the rice feels like being soaked in the water…

This place is literally 3 blocks away from my house and yes, I do like their food.
BUT… the service here is ridiculous and I can’t believe this kind of service still exists.
We ordered 3 appetizers and 2 entrees between 2 people and if you know Japanese yakitori, you know those are really yummy when they are warm and toasty.
Our first yakitori was cold, which was worth $ 6. We had to even ask for water because no one served us. When we got water those were a lot smaller cups than what everyone else got. Basically we were the only ones with small cups of water.
The chicken wings were nice and crispy so we enjoyed that part– I recommend it… (the one with special house sauce)
It was when we ordered the grilled rice ball… it took about 40mins to get it but when we flipped the riceball, it was burnt where we couldn’t eat it at all. I wanted take a photo of it so bad but didn’t want to make a scene. So we asked them to take it off of our check and take the dish back. But instead, they wrapped it for us to take it home. wow. and we were charged for it of course. So we did talk to them and finally were able to get out of the place.
What a horrible experience! I just hope this happens to no one else… but I’m not going back there!

Inconsistent and subpar service and food in a haze of smokiness and lack of ventilation. That’s Sun Chan. I’ve been here a couple of times already, and I’ve tried really hard to like it.
Food: the one bright spot on their menu is the eel don and bowl for two. It tastes great, and the fishiness is well masked in a rather sweet paste. Their salmon, on the other hand, is an abysmal, overcooked, and tough dish. Insult to injury: it’s tiny, and a third of the size pictured in the accompanying photo. Yakitori: chicken skin was really charred, and pork belly was tough and overcooked. Aspara bacon was quite an edible surprise compared to them.
Service: the staff is pleasant and friendly, but their operations are inconsistent and poorly managed. Tables don’t get their drinks or food requests taken in an orderly manner. Food comes out in whatever order the kitchen decides — so one person might be done with their entrée before appetizers and the second entrée are served.
Atmosphere: certain corners and spaces in the restaurant are really tight, with three inches or so of space between tables. Good luck squeezing through them. The bar area has a suffocating layer of smoke, which dissipates in the general seating area. Lots of Columbia University students and couples. There’s generally a wait at dinner time, but turnover can be quick.

Their unagi rice for two is sooo good. Wish there could be more unagi meat! Also try the chicken wings, the crispy skin is awesome.

TORO SALMON. That is all.
That’s not really all, but it is what’s most important. Followed (in no particular order) by:
— grilled chicken skin
— miso buta cabe
— pork katsu
— chicken meatballs
The food easily distracts from the dive-​bar ambiance (ancient carpet, grill smoke-​stained drop ceiling tiles), and while your initial server may seem to disappear once your food arrives, there are plenty of other staff members who graciously accept a flagging-​down, and are happy to help. And for those so inclined to eating deep into the night, they serve food until 3am.

Ramen broth is thick and flavourful, but almost no pork in it … Chicken meatball and salmon skewers are very salty and not that special for their price
2^nd visit: ordered Natto, eel rice … Damnnnn the eel rice is good! Would definitely come back again :)