Hakubai - City of New York

This is an interesting place....to say the least. They have their menu outside, obviously that is to attract passabys and after walking past the restaurant so many time, today (6/11/2019) after work, I decided to look at the menu and stop inside to getsomething to eat/or to go. The host (old lady in her late 40s or 50s) asked me if I was staying at the hotel and when I said Ididn 't.......she simply said they do not serve food for customers from outside/people who don 't stay at the hotel ???????????? Ispecifically asked her so do you mean the restaurant is only for guests at the hotel? And she nodded and said yes, which is sobizarre!!!! Bizarre!!! Bizarre!!! So help me understand why you have your menu right outside the building if you are notwelcoming people from outside. Bizzare enough!! Dont waste your time or money going there!!!!

It’s really authentic Japanese kaiseki with perfect portions. For the same quality of food service will be about double price in Japan. We enjoy every single dish the traditional dessert is perfect!

This Japanese restaurant is my favorite for kaiseki in New York City. The service here is fantastic and the food is to die for. It may have been awhile since I last ate here. It has probably been over 5 years ago. However the food, service presentation are still fresh in my mind that I will never forget this place and will always want to come back someday.

The atmosphere is so peaceful, and the service so good. I went with a group for lunch as a vegetarian (not pescatarian). Their menu is relatively small, so it seemed like it would be harder to get away with, but they made me off-menu vegetable tempura, which was the best I had ever had. The real star here was the rooibos tea jelly, which is what it sounds like if you think of jelly as a pudding. One of my people got the bento box, and it was seriously gorgeous.

We had a wonderful experience at this restaurant. We loved the unique atmosphere and the menu offerings. The staff were incredibly friendly and welcoming. I'm so glad we finally had the chance to visit this place.