Bentos - City of New York

Fairly disappointing overall. The place looks attractive, but I suppose it's only decent for basic Instagram photos.

Just what the food doctor ordered! This place offers some of the best fresh fish you'll find in the area, reminiscent of my days in Hawaii. They even have their own unique take on poke.

We started with flash-fried shishito peppers. Thankfully, they were served with lemon, as they didn't have much flavor on their own. The lemon juice really elevated them. I ordered the classic sushi bowl, which included tuna, yellowtail, and salmon, and I opted to add tobiko for an extra dollar or two. My friend chose the Saba mackerel bowl and also added tobiko. Her fish was seasoned much better than mine—very flavorful and fresh. My fish was fresh too, but it lacked flavor initially. After adding a bit of soy sauce, it improved significantly. The service was good, and the restaurant wasn’t very crowded; I think there were only two other customers during our visit. I had checked the menu beforehand, and two options I was considering weren’t available, so it seems like the menu might change often. Building your own bowl sounds like a fun option, but I was too hungry to make the best choices, so I stuck with the classic. If I return, I would likely try creating my own bowl.

Came with a friend and ordered the Saba bowl, the futomaki and karaage. The saba bowl was surprising good for its price, but I do think they try to get a little too cute with their bentos and throw too many things onto it. The karaage was unique as it didn't have to much batter on it, it was more like half seared half friend. The futomaki was big, but other than that it was not too special, I think the futomaki is a little expensive and wouldn't order again. I would definitely recommend the bowls as they are good value, but if you just want high quality sushi I would go to sushi 35 west just a couple of streets away.

Bentos presentation is definitely on point. After seeing their photos, I couldn't help but order some to go. We ordered two bentos and two rolls but they were just okay. Their fish is fresh but average. Some of their flavor combinations didn't quite compliment each other and others were too bland. The rice to fish ratio was a bit off, we had too much rice left from the bentos and the rolls were tough to eat because of how much rice there was. Quite expensive for what you get, mostly paying for presentation.