Amber Upper East
“Gets crowded during lunch, but they will try to accomodate you.”
“Their oysters come in this really cool lit-up presentation bowl.”
“The only negatives were the fried kumamoto oyster (yuck, I prefer them raw) and the tuna with jalapeño roll (way too spicy).”
Amber Upper East
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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I came to this place with two friends and met another friend there for some quick drinks. We sat close to the door facing outside since the window opened fully. Felt just like we were seating outside which was very nice since the weather was beautiful. We had drinks off the Happy hour menu and decided to try some of the bits. The wonton and spring rolls on the menu were delicious. They have sushi here and didn't get to try but have decided to go back and try. Overall it was a very good expierence and the place was very nice.
This review is for the drinks and atmosphere only. I'm not a fan of seafood, so when I joined some friends here a few weeks back I only drank. I had the champagne cocktail with St Germain and Cranberries – can't remember the name, but it was fab! I had to cut myself off after 2 since I had a long day at work the following day. The drink was presented well and was super cold. In fact, I've been craving it ever since. I would come back here just for a drink! While I didn't eat – the food was presented nicely and my friends seemed to enjoy it.
Way better than the Upper West Side branch.
This was a regular haunt when I lived in the UES. Haven't tried a lot of the sushi, but we would always get the shrimp shumai and the amber baby ribs. Shumai are perfectly fresh and moist. The ribs are delicious with a plum white wine sauce that beautifully complements the meat. They also have a really good veggie spring roll.
Service has always been prompt and attentive. I had to take off one star because sometimes they would char the ribs a bit too much.
Oh and on Sundays they have a special on wine bottles
Went to Amber Upper East Side with a friend last night. My friend started out with Shumai for an appetizer, which she said is always delicious.
I got a shrimp tempura roll with brown rice ($1.00 extra for brown rice) and was hesitant that the pieces would be small as some of the rolls that people were ordering next to us appeared that way. There were a total of 6 pieces to my order, and they were pretty big. Very fresh (both the shrimp and rice) I would definitely order it again ($7.50).
My friend and I then shared the Upper East Side roll, which was also excellent!!! I think it was a bit overpriced for what it was though ($16.50) it was like a total of 8 pieces. It's essentially lobster wrapped with mango and kiwi. Doesn't sound as appetizing as it was. It was absolutely delicious. So delicious that I've been craving it ever since and it's been a couple of months since my recent visit. Clearly I need to go back!! For non sushi lovers, they do have main dishes that don't involve any raw fish, etc. Someone next to us seemed to be eating something tempura like and hibachi.
The reason for the 4 star was because the service was just OK. The staff isn't overly friendly and the tables are quite close to each other so it feels like you're sitting with the other tables.
I've been looking for a good sushi place and still haven't managed to find one on the upper east. This place doesn't hold a candle to Asian Station's freshness unfortunately and with sushi, you gotta have it fresh.
Their cooked food is merely okay with their eel don being passable. The soups are also okay. Nothing special.
Fresh, fresh, fresh. And that's one of the best things you can say about a sushi place, right? No need for fancy rolls here (though they offer them, and I'm sure they're amazing)…I just ordered my standards: spicy tuna and yellowtail. This also helped to keep the cost of my meal down – you could rack up a bill here quite easily. Good cozy corner restaurant – great place to duck into with a friend or a date.
If you look at my page you'll notice how sparingly I give 5 star reviews, but Amber on the UES was an easy 5 stars to give. I stopped by with my boyfriend for a Wednesday date night and I enjoyed myself immensely. We got there around 7:30 and were immediately seated. As someone who dislikes dimly lit restaurants I was pleasantly surprised to find myself enjoying Amber's ambiance. It was actually pretty romantic. Despite seeming a bit small at a first glance, there is actually plenty of room, you won't even hear the conversations going on around you.
We decided to share the Toro Lounge and the Tuna-Salmon-Yellowtail Sashimi platter. We weren't sure if that'd be enough for the both of us as we can eat quite a bit, but when we asked our waitress she told us "Oh no, that'll be the perfect amount. It's a great choice." Ten minutes later we received our order. It was beautifully presented and she had taken it upon herself to tell the kitchen to put it all onto one plate, perfect! She was great the whole night as a matter of fact. Quickly refilling our water glasses and not doing the insufferable "how is everything" dance every 15 minutes.
Now, I eat a lot of sushi. I know what fresh high-quality fish tastes like, and let me tell ya, Amber uses some DAMN good fish. The Toro Lounge was probably one of the best sushi dishes I've had in NYC. My boyfriend had never had toro before so I quickly explained to him what it was. "Toro" is the fattest cut of meat from a fish, it comes from the stomach region. It has more oil in it, so a good piece of toro will sort of melt in your mouth, if you haven't tried toro I'd suggest doing it as soon as you can, it's pricier than the average piece of sushi, but it'll change your life if it's done properly. I had told my boyfriend not to use any wasabi or soy sauce in order to taste the fish in it's purest form, he was not disappointed. We started with the yellowtail toro nigiri, and it was absolutely luscious. Hit all the right notes. After that we went onto the blue fin toro. This was such a good cut that I didn't have to chew it. That's how you know the toro is a perfect cut, well done Amber. The salmon toro was good, but I've had better elsewhere. Salmon toro is pretty comparable to ordinary salmon cuts as it's a pretty fatty fish to begin with. My least favorite part of the Toro Lounge was the toro scallion roll, it was a bit too scallion-y. I gave my portion to my boyfriend. It was good, but was a bit mediocre when compared to the rest of the toro pieces.
The sashimi platter was also tasty, somehow managing to do the impossible and hold it's own against the toro dish. The cuts of sashimi were all undeniably fresh and came in pretty large slices. The shiitake rice was flavorful, but a bit too sticky. I did like the pickled vegetables that came with it, gave it some nice flavor components. Out of this order all I could complain about would be the tamago. Yikes, that was easily the worst thing I ate at Amber. The tamago was too oily and had a weird texture, not light and spongey as it's supposed to be. I warned my boyfriend that he wouldn't like it, but he didn't listen. Saying "I told you so" was a bit bittersweet. Some people judge a sushi spot based on their tamago, but I judge it on the experience as a whole, and the experience was still wonderful.
I HIGHLY recommend going to Amber, especially for the Toro Lounge. Some dishes can get a bit pricey, but the food will definitely impress you.
I hate writing 2 star reviews and almost never do but this was a disappointing experience and made for a horrible birthday dinner for my son. You get one birthday a year and I find birthdays special and important – they failed on food miserably and manager service made a bad food experience a horrific experience overall .
Pointing out the positive first – and the only reason for a second star: hostess and the server were very friendly and attentive – and upon my request sang happy birthday to my son with a cupcake I brought … Thanks for that … The server was trying to correct their mishaps and very attentive asking how things were … He and the hostess would get 5 stars for their service
The minor negatives:
1/ No outside seating – waiting for a license?
2/ No green tea margaritas anymore. Long ago a friend introduced me to this place for that reason – sushi he said and fantastic frozen green tea margaritas that were wow . Delic. Apparently machine broke and they decided not to replace it .
The really bad experience:
Called ahead to ensure they had my sons fave appetizer and an entree he would like for his bday.
Back seating area quiet and somber – my son didn't like the feel and being his bday – moved it up front – not a problem.
The food:
Chicken satay for my son- fabulous .
My sushi bomb appetizer – so so. A couple pieces fishy tasting and a couple were good.
My sushi- pretty good and fresh.
Rolls- meh, small and average
My sons chicken teriyaki entree disaster and where the dinner failed failed then failed more …
My son is very picky – much pickier than me – but how can you go terribly wrong w chicken if you're not at a fast food place !? Well, they did.
My son upon taking a couple bites of his chicken which actually looked amazing at first glance – in major disgust gagged and in a disturbed manner put one of the chicken slices on my plate. Then as I was in horror at his reaction he frustrated put another on my plate angrily and in disgust . I reprimanded him for bad manners … In shock as never while teaching table manners or with his sometimes frustrating picky eating had I ever seen such a strong reaction . I asked what is the problem and why would you do that ?!! He said the chicken is horrible, undercooked or something . I actually argued w him initially saying it is not undercooked; I can tell by looking at it. Then after reprimanding him and chilling for a minute as he was picking at select pieces saying some were good and bad – took a bite . And another … This was the most disgusting chicken I've ever tasted . I didn't even Know what was wrong or how to articulate it but it was like biting into meaty gritty cartilage, semi – crunchy… horrible .. And I felt horrible — Scolded him on his birthday for having disgust over sickening repulsive chicken.
My son gets embarrassed easily and said don't say anything . So I discreetly approached the server – said DO NOT approach our table but the chicken- something is wrong w it . Please fix this . It's his birthday dinner. As I'm standing there engaging he says can I get him another chicken satay ? I said yes great please – he liked that . So he comes back says well, that will take a while … I said fix it get him something else good and quick or remove it from the bill . Make my son happy for his birthday. The manager comes out – despite my saying don't go to the table – at least 3 times – she approaches my SON at the table . I see this, catch her and am horrified . Then she argues with me about the quality and says that he ate half of it : yes – he was starving and was picking out decent from disgusting pieces and was eating a horrific disgusting who knows what was wrong w it chicken on his bday because he is not one to complain like I would. So the server comes back and said they deducted half the cost of the chicken since he ate half of it – that's the most the manager would do . And I said I don't care about the cost- I needed you to fix this make my son happy not play let's make a deal and certainly not embarrass him when I specifically said do NOT approach him or the table . The reason listed for the let's make a deal half off deduction was customer didn't like the taste (which when I saw their discount realized the nasty chicken full price was $25 ?? ) I was furious . The server being sweet brought out the cupcake singing happy birthday and my son was full from munching a disgusting mysteriously crunchy cartilage-ish chicken Breast- on his bday .
He read my expression as I apologized for getting upset w his bad reaction to the horrible chicken and for not a great bday dinner — he said thank you for the cupcake, it's ok mom, and you didn't need to say anything to them – just … don't ever go back …
And no, would never go back .