EN Japanese Brasserie, which opened in 2004, is located on
Hudson Street in the West Village. The
lounge/bar area at EN encompasses a long, beige room decorated with wood carvings, communal
high-top tables and chairs, and a bar. A small dining space is located opposite
the lounge area. EN’s main
dining room features high ceilings and two-story windows that create a
cavernous space to highlight the wood furnishings and Japanese panels. The
dramatic, spacious room is anchored by an open kitchen on one end (with a blond
pine communal seating counter in front of it), a central column surrounded by a
floral arrangement with additional communal counter seating around it, a few
well-spaced tables, and tatami-style
rooms (where you sit on mats with your feet [wearing Japanese slippers] sunk
beneath the table in a foot well). You can also reserve three Meiji-era-styled
apartment rooms on the mezzanine level for even more private dining. The
restaurant designed and imported its furniture, décor, and fabrics from Japan
to create an authentic dining experience.
As the restaurant’s
name describes, EN Brasserie serves creative Japanese cuisine using seasonal
ingredients. A monthly “Abe's Kitchen” event allows the chef to interact with
guests during a multi-course meal. The restaurant offers specialty drinks,
sakes, shochus (a Japanese distilled liquor), and traditional beers, wines, and
spirits. We started with a sparking yuzu drink that contained prosecco, citrus
juice, and elderflower liqueur. Among the cold and hot small plates offered, we
chose their signature house-made artisanal tofu (made hourly and served either
warm or cold with wari-joyu), a selection of o-banzai (small Kyoto-style dishes
including thinly sliced shoyu-braised pork belly with lotus root (called buta
bara to renklon no kinipira), yellow and purple cauliflower and broccoli in a
tofu sauce (called shira ae), and shredded skinless chicken and brussel sprouts
in a sesame dressing (called foma ae), miso black cod (broiled Alaskan black
cod marinated in miso), crispy fried chicken (boneless and fried to perfection),
yaki shabu (thinly sliced Black Angus short rib on a hot stone for grilling
with veggies, chilled soba noodles (buckwheat noodles made fresh and served
with a warm dashi dipping broth with slices of duck breast, spinach, and
scallions), and for dessert, green tea tiramisu.
We loved our lunch at EN Japanese Brasserie – authentic
Japanese food in a beautiful space.
