K2 New Haven

I’ve never eaten in here (and wouldn’t, since this is the ugliest Chinese restaurant I’ve ever seen in my life and I’m Chinese so that’s like 200+) but have ordered takeout several times. The food was good but it’s maddening that the front desk always tells you ‘your order will be ready in 15 minutes’ and every single time it takes at least 50 minutes. If you get there early you just have to wait. Why can’t they just give accurate estimates when they know they’re busy?!
I would order from here more often if the service improved. Everything I’ve ordered is good, fresh authentic, and inexpensive. The black pepper beef was particularly good and I also like the Singapore noodle. K2, your chefs know what they’re doing, now what about the front desk?

OMG, this place is fantastic! I order for delivery due to my busy schedule and I can say I am in love with Thor food.
The people are courteous and prompt and always deliver the correct and complete order.
I recommend this place to anyone who loves oriental fusion dishes.

Pretty let down by this place. I ordered a sushi lunch combo which comes with a California roll and 6 individual pieces of sushi. I was expecting a couple different types of roll but instead they just slopped 6 different pieces of sashimi on rice balls and called it a day. They also told me 15 minutes and it took 40 .for takeout. Sad… I wanted to like this place because the inside is so gorgeous.

Tried this since now they have a full bar. Good wine selection and Sapporo beer on tap. For apps had the Vietnamese spring rolls and the Dim Sum Sampler. Sauces with each excellent. The dumpling dough very delicate and delicious. Shu Mai had large piece of shrimp wrapped with filling and was very good.
Entrees– I had the beef Daging Kecap Manis. It said it had a soy glaze. The plate came with what looked like a black sauce covering pieces of thin beef, peppers, and pea pods. The sauce was exquisite. It has a soy sauce base with a sweetness to it. Beef very tender and vegetables perfectly cooked. Loved it.
Friend had Chicken Sambal Belacan which was also delicious and spicy. The spice level was not overwhelming and added to the dish.
Décor same as the previous restaurant located there. Staff very quick to take orders, had to send them away 3 times so we could look at the extensive menu. Was a bit chilly, could have turned the temp up a bit for January.
Definitely plan to go back. Many apps yet to try!
Ginny n Linda D

It’s not bad. Definitely not bad. Have I had better? Sure. Have I had worse? Most assuredly.
The décor is a little chintzy, but also kind of endearing — it reminded me of some of the «fancy» places when I lived in China. It’s got some nice ceiling art, and I did like the sheer curtains separating your table from the next.
We started off with a scallion pancake, and while I maintain that Korean scallion pancakes are 100% the best, these were pretty good. The dipping sauce was thick, rather than a liquid, but it still had more or less the same flavor. My (vegetarian) friend’s pad thai looked good, and they were accommodating to his dietary requests. My ma po tofu was interesting — very spicy and with unorthodox veggies. But! Cilantro haters/​allergies beware — it came out garnished with it. They remade it in the back, but our server also cautioned us to the fact that most dishes there come garnished with, or cooked with cilantro/​coriander.
There’s a vast menu, and I’d like to try some of the other dishes, but for now, I’ll say it’s a good place to try some creative fusion.

FOOD IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! Best sushi in New Haven!!! Love the ambience and decorations… and everything I have ever tried was on point! You have to get the Crispy Cucumber and Murtabak for appetizer.
The Spicy Tuna & Avocado salad was hands down the best dish I’ve ever had!!! Angel roll was amazing… I could go on forever … Don’t pass this place up!!!

I usually don’t give reviews, but this is so bad that I have to warn the others.
Few rules to follow for minimizing discomfort:
Rule 1: don’t come here.
Rule 2: if indeed come here, don’t order boba tea.
The tapioca is so saggy like they’ve been kept under water for the restaurant’s 4-​month operation time.
Rule 3: order SAFE food like «…fried rice», don’t challenge the cook.
But seriously, there’s so many good places to go around here. There’s a place around the corner called New Haven Taste of China — not posting ads, but it’s awesome.

I have to imagine the thought process behind opening K2 at its current location went something like this:
«I want to open up a Pan Asian/​dim sum/​sushi/​Chinese/​Japanese restaurant, but I want it to look exactly like Kudeta. If only there was a place for me.»
«You’re in luck, K2 Owner! We have exactly the place! And you won’t have to change a thing! Paper chandeliers as far as the eye can see! What’s that? You want a wall made exclusively of neon lit water? Well by golly, are you in luck!»
I mean, sure, the last places in this spot failed, but maybe this time it’ll be different.
Legends tell the tale of an old restauranter who dared to open an Asian Fusion joint under the Cursed Garage (you can tell it’s cursed just by walking around it, there’s urine everywhere). He was a brave, but stupid man. Or woman. Either way, really.
Sure, just open a restaurant under a concrete post-​modern garage structure where nobody can ever find street parking. We’ll jam the thing full of neon lights and long, flowing drapes. What could go wrong?
Everything.
They say he/​she still haunts the restaurant, slowing down service, removing (clearly necessary) knives from your dinner sets, and even adding superfluous pages to the menu. What, another full page of sushi?!
What is this, Gravity’s Rainbow? Come on, nobody can read Thomas Pynchon.
You’ll want to arrive early and bring your reading glasses, cause this menu is a doozy. Waves after waves of dishes and brief explanations (a relief), leaving you little time to breathe, never mind order a surprisingly affordable Road 2 Ruin (6 bucks!).
The menu is as endless as it is schizophrenic.
They have traditional Southeastern Chinese items. They have Malaysian recipes. They have sushi. They have Dim Sum. They pretty much covered the entire Asian continent.
It’s as if the selection process went like this:
«Hmmm. Not sure if we should add this item.»
«Is it served anywhere on the entire Asian continent?»
«Well, er, yeah, but-​«
“PUT IT ON THERE.»
(Best read in the voice of Scorpion from Mortal Kombat.)
But is it any good?
Yeah, it’s… pretty… pretty… good.
I got the Chicken Sambal Belacan, while my compatriots ordered vegetarian dishes because they’re communists. And also vegetarians. They also got some sweet potato sushi which is just not sushi at all but I’m not going to murder anybody over it. And for not-​sushi, it was quite savory and flavorful.
The food also came out unbelievably quickly. Not sure if they just knew what I was going to order or have a time machine in the kitchen. If it’s anything like the décor, Kudeta probably just left one behind.
The sambal belacan was an interesting dish but a bit bland. Also, they didn’t give me a knife, which seemed somewhat unfair given the rather large pieces of chicken and peppers in it. I’m okay with a set of chopsticks, but I haven’t figured out how to cut with them. Yet.
Of course, when the waiter asked if everything was fine, I automatically regurgitated my «yes, thanks» rather than tell her about gaping hole in my soul where a knife should be.
We all have our regrets.
Still, I did eventually flag her down and get my knife, and then managed to cut my dinner into smaller pieces, which I then enjoyed.
It’s a bit expensive, though the portion sizes are plentiful. The dish had a bit of a kick to it, but it won’t make your sweat. I enjoyed the flavor profile (is that a thing?) but ultimately came away feeling that there was something a bit missing.
It just didn’t blow me away, which is what I’m paying NEARLY TWENTY DOLLARS FOR.
Okay, it was pretty good. But in a city full of very good restaurants, it will have to do a bit better than that.
Will it survive?
Based on the crowd in there when we went in? No. The place is enormous and was probably operating at about 25% capacity. I don’t see how any restaurant is really going to fill the space.
The location is pretty good but parking can be a pain unless you want to park in a garage like a filthy out-​of-​towner. Maybe they need to offer free parking? Maybe they do – but I didn’t see a sign. But I’m not really about that sign-​reading life.
Either way, it’s hard to see K2 really breaking the mold, though I liked everybody I met who worked there, and the service was pretty good.
Except when we got the checks and there was a minor mix-​up involving a lack of credit card and/​or proper receipts, but we’ll just blame the ol’ Kudeta Ghost for that one. Stupid jerk ghosts.
Reprinted from

New place, friendly staff. Soup was good. Maki rolls and other sushi was very tasty. Crazy noodles with beef was okay. I hope to see this place fill up with New Haveners giving it a fresh look. I’d go again. They pay for parking.

Hello new kid on the block! This review should actually have come weeks ago and reflects both a series of weekday lunch catering events they did for my group and their weekend regular lunch/​dim sum menu.
The manager of K2 was very easy to work with and helped me plan two weekday lunch events at K2 with set menus. She worked with me to create a set family-​style menu based on our budget and food preferences (I brought a group of 20 Chinese delegates, so we preferred dishes that are more authentic). Extremely accommodating and very receptive to our needs. If this review were solely based off of these reservations, I would give them 5 stars because every single person was raving about the food and said it was the best restaurant we had picked for the entire week. I would definitely recommend using them for any large groups — make a reservation and determine a set menu ahead of time! Given their large venue, they’re perfect for large groups.
However, due to my weekend lunch experience, I cannot give this place 5 stars. While we were always seated immediately, we had to wait almost 30 minutes for our food. I believe they were understaffed on the floor and in the kitchen.
While their menu is very extensive. I think they may be trying to do too much (what with the dim sum, the Chinese, the sushi, etc.), and it’s being reflected in the quality of their food. My friend ordered a curry and it was an embarrassing rendition. It may be better for them to just focus on fewer things that they really excel at.
On to what I’ve personally ordered here aka just the dim sum: Their scallion pancakes were A+ and definitely steal the show. I would 100% recommend them! I’ve also tried the turnip cakes, fried eggplant, pork dumplings, and pork and thousand egg porridge. The fried eggplant was done well and I’d recommend it. The turnip cake was good, but nothing special. I didn’t enjoy the pork dumplings and actually prefer the frozen kind from the store (although the ones from K2 tasted like frozen dumplings from the store too…). Pork and thousand egg porridge was fantastic and homey like always — I’d recommend this on a cold day or if you’re recovering from a cold/​hangover.
Lunch experience: ²⁄₅
Dim sum food: ⁴⁄₅
Reservation/​lunch catering experience: ⁵⁄₅
While I’m very excited about this place and it appears that they CAN make good food. However, there are some definite kinks in the operations of the place, including wait time for food and too much on their menus.

Food was very good. I recommend the crispy, spicy cucumber, martabuk and Malaysian tofu vegetarian entrée.(honk yung or something like that). Service was a bit slow, but friendly.

I was dined here last week, I ordered some dimsum but the taste like frozen food, not fresh at all, it took forever to get my bill, service very slow, for dimsum option it will be better for me to go Great Wall restaurant instead. i may not return again.

We discovered this place one September evening after watching an independent movie across the street at Criterion. I do remember it being a former Japanese place Kudeta. We were delighted to find out the new management K2 still serves Japanese cuisine but even better, they serve all kinds of asian cuisine! Service was prompt & friendly. They just opened, so while awaiting their liquor license, we got our wine complimentary. They validate parking too for the city garage above. It’s a perfect location for dinner & movie or if you have a craving for asian cuisine but don’t know which one. lol :)

I stopped in to try something from here they are very nice, very clean. This used to be Kudeta at one point, I received the same polite treatment I did when I We nt it just to get a menu. I tried the Mango and Avocado Vegetable Roll as well as the Cucumber and Avocado Vegetable Roll. I will be back again for the Dim Sum

Great place to go for an excellent meal. It has this warm welcoming feeling. This is my 3^rd time here, and as usual my food was AMAZING. As for the wait staff, everyone was pleasant and from the hostess to the bus woman, and everyone in between. My server Prima, was the best server I’ve ever had. Her attention to detail is second to no one.
I couldn’t believe the one star they were give. It’s a five all day long in my book. That must be a made up review.

Finally, New Haven has the first class Asian restaurant! K2 is the one! This place makes others like economy class. The beautiful décor and spacious dinning room, separate Sushi area both counter and tables. The master chef creates finest dishes from the authentic Asian regions. The Chinese/​Asian dishes are all authentic, and do not expect the ordinary sweet and sour stuffs. Sushi is fresh and the quality of the sea food is the première grade.
So, far I have tried Harry’s speciality Rendang Beef, outstanding, and the best! The chicken wings are addictive, the oyster Orh Luak, and even the normally ordinary Wonton soup is the 1^st class. I have tried more dishes on my second visit like Fish soup, Cantonese Pan fried noodle, all great! This is just a tip of iceberg, there are so many dishes familiar and unfamiliar, and going through the menu itself would be a pleasant adventure into the finest delicacies.
The atmosphere of the interior is spacious and stimulatingly «delicious,» and it promote the calm dinning experience. Oh, yes, the great service, too.
Judging from many Chinese clienteles there proves it is authentic, and K2 will be here to stay as the highest mountain in the New Haven dining scene. Highly recommended. Bravo to the owners, May and Harry!

Coworkers mentioned this place last week, so I decided to stop in over the weekend…
Our server was a tall woman who made every attempt to provide us with a solid visit, but the kitchen simply did NOT deliver. Advice to the owners– frozen appetizers may have worked in the kudeta days, but New Havens dining scene has changed and you will not survive if that is the game you want to bring to the table. You are too new to be making the kinds of mistakes that you are.
Food was (way) greasy, had the texture of something frozen, and the sushi seemed very dry and fishy. My wife refused to eat it. The wine that we had seemed as though it had been open for at least a week. May I advise in purchasing a simple wine storage system.
Although it wasnt expensive, we ended leaving hungry from the amount of food we refused to eat, and ended up at 116 Crown (just down the road) which always satisfies. Thank you, 116.
BTW, If you are interested to know who the owners are and (another reason) why they won’t get my business again, google ‘kudeta new haven’ and read the article about the irresponsible teen-​party hosting owners who have now returned to temple street. best of luck. :/​
–Ger

This is a review for the dim sum on a weekend
Food: The ordering system is paper based instead of the carts so the food is actually pretty clean tasting and not that oily. They don’t have the typical chili paste but their chili oil is really good. Only thing i would mention is that they are missing a few classics like ha cheong/​cheong fun.
Service: My server was Prima and she was great. I had a question about some of the items because they were called things I wasn’t familiar with and she helped out perfectly. I also noticed she explained what the dishes were to other people that weren’t experienced with dim sum. Honesty I never expected this level of service for a dim sum place.
My only critique is that Prima seemed to be handling most/​all the tables at once. Perhaps this is because they are still new and don’t want to commit to more staff but it would probably help down the line when they get busier.
Overall: I’m coming back here for sure. My wallet is going to take a hit but this definitely satisfies the dim sum cravings I have. I hope the food and service stays at this level.

Wow! A quality sushi place that delivers for free! And finally a place that also serves apparently great Chinese and other Asian food that my husband might eat! I will definitely be a repeat customer. It was so easy to order and arrived on time. The staff seems friendly and happy to serve great food. Thank you, K2!

Wow, this is definitely now the best Chinese place in New Haven. The food is very authentic, and made with quality ingredients. The sushi was great as well. I will for sure be back. Give it a try, you won’t be disappointed.