Village Yokocho
“Hubs and I came here during our NYC trip when we were headed to Angel's Share to drink.”
“Awesome, super authentic Izakaya The okonomiyaki is good but not great, the takoyaki is good, great sashimi, nice selection of sake and cocktails, too.”
“They have good okonomiyaki, takoyaki, and they have various yakitori combinations so you can try multiple ones.”
Village Yokocho
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Really packed small japanese place hidden away. I totally thought this was just a japanese grocery store, but had no idea it had transformed a part of the store to a restaurant.
Plenty of seating, albeit most being narrow and small tables, so expect to be seated quite fast unless you have more than five people in the group.
I had the sashimi bowl, and it was a solid meal. I was surprised they dont offer miso soup on the side though, I thought most japanese entrees come with a miso soup. Only surprise was that you have to order every condiment separately – at one point i asked for more gari and was told it would be a side dish. Gari. As a side dish. I will say though I wasn't charged for the soy sauce.
Anyways, the sashimi bowl is the only thing i've tried here, and it's totally worth it, but I did hear the people at the next table grumble about how small the skewers they ordered were. But size is all relative, right?
I have been here many times over the years. But the food quality and service have deteriorated. Recently, I came here on a Sunday night at 7pm. We were seated at the back section. We had 3 different "water" incidents
1. The AC above us were dripping water. Yes, there were droplets every 10 second or so. I told the waiter and we were seated at a different location.
2. Waiter spilled water all over the table next to us when they were cleaning up. Some of it got on us.
3. The waiter spilled a whole pitcher of water behind us near the cashier area. There were ice and water everywhere and some got on my foot. What a mess…
I guess maybe I am bad luck or they were just having a bad day. Now the food…
– whole broiled mackerel: way too much salt. Grilled well and fatty, but again way too much salt
– cheese okonomiyaki: very good. Well made with lots of ingredients in between, including chicken, vegetables, etc
– nabeyaki udon: also way too much salt. Badly done
Village Yokocho gives you an Izakaya dining experience. This place is always busy and they are open late 7 days a week (closes around 2:30am-3am). Their menu is pretty substantial so read down below for some must haves.
The Sashimi Bowl is amazing! All their seafood is very fresh and fairly priced. They are known for their tasty skewers ranging from chicken, beef, and quail eggs. I also highly recommend their fried squid legs!
The only con about this place is that they do not take reservations and seating is pretty tight so I do not recommend this place for large groups (5 or more) or children.
Food is great, service is quick, and the fish is always fresh. Yokocho you won me over, I'll be back!
I ate here out of convenience with a friend (you rarely have to wait as opposed to most restaurants on St. Mark's). The food is very generic izakaya food. This restaurant is on the second floor – just follow the signs!
We shared an okonomiyaki, fried squid legs (which were my favorite), steamed egg custard, and some yakitori. We each had some drinks as well. The servers here are nice and patient, even allowing us to loiter for a bit after our food.
Good place to talk with a friend, not too loud here. Just don't expect mind blowing food.
I came here one late night to eat some sashimi and swing by Angel's Share. Angels share closed early unfortunately. This place is authentic- they don't serve sushi rolls. They have a good selection of sashimi to choose from, and we got some octopus sashimi and the sashimi tri color plate. The fish was good, no cheap quality or color. This spot is good for having authentic Japanese food, all their menu items are in Japanese and no typical dishes and fare. Good place to go before a drink as well.
This is a solid japanese tapas bar with reasonably priced drinks. I've been coming here for almost a decade now. There must be a reason it's still around in this city after a decade right? There's nothing exceptionally special about the service, food or selection of drinks but it's just a solid spot that deserves four stars. Oh, I'm no sake fiend but I think they have a good amount of sake. The last time I went my server tried to input these odd rules I have never heard of… Such as its a busy time each party must spend 15 or theres a minimum per credit card. In the end, each party did not spend fifteen and they didnt enforce the credit card minimum. She just made the night slightly agitated….Anyway, I have been coming for years and it is solid and holds a cozy place in my heart in the east village.
I'm having some mixed feelings about Village Yokocho. It's hidden away on the second floor which adds to the private nature of the space. When we walked in, it was packed. I was glad we were seated in the back area – that way we weren't in the thick of it all. In order to get to my seat I had to dodge other customers and waiters… and those poor people trying to eat their meal in such a tight space! But after some thoughtful maneuvering, we sat down.
The menu was surprisingly not what I thought it was going to be. It was my first time at Yokocho and I was shocked to see that there wasn't a single piece of sushi offered on the menu. I guess, I just assumed wrong? Well on the flip side, they offered a lot of excellent unexpected options like Korean dishes! So naturally I went right to the Dolsot Bibimbap and we ordered ourselves a couple of beers and Yakitori to start.
Beers were very reasonably priced here. However, I would probably pass on the Yakitori next time. It's like $2.50-3 for the smallest skewer with probably two pieces of meat on it. You're better off ordering a nice big bowl of ramen for $10 instead. My cousin ordered the "Spicy Tuna Bowl" which is more like a "Spicy Tuna in a very small dish". It was very good. However, very small portioned (for the price). But I should mention my Bibimbap was excellent. It was piping hot and a hearty portion. And my cousin ended up ordering Ramen which was delicious as well.
Most of our food was on par. But the service wasn't great. Good thing my food was in a hot dish because if not for that, my food would have been cold by the time he got his. The space is a bit tight for my liking but I guess given the area – it's the norm. Overall, I had a nice time though. I'd come back.
Definitely one of the more spacious izakayas I've been to in NYC. The spacing is really good for the restaurant and they have plenty of tables for groups. Also, there's a not so secret hidden bar called Angel's Share right next door, which is accessible next to the staircase in the restaurant. Apparently, this has been one of the more popular Izakayas in NYC for several years so I don't know how it's escaped my presence! I guess I've just been living under a rock?
To me, the food was typical Izakaya fare – a Tapas heavy menu and other Japanese dishes, including yakitora, soups, dumplings, seafood, noodles, pancakes and, of course, what would an Izakaya be without tons of beer and sake! Many of the dishes can really be shared with a group so yes this makes for a great group hangout spot, especially late night!
I won't comment on the food too much as it was all pretty good to me and I can't remember ra dish I didn't like a whole lot. We ordered the following and here are some of the opinions I had on some:
1. YAKITORI COMBOS (TAKE AND UME) – Definite must get! Meat was flavored really well!
2. GYOZA
3. KAKI FRY (FRIED OYSTER WITH SALAD) – Arrived with 3 huge pieces of oyster
4. SOFT SHELL CRAB – If these were less expensive, I definitely would've went for another round.
5. TAKOYAKI
6. BUTA-KIMCHI (SPICY PICKLED NAPA CABBAGE) – A big surprise. One of the best kimchi dishes I've had in a while.
7. OKONOMI YAKI (CABBAGE, PORK & SHRIMP PANCAKE WITH BOHITO FLAKES & DRIED SEAWEED)
8. SHIOJAKE (BROILED SALMON) – Was a little underwhelming and plain.
9. TATSUTA AGE (DEEP FRIED CHICKEN WINGS) – Was plain and didn't have much flavoring.
From what I've heard, the crowds fluctuate for the Izakaya depending on the day and time. Since there is a bar next door and the Izakaya is open until 2am, I would assume it can get very crowded on late nights for weekends. We came here on a regular Tuesday afternoon at 5:30pm and it was pretty empty. We were here until 8pm and there were still tables available, with the occasional people strolling into Angel's Share. Service was quick as well. As with all Izakayas, the bill can go up pretty fast when you're just ordering Tapas and with Village Yokocho it is no exception. The prices are a bit high, but the spacing, food, service and next door bar more than make up for it.