Ikinari Steak officially debuts today at 90 E. 10th St. between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue.
As previously noted, this is the first U.S. location (there are more than 100 worldwide) for the popular Tokyo-based restaurant. The concept: Diners, particularly in-a-rush office workers, stand and basically eat quickly.
The restaurant is getting the full-court press treatment. There are previews galore. Here's more via Eater:
Besides the standing portion of the meal, dining at the restaurant is intended to be an interactive experience. Patrons choose their cut of meat by the gram, and a butcher cuts and weighs it right in front of them. They cook it only one way, rare. The steak then arrives at the table on a sizzling cast-iron platter, where people can choose from a dizzying array of sauces, dressings, and other additives to top their meal.
It’s just the beginning of the chain’s presence in New York. Ambitious founder Kunio Ichinose and his stateside operations manager Takashi Tsuchiyama want to open 20 more locations in Manhattan in the next five years.
And Gothamist:
There are only a few things you need to decide about your steak. First, the cut, choosing between decadent Japan Cut Ribeye, meatier Sirloin or tender Filet. Next: size. Steaks are cut and priced to order, ranging anywhere from 300 grams (10.6 ounces) of Ribeye for $27 at 9 cents a gram, up to 1,000 grams (35.3 ounces) of Filet for $110 at 11 cents a gram.
At each station wait a bevy of different sauces and condiments, though steaks are already garnished with a garlic paste and fried garlic chips. Thermoses of J-Sauce, a soy sauced-based umami bomb, are table-side—you'll understand why they provide you with paper aprons once you've drizzled it all over the meat. There are also tubs of wasabi (very good on steak), salt/pepper, garlic and a sweet Ikinari steak sauce.
And the Daily News:
Come for the meat, but don’t underestimate side dishes like a sublime, steaming hot plate of garlic white rice sizzling with corn, pepper and chunks of beef. Even the salad dressings, like a sweet onion variety, are tasty.
In our road test this week, standing while eating steak wasn’t much of a challenge, though at $30 or so for a regular-sized sirloin or filet mignon, prices are only a little less than restaurants with a little more comfort.
The lack of pretensions - and the no-tipping policy - were a definite plus, though.
There were congratulatory flowers out front yesterday...
... and a spy pic inside the other evening...
The restaurant does include 10 seats, if you want to stand out and sit while dining here.
Find the menu here. Ikinari Steak is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Previously on EV Grieve:
1st sign of Ikinari Steak, the quick-serve, no-seat steakhouse coming to 10th Street (29 comments)
On 10th Street, Prime & Beyond has closed; popular Japanese steakhouse coming
How is this "interactive"? Do you help them cut and cook the meat? I guess whenever I use condiments at a restaurant that is an interactive experience. Isn't it premature, my friends at Eater, to say it is "just the beginning of the chain's presence in New York" based upon their "want[ing]" to open more locations? Have they contracted for other locations? The wording of this makes me wonder if it was borrowed from a press release.
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm hopelessly old-fashioned, but I wouldn't pay $30 for a meal unless I had a table, chair (not bench or stool), silverware and maybe even a cloth napkin. Eating out isn't about being fed like a factory-farm hog. This business model eliminates not only the savor-your-food aspect of dinner out, but any social aspect of dining with friends. I can get that kind of experience with $2.50 slice.
ReplyDeleteIf there's anything one should hastily eat it's sizzling meat from a cast iron pan.
ReplyDeleteA $100+ dinner standing UP ? Get the fuck out of here !
ReplyDeleteLooks like their funeral already.
ReplyDeleteAnd what's up with all the garlic? Yuck.
i guess the line will be for the 10 seats - if the food is any good
ReplyDeleteThis concept and these prices befuddle me and makes me want to scream, JUST BUY AND MAKE YOUR OWN STEAKS PEOPLE... but what am I thinking this is the kitchy asian eatery capital of the world, the Tim Wan whatever line spillover alone could keep this afloat.
ReplyDeleteFoodies will be thrilled since they all now tire of the likes of Momofuku...etc...
ReplyDeleteMore novelty food experiences in the EV while affordable non classic faire which served those of us who actually live here is gentrified out of business.
Anon 8:51...it DOES look like a funeral. Maybe the garlic is to make sure the body doesn't rise up as a vampire.
ReplyDeleteGyu Kaku on Cooper Square meets all my needs for cooking my own meat. And this in very comfortable surroundings whilst sitting at a table.
ReplyDeleteThey have the best happy hour pricing!!!
DeleteI get cranky if I'm paying for a restaurant meal and the chair isn't comfortable. So I don't think I will much like this place. Maybe it'll be good for sciatica sufferers, anyone who has discomfort from sitting too long.
ReplyDeleteComing Soon: Empire Brisket.
ReplyDeleteRare. Medium Well Done. Drunk.
The EV Grieve commentators moto: If a first you don't succeed in tearing something down, try and try again.
ReplyDeleteWho are these office workers who can drop $110 on a piece of meat?
ReplyDeleteLet's face it, this place doesn't want and doesn't need the grouchy people who post on this site. Their audience is the young hip foodie who needs to send pictures of what he or she is eating to verify that they are in the coolest new place. Sad, sad, sad that the East Village is coming to this. I used to go to this space when it was Danal. For a couple of years , I used to meet a bartender friend of mine for lunch there at least 3 times a week. And, yes, I include myself in the grouchy people of the world.
ReplyDeleteI predict this place will be the, er, butt of many jokes and bad puns, starting with the one Grieve made in the post;s headline.
ReplyDeleteLooks about as inviting as a bed of nails.
The whole concept is a little gross. It will be interesting to see how the millennials balance a steak and beverage while they continue the non stop playing on the phone.
ReplyDeleteSounds truly disgusting.
ReplyDeleteThen again, at least it shoves the fact of murder more clearly in the face of the "consumer" who is so smug about being on top of the food chain.
The Emperor is eating new steaks, why is everyone laughing....
ReplyDeleteI remember when Ippudo on 4th Ave. first opened. There was an almost 2 hour waiting list to get in. When I walked by with my Japanese girlfriend, she asked me what the long line was all about. I explained it to her and her incredulous reaction was "They're waiting 2 hours on line to eat n.o.o.d.l.e.s ?
ReplyDeletePS: If you like noodles, there's a place on East 5th street, a couple of doors west of the 9th Precinct. They make the noodles inhouse, and you can watch the noodle-maker through the window. The name is Sobakoh. Been there a few times and always liked it.
The "concept" is not for me but the menu does sound enjoyable. How does the "rare only" thing work, because if its served on a "sizzling cast iron" it's not going to stay rare for very long. Does that mean I can let it cook more on the platter if I want? This is an important question. If I don't like a rare steak then I don't like it. Don't try to make me eat it.
ReplyDeleteI prefer a chair. Call me old fashioned.
ReplyDeleteCram more people into a small space by making them stand? A lot of 40+ people won't go, we need to sit. Prices are a little high. Also, the pics on the menu do not look appetizing. Not enough sides. Not enough variety. Can't even ask for medium or well done.
ReplyDeleteIf I burn my hand on one of those sizzling iron plate I'll sue for a seat.
ReplyDeleteOh Grieve... pure shill! Stand-up Steak is pure 'not in my hood' orgasm for this crowd.
ReplyDeleteAh, DANAL! Thanks for the memory, @ 1:03. What a joy that place was!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'll pass on Standing Steak. I'd head back to Peter Luger... anytime...
I'll try it. What's so great about sitting anyway? Your digestive and endocrine system function much better when you're upright.
ReplyDeleteIt's super gourmet in a small space..
ReplyDeleteThe congratulatory flowers sent all look so much alike!
ReplyDeleteI think this is more for the homesick Japanese who know this model. I used to live here; love steak, am open-minded but this place isn't one I am interested in trying if and when I spend the money and emotional cost necessary to visit my old neighborhood.