Ginpachi
“I no longer need to trek all the way to Manhattan for an authentic Omakase experience.”
“The four dishes before nigiri consisted of Giant Prawn wrapped in filo like potato strings, Chawanmushi, Uni on Tofu Skin, and Toro Tartare.”
“My fav is the abalone (chef told us he cooked the abalone for 5 hours!!), the red snapper w shiso leaf and the toro from spain!!”
Ginpachi
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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At first glance, Ginpachi may seem like a standard, run of the mill mom and pop neighborhood Japanese restaurant. There used to be a generic restaurant in this space about six months ago. This is where the similarities end – this is not a typical restaurant owned by the Chinese / Korean folks. Those other non-descript eateries do not have the experienced Japanese Chef Satoshi Tachikawa (formerly the head chef of Blue Ribbon Sushi and 15 East) at the helm and behind the sushi counter. Chef Satoshi Tachikawa is from northern Japan and is passionate about his food, the wasabi is grated fresh from the root, the soy sauce is homemade, and the fresh quality fish selected with care.
The omakase here is gentle on the bank account, thoughtfully curated, and a delight to the palate. We were full and satisfied after the omakase. For those looking for a more typical meal, there is a full menu for a la carte dining with plenty of options for cooked food (miso cured black cod, scallop dynamite, ribeye steak, and chicken cutlet) as well as noodles, appetizers, rolls and raw fish. Additionally, there are unique offerings on the hand written live board (aka today's special – lobster, uni, sea snail, monkfish liver, firefly squid, milt, abalone, etc.) for those who are more adventurous.
Our chawanmushi had pieces of tasty mushroom, ginkgo nuts, shrimp, and eel. The large prawn appetizer was wrapped in delicate filo and accompanied by Japanese matcha green tea salt. Some of nigiri we had included rich melt-in-our-mouths toro from Spain, golden eye snapper with white seaweed, and squid with lemon zest. The talented chef also makes his own dessert, the shingen mochi (Japanese water cake) was one of a kind – it looks like a delicate large drop of water and must be consumed within thirty minutes or it will turn into a sweet puddle of liquid. We had no problems devouring this unique jello-y treat. In addition to water, hot green tea and soft drinks Ginpachi also has several choices of Japanese beer and sake.
Skip the "fancy" sushi joint at the Hyatt Place in Flushing and treat yourself to an affordable, authentic, and delicious Japanese meal. The decor here is simple, the staff is friendly – a great choice for a gathering with friends or family. A wonderful new addition to the restaurants in Queens and NYC.
When the word gets out, seats at the 7-top counter and intimate restaurant will be hard to come by. We've been here twice in the past month and I'm scheming to return again.
In the middle of nowhere you say? For those who are vehicularly challenged coming from Manhattan – take the LIRR (Port Washington line) to Auburndale – Ginpachi 25 minutes from Penn Station and a short stroll away.
Finally got a chance to try the omakase at Ginpachi. For me, omakase is a the way to go when trying a sushi restaurant for the first time. Ginpachi offers their omakase at $65 per person. We came on july 3rd so the restuarant was relatively quiet which I like as we got the chef's full attention. Ginpachi offers very traditional style sushi so please dont come here expecting more american style rolls…
Our omakase started with couple non nigiri dishes. Uni with yuba, snails, sea cucumber, fried jumbo shrimp etc. next comes 6 pieces of nigiri. My fav is the abalone (chef told us he cooked the abalone for 5 hours!!), the red snapper w shiso leaf and the toro from spain!! I have never tried toro from spain before and it was absolutely delicious, its very very sweet and rich and just melted in my mouth!!!
The dessert is called "raindrop cake", its a traditional style japanese dessert with red bean and kinako and its very light and refreshing.
What makes this experience extra special is the chef!! He is soo nice and friendly and made us feel very welcome!! I can tell he cares about his customers and the food he makes. He answers all questions we have and he also asked us for feedback. I am interested to try their other food on their menu and will definitely be back!!
Having dinner here for the 2x time.
This time we had a table of 4. Not everyone was having the omakase, so we were not allowed to sit at bar. Personally I find it somewhat ridiculous that one cannot sit at bar, specially when the bill for 4ppl was well over $300. 2 ppl in our table had the omakase, my wife and I had the special sashimi menu along with additional items like the santa barbara uni and scallop. I did noticed that ordering ala carte was much more expensive than to have the omakase menu. As a side note, our table was being service by 2 different people. There was a main waitress and an assistant waiter but the service did not seem to flow harmoniously. Overall our food was good but not great vastly to the fact that the first time i came in, i had the omakase menu and since it has not changed much i did not order it.
Queens' best kept secret.
Ginpachi is so great for so many different reasons:
1. An unbeatable price for omakase.
2. Don't expect some extravagant decor. The main show is the fish (as it should be).
3. How did the 718 score such a seasoned chef? Tachikawa-san is knowledgeable and so passionate about his food. He genuinely wants you to share that same passion/joy – if you have any questions about fish/seafood, he has an array of books right there at the sushi bar to show you pictures and texts.
You can find me front and center at the sushi bar on Tuesdays.
This little hidden gem in bayside is now my favorite Japanese spot. Most Japanese restaurants are owned by Chinese and it's something I don't really like. It doesn't feel authentic but this place is owned by a Japanese chef and he is awesome. The service is great and the food is really good too.
This place is between 4 and 5 stars. The only negative thing I have to say is that I was not full after the omakese meal.
If you don't want to get the omakese meal or if you don't like raw fish, this might not be the place for you. It's totally worth it though. Please don't expect chicken teriyaki and all those "typical" Japanese entrees. Go to a "Sakura" restaurant near you if you want teriyaki or udon.
I enjoyed every course from the omakese meal. The highlights were pickled cucumber and the fried shrimp.
I definitely want to come back and see what the chef will make next time.
My husband and I stopped by for a late lunch on a Saturday. Got there by 2:30 and asked whether they were fine to serve us given their sign says they close from 3-5 but they had no issue seating us. My husband got the 8 piece nigiri with a Cali roll for $24, I had the tempura udon for $13.50 and chawamushi (steamed egg) for $8.50. Overall the food tasted fresh and was delicious. I'd love to come back after my pregnancy so I can have some raw fish. I absolutely hate Chinese run Japanese restaurants so it's refreshing to see an authentic neighborhood spot. Although it's a bit pricy, I would come back. Just not as often as I'd like.
Ginpachi is a one man show that is helmed by chef Satoshi Tachikawa formerly of Blue Ribbon Sushi and of 15 East. He basically served our entire meal from start to finish all by himself. The restaurant is on an unassuming block with a bunch of American restaurants, the place has only been open for about 5 months now. Chef Satoshi is very friendly and I really liked how he interacted with our party of three, he was very informative about our food and was quick to whip out his sushi books if we never heard of something. My party enjoyed our Omakase experience, which was $65, but we did wish the rice wasn't as cold and the rice did feel a tad mushy but the seafood really did shine. The seafood really was the star of the show.
The food:
Toro Tatare from Spain- This was such a great starter and it was super toro-y. It had such a intense toro flavor which was great. yelp.com/user_local_phot…
Yuba and Uni- This was a very unique Uni dish, the Yuba, which is tofu skin, was a nice pairing with the Uni, and the Uni itself had a really nice Uni flavor. yelp.com/user_local_phot…
Fried Gulf Shrimp wrapped in Filo- This was such an OMG dish. It was huge! The dish was interesting but the dish was super filling, it was good but the shrimp was slightly over and the dish came off kinda greasy. yelp.com/user_local_phot…
Chawanmushi- So delicate and subtle, I enjoyed the flavor. yelp.com/user_local_phot…
Toro Nigiri- This was excellent! yelp.com/user_local_phot…
Golden Eye Snapper- This had a nice pop of flavor, the fish itself was kind of mild but it had a good mouth feel. yelp.com/user_local_phot…
Torigai Clam- This was one ugly clam but it had a nice chew, I enjoyed the mild flavor since raw clams kinda weird me out, it was not too clam-y. yelp.com/user_local_phot…
Squid- The texture was great, I enjoyed the flavor, it also had a nice lemon hit but it was a tad salty. yelp.com/user_local_phot…
Slow cooked Abalone with liver- The liver had a funk, which was kinda off putting but the abalone was so crazy tender. yelp.com/user_local_phot…
Firefly Squid- The seaweed that wrapped the squid was so perfectly crispy, the firefly squid was better than what I had at other restaurants. yelp.com/user_local_phot…
Anago- So tender and sweet, I love Anago. yelp.com/user_local_phot…
Tamago- Nice and light with a subtle sweetness, I liked the colored rice puffs. yelp.com/user_local_phot…
Soy Bean Powder Japanese Pudding- This was interesting, it tasted like jello, it was a fun dessert. I think it's called Japanese water cake. yelp.com/user_local_phot…
Def come for omakase versus regular sushi. I got the latter while my BF got the omakase and his experience seemed better. My sashimi platter was just normal pieces of sushi – no fancy fish at all, not even scallop. His omakase had appetizers which was nice. the chefs were a treat to chat with and made the environment more inviting. Very knowledgable about the art of sushi and their fish and very friendly. Great service and decent price.