Benemon

Benemon is one of my new favorite NYC restaurants. It's cozy, comforting, and nourishing, and most importantly... it doesn't require an arm and a leg to get a reservation! Tucked away in the East Village, this is a true hidden gem.For starters, we ordered the Soft Shell Crab and the Salty Pork Belly. The Salty Pork Belly was honestly one of my favorite bites of the night! It came served with blistered shishito peppers and a spicy black kaimi sauce. I'm not too sure what that is but I do know that I absolutely LOVED it. The fatty, smoky, juicy pork belly literally just melts in your mouth... and when it's dipped in the savory umami kaimi sauce-- wow!!!!! This is a must-get!I enjoyed the Soft Shell Crab but didn't find it as memorable (especially when compared to the pork belly).For our mains, we ordered the Una-Tama Don and the Katsu Curry with Chicken. I absolutely loved both. Japanese curry is always such a reliable and comforting meal. The curry was on the thinner side and didn't have any vegetables (ie carrots, potatoes, onions, etc.) that some Japanese curries have. The fried chicken katsu was also good!The Una-Tama Don is a bed of white rice with a deliciously melt-in-your-mouth eel, on top of a soft-cooked runny egg with onions and mushrooms. This dish was so savory and delicious and warming. I can't speak highly enough about it. I highly recommend this dish as well!The service was also kind, very patient with our slower eating speed, and attentive. The ambiance at dinner time was also very nice-- dimly lit lights, stone chopstick holders, etc. Also fun fact: they have happy hour daily from 5-7pm! If you are ever craving some comforting Japanese food in NYC, then definitely check out Benemon!

This intimate, cozy space was perfect for our Reservation of 16 people for our daughter's birthday! It's a beautiful space that's comfortably lit. We had two long tables and a cocktail table together for us and glad Happy Hour goes to 7pm! The staff were highly attentive and pleasant. We enjoyed the ginger shochu Highball specials and delicious draft beers! I had delicious Sousen sake and we ordered just about everything (small plates) starters including Kara-age chicken, black miso chicken (do not miss this! Get double!!), salty pork belly, and garlic beef steak (also get double!). Also ordered tuna tataki and squid and they were so good! I couldn't order a main, but everyone else did and enjoyed oyakodon, and katsu chicken and pork curry, perfectly sauced with fluffy egg, rice bowls as entrees. And the Tofu Hijiki salad was amazing.The only dish we all agreed we didn't enjoy much were the anchovy potatoes which felt needed more anchovy flavor and be crispier. On offer were matcha and red bean ice cream but we brought in our own birthday cake which we appreciated! Thank you for a wonderful evening for our family! We came here for a birthday celebration and left with a wonderful experience that would be hard to forget! Our daughter said, this was probably her best birthday celebration so far!Wish I took more photos of the food and drinks but we were so hungry and having a lot of fun being together we all missed the food pic opps, sorry! But, definitely don't miss this beautiful gem of a restaurant!

This place serves the homiest rice bowls. I've been here twice now and each time, I've really enjoyed the don's and appetizers. You can't go wrong with the options. Oyako don and Tsukimi Tori Don are my favorites, but I'm confident the flavor for everything is solid. This place also has a wonderful atmosphere and I would recommend coming here if you want a vibey, relaxing night.

I was walking across fourth Street and discovered this intimate gem. Everything about this place is meticulous yet relaxed. It's the perfect place to enjoy home spun yet artfully prepared Japanese food and drinks along with a nice conversation. The ambience is serene, but at no point does it feel stuffy. The service was attentive and warm.

My friends and I tried this place for dinner. We shared the Tofu Fire which was yummy (a little hard to eat). For my main, I got the Katsu Curry which was sooo good. My only complaint was that they barely give you any curry sauce. We had to ask for additional sauce which they charged us for. When I think of Katsu Curry, I think like lathered in curry but I felt like I was trying to use the curry so sparingly. Other than that, still a good spot!

Soooo good, innovative Japanese Izakaya home cooking. Everything was delicious. Loved the happy hour offerings especially sake+ beer combo. Anchovies Potatoes, Eel Rice Bowl, Tuna Tataki, Oyaka Don Chicken, Beef Curry, Kara-Age Chicken, Edamame Pepperincino all really tasty.I'll be back for sure

The Unagi Don was phenomenal! Maybe that's just me loving unagi but I loved it so much. Everyone else in our party loved their food as well. The appetizers fantastic. The Hot Squid, Beef Tataki, and Tuna Tataki were all so good and the perfect lead in to the later bowls. The service was great. We accidentally made a reservation for not enough people and the staff were very quick to figure out how to seat us. They were very kind and attentive with water. The atmosphere was really pleasant and comfortable. Perfect for the warm, cozy food that is served.Overall a great place. Highly recommend!

Benemon is a Japanese restaurant located on the Lower East Side. It's located a few blocks from the F train. The restaurant is a cozy place you can take your friends or a date to for a meal or sake based cocktails. I came here since it was my friend's birthday and appreciated the food they had to offer. The salty pork belly was soft and worked very well with the sauce. The tofu fire was a little spin on agedashi tofu, except it was thicker and created with a chili sauce. It had a slight kick to it but was not spicy at all, despite the name. The karaage was perfectly seasoned, and I liked the sauce that came with it, but eating it by itself was also delicious.For the entree, I chose the Yakiniku Don. It's basically a Gyudon, which is made from thinly sliced beef and created with a sweet soy sauce base. The portion was decent, and I had some leftovers to take home.Staff were friendly and checked up on us to see whether we needed anything many times. If I'm nearby, I would like to visit again to try the other dishes and cocktails they have to offer.

I've never felt more drawn to a dish on a menu than here at Benemon with the Una-tama don. Not just eel but eel and egg and onion and mushroom and rice?? Sign me up.I was so happy to receive that nice warm bowl, with a solid amount of eel. Every bite was perfect. I thought the portion was great, but some in my group would've preferred a bit more rice. Overall, great spot. I'm always craving donburi.

I came in here as a walk in on a Saturday evening with a party of 5. To my surprise this place is now taking reservations. But luckily we were able to be seated!I was recommended to come here by various friends, and this place did not disappoint!We ordered a few tapa styled dishes to start:- Beef Tataki- Tofu Hijiki Salad- Pork Belly- Chicken Kaarage- Shrimp TempuraAnd then we each ordered a donburi bowl! We shared the chicken and beef bowl. One of my friends got unagi bowl which he loved.All the tapas were really good! Highly recommend splitting a bunch of tapa dishes if you have the numbers! The donburi was good as well. We were so full towards the end struggling to finish the meal.Would come back here!