Mitsuru
Japanese restaurant · Greenwich Village ·
Sushi, hand rolls, tempura, and Japanese entrees with vast wine
Sushi, hand rolls, tempura, and Japanese entrees with vast wine
"In an eclectic Greenwich Village townhouse, this two-in-one project from Sushi Yasuda’s Mitsuru Tamura and natural wine vet Grant Reynolds of Parcelle pairs an intimate eight-seat omakase — run solo by Tamura, his first spot since he was handpicked to replace one of the biggest sushi names — with a living-room-like dining space of exposed brick, low-slung couches, and cheeky touches like mismatched dishware and candy-shaped chopstick rests. At the counter, the experience is traditional with hints of whimsy: a warm towel and finger wipes (it’s a sign of respect to eat sushi with your fingers) precede a $175 omakase of roughly 15 sushi pieces, a hand roll, and tamago; two pieces of eel sushi can appear as part of the progression. The shatteringly crisp yet flaky sea bass tempura, served with a delightfully kicky ginger tartare and a handful of yuca fries, is a standout. Even without the $75 pairing, the natural-wine selection is impressive — ask the team for a recommendation; I was charmed by the Masumi sparkling sake. The dining room skewed young on my visit, with plenty of age diversity at the counter. Take note: while I appreciated having a chair with a back and armrests, the counter’s chair height felt more suited to a regular table, though my taller dining partner wasn’t bothered. If you can’t snag an omakase seat or want more variety, the a la carte five-piece Mitsuru’s choice ($44) is a smart move; cross your fingers for fatty sea perch or citrus-flecked giant clam." - Stephanie Wu
"Closed on August 28 after 49 years, this Little Tokyo restaurant first opened in 1976 as a lunch counter and became a local favorite for sushi, donburi, udon, and more; the Little Tokyo Service Center reports the closure is linked to owners Mamoru and Dora Hanamure’s retirement, and the team announced the news on Instagram, thanking customers for their decades of support." - Rebecca Roland
"If someone with an incredibly posh living room also had the means to employ a live-in sushi chef, it might look something like this West Village Japanese restaurant. The omakase counter towards the back keeps things quiet, even if you sit in the a la carte section. Drink something off the extensive list of sake, and try the seabass tempura with ginger tartar sauce." - molly fitzpatrick, bryan kim, willa moore, will hartman, sonal shah
"Mitsuru is a Japanese restaurant with an eight-seat omakase counter run by the chef who used to be in charge at Sushi Yasuda. There's green velvet seating in the dining room, and a sake menu curated by the founder of Parcelle. Given all that, we’d expect this place to be ripe for special occasions in Greenwich Village. But neighborhood regulars treat it more like a casual destination for eating $16 handrolls in sweatshirts with their teenage sons, who've already eaten way more toro than you ever will. photo credit: Michael Clarke photo credit: Michael Clarke photo credit: Michael Clarke Pause Unmute It's usually easy to walk into the dining room, and the a la carte food is pretty good, if overly fussy at times. We don’t need our edamame grilled or kale in our oshitashi, but we do need the sea bass tempura with a side of impeccably tangy ginger tartar sauce at least once a quarter. You’ll end up forking over maybe double what you usually spend on a casual weeknight dinner, but when you can’t get in anywhere else and it’s starting to feel like a sit-down dinner is simply too much to ask for, Mitsuru will save the day. Food Rundown Grilled Edamame You could microwave edamame and it would still be good, so it’s no surprise that grilling it is no different. But it’s not any more memorable than the steamed variety. Marinated Kale & Bonito Sort of like oshitashi with a little more texture. We like it, but still prefer the smoother, spinach-based version. Handrolls The handrolls range in price from $9 to $16, and you should order a few to round out the meatier, cooked mains. We like the seared scallop with a hit of yuzu, and the simpler yellowtail and scallion. The nori sheets come on the side so you can build your handroll and the nori stays crisp. Unagi Don Warm sushi rice under a thick layer of sweet, fatty eel. If you come here for a solo meal—a quiet one, where you could actually hear yourself think—get this, and then pay attention to the eel melting across your tongue and absolutely nothing else. Sea Bass Tempura & Ginger Tartar Sauce Always get the sea bass tempura. The breading is light and airy, the fish is flaky and moist, and there could never be too much ginger tartar sauce on planet Earth. A surprise: the restaurant serves this with a few yuca fries on the side, like the Mitsuru version of fish and chips. Omakase There are two options at the omakase counter: The sushi omakase for $150 and the chef’s omakase for $250. Both include seasonal nigiri like cold uni against warm rice, a buttery sea bream swiped with soy sauce, and tender shima-aji. We maintain that a la carte ordering is the way to go, because although we appreciate the simplicity of the nigiri here, it's a fairly standard line up of fish. Hi-Chews They come with the check, and they’re not like the regular ones you find at the grocery store. On our most recent visit, we tried a sour grapefruit flavor." - Willa Moore
"Chef Mitsuru Tamura turned 50 earlier this year, left his long-time role as the head of Michelin-starred Sushi Yasuda, and teamed up with pedigreed restaurateur Grant Reynolds to open his first and eponymous Japanese restaurant in Greenwich Village. There’s an omakase counter with eight seats, where Mitsuru runs the show every night ($250). Though if you don’t get a place at the counter, another in the intimate 30-seat dining room will more than suffice. The streamlined menu has starters like grilled edamame ($12) and crispy burdock root ($8) that set the scene nicely; and green dishes like a seaweed salad with salted plum and marinated kale with mushrooms (both $12) that beautifully accompany the mains—of which the sea bass tempura and ginger tartar ($40) was a standout. But the a la carte menu’s real winner is the “Mitsuru’s choice”: five pieces of sushi (market price) from the omakase counter, delivered to your two- or four-top. Don’t miss the wine list; ask for the sparkling sake—Japanese rice wine made effervescent by the traditional French method of creating Champagne. —Matt Ortile, associate editor"
