Zenkichi

10/02/09

Food is Close to Average, Great Ambiance

by Pac0 at Citysearch

Zenkichi has the potential to be really good, but when you're a high priced Japanese restaurant, I think it is imperative that your menu be explanatory or your waitstaff is well equipped to answer all questions.

Zenkichi does not allow modification of the Prix Fixe menu which means if you have any allergens or are vegeterian, you should not have the Prix Fixe.

What was supposed to be a relaxing dinner turned into deciphering the menu myself.

The restaurant itself was beautiful.

50% of the food was very good.

Do not order the asparagus, it is a slight disappointment.

If you are going for ambiance, definitely go here. If you are looking for a good meal to satiate your hunger, I would suggest going to another restaurant.

As a result, Zenkichi is overpriced because service is not as good as it should be. They are friendly, but once again, there is a language issue.

• Pros: Ambiance
• Cons: Limited English of Staff

09/15/09

short and sweet

by Missy11 at Citysearch

seating is great:it's romantic,cozy and private. The boths are not as small as some of the reviews make them out to look they're perfect for 2 people.

The service was extremely fast and attentive(thanks to the service button on your table) but I barely understood 1 word when the waiter took our order.

The food was ok and fair nothing to go crazy.

over.

Over all the looks of the place exceeds the actual meals. So what you really end up paying for is the restaurant not the food. Will prob. not return but it is a great dinning experience to try atleast once.

03/24/09

Good Food

by Blu3Citi at Citysearch

I went here with my boyfriend for our anniversary. The food was great and tasty, but the sitting space was too small, I don't like being cramp in a corner. Over all it was a very nice romantic place . I would recommend to ask for a bigger sitting area when you make a reservation (if possible)

• Pros: Great food
• Cons: Space is a bit small

01/12/09

Got a date? Go here!

by sarah5748 at Citysearch

Every time I have a special occasion with my boyfriend I have a hard time going anywhere else. It is so romantic. Its dark, and cozy.. there is always jazz music playing when we go. Most of the booths allow you to sit next to eachother without looking like 'that' couple. The food is all shared so we get to order together and eat together. I've enjoyed 99% of the dishes we've ordered with the only exceptions being the occasional too-authentic-for-me dish (I'm a daring eater but not THAT daring). Once you try it for a special occasion beware.. you can't stop! You'll be ther for every anniversary, birthday, valentines day...

• Pros: Great atmosphere, service, food
• Cons: small portions you do need to order a lot

09/17/08

different world

by albertcr at Citysearch

Great food, great atmosphere, great service. It's like stepping into a different world (or country). My favorites were the Assorted Seafood Tempura, the Kabocha Manju. If someone wants to take me to Zenkichi, I'd definitely go again.

09/06/08

wow!

by MrTtwo at Citysearch

this place is so cool...you walk in and it's like a maze of dim light and bamboo and mirrors...we got a private booth with a button to press to summon our waiter...really unusual and delicious Japanese food (no sushi)...

really romantic and exotic.

• Pros: ambience, food
• Cons: can't think of any

08/25/08

My favorite restaurant ever!

by corey423 at Citysearch

I took my boyfriend here a few weeks ago for a surprise celebration dinner. I was worried he would not find anything to eat considering he is a pretty plain guy. He not only found something to eat, but also agreed that it was one on the best and coolest restaurants he has ever been to! The private booths, excellent and quick service, food, saki and beer selections-what else could you ask for? You must go, it'll be an experience you won't forget!

• Pros: Private booths, On-call service, Romantic
• Cons: Nothing!

04/19/08

Don't expect much

by AaronFreeman at Citysearch

I was taken there by a friend of mine, he praised this place a lot due to reviews, 5 star??? come on !!! regular place with regular food. If I were you I wouldnt expect much.

04/18/08

Great dining experience

by kingscounty23 at Citysearch

This place is great for a date or a group. Ambiance and food is very good, it's reasonably priced for a nicer dining experience. Had the Omakase for two last night. Stand outs were the Maguro and Snapper carpaccio, the tiger prawn with daikon! so good!, and the black sesame mousse. Flavors of dishes are subtle which may turn off a few. We opted for the rock fish instead of the tsukune chicken which I regretted. I would recommend ordering something off of the a la carte menu in addition to Omakase, we were still a little bit hungry. Wednesday night was a great night to go as it wasn't very crowded and they were able to accomodate us without a reservation. Prompt and friendly service. You may not be totally wowed by the food but overall it's a nice experience. Another neighborhood gem of the same vein is Bozu on Grand St. Sushi options there as well. It's a little less 007, though.

• Pros: ambience, staff, food
• Cons: they need more lower priced sakes on the menu, dessert

04/16/08

Pretty Disappointing

by la_lutin at Citysearch

I took my boyfriend here for a romantic dinner one night after reading all the great reviews of both the food and the atmosphere. We opted to order about 5-6 dishes to share and I wasn't very impressed with any of it The pork belly was so fatty that there were maybe three bites of actual meat in the dish. The black cod (which I was so excited to order because so many people had raved about it) was slimy, off-tasting, and undercooked. The salted chicken was very tasty but dry- if I want dry chicken, then I'll just stay home and cook it myself! And everything smelt and tasted overwhelmingly fishy. Not a problem when you're eating fish, but fishy pork belly? Fishy creme brulee? No thanks.

And to top it all off, the atmosphere did not live up to our expectations at all! We were crammed in a tiny two-person booth that was extremely uncomfortable and for some reason freezing cold. I don't know where other people have been seated that is so romantic and private, but there's no way any hanky-panky could have occurred in our booth. We were just inches away from another couple and our screen was almost entirely see-through.

All in all, a very disappointing experience. Not worth traveling from UWS to Brooklyn for, that's for sure.

• Pros: Right next door to a bar that sells $2 PBR
• Cons: Doesn't live up to expectations/reviews