Toriya
A yakitori counter on Stanton Street sends out fried squid legs, onigiri and skewers, in a room big enough to lose a group in.
Why go
Carlo Mantuano rated it 7.7 for The Infatuation and his case for it turns on when you eat. The sake list is worth working through, under a wall of neon. The kitchen says the room takes a solo diner, a pair and a large group with equal ease.2
Order this / avoid
- Order: the fat chicken meatballs and the spicy salmon rice balls, with squid legs to share and sake for the table.
- Avoid: arriving early and ordering as though it were dinner. The skewers and the squid are the earlier spread.
What locals & experts say
- Carlo Mantuano, The Infatuation, 24 September 2024, 7.7:
their fat chicken meatballs and $6 spicy salmon rice balls just taste better after midnight—say, if you've already had a couple of drinks somewhere else in the neighborhood.
1 - Toriya, on what it is:
Welcome to Toriya, the house of yakitori.
2
Good to know
- Booking: worth doing for a group.
Verdict
could-visit — Book for a group and walk in alone. Nothing here is worth a special trip, and that is not a complaint. Mantuano calls it the best late meal on the Lower East Side.