nonono

From the food to the service to the decor, this restaurant was a pleasant experience start to end. The staff were very welcoming and friendly throughout our dining experience. The decor and ambiance was warm, urban, and interesting, with fun use of lighting and seating on multiple levels. The food and cocktails we had though were out of this world delicious! The seasonal cranberry smash cocktail was spiced, sweet, and refreshing and the Bonsai was a win for bourbon fans. The shishito wasabi featured a seasoned crunchy topping that added incredible flavor and texture to the peppers. For skewers, we got the lobster miso butter, duck and scallion, chicken skin, pork with shio, and tamago bacon. Each one was well prepared and bursting with flavor, there were truly no skips. We also got the homemade pickles, which were sweet and tangy; the Ebi Katsu, which was beautifully cooked and paired with a delicious tartar sauce; and the Beef Tongue Curry, which was flavorful and tender. There truly wasn't an aspect of our experience we didn't like and we look forward to coming back in the future!

This place has been on my list to try for a long time. I really do love the concept, and I am glad I was finally able to visit. The food was hit or miss although their vegetarian options were limited. We both really liked the Nasu Dengaku. I would highly recommend ordering this dish because the miso flavors with the toppings were amazing. We also really liked the edamame and corn, and my first really enjoyed the tartare. Everything else was a miss for us.The upstairs lighting also really threw me off. Downstairs has nice warm lighting, but the upstairs was giving me a headache. The service was also not great, it took a long time to get their attention even though they weren't busy. They were just talking amongst themselves.

A solid stop for yakitori. This restaurant brought back fond memories of izakayas in Tokyo, although prices are understandably steeper than the classic ¥100 skewers. I ordered a yakitori don and bacon wrapped eggs, and both offered familiar tastes. The yakitori don was great. Each chicken cut had its own distinct texture and flavor, and the shishito pepper and pickled plums added some good contrast. The chicken was soft and tender, though I would have preferred a bit more char and crispiness. The egg skewer was decent- pleasantly gummy on the inside, but a bit too salty.Service was excellent: the staff were attentive and easy to call over when needed. The atmosphere of the restaurant was warm and inviting, with a great view from the second floor. I was lucky to get a seat at the counter in the front, where I could watch the chefs grill the skewers while eating my own.

How stupid a way to start a review. A year ago they asked my cousin, Jeffery, to leave this establishment. Why? Because the idiot was annoying other patrons. How? He kept singing the beginning of the "Human Beinz" oldies song "Nobody But Me" (IYKYK). FOR AN HOUR. First, he's a cousin by marriage. Second, when we visit NY, we stopped telling him we're coming.Today's problem is the restaurant itself. I don't know what happened but they took a major left turn and things don't taste near as good as one year ago. I was so excited to come here, only partially because Jeffery was eating somewhere else. We've had great times here.I thought it might be an off night...they happen, or it's just us. The guy next to us confirmed it's them and sadly this will be his last visit here. I felt the food was overly salty and almost inedible. The drinks were definitely watered down and the waiter was a rude prick. He snapped at Mrs. E. and ran off like a coward. It pains me to write about instances like this. Anyone that follows my feed knows how optimistic I am and the amount of sunshine I blow up everyone's skirt. They charge way too much $$ to rely on presentation, alone. Please figure out what changed and fix it. Don't make Jeffery, the idiot, the highlight story of this place.

I loved the food and service at Nonono. The interior, while small and intimate, has a cool casual urban feel. There's a wide range of selections on the menu. They specialize in grilled items but there are raw options as well. The Nonono mix tartare was one of my favorite items. It's a beautiful presentation of tuna, salmon, and yellowtail diced and shaped into a long rectangular form and served with a side of wonton chips.The cod roe cream udon was a large portion of perfectly cooked noodles in a cream sauce with mushrooms.The scallop and asparagus dish sounded a little odd, but I wanted to give it a try. The flavors and textures were unique with its mix of basil miso sauce and parmesan cheese covering chunks of soft chewy scallops and firm asparagus.The American wagyu was perfectly seasoned and cooked and fork tender.For dessert, we tried the gateau chocolat. Not exactly a molten lava cake, but the center was more undercooked and creamy than the firm exterior. It looked like a small dessert, but was so rich and satisfying.This place is away from the high-traffic touristy areas and is worth the visit.

Nonono seems like the kind of izakaya where you can't really order wrong: despite the extensive menu, everything is good. Between the two of us, we tried more than 10 different items from the menu and everything was well-crafted, though of course we had our favorites. Here's the (long) rundown: Drinks:-Ume cocktail (ume, rye, japanese whiskey): the lone cocktail that we tried. It was good, almost a little salty, but mostly sweet from the ume (plum). However, that sweetness was cut by the intensity of the whiskeys. -Sansho beer (Japanese peppercorn ale): I just tried a sip of this but thought it was really good. Yakitori:-Chicken thigh: my favorite of the yakitoti we tried. Extremely tender, these little bites were marinated in a sticky, savory soy-based sauce-Chicken oyster: also very tender and grilled to a nice crunch on the outside. -Chicken breast: served simply with scallion and a salty brine. Also good, just not the most exciting.-Pork with shio: salty and nicely seasoned. Some pieces were more tender than others. -We also ordered a chicken meatball skewer, but after we left we realized that it was never brought out. So that was a bit of a bummer. Seafood:-Nonono mix tartare (Fresh tuna, salmon and yellowtail tartare served with wonton chips): exactly what you'd expect from a tartare (soy, sesame oil, avocado). But the execution was excellent! This was REALLY flavorful and the fish tasted very fresh. -Zuke maguro: kind of like tuna tataki, but marinated in soy sauce. Really fresh and delicious with a creamy jalapeño sauce that didn't overwhelm the tuna. Noodles:-Cod roe cream udon: as the name suggests, this is a super creamy and kind of heavy dish; I likened it to a crab-flavored cream sauce. The mushrooms and udon were a delight. I would maybe try the other udon offered next time, though I did like this.Etc.:-Yaki corn (tobanjan, miso, Parmesan): to me, this really tasted like Mexican street corn, but the use of Parmesan gave it a sharper flavor. I thought this was excellent; it honestly might've been my favorite dish of the evening. Dessert:Kuro goma (Black sesame panna cotta- whipped cream, tasty little cookie): simple, savory, creamy.Matcha mousse (red bean, whipped cream, strawberry Pocky sticks): really good flavors. Kind of a heavier mousse rather than a light, airy version. It's true that this can be a very quick meal if you want it to be! If you order everything upfront, it will all come out in quick succession. We ordered about two-thirds of the food to start and then the rest, which worked well. Service was great, except for the meatball skewer snafu. Decor is modern and minimalistic.

Food was great. Yakitori was good, skins were perfect, and clams didn't have any sand :)Shoyu ramen was ok. Scallop can be bigger, it was bit dry/small.Overall great but it was just missing tiny bit. I would definitely return and try other things and hope it will be 5 stars.

Came with a group of six the day before Thanksgiving. It was my first time to nonono, and I have never visited before Covid.We sat at the corner table indoors. Ordered bunch of Yakitoris, Nachatte Steak, then a Chawamushi per person, and ramen for each couple. The Yakitoris are delicious- Tofu- chicken thighs bunch of others I don't rememberNanchatte steak : super delicious and definitely recommend this!It was so much food! I didn't take many pictures because it wasn't the right setting at the time. We go sake, beer, and drinks as well.

I've been to this nice izakaya a handful of times. I believe they're related to the same group who owns the nearby Her Name Is Han and both spots have a comfortable atmosphere with friendly staff. One time I was here with a group while the other time we ordered individually and I would recommend ordering for a group as you get to sample more things and it's definitely a place where you want to sample a bunch. I haven't had much to drink here outside of a very reasonably priced and decent Oolong Chūhai for $9 made with the pretty common Iichiko barley shochu where the alcohol was quite well hidden (almost too well) with noticeably better ones at Lucky Cat (where I prefer the food slightly) as well as the newer location of Sake Bar Hagi (where most the food is worse.)In terms of the yakitori/skewers menu, I've gotten the Tsukune/Chicken Meatball for $5 (might have been less back then as well as the Angus Prime Kalbi for $9 (was $8 back then I believe.) The steak was tender with a slightly sweet glaze as expected for galbi with some grilled onion while the tsukune was pleasant but different. Normally this is made into a ball but as per the photo/menu photo, it is draped around the skewer. This let it cook more which added some extra char which was a fun touch but I missed the bounciness from the original type.Soon arriving were the rawer dishes. The Scallop Uni Carpaccio with seaweed and basil sauce for $20 was pricey but it's that combination so it's expected. It came with four pieces with the scallop being sweet, the uni being briny, and the basil sauce added some nice freshness. Better for raw dishes was the Salmon Tataki consisting of seared Scottish salmon with avocado sauce for $15. This came with several thick delicious pieces of salmon which had a good texture and had a lot of butteriness. The avocado sauce which mixed with the soy was decent but not really necessary. With rawer salmon was the Salmon Ikura Don(buri) for $18. Good quality salmon again but the highlight was actually the ikura which had a pleasant pop though I wish the rice was flavored.We've also gotten the Kinoko x 3 with 3 kinds of mushroom with balsamic vinegar sauce ‍‍‍for $16. The mushrooms have a pleasant plumpness and the vinegar sauce has a touch of sourness and a bit of umami. I slightly prefer how kinoko are prepared in other spots where they are grilled normally with butter but these were still good. The Kara Age or deep-fried chicken marinated in original sauce for $13 is pretty solid also. The chicken is juicy though it could have used a bit more salt.There was also the American Wagyu consisting of diced steak with onion sauce for $19. I wouldn't recommend much as the steak had a bit too much of a chew to it and was pretty plain and would honestly just prefer two skewers of the galbi over this. More recommended for beef would be the Beef Tongue Curry consisting of grilled beef tongue curry served with a side of rice for $20 which was good. I'm presuming the curry sauce isn't homemade but the tongue was tender and the curry was both not too thick and not overly sweetened.More expensive but solid was the Eel Bowl/Unagi don or Grilled eel over rice for $26. There was a generous bit of eel and the sauce wasn't overly sweetened. I prefer the eel a bit at spots like WOKUNI but very solid and I would order it again.The Cod Roe Cream Udon with mushrooms for $13 was fine but very much worth it for price point. The mentaiko flavor was a bit light as it could have been more spiced but certainly better than spots such as Tomi Jazz though the noodles one time we ordered were a bit chewy. The mushrooms are a good touch as well. I personally love this dish and there are better places for it but it's nice to have a cheap decent version of this. The spice was also better the 2nd time I had it as well.This is a solid izakaya with a good mix of dishes. Not the best for anything in particular but nothing was bad. Upper 3

I've walked by this location multiple times and always got a waft of what they were cooking whenever somebody briefly opened the door. Also, it has an interesting name which piqued my curiosity to go inside. So I finally tried and this is an overdue review about this restaurant!Their menu offers an array of dishes, from raw to cooked and beautifully plated to yakitori (skewered chicken). I ordered most of their yakitori, which were seasoned and cooked to perfection. And ordered a cod roe cream udon, which looks like a small and simple udon dish at first glance but is so creamy, filling, and delicious that I highly recommend ordering and pairing it with some of the yakitori or kushi for an enhanced eating experience.The space looking it from the outside seems like it is a small restaurant but there is another floor with more seating. It has this yokocho alley vibes with the decor of the space and music sets the mood to chill and unwind. It does get lively with an overflow of conversations but it doesn't get too loud so you can still be in your little bubble or rather table with friends or by yourself while drinking and eating. Do be mindful that some of the cooking specifically the yakitori is wafting throughout the main floor of the restaurant so you might have the smell of the food lingering on your clothes. So just a small footnote when planning out your look as well as where you want to be seated.I've already eaten here multiple times and ordered food to go, which is different from their dining in menu. Overall, ideal spot to sip some refreshing drinks and eat fancy or casually with friends