nykeiko eats: Zenkichi- a hidden Japanese brasserie in the heart of Williamsburg!

I spent the long weekend mostly in Williamsburg. It is no longer a surprise to many people now that on weekends, there is no need to visit Manhattan unless you have to.  Long weekend started on Friday evening, where Dave and I ate at a Japanese brasserie/tapas restaurant in Williamsburg called Zenkichi. This was a restaurant we were always curious to try when we walk by it. It's hidden behind a tall and large wooden fence wall and a inconspicuous door with no obvious sign of a restaurant. Dave got his paws on a Gilt $25 for $50 worth at Zenkichi so we were excited to go try it.

The food menu. Sake was in another binder 3-4 pages long.

Seaweed Sunomono- A vegetable & seaweed in bonito-vinegar broth

My fav was this Tako Wasabi dish (cured Octupus) which is meant to be paired with their house sake. We had another jellyfish dish (Kurage) but the picture didn't come out too nicely.

My fav was this Tako Wasabi dish (cured Octopus)

Sweet duck salad was wonderful. (Simmered duck, soft egg, baby greens, sweet duck dressing)

Grilled Saikyo- Black Cod and Kyoto miso marinade

Lamb Chop Tataki: Rock salt & coarse black pepper: ginger onion soy sauce

Grilled Miso Oysters: Meaty oysters grilled on the shell with red-miso sauce. Salty & sweet: meant to be enjoyed with sake

The venue was super intimate and romantic..if it weren't for those loud drunken Korean girls, it would have been a nice night.We sat in our own little booth enclosed with a bamboo drape and a ringer we can buzz when we needed our waiter. See pics here on their website .

It's too bad we were not interested in sampling the vast sake menu they had that night so we stayed sober. We were there for the food and we ordered to our heart's desire although one dish that we were looking forward to was no longer being served which was the seafood gratin (oyster, uni sea urchin, shrimp, Japanese mushrooms:oven-grilled in béchamel sauce).

For dessert, we went to a Bodega and picked up a Three twins Madagascar vanilla ice cream to take home and eat. A perfect way to end the evening.

I would definitely recommend this place if you are a sake connoisseur and can sample their sake alongside the food since most dishes were a bit too salty and would taste delicious with all types of alcohol.


xx