Nippon

I went for sushi and would not recommend it. I ordered the omekasa sushi, as it promised the chef’s choice of the freshest fish. After I ordered, another waitress (maybe a manager?) had to come back to make sure that was definitely what I wanted because she said «most people want traditional. They don’t know.» No, I’m fine with whatever the chef thinks is the freshest fish. I love sushi and will eat anything that is fresh. Unfortunately that was not what I got. First of all, it was all standard pieces I would have expected from any sushi assortment – nothing special or unusual, so I don’t know why they thought I would be so trepidatious. Worse, all but 2 or 3 pieces had a GIANT chunk of wasabi between the fish and the rice. They were definitely hiding fish that was far from fresh because the wasabi largely but not entirely masked the funky fish taste. I’m not sure what the deal was. Maybe they thought because I was not Japanese I wouldn’t know the difference and they’d give me the bad stuff? Unfortunately I was in a rush so I just ate, told them it was good, and left. Which I know isn’t entirely fair and doesn’t serve anyone but I really didn’t feel like sitting there having a discussion about the old fish.
When the bill came I discovered the omekasa was $ 80 – which is $ 30 more than the traditional sushi plate. I’d be fine with that if it was because I was getting the freshest fish, but I don’t think that’s what happened. I won’t be back.
2 stars instead of 1 because it was so quiet which was a nice escape for the evening. If I get sick tomorrow I’ll change it to 1 star.
Update: yeah. I got sick. Changing to 1 star.

Ok, where else in New York can you get fresh fish imported (daily) from Japan?!? To me, quality is very important and the fact that Nippon does this tells me that the owners value the same thing as I. I’ve essentially given up eating sushi and eel prior to finding Nippon; after reading horror stories of farm raised eel in China (seriously, do a Google search. Eel and these other species are literally fed crap. Those farmers refuse to even feed their farm-​raised products to their own children. Yet, these same products seem to «pass» inspection here in the US and are disseminated across restaurants and supermarkets), I gave it up. I LOVE eel too but knew I had to give it up. So imagine my surprise when I saw that Nippon flew this in — fresh — from Japan daily! Let me tell you, it is worth the premium. If you value your health, you won’t 13itch and moan about the prices here. The eel is distinctively different than the cheap crap you would get at the markets or other restaurants. It is delicious. It is soft. I haven’t had it like this since I was in Japan over a dozen years ago! I also had the seaweed salad and agedashi tofu — both really good and fresh, albeit a tad too salty for me. If it weren’t for my second dinner following this dinner, I would have ordered more (hehe). I do plan on bringing some of my colleagues here though. I saw some cute, authentic private rooms — perfect for a (business) meeting! Nippon, I’m so glad I saw you and I’m so glad the folks at Totto Ramen were so douchey that I turned around and walked out to come here. I will be back for eel soon!

Authentic and delicious but frankly over priced with very small portions compared to many other Japanese restaurants nearby.

This place is an absolute treasure and one of my favorite restaurants in the city. The soba salad is out of this world good. The shabu shabu is great for sharing (just order extra meat if you’re hungry). Don’t miss the kuzukiri for dessert, it is wonderful!

I’m addicted to the beef soba salad. Its $ 14.70 and I have it for lunch at least twice a week. The first few bites are whatever, but when you start getting into it, you just can’t stop. The dressing in unreal! I drink it at the end. And it’s healthy, so no guilt what-​so-​ever. You don’t feel like crap for the rest of the day. I’ve also had the cold soba that comes with the dipping sauce, but the soba SALAD is WAY better.

I always love Japanese food and sukiyaki is my favorite! This is the place where I regularly go for dinner. It is also my favorite restaurant in town. The cozy and comfortable environment makes everything even better. The waitresses here are very polite and always provide me the most professional service. I highly recommend the sukiyaki here. DON’T forget to ask for a raw egg! Hope you enjoy dinning here like I do!

Have to be very honest that there was kind of a disappointing experience. Read some really nice review about this restaurant turn out the result is really not as satisfying. I tried the beef sukiyaki and my bf had the duck don. Both have little portions. And I heard the duck don is their best seller but it turned out to be terrible. My bf didn’t even finish it. Not worth trying, especially spend $ 70 dollars on this not even tasty meal.

I came here for the restaurant week lunch. The food is way too salty. I ordered the hot soba and the beef pot. They tasted awful. just like putting the food in the soy source. That was the worst restaurant week experience. The service is quite good.

This is a great place for traditional and authentic Japanese food. We had the famous duck hotpot, kani-​miso soup, eel don and pork tonkatsu. I really enjoyed the duck hotpot. It uses special soup to stew duck meat and vegetables together with vermicelli. The duck meat is especially soft and tasty. The kani-​miso soup contains a half-​sized small crab, which is both creative and delicious. The one star deducted is attributed to the speed it serves the dishes, which is way too slow. However, the environment and service are nice.

We had the beef negimayaki appetizer, original soba salad and the beef sukiyaki. All were delicious! Worth every bite. No room for dessert.
Staff was very accommodating and the owner very attentive. We had a great time and looking forward to coming back again.

Close to the office but that’s the only upside to this outdated, overpriced, unimpressive japanese spot. Had a terrible overpriced dinner (had Sukiyaki, ordered but didn’t eat the anago don — not impressive at all). Terrible service (waiter seemed clueless and had no idea what he was doing). Terrible management (when we asked if we could change the anago don because it was smelling extremely fishy, the manager came over to tell us that’s how it is and he’s sorry we don’t like it). It’s a wonder they are still in business. Had high hopes for this place (to be fair, I have a co-​worker who comes here and likes the soba salad) and have kept trying to like it, but my last meal here sealed the deal. Go elsewhere for better food. Tons of other options in the area.

I used to work across the street. I always went with the chicken or beef soba salad. It always hit the spot and didn’t make me feel sluggish in the afternoon. Typical friendly and efficient Japanese service.

I like this place. Quality is consistent.
I tried pretty much everything on the menu. If you are a Japanese fish afecionado, they import many pruducts daily directly from Japan.
Meat is excellent as well as the sashimi. There are items not on the menue, like chirashi, that you can ask for.
The only disappointment was a salmon teriaki for lunch: farm raised fish.
Prices are on the high side. Service is very good.
Decore is from the ’80 but still enjoyable.

We had lunch here and opted for sushi.
The sushi didn’t seem that fresh and the prices are pretty steep.
We shared the lunch special, which includes a tuna roll and seven individual pieces. We added spicy salmon and yellowtail with scallion rolls.
The roll pieces were dense and chewy, without much flavor. The individual pieces included salmon, tuna, shrimp, and four others that were not described or recognizable. Some off the flavors seemed off – not new, just strange in a disconcerting way.
Overall, disappointing and we won’t be back.

It was a luxuary Japanese traditional restaurant, which has Tatami private rooms.
I went there in lunch. I had Tendon. It was really tasty that I may say the best tendon in NY. My mom had Soba. It was also good.
Waiters were good, too.

The min I found out this place serves sukiyaki, I decided to give a try; even though judging from the outside, it was nowhere close to a decent Japanese restaurant.
Great variety was the largest pro of this place. Either go with sushi/​sashimi platter, sukiyaki/​shabu, or even small plates, you will easily left full and satisfied. The sukiyaki can be cooked at the table, or back in the kitchen. The fish skin and spicy clam were my favorite appetizers.
Came on a Tuesday night, not crowded at all.

I came here for fugu with boyfriend, and we had a good time there. The place is old fashioned, the waitresses wear kimono. It feels very authentic, and the food is really good.
We had a full portion of fugu sashimi and the fugu chiri nabe. Chiri nabe is the casserole. Fugu is chewy, sweet and delicious. It’s dangerous, but apparently both of us survived. The casserole is also amazing. The vegetables complement the sweet meat of fugu.
We also had sushi. O-​toro and Uni are definitely standouts. Especially Uni. The needlefish and Anago are quite tasty too. The tobiko and quail egg sushi is not my favorite.
The bill comes out to be 400. It was a little too expensive, which is why I decreased a star. Overall, good experience.

Cold night and many stayed in but we didn’t.
I joined my friends for sukiyaki. Our server was pretty stubborn. She insisted in having 1 pot for 3 people. My friend had the right idea for no more than 2 in a pot. Finally, a second waiter brought me my own pot.
I also asked for a slotted spoon or screened spoon so I can easily scoop my meat and vegetables out of the broth to eat — instead she brought me a ladle. I asked again for a slotted spoon, but I get a plastic ladle instead. I guess it’s lost in translation.
The man behind the counter bailed us out with our orders and we finally got the orders we wanted.
I guess she was not really stubborn. It was just lost in translation.
It was a wonderful dinner but my sukiyaki sauce was just a bit too sweet.
Today my rating is 3−½ stars.

I went in for restaurant week menu. Had soba salad which was good. But beef sukiyaki, which people say they loved, wasn’t good at all.
Restaurant Nippon’s sukiyaki wasn’t sukiyaki at all!
It was more like Korean style ‘bulgogi stew’. Japanese sukiyaki style is bit different in different parts of Japan but never has this much soup base. And sukiyaki is supposed to be enjoyed with dipping in raw egg. They just brought out small ‘nabe’ that looked more like soup-​stew with white rice. You can NOT call that a Sukiyaki! !
Beef was tough, and yet had too much fat!
And the waitress’ lack of English made it hard to order and she kept mixing orders with my partner. They weren’t even busy since we were there before 6pm!
WON’T GO BACK for regular menu EVER! There’s too many great Japanese restaurants in Manhattan.

This was my 2^nd time here and food is consistently good.
Great work lunch venue as it’s never too noisy and service is quick. You’ll definitely leave full.
Easy to make a reservation via
Always local Japanese present.
RECOMMEND: (all below served with edamame and salad)
1) Beef Sukiyaki ($ 27) Japanese tofu stew with premium meat
2) Soba & Sushi Mini-​Don ($ 23) Mini don (e.g. 2 pieces of sashimi and roe over rice) + choice of cold soba, hot soba or udon
I enjoy my meal with hot green tea, which is consistently refilled by the waitstaff.