Yakiniku Toraji

After 2 years, usually many places' quality goes down. However, this place did better than the previous visit. The meats were super tender, their assorted vegetables were better than the plain cabbages they used to serve. Service got better as well!Still my number 1 yakiniku place in NYC

Last year, my buddy and I went here for yakiniku which was near the hotel that we were staying at. We got the A5 wagyu nakaochi kalbi, regular kalbi(boneless short rib), tontoro(pork neck), chicken marinated with salt, Goma sesame salad, yakinori(toasted seaweed), atsugiri(thick cut beef tongue), and assorted namul. We were thoroughly impressed by the A5 wagyu nakaochi kalbi. The portion was generous and the quality of the meat was exceptional. The meat pretty much melted in our mouths!Other meat cuts were pretty good as well. The decor was very nice and service was good. Definitely will be back for more A5!

Good service, and the meat quality is high for the prices they charge. I can think of a handful of places which offer quality meat at a lower price, but they're not in manhattan, and this location is perfectly situation in the city. Lunch sets are good value especially the prime beef set and the A5 wagyu set. Good portions for lunch.

TLDR: If you want great yakiniku - Toraji is a solid spot. The original chain is from Ebisu in Tokyo and is still there so you know it's authentic. While you can do the course menus, I find the a la carte is tasty, high quality and not that crazy. Get the signature steak selection, the negi rice and the yukaejang.A chef friend recommended this place many many times but we only recently finally gave it a try. Wow - love it. It's a small spot but you instantly feel like you're back in Tokyo (or if you've never been, this is what a Tokyo resto feels like) sitting down for yakiniku.We splurged on some of the apps the first time. Yukhoe (I can skip personally), wagyu sushi (do not skip). The kimchi platter is good to eat between bites but I prefer the Toraji salad. The negi rice, it's so simple but that egg yolk with all them scallion whites. BOMB.OK, onto the meat. Skirt steak was lovely, nice and beefy, well marbled. The Toraji signature steak selection is great if you want to try the greatest hits. The thick beef tongue (do not miss this please), the filet, wagyu loin, a little bit of everything. It's simple but the cuts are very high quality. We did the yukaejang with the ramen noodles but I think I prefer the soup on its own.Easily one of my favorite places to eat beef going forward. So good we went again a month or two later. They also just opened a location downtown near Chinatown on Bowery if Midtown is too far.

I absolutely love this place! I booked it on a whim since it's close to my job, and it turned out to be an incredible find. We grabbed seats at the bar, and the menu, while simple, offers a few course options alongside à la carte selections. Totally worth it! The A5 Wagyu was exceptional--so tender, with perfect marbling, it practically melted in my mouth. It was both filling and deeply satisfying. Overall, an outstanding experience, and I highly recommend giving this spot a try!

We were treated to dinner at Yakiniku Toraji, and they offer both a course menu and a Japanese BBQ a la carte menu. Looking at their premium course set, we noticed that there were some items that we were just not interested intrying (such as the yukhoe and the beef tongue). We decided to do a la carte so we could customize and cater to our taste.We ordered:+the Toraji Assorted A5 Wagyu +the A5 Wagyu Nakaochi Kalbi+and, the Wagyu Sirloin SteakAll the pieces were of good cuts and well-marbled.For apps and sides, we tried:+the Assorted Kimchi - includes napa, radish, and cucumber kimchi; kimchi was fermented, but could have been fermented longer+the Goma - Sesame Salad - lettuce and cucumbers mixed in a house sesame dressing+Negi - Spicy Scallion Salad - lettuce and scallions mixed in a house spicy dressing+and, a Bibim men - spicy cold noodles with kimchi, scallions, cucumbers, green salad, and an eggWhat was a little irksome is that they nickel-and-dime you on the sauces, the banchans, and even on the raw garlic - usually, these come automatically, so it's kind of crazy that you have to dish out $2 for raw garlic to grill, sesame oil with a pepper/salt mixture, gochujang, and ssamjang to enjoy your meats.Service was a slight hit-or-miss, as it was hard to get refills on drinks and get the check at the end.Decor is simple, with the wooden designs and high ceilings.+well-marbled wagyu+nickel-and-dimes you on sauces and banchans+hit-or-miss service

Great food & service. We ordered a la carte instead of the set courses. A5 wagyu kalbi was fantastic & only $38 which is a steal. Most places charge $50 for 2 small pieces, here they gave you 6 healthy cuts. Beef tongue was our next fav, others stuff were good: pork belly, pork neck, regular kalbi, all kinds of veggie appetizers & Goma sesame salad. The least fav was the chicken, wish they have wings or thigh.See attached video below for better visuals.https://youtube.com/shorts/8zJiLG7Sohs?si=XkagMlGk5nZ1ISzK

I loved this experience and found a way to sample a few dishes without breaking the bank. I reco a business dinner but I wanted my mom to try delicious food near Grand Central (ktown was too far with luggage). Delicious oxtail soup, tender bbq chicken & beef, and favorite bibimbap with eel. A sparking sake always hits the spot for a celebration and sweet palate. Amazing ambience, elegant service, complimentary mochi, and no scent.

Great service and clean Japanese BBQ restaurant. Price is reasonable . Ask their special premium menu , that would worth the experience, actually :

First, let me say that the food in this restaurant is terrific. And it has to be for me to go back again and again especially since the service is so terrible that it feels disrespectful and even uncomfortable. I cannot blame the servers - they are trying as hard as they can, but they are sadly understaffed, so you have to wait and wait, wave your hands around, and sometimes just get up and go stand in front of them and ask for what you need. For the prices of the food please get an extra server when you are busy. Also, it is impossible to make an ordinary reservation on line or on any of the reservation apps because if someone else calls the restaurant they will give them preference even if you make a reservation in advance. Tonight they would not seat us at a table we reserved because someone else had called and asked for it - even though we arrived early and the other guests came almost 20 minutes late!!! And they had no other alternative to us other than to sit at the counter. Since I we are both elderly and I have a bad back it was very difficult to sit at the counter. Meanwhile we see these two young people come a long time after we arrived being seated at the table we reserved. Very bad service and very rude way to treat customers - especially elderly ones who should receive some consideration and respect. As I said in the beginning the food is so good that we keep coming back so next time I will have to call them and take the business away from Yelp and Open Table since they do not honor reservations we get through you.