The Izakaya NYC: Manhattan’s Japanese pub where small bites, sake reign

“Toriaezu, biru,” Elena Yamamoto said to our server on Sunday evening as we scooted into our seats at The Izakaya NYC. The popular Japanese phrase roughly translates to “let’s start with beer,” and it’s how you begin your time at an izakaya in Japan while you look over the menu.

I’d never been to an izakaya before. Sure, I’ve had ramen and sushi, but izakaya is different from your average Japanese restaurant.

Izakayas are Japanese bars or pubs, popular after work spots to go with friends or coworkers to drink and eat. They’re informal and typically inexpensive and, according to Yamamoto, they are “the heart of drinking and food culture” in Japan, where people often go from one izakaya to the next, almost like bar hopping.

Yamamoto is the executive chef at Bessou, a Japanese eatery located in Market 57 at Pier 57. She’s also my cousin and someone that I love cooking and eating with — and I figured she’d be the perfect companion to show me what izakaya is all about.

We were excited to try The Izakaya NYC because we’d heard that the food there was among the best (juicy and crisp tonkatsu and fried chicken, plus an ever-changing menu of small vegetable dishes), and that the sake is also incredible.

Owner Yudai Kanayama moved to New York from Japan to study fashion in 2009. Around 2013, he was working for a high-end denim company and his roommate at the time, chef Dai Watanabe, saw his ability to sell products. Watanabe urged him to open a Japanese restaurant with him. Thus, in 2014, they opened The Izakaya NYC on 6th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues in the East Village. They’ve since opened another in the East Village.

We went to the original location on 6th Street. On Sunday night, the restaurant was quiet and the simple wooden tables and chairs — made by Kanayama — gave the space an informal vibe. The kind of place you can sit back, relax, and order some drinks and snacks — exactly what you want to do at an izakaya.

Kanayama strongly suggested ordering the “addictive cabbage.” Many izakaya serve a similar dish, and he said it’s the dish he uses to judge how the rest of the food will be at a spot.

The cabbage at The Izakaya is simple: just green cabbage and salt with sesame oil and seaweed. The cabbage is massaged by hand to break it down with the salt. It’s crunchy and refreshing, rightfully named “addictive” as I couldn’t stop snagging pieces of it with my chopsticks.

We also ordered the burdoc salad, fried smelt, agedashi tofu, mabo tofu, tonkatsu, bonito carpaccio, and the crab and egg fried rice.

I love the Chinese dish mapo tofu, and the version at The Izakaya was one of my favorite things we ate. Chūka ryōri, or commonly just referred to as Chūka, is what the Japanese call Chinese food in Japan. Chūka are Japanese-style Chinese dishes; dishes that originated in China, but have been adapted slightly to better suit the palate of Japanese people.

Loaded with ginger, Izakaya NYC’s mabo tofu sauce lacked the usual Szechuan peppercorns that you’ll find in the classic Chinese dish because, according to Kanayama and Yamamoto, Japanese people don’t really love the numbing sensation that you’ll get from them.

The ginger provided the “spice” one might want in this dish. The food at an izakaya, Yamamoto explained, is meant to make you want to drink more. The flavors are strong and robust, stronger than what you’ll typically encounter in Japanese dishes. There is no subtly to izakaya, she said.

The bonito sashimi was incredible — there was thinly sliced shiso on top and crispy garlic floating in the ponzu that it sat in on the platter. Most people don’t typically think of sashimi as being “dressed,” but this version, with sliced and seared fresh bonito, was light. That crispy garlic and ponzu helped to mellow out the strong flavor of the oily fish.

At some stage during our evening, we switched from beer to sake. The sake at The Izakaya NYC is one you’ll only find there; Kanayama has it made specifically for the restaurant. It was light and sweet and cold; the perfect accompaniment to our snacks and stories.

Eventually, full and maybe a little bit tipsy, Yamamoto and I left. She looked at me slyly, and asked, “Should we go for one more drink?