Shalom Japan

Guys it’s 2016, and according to
, there are 16 million people with food allergies in the US alone. This is a legitimate dissability. Please read ADA federal compliance code, your actions against my family are shameful and incomprehensible, offering a free drink will never do. The fact that your restaurant cannot or more purposely, will not, accomodate people with food dissabilities is a real shame, what does it take? If you read my reviews you’ll know I’ve dinned at some of the best Japanese restaurants in the city, yours should be no exception –except you, may be more concerned about liability than actually accommodating a dissabled customer. That is an embarrassment and a shame to your trade, I wish you lots of success and do not wish you to be treated the way you treated me and my family.
«No individual shall be discriminated against on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of any place of public accommodation by any person who owns, leases (or leases to), or operates a place of public accommodation.» 42 U.S.C. § 12 182.

This is some of the best food I’ve ever had. The combination of cuisines takes the best of both worlds and catapults them into a new stratosphere of deliciousness.
Absolutely recommend.
Quite and comfy outdoor seating.

Auugh, this was such an amazing meal from start to finish. We went here for our anniversary the other night and it was such a good choice.
The restaurant itself is small (cozy, not cramped), atmosphere is warm and intimate and unfussy. Service was spectacular, and they took care with my food allergy. The «Sweet and Sawa» (their version of a whiskey sour) was lovely.
We decided to go for the tasting menu, currently $ 75/​person, which includes 6 courses and a starter of a gorgeous little challah turban with raisin butter (I want that every day for breakfast). There was a sashimi trio, the highlight of which was the toro toast (smoked toro with masago over a flavored cream cheese on challah toast, with everything bagel spice on top). I wanted to have an entire meal of just that, to be honest. We had their take on a scotch egg, which was lovely, and an asparagus salad, a little steak dish with an eggplant medley. There was a fava bean egg custard which is the lightest custard I’ve ever put in my mouth, just dissolved on the tongue but packed full of savory flavor goodness. And somewhere in there was their take on a lox bowl, with smoked salmon, rice, and pickled vegetables. Dessert was an elderflower/​berry sorbet and a strawberry/​rhubarb shortcake with cardamom ice cream.
Everything was really special and unique, and you could see the dual influence on every plate. There are a few more things on the summer menu I’d love to try, a duck leg and some exciting sounding dumplings in soup, but I’m glad we did the tasting menu.
Still thinking about that toro toast.

Shalom Japan was very unique culinary experience. If you like falafel the Jew egg is excellent. The steak was a bit too fatty for my liking, but the ramen was EXCELLENT! My only complaint was that the servers were pretty inattentive. At one point my party was among the last in the restaurant and they still took a long time to serve/​check in on us.

We found this unusual mixed cuisine of Japanese and Jewish food and had to try it. The name itself is great.
For appetizers the two of us got Okonomiyaki which has Pastrami, Sauerkraut and Bonito on a latke. This was my favorite appetizer, which you should definitely try if you come here. Then we ordered the Jew egg which was a unique idea of covering a soft boiled egg in falafel. For the main course we got Monkfish hot pot and the lox bowl. The green sauce with the Monkfish was exceptional. The lox bowl was nothing special, I recommend trying something else. The menu is short and only those few things appealed to me. The food is pricey and served as small portions. But it is high quality and prepared with care and thought.

By far the most interesting and tasty meal in 2016. Jewish and Japanese? You wouldn’t think it would work but damn am I wrong! Everything we had were on point. My favorite has got to be the mazoball ramen. Yes, you heard right. How is it possible that flavors work so well together… They just do.

Very good food, not bad service. Very compact place. I tried first time a Matzah ball, it was OK.

Shalom Japan is the perfect mix of my favorite cuisine and my heritage. The menu changes based on the season and each dish has a unique twist that clearly has been given a lot of thought to. The staff was extremely pleasant, helpful, and accommodating to our needs. They know the menu very well and give great suggestions.
I was so intrigued by the menu that I decided to be bold. The first thing I ordered was a sparkling manishevitz drink, which for those of you that don’t know is the sweetest wine that has ever been made. Its usually not drinkable past the first glass, but this was amazing. We also ordered a gin, basil, lemon drink that was out of this world.
The plates are small, so keep in mind you’re going to want to order a few. But thats totally okay because each of them is equally as exciting and delicious. My party of two shared a sake challah, a lox bowl, and some soup like dish that is no longer on the menu.
The challah was a great opening dish and was similar to a bread bowl. It was sweet and had a cinnamon butter to dip it in. The lox bowl was filled with so many flavors, each of them contributing so much to the dish. There was pickled vegetables, quinoa, avocado, and some other water vegetables. I’m very sad that the soup I ate is no longer on the menu because it was my favorite dish of the night. It had blue crab, flava beans, and a custard which completely changed the texture.
This restaurant is a great place to get a higher end meal for a reasonable price. I will definitely be going back soon!

Super subjective rating of 3.5 stars*
To be completely blunt and honest, this place fell below my expectations. Maybe it was because I had hyped it up for myself in my head too much before, but my experience just didn’t really justify the price I paid for the meal.
I didn’t really check the Unilocal page before I started ordering because I knew exactly what I wanted: matzoh ball ramen with foie gras dumplings! Our table also ordered the challah bread without knowing that that was the best part of our meal!
When I pictured the matzoh ball soup with ramen, I pictured a somewhat clear chicken broth, with the matzoh ball and firm noodles. The soup I got was a little bit on the heavier side for my taste and the matzoh ball could have been fluffier, if that makes any sense. So if you are coming here expecting to get some clear, light chicken soup, lower your expectations! Additionally, the foie gras dumpling tasted like normal pork dumpling… I’m not sure if they switched up the menu or if it was supposed to be just a hint of foie gras but what I had was definitely not a foie gras dumpling.
The challah however, was a completely different story! We didn’t noticed that the menu explicitly said RAISIN butter, and when the bread was first served, we suspected that it was horseradish. Turns out it was the best mix of salty and sweet ever! I loved every bite of that bread and although the size was on the smaller end for the price ($ 4), every bite was worth it!
Our waitress was super attentive and made sure we were taken care of.
So on the scale for service and atmosphere, it was a solid 4 — 5. I’m just taking it down a notch because I really just thought the matzoh ball ramen would blow my mind and it didnt…

The events depicted in this review took place in Brooklyn in 2016. At the request of the people involved, the personalities and circumstances have been changed. Out of respect for the food, the rest has been told exactly as it tasted.*
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We got into a huge fight a few years ago and weren’t on speaking terms. It was over something pretty minor, but we tended to be stubborn assholes. One more than the other. I won’t say which.
By chance, our lives intersected last week. For whatever reason – the unusually warm March day, the sheer bliss I had felt after a particularly good work week, the bliss he felt after a recent, great job offer – we ran into each other outside of a deli. We smiled. Let’s catch up, we said. Alright, we agreed.
We settled on making reservations at Shalom Japan since it was equidistant from our apartments. Isn’t it funny that it combines Jewish cuisine with Japanese cuisine… and we’re Jewish and Japanese, he asked. He had always been one to draw comparisons.
At the time of our weeknight reservation, only a handful of patrons were there, though it filled up pretty quickly soon after. I hoped that our meal would proceed smoothly with few hiccups. He fiddled with his sleeve. He was nervous. We looked at the menu and were surprisingly able to decide on our dishes quickly and with no overlap.
The grilled eggplant with hatcho-​miso and pickled cauliflower came first. Long thin layers of eggplant lined the bottom of the dish and they were doused with salty, sweet miso. The Za’atar crumbs on top plus the pickled, crunchy bites of cauliflower were necessary to add some texture; the dish was a great starter. We shared the dish, though I left the larger eggplant pieces for him. What’s new with you, he asked.
Next came four tuna belly croquettes. The tuna belly was a bit dry, but very flavorful, and each croquette was generously sized. I didn’t care much for the ocean of Kewpie mayonnaise at the bottom, but he had somehow remembered my distaste for mayonnaise, and scraped most of it off with his fork. Things have been going well, I shared.
Our server then dropped off a special appetizer of the night: a squid salad with toasted walnut dressing. I was surprised by how fresh the squid was, and how a walnut dressing could complement seafood so well. Here, he said. He playfully waved a curly tentacle towards my side of the plate. I chuckled.
My sesame temomi ramen arrived. I couldn’t resist the thought of fresh ‘temomi’ (hand massaged) ramen, with its thick and uneven texture being scooped up, swirled around, and coated in a viscous sesame broth. It was even better than I had hoped. The shishito peppers, shiso, kohlrabi, and pork char siu were all lovely toppings, but if I’m honest, all I really needed was the broth and those noodles. It was spicy, it was nutty, it was savory, it was hot, and it was filling. He went on and on about a funny dentist story, but I was having too much of a moment with my ramen. I hope he didn’t notice.
His beef duo with strip steak and braised shortrib dish was also delicious, but I felt I had the better entrée. Not that it was a competition or anything. That said, he did ask for a second spoonful of my broth so… I definitely won that one.
Finally, we had the yuzu and meyer lemon gelato, a super tart palate cleanser. He had doubts about the Japanese sweet potato cheesecake with black sesame crust I had happily ordered, but in the middle of some muttering he was doing, he took a bite of it. Never a fan of black sesame, he ended up eating 80% of it. Tastes can change, after all. I teased him.
After our meal, we got up and gave each other a genuine hug. We smiled when we both started to talk. I have to go this way, I managed to blurt out. He pointed in the other direction. We gave small waves that stopped mid-​air. I turned and walked towards the subway, while he walked in the other direction.
We’ve already made plans to eat together again.
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Likelihood of another visit:
Very likely. You know a place is good when you replay how you devoured a dish over and over in your mind. Temomi ramen, you were one of the best ramen bowls I’ve eaten in a long time. I’ll be back.
*Have you seen Fargo? The movie and the tv series?

I walked into the restaurant for brunch at 12pm and there was not a soul inside except for the FOH staff. My heart sank a little because for a foodie, that’s always a bad sign. I made reservations here after a friend was raving about it, but an empty restaurant on a Saturday afternoon during prime brunching hours empty is concerning… but by the time we left, the place was full.
The space itself is minimal, clean, well lit, and with outdoor seating as well.
I wasn’t overly familiar with Japanese & Jewish fusion food, I’ve had something similar before a few years back and that was Kutsher’s in TriBeCa which has since closed.
The brunch menu is rather limited which is appreciated, it all fits nicely onto the back of a trim card. I ordered the okonomiyaki which is a Japanese savoury pancake with pastrami, sauerkraut and a fried egg for $ 15. It was phenomenal, absolutely packed with flavor and each bite was heavenly with a heavy helping of delicious bonito flakes on top (shaved smoked skipjack tuna).
My friend ordered the omurice which is pastrami fried rice wrapped in an egg omelette with rustic fries for $ 14. This is similar to Llama Inn’s omelette and just as good. The fries were perfectly crispy and the presentation on both dishes were superb.
I left without ordering dessert because my friend had been battling a stomach issue so eating here already was a struggle for him to deal with so much flavor and food after being on a diet of rice crackers for the last 24 hours, but I will be back because up on the board that listed their dinner menu I was reading interesting dishes I must try like wagyu tongue, tuna belly croquettes, cod cheek congee, etc.
I wish I had discovered this place sooner, and glad it’s off the beaten track a bit so I’m not warring for a table. I’m adding this place into my go-​to brunch rotation that serves solid and interesting food (eggs benedict need to go away).

Pure awesome !
Wow !
Great tuna
Great steak
Great drinks
Eggplant was good too
Didn’t try the matzah ball ramen but it looked stellar
It’s a gem!

It was okay. Nice atmosphere and staff but the food doesn’t warrant the price. Four pieces of eggplant should never be $ 17 dollars, especially when everything on the menu is a «small plate» so need to order a lot.
On the flipside I went with a pregnant friend who couldn’t eat raw fish and I hear that is what they do best…

I can’t rave more about Shalom Japan. In addition to some really fantastic and creative food, the owners Aaron and Sawako are some of the kindest, most responsive people I’ve ever met.
We are looking for a place to host our rehearsal dinner and wanted a fun, quirky place with really excellent food. Given that my fiancé and I are living every stereotype on the planet, we thought it’d be fun to pick a restaurant that was somewhat representative of his Jewish and my Asian backgrounds (shockingly, we do not live on the UWS so at least we have that going for us in terms of originality).
I initially reached out to Aaron about hosting our private event there and he was super on the ball — kind enough to email me to set up a time to speak and discuss our options. He was incredibly flexible on what they’d be able to provide in terms of timing, space, food and drink. When I mentioned we’d like to try the food before we committed, he managed to get us a reservation on 7:30 on the upcoming Saturday night at the bar.
When we showed up, things went without a hitch and we got to meet both Aaron and Sawako, who are maybe the loveliest people I have ever met. They gave us great suggestions and were kind enough to send out a plate of their tuna tataki, which is their most popular dish and a dessert, both of which were delicious. The black tahini sauce on the tuna tataki is great and I licked the plate when my fiancé went to the bathroom.
We also got the tuna croquettes, the challah, the wagyu beef tongue and the okonomiyaki to start. Everything was excellent; the okonomiyaki particularly stood out as one of our favorite dishes of the night. Then we shared one of the hot pot specials — wagyu beef and oysters; I’m still dreaming about those meltingly tender fat streaked pieces of beef a week later.
The drinks were also great — the bartender made me an off the menu Manischewitz margarita, where he did the impossible and made Manischewitz fun to drink.
Can’t say enough nice things about the restaurant — food, drink, service, hospitality, etc.
GO HERE!

I had wanted to check this place out for a while and finally had the chance last week when I was in Brooklyn.
I really liked their falafel Jew egg and matzoh ball soup.
My only criticism would be the small portions/​comfort food feel don’t correlate well with the high prices. I guess you can try to justify it as a unique fusion experience rather than a casual meal?
Either way, I’d recommend this place for someone looking for something different.

Everything here is pretty good but a touch too expensive and a touch too salty.
We started with the okonomiyaki and it’s just as tasty as you’d hope it would be. The pastrami and sauerkraut blend beautifully with the bonito flakes and pancake. We also had the duck wings, three pieces for $ 16? Definitely not worth it. They were sticky and tasty but way overpriced.
For our entrees we shared the matzoh ball ramen and shortrib congee.
The ramen came with one giant standard matzoh ball, a foie gras dumpling, really crunchy croutons, some pork, some veggies, and ramen noodles. The stock was really rich and tasty just way too salty. This dish was the winner for me and my boyfriend. It was hearty and well worth the $ 17 price tag.
The short rib congee on the other hand fell flat for me. The black truffle in it drove the price up to $ 25, and it’s served in a shallow bowl. It’s incredibly rich and hard to eat more than a large spoonful. I’m not sure if they added cheese to it but the meat and the rice both had all of this salty umami flavor to it that was overwhelming.
We were also sat in their heated patio and the service was pretty good in the beginning. However After we finished our entrees we awkwardly sat waiting for our server to clear our table and drop off our check.

A few friends took me out this past weekend for a belated birthday dinner. Shalom Japan I had heard ‘interesting’ and some good things about before. So it came as a pleasant surprise that they picked this place. It’s a mash-​up of a happy couple’s culinary vision of marrying together Japanese and Jewish cultures together in harmony with New American Cuisine. I must say this style of rich and decadent food harkens to me and they have done a great job with the restaurant. Though, there is a pretty decent wait time if you just arrive without a reservation (around 15 – 20 minutes for us).
After mulling over the menu, viewing peoples’ delicious plates, and trying to figure out the cocktail menu we were finally seated at the bar area. There are a lot of interesting sounding drinks. One of which in particular is called «The Perfect Stranger». Sidenote: I LOVED the Balki show!!! We were all tempted and I almost regret it but I’ve had a pretty horrible experience with Aquavit. It’s typically used as a Scandinavian digestive and I’ve never been able to find anything that mixes well with the potent and insanely intense caraway flavor. It’s worse to me than Jaegger. There I said it. Instead, I went with The Sweet and Sawa: Mizunomai Shochu, Old Grand-​Dad Bourbon, Yuzu, Honey, and Egg Whites. I saw Bourbon and egg whites, was intrigued and sold. It was sweet, tangy, and delicately creamy in a very complex and odd way. It also came with their logo stamped inside of the egg white froth: A Japanese flag flanked with the Star of David. Pretty! My friends had a trio flight of Shochu: one made with rice, sweet potato, and buckwheat. They were all decent tasting but not my favorite. My buddy Anton insists that he will stick to his vodka. His girlfriend had the Bae Arthur and I almost regret not ordering this because it has all of my favorite things: Mint Infused GIN, Basil Honey, and Lemon. But I wanted to branch out of my comfort zone. This tasted truly delicious and hello, its in homage to a Golden Girl.
The serving of the meals was presented in a staggered format, which we all really appreciated and made for a more enjoyable dining experience. Every dish was beautiful and prepared with such finesse and detail. We started off with the Sake Kasu Challah Bread with Raisin Butter. This is a must. It’s only $ 3 and the cheapest thing on the menu but one of the tastiest. The warm challah bread is so delicate and flavorful and the sweet butter is heaven.
Teriyaki Duck Wings ($ 15) — Its three pieces of duck and may seem like a tiny amount but boy was it delicious. The sesame teriyaki sauce was tangy and the rich fatty meat had a crispy exterior. They also provide wet naps for this one.
Okonomiyaki with Pastrami, Sauerkraut, and Bonito Flakes ($ 14) — I’ve had Okonomiyaki before. Otafuku on St. Marks was like my go to for after drinks noms at one point in life. The pancake was better here. It was crispier and tended to with more care. Liberal amounts of bonito and mayonnaise (which my friend hated) were drizzled on top. The thing this dish lacks in unfortunately and that ultimately makes it fail is that there was hardly any Pastrami on top! That was the star of the show! It was delicious but no pastrami makes a sad pancake.
Lox Bowl ($ 23): The price is steep because let’s face it, fresh lox is expensive. It comes with sticky rice, cucumber, Japanese pickle, avocado, and Ikura. There were also dapples of mayo on this as well with what I want to say was bits of seaweed. It was all good though! I really liked the bite of the Japanese cucumbers paired with the salmon and the creamy avocado and rice with mayo. It all blended well together. My friend that hates mayonnaise though again was not partial to this dish so I continued to eat his share.
Matzoh Ball Ramen ($ 18) — This sucker comes with a singular large Matzoh Ball and a singular large Foie Gras Dumpling! That I only had a third of because three people splitting a ramen dish is tough luck. I don’t think my section of dumpling got any filling. Frowny face. But the broth was one of the best ramens I’ve ever tasted in my life. The noodles were amazing and everything had a creamy like texture and then all of sudden WHAM you taste little crunchy delicious things in your soup and WHAM there’s that MATZOH ball again! YEAH! I would come back to eat this ramen in a heart beat. This was the definite star of the show for me and I don’t even like ramen that much!
Finally, rounded out the night with a piece of their chocolate banana challah bread pudding. I only had one or two bites. The sauce it was swimming in was so freaking GOOD. It was like chocolate and butterscotch and caramel and I would drink a bowl of it. But the bottom of the challah was a little bit burnt and had a funky after-​taste.
Don’t forget to check out the bathrooms before you leave. The toilets are special. The entire dining experience was pleasant. Two thumbs up!

Here’s me, being ecstatic, trying to play it cool. Please excuse any outbursts of hysteria.
Traditional-​cuisine restaurants solomnly figure things out this thoroughly, let alone some Japanese-​Jewish twist-​opus in the Burg. Stunning in concept, execution, and follow through.
Aesthetic /​vibes:
Calm, humble, bright, clean, fresh. Love the logo, love the backstory. Startlingly, Shalom Japan feels entirely authentic and not at all gimmicky. + Excellent service.
Cocktails:
Sweet and Sawa ~ One of them beautiful egg-​white cocktails. Frothy yet icy, where sweetness met musk, ocean met sky. Presentation, killer (see attached).
L’Chiam Loca ~ Delicate AF, you can actually taste the fragility. Big ups for creativity too.
Rue Chartres ~ Androgyny, the drink. Pungent and stern, sweet and sensual. Far less cutesy than the ingredients might have you think.
Perfect Stranger ~ Caustic, astringent, zesty, down the hatch. A few of my co-​folks weren’t into this, cringing from its bite and intensity, but I liked it, although it was less notable than the aforementioned others.
The Last Herb ~ Simple and refreshing, slightly bland for my taste, though plenty on point.
Foods:
Steak Tartar ~ Worth it. Get it if you have the slightest inclination.
Tuna Tataki ~ Outrageous presentation, outrageously delicious (attached).
Okonomiyaki ~ HOLY JESUS. If you order anything, order this (attached).
Matzoh Ball Ramen with Foie Gras Dumpling ~ Being exciting for this, it left something to be desired. The Foie Gras dumpling could’ve been any dumpling, and the matzoh balls were dry and bready. The flavors weren’t stand out.
What they do well, they do exquisitely, and what was less notable, is still totally up to snuff. I have high expectations, and for the overwhelming majority Shalom Japan absolutely blew them out of the water.

Ordered: Bread, Duck wings, Lox bowl, Duck, and Pastrami potato pancake
Pros– The teriyaki glaze on the wings was full of flavor and had a slight kick. The bread was clearly made from scratch and melted in your mouth. Everything used very fresh ingredients.
Cons– While the dishes were unusual, I didn’t feel like some of the portions merited their prices. The small challah was $ 3. For my main dish I ordered the potato pancake pastrami dish which was overwhelmed by the excess of ingredient components. The Russian dressing and fish flake strips were unnecessary.

Shalom Japan is a cool concept and a fun restaurant. We loved the Jewish Asian fusion theme. The menu is awesome and we really adores the cocktails (especially the wayfarer). The bartender and servers were very nice.
The sake challah was good but it’s the raisin butter that made this dish memorable. Our favorite dish of the night was the scallops over truffle congee. This was a savory porridge and we scooped up every bite.
We had two entrees: the matzah ball ramen (delicious, especially the foie gras dumpling) and the monkfish hot pot. Monkfish is an interesting fish that tastes similar to lobster in a way. The soup was rich and hearty with big pieces of fish and a thick slice of the delicacy — monkfish liver. I’ve always wanted to try this and was not disappointed!
Also don’t miss the chocolate-​banana challah bread pudding. We started with challah and ended with challah and couldn’t have been happier about it!