n/soto
Japanese restaurant · Mid-City ·
Seasonal kaiseki-style offerings with izakaya favorites
Seasonal kaiseki-style offerings with izakaya favorites
"A high-end restaurant offering a mix of izakaya and sushi, known for incorporating seasonal ingredients. It's a favorite spot for special occasions." - Michael He
"General manager Mark Nechols describes early uncertainty and a large weekend decline: "To begin with, it was just a lot of uncertainty as to what was happening and how severe it was. Once we got an understanding that it was just going to keep getting worse, we wavered on whether we should be even open for service, just for the sake of the safety of our staff. Throughout last week reservations definitely declined, and a lot of people canceled. On a normal weekend night perhaps we might do 130 to 140 guests — this past week it was pretty much half of that. Labor has definitely been tricky, especially on the weekdays, which are typically a little quieter. For the most part, it hasn’t been drastic, but we’re just cutting hours earlier or being a bit more efficient with overall hours. We’ve been trying to create more things to do so we don’t have to cut hours. I’ve just been trying to keep a “this too shall pass” mentality. We’re really doing the best we can." Summary: roughly 50% weekend drop, staffing/scheduling strain, cautious operations focused on preserving hours where possible." - Eater Staff
"Join N/Soto this New Year’s Eve for an eight-course tasting menu starting at $185 per person. The prix fixe menu will include king crab with toro and yuba, baby abalone, shiitake and black truffle, sashimi, uni tempura, duck breast with yuzu, and more. Book a table via Resy." - Rebecca Roland
"N/Soto might be more casual than its tasting menu sibling restaurant, N/Naka, but this upscale izakaya in Mid-City isn’t a place you slide into on a weekday night. And, frankly, we’re fine with that—because sitting at N/Soto’s moody, low-lit bar with a shochu cocktail, grilled wagyu skewers, and a bowl of sake-steamed clams provides the same sophisticated cooking for a substantially reduced cost (and without months of waiting for a reservation). Every dish at this zen-like hideaway feels considered, from the tiny dab of caviar on top of the chopped toro nigiri to the tempura squid legs with chile-dusted mayo." - garrett snyder, sylvio martins
"If you’ve been waiting **checks notes** years for a N/naka reservation, we have good news: N/Soto exists. This casual Mid-City izakaya has the same chefs as the original restaurant, but now with a less expensive a la carte menu, a tranquil, white oak-heavy interior, and actual availability when it comes to snagging a table. The large, 50-odd item menu can be a bit overwhelming at first, so we recommend concentrating on chewy mochi flatbread with a side of eggplant dip and salted creme fraiche, miso-slathered bone marrow with pickled onions, and a miniature, one-bite flavor bomb of minced toro and caviar on sushi rice." - brant cox