Blue Ribbon Sushi
Bruce and Eric Bromberg built this cedar-clad room with the sushi master Toshi Ueki. The fish is flown in daily from the Sea of Japan and from both oceans. It takes walk-ins and it serves late.
Why go
Soho has very little a la carte sushi, and this is the room that does it. There is no omakase to sign up for. You build the meal yourself off the zensai list, the specials and the maki. There is a ten-seat walnut bar up front and tables in the back. The room runs loud, and people are still eating here long after the dinner rush has gone home.
Order this / avoid
- Order: kanpachi usuzukuri, dotted with green yuzu kosho and citrus ponzu, then build the rest from the sushi bar specials. Cherry seabream and seared salmon belly are the two the review singles out.1
- Avoid: counting on a bargain. The review's sushi deluxe was $42 for ten pieces with a maki. That review carries no date, so take the figure as a shape.
What locals & experts say
- Hannah Albertine, The Infatuation:
This place might have the volume level of a sushi restaurant where everything is topped with mayo and fried stuff, but the nigiri here is all pretty straightforward and traditional.
1
Good to know
- Booking: walk-in.
- Doors: the Bromberg group runs several rooms under this name. This page is 119 Sullivan Street.
Verdict
could-visit — Walk in. Albertine says the feel of the room has not changed since the era when Leonardo DiCaprio ate here. That is why it stays useful long after it stopped being fashionable.