Sushi of Gari 46 Review

Sushi of Gari 46
4.0 star rating
150 reviews Rating Details

Top 10 Restaurants in Hell's Kitchen List

Categories: Restaurants Sushi Bars Restaurants Japanese Sushi Bars, Japanese [Edit]
347 W 46th St
(between 8th Ave & 9th Ave)
New York, NY 10036
Neighborhoods: Hell's Kitchen, Theater District, Midtown West
(212) 957-0046
www.sushiofgari.com/

1. *HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS PLACE. I'm definitely coming back.

This is now my favorite sushi place in Manhattan. It's better than Sushi Yasuda, by far. The sashimi at Sushi Yasuda was much less flavorful in comparison to Sushi of Gari.

It's a small place located in Hells Kitchen next to a row of other restaurants. We actually walked by it the first time. The space is a bit small, but not cramped.

FOOD
Seaweed salad / black seaweed / mushrooms -- All good, but not memorable

Tofu appetizer -- Mmm, this was delicious. The outside was crisp, while the inside melted in your mouth. The sauce it came with was also delicious.

Omakase -- This means chef's choice. I think I read somewhere that the use of soy sauce + wasabi on sushi is more of an American thing. Traditionally, the chef flavors the sushi/sashimi for you so no additional flavoring in necessary. With omakase, the chef selects the fish and pairs it with the appropriate sauce. In fact, our waitress asked us not to use soy sauce with the selection. We did request certain items not to be added, though.

There were three plates with 8 pieces - 4 each, 12 total. it ranged from uni, yellowtail, tuna, salmon, etc. My favorite was the salmon topped with tomato.

2. did I go into the wrong Sushi of Gari 46 or what?! Man, it was not good. I mean everything except for the host. He was nice and friendly but everything else was just.... worse than the service at the DMV.

After reading the YELP reviews ( which I always do before going to a new spot) I was super excited for the Omakase. Even though we ( my date) made a reso, we still waited 30 minutes for seats at the bar so we can have the full experience.

Our waitress was prob the first reason why I would knock a star off. I would really like the name of the waitress because she needs to be fired. I'm sorry but been being in the service industry for many years and managing a restaurant lets me know that the kind of service she was giving last night was shit. Maybe she was having a bad day or something but she was rude and could clearly tell she didn't want to be there. She first rolled her eyes when our neighbor eater asked for a menu. She kept reaching over the bar top without any knowledge she is going to, she was always condescending when she was talking to us and on top of that, when my date and I looked at each other just cause of her behavior, she flat out said, " um, my English is not that good so sorry if you can't understand what i'm saying." but in a very sarcastic mean tone! Man, I felt like I was a little kid getting chastised!

On to the chef and the food. Worse and worser ( that's not a word but it describes the experience) . I've been to enough sushi rest and ordered Omakase to know how chefs work. They usually say hi, ask what you like, have a feel for their guests and start their work. Our sushi chef, didn't say one word. After 10 minutes, he put down a piece of sushi on our plate. I asked what it was and he replied, " se........" yep. That was what he said. i couldn't understand what he said. I felt bad but my date asked again what it was and again, " se......." I looked at my date and said, " starburst?" LOL.... We decided it on our own it was sea bass. Next few was not so good. Toro was chewy, half of the omakase was cooked with lots of toppings, no yellowtail, no uni, no specialty fish. what the FUCK?!!!! I did not just pay correction, my date did not just pay $300 for about 15 pieces of fish I could've gotten at a local sushi place!

Oh and if the guest asks if you have yellowtail and you don't reply back, what kind of service is that? Also, if your guest specifically tell you they are allergic to crab and lobster and you still serve it, what kind of service is that??Overall, very disappointed and i feel bad because it seems like others that visited the restaurant had a better experience than I did... =(

3. Oh the perks of living at hells kitchen.
Gari46 is one my very few favorite sushi around my apartment....and probably in Manhattan. Coming from Los Angeles where i can find amazing sushi...i was very disappointed when i first moved to ny three years ago, however sushi of gari changed everything. It might even be better than sushi gen in little tokyo.....
definitely go for the omakase, its worth the price. Most pieces come with a little bit of a garnish which might not sound too authentic but trust me....its no cream cheese, jalapeno, fried tempura bs. its light and refreshing and simply inhances the flavor of the fish. Everything is fresh and portions are not small! Definitely call ahead because its very small and gets crowded!