15 East Restaurant
“The sashimi omakase contained one of the most lustful pieces of otoro that I've ever had the pleasure of enjoying.”
“IMO a bit forgettable only because it was such a rich flavor contrasting the sashimi course.”
“Plus, the servers are extremely sweet and tolerant when your party gets drunk off bottles of sake.”
15 East Restaurant
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$$ Price range Above $61
8 reviews
Rate and write a review Cancel reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
I'm a big fan of 15 East. Even with the changing of the guard to Chef Takahashi, the sushi is still amazing.
Definitely recommend sitting at the sushi bar. It won't be a complete experience without it and reservations are a must. At the bar, the sushi omakase options are 15 or 20 pieces, and more if you want to. Conversing with the chef was fun, watching each piece of nigiri being meticulously constructed was entertaining, and getting explanations for them was cool. The dessert that comes with the omakase was also amazing.
Service is unbelievable top notch. Water and green tea cups were never empty. Plates got switched out regularly. Staff always helped with adjusting your seat and inquiring on your needs.
I've been wanting to try sushi omakase at 15 East for awhile. Even though they lost their one Michelin star this year, I expected it to be one of the best omakases I've had. Unfortunately I was disappointed.
We made reservation at sushi bar, because that's where chefs make sushi real time and put in front of you, hence both fish and rice are served at optimal temperature. In addition to that, normally the experience of sitting at sushi bar is very pleasant, you can watch sushi chefs working their knife magic right in front of you. There's precision, there's discipline, there's art in whatever they do. Here at 15 East, behind sushi bar is the most chaotic and unorganized kitchen I've ever seen. Chefs and sous chefs running into each other, waiters bring back dishes for missing pieces or unequal sizes of fish on top of rice. I felt stressed while just watching them.
My other two complaints: (1) this is also the slowest omakase I've had. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I enjoy 2 hour limit at certain places and I don't like being rushed at all. But I also don't like sitting for over 30min and only had 3 pieces of sushi and felt like I could eat a cow. I guess given how chaotic they were, I shouldn't be surprised that they were not good at time management. (2) Dirtiest bathroom I've been to at ANY Japanese restaurant, not to mention this place used to have one Michelin star.
Anyways, back to food. They did speed up a little maybe half way through our Omakase. I think overall everything was great. They are traditional, nothing fancy, just amazing quality fish on top of perfectly cooked rice. With that said, there's one piece, Japanese cuttlefish, it was so so chewy that I almost spit it out – definitely my least favorite of the night. Our 15 piece Omakase ended with both Santa Barbara and Hokkaido uni, plus one of the best sea eel piece I've ever had. Those just bumped up the star rating from 2 to 3 for me.
Overall, reasonable price ($110 pp for 15 pieces), great quality fish, offset by dirty bathroom, poor time management, and chaotic kitchen right in front of my eyes. This is not a top notch sushi omakase experience in my opinion and I see why they lost their Michelin star. Until they significantly improve things in the kitchen, I don't think I'd be back.
At $250 per person is was the biggest let down ever in my dining experience. From the sushi to the dining experience to the sake…we were doing the Omakase but stopped service with 2 dishes to go, we were just tired of not eating what was infront of us, and looking at each other and complaining about the food.
To start, our table not ready and was a 15 min wait til we were seated. No real bar for us to sit at and we could peak past the curtain and see the table we would end up sitting at was in fact already empty. We did have a very pleasant hostess, who also helped with serving and the explanation of dishes
Rice is cold, unseasned and falls apart. This is not what you expect from one of NY's best sushi spots. The fish is ok, but almost everyplace we had was a bit "fishy"
Uni is ok, very pungent sushi sampler is 2 good pieces, then 4 ok pieces that are disappointing
The sake selection is mediocre, so we went with the recommendations of the "somelier", and that left us all disappointed and not drinking anymore after the first two failed bottle attempts
The entire restaurant had a single gender bathroom that was shared. It was the messiest restaurant bathroom I've ever seen, and beyond messy, it's as if someone purposely went in and destroyed it by throwing trash everywhere. Someone just pee'd on the seat, toilet paper all over the floor, water on sink and mirror…it was like using the bathroom at a bus stop.
I originally gave 15 East a rare 5 Star review because I absolutely loved my first experience there. I told a number of people how great the restaurant was and even said that it may have been my favorite "all around" restaurant in NYC. I visited again this weekend and was very disappointed. The sushi was good but on my last visit the chef prepared the sushi for me to eat, with soy sauce and wasabi already on it. This time that wasn't the case – I requested from my waitress who agreed but on the additional $100 worth of sushi we ordered the chef didn't do prepare it as requested. The duck and the beef were both very good but not quite as tasty as my initial visit. Overall I still think this is one of NYC's better restaurants but I was disappointed in the service and the food quality on my second visit.
Expectations were set high although losing the Michelin star and Chef Masato Shimizu. We reserved seats at the sushi bar on Saturday night at 9:30PM. Sushi bar seats are only available to reserve through contacting the restaurant directly. Upon our early arrival at 9PM, we did coat checked, and were seated at the end of the sushi bar for two. Greeted by a couple of friendly, smiling chefs at the brightly lit sushi bar, we were soon to realize Chef Noriyuki Takahashi stood at the completely opposite corner closer to the window. Odd how we were placed here considering the other side was completely empty for the next 15-20 minutes but next time I will make sure to reserve seats by the Chef Taka. It was cramped–elbow to elbow seats with conversations completely noticeable by the sushi bar patrons.
Chef's Omakase (20 pieces) $140pp – We originally opted for the 10 piece but shortly into our meal we changed to 15… and then 20. In my opinion, it was worth every penny. Portions were slightly small, but delicious. We would've continued if we had some extra space in our stomachs. Everything was perfect (texture, taste, freshness). Our favorite pieces included the medium/fat tuna, uni, and eel. It was a challenge to get Chef Taka's attention since the other chefs that prepared for the dining room stood right in front of us. For dessert we had the milk sesame pudding with brown sugar and a strawberry mochi. Different from what we would normally order–it was not too sweet and smooth.
Service was attentive at first–plates changed every so often, cups of tea full and hot. But as we progressed into the meal, we frequently had to ask for our cups of water and tea to be refilled, and also ask the hostess to upgrade us to the 15 and ultimately the 20 piece omakase. Normally, we would've been checked on throughout the night to see if the food is OK or if we would like to extend the omakase course.
After our 2.5 hours omakase course, we were completely satisfied. Overall I'd absolutely give 15 East another try–with the condition of sitting in front of Chef Taka. After all, what's an exceptional sushi bar experience without interacting with the man in charge?
Delicious, understated sushi with excellent service and cozy ambience. After living in Japan for 2 years- I think I know my sushi and this place is very good.
The service is above and beyond wonderful and was the highlight of the evening. Definitely worth checking out.
I came here solely for the uni flight. I am uni obsessed, an uni lover, I could eat uni everyday for the rest of my life.
and boy i was not disappointed! my gf and I both got the uni flight. Each different piece of uni was even more amazing and melted in your mouth than the one before. As entrees, we split the duck and scallops. Both solid entrees – delicious, not AMAZING factor, but good.
We ended it with a green tea creme brulee – not too sweet, perfect portion!
This was a great spot – I would come back just for the uni flight!
A last minute reservation led us to 15 East, hoping to check off one more chef in my long list of sushi affairs in NYC. We were seated in the back of the main dinning area, a dark ambience that was removed from the sushi bar, which in contrast, was brightly lit and had all the typical chef fanfare. Off to food, our starters consist of the three-way tuna sashimi-tartare and sliced abalone simmered in broth. Both featured minimalist presentations and light seasonings, yet were soaked in the flavors of their own juice. On the tuna tartare, I thought of the dish as chef's own spin on marriage with non-traditional techniques while trying to bring out the prominence of the fish. Portion-wise, it is perfect for sharing for 3 or less. Next, we moved to the 10-piece omakase and tuna flights. They were nothing short of quality, and even though we were seated in the farthest side of the room, i felt little distance between what was on the plate and the chef's care that gave rise to it – the fish were exceptionally fresh and the rice were of perfect temperature. Finally, we capped it all off with the milk pudding, a light creation that was more creamy than was it was sweet.
Price aside, i really appreciate the core authenticity of the chef's offerings, a truly wonderful experience, but would have preferred a focus that didn't try to put all the varieties onto the menu that ranged from traditional omakase, to kobe beef, to fish tartare, to squid risotto, given the chef's conservative approach to taste and flavoring. But i do acknowledge that the latter could be a plus for others.