Ganso Yaki

4.5 stars. We’ve become regulars here and enjoy sitting at the bar. The staff is excellent. So friendly and we always enjoy ourselves. Particularly now that Ganso sushi has opened next door I love being able to order off of both menus. We love the wings and fried chicken, all of of the sashimi dishes, yellowtail collar, the interesting specials. They even always have a great beer list as well as saki, etc. I was torn about rating 4 or 5 stars because I really love coming here but there are some dishes that are good but not amazing to me. There are still plenty that I do consider amazing so would still highly recommend to anyone!

I can only speak to Ganso Yaki’s happy hour menu on a weekend: the service was lacking, the food was dull, the décor was nice, and the ambiance was confusing.
They describe themselves as «bold, rustic Japanese comfort food.» Maybe we shouldn’t have ordered only from the happy hour menu (but the $ 5 a plate specials were enticing) because there was nothing bold or rustic about the flavors or presentation.
–The pork shumai were so greasy and almost on the verge of being inedible (tops were so burnt), I wish I had asked for steamed shumai.
–The shishito peppers weren’t too bad but drowning in sauce.
–The karaage was okay, but it was so bland, I found myself reaching for the soy sauce (which I never do).
–The chicken wings looked delicious but tasted terrible, rather tasted like nothing (which is an amazing feat!).
–The maki were no better, if not worse than the rolls you order from your usual Chinese/​Japanese fusion place on your trusty online food delivery service – c’mon don’t roll so tightly that the seaweed looks so wet and compressed. Also, the spicy tuna (I know the lowliest of rolls to order) had no spice at all.
We did order one thing off their regular menu – okonomiyaki, which was the only good thing we had. So props to Ganso Yaki on their okonomiyaki.
Now that’s just the food. The service was pretty sad. Yes, sad. Our server didn’t come back once to ask how everything was or if we needed anything else. I get it, the server was busy. But even if she had checked-​in really late in the meal, I would’ve understood. I overheard the server talking to his table to ours, and he just sounded like he didn’t know the food or drinks on the menu. Also, the host that sat us was so stressed and nervous, I felt anxious the minute we walked in. They’ve got a ways to go to improve both their service and food, but if they get there, I can imagine it being a hit. Will I go back? Probably not.

This place is legit! I grew up in Japan and I know what real Japanese food is like. I love it! I went to Ganso ramen and heard about this yakitori place. It’s right next to Ganso sushi as well. Both places are connected. The best part of this place is the happy hour!!! Beer and food for half off!!! It’s amazing. Come between 5−7pm. Highly recommended if you want to try Japanese style kabob, ramen, or sushi.

I am a sucker for Happy Hour with Food. Good food. Nothing James Beard Award-​winning, mind you, but also nothing super greasy and not worth eating. It has to be worth eating. Enter Ganso Yaki:
What sets this spot apart is that it offers Happy Hour EVERYDAY from 5−7pm; it is also available in both the bar AND the dining room. Awesome. Anyway, met a mama friend there on a Friday at around 5:30, and the place was half-​empty and felt very low key, a beautiful thing imho – since my favorite Manhattan Happy Hour with Food spots (Mermaid Inn & Lure Fishbar) are often mob scenes at that time.
At any rate, we began ordering off the Happy Hour menu, including Pork Shumai, Sushi Rolls, Fried Boneless Chicken, and Vegetable Tempura. Clear winner for me was the meaty, juicy Shumai, followed by the expertly fried Chicken. Greasless breading on the Tempura showed the same deft hand with frying, but the root vegetable interiors were too crunchy and raw tasting. Finally, the Sushi Rolls were, in a word, lame: Even though they were only $ 5 each, they should have contained more fish; they were almost all rice.
Of course, we got drinks too. For all you white wine fans, we were told they only offer one white selection on the whole menu and it is not included as part of the Happy Hour deal (which does include Sake, Beer, and Red Wine, *mostly* for $ 7, if memory serves). We went with Sake…
Service was very friendly and helpful; I appreciated the reminder right before 7:00 that Happy Hour was nearly over. (At that point, the place was starting to fill up big time fwiw).

I love your food!
I love your drink!
But your loud ass music
makes it hard to think.
I did not hear
what the server said.
Cuz blaring in my skull
was Radiohead.

How anyone could give this place any fewer than five stars is a total mystery to me. The daily happy hour with $ 5 fried chicken, $ 5 shumai, $ 6 spicy tuna rolls (a new addition!) and oversized $ 7 glasses of premium sake is for my money the single best eating-​out deal in all of New York City. And boy has this place gotten a lot of my money during happy hour. It can get crowded, for sure, including with the stray but well-​mannered hockey fan (of which I am one), but worth a trip or two or, if you are like me, two dozen, per year.

Ganso Yaki nailed it – truly an authentic Japanese Izakaya. Def. give this place a shot. A+

The dishes are pretty authentic izakaya menu, and everything was cooked well. The portion is a little small (Japanese size) but priced fairly reasonable. It was lively on Friday but the place has plenty of seats. Servers were attentive. Overall my friend and I had a nice dinner. I would definitely go back!

Worst meal I had for the year or years. All I can say is, it’s clearly cooked by chinese that disguised as Japanese. Both fried chicken and wings were clearly boiled and lame sauced over or lightly fried, and tasteless. Horrible. Kakuni (stew pork), tasteless!!! How could you possibly get this dish wrong!!! Don’t get me started on the sushi. Rice were loose and totally unpresentable to served. The table across had sushi with half missing rice. Too many bad. Food and service go hand in hand. Service wasn’t rude but MEH…

Wandered in here after climbing at Brooklyn Boulders with T.H. and M.Y. T.H. had been here before with some friends and had yearned for the chance to come again. TH recommends the happy hour yakitori specials though, where yakitori and beers are extra cheap.
We ordered three of the yakitori dishes, the duck, the classic yakitori, and the squid. All three dishes were well done. The Duck had a nice sauce but nothing supremely notable. The classic yakitori was smothered in sauce, but came topped with shavings of green onion and wasabi. The combo was interesting but at times very spicy for my sensitive nose. The squid was perfectly cooked and came with a spicy mayo that definitely completed the dish by adding another layer of flavor.
This place also serves ramen for lunch, a throwback to it’s original location on Bond street that is a ramen spot. Next up, Ganso Sushi!

Happy hour (5:00 to 7:00pm) food deals are incredible. Each dish costs $ 5 and they are all pretty solid.

I love it love it love it. Atmosphere is so chill, they got great selection of beers (not the regular stuff) I had miso glazed salmon from the grill (portions are .Let’s say it’s European size) such was so rich in flavor! Totally hit the spot. Deff coming back.soon.very soon.

3.5 stars
Bit overpriced. The ramen was good. The Yuzu hot toddy was pretty good. The cod was great. I do think their menu is overpriced. The food is good, the portions are on the smaller side and that’s fine. My main dish came 15 min before our appetizer. That was irritating. Service was so so. Not rude but not great service. I like the interior design.

YUM! I came here for «happy hour» dinner with a few friends and we enjoyed a tasty dinner. We ordered all five of the happy hour appetizers (only $ 5 each) plus four additional plates. I highly recommend doing something similar so you have a chance to sample a bunch of different delicious treats!
The Okonomiyaki (scallion pancake with pork belly) was by far the table’s favorite dish. Although, the Gyu-​ni (slow-​cooked short rib), Classic Yakitori (chicken skewer), Kamo Kushiyaki (duck skewer), and Shishito pepper skewer were very, very close «seconds.» The Yaki Shumai (fried pork dumplings) and vegetable tempura are also definitely worth getting. The last two dishes — Tebasaki (chicken wings) and fried chicken — were good, but nothing to be too excited about.

Went here for dinner last night before attending an event at the Barclay Stadium in Brooklyn. I was with my husband, best friend, and lil brother.
Although they seemed really busy we were greeted and seated right away. The restaurant had a very nice ambiance with a good vibe.
I’m sorry I didn’t get our waitresses name but we later found out that she was actually a medical doctor who was from South Africa but lived or grew up in London. In any event, I found that out when I inquired about her beautiful accent to one of the other waitresses.
Our waitress was very nice and knowledgeable about the menu. She took her time explaining/​defining some of the menu item ingredients for us that were in Japanese. It was a real treat to hear her speak with her beautiful accent.
I ordered the grilled salmon with a teriyaki glaze. My dinner came with miso soup and white rice which I substituted with their grain rice. It also had a side of (I can’t remember the actual names) I wanna say burdock and also a seaweed of the sort. The miso soup was very tasty as well as the salmon. My only complaint (and I didn’t tell them at the time) was that the salmon seemed undercooked in several areas. This worries me a little as I don’t eat and am not used to eating raw fish. The grain rice was also very good.
My brother expressed disappointed with his meal but my husband and best friend really liked theirs. My husband had the short rib which I tasted and loved and my best friend had a different salmon dish that she says she really enjoyed.
One thing that was weird to me is the way that the food was brought out at different intervals. The servers just pretty much placed dishes on the table randomly as though they were all appetizers that we were sharing. This combined with the fact that we were already a little confused about what was what because of the Japanese names of the dishes added to the uncertainty of who got what. I finally had to stop one and say, ok… What is this? And who ordered it? Ok, please place it here or there, etc. but once we all had or respective dishes we were happy, lol!
Another important thing that happened that I have to mention is that after we were done at the Barclay Stadium my best friend had to use the rest room. However, there was a long line at the stadium and she didn’t want to wait. Earlier that evening we were fortunate to find a parking space right in front of this restaurant. So it occurred to us that we could use the restroom at the restaurant before heading back into Manhattan. When we arrived at the restaurant and explained the situation they were very gracious and allowed us to use their facilities. On our way out some of the servers recognized us as well as our waitress and greeted us in a very friendly demeanor. I would definitely go back to the restaurant if I’m ever in the area again and highly recommend to anyone considering dining there.

Venue — Nice modern and spacious restaurant.
Food — Pricey, but good. I’m not sure why it got some negative feedback, but I sure enjoyed it and think it’s better than the cheap yakitori on St. Marks. It could be a hit or miss depending on what you order though.
+ Gobo Kinpira (julienned seasoned burdock roots) — good
+ Eggplant Special — good
— Tsukune — Thought it was skewers of chicken peices and quail egg, but more like a meatball with raw quail egg mixed into the sauce. Disappointing and not a fan.
+ Surume Ika (whole grilled squid) — Much larger than I expected, well glazed (not too much) and enjoyed it
+ Lamb — Small, thin slices of tender lamb. Loved it and wished there were more.
— Okonomiyaki — I liked the big portion and how it comes in a sizzling pan, but it was drenched in sauce. Way too much sauce for me to enjoy it.
+ Chicken sesame soba — Cold soba with really good sauce and lots of meat.
Service — Amazing

As a big fan of big sister Ganso (ramen shop), I was excited to try Ganso Yaki, more recently opened and serving their own take on Japanese street food. Atmosphere is relaxed and the restaurant is beautiful. Our server was friendly and helpful throughout dinner.
We chose a bottle of saki off the extensive saki list to start. From there, most things on the menu are to be shared so we ordered a few things for the table. The mushroom dish was phenomenon — different types of mushrooms cooked perfectly in butter. Extremely flavorful. This is a must order. The fried oysters were tasty, as well.
Less interesting was the scallop fritter, which was much too doughy and consisted of very little scallop. I would skip this next time as it was essentially a very overpriced scallion pancake. The pancake with pork belly (okonomiyaki) was much better and nice and fluffy, but was covered in too much BBQ sauce and mayo, drowning out the other flavors somewhat.
The whole grilled squid was nice (and presentation was beautiful), as was the salmon with fish roe (although this dish was very salty). Finally, of course I adored the rice balls because rice balls are just the best ever.
All in all, I would be back to try other dishes although some items on the menu are clearly hits while others are misses. We were much too full for dessert and even took home leftovers!

Having been a fan of Ganso for a while, I was incredibly excited to see that they were opening up an izakaya spot a few blocks away (and closer to my apartment than Bar Chuko). Stopped by with two friends on a Friday night. I put in my name half an hour before and they said there wouldn’t be much of a wait. We came back and they sat us at the bar almost immediately.
Like Ganso, their kitchen is «open» but with a divider so you can’t hear the cooks yelling, or feel the heat inside, or smell the delicious smells. They have approximately twice as many kitchen staff as Ganso, and for good reason. The menu is so extensive that there needed to be people working at each station (not sure how sustainable that is though).
They had a pretty good beer selection (like Ganso). We went with an Other Half Sour Bikini which was pretty good, but very, very sour.
In terms of the food, the first thing you’ll notice is the prices. They may seem reasonable, but the portions aren’t that big, and once you realize how hungry you still are, it starts making a dent. With that in mind, here’s what we had (in order of preference):
–Surume Ika (whole squid)
–Tebasaki (Nagoya-​style chicken wings)
–Tatsuta Age (Japanese-​style boneless fried chicken)
–Kalbi (short rib)
–Okonomiyaki (pork belly pancake)
–Pork Shoulder
The squid was definitely the best thing on the menu. We could see them grilling multiple orders of it, and it took a while to come out, but it was worth the wait. Tender but not rubbery, with a nice char. A lot of different textures going on — the tentacles were crispy, as was the head portion.
Their chicken wings are better than Ganso’s, but come 4 to an order.
The boneless fried chicken and the short rib were both very small portions.
And the pork shoulder was salty beyond belief. Definitely would not recommend getting that. No real discernible texture either. A lot smoother than I would expect from a shoulder cut.
All in all, I had a good time. Come with a few people so you can sample a lot of dishes. It’s pricey for what you get, but it’s on par with what a decent meal costs in the area.

I like the space because it’s way roomier than ganso. I got here around 5pm on a Saturday and the place started to fill up closer to 6pm.
We ordered a sencha tea, the whole grilled squid, trout on a cedar plank, miso glazed chicken wings and mochi (black sesame, chocolate, green tea). Our bill came out to be $ 54 (including tax) and I barely felt satisfied (i refilled my bowl of tea 3 times). The food in general was good but was expensive for the little you get.
The chicken wings came out to be two drummettes and two wing pieces (equivalent to two whole chicken wings) for $ 10. I’m kind of amazed to be charged $ 5 for a chicken wing.
The trout was delicate but had bones. Albeit they are small soft bones, but it would have been nice if we were warned since it looked fileted. The yuzu sauce is on the side and a little goes a long way. It’s salty because it uses preserved yuzu, but i loved this sauce. It was a pretty thin piece of trout for $ 16.
The whole grilled squid was the highlight of the meal and had a nice char to it with a light soy based glaze. The side of sriracha kewpie mayo wasn’t needed either. It was tender and actually a full sized dish for $ 14.
My tea was ok but came out room temperature which is weird because it didn’t taste like it was stepped long enough to get to lukewarm. This was $ 3.
I didn’t ask how much the mochi was but I just ordered it because I wanted it. I assume this was a costly mistake since there’s a pretty big gap from everything else I ordered and the final bill. These are mochi ice creams. There’s only a ton layer of mochi for these and at varying stages of softness. The chocolate was hard as a rock and the mochi was not very fresh. The green tea and black sesame had slightly softer mochi. The ice creams were fine, but the black sesame needed more black sesame.
Overall, the food was good but not amazing. The price: portion ratio is completely off. I don’t think I’ll swing by again.

TL;DR: Nice try, Ganso Yaki. Just borderline okay food. Go to East Village for real yakitori.
Ganso Yaki is the spin-​off of their well-​established ramen shop just half-​mile away. On my way to a wine shop on Court Street, I stumbled upon this neat, new-​looking establishment. Its simple décor was easy on the eyes and quite comforting which attracted me to walk-​in. Their seats are all wooden like the benches in the parks. Their décor is set for the yakitori experience as if you’re barbecuing skewers at the park with friends. I happened to be one of their first customers on their very first day of business. I was immediately greeted by the hostesses at the door and got a seat at the bar. Sitting at the bar, I have a front-​row seat to see their kitchen staff in action as well as a showcase of all their American and Japanese beer that they are offering. YES!!! This makes it a decent hang out place with friends for beer and yakitori!
Tsukune, a minced chicken skewer cooked in «street-​style». At first bite, the flavor was bursting of spices and scallions. A quail egg came in a separate bowl. My server instructed me to use my chopsticks to scramble it and then pouring it on top of my skewer. The Yuzu fragrant chili oil and red chili powder are provided on the side. Yuzu fragrant chili oil was noticeably salty due to the preserving process but I actually did enjoy the oil on my skewer. Interesting way of eating and flavors are acceptable but I would not order this again.
Tsukune came with a delicious side salad. The side salad uses fresh chrysanthemum leaves, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and topped with roasted black sesame. My favorite part of the side salad is the crispy thin lotus root slices on top. It gives the salad a nice crunch every single bite. Loved it! The dressing was pretty good but the salad was slightly overdressed for my taste. Surprisingly, this side salad was my favorite dish overall.
Kitsune is a hot soba noodle dish with fried tofu in a dashi broth. I personally did not like this dish very much. The noodles were too overcooked and the soup really didn’t have much flavor. Unfortunately, it was a bit disappointing for it tasted quite bland but it smelled really good; for it was topped with fresh scallions and tiny yuzu skin for the aroma. But hey! At least I gave it a try!
The only desserts they are offering right now is mochi so far… Not too impressed with that.
Overall, I would suggest to just stick with yakitori items and skip the soba noodles for next time.