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Suzuki, Satsuki & Three Pillars: NYC's Rare Trio of Unique Japanese Dining Experiences

The Journey

Suzuki, a new dining destination in midtown Manhattan, wants to take you on a journey. Your departure begins on entrance, as a mysterious staircase leads you down (there’s an elevator, too) through lined walls that seem hollowed from the skyscraper above. Seductive low light accompanies as you enter the reception area, where a gracious welcome serves as a counterpoint to the obscure arrival.

There are three venues in one here, a circle comprising a bar and lounge; an intimate sushi bar; and a main dining room dedicated to the Japanese haute cuisine known as kaiseki. Suzuki is the name of the latter and the kaiseki it offers is rare in Manhattan. For a jaded city, it’s exciting to open up a new frontier of experience, from the format (a series of eight or more interconnected courses) to unfamiliar flavors and preparations.

Kaiseki

As seems fitting for Japanese culture, kaiseki reflects balances between rules and creativity, between tradition and evolution. The base boundaries are that no cooking style and no ingredients can be repeated across the courses. Each dish builds on the last in a sequence that expands in harmony as the meal progresses. Some of it may feel counterintuitive at first—rice comes late in the meal and not in the middle—but makes sense when you consider the arc of appetite; why weigh yourself down with starch when there are so many subtleties to be sampled? Guests can choose from five kaiseki menus, including that rarity—a thoughtful vegan entry, which has more ambitions than just a series of grilled vegetables. You can also choose from Yuri (“Light and Happy”), Kiku (“Traditional Fare”), Fumizuki (“Ultimate Experience”), and a bespoke chef’s menu that requires three days advance notice. 

Keeping things accessible, pre-theatre menus are available from 5:30pm to 6:30pm. As of mid-July, lunch is available as well (pictured below), which is a “Gozen-style” set meal that brings together, a main, a side, rice, pickles, and soup.

The Taste

lunch gozen nyc suzuki

Menus change monthly, in accord with the seasons, promoting variety and rewarding revisits. On any given night you might be served something like a Zensai starter of tofu, presented with incredibly intense sesame flavor that somehow manages to not overwhelm the other components of the plate. A dish like this will make you question whether the concepts bold and refined can coexist. (The waiter will conscientiously provide a spoon for the last of the sesame. You won’t want to leave any behind.) As diners move through courses of soup, sashimi, and cooked fish, the sense of presence and precision increases. Molecular gastronomy may even come into play with something like a concentrated cube of seaweed, an embrace of the sea. The Meiji period in Japan (1868-1912) is an inspiration here, in décor, and in European influences. You may find a béchamel, or a truffled cheese, or a dessert course like café au lait mousse, owing more to France than Japan. The addition of white wine gel cubes in the mousse ups the sophistication, shifting both texture and expectation.

The beauty of the presentations works like a frame on a painting, heightening the appreciation for the craft on display. You may see a turnip cascading in elegant knifework into the form of a crysthanthemum. The experience at Suzuki can be contrasted with the modern phenomena of fancy meals spent with noses buried in phones; it’s hard to do that here.

Three Pillars

three pillars suzuki nyc

The same ambition in the food can be found in the bar program here. Three Pillars is the name of the intimate lounge. In addition to wines, sakes, and Japanese beers, Beverage Director Alex Ott has crafted cocktails that go by the name “elixirs.” Each one is paired with a health benefit, so that options like Nouryoku (ancient energy and neural handshake with oneself) or Fujiyuki (virtual, neural, olfactory, and literal travel) offer as much intrigue as refreshment. When the waiter suggests Ott’s true title is more along the lines of “sensory ringleader,” you’re willing to go along for the ride.

Satsuki

If you've seen the documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi than you'll have an idea of what goes into the sushi bar experience here. Two chefs work the 10-seat counter, one of whom is the legendary Toshio Suzuki, who was instrumental in introducing Americans to sushi. Suzuki works for his son, Yuta, who manages the business side of things. Satsuki is an omakase experience, meaning the chef will choose the courses based on what’s freshest. Following the supply-chain innovation of "just in time" (perfected by the Japanese), fish is flown in from Tokyo's famous Tsukiji Market daily.

Chef Suzuki helped bring sushi to prominence in America; it will be interesting to see if Suzuki will perform the same feat for kaiseki.

Reservations highly recommended, 114 W. 47th St., 212-278-0100 (Suzuki), 212-278-0047 (Satsuki), suzukinyc.com

About the Author

Ethan Wolff is the author of numerous guidebooks to New York, having covered the city for more than two decades. He has written for New York Magazine, BlackBook, and Details, among others. In addition to his work as the editor of City Guide, Ethan covers NYC’s talk and lecture scene for the website Thought Gallery. He lives with his wife and two daughters in the Windsor Terrace neighborhood of Brooklyn.

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