Samurai Mama
“Come on people, bukkake udon is noodle with broth poured over it…not what you are thinking…dirty birdy.”
“The third restaurant under the Bozu empire, Samurai Mama offers a different menu then both Momo Sushi Shack and Bozu.”
“Samurai Mama serves this dish in the original cast-iron skillet it's cooked in.”
Samurai Mama
Take-out: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Possibly the best sushi I've ever eaten in my life.
OK, I know I've said that alot – hey, I love sushi! – but this was truly wonderful.
The service was a bit weird, being at a large communal picnic-style table meant the waitress had to lean way in beside us to deliver our food and beverages but it was ok. The food was just stunning and well surpassed anything I could've dreamt. I loved their sushi rolls which were in individual 'leaves' of seaweed. Yummy! We had so many lovely things and I would happily go back time and again.
The best udon place in NYC. So homey and comforting! Love their gyoza as well. I personally prefer the pork but the veggie one isn't bad either. My go to is the pork belly udon but I also enjoy the mushroom udon!
My friend and I sat at the communal table. Wasn't too bothered by the surrounding guests at all. The only difficult part would be turning your head in the same direction throughout the night since we sat next to each other instead of across.
Food we ordered:
Pork belly – there's a lot more pork belly than I expected! Very tender and went well with the grilled zucchini.
Taco set – this was definitely my favorite! What an interesting interpretation of a "taco". The set came with 3 pieces of fish, 1 shrimp, 1 w/uni
Spicy bukkake udon – the broth, poached egg and the udon are presented separately. I mixed half the broth and the poached egg together. Incredibly flavorful! The broth can be overpowering if you add too much but that'll depend on your preference.
Overall, I had a very good evening here.
Okay so I love the ambiance here and the sushi is phenomenal. I had the tuna guacamole roll and the salmon roll, they were both very tasty. I also like the fact that you can choose between a roll and a taco! I would have given them 4 stars but I wasn't too fond of the Udon noodles. The broth was disgusting! I'll be back for sushi but I didn't like the noodles at all.
Definitely a place worth trying if you like udon, or sushi, or both. As mentioned by many other reviewers, a majority of the seating area is a large communal table, and there are a few small tables (for 4?) on the side.
Ordered two appetizers with a friend to share, the pork belly and the sushi tacos. The pork belly was solid, and cooked to a nice tenderness. It was a sizable portion, with a nice sauce accompaniment.
Their sushi "tacos" have a very deceiving name. I literally was expecting fish in a tortilla or something. It's actually just sushi….with seaweed as the wrap…think about that. Regardless of the lack of any true novelty, it was good sushi. The rice was made well, and the fish quality was pretty good.
I ordered the spicy udon, which wasn't actually that spicy. The broth was flavorful and a little on the salty side. I didn't mind because I like salty. But if you don't like salt, and don't mind looking foolish, pour some water in it or something.
They actually take credit now (visa and MasterCard)!
Large cabin like rooms with udon. I got the nabeyaki and it was delish. Served piping hot, it was the perfect meal for a cold day (and my cold). Would highly recommend the food here if you just want something light and soupy. I also ordered the hot tea while I was here, what an amazing combo.
This place provided me and my friends some amazing sushi!
Me and some friends were just out having some drinks and we worked up an appetite in the process. One of my friends spoke of an awesome sushi place that she enjoys and we were like, lets do it! We made it here around 7pm on a Thursday evening and luckily they had a booth available. Very dim lit, sort of chill type of vibe here. I loved the scenery as they have a big communal table in the mid section of the place with the booths off to the side in addition to the exposed brick.
I started out with a seaweed salad in which I thought would be quite small, but was a huge portion that I wound up sharing with my peeps. I then ordered 3 rolls…Spicy Tuna, Salmon Negi Roll & Helle Yellow Roll. They were all equally delicious and some of the best sushi I have had in quite some time. The rolls came with some interesting soy sauces…actually 3 different types. There was regular soy, mild soy (a little bit of kick) and wasabi soy (the best and spiciest!). It was one of those times you wished you could fit more in your belly LOL! Service here was stellar as the staff made sure we had everything we needed. Awesome spot that I definitely plan on returning!
****UDON IN A CABIN****
This restaurant could only exist in Williamsburg…
I'll cut to the chase — what is SM's secret to serving up the best ramen in NYC? Purportedly, nothing other than its oxidane…in other words, high quality H2O.
Their menu notes their use of "chemical free "Kaiki Water" "filled with natural energy" and a "natural mineral balance" that is pH balanced. They refuse to use "contaminated, low-energy tap water." In their defense, I can't say this is exclusively hipster nonsense, since many pizzerias seem to think the Force or whatnot of the NY water makes a superior product for their domain as well.
Anyway, onto the food…
SUSHI TACOS:
Can't run a hip asian restaurant without some Mexican fusion action going on. These were actually great– the fish was fresh and in good portion wrapped by seaweed, tacos were well put together, and the dipping sauces with wasabi were flavorful and distinct. Definitely recommend getting some of these as an appetizer.
UDON:
In the tradition of "Brooklyn Style BBQ," SM purports to deliver their own style of udon distinct from the varieties in Japan without really giving much of an explanation of what this entails, beyond saying its "characteristic of where we are." Supposedly they get their flour to make the noodles from a mill in California, so does their udon fall in the tradition of California/BK fusion style? Otherwise, they say they get pretty much all of the other ingredients from Japan…
Regardless, the udon is actually really good. Granted, I don't get udon a lot at restaurants because I can make a good bowl of restaurant quality nongshim udon in 5 minutes at home, but I can't say the same for instant ramen. I do think the udon here was some of the better udon I've had, but I certainly couldn't taste the 2 days of processing that goes into SM's udon.
COCKTAILS:
Pulled these off and priced well for NYC (all under $10). Strong and very well made.Similar to Angel's Share with Japanese themes.
EXPERIENCE:
Service was attentive and professional. We sat at a bar near the back. There is a large front room with communal tables in the middle and more secluded booths for groups on the sides. The bar further back was actually very intimate and comfortable. Further back there was another room for mainly drinking, I think. Interior wise, cross off checkmarks for rustic wooden tables, exposed brick walls, and asymmetrical large industrial lights dangling from the ceiling.
FINAL VERDICT: Over the top even by WB standards, but for the most part, backs it up. Udon didn't completely blow me away but the food was good and the atmosphere intriguing enough to at least recommend warranting a visit.