I'm not in love with Okonomi because it's one of the few non-hipster restaurants within walking distance from my apartment or because Anuja and I had gone to see the owner do a fantastic fish demonstration at Whole Foods - I love it because it's simple, clean food in its purest form and it makes realize that you don't need a bunch of flash to make a really good dish. As I mentioned, this place is owned by Yuji Haraguchi, who owns the Yuji Ramen stalls in Whole Foods in the East Village and Brooklyn. Anuja and I had seen him give a fish cutting demonstration earlier in the year and he was just the cutest thing ever and just very passionate about his craft. So I was beyond thrilled when he had mentioned in the class that he was opening a restaurant literally 5 minutes from my apartment.
It's on a very unassuming, quiet block in Williamsburg and it just has a lovely peaceful decor. It's pretty small and only fits about 10 people total but I think that's the charm that goes with the overall vibe of the restaurant and menu. The menu is really very basic: it's a set lunch of miso soup, rice with bonito flakes and then a plate of pickled market vegetables, a green vegetable that's blanched and servedwith a tofu cream and sesame seeds and an Japanese egg custard/omelet and then the fresh fish of the day - all for $15 (although I heard it used to be $9). That day it was tile fish and king mackerel. What I love about this place is that the menu changes daily based on what's fresh and available, so it's always a pleasant surprise. They also have a small selection of appetizers and that day they had monkfish liver ($5), bluefish tartar ($7) and scallop sashimi ($8). I am obsessed with scallop sashimi so we had to order it and it was amazing. There was 4-5 pieces and each were incredibly smooth and tasted like they just came out of the water. Delicious. As for the lunch set, it was fantastic. Such a basic and simple concept but everything was just right and to top it off, it was so healthy for you. I personally liked the tile fish more than the mackerel because it seemed more flakey and moist but in the end, they were both great. The pickled vegetables and blanched vegetables were a nice complement to the rest of the dish and the whole experience was just incredibly calming and pleasant. I felt like it was an oasis away from the hustle and bustle of Brooklyn and definitely a departure from the hipsters. And to top it off, everything here was incredibly reasonably priced. I just hope he can keep up these prices and still stay in business. Despite how simple the food look, I left fairly full from the whole experience.
But what's really great about the experience was that Yuji himself was at the restaurant and could not have been nicer to us. Anuja had posted something on Okonomi's Facebook wall a day or two before our brunch date and he actually recognized her face and made a comment about how he recognized her when we sat down. How often does that happen in NYC? He kindly explained the menu to us and was just incredibly sweet. He was telling us how this place was a year in the making and you could just tell how proud and passionate he was about it. That's what I love about dining out - when you meet someone who just really loves what they do and then on top of it, does it really well with no pretentious attitude. The only negatives I can think about is that I can see how the limiting menu is not for everybody and the restaurant is only open for lunch as of now. But in general I am super excited how close this place is to my apartment and I will definitely be back multiple times. Total bill: ~$50 for 2 with tax and tip
Photo Credit: Yelp
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