Cherry Izakaya

Love this place! Great food and excellent service. Our favorites were the tuna over crispy rice, tuna tart and sea bass skewers. Looking forward to ordering delivery.

SERVICE: I purchased a Groupon for Cherry Izakaya because it seemed like the kind of place I would enjoy brunching at. Unfortunately, the service is painfully dismal. Although we were seated right away around 1:30pm last Sunday, it took almost 25 minutes for a waiter to even acknowledge us. A couple sitting nearby us even got up and left because everything was just taking too long. Direct eye contact will not get your server to come assist, either. You actually have to wave and call them over. It wasn’t even that busy, nor were they understaffed. My boyfriend’s waffles were already cold by the time we were able to grab someone’s attention to inform them that they forgot to bring his syrup to the table. Pure negligence all around.
DRINKS: The «Sweet Potato Shochu Bloody Mary» tastes like a regular bloody mary, absolutely nothing special about it. On the other hand, their «Willy’s Rose Whiskey Sangria» is very sweet, delicious, and strong. We ordered several.
FOOD: Home fries are seasoned well and have little bits of diced bell peppers, though it could be a bit crispier. Their toast is maple buttered, and the raspberry jam had a nice chunky texture. My sizzling steak and over-​easy eggs came with brussel sprouts and onions, in a delicious light teriyaki sauce. Unfortunately, they only gave me five tiny pieces of meat — definitely not worth $ 18 for their customers who are paying full price. And while my boyfriend’s fried chicken tenders were tasty, his waffles literally tasted like baguette drowned in olive oil. Someone must have accidentally poured too much in the batter. Ugh, gross.

I’ve been wanting to try this restaurant for months and finally made it out to willamsburg, parking around the area isn’t so easy you’ll have to look.
Careful when trying to find the restaurant because it’s very dark and unnoticeable.
I got seated quickly the restaurant was fairly packed. My food arrived quickly, the food was good but definitely not worth 5 stars. My main complaint is the service either they are under staffed or they just provide horrible service it took forever to get a waiters attention. The prices were very fair as well! Definitely try it.
I would recommend the Tina crispy rice, sea bass skewers, tuna tarts and the wasabi purée! All delicious !

I bought the brunch deal for two off groupon for this place. Paid 25 $ for 2 entrees and 2 cocktails. The food was good and so were the drinks. Eggs were over cooked for my tuna crispy rice eggs Benedict. Food took a while to come out as well even though there wasn’t much people in the restaurant. Went on a Sunday at around 2 pm wasn’t crazy busy at all. However, the waiters were slow. They seemed kind of zoned out and awkward. With that said, the food was good, the service could be better. Worth it with the Groupon, otherwise ehh.

After quite a number of pre-​holiday drinks my friend and I stumbled over here for a late night snack. Literally a snack because their standard sushi rolls will run you $ 7 – 10. The place was pretty dead upon entering but we really had a craving for sushi and the other spot we were contemplating was Fushimi and it was crazy loud and priced the same. I went with the spicy tuna roll and he went with a california roll. Not being adventurous as some of their other pricier offerings sound really great: tuna tarts drizzled in white truffle oil, hot eel with foi gras roll. The sushi rolls we had tasted fresh though not remarkable. My friend also ordered the pork belly buns. He ate one and glanced nervously at the plate and said «I can’t eat these». The remaining one that I quickly consumed wasn’t horrible but the pork belly buns had liberal amounts of mayonnaise in them along with a coleslaw cabbage spread. I personally enjoyed them but it was pretty fatty and intense. Gaining the attention to pay was also a bit cumbersome in the end but still a solid decent three stars.

In the words of the table sitting next to us, «they must be having an off day.»
My friend was really excited to check out Cherry Izakaya. He was telling me all about the restaurant in Manhattan by the same chef that suddenly closed a few months back.
I may be bias because I am not a big fan of brunching at Sushi restaurants so I will attempt to keep my review short & sweet.
Location: Not as far as I had anticipated. Just a short walk from the first L stop in Brooklyn, from Manhattan. It is around the corner from a liquor store for those of you who need to buy someone a present on the way to brunch.
Ambiance: Williamsburg-​ish vibes.
Food: Cold and the flavors did not meld together well. My friend and I thought it was strange how long our food was taking. As soon as we asked, it was brought out… and cold. Seems like they just left our food out on the line and forgot about it. I ordered the spicy tuna eggs benedict. My eggs were poached and hard, not runny at all. However, my friends were runny and the proper consistency of eggs benedict. The salad dressing did not compliment the taste of the other items on my plate. The rice cakes were not worth the carb count.
Service: Staff was friendly and knowledgable.
Bathrooms: Smelled like mildew/​mold and were missing either a mirror or piece of art over the sink. It was quite strange.
Not impressed and will not return for brunch. Would consider returning for happy hour, if it was deeply discounted.

I came here on two occasions and I really wanted to like this place but I don’t believe I would come back.
Disclaimer: my palate maybe spoiled by restaurants like bondst, blue ribbon and Nobu.
Brunch:
My first time was a random walk-​in for brunch. They are extremely popular for bottomless brunches and can accommodate larger parties (8 – 10). I noticed a group ecstatic for drinks when I dined with my boyfriend. I had the pork belly egg Benedict and he had the chicken & waffles. I was really excited to see how a Japanese chef would inspire a brunch menu with a little Japanese love but the flavors just didn’t work for the pork belly egg Benedict. It was topped with bonito flakes which was a great visual aspect but brought such a fishy taste to the eggs. My boyfriends chicken & waffles was better than my dish but was nothing special. After realizing their menu had similarities to some of my favorite restaurants I HAD to come back for dinner. Service was friendly though!
Dinner:
We sat at 8:30. What the beep! Between two people we had 8 items total. To start, our server was clueless or just didn’t care. In the many izakayas or any Japanese restaurant I been to, there has always been a standard to how food was brought out. All our food was literally brought within a 8−10minute time frame. Including the ramen. Now if it was busy and they need to rush us out or whatever the case may be I would totally understand. But there was many empty tables and a table for two is quite small. I ended up either putting dishes together or trying to play Tetris with my plates.
The food:
Shishito peppers — great!
Tuna tarts — inspired by bondst? Doesn’t cost as much but doesn’t taste the same either. Good try though.
Crispy rice with tuna — meh. Again, bondst is better.
Yellowtail jalapeño — awesome! Thinly slice yellowtail with thinly slice jalapeño that gave the right kick.
Izzy’s fried chicken bun — I asked what izzy’s fried chicken was, server replied i don’t know, just fried chicken” that’s helpful :/​— why not call it fried chicken buns then? What’s izzy’s?! I was really curious. I believe the braised pork belly buns would’ve tasted better…
Seabass skewers — awesome! Perfectly cooked.
Uni sushi — not fresh, super fishy. I asked where the uni was from, she said «I don’t know». Sigh.
Shoyu Chicken Ramen — DO NOT GET THE RAMEN. I read a previous review from a fellow Unilocaler complaining about the ramen not being as good as ippudo. I didn’t care for ramen being as good as ippudo and really craved it for such a cold night. It was absolutely tasteless and disgusting. I never thought I would ever be one of those people to adds soy sauce to a ramen bowl before and tonight it was done. I would’ve asked for hot sauce too if I received any service after our order was taken.
I left the restaurant at 9:05pm. This must have been the quickest dinner in any izakaya. Two stars for sea bass skewers, shishitos and yellowtail jalapeño. I spent about $ 120 to be rushed out. I guess this place is perfect for people in the neighborhood but I would definitely just travel to the city.

Brunch is usually all the same to me (not that I complain), but Cherry Izakaya has some really interesting takes with Japanese fusion.
We ordered delivery via DoorDash and unfortunately our food took over an hour to arrive, so everything was pretty cold and congealed by the time we ate. Not Cherry Izakaya’s fault at all, but I feel like we would have had a much better experience had we eaten in. We tried:
Pork Belly Benedict: this was pretty good. The yuzu hollandaise was an interesting flavor that kept surprising me every time I took a bite, while the bonito flakes really made this dish Japanese. The pork belly unfortunately was pretty limp and not that great.
Lox Crispy Rice: really interesting take on bagels and lox, with bagel-​shaped patties of rice topped with lox and lemon crème fraîche. The crème fraîche was pretty heavy, but it was still a delicious combination.
Fried Chicken & Waffles: probably my favorite of the 3 dishes, the karage was cooked perfectly. Watch out for the honey Tabasco though; that stuff was HOT.
Everything was a bit oily as well, but then again, we didn’t really choose healthy options. I’d definitely want to come back and try dining in to get the full experience.

I went there for brunch because sweet chicks wait was too long. We found this restaurant on groupon. I have the say the service and food was great!!! Friendly atmosphere and their Kale Cesar salad was awesome

Went here last night for dinner and it was great! Loved the area and atmosphere of the restaurant. My friend and I decided to sit at the front by the bar area to have the fresh air from outside, which was a great choice. They also had Jenga!!!
I honestly went there just for the Tuna Crispy Rice (I’m quite the expert if I do say so myself) and it was AWESOME! My friend and I each had an order. We also ordered the fries, which were great. On top of that we ordered a spicy tuna roll and crispy shrimp roll. They were alright, but we didn’t love them. Wish we had ordered more appetizers instead. It’s ok though because now we know for next time!
I’ve heard the brunch here is great and I’ll definitely be back to try. Can’t wait to come back and visit!

My boyfriend and I decided to try this place during restaurant week because I was craving Japanese food. It is a cozy little restaurant with a bar up front, right when you walk in. The hostess guided us up a little set of stairs next to the bar to enter the dining area. There was a tiny sushi bar with four seats. The restaurant seemed to have a bit of a hipster vibe. The service was phenomenal. Each server was very friendly and our server paid a lot of attention to us and always had a smile on his face and checked up on us after every course to make sure we were doing okay. In addition to the restaurant week menu, we saw some appetizers on the regular menu that we wanted to try.
What we ordered:
Appetizers:
Kale Caesar Salad — Was good, nothing too special.
Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice — Like everyone has said, a MUST TRY. We loved it. One order comes with 5 pieces. I usually do not like tuna, but it was very good, I would have ordered another one if we didn’t already have too many appetizers on the table.
Sea Bass Skewers — MELTS IN YOUR MOUTH. The glaze on the skewers was amazing. Some people may think it’s too sweet, but my boyfriend and I thought they were just perfect. I usually don’t eat cooked fish, but my boyfriend had a bite and immediately told me I HAD to try it, and I’m so glad I did.
Tuna tarts — This was interesting. I’ve never eaten anything like this and did not think I would like it, but it was recommended, so I thought, why not? It is surprisingly pretty good and I actually really liked it. I made my boyfriend eat it too and he also liked it and we both usually hate the taste of tuna.
Izakaya Fries — The fries were just fries, nothing out of the ordinary. What I liked was the citrus aioli sauce and the sriracha ketchup that came with the fries. The two sauces tasted very good with the fries.
Entrees:
Tonkotsu Ramen — My boyfriend chose this for his entrée (regardless of me being against it) and he said it was nothing special and Ippudo tastes better.
Sushi & Sashimi entrée — The rolls were not the best, but I did like the salmon sashimi.
Dessert:
Yuzu Cheesecake — Should be eaten with a little bit of everything or else it would not taste very good.
Green Tea Panna Cotta — I loved this! so yummy. Wish I could have another one! But I was already filled up with all the appetizers.

Decided to stroll by Williamsburg on a Saturday afternoon for brunch. The hostess greeted us upon arrival and offered us any table of our choice in the front open area or in the back.
Our server quickly came to fill our glasses with water and offered cocktail options. The yuzu mimosa was very delish.
The boyfriend and I enjoyed the Izakaya potato hash & the sizzling steak & eggs.

1.5 stars.
Service is really slow… even though there were only 6 tables, it takes forever to bring a check over or even check to see if we want a check or need anything else.
There are lots of flies on the empty tables with open chopsticks n plates… GROSS! at least have covered chopsticks or put chopsticks in between napkins or something!
Food– 2 stars
Buttermilk karaage was super dry and the sauce to dip in was horrible! It would’ve been better with traditional Japanese mayo sauce.
Seabass skewers were burnt n way too sweet.
Chef sushi selections. they should’ve write maki roll selections. And the sushi rice they used was not mixed well since some parts had too much vinegar n some parts didn’t.
I honestly didn’t have high hopes for this place but this was just bad… will never return here.
No wonder there isn’t much customers here…

Brunched here with a group of 5 people on a Sunday afternoon.
The bottomless alcohol deal for 90 minutes is an extra $ 20 on top of your entrée but is pretty worth it. Just make sure you’re thirsty! They’re actually very strong and I had to send it back to get more orange or cranberry juice a couple times (I’m being judged right now I know it).
Service was slow to get started. we had our menus for maybe 20 minutes until someone came back and asked us what we wanted. Left a sour taste in my mouth but I was over it when the food got here.
What you should get:
SIZZLING STEAK & EGGS — pleasantly surprised by this dish! Hanger steak marinated in some teriyaki goodness cooked to a perfect medium rare. It was a small portion and a bunch of the vegetables were burnt, but the winner here is the sauce. Just drooled a bit… brb
TUNA or LOX CRISPY RICE — pretty unique and overall good dish but I kept on getting the crispy rice stuck in my teeth. Potatoes were cooked very well… even yummier after I smothered them in the steak and eggs sauce.
What you should not get:
BREAKFAST RAMEN — this was pretty bad … as in just so average I’m sure you’ll be very disappointed when you’re staring at your friends foods. Main complaint was there was no depth of flavor as you’d expect from ramen shops like Totto or Ippudo …
Also be warned that portions are «hipster» (?) sized. the opposite of American sized.

Came here for brunch last week and it was my first brunch experience in Williamsburg so I didn’t have too many expectations. The décor of the place is nice with the bar in the front and the seating area in the back and everything is fairly well spread out. The one thing I have to comment on is that fact that the service was average. It took about 20 minutes for us to get greeted with our waters, etc, and it was a bit difficult to order additional food and get new drinks.
For the food I split the steak and eggs with a few friends and ordered the breakfast ramen for my meal. The steak was very well cooked, as I love my steak medium rare and it was cooked in a good sauce. There were brussel sprouts that were a bit burnt and overall the dish was solid. I was a bit disappointed in the breakfast ramen as I felt like the broth didn’t have much flavor. Now, I might be a bit picky comparing it to a place like totto ramen, for example, but I just didn’t think the ramen had the flavor that I was looking for.
Not a bad spot, thats well priced but I will be trying some other places before I come back here.

THE FOOD IS AAMMAZZZING!!! Good to the last bite! I took my friend out for her bday and I’m glad we came here!
The staff is always wonderful– and the location is perfect. They have a great selection of drinks and sake.
I believe that EVERYTHING on this menu is a must try! I recommend everything but my top favs are as follows in order: Tuna Tarts, Sea Bass Skewers, Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice, Yuzu Salt and Pepper Wings and the Fired Tiny Fish– Love the Sushi as well– everything is super fresh! This are my favs that make we keep coming back!
I also like to try different sake– so it’s nice that I can also get to sample it before they open the bottle in case I don’t like it– Not a lot of places do this.
My Face Japanese Restaurant!

I came back to Cherry Izakaya after a week because they had a special event debuting the brunch menu and drinks so this will be my review of the brunch.
With the weather finally warming up, weekend brunch here was perfect. They have large sliding doors at the front of the restaurant so the entire place gets a lot of natural light and it has that outdoor seating feel to it. My friend had the tuna crispy rice eggs benedict, my other friend had the corn flake crusted french toast and I had the buttermilk karaage chicken and waffles. We ordered a side of the izakaya fries to share because they are to die for. There was a free flow deal for $ 20 but my friend ended up getting the yuzu cocktail for $ 10 and it was so good he regretted not buying free flow. All the dishes came beautifully plated with sides of homefries and a little salad. Portion sizes were good and prices fair. I left really really full.
My friend enjoyed his eggs, he said the meal was perfect because it was a breakfast spin on what is normally a dinner or lunch dish and he loved it. The nori on top was a nice touch. The french toast was also good, my friend liked how the outside was crisp and inside was juicy. The chicken and waffles were great too, the waffles were not the fluffiest but it was super yummy.
My new go-​to bottomless brunch! Once the L train goes back to full service on the weekends I will be here every weekend.

So ok… this is a restaurant that could easily go from 3 to 4 stars. The decorations and the vibe is cool, the prices are fair, and it has the potential of being a really great place.
However; the staff does not give the impression of being too interested in their customers. Although it is very understandable that they like to chat with each other when it is not so busy in the restaurant, it does not look very good when three members of the staff more or less constantly are standing in a corner talking.
The food is also average plus. Having read the reviews, I’m slightly disappointed. I expected something more unique.

Unlike its sister restaurant in Manhattan, Cherry, it lacks the lounge vibe and the velvety touch. What it has but Cherry doesn’t is the unique casual atmosphere but still manages to offer hundreds of sake, whiskey and equally delicious Japanese food.
We tried the Kimchi Tofu, fois gras and short ribs gyoza and Tuna Crispy rice as appetizers. The kimchi tofu is fried aga tofu with kimchi and its marinate as base. It is pretty good. I always love some good fried crispy Japanese tofu. The tuna crispy rice is clearly the winner here. I love the new twist to the traditional Japanese rice cake. It is a little spicy and the rice is just right. The gyoza is also very unique and delicious if you love short ribs and who can say no fois gras?
For entrée, we got their braised pork with potato salad. The pork is well marinated and so tender it falls right off without a knife. The potato salad goes surprisingly well with such an Asian flavor. We also got the Omakase (sushi, sashimi) platter. It is also very good and fresh. The two spicy hand rolls are what really stand out here from this dish. I wish the portion is bigger!
We ended this nice dinner with two desserts. They are so addictive and both must-​try. The vanilla panna cotta is extremely soft and melts right in your mouth. It is paired with soft and sweet fruit preserves. The flavor is heaven! The Mochi Ice Cream trio comes in 3 flavors: sesame, red bean and green tea. I love all of them!
We are coming back soon to try other dishes for sure especially they are kids-​friendly!

had a very nice experience here. came a week after they had opened, and they had their sh! t together already, which I find rare for new openings. Bartenders/​servers/​hostess all very nice and welcoming. Cherry Bomb the bartender made is a must try drink.
Food was all very interesting and tasty. definitely try the bacon sushi. the crispy tuna roll was my favorite. not a huge fan of the eggplant skewers.
best of all, williamsburg prices! meal came out to be around 80 $ for two with drinks, wine and tip included.