BondSt

[tommyf]

Ok so Snackbar took a deserved hammering at my hands so now I feel it is time to say something good. The name is Bond.....Bond St.

Ok this place has a rep as being a little shishy, but the food mmmmmm!. Pricey? Yes! but the food mmmmm!

Did they put gold leaf on some of the sashimi? yes? Was I dubious about eating it? yes.. but it tasted mmmmmm!. If you are feeling rich, as I was once along time ago- This place is fantastic. Romantic, intruguing, definitely worth a visit. Ignore the schmultzy poseurs and enjoy, what I have found to be, some of the best food in NYC.

If anyone needs a taster i would be more than happy to oblige!

[Felonius]

I'm with tommyf on this one. Yes Bond St. is a trendy place to "see and be seen", and yes it does have surprisingly great food despite all that. It don't think it provides the same quality as the truly top-tier sushi restaurants in NYC (i.e. Sushi Yasuda), but that's not the point. This place is more about creative and fun nouvelle cuisine sushi (i.e. Nobu).

My favorites include the sesame-crusted shrimp roll and the smoked salmon sushi. The house "saketini" drink is also excellent - and available either as a dry or sweet concoction.

I also think it is a great place to take a date. The food and drinks are excellent, the atmosphere is very lively and hip, and the whole experience is more fun than most "upscale" restaurants in NYC.

I usually choose Bond St. when I have friends from out of town who want to have a "New York City experience". There is usually some amusing people-watching potential in the downstairs bar, with enough black clad metrosexuals and eurotrash to satisfy even a jaded visitor from L.A. Last time I took my brother to dinner at Bond St., Rod Stewart was holding court in the booth next to us with what appeared to be a gaggle of supermodels . I was my brother's hero in the restaurant selection wars for the next year! Of course I then had to take my other brother when he visited NYC, and what did we get? Marv Alpert sitting at the next table with an unnatractive date (you can't win every time!).

On the downside, Bond St. is quite expensive, can be loud, and the service is often incredibly slow when they are packed (which is just about every night). And heed this warning from someone who knows - don't slurp down too many saketinis during the long wait for your food to arrive. You will wake up the next day feeling like you've been beat up by a mugger, and your wallet will indeed be empty......

Edited August 10, 2003 by Felonius (log)

[SobaAddict70]

tommyf, next time you're in town, try Jewel Bako and let us know what you think.

For a thread on Jewel Bako, try this one...

Cheers,

Soba

[ballast_regime]

Good friend is a manager at BondSt, and it's a money machine above all else. Ridiculous the amounts of cash that flows through there.

IML

b/r

[oakapple]

A few years ago, BondSt was the Japanese restaurant of the rich and famous. Every review mentioned the celebrities and fashion models one encountered there. It is still doing a healthy business, but you can land a reservation easily on OpenTable, and you score a 1,000-point bonus for requesting an off-peak time, which we did.

BondSt has a suave décor of cool earthtones. My brother said it's the kind of restaurant that the chicks on Sex and the City frequent, but which he always assumed didn't really exist. From the unassuming frontage of a townhouse on the eponymous street in NoHo, you don't imagine that such an oasis lies waiting for you inside. An elevator took us to our table on the second floor, emphasizing the feeling of being transported to another world.

I ordered the $60 tasting menu for me and my two guests. (Tasting menus are also available at $40, $80, and $100.) We were served eight courses, as follows:

1. Steamed, salted edamame.

2. Vegetable tower in a preparation so fancy it seemed a crime to bite into it.

3. Small squares of tuna tartare, with a respberry sauce and szechuan peppercorns.

4. BBQ quail wings with a beehive of fried soba noodles. The crispy quail wings were a highlight, although gone all too quickly, but the soba noodles were ruined by an overly salty soy sauce.

5. Scallop and shrimp over a sweet potato puree. This was the hit of the evening.

6. A sushi plate, six or seven pieces, with a mixture of salmon, whitefish, yellowtail, tuna roll, and others.

7. Noodle soup with seafood tempura.

8. Dessert - each of us received something different, which we shared, and all of which were wonderful. One was a bento box of mixed sorbets and ices; another was a heavenly preparation resembling strawberry shortcake with heavy cream, served in a sundae bowl; and third, a vanilla custard.

We ordered from the lower end of the sake menu, a $45 bottle that was smooth and fruity to the taste - one of the best sakes I've experienced, which may just tell you that I am not a true connoisseur. Service was friendly, attentive, and unpretentious. The total bill for three, including tax and tip, was $285. I can't say it equaled the amazing lunch I had at Nobu a few weeks ago, but it was a great meal nevertheless, which I'd be happy to recommend to anybody.

BondSt is at 6 Bond Street between Broadway and Lafayette, about a block from the Bleecker St station on the 6, or two blocks from the Broadway-Lafayette station on the B/D/F/V.

Edited May 30, 2004 by oakapple (log)

[Todd36]

Had dinner there tonight, $80 a person omakase at the sushi bar. It was fine, but not worth $80. It did include a piece of Fugu. Total was around 6 pieces each of sashami (all pre-sauced) and sushi, not pre-sauced. It was all fine, but nothing impressive. Any one of a number of places in town are better.

[Luckylies]

fugu? you ate FUGU at bonds st?

that didn't seem a little strange to you?

[Todd36]

fugu? you ate FUGU at bonds st?

that didn't seem a little strange to you? 

←

I didn't order it, but it was listed as a special of the night. It just came. I am still alive.

[raji]

Save the recent opening of Ushiwakamaru, there really isn't any good Sushi downtown...and that's how it's been for decades! I went there last year, and it was pretty good, but way overpriced for what it is. Esashi is VERY good and in the east village, that's my secret spot...

[Luckylies]

le miu's got the freshness and really good uni. just no style, it's worth looking into.