Sakagura
“It's in the basement of a place that looks like an office building, so don't get scared off.”
“Gindara Yuan Yaki (Grilled Fillets of Cod Fish Steeped in Sweet Soy Sauce) – A must-try item in my opinion.”
“Gyu Miso Nikomi: The Beef Back Ribs – uhm let me ponder on the right wording for this – YES, YES, YES, YES, YES.”
Sakagura
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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This place is pretty hidden, enter the building and walk past the security desk and down the hall there will be a door with 'Sakagura' on it and then you just follow that to the restaurant. It is definitely worth it! The portions are small since they are all meant to be 'small eats'. But everything that we ordered was delicious! Just expect to spend a little more if you want to be full.
The wagyu beed tataki was by far my favorite dish that we ordered that night! We ended up ordering it again after the first serving was wolfed down within minutes. We also ordered the Maguro tartare, assortment of sashimi, tori karaage and buta kakuni. The fish were all super fresh. The only thing I wasn't a huge fan of was the udon but I think Japanese style udon is just a little lighter on the flavor than the one that I am used to (my mom's cooking).
Overall, I love this place, great atmosphere, service, and food! I will definitely be back!
Great place, a little hard to find cause its located in the basement of the building! The sake was really good and the tapa small dishes were delicious. Definitely try their black cod and pork belly. Loved the ambience and all the empty sake bottles on the wall. Had a very Japanese feel to it (Not that I really know what that feels like). A little pricey but would come here again for a special occasion
I feel like I have been let in on a secret! This Manhattan basement dwelling Japanese restaurant is as authentic as it gets. This is not your typical sushi bar with California rolls by any means. It's really important to make a reservation or you may not get a table.
The place is dark with low tables and what looks like numerous rooms. The service is great and very punctual.
The soba noodle choices are plentiful and mouthwatering. I highly recommend anyone of them. The chicken with soy and ginger is light and a great blend of flavors. The pork belly dish is awesome too. On to the saki, well the choices are endless and I wish I was there with my Japanese friends to help choose a few of their favorites.
The portions are on the small side and expensive but well worth a trip to the East Side to be transported to Japan.
Sakagura's uni soba is one of the most exquisite dishes I've ever had, both to eat and to look at. It was salty, sweet, herbal, creamy, and umami-rich, and I could sip the uni broth for days. It arrived in a dramatic white ceramic bowl hand-painted with thin black lines that fell to the center and practically erupted into the mountain of noodles and urchin.
The staff is wonderful, too–I asked the hosts if they had sold out of the dish on arrival (at nearly 1 p.m.), and they checked and said they hadn't. When I reflexively clapped and grinned, they matched my excitement and promised to reserve one of the remaining few for me. (About twenty minutes later, they had sold out.) Everyone clearly works very hard and takes pride in their work, and I felt so well taken care of.
My only regret is not asking more about how it was made. I live across the country and can't wait another year or more until the next time I get to enjoy this!
KenScale: 8.5/10
I've been living in the same Midtown East neighborhood ever since I moved to New York almost five years ago. I've always had the temptation to move to cooler neighborhoods in downtown Manhattan, but just found the comfort of living nearby my work around Grand Central station area too convenient to make that move. Midtown East is one of the more barren areas when it comes to restaurants, but there are some solid Japanese places in the neighborhood. Sakagura has long been one of the spots that I would love to go every once in a while; at this subterranean izakaya-style establishment, sake is not the only strength. In fact, after recent visit with my mom and a friend, I think Sakagura is one of the more underrated places when it comes to Japanese cuisine in the city.
There is no magic or trick used at Sakagura; it's just straightforward Japanese food. The strength of this restaurant lies in execution faithful to Japanese traditional flavor and texture that provides so much satisfaction without being fussy. The sushi assortment (this time, we had uni, medium fatty tuna, amberjack, striped jack mackerel and red snapper) is certainly an above-average plate with very fresh texture of each piece that would make for an excellent starter everywhere. One of the specials on the menu, grilled salmon collar, was cooked more or less perfectly and had modest flavor to maximize the texture of the fish. I've always been a fan of black cod with miso sauce in Japanese restaurants, and the grilled fillets of black cod in sweet soy sauce served by Sakagura was quite excellent as well, again with more or less perfectly grilled fish that was melting in my mouth. The braised pork belly, which the menu says is the restaurant's signature dish, didn't look too appetizing when it came out, but had juicy, tender meat that brought smiles to everyone. The steamed rice dish cooked with snow crab meat and crab butter, according to the menu, is supposed to take 40-50 minutes to prepare, but no one was complaining as the rice that came out turned out to be a nice exclamation point to a very satisfying meal. I really enjoyed the moderately firm texture of the rice that worked harmoniously with snow crab meat for a subtle yet elegant dish.
Getting a reservation at Sakagura can still be a challenge, so book early if possible. As always, even though the space is usually packed with corporate crowds, the modern and cozy décor is another attraction to this restaurant; an impressive list of sakes is another plus. Japanese food is one of my favorite cuisines so I typically have a fairly high standard when checking out Japanese restaurants. I can now declare with confidence that Sakagura is definitely one of the better places in the city if you want to explore the taste of Japan in an intimate setting.
After eating here once three years ago, I've finally made it back to my favorite basement dweller! Just kidding, Sakagura, your hidden-in-plain-sight impresses me every time. Keep an eye out for the two characters and "Stair F." The next most important thing to remember is to make a reservation. I haven't tried walking in without one, but given how packed the place was at the early-bird hour of noon (well, early for midtown), I wouldn't chance it unless I felt like waiting (which is never).
Can't go wrong with anything on the menu. The best thing, if you can get there on time, is either the $11.50 daily special (which usually sells out at around 11:45 a.m.) or the Jewel box, which comes with two pieces of deep-fried veggies, an assortment of sashimi, and three rice balls. My favorite thing off that platter was tamago with a bit of eel tucked inside. Godly.
The desserts are typically dainty. I could have eaten 5 of the mango puddings. The chocolate souffle with the raspberry sauce and vanilla ice cream was the winner at the table.
NEXT TIME: duck soba; lunch tasting course; kaisen don; eel rice bowl; black sesame creme brulee
I came here for the first time for dinner after finding out the restaurant I originally wanted to go to was completely booked out for a private party. We came on a Wednesday night around 7pm and waited close to an hour just to get seated for a group of four. The previous time I came here was for lunch at the bar. The dinner experience was completely different with a menu in a more tapas style.
Gyusujii (Shredded Beef Back Ribs and Konjac Yam stewed in Miso topped with Scallion) – This dish is small, but packs a lot of savory flavor. The beef is extremely tender and served with these jelly cubes that I assume was the Konjac Yam. If I had a bowl of rice I would have poured the leftover sauce over it.
Buta Kakuni (Pork Belly braised tender and served hot) – Sakagura's signature dish and rightly so. The pork belly was tender as described on the menu and melt in your mouth. I love the fatty pieces but tend to avoid it since it's so unhealthy. Thankfully there were enough hefty meaty parts of the pork belly to balance out the fat.
Atsuyaki Tamagoyaki with eel (Japanese Style Egg Omelette, wrapped around Grilled Eel) – I originally wanted to order the Uni Ikura Onsen Tamago, but they were out of uni so ordered this instead.The eel didn't make the omelette anymore special, but the egg was very fluffy. I probably wouldn't order this again though.
Chawanmushi (Steamed Egg Custard served with Chicken, Shrimp and Shiitake, Gingko Nuts topped with a Thickened Ponzu Soup) – A typical steamed egg custard. I think it could have used a lot more fillings in the egg, but the egg itself was very soft and warming.
Gindara Yuan Yaki (Grilled Fillets of Black Cod Fish steeped in Sweet Soy Sauce) – My favorite thing we ordered. The sweet soy sauce glaze made the flaky fish so addicting. There was one piece that was slightly drier than the other, but the people in my group couldn't get enough of this fish. In fact, they ate way too much of it. I wanted the whole thing to myself.
Tori-Karaage (Deep Fried Chicken Thigh marinated in Sake and Ginger Infused Soy Sauce) – You can't go wrong with Karaage. The breading was crispy and the chicken was juicy. Always a safe dish to order.
Jagaimo Dango (Fluffy Donuts with a Mashed Potato Center served with Matcha Salt) – My friend didn't really like this, but I enjoyed the fluffy, somewhat bready texture of the donut. The center didn't really taste or feel anything like mashed potatoes and seemed to just meld with the rest of the donut. Dipping it in matcha salt really enhanced the flavor, otherwise the donut would have been one note and boring.
My friend also ordered the Hot Inaniwa Udon, which was brought out last since according to our waiter the noodles dishes are always last. I didn't taste any of it, but he seemed to have liked it. Which is saying a lot, since he's French and doesn't eat a lot of Japanese cuisine.
Dinner here was definitely worth the wait. I recommend coming here for dinner over lunch. The restaurant itself is beautiful, the service is slightly aloof but polite enough, and the food is light but comforting. I'm still disappointed I wasn't able to go to the original restaurant I wanted, but this more than made up for it.
This place is so good! First off, please make reservation before you swing by or you might have to wait or get turn down :(. The restaurant is in the basement of the building, but it's a big spot. There are bar seatings, table and booth.
We came here in May to celebrate our anniversary. We got here on time for our reservation but waited for about 5 minutes before seated. We know the plates portion are kinda small (per pictures) and ordered beef tataki, pork belly, onsen egg with uni, the chef's special beef (hot stone and cook at table), cold uni soba, some rib eye dish and another round of pork belly and something else + 2 desserts. At first our waiter was surprised and told us it was a lot of food, but no…. we ordered seconds ….'
Food was delicious, our favorite is the pork belly, beef tataki and the hot stone beef (but for the price it was more novelty). It was a delicious meal.