This is an interesting place I would never have found if I didn't know it was there - a small doorway on Hudson Street leads you to a host who places you in an elevator DOWNstairs where a ninja greets you and takes you to your table. (Take the secret Ninja passageway, NOT the shortcut!) Through a series of twists and turns, you end up in what looks like a small Ninja village. All the waiters are dressed in Ninja uniform and each room feels private since no other guests are seated directly across from you, and walls separate you from other tables.
Now, I had really high expectations for this place, so I was somewhat disappointed. After we sat down and ordered our sake, we gazed at the menu (on scrolls of parchment paper) we selected a "Japanese Entertainment" appetizer, and picked a menu to taste a few different things.
The entertainment ended up being what looked like a shoelace placed on the plate of the appetizer, which was lit on fire and made a big flash. Cool, but I thought it was the Ninjas that would entertain us, not the food.
The food was not quite what I expected - fried plantain chips with mashed avocado and tomato, seemed more Mexican, but wasn't bad. THe sushi was AMAZING, really, really tasty. We had steak which was a little chewy, and I had a salmon dish which was actually very good. Problem was, speed of service. Everything came so fast I had to literally ask our waitress to please give us some time between courses. She explained a large party was messing up their service. Once I did ask, things slowed dramatically, to our pleasure.
Dessert was EXCELLENT - I had a green tea roll, my husband a sort of Bonsai tiramisu.
Definitely a fun place to check out, but very pricey, and a little disappointing. Still - anyone who can put that much work into a restaurant deserves some credit! Make sure to check out the rest of the village when you go.
more