Azasu

Real, authentic casual Japanese. Very much feels like your local neighborhood watering hole you might find in Japan; great for a few friends to get together and have a no-​nonsense meal together. They also have nabe.
A gem!

In Japan, winter = nabe (hot pot)!
Their management took a overhaul of this place by bringing a new chef with a lot of experience from Japan, new staff, and new menu. Now their features are «nabe» (hot pot) with sumo matches on the screen (sumo wrestlers are associated with nabe in Japan).
Their food is completely on another level. Aburi shime saba is lightly broiled at the table, fried chicken was super juicy, and chanko nabe (miso) was fantastic. There’s a lot the staff does for you at the table, so you’re well taken care of. When you think you’re done with nabe, they’ll make ‘zosui’ (japanese porridge) for you to really finish.
The sake cup selection is great. They also have ‘chu-​hai’ (mixed drink with shochu).
Dishes are on the larger side and good for groups. It should be a group of 3 or more to share and enjoy variety of dishes. It’s a fun place even for us Japanese :-)

everything here is authentic. its just like walking into a tokyo izakaya, minus the salary man cigarette smoke. the chanko nabe is delicious and filling (we had the beef tripe). we basically ordered the whole menu and everything was really really good. definitely get the mackerel. sake and booze were sensibly priced. the wait staff was super attentive and sweet. i absolutely love this place and will find excuses to go back.

My Japanese friends took me to this restaurant a few months ago, and since then I have been going there regularly. Of course the food is amazing: Chankonabe hot pot (ちゃんこ鍋) is a hot pot usually served to sumo wrestler. The appetizers are authentic and delicious. The staff are friendly, and they graciously allow me to practice my Japanese with them. This place has more Japanese diners than most other Japanese restaurants I have visited in NYC, and I really felt I was back in Tokyo.

I’m sad they changed the menu and format from Izakaya style to chanko nabe, because the food was so awesome before, but the food is still excellent! Great place to settle in and eat and drink and eat and drink and eat and drink…

Very pleasantly surprised by this spot. Their raw shimesaba dish is excellent – the best of its kind I’ve had in the US. Torched at your table and dressed in a sh*t ton of negi and ginger, the way I like it!
Great service as well.

It’s almost impossible to believe that Azasu is from the same ownership team (and the same chef) as the impeccable, refined, romantic, amazing experience that is Yopparai just around the corner. While Yopparai is a trip to the best Japan has to offer in an intimate setting, Azasu goes in the completely opposite direction and seems to ask the question, «What if the izakaya originated in the Lower East Side?»
Situated across the street from the old wd~50 space (RIP), Azasu (pronounced — «ah-​zahs» — dropping the «u») is full of high counters and metal chairs, feeling more like a pizza place or diner than a Japanese bar. Of course, there are myriad décor touches that scream Japan, but for the most part the space is uniquely NYC rather than authentically foreign. The long tables make casual group dinners a cinch and if you’re looking for something more intimate, you can sit in the front window at one of the two-​tops that are separated from the high-​tops by privacy screens. The tiniest of bars in the back holds a «beer glass freezing machine» and is complimented by an elevated wall-​mounted «cup sake» fridge. It’s a nice display and speaks to the fundamental mission of Azasu. Cheap, fun drinks with Japanese flair.
I doubt there’s anywhere else in NYC that serves frozen beer (not technically frozen, but ice cold) or frozen shochu (not technically frozen, but ice cold) or frozen shochu cocktails (technically frozen). Nor is there anywhere else with such an extensive cup sake selection. Cup sake runs completely opposite the deep and amazingly curated sake selection at sister restaurant Yopparai, but provides a fun experience and the keepsake glass cups are great souvenirs.
Digging deeper into their drinks list, you can enjoy Hoppy, a traditional post-​war nostalgia drink meant to be enjoyed with bottom shelf shochu, but that goes amazingly well with the black sugar shochu, Jougo, that they have on the menu. That combination is not on the menu, but I bet if you ask nicely they’ll serve it to your preferred specification. I recommend a 2 ounce pour of the black sugar shochu with Hoppy Black. The resulting sweetness reminds me distinctly of black sugar candy from Asia. Delicious stuff. All served in a frozen mug.
Of course, Azasu, being an izakaya, also has an extensive food menu. The menu is unapologetically fattening and fried and full of rich flavors. While Yopparai is a study in delicate flavors and textures, Azasu is a full frontal assault on your taste buds with everything from pork cutlet sandwiches to the unbelievably yummy cheeseburger spring rolls. Go hungry and be ready to feel stuffed. The food is a great amalgamation of American and Japanese comfort foods all smashed together with fun drinks and tables meant for a party.
Just can’t get past the fact that Yopparai is run by the same chef!
Kampai!

This is one of those sake bars where you can just relax and hang out in. The staff is nice and laid back and there are a ton of fried goodies and small plates to choose from as you sample their big selection of one cup sakes. The sakes bottles are also decorated quite nicely with cherry blossoms or animals one even has a cute panda on it and they even serve frozen soju which they keep in a slushy machine turning in the back. If you do not drink they also have calpico and ramune.
I came here because my hubby loves sake and we arrived in the middle of the afternoon since they don’t open until after 4:30. My hubby ordered us the white crane sake and I also had a ramune. We didnt go crazy cuz we hadn’t eaten yet that day. Most of these one cup sakes are served cold but their menu has a description of the different flavors of the sake whether you want a junmai or a honjozu or even a fizzy pink sakura (so fancy). Since they mostly serve one cup sakes you can probably try a few different ones before you actually fall off your stool.
It was empty for the first half hour but then it started filling up with small groups of two and four. it is a modest sized dining room with modern accents though definitely bigger than a hole in the wall. Most of the tables are bar height with low backed bar stools. I had an issue with my ramune drink. I didn’t know what hundreds of other japanese kids know how to do which is how to push the ball into the drink. After some assistance from the staff the ball rolled in and I drank it eagerly like a gerbil in its cage.
We started off with the fried meatballs in a beef pork blend and it was served with some slaw and japanese bbq sauce possibly bulldog. It had a crunchy panko crusted exterior which I have never tried before but was good with the sauce to keep it from being too dry.
My hubby ordered the fish namban or the fish n chips azasu style which was a whole fried fillet cut diagonally in half with a large mound of crispy crinkle cut french fries and a thick house tartar sauce. Definitely a good choice to accompany a strong drink. The fish was soft and tender on the inside and the fries were just crunchy enough. The best part of the dish was the tartar sauce which was thick and full of fresh ingredients. The serving size was definitely to his liking. I may get this next time.
I ordered the curry rice and the thick japanese curry came in a nice little gravy boat that it made a little moat when you poured it in. The curry rice was good on its own but I added an order of chicken karaage as suggested by my server. The fried chicken pieces were marinated in sake and spices and then fried making it very soft and juicy on the inside. Probably some of the best karaage I’ve ever had. Most of the pieces were dark meat which I like especially. The only thing is that I wish I had a lemon to squeeze over it but maybe it wasnt offered because I ordered it with curry.
Definitely a chill sake bar and I am glad it is in the neighborhood. This is another one of the reasons I love the LES.

I am a huge fan of Asian eating and drinking establishments (pojang machas in Korea, izakayas in Japan). I heard about this relatively new addition to the LES izakaya scene on Eater a few months ago, and finally got a chance to stop by.
They have some awesome drinks here — they have Hoppy, which is a non-​alcoholic beer-​flavored drink (that is subsequently spiked with shochu), as well as some pretty hard-​to-​find one cup sakes. Their shochu cocktails are delicious as well (try the ramune one!)
The food was delicious as well, as good drinking food should be. They had a great curry rice, and the fried chicken karaage was perfect with the beers and drinks.
But the icing on the cake was the service. My friend ordered a one cup sake that he didn’t like, and they replaced it (at no extra charge) for the most expensive one they offered, and when he proceeded to spill it all over the table, brought out another one on the house.
While the prices can quickly add up if you don’t pay attention, this is a great place to take a group of friends and have a great start (or end) to a night drinking and eating Japanese style!

Great new addition to my neighborhood! I’ve been here on two occasions and had fairly good meals. I’ve never seen this place packed out though so I am hoping it’ll survive.
The menu is pretty compact but includes all the standard izakaya favorites. I’ve tried their chicken karaage, okonomiyaki, meatball sliders and yakisoba. All were decent but kind of expensive for the portion size provided. My favorite dish was definitely the chicken karaage though — super light but crisp exterior on some huge pieces of boneless and tasty and super tender chicken. So, so good. The okonomiyaki was also solid and had a good ratio of cabbage and egg to the other meaty ingredients.
Service was excellent on my first visit (it was empty) but horrid on my second, with us having to flag down the waitress on several occasions and orders taking forever. Hopefully they work out the kinks!
Ultimately, I’ve been to better izakayas but Azasu is just so close to home and good enough for those days where I am too lazy to make the trek to another spot.

If you like Japanese tapas, this is the place to be for a night to chill out w/​friends. Grab a beer. sit at a communal table & enjoy the munchies. For the price you pay, you can’t complain — it’s not too shabby. The good stuff? Stick w/​the fried bacon-​wrapped mushrooms, the gyoza & the potato salad (Azasu makes theirs w/​a kick of pickles).
Pretty spacious place but I can definitely see it getting packed when the weather gets warmer. And service is pretty attentive for an izakaya.

It was a cold, dark, and wet Saturday night the day my friend wanted to meet up for dinner. She selected this joint, and seeing as how we’re both Asian food enthusiasts (both having been to the land of the rising sun at different points in our respective lives) we were both damn excited to dig into some nihon no tabemono/​ryori (that’s Japanese food, if memory serves).
Reservations were set for 7:30, so in true Filipino fashion, I arrived at 7:38. To my surprise I was the first to arrive out of our party of four… it didn’t help that I didn’t know the name of the person who actually made the reservations, as my friend did not make the call herself. Alas, I had the task of determining whether the reservations were made by Megan, Becca, Heather, Sooyoung, or Lauren… all ladies btw (the ladies must really dig this place).
I could barely utter mouth words/​sounds, and could only give a shrug with a dumb look on muh mug. Luckily the staff was more than willing to seat me (the place was relatively quiet during my arrival), although their kindness could also be construed as pity… pity for the stupid man child too dumb to make human speak or know the name of the person who had made reservations for the dinner he would be attending that night (lesson learned).
As an izakaya, there were three Japanese beers on tap: Sapporo, Kirin, and a third one that eludes me at the moment. I opted for a frosted mug of the first one, and had a contemplative solo imbibing sesh before the rest of my party arrived. Haply, I finished just about the time my fellow diners .
Like most izakayas, the equivalent of Japanese tapas are the perfect accompaniment to most late night imbibing sessions between friends. And breaking bread with others is so much more fun than doing it by one’s lonesome (especially when booze is involved). As such, we all decided to order a bunch of fried things to share with each other: fried shrimp, fried chicken, fried octo ballz, fried asparagus wrapped with bacon, fried mashed potatoes, and fried dumplings (ebi tempura, chicken karaage, takoyaki, asparagus…, potato korokke, and gyoza). We were also health and got tofu dumplings and a tofu block thing.
Service was impeccable, even as the place got more crowded… and by the time our night here was at an end, there was nary a seat open in the house, despite the yucky weather outside. And I know that we all live in Manhattan, NY… one of the most expensive cities in the USA, but the price for the food here is just a mite high. That being said, this is a solid new addition to the LES, worthy of your time.

is Azasu short for Arigato goZAimaSU (thank you)? unclear. don’t care.
Azasu is a mod izakaya style restaurant. Izakaya denotes it as a beer/​wine/​whiskey place that also serves food.
walked in 5 deep. seated quickly. place was pretty empty at ~8ish on a Saturday.
it has open layout with normal level tables in the front and high tables in the middle and back. Well lit. Feels new. Very clean. there was even an outlet next to our table, so i could charge my phone. though our waitress didn’t know that and said i could charge my phone by the wait/​food station.
the menu is one of those clipboard-​y deals which is sort of annoying when you want to see what you want to pair with you beer. so you have to slip back-​n-​forth. sometimes cute or kitschy has the opposite effect when you’re just trying to order food and dranks. also the menu itself is not that large item wise… so why not a normal two-​page menu that you don’t have to flip back-​n-​forth through?
there was some sort of special going on with Gyoza. $ 25 for unlimited Gyoza and $ 40 for unlimited Gyoza and beer. a normal order of Gyoza is $ 7 for 5 pieces… so if your Gyozamaniac… those deals are for you. but pounding Gyoza and beer with no substantial protein or carb soakage is not my scene… which is probably the point of the deal.
beer is served in chilled icy mugs which is awesome. love that. stuck to Asahi which is consistently great. service on dranks seems super quick. i wondered if they had a beer draft system in the back or were pouring from bottles… didn’t bother to look. they also offer Shochu, Sake, Whisky. i eyed that Yamazaki 12 for a while before settling for the Asahi. next time…
we all ordered a variety of dishes: Gyoza, Karaage, Okonamiyai, potato salad, and a random rice dish.
i had the potato salad and okonamiyaki (rando Japanese pancake crêpe dealio)…i’d say the portions and prices need adjusting. too small. i thought the food was executed fine. i have had better Japanese potato salad for less in both Tokyo and the East Village. the okonomiyaki is just okay. i would have preferred they charged more for it and got a more authentic Kansai, Osaka, or Tokyo style okonamiyaki dish. i tore through the food because i hadn’t eaten all day, but still felt pretty un/​full after eating. everyone enjoyed their food, but the orders weren’t put in correctly, so we all finished eating by the time one person’s rice dish came literally 20 minutes after all of us were done. FAIL. either they forgot about it or the waitress and chef don’t know how to stack orders for multiple people at a table. let’s be honest their rice dishes are not super complex.
are there better izakayas in the city? yes. is this a good first start for Azasu? totally.
does this place need a menu, price, etc. adjustment? yes, so it comes together better. the food also needs a bit more cohesiveness versus how they are served authentically in Japan or the rest of the city. the more western approach to an izakaya is not for me, but probably more attractive to other folks…
oh and the bathroom/​s are immaculate!
droppin’ that mic for chopsticks and some legit Izakaya fare elsewhere!!!
i out.

The bf and I came in on a Friday night after drinking at Dark Crescent. The vibe was chilling and we were the first ones there. He «rented» the whole place out just for us lol thanks beb.
One of the cool thing about this place is the atmosphere and the panda sake cups you get to keep. Whatever sake cans you order, you get to keep at the end of the night. Our waiter even hot steamed all the cups to get the sticker off. Woot! 3 panda cups added to our collection.
The vibe was very chilling and the food was decent. A few dishes were a hit or miss. Azasu, if you want to stay and compete with the big boys, you need to improve your menu to attract and attain your customers.

After dining here a few time in the past year, my solid verdict would be —
— the food is just okay here
— different variety of sake cups are cute (especially the panda one)
— staff are super nice
Im really pulling for these guys to do well but they would have to change the menu or at the very least improve upon the dishes they currently have.

This LES Izakaya is the hipster version for the millennials. The eatery serves classic Japanese beer food that is pretty decent. We shared a table of white girls who didn’t seeming to know what they were eating or understand the concept of sharing. One ordered the Okonomiyaki to herself as her friends stared quizzically on what it is. Her friend then decides to ask Siri where Ramen was Japanese. If only Siri had hands it certainly would come right out of the phone. Oh, I digress.
Back to the food. The ice cold beer mugs are awesome. The okonomiyaki wasn’t my favorite as I’ve had much better. Meatballs in a nice rich broth was good for dipping with the accompanying toasts. The boneless chicken karaage, crispy in a light batter with sides of cabbage was good. The lollipop pork katsu also with a side of cabbage was plenty hot and nicely done. I enjoyed the Yakisoba but again I’ve had better.
The service was bit erratic with missing food orders and drinks on that night but on the whole it was fine. We figured they were in training.

Love this place.
An izakaya style restaurant but in a very casual way. They have a huge list of sake (in the cup!) and some beer and shochu and whiskey. As for food they also have a variety of items, e.g. japanese curry, sandwiches, hot and cold small plates and most importantly, dessert!
I highly recommend the coffee jelly and yuzu frozen shochu! Takoyaki and fried fish was very good too! Choco Yaki was very interesting because they display it like takoyaki but i would considered it like chocolate doughnut. My friend had the curry and liked it a lot too.
Be sure to visit if you are around the area!

KenScale: 8.0÷10
Azasu is a second restaurant from the team behind Yopparai (known as a haven for serious sake tasting, I haven’t made a visit to this place yet) in Lower East Side serving Japanese style street food. I liked the casual vibe and most of the dishes that came out of the kitchen.
The restaurant has a lot of crowd-​pleasing dishes that are easily shareable among large group of people. While potato salad topped with crunchy Japanese pickles was forgettable, I liked the tasty bites of takoyaki (pancake balls with octopus), okonomiyaki (pork and vegetable pancake) and pork gyoza dumplings, all straightforward izakaya dishes that go well with sake drinks. While chicken karaage (sake-​ginger-​marinated boneless chicken) came in a lot bigger portion than I expected and was a bit overseasoned, ebi fry (panko-​crusted shrimp skewers) had a very crispy texture that I enjoyed. Yakisoba (pan-​fried noodles with vegetables) also had that hearty feel to the dish, but I would probably say the winner of the meal was ham katsu sandwich, an absolutely delicious bite with crunchy ham that lingered in my palate for quite a while. On the desserts, choco yaki (pancake balls covered with chocolate sauce and condensed milk) sounded so promising but turned out to be a bit stuffy, but I did enjoy choco parfait that came with homemade soft serve, chocolate sauce and corn flakes.
I was a bit shocked that the restaurant didn’t serve sakes in bottles, although each cup of sake is somewhat sizeable. I liked the casual, hipsterish neighborhood vibe of the restaurant. It was still somewhat quiet when I came in on a Friday night, and getting a reservation isn’t particularly challenging. If you would like get some casual Japanese food to go along with some sake pairings, Azasu is a solid option to consider.

Randomly picked Azasu when strolling down Clinton looking for dinner with the bf — very happy we did.
Nice variety of Japanese small plates to share with a few larger entrée options. The two of us went with octopus balls (AWESOME), friend chicken (good, unique spices), sukiyaki beef (also awesome especially if you like egg), and pork kashi katsu (tasty, nothing greasy.) The sauteed vegetables were just ok — mostly filler veggies like cabbage and sprouts, would have liked some mushrooms or something more substantial.
Liked the variety of sake and the one-​cup servings which were bigger than expected.
I usually don’t like tapas/​sharing places because I’m a fat kid at heart and typically leave still hungry, and therefore also feel like they’re overpriced. This was not true at Azasu — the price was very reasonable for the portion sizes and quality of food.
Our waiter was also on point and gave some really detailed, helpful suggestions when we were trying to navigate all the choices. Great addition to the neighborhood, much preferred to Village Yokocho, especially the chiller vibes. Will definitely be back.

Stumbled upon this place while walking in the LES. There was no wait since it’s a new restaurant in the neighborhood and a Wednesday. However, I can tell thus place will get busy once the word gets out.
The waitstaff was very helpful and friendly. The waiter went through the whole menu beers, sake, small plates and main dishes.
My friend and I decided to order from the small plates to share. We ordered the potato croquettes, takoyaki, pork gyozas, and chicken karaage (recommended by the waiter – and I back that recommendation). Everything was delicious. Nothing was overly soaked with oil even though it was all fried.
I would come back and try their main dishes.