[New York] Robataya
Robataya | www.robataya-ny.com | Yelp
Address: 231 E 9th St (East Village), New York, NY 10003
Date visited: 2013.05
Total bill: $43 for two people
Will return: No
Robataya is a Japanese restaurant that specializes in robatayaki/robata style cooking (“fireside cooking” hence the giant grill below). Most of the dishes on the menu are grilled fish, meat, and vegetables. The food was not bad but it wasn’t anything super interesting. If I ever run out of lunch ideas in New York (probably won’t), then I will be back. For now, I will live if I don’t come back.
Various Grilled Vegetables – Eggplant, Sweet Potato, and Mushroom ($4 each; $10 for choice of three)
The grill is neat but honestly my dad can grill vegetables in our backyard. The grill master was very diligent in grilling our vegetables but in the end, it is what it is–grilled vegetables with a sprinkle of salt.
Torikara – Fried Chicken Marinated in Soy Sauce ($6)
Fried chicken is always good. The chicken was really tender and I wish they had fried it just a bit more to make the outside more crispy.
Gindara – Grilled Black Cod Fish (Appetizer $11)
This was pretty good, especially for the value. I got the appetizer version; there is a entree version for $22 with the same fish plus a green salad, two small sides, and miso soup, which I didn’t think was worth the extra money. I just asked for a bowl of rice to eat this with and it was perfect.
Snow Crab Kamameshi Zen – Rice Cooked in an Earthenwave Pot ($16)
I was not impressed with this. It was like fried rice but without a lot of key components. Not too much flavor and the rice was too soft and soggy for my liking.
