261 Madison Ave., New York
If you are looking to go out for a celebratory dinner or even lunch, Zuma is the restaurant. The restaurant is situated in midtown Manhattan in between the Empire State Building area and Bryant Park. Zuma NYC is a trendy Japanese restaurant with an authentic Japanese menu. The restaurant is known for its picturesque scenery. You are able to oversee the city as well as beautiful sunsets during dinner with its floor to ceiling windows. The restaurant is designed tastefully and many of the people who go dine here mostly go to take Instagram worthy pictures.
The dishes are authentic but not traditional. The dishes are served izakaya style, which means the dishes are to be shared with the table. I was amazed by how full of flavor every single dish was. Me and the rest of my party were absolutely stunned. Our order for the table consisted of the following:
- Chicken skewers with spring onion (Yakitori – Negima Yaki $18): These skewers were amazing, the chicken tasted extremely fresh and juicy. Every single bite was more flavorful than the last, the onion added the extra kick which made it all go so well in your mouth.
- Crispy fried calamari (Ika No Kari Kari Age $20): This calamari dish was better than any other calamari dish I have ever tasted. They were cut thin and the flavor of lime and serrano pepper made this dish something we all did not want to share.
- Sweet corn on the cob (Yaki Toumoro Koshi $15): As a corn lover I was extremely impressed to see this on the menu. I placed two orders because it was just that good. The shiso butter and the shichimi pepper as well as the way the corn was grilled went so well my taste buds were having a party.
- Shrimp tempura roll and salmon roll ($40): The restaurant allows you to pick up to three rolls of sushi in a platter to share. We chose the shrimp tempura and salmon roll. They were both really good, the yuzu kosho mayo made them flavorful and juicy. The shrimp were very well fried and seasoned. The salmon in the roll had a hint of lime and tasted amazing.
The food was all to die for and I give this restaurant five stars because besides how amazing all the food tasted as well as the beautiful presentation of each dish. Aside from the food, me and the rest of my party got Japanese margaritas which were so strong and good we all loved them! They for sure helped us celebrate.
For all the food and drinks me and party consumed I think the bill came out to a reasonable amount. Zuma NYC is not the most affordable restaurant but I do think you get your money’s worth and would recommend to absolutely anyone. Like I stated before the scenery of the restaurant is beautiful and your pictures if you are someone who is into Instagram and social media will all come out great and worth posting. The dress code for Zuma NYC is considered smart casual, so not extremely casual but not super elegant. If you are ever in the Bryant park area and are looking for dinner plans Zuma should be on your list.
