Beron Beron
“The cold-weather comforts of Sapporo East are back here – the udons, the donburis – and I would dare say the quality has even improved.”
“They've decorated the space really well, with a mix of low tables and floor seating, soft lighting, and a sort of ryokan vibe.”
“We ordered the tako sashimi (5 piece set), nabeyaki udon, dragon roll, and their sea bass from the special menu.”
Beron Beron
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
7 reviews
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The weird thing about Beron Beron is that there are no signs outside that tell you its name is Beron Beron. A little investigative work resolves that though. The decor of this place resembles a Japanese inn with bamboo floor seating. I liked how the low tables lined the window-sides of the corner restaurant with heat coming through bamboo slats on the ground; it really made for a relaxed and communal dining environment.
I had a few different dishes. I highly recommend the rock shrimp tempura which was coated in a nice spicy mayo sauce. The grilled salmon neck was crispy without being too greasy. However, the other seafood I had just didn't seem that well done. The calamari was tough to bite through, and the sashimi seemed to be of varying levels of freshness.
I'm not really sure why this place has a pretty low rating. I've tried many Japanese restaurants in the Lower East Side area and I find myself just coming back to this one most of the time. The food quality here is really good, everything is fresh and prices are reasonable for its quality. We ordered the tako sashimi (5 piece set), nabeyaki udon, dragon roll, and their sea bass from the special menu. The sea bass is flaky, cooked to perfection and melts in your mouth. Although it is expensive for 2 small pieces, real sea bass in general is a very expensive fish and tends to be pricey everywhere. The tako sashimi was very fresh. You can order a la carte or just get their 5 piece set for a better deal. The nabeyaki udon was surprisingly very good . It was our first time having it. The soup base was very flavorful, which made the udon really good. It comes with shrimp tempura x2, mushrooms, chicken, tofu with a little sweetness and fish cake. Comes in a clay pot and when they lift the cover, you can still see the soup boiling and it looked so yummy! The dragon roll was good, rice was soft and still fresh compared to other Japanese restaurants. They also have tatami booths (where you take off your shoes and sit on a mat).
Don't come here if you're taller than 5'8. The tables are kinda short. I'm 5'1 so I'm good.
Decided to come here after a recommendation. We ordered a bunch of items for three people. Chicken donburi with a choice of white or brown rice. I went with the brown since it was healthier, chicken katsu, both came with miso soup but the katsu had a side salad and a side of yummy potato salad. We also ordered the seared tuna black sesame roll, spicy sweet shrimp roll, and spicy scallop roll.
Let me start off with the donburi, the portion was huge, the chicken was tender and juicy, the sweet soy sauce delivered the rice very well, along with eggs and the onions. The katsu didn't have as much rice as the donburi but the meat is in a bigger portion. It was fried light and crispy, the chicken was flavorful and tender. You can dip it in the thick Japanese bbq (katsu) sauce. I love their potato salad, it was light and seasoned just right. Their rolls were also in the affordable range, nothing too pricey that will rip your wallet apart. The fish were very fresh. Spent $73 including tips and tax for 3 people. I will be back.
Cool decor outside AND inside of this new japanese restaurant. I really liked the way it looked inside BEFORE I sat at a table. Their furniture is very uncomfortable! I'm short and skinny and flexible, so I can sit in many different ways, but even my knees banged to the side of the table and could not pull myself comfortably under the table. Everything is SO LOW to the floor that your coat and your bag on the chair will drag on the floor. I felt bad for those big guys who had to sit far to keep their knees from banging at the side of the table. They also have tatami areas (where you take off your shoes and sit on the floor with a low table), but each area was so tiny that people's legs were on top of each others.
Their menu is large and lists many japanese comfort food (ie curry & katsu dishes, ramen) besides the typical items Americans expect to see. Their sushi menu did have something more unusual, like tarako and shishamoko (smelt egg). We had some sushi and grilled saba. Sushi was just ok. Saba was good but they had burned the skin too much. I was served a bowl of white rice that was had chunks of sticky mush. Miso soup was good. The service is OK.
Didn't have anything to bring us back, especially if we have to sit on low chairs at a low table with annoying side panels that hit your knees.
– comparable prices for sushi in the area but would say the quality of the sushi is probably slightly above that of the competitors
– recommend: tuna sashimi, yellowtail/scallion roll
– the bathroom, specifically the toilet, though mentioned by pretty much all of the other reviewers, needs a nod. they have a 'FUTURE' toilet, and yes, it's super crazy and intimidating
– they have traditional floor seating as well as tables with chairs (but be forewarned, I am 5'3" and found the chairs to be super short. . .it felt like sitting in a kindergartener sized chair so I can't even imagine what it must be like for tall people)
One of the more comprehensive Japanese restaurants I've been to. The service was pretty quick and the menu was very thorough. The chef's special menu had some interesting dishes we tried. Food was also very fresh and very delectable. Came around 6:30 and it was not too crowded, started to get crowded when left. Would recommend as a go-to for a solid Japanese restaurant in the East Village.
They don't even really have a sign, so can we still just call it Sapporo East? For those of you who remember and mourned the closing of the restaurant that previously occupied this space, I will say that coming to Beron Beron is like coming home in a way. Having been a die-hard fan of Sapporo East for ages and so bummed when it closed, I was glad to see that its replacement brought a lot of good to this spot. And now I can happily say this is an ode rather than an elegy.
Beron Beron presents an offering almost identical to Sapporo East's with sushi, ramen, various hot dishes, and other Japanese classics, etc. but the prices have gone up. The restaurant space has been renovated with lots of dark wood and tasteful touches, but the sushi bar is in the same spot and the restrooms in the rear have been fixed up which may have been long overdue anyway. There's also some floor-level "traditional" seating up front if you want to go for that (we did not). As for the food – we were pleased that they had a lot of our old favorites – spicy avocado roll, various sushi and sashimi that were still great quality, pork gyoza, etc. and you can still order sake in a masu (wooden box) which was one of our favorite things here.
Lo and behold, there even appear to be one or two of Sapporo East's former staff working here (and one of them remembered us, and our weird special order that we always place – spicy avocado roll with ginger salad dressing (don't ask, but it's actually awesome)). With that, Beron Beron is effectively an upgraded version of Sapporo East with the only drawback being that it's more expensive but we creatures of habit will return anyway because this is still our corner sushi spot and we are glad for that!