Sushi Gari

[Swankalicious]

Worth the price?

[scamhi]

yes

[mikeyrad]

Great sushi, lousy service and atmosphere. The staff tries to rush you out if you have an early rezzy. For my money (lots of it), i'd rather go to Yasuda.

Edited February 4, 2004 by mikeyrad (log)

[Creeper]

How does it compare to Yasuda? Super high quality and traditional or more modern? I love Yasuda but haven't tried Gari yet and am debating it as well.

[alanamoana]

i don't find the service at gari to be particularly bad, but they do rush you and it certainly doesn't compare to yasuda in it's level of formality.

gari is a "neighborhood" restaurant, so expect families (regulars) with young kids and some other unusual and rather noisy people to be packed into a tiny space.

i think they both have merits, but i do prefer yasuda to gari for my money. but gari is only one block away from me...so i just order haru for delivery

[Todd36]

Last night, I walked by the new Sushi of Gari west side location, on Columbus Avenue between 77th and 78th. Space used to be the bar Potion. Very crowded, with a two hour wait for a table, and an upscale looking crowd. Makes you wonder why someone hasn't opened a good upscale sushi place in the area before. There is clearly enough market there. The menu includes many cooked items that are not the typical things at a sushi bar, it's a little upscale like EN for example. Anyone eaten there yet?

[Daniel]

I agree 100 percent.. For some reason it seems that the upper westside is the only area of the country that has not been affected by the restaurant revolution. You cant get decent chinese food,you cant get a slice of pizza, and you certainly I cant get good mexican food.. For that matter, besides, Onera, Celeste, and an occasional Quest.. The upper west side sucks for food..(Food markets not included). And its not like there is a shortage of people with money up here.

[Pan]

You can't get a slice of pizza at Sal & Carmine's? Did they go bad? For Mexican, I used to like the place on 85 St. between Broadway and Amsterdam, but that was quite a number of years ago. If we're going to continue with more general discussion of the Upper West Side, though, we'll need another thread.

[amyknyc]

I apologize for the length of this....

I ate at the new Gari this past Saturday night. We were four people with a reservation for 10 p.m. (caught a movie beforehand) and I thought that maybe the late time would help avoid the crowds. Not quite. Just to be fair to the restaurant, almost everything we ordered was very good quality -- but the service and the attitude were horrible. I will probably never go back again because of this (as an aside, I haven't been to Sushi of Gari on the Upper East in a while, but don't remember it being this bad).

We got there a few minutes before 10 and were told that they were waiting for our table to finish dessert. There's nowhere to really wait inside, and you end up being shuttled back and forth between tables and doorways as servers try to move through. At 10:20 we were asked if we wanted to wait for our table at a big, long communal table that was unoccupied and order drinks. We looked over at the table that was supposed to be ours and saw waiters setting down dessert. Hmmm, so much for them finishing dessert 20 minutes before. So we sat and ordered drinks. At 10:30 we were given menus and asked to order appetizers at the communal table, and since we were starving we ordered edemame and a tuna tarare to tide us over. We really wanted to do the omakase and wanted to wait until we were at our table to eat. Finally, at 10:45 we were seated at a different table, where our waiter problems began.

When we asked the waiter about the omakase, he explained that it was $60 for 10 pieces of sushi or 10 pieces of sashimi or 5 pieces sushi and 5 pieces sashimi. I asked if we could set our own price and after what seemed like a lot of confusion (the waiter started trying to explain that we could do just tuna omakase or just yellowtail omakase and the chef would only send those pieces out), the waiter told us that it was cheaper if we just ordered a la carte and that he didn't recommend the omakase! I was really surprised by this, but his comment discouraged some of my friends and by that point we were so hungry no one really wanted to argue. We ordered about 30 pieces of sushi -- tuna, salmon, eel, scallop, ebi (which they were out of), snapper but when I asked about several names of fish I didn't recognize and wanted to try I was told they were types of mackeral that the kitchen didn't carry. We also ordered some rolls -- there was a fried oyster one that I remember liking a lot. I had to ask the waiter if there were any specials to which he responded, "Well, sure, but the only one I'd recommend is a special snapper with something like a salad on top." We ordered one, it was exactly as billed and not necessarily something I recommend.

Sushi comes and I look at the plate and realize that instead of raw scallop there are four pieces of seasoned, cooked scallop on top of rice. I've eaten at most major sushi places in this city and have never had this happen (and scallop is one of my favorites, so I was disappointed). I practically had to wave my arms in the air to get the waiter's attention and ask if they have raw scallop. I was told "No, no, scallop is not supposed to be served raw," in a tone that implied I was an idiot when it came to sushi. I must have looked at him like he was nuts because he then offered to take it off the bill.

The sushi was all of pretty good quality -- no complaints in that department. The service alternated between being condescending and completely absent (we were one of three tables still there and it took forever to get our bill). I think that with 2 bottles of sake and 2 beers, the bill came to about $300 before tip.

[Daniel]

The sushi was all of pretty good quality -- no complaints in that department. The service alternated between being condescending and completely absent (we were one of three tables still there and it took forever to get our bill). I think that with 2 bottles of sake and 2 beers, the bill came to about $300 before tip.

←

If it were me, the bill wouldnt have come to much more then three hundred dollars after the tip.. Thats terrible you were treated like that.

Edited February 8, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[Todd36]

When I wandered by last week and asked about the wait for a table, I was told two hours, which is unusual for a place where no one was waiting. I guess they thought they were 100% booked by reservation. I happened to be hanging around the area for 30 minutes waiting for a friend, and I noted during that time that several tables remained empty. They seem to lack experience in managing tables. I didn't find the hostess very friendly and her English was weak. My friend is a native Japanese speaker and couldn't make any headway with the hostess either. Based on your experience, I'm thinking they have management problems.

[mikeyrad]

Good, but somewhat overpriced sushi and particularly brusque service has been my experience with the East Side branch as well.

[SobaAddict70]

A shockingly succulent deboned young chicken luxuriated under a light soy glaze and a dusting of sansho pepper.

Seared toro was sprinkled with soy-marinated garlic and scallions. A piece of bluefin tuna sported an ecru plumage of tofu mousse.

Gari (Frank Bruni)

Soba

[Todd36]

In the on-going sushi "wars", went to Gari last night (East Side). This was a quick trip, spent $69 on ten pieces selected by chef. Set a $70 budget....guess that becomes $69. This was very good, but a different style than I am used to. Interesting bits were:

1. Lobster, sauced with a vingerette. This came out quite well, in fact, I liked this better than lobster with butter.

2. Seared toro, one of the best treatments I've had for toro.

3. A very nice oyster.

4. A great mini-crab leg, not sure what kind of crab it came from.

5. The regular tuna was better than average, and I actually liked it, which is something because I'm sick of regular tuna.

6. Fresh white shrimp, which was second best to what I've had at Uishi.

Normal bits were:

1. Sea Eel. It was above average, but not like the fresh stuff at Yasuda or Ushi Wakamaru.

2. Salmon. A little pricey to have Salmon in this kind of assortment. Served with sauteed tomatos, which might have worked a little better if the tomatos were in season. The salmon itself was good, but not exceptional.

Downside bit was:

Tuna tartare with pickel. The tuna was past its prime.

Mot sure what to make of it bit:

Some sort of white eel like accordian thing, that I didn't like much and my friend didn't either. Might have been a good example of what it is supposed to be, don't know, just didn't like it in general.

We were a walk-by, service was quick and efficient and they warned us they were close to closing. Of course, whole thing was negoiated in Japanese.

Pieces are moderate in size, rice was good but not special. Overall, I'd put it in the same general league as Ushi or Sushi Seki (althogh I think I like both of those places better, matter of taste). I thought it was a little pricet for what it was. I thought it was better than Yasuda.

Uishi is traditional, Gari is non-traditional and Seki is somewhere in between.

[Felonius]

I'm a long time fan of Yasuda, and have recently paid a few visits to the new Gari on the UWS as it's near my apartment. I think Gari does a good job, especially with more creative "fusion" sushi items when one orders omakase. However, I prefer Yasuda for straight ahead sushi and think their quality of fish is better overall. Also, I think the rice at Yasuda is unbeatable in NYC. My overall vote goes to Yasuda, and I've found both places to be similar in price (expensive).

[Felonius]

Another note on service. Yasuda has has Gari beat hands down in my experience. Both are hard places to get a reservation, but once you're in Yasuda, they are extremely friendly and accomodating. I have much more limited experience at Gari, but I get the impression they feel they're doing me a big favor to give me a seat at the sushi bar. At the tables it's a bit better, but they have expressed all but open displeasure the two times I asked to order sushi by the piece rather than omakase. Things also feel a bit rushed. The service isn't bad by any means, but they don't go out of their way to make you feel comfortable. At this price point, I expected better.

[jogoode]

I went to Gari once for a press dinner and was surprised that the quality of the fish and rice was as high as it was. That said, this is not my kind of sushi, though some of the sauce-fish combinations worked well. (Some did not--like an atrocious salmon with tomato and onion! Bruni praised this in his review.) I found myself wanting to knock the little bits of flavor from my sushi and eat it plain.

[Todd36]

I went to Gari once for a press dinner and was surprised that the quality of the fish and rice was as high as it was. That said, this is not my kind of sushi, though some of the sauce-fish combinations worked well. (Some did not--like an atrocious salmon with tomato and onion! Bruni praised this in his review.) I found myself wanting to knock the little bits of flavor from my sushi and eat it plain.

←

The Salmon with tomato was my second least favorite. My least favorite (I've figured out what it was now, updating my prior post) was the pike eel.

There's a finite number of wholesale high end fish places, I've heard as few as two or three. There can't be more than 25 or so places in town that will spend big bucks on fish wholesale, and I don't think that few places can support that many wholesalers. Some places do claim to order their fish from Japan, but I expect it gets cleared through a small number of dealers, importing raw fish via air express is expensive and requires permits. Bottom line is that most places are getting their fish from a small number of wholesalers, which means most of them start off with basically the same fish. Storage techniques, how much fish they refuse to serve and technqiue probably account for most of the variation we notice. I was told that years ago from the owner at Kurma, he said tossing fish that didn't meet his standards was the main technique, offering more cash to wholesalers didn't add much. I like Seki better than Gari for example, and I wouldn't be surprised to learn they get their fish from the same suppliers. This also explains why there can be wide variations in sushi within the same price range, what they do with the fish after they get it is important. Go on St. Marks for example is a real, real dive, with sushi at almost deli price levels yet its pretty decent, I've had worse sushi for more than double the $$$$, they seem to be able to handle the fish well.

[JWangSDC]

As far as traditional sushi goes...I urge everyone and anyone to try Sushi of Gari's O-toro. I firmly believe it is the best piece of O-toro you will ever have. Other than that, Sushi of gari isn't that good for traditional sushi. I do appreciate the omakase pieces so much and salmon with sauteed tomatoes and onion is one of my favorite items. However, when I'm in the mood for traditional I head over to Jewel Bako. It beats Yasuda hands down in my opinion. I prefer Shimizu to Yasuda as well. However after reading so many rave reviews, I'm going to head back to yasuda again. Hopefully this time I'll enjoy more htan just the eel,uni, and cooked shrimp.

I went to Gari once for a press dinner and was surprised that the quality of the fish and rice was as high as it was. That said, this is not my kind of sushi, though some of the sauce-fish combinations worked well. (Some did not--like an atrocious salmon with tomato and onion! Bruni praised this in his review.) I found myself wanting to knock the little bits of flavor from my sushi and eat it plain.

←

The Salmon with tomato was my second least favorite. My least favorite (I've figured out what it was now, updating my prior post) was the pike eel.

There's a finite number of wholesale high end fish places, I've heard as few as two or three. There can't be more than 25 or so places in town that will spend big bucks on fish wholesale, and I don't think that few places can support that many wholesalers. Some places do claim to order their fish from Japan, but I expect it gets cleared through a small number of dealers, importing raw fish via air express is expensive and requires permits. Bottom line is that most places are getting their fish from a small number of wholesalers, which means most of them start off with basically the same fish. Storage techniques, how much fish they refuse to serve and technqiue probably account for most of the variation we notice. I was told that years ago from the owner at Kurma, he said tossing fish that didn't meet his standards was the main technique, offering more cash to wholesalers didn't add much. I like Seki better than Gari for example, and I wouldn't be surprised to learn they get their fish from the same suppliers. This also explains why there can be wide variations in sushi within the same price range, what they do with the fish after they get it is important. Go on St. Marks for example is a real, real dive, with sushi at almost deli price levels yet its pretty decent, I've had worse sushi for more than double the $$$$, they seem to be able to handle the fish well.

←

[oakapple]

A friend and I had dinner at Gari last night. The place doesn't seem to be as crowded as the posts upthread would suggest, so perhaps the buzz has died down. From the time we arrived (6:00) to the time we left (7:15), it wasn't full. I do realize that those are early hours for a Saturday night dinner in New York, but we had an opera to catch. If you're looking for another pre-Lincoln Center option, Gari should be on your list.

We also saw no evidence of the service issues mentioned upthread. The staff was helpful, attentive, and efficient. We were also pleased to find that Gari is a rarity among Manhattan's newer restaurants: a place where you can actually hear yourself talk, without having to shout.

It's rare that Frank Bruni covers a restaurant so well that there's really nothing much for me to add, but his two-star review on March 2, 2005, sounded all the right notes. I agree with the two-star rating. We weren't able to try as much of the menu as Bruni did, but we were most pleased with what we had.

We had the sushi omakase. As Bruni mentioned, the restaurant actively discourages the use of soy sauce, and indeed there is none on the table. Our server made a point of mentioning that none was needed. I'm no expert, but this was some of the best sushi I'd ever tasted. Every piece was unique, and already perfectly seasoned. To dip in soy sauce would have been a crime, and we remained honest citizens.

As others have mentioned, including Bruni, you aren't going to get out of Gari cheaply. The recommended omakase came with ten pieces each, which wasn't enough to sate us, so we had three more. None of the sake options was inexpensive, but we settled on a $47 bottle that we nursed through the meal. With edamame and dessert (a fig tart with green tea ice cream), the final bill for two including tax came to over $200 before the tip.

This is sushi on another level of skill and creativity than one finds at most Japanese restaurants. I can't recommend Gari to people on a tight budget, but if you can afford the prices it's well worth it.

Incidentally, the correct name of the restaurant is just "Gari," not "Sushi Gari." The confusion may arise because its East-side cousin is called "Sushi of Gari."

Edited October 23, 2005 by oakapple (log)

[Felonius]

I live nearby and was excited to have this new addition to rather barren landscape of fine dining that is the UWS.

I've eaten at Gari several times now, and am not a big fan. The sushi is excellent in terms of creativity, and the quality if quite high as well. However, I've experienced consistently brusque and condescending service. I've also been given the cold shoulder for wanting to order a la carte at the bar rather than omakase. At the price range they're in (expensive), I expect better service. Looks like I'll be making the hike back to Yasuda and Hatsuhana in the future when I get that quality sushi craving.

[jeanki]

I just wanted to rave about the sushi bar omakase I had here (east side); I've never spent so much on so little food and yet emerged so ecstatic. Each piece was absolute freshness and harmony and uniqueness. And for the record I thought the grilled tomato mixture was RIDICULOUS (as in terrific). I can't remember every piece:

-a white fish with a light dill vinaigrette

-snow crab leg with yuzu marinade

-white fish with lovely little vegetables on top and crunchy lotus root (Favorite)

-marinated lobster

-grilled squid with uni sauce (totally NUTS)

-grilled mackerel

-seared smoked salmon

-Spanish mackerel

-oyster with sweet rice inside

-white fish with the grilled tomato sauce

-sweet white shrimp mixture

-seared toro dripping in its own melted ocean butter (awesome)

there was more but its all a fantastic blur now. Words don't do it justice. I could care less about the decor or service (both of which were perfectly serviceable). It's better to go early before they're too crowded/overwhelmed. IMO worth every penny. I am spoiled forever.

Edited March 9, 2006 by jeanki (log)

[raji]

How much was it?

[jeanki]

How much was it?

←

for one person around $100 not including tax and tip. i think it's approximately $7 per piece.

Edited March 10, 2006 by jeanki (log)

[Sethro]

I ate at the UWS Gari Thursday night (despite cautionary Egullet reviews) and was very impressed. The sashimi was admirable--not quite Yasuda level--but the sushi was amazing. I personally like my sushi to be dressed (in terms of sauces and adornments--I'm not a purist), and everything I tried was very clever and well executed.

Tuna belly with a healthy dollop of tangy tofu mousse was a particular stand-out. Fluke with pine nuts and mitsuba vinegrette was also very nice.

Most importantly, the rice was AWESOME. Some of the most perfect sushi rice I've ever had, and I worked at Nobu for a spell as well as being an avid sushi snob in general.

The price tag is ridiculous of course; $75 for 5 pieces sashimi and 5 pieces sushi. I may go back to sample some of the kitchen menu though, there were some good sounding hot aps (seared foie with tamarind plum chutney and pineapple brule).

Edited March 24, 2006 by Sethro (log)