Sozai

I came here with a friend yesterday and I LOVED this place. It was packed for a weekday night and they had an extensive menu of izakaya offerings. I thought the food they offered was unique and authentic to Japanese culture. Upon entering, the lighting is dim and the seating arrangements are very nice where some are in wooden booths. I ordered the mentaiko pasta, which was creamy and filling. It was topped with bacon pieces that perfected the dish and I absolutely enjoyed it. My friend got the cold soba green tea and she thought it was pretty good. One of the best she's had in NYC. We wanted to finish our meal with a dessert, so we decided to go for the sweet potato balls with hojicha ice cream. The sweet potato balls were chewy and had a sugary finish to it. The ice cream was similar to gelato and was decadent.Overall, we loved our experience and I would say I'm definitely coming back for more. The food, service, and ambiance were amazing.Food: 5/5Service: 5/5Ambiance: 5/5

We came on a Saturday without reservations and was able to get seated right away at 5:30. By the time it was 6pm, the place seemed to have filled up and walk-ins had to wait. We chose this place because it had a lot of variety in their food, which was good for the kids. Loved the ambience but the food was just ok. The Ube fries, chicken karaage, and Takoyaki were good. The kids loved the mushroom pasta since it has sweet soy sauce. We also had the miso ramen, but that didn't look authentic or taste authentic. It wasn't creamy looking - it looked like a clear, dark brown broth. Regardless, the husband ate it up. The seasoned egg was good though.Decent experience, decent food, but we are probably going to try another Izakaya next time!

2.5/5. Had high hopes after seeing a good amount of social media content about this place, and was left somewhat disappointed. Insta foodies, hats off for the good marketing.I'll start off by saying the restaurant layout is pretty nice. Booths with coat hooks high above + well-lit bar seating. I got a booth with a friend and we had plenty of privacy.We were pretty excited by how extensive the menu was and ordered from various sections. The general quality of the seafood and meat we got was not great, and the dishes we ordered fell flat.Sake clam miso ($18) was good, no complaints. Probably the best dish we got. Make sure to sip the broth afterwards. Crab croquettes ($12) had tons of mayo and the mentaiko was not that apparent (nor was the crab). The cold soba green tea ($22) looked exciting but was just ok - no presence of green tea for me, and all the flavor came from the sauce which was dark and quite sweet. The hokkaido don ($36)... Please skip this. The uni was orange/brown, not fresh looking at all. There wasn't much seafood in the bowl and it was not worth it. The gyu tan ($17) was impressively bland and tough, like we were chewing for days. The accompanying yuzu kosho was a speck on the plate. Don't recommend. The hojicha ice cream with fried sweet potato balls was ok, but hojicha could have been stronger.Service was good and food came out relatively quickly. The concept of this place and the menu is nice, but the execution of the dishes makes me pretty hesitant to come back. The meal was quite expensive - $77 per person after tax and tip, and I know I could have had better for the same price elsewhere.

Went here with a friend during happy hour and ordered many dishes. The ube fried was part of the happy hour, tasted flavorful and crispy. The Kakuni (pork belly) appetizer was cooked perfectly. The entire piece was extremely tinder and rich. Our sake clam miso was perfect for the cold weather, and came with much more clams than expected. It was hard to pick a favorite, but we think the Miso Black Cod was likely it. For drinks, happy hour selections were a bit pricey, and the house sake was only one small glass. I would definitely come back, and look forward to trying more dishes.

Came here after a show and it was delicious. With no reservation, we sat at the bar. We got a number of small plates:The mussels in dynamite sauce was filling and delicious. Chicken kaarage was crispy and was seasoned well. The mentaiko pasta has a small kick, and the bacon provided a nice salty flavor. Lastly, my old-fashioned cocktail was super pleasant to sip on throughout the evening. I would love to sit in the booth next time since it looked super cozy and intimate but the bar was spacious and you get to see the bartenders make the cocktails.

Came here on a busy December weekend with a reservation thankfully because the line is long! So make sure you make your reservations! The place is super tiny and cramped like most NY restaurants but they had nice booths which I appreciated. There are hooks up above you to hang your coat. No space for a stroller if you were to bring a baby just FYI. Unfortunately not the most family-friendly place to bring a one year old but we made do and just held her in my lap because there are no high chairs or booster seats. But I guess it is a Izakaya and that's not a place to take a baby. Our waitress was a bit impatient and didn't have the best attitude when she heard us wrong and ordered us the wrong food. Thankfully though all of us including the baby enjoyed the food. Baby especially loved the tonkotsu ramen noodles and went crazy with the noodles. Broth was super flavorful and not too salty. We ordered the kaarage and takoyaki which were all good. The Wafu mushroom pasta was really good but I thought it was a tad bit salty. Katusdon was cooked perfectly. Overall, a solid place that I would come to again if I was in the area.

Sozai is a new Japanese Izakaya place in midtown with nice ambiance! My friend and I were able to walk in with no wait on a Thursday night, but the full party had to be present to get seated. There was a happy hour menu but the menu wasn't as extensive. Food came as they were ready, and they were pretty decent!! There were lots of clams in our sake clam miso, and the ube fried also came with a big portion. We loved the black miso cod the most as it was so flavorful and yummy! The age tofu came with 3 tofus, so we each ate one and shared the third into halves. I feel like the prices are a little high for what they are worth though. Service was good! They're attentive and very friendly. They bring the tap to pay machine when you are ready, which was convenient!

Amazing and filling lunch special!! Came here on a weekday for lunch and was able to be seated right away at one of the booths. I can see this spot getting filled on the weekends though so would recommend making a reservation if you plan on coming at a busy time. I chose the spicy tonkatsu ramen for the lunch special. Was pleasantly surprised that the ramen had a kick to it!! The crispy lotus root on top was a very nice touch. They also give you a choice of miso soup or house salad-- I went with the miso soup. It had a lot of seaweed, tofu, and mushrooms. really good !! The ramen and miso soup left me happily stuffed.Solid spot. Would definitely come back again for the lunch special. That miso soup was so good!!

We had a reservation on a Tuesday evening, but it was surprisingly quiet. The restaurant itself is clean and bright, and our server was friendly. Happy hour lasts until 6pm, so we tried a few drinks--including a Paloma and a yuzu highball--both were tasty at $12 each. We also ordered fried oysters (my personal favorite), fried octopus legs, and fried ube. While I enjoyed the flavors, I felt the menu leaned too heavily on fried items overall. Additionally, the hamachi tasted a bit fishy, and the clams didn't seem very fresh. A bit more variety and freshness would elevate the experience even further.

Just okay... Food is pricey for the portions but I guess you are in midtown. The only thing that I would get again is the ramen as the noodles and soup seemed fresh and authentic. Everything else was lacking in either taste or quality.