Raku

Cuisine	Japanese
Price	$$ (16-30)
Rating	7/10
Last Visit	June 11, 2019
Location	New York: East Village

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General Notes

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An small udon restaurant situated in the heart of East Village. I really appreciate traditional restaurants that specialize in one or just a few things and do them well. Raku is an excellent example. Their udon is spot on, as are their other miscellaneous small plates. This restaurant is absolutely amazing, and I would highly recommend giving this place a try.

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Positives

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> The food is really good. Raku is certainly a more traditional restaurant, both in terms of food and atmosphere. As I mentioned, I really appreciate traditional restaurants that specialize in one or a few things and do them well. But don't let that stop you from ordering from their small plates - those are done with precision as well, in fact I really want to try their ankimo.
> Both the interior and exterior are really nice - it's quite minimalistic but feels sleek and rustic at the same time.
> A bit of a minor detail, but the flatware, plates, and bowls are excellent. Somehow the large wooden spoon, nice wooden spoon, and huge deep bowls make the experience so much nicer.

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Negatives

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> I feel like I've gotten minorly trolled during my experiences here. The first time I came to the East Village location on a Monday. Apparently only the Soho location is open Mondays, but Google Maps suggests otherwise. Do not make this same mistake. When they brought the check there was a tiny plate with a small red orb - I had no clue what it was, turns out it was a frozen grape and my teeth kind of froze off.

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Dishes Tasted

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• ★★★☆ Gyunan Udon -- Washugyu beef, Tokyo negi. A very solid bowl. The broth tastes delicious and there was a lot of it, and the dish was served with lots of scallions. The udon had a perfectly chewy texture. I really like how the beef tasted, although I would have liked it to be just a bit more tender - it felt slightly dry.
• ★★★★ Sabazushi -- Three pieces of pressed mackerel sushi. This dish was amazing! It had a bit less fish than your typical piece of nigiri, which actually worked really well. The rice was at room temperature and absolutely delicious, with just the right level of acidity. It was the perfect base for the relatively strong, lightly cooked mackerel.