SenYa
“We ended our dinner with the Water Cake which really was a clear jello with mashed red bean paste and strawberry jam on the side.”
“Our party shared the Yuzu Hamachi roll, Uni Risotto, and we each had our own order of Kaisen Don.”
“I ordered the Chirashi set and it was one of the best options if you want to sample about 6 different sets of fishes.”
SenYa
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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Food: food was great, uni toast special was amazing, as well as the toro; not a huge selection of drinks but enough wines beers and sake.. The boxes are good options for sharing… Water cake is interesting but not very tasty
Service: decent.. Waiter was knowledgable about the menu but seemed a little apathetic
Ambience: small, intimate not too much decor
Omakase? More like OH MA CASA! Yes I absolutely love this place, I would love to make it my home.
It was quite busy and full the night my friends and I went. Luckily, I felt the need to make a reservation few days before, and which I did and was clearly the right decision. Upon entering, she already knew it was our group when we said we made a reservation and asked if its for Tom. The two women working there and serving us were extremely friendly, helpful and professional. They knew what they were doing and saying and was doing it well.
We were handed a tray with hot towels to wipe our hands. It was prob the only thing I didn't like about the experience because the towels smelled like stinky feet (I realized after I used it).
Anyways we ordered the Uni Scallop King Crab Roll ($28) to share . I ordered the Omakase Sushi ($55). One of my friends ordered the Senya Chirashi ($36) while another friend ordered the Senya Chef Assorted ($36). So the Uni scallop King crab roll came first and we devoured that so fast but not forgetting to enjoy everything about it, from the Uni on top to the scallop under it to the King crab meat inside. And not to forget to mention, it was one of my friends' first time trying Uni! I know! She be missing out!! The Maine Uni was fresh but wasn't too sweet probably because there was a slight citric (lemony) taste to it with wasabi sprinkled over it. It was not bad and I loved having Uni in every bite.
There was a bit of a wait after the roll and the waitress gave us a complimentary dish of preserved sour and spicy radish. It made us even more hungry but at least we had something to chow on and it was free, I mean who's complaining?
The Chirashi and Chef Assorted and the first part of my Omakase came. It looked amazing and delicious. She was very patient and explained everything in all of our orders. She listed out the fish and everything with it for my omakase while I took notes. (Yes, I literally took notes with my phone – the descriptions below are of my immediate tastebud reactions and at the moment words I could come up with.)
First part of my Omakase:
Kinki with some salt on top – a little fishy
King salmon with caviar – the fatty salmon tasted really good with the caviar
Striped jack with Japanese onion – didn't really like the spice/ leaf on top but the fish itself is plain and light flavored so I understand why the prices were added
Bluefin tuna with the seaweed sauce – had a rich fish flavor to it and the seaweed sauce really complimented it
Kohada (part of the mackerel family) – a tasty and fresh kind of fishy taste
Second part of my Omakase:
Scallop with Maine uni – scallop was so fresh but the Maine uni was ok, good but just ok
Bluefin toro topped with truffle sauce – the toro was was amazing with the fattiness to it and topped with the truffle sauce brought it over the top (my favorite one)
Angel blue shrimp slightly torched and some trout eggs – the slightly torching of the shrimp enriched it, gave it an extra layer of taste to it while the trout eggs added on another layer of freshness to it
California Uni topped with wasabi – very freshly sweet compared to the Maine uni and it just satisfied my taste buds as the last piece (I ate this last).
Sea eel unago – the eel literally melted in my mouth and the sauce was really savory, kept me salivating and wanted another piece (probably should've ended with this piece as it was laid out for me).
I tried a lot of the fish from my friends' orders too. From the Chirashi one of the six boxes had salmon with this amazing truffle oil over it and over the rice under the salmon. There was a lot of Uni in another box. It just had too much for her to finish (very worth it and I will prob get that next time I go). The Chef Assorted one was not bad as well, I really liked the Tuna (forgot names). My friend was able to cut it with chopsticks easily and it was much fresher than the tuna from the Chirashi.
The waitress came around to get all our dishes when we were done and asked us if we enjoyed it and we absolutely did, already thinking about when our next time coming back would be. The waitress asked which I liked the best from my Omakase and I struggled a bit but decided on the Bluefin Toro and she was like dam that one wins again, and that her personal favorite is the California Uni one. I told her that one was close and came in second for me. She was disappointed but when I told her I enjoyed everything she was proud and satisfied and said thank you.
Solid. Amazing. Five Stars. I am coming back again! Everything here deserves five stars (besides the wet towels).
I have been twice in the past couple months. Not my favorite place but a quality sushi spot that I will add to the rotation. It's touch having sushi dojo across the street, but I think it's a good competitor.
Venue (4/5) casual yet smaller sized sushi spot. This would be good for dates or small groups.
Food (4/5)
Omakase (4/5) ordered the omakase twice and the fish was great. I don't remember off hand my favorite pieces but it's a great value with great quality. I saw many people order the chirashi, I think that may be the way to go.
Water Cake (1/5) great for a photograph, but meh for taste
Service (5/5) superb
I'm so glad I found out this place!
Quietly sitting inside the border of east village, SenYa was not only good at sushi, but also kitchen food. Deeply enjoyed their miso black cod (well marinated while maintained the crispiness) and duck breast (so tender!!). But the best definitely reserved to their renown Chirashi set. Different from elsewhere, SenYa smartly divided a big bowl into six smaller ones, so that one could test out a variety of fishes. My favorite, not surprisingly, was the uni Chirashi!
Last but certainly not least, if you are a big fan of water cake (currently sold only in smorgasburg, not true!), definitely pay a visit here! This is the second place in New York that serves the cake!
This place is awesome and at a decent size that can dine more then a few heads.
Prices are up there but you are paying for quality not quantity.
The SenYa Chirashi was pretty enjoyable with multiple small dishes done differently. It is kind of like a sampling dish.
The Yuzu Hamachi dish is a much try! Each bite is very flavorful.
Fantastic experience!! We went here last minute for my birthday. Reservation was not hard to make for 2 on Friday night. The place was fairly crowded when we got there but there was not a wait. If you are a sushi connoisseur and can tell all the subtle differences that come with class A sushi, I am not sure if this is the place for you. It was really great but I had a feeling it is not as high quality as most fancy joints. The price reflected that too. Everything was very reasonable and whatever I had was really good. Portions were really generous for a sushi restaurant. My boyfriend and I preemptively ordered a udon with out Omakase and Chirashi thinking there wont be enough food but the portions were so generous we could not finish everything! Will definitely go back. Its not Masa but it is a really good place if you are in a mood for decent sushi!
After seeing so many pictures of their Chirashi set on social media, I finally decided to give Senya a try… Unfortunately, they didn't live up to the hype.
Presentation was fabulous and trust me, although it doesn't really look like it, you get a lot of fish for its price ($36). Sounds great? I thought so too until I realized that only 1 of the 6 boxes was actually enjoyable — the Scottish Salmon with the Fluke. That bowl was exceptionally delicious with the condiments they paired with the fish. The other ones were either too bland or too fishy. Some did not even taste fresh. The uni was bitter!!
Service-wise, it was great until they gave us the check towards the end of our meal… They had just taken our trays away and they automatically dropped us the check. We didn't even ask for it! As a matter of fact, we wanted to order two cups of tea (which they charged $1 for each tea bag) to flush down the fishy aftertaste. If they were busy, I would understand but the restaurant was not even full… Unless you're planning to eat and leave within an hour, don't waste your money here just so you can get kicked out of the restaurant.
I would return to SenYa for a third time if my dinner date would be willing! Finding a good sushi restaurant in NYC is more difficult than expected. The sashimi I ordered on both occasions was not fishy, which earned brownie points from me. Maybe I was too hungry for some sashimi, but the fresh slices impressed me (on relative terms). I definitely enjoyed every bite of my meal. The one dish I absolutely recommend be ordered is the roasted duck appetizer! Well seared and tender! Loved the pairing of duck and minced scallions with some sauce (reminiscent of Korean red pepper flakes and some thick Hoisin sauce).
The water cake is a one-time phenomenon. I would caution to only order it if you're adamant about experiencing clear gelatin melt in your mouth. A unique experience without a doubt but not something heightening expectations for.