Located in LIC, this beautifully decorated izakaya serves an array of different items such as…read moretempura, hot entrees, yakitori, and sushi and sashimi so we had to try a little bit of everything. The yakitori here is very tasty. We loved the veggie skewers (okra and shishito peppers. The salmon belly is actually just salmon pieces and not the belly party. The enoki beef was little too salty. The squid, beef and scallops were very tasty. The veggies tempura were freshly fried and delicious. Could have been drained a little better. Salmon crispy rice was a hit but the star of the show was the sushi and sashimi deluxe and the blue Toro roll. Amazingly fresh. The passion toro was a little too sweet and fishy for us and had no passion fruit taste. Service here is amazing. The server actually gifted us the desserts of matcha creme brûlée and homemade green tea mochi ice cream. So sweet of him!

Hidden gem in LIC!! Review is from my first visit, but have gone back a few more times already for…read moretakeout. Value is insane and the fish is so fresh here. Must visit if you are nearby. Interior is spacious and upscale, and staff is so friendly. FOOD: Blue fin tuna tartar (7/10): Fresh tuna with a rice cracker. Fresh and delicious! Cyan Fox Roll (10/10): Insanely good, so much fish and so fresh. Got this 3 times already Truffle Naruto Roll (6/10): Tries to take a unique spin to it with a radish wrapper, but not my favorite. LIC Roll (8/10): Again, huge portions with generous and fresh fish.

TLDR: Small Japanese specialty store in LIC…read more If you're looking for something specific, almost niche Japanese - there's a good chance they'll have it here. Everything from imported dashi, spices, sashimi, wagyu, etc. This was one of the few places I've ever seen that carries my favorite spice mix from Kyoto. Sushi bowls and boxes are definitely above average. Pricier but premium quality. The back there's also wagyu, misos, dashi, etc. A cool spot to check out whether you're looking to get something to eat or cook. They also are one of the few places us civilians can get crown melons at. Although they will set you back quite a bit.

Done well: - Very fresh fish…read more - Chirashi bowl had an interesting assortments of many fish. - Salmon was very fresh. Not a highlight: - Quite expensive; these are the large sizes, but most of the bowl is rice. At $40, the large chirashi bowl is still not enough food to satisfy one person for a meal.

I visited Dashi Okume when I spent the day in Greenpoint last weekend. Dashi Okume dates back to…read more1871 in Japan (it was originally established as a seafood wholesaler), but this shop in Greenpoint makes quality Japanese products, especially dashi, more accessible than ever. Dashi Okume sells ... you guessed it ... dashi. They sell several kinds, and you can taste all of them there in the shop before deciding which to take home with you (I tried them all and went home with one bag of vegetable dashi and one bag of sweet shellfish dashi). They also make custom-made dashi. You can choose from around 30 ingredients - dried fish, seaweed, mushrooms, and vegetables. They grind it up and put into individual bags for you. Such a fun idea, but I thought I should try some of their pre-made dashi options before creating mine own. They also sell miso, rice, noodles, rice seasoning, seaweed, tea, and other items. I picked up some Japanese mustard, seaweed, and rice seasoning to take home with my dashi. Beyond being a great shop, they also have a cafe area where they offer a teishoku set meal - you pick your fish, which comes with tea, rice, miso soup, pickles, and sides. They also offer an omakase popup. The shop is beautiful, and the service was very friendly and helpful. I'll certainly return for more shopping but next time I plan to make a meal of it and try their teishoku set.

Stopped in at Dashi Okume on a random Saturday afternoon and sat down with a spread of white rice,…read morebluefish, miso soup, squash, and mushroom. Simple and satisfying on the food front, for the 2 of us, the cost was about $110. So not a cheap meal, but good food. The vibe though was a little different from what I was expecting. I went in thinking restaurant and what I got was more of a market atmosphere. While you are eating, people are walking around shopping and browsing, and there are products displayed and sold throughout the space. Not exactly my ideal setting for a sit down meal, but it works well enough for a casual weekend afternoon stop. One of the highlights beyond the food were the soup broths and dried flake samples they had available to try at Dashi Okume. We worked our way through most of them and they were genuinely delicious. My wife liked them enough to buy one to use as a miso soup base at home, which says a lot. They also carry items for cats, which was a fun little surprise. As for the place itself, Dashi Okume is located on Norman Avenue and operates as a collective, meaning it is not one single business but rather a shared space where multiple different vendors and businesses come together under one roof. That explains the market within a restaurant feeling. Overall Dashi Okume is a worthwhile stop, especially if you enjoy exploring and sampling along the way. Just go in knowing it is more of a hybrid experience than a traditional sit down meal.

The food here was ok, but not spectacular. Great service, and the place itself was quite…read morenice...but we won't got back. The teriyaki chicken was ok, but nothing special. The sushi was also nothing special or good.

Cuisine: 6 Service: 7…read moreDecor: 7 Value: 6 Overall: 6 I have to preface that, if I had reviewed Hibino in the past, they likely would have received 4 stars. Unfortunately, my latest experience was such a letdown that I have to average that into this review. My usual order here over 10+ years has always been their Kaisen Don, which had some of the better quality sushi rice available in Queens. If you don't think sushi rice is important, then skip my review. If you do, then know that my preference is slight warm rice that does not clump together, with a nice touch of vinegar. Hibino seems to get this part right regularly, but not this past Sunday. It was cold, clumpy, and super light on seasoning. Furthermore, as soon as the bowl arrived, I was a bit skeptical since it's not the usual square box filled with premium goodies. Instead, it was a smaller round bowl with relatively common pieces of sashimi. In the past, there were toro, ikura, uni and scallop, but none were present on Sunday. The only premium pieces I received was the spotted prawn. The rest were salmon, yellowtail, bluefin tuna, sea bass, and arctic char. More importantly, some of the sashimi pieces were somewhat mushy and slightly fishy, not the best quality. On the other hand, we also ordered their Chirashi, which had seared toro, yellowfin tuna, salmon belly, yellowtail belly, shrimp, and flying fish roe. Between the proteins and rice is a layer of shredder egg. Sadly, rice was still cold and lacked flavor, but the egg did help a bit. Though I prefer the thin slices of sashimi in the Kaisen Don over the chunky pieces of fish in the Chirashi, I did prefer the latter on that day. Bottom line, I will give them another chance, but the downgrade on the quality of rice and premium seafood in the Kaisen Don was a major disappointment. Praying my next visit restores my faith in the restaurant.

My absolute go to when I am in the area and crave Japanese food!…read more First of all this place has a decent amount of seating and they have quick service! I stop by here before class and usually in and out in less than an hour! The waitress and owner are also really nice and they usually treat you to a small box of gum when you pay. Food wise I've tried so much and I must say every single thing is delicious!! -Double Sweet: this is spicy tuna over some crispy rice topped with mango sauce. This is AWESOME!!! so tasty, and always fresh! -Rainbow Naruto Roll: the sashimi in this is always to fresh- and I love this because it's also a lighter option if you want to save on calories. I like to pair this with their double sweet sauce. -Seafood Ramen: I thoroughlyyyyyyyyy enjoyed this!!! The broth was one of the best I've had yet! I will say with the seafood there were pieces that tasted frozen/refrigerated. But otherwise this was thoroughly enjoyable. Like I would come here again just for ramen. And I also paired it with their chili oil and it was perfect -Kani Salad: also a must, always fresh and a nice portion -Miso Soup: looove this. Plus it comes with enoki mushrooms which is a pleasant addition -Ika Maruyaki: sooooooo tasty and the squid is perfectly cooked! Not rubbery at all which can happen if it goes past a certain point. Alllll such great options!!! Quick service And always so fresh- which is so important when it comes to good sushi. Definitely recommend this spot!!

Fantastic happy hour! It includes beer, wine, cocktails, and whiskey. The atmosphere was intimate…read morewith soft, dim lightning, and beautiful wall paintings. The happy hour food was the best. I have never been a big fan of sushi, but I am actually glad I came here. The sushi menu was super affordable, ranging from $5 to $12. I ordered a California roll and shrimp tempura roll, and both were fresh and delicious. The shrimp tempura has a nice airy crispiness. I could have probably at least ordered another roll. Service was friendly but not as attentive as I would have preferred; however, I did visited during happy hour and they were busy. But I did like my experience here.

Ambiance (5/5): We came to dine on a weekday around 8:30p and there was plenty of seating. The…read moredécor was super cool with the room surround in Japanese street theme very on par to pubs in Japan. The posters to the trinkets, neon lights, ceiling décor were all very immersive. Service (5/5): The waitress was very polite and serviced us with courteousness. Wagyu skewers ($17) (2/5): For the price point, was expecting a little more to the beef cuts both in size and taste. The small bites were not very tender and lacked flavor. Bacon and quail eggs (5/5): Super unique and delicious. We were glad to try this! Shoyu ramen (1/5): The most plain and tasteless ramen that I've ever had. The toppings were plentiful and the charsiu pork cuts were decent. Half egg is served hard boiled. After drowning it in S & B Foods Ichimi Togarashi (chili flakes), it still did not help it. Beef Curry Udon (5/5): This was very creamy and flavorful. The beef pieces were very tender. This dish was fabulous. Their menu is huge and I think that I need to come back to try more of their menu.

Izakaya Noname has some great lunch specials, highly recommend for that. The appetizers are all…read moresolid and the skewers are bursting with flavor and not overcooked or dry. Must-gets are the chicken thighs and beef tendon. The gyu tan don is beef tongue with onsen egg, Brussels sprouts and scallions over rice. Can't go wrong. Cold somen is a summer special. It was good, but honestly I can make it at home. Love trying different items on the menu and they usually have new stuff all the time. Staff is attentive and friendly and the restaurant gives speakeasy vibes. Gets filled during peak hours.

I believe this spot is known for their omakase. I didn't go there for the omakase instead went for…read moretheir sashimi and ramen. Also tried the karrage and the crispy rice. I wasn't a fan of their crispy rice. The spicy ramen wasn't that great either. But I doubt that's what they specialize in so Ill give them a benefit of the doubt. The service was great and this place seems like where people in the neighborhood all gather to hangout. They take pictures with the chef and staff. No one seems to be in a rush to leave after their meal is done. We stayed until it closed as well.

One of my favorite go to omakase places in Queens. Service…read moreis great. Chef and waitress are very kind. They are people of few words but kind nonetheless. Never busy whenever I go. It's still a restaurant but has a bar in the back for you to have omakase. I have been doing the omakase for 2 (14 pieces with appetizers and ice cream ) and I always leave feeling full.

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!! I would make the trek to come back here…read more Everything in the set meal was so good and the portion size was perfect. Lovely ambiance as well. Please visit. I'm coming back here for sure. Finally a place that is both Instagram worthy AND yummy!!

Honzen was very hyped up on TikTok, which usually means that it's not worth it or as good as it…read moreseems on video. However, after the first time trying it, my partner and I were blown away by the quality of the meal. The portions we got were way more than any other Japanese set meal restaurant in NYC, and for under $40 you can't really get any better than Honzen. Each set includes miso soup, fresh sashimi of the day, uni topped tofu custard, pickled vegetables, eggplant, pickles, and your main dish. Our favorite has to be the katsu, it's probably the best value item on the menu. The miso cod was also excellent, super buttery and tasty while not being too expensive. Both options are available under $40. I would also recommend just ordering the standard Japanese rice, since it's already very filling as it is and we've never needed any of the rice with additions. Service can be a bit slow if you come later in the evening, which is understandable as it gets busier with all the set meals coming out. Ambiance is super cozy, with a sit down area that has cushions and a low table. Can't really go wrong with any spot in the restaurant. We come back here all the time when we're craving something homey and filling, would recommend Honzen!