Kyo Ya

We loved Kyo ya.
Thoroughly charming and tucked away restaurant.
Attention to detail in the furnishings was just perfect.
Plate presentation was best ive ever seen. Must say though that i'd never been to this type of Japanese place before.
Freshness was incredible. Dishes were original and very stylized.
Service was quiet, smooth and charming.

Other comments:
Was offered by...+READ We loved Kyo ya.
Thoroughly charming and tucked away restaurant.
Attention to detail in the furnishings was just perfect.
Plate presentation was best ive ever seen. Must say though that i'd never been to this type of Japanese place before.
Freshness was incredible. Dishes were original and very stylized.
Service was quiet, smooth and charming.

Other comments:
Was offered by reservationist a 9 or 11 course tasting for $95 / $120. I chose two 11 course tastings. Menu at table said 9 plus a dessert. When I asked the manager at our table if there was a mix up, she politely explained that I must have been mistaken, it was always a 9 or 10 course choice. This was fine and a pleasant conversation. But what was a bit odd and out of order was her explaining the tasting menus AND their prices in front of my wife. This was the same person who took my reservation and knew it was a surprise meal for her birthday. Fortunately my wife is easy and understanding but I was a little annoyed at this.

PS: Always remember to look at the wine list before saying something like " We really liked that complimentary sake you served us upon arrival, yes please do send us a bottle to go along with the rest of the menu. A $90 bottle of sake on top of a $240 meal was a bit of sticker shock. But hey it was my fault AND it was a great bottle.

That being said, it was an outstanding performance by the chef and staff. Chef Sono came over to wish wife happy bday and talk menu and food with us. Bought him a beer too as thanks.

I have to say that this meal cost about the same with tax and tip as our dinner at Picasso at the Bellagio hotel a few years back. I am left with the feeling that a European restaurant gives you much more bang for your buck in terms of atmosphere, setting, theme, etc... Assuming all food quality being the same, which it was. Is is because I am not Japanese and appreciative of such an evening at Kyo ya, maybe. But I do think the next time I drop $420 + on dinner it will be at the more well rounded evening experience of French, Italian, etc... establishment.

Once again, I must repeat that we loved the evening. Tasting spanned 2hrs+ and it was a rare treat. Please go if you have never done such an evening. Go with their flow and enjoy the process. You may never see such fine work anywhere else.-COLLAPSE / REPLY (30 Replies) (by pulled pork, created September 27, 2010)

»Kyo Ya

I recently had dinner with four friends at kyoya. You'll find the photos and more on my blog: http://ulteriorepicure.com/2010/05/23/review-lovely/

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Tucked away below street level in a townhouse in the East Village, kyoya could elude even the keenest eye.

There’s no sign or marker. Indeed, other than an unassuming set of stairs and the glow of the restaurant coming up from...+READ I recently had dinner with four friends at kyoya. You'll find the photos and more on my blog: http://ulteriorepicure.com/2010/05/23/review-lovely/

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Tucked away below street level in a townhouse in the East Village, kyoya could elude even the keenest eye.

There’s no sign or marker. Indeed, other than an unassuming set of stairs and the glow of the restaurant coming up from the side of the street, you’d never know it existed there. There’s no website either (that I am aware of).

Kyoya is essentially a very refined kaiseki-style restaurant modified just enough to accommodate the confused expense that might wander in.

Here, you will find a menu of mostly authentic Japanese foods partitioned in four sections: Chef’s Seasonal Dishes, Cold Appetizers, Hot Appetizers, and Main Courses. There’s also a menu of sashimi from which I ordered uni from the East Coast. The generous stack of fresh little sea urchin “tongues,” more briny than sweet, was served with crisp sheets of nori and light soy sauce ($18). A rarity, this was a true treat for me.

But kyoya is probably more well-known for its kaiseki, which have to be ordered a day or two in advance. There are three kaiseki menus (10 courses $95/11 courses $120/12 courses $150).

We ordered a la carte.

My favorite dishes were the more comforting ones, like a fantastic tempura-fried wheel of sweet potato. It’s so fantastic, apparently, it’s become “famous,” as the menu proudly announced (“Famous Sweet Potato Tempura,” $11). The molten-hot potato was ringed with a emerald necklace of fried greens and served with dipping salt and a tiny clay kettle of soy sauce.

By comparison, the cold dishes seemed almost refreshing, even the strips of “Smoked Anago” ($14), which were surprisingly firm, having a pleasing bounce to them.

And this is what I appreciated most about the colder dishes – they highlighted textures.

“Spring Onion Salad” ($11) compared and contrasted a tangle of crisp, thinly-shaved raw onions with quartered bulbs of softened, roasted onions. A bowl of sweet, velvety caramelized onion dressing seasoned with soy and ginger tied everything together nicely, marrying especially well with the bonito shavings that blanketed the salad. It was all surprisingly mild, surprisingly lovely.

The servers here are so adorable that you really can’t get too frustrated, even if they charge you for a forgotten order.* But we didn’t notice the mistake at the time, partly because the total was surprisingly reasonable. Divided by four, our tab, with a carafe of sake, worked out to be around $75 per person including tax and tip.

Asian faces dominated the dining room, with a few “foreigners” here and there (our table having the largest contingency). The front dining room seats about 14 (3 deuces, 2 four-tops). A strip of counter, which seats about ten, leads to the back, where there’s a tatami room,** which I believe seats up to 6. The restaurant was fairly full the entire night. Most seemed to have reservations.

Nothing on the dessert menu looked terribly convincing, even if I’m positive that kyoya would only be capable of making excellent green tea ice cream.-COLLAPSE / REPLY (by ulterior epicure, created May 24, 2010)