Asahi

Asahi

Photo: Cititour.com

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Contact Info:

Address: 311 West 48th Street
City: New York, NY
Zip: 10036
map: View the Map
Phone: (212) 307-5040

Food Info:

Menu: View the Menu
Cuisine: Japanese
2nd Cuisine: Sushi

Cititour Review:

With rents soaring in Manhattan, restaurants are forced to come up with unique ways to survive. Asahi is one of them. It's actually two restaurants in one, complete with separate menus. Asahi offers a mix of sushi, sushimi and Japanese tempura dishes, while its sister restaurant, ZeNith, specializes in vegetarian cuisine. The restaurant is located on the ground level of a brownstone with a minimalist decor. Black walls, exposed brick and exposed ceiling beams, as well as some goldfish swimming in a large vase. On the menu at ZeNith you'll find dishes like artichokes sauteed in tomato and basil, spinach linguine in a sesame dressing and dishes made from pumpkin squash and buckwheat noodles. Being a fish lover, I chose Asahi and one of its box meals. For under $20 you get a taste of just about everything. They kind of remind me of TV dinners. In one compartment were perfect slices of tuna, red snapper and salmon sushimi. Sitting next to it were three large fried oysters in a crisp tempura batter. I must say the moist mollusks inside were better than the ones I had at Mary's Fish Camp, which are pretty darn good. The meal also included two fairly large slices of salmon teryaki on a bed of bean sprouts. Add a small carafe of hot sake and the meal is complete. I must say I was impressed by the friendly staff and its ability to help theatergoers. It's not often that a restaurant can get you in and out to watch your show in 20 minutes. But somehow they did. I recommend getting a second bottle of sake and staying awhile.

 

Review By: Thomas Rafael

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