Free Williamsburg

The Williamsburg Brooklyn-based culture guide to New York and beyond.

Amami

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Fresh sushi and craft cocktails in a laid-back and chic pub setting. There’s also ramen and an assortment of small plates to share, like Popcorn Shrimp (in a honey-sriracha crema) and Grilled Japanese Squid with a basil-ginger glaze. Everything goes well with a Japanese Old Fashioned (Iwai Japanese Whiskey, Fresh Ginger Mint Syrup) or one of their many Sakes. Best of all, prices are very reasonable.

Featured Reviews

  • If you’re in Greenpoint, expect this to be your neighborhood sushi spot. It’s on the trendier side (as neighborhood sushi spots go) and the menu is big – in addition to sushi, you can find anything from ramen to pork buns.

  •  a pan-Japanese menu of sushi, yakitori, ramen and other snacks. The wasabi and the soy sauce are house-made here, served alongside pieces of fresh sushi and colorful rolls adorned with jewel-toned roe or wrapped in thin slices of raw fish. There are literally hundreds of different options for fish and seafood, whether raw, skewered and grilled, fried, or steamed with vegetables.

  • The caliber of fish certainly speaks for itself–from rose-tinted slips of seabream to buttery blocks of otoro, portioned into austere rectangles of sashimi or tight, rice-padded coils. Wang lets loose when it comes to signature rolls, though, festooned like floats at a Carnival parade–angled on martini glasses bolstered with sprays of baby’s breath, or assembled on platters and decorative, rough-hewn boards, shimmering with a judicious application of day-glo roe. He maintains that sense of whimsy with another surprise element: brunch, besting tired standbys like benedict and pancakes with seafood okonomiyaki, spicy tuna tekka don and organic azuki bean waffles.

  • the sushi here is fresh and affordable, with standard rolls under $7 and the fancier ones hovering around the $15 mark. The menu is a mix of simply prepared fish and casual Japanese comfort food like soy-glazed pork buns and ramen in a red miso broth. With its sleek décor and long bar, it offers a nice space to gather for carefully made cocktails and reliable, straightforward Japanese dishes. 

Getting There

Ichiran

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The popular Japanese ramen chain makes its debut in Brooklyn. Ichiran encourages “low-interaction dining” in its 30, single-seat booths so patrons can concentrate on the flavor of the ramen dishes without too much chit-chat. A few tables are available as well, if you are not dining alone. The ramen is great but prepare to wait, since the lines are typically huge.

Featured Reviews

  • Ichiran’s signature tonktotsu ramen bowl costs $18.90. This may seem steep, but keep in mind that this is a no-tip establishment. There are seven different customizable categories, such as spiciness, richness, and noodle texture.

    The only other dishes available on the menu are a pork belly appetizer, a matcha tofu dessert, and a small selection of Japanese beers. If you find yourself with too much broth at the end of your noodles you can opt for the “Kae-Dama,” or noodle refill, at a half ($2.90) or full ($3.90) portion.

  • After nine years of plans and rumors, popular Japanese ramen chain Ichiran has finally opened its first US location in Bushwick, Brooklyn, and in addition to its specialty tonkotsu (pork) broth and handmade noodles, it’s also known for “low-interaction dining” — i.e. eating a meal without interacting with a single other person, not even your waiter.

  • In its “flavor concentration booths,” you can eat without the tedium of chatting to a companion, being welcomed by a host or even thanking a waiter. Arrivals are greeted by a lighted panel indicating which booths are available. Each diner is enclosed in a narrow space like a library carrel, in perfect solitude. Orders are taken and delivered by unseen servers. This sensory and social deprivation, the theory goes, allows for full savoring of the broth (pork bone only), the noodles (thin, not curly) and the toppings. It also encourages eating ramen in the Japanese manner — quickly, so the noodles do not overcook, and loudly, with slurping — without the worry of splashing or distracting a neighbor.

  • The restaurant, which has 61 worldwide locations, prides itself on serving just one type of soup: pork-bone-broth tonkotsu, which you have the option to order and eat without saying a word… Although the restaurant only serves one type of soup, Ichiran’s ramen is as customizable as it gets: you can adjust the strength of the dashi, the richness of the broth, the amount of garlic in the soup, whether or not it’s served with pork, the level of spiciness, the texture of the noodles, and add any extra toppings. All of this is done without speaking to a single person.

Getting There

Momo Sushi Shack

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If you like Williamsburg’s Bozu (we do) you’ll love this slightly more formal outpost in Bushwick. Creative sushi “bombs” and deliciously fatty izakaya in a sparse minimalist setting. Be sure to try the Spicy Scallop Hand Roll, the Heritage Pork Betty, and the Fried Chicken.

Featured Reviews

  • Organic pork belly (“Pork Betty”) arrives in a ring of bite-sized slices, tender and cooked in a soy, sake, ginger, and garlic sauce. Fried chicken emerges heavily breaded and delicious, with ponzu dipping sauce and chile oil on the side. On the sushi menu, the “bombs” reign supreme, slightly larger than a normal roll and lacking the seaweed wrap. Meanwhile, unusual combinations, like the Mc Low bomb (toro, avocado, wasabi cream) and the salmon guacamole roll (salmon, homemade guacamole) mingle with a vegetarian lineup of tofu and vegetable options.

  • The pork betty ($10) deserves to be celebrated, its name carved into stone structures and sung from rooftops. Slices of pork belly bobbed in a sake-and-soy sauce mixture, each slice boasting a polka dot of wasabi cream and a burst of pure porcine flavor, a holy union of bacon and umami. We would have drunk the dregs.

  • Understated but “definitely not a shack”, this Bushwick Japanese “go-to” serves “interesting, delicious” small plates and “unconventional” sushi (including lots of veggie options); its wooden communal tables “fill up fast” at prime times, so regulars “get there early.”

Getting There

Okonomi / YUJI Ramen

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A tiny Japanese restaurant on the Graham Avenue L Train stop with multiple personalities. During the day, it’s called Okonomi and serves up traditional Japanese set meals known as ‘Ichiju sansai’ that consist of miso soup, roasted fish, vegetables, and an egg served with rice. At night it becomes one of the city’s more acclaimed ramen joints serving seasonal seafood as well as Mazemen (no-broth ramen dishes). The setting is indicative of Japanese minimalism and the seating is limited to 12 tables. From the owners: ‘[We] embody the Mottainai philosophy of minimizing waste and appreciating what is given. We source our seafood from the Atlantic Ocean. We shop for produce from local farmer’s markets. We make our ceramics with an artist based in upstate New York. Our greatest challenge is to honor the life in what surrounds us.’

Featured Reviews

  • Everything about the place embodies the Japanese concept of mottainai, let nothing go to waste. The dining room, in shades of wood, soil, and water, is minimal without being austere. Dried fish skins decorate the walls; bones from the morning’s fish go straight into the evening’s unctuous broth. But for a chef who values simplicity Haraguchi gives diners a lot of options. On weekday nights, the restaurant transforms into Yuji Ramen, a noodle joint, while weekend evenings feature a ten-course ramen tasting menu. The biggest draw, though, is the daily Japanese set breakfast. 

  • One restaurant. Two names. During the day, this tiny 12-seat house of chopstick heaven is home to Okonomi, in which they serve a traditional Japanese set meal called “Ichiju Sansai.” At night, the space gets taken over by Yuji Ramen, one of the best, most unique noodle joints that exists in this fine city filled with ramen. David Chang may claim ramen is dead – clearly he hasn’t been to Yuji.

  • “Talk about originality”, this “tiny” Williamsburg Japanese from chef Yuji Haraguchi provides “traditional” ichiju-sansai set meals for breakfast and lunch, then segues into Yuji Ramen at night, offering “cutting-edge” noodle soups; seats can be scarce in the “minimal” space, which doesn’t take reservations.

  • A small counter and a handful of tables is the extent of this tiny café headed by Chef Yuji Haraguchi, famous for his ramen pop-ups. Regardless of the time of day, Okonomi’s delightfully unconstrained Japanese cuisine is a compelling reason to visit. Locally grown produce and domestic fish are the foundation of the high-quality ichiju sansai, a set lunch of shioyaki (salt-grilled) or miso-marinated broiled fish, rice, miso soup, and shira-ae (wilted greens with a tofu dressing). Come evening, the focus shifts to ramen, with each steaming bowl bearing the distinctive hand of the skilled chef. 

  • This 12-seat nook is a cozier setting for a ridiculously nourishing meal: a daily choice of local fish (bluefish roasted in sake lees and ocean perch, recently), served with a cube of Japanese omelette, tofu-dressed broccoli rabe, brown rice with kombu, and miso soup. At night, the space morphs into Yuji Ramen, the hit noodle den that blazed a trail for broth-less mazemen by incorporating Italian technique and peddling creative dishes like salmon cheese ramen.

Getting There

Ramen Yebisu

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Ramen Yebisu has mixed reviews, but we’re here to tell you that the naysayers are wrong. Ramen Yebisu’s Sapporo-style ramen is some of the best to be found in the city. We recommend the Tonkotsu Shoyu which has a thick, creamy sauce and comes with pork, red pickled ginger, and toasted seaweed. Don’t forget the pickled egg. They are annoyingly cash only.

Featured Reviews

  • Chef and Hokkaido native Akira Hiratsuka ladles signature bowlfuls of Sapporo-style ramen, characterized by its seafood-infused broth and wavy noodles aged for 48-hours. The results are distinct and delicious. Among the host of options to be tried are shoyu (soy-based), shio (salt-based), or the special house ramen brimming with a bounty of shellfish. A recent unique offering featured a fiery broth infused with a blend of 12 spices and fish sauce and filled with bone-in pork rib, cabbage, and red chilies. Slurp your soup at one of two seating options in the moody, dark-walled space: perched atop tall tables or at a counter looking into the kitchen, where a refrigerator unit is stocked with custom-made noodles.

  • You don’t have to go to Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island, for Sapporo-style ramen, which is a relatively rare find in the tonkotsu-ridden landscape of New York City slurp shops. Named after the Japanese god of fishermen, Ramen Yebisu specializes in seafood-laced broth that has a fermented, miso taste. The bowls carry strong aromas and come in a few varieties, and you should either take the seafood theme to the extreme with the eponymous Yebisu bowl (the noodles come swimming with prawns, snow crab, mussels, and scallops) or get your roasted pork fix with the salty Shio ramen.

  • Our problem with Ramen Yebisu lies mostly with the broth, which always seems to fall flat. And that’s not in comparison to the ramen on steroids that people are used to from places like Ippudo. We’ve had authentic Japanese ramen with mellow flavors, and we like it. But this stuff doesn’t seem to have any flavor at all. On top of that, this restaurant seems to be out of order. The service is always confusing, and we found it to be a little bit messy, like they couldn’t be bothered to pick up the straw wrappers or wipe down the tables. I know we’re in Williamsburg where dirty is supposed to be cool, but guess what, no it isn’t. Let’s get a broom up in here.

Getting There

Sandobe

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A fusion of Japanese sushi and Korean food with karaoke rooms in the back. The menu is a bit overwhelming with Sushi Sets, Ramen and Udon, Teriyaki dishes and more, but the food will not disappoint. Many of the dishes are shareable, such as the Korean Fried Chicken and Kimchi Pancakes. Specialty rolls are named after celebrities; Taylor Swift (Shrimp, Tuna, and King Crab) and the Kanye West (Salmon, Avocado, and King Crab). Wash it all down with some sake or a Japanese craft beer — Yona Yona Pale Ale, Aooni IPA, Wednesday Cat White Ale, Tokyo Black Porter, Samurai Barley Ale and Japanese Golden Kolsh are all available. The dining room is large and has a series of simple, elegant wood tables, perfect for groups. Three karaoke rooms are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Featured Reviews

  • Sandobe is a Korean and Japanese hybrid that is currently open for lunch, dinner, and karaoke. The Bushwick restaurant is offering appetizers items like a seafood pancake ($14), Korean fried chicken ($12), miso ramen ($13), and kimchi pork fried rice ($11). There’s poke on the menu, too. The karaoke rooms are available by the hour, and can fit up to 30 guests.

Getting There

Suzume

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A cozy Japanese gastropub with ramen, sushi, and shareable small plates including crispy chicken wings and spicy fish tacos with pickled carrot and cilantro. The ramen is certainly a good choice, but we prefer the sushi and tacos. If you’re more in the mood for drinks, they have a fantastic whiskey and sake list. The cozy atmosphere makes Suzume perfect for a romantic night out.

Featured Reviews

  • Grab a stool from the polished walnut bar that claims almost half Suzume’s 650-square feet of wiggle room — peruse through some Japanese and American beers, rice wine and grape wine, and a flurry of tropical sounding libations flavored with ingredients like coconut water, passionfruit, and calamansi — and the place comes into focus… The salmon ramen, as well as Briones’ poke,sushi, and rolls, all use responsibly caught and local fish when possible, though it’s harder to go local in the winter. Suzume’s sushi is anything but Edo-style traditional. It’s made from fresh, high quality fish, but often dressed with unexpected flavors, like the calamansi ramp vinaigrette found in the salmon poke

  • Japanese corner spot Suzume’s owners did their space up in thrift-store style, from a wood-panel bar to a chandelier that looks like it could have appeared on a late-seventies Stevie Nicks album cover. A small menu embodies the same nonchalance: Basic sushi rolls are fuller and more flavorful than most, with spicy salmon and avocado melting together beneath a mild mayo sauce enlivened by charred shishito peppers. The best item here is also the most basic: House ramen consists of delicious chunks of braised, fatty Berkshire pork belly and tasty thin wheat noodles.

  • Despite all of those ANDs, Suzume packs a lot of good things into a surprisingly concise menu. There are a few sushi options, a few “snacks” (tacos, wings), a few bowls of ramen, and a few other items just in case you’re the hardest person in New York to please. As for prices – the most expensive thing on the menu is $11. The addition of a great drinks list also makes Suzume a place where you can have a gin-beet-carrot-apple-ginger cocktail while eating a spicy tuna roll and feel neither like you’re at a spa nor Tao. What this all boils down to is a happiness free-for-all – no matter how or what you order, it’s going to be good, and it’s going to be fun.

Getting There