Yakitori Tori Shin

A few nights ago, my parents and I dined at a “new” Japanese restaurant on the east side. I wrote “new” because the restaurant itself isn’t new, but rather, it was new to us.

The restaurant, Yakitori Tori Shin, is a nice yakitori/kushi katsu resturant located in the Lenox Hill neighborhood of Manhattan on 1^st Ave, between 64^th and 65^th street. The restaurant is not that big, but enough to fit a good amount of customers. Whilst there are tables intersperced, the best place to sit is around the counter, where you can watch the chefs preparing your individual skewers of meats and vegetables!

Since it was our first time here, my parents and I opted for the “omakase” menu (chef’s choice). This course allowed us to see how the restaurant works, enjoy the chef’s recommendations, and of course --- enjoy a variety of food. We ate everything from chicken thighs to chicken gizzard, chicken meatballs to pork belly, and much much more!

the omakase menu

the chefs at work

The food was absolutely superb, with each skewer being better than the previous one. The portion size was perfect and the flavors that we tasted were great. Crispy, salty, miso, garlic, chicken, pork, vegetables…huge selection and I enjoyed every morsel! (dad and I wanted to try a bit more...so ordered some extra goodies...)

grilled chicken breast served with pepper, miso, and wasabi

the skewers on the left are chicken wrapped with shiso topped with miso

the skewer on the right is gizzard

grilled marinated chicken

grilled chicken with a spicy miso paste

chicken meatballs

grilled peppers

grilled zucchini

grilled chicken thighs

layered chicken wrapped in a ball and grilled

grilled eryngi mushrooms (a favorite of mine)

grilled pork belly with garlic miso

grilled chicken wings

grilled skin

grilled uni

In addition to 10 skewers, the omakase set came with the choice of donburi (rice bowl), soup, as well as dessert.  The seasonal soup was a pumpkin potage with bits of tofu and mochi. It was velvety smooth and very flavorful. I loved it! For my donburi, my father and I both enjoyed oyako-don (egg and chicken cooked together and served on rice), whilst my mother ordered a soboro-don (seasoned ground chicken served on rice). Our rice bowls all  came with a bowl of clear chicken stock, which was absolutely phenomenal!

pumpkin potage 

my chicken broth and oyako-don

mom's soboro-don

For dessert, my parents and I opted for the shiso sorbet. Shiso is a leaf commonly used in Japanese cooking. I like to explain is like this: shiso is to Japanese cooking as basil is to Italian cooking. It is an incredibly fragrant leaf with a citrusy taste. My mother grows both green and red shiso, and we can’t get enough --- our family LOVES shiso. With that, when we heard “shiso sorbet” as a dessert option, it was a no brainer for us.

shiso sorbet 

The sorbet was more like a granita, but it was delicious. Very refreshing and light. Just the sort of thing you need after a protein heavy grilled meal!

Overall, I’d say that our experience at Yakitori Tori Shin. Was positive. The food was fantastic, the service was good, and the ambience was pleasant. My parents and I had quite a feast, eating about 14 bamboo sticks of food, in addition to a small donburi, soup, and other little side dishes. I’ll admit, I think that the food is a bit overpriced, especially since this is a yakitori establishment, but hey, I’m in Manhattan and it’s Japanese food. I can’t expect it to be inexpensive!