Kanoyama

[BryanZ]

This place is on the corner of the 11th and 2nd. It's been something of a sleeper hit for the past couple of years but has gained more cred with the foodie set in more recent months. I usually don't eat much sushi in Manhattan, but the $31 omakase plate seemed like a great value and worth trying.

Stopped by last night and made a reservation at the bar. Despite this, this is a relatively new-style sushi-ya where you order from a waiter. I split the mini-appetizer tasting with a friend and ordered the omakase plate for myself. The omakase plate consisted on this night of seven rather large pieces of sushi, one huge piece of feel, and a half tuna-shiso roll. The uni was tuna were very good, though not up to, say, Yasuda-quality. Some of the other pieces were just good but nothing special. The other few were somewhere in the middle.

In the end, I did find the quality of the fish to be quite good. This is a very good neighborhood spot. I'd be curious to put it head-to-head with Ushi, but based on what I've heard it might come up short when compared to that better known establishment. Where it falls short in my opinion is in the details. The rice isn't particularly distinctive, nor is the tea. And dessert, perhaps expectedly, seems an afterthought.

I'll go back if I'm in the area and am craving sushi. It's not, however, Yasuda-downtown or anything of the sort.

[LPShanet]

This place is on the corner of the 11th and 2nd.  It's been something of a sleeper hit for the past couple of years but has gained more cred with the foodie set in more recent months.  I usually don't eat much sushi in Manhattan, but the $31 omakase plate seemed like a great value and worth trying.

Stopped by last night and made a reservation at the bar.  Despite this, this is a relatively new-style sushi-ya where you order from a waiter.  I split the mini-appetizer tasting with a friend and ordered the omakase plate for myself.  The omakase plate consisted on this night of seven rather large pieces of sushi, one huge piece of feel, and a half tuna-shiso roll.  The uni was tuna were very good, though not up to, say, Yasuda-quality.  Some of the other pieces were just good but nothing special.  The other few were somewhere in the middle.

In the end, I did find the quality of the fish to be quite good.  This is a very good neighborhood spot.  I'd be curious to put it head-to-head with Ushi, but based on what I've heard it might come up short when compared to that better known establishment.  Where it falls short in my opinion is in the details.  The rice isn't particularly distinctive, nor is the tea.  And dessert, perhaps expectedly, seems an afterthought.

I'll go back if I'm in the area and am craving sushi.  It's not, however, Yasuda-downtown or anything of the sort.

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If I remember correctly (someone please correct me if I'm remembering wrong), Kanoyama is actually not all that different from the previous incarnations that were in this space. When it was Iso, it was also a better than average place. The owners sold, but the sushi chef(s) remained. I'm not sure whether all the guys behind the counter stayed, but I'm pretty sure the principal itamae did. In fact, he may have been the one who bought it from the owners. I haven't eaten there since the name change, but always found it to be very solid and, as stated above, better than the average sushi ya. However, if you're a sushi purist, it was never nearly in the league of Ushi, which has some really amazing stuff, and definitely gives Yasuda a run for its money in many areas.

[alwang]

A couple of months back, I visited Kanoyama and Ushi in short succession, and my conclusion was that Kanoyama was not in Ushi's league. The quality of fish is comparable, but Ushi's selection is broader and more interesting, and the items which required curing/marinating/prep (saba, ikura) were distinctly better.

Kanoyama is still pretty good though, and I'd go back.

[JWangSDC]

A couple of months back, I visited Kanoyama and Ushi in short succession, and my conclusion was that Kanoyama was not in Ushi's league.  The quality of fish is comparable, but Ushi's selection is broader and more interesting, and the items which required curing/marinating/prep (saba, ikura) were distinctly better.

Kanoyama is still pretty good though, and I'd go back.

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I used to go here a LOT when it was Koi. It's not bad and pretty great for all us kasugo lovers but for pure sushi it cannot be listed among the top in NYC. It is a great restaurant though and worth a visit

[raji]

Koi in the Bryant Park hotel?

[JWangSDC]

Koi in the Bryant Park hotel?

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Kanoyama used to be called Koi years ago, but then changed it's name to kanoyama. Probably due to legal pressure from Koi in the bryant park hotel. I haven't been, but I assume Koi in BP is trash.