Japanese Sea-style Barbeque Finds a Home in New York

Robataya
Cuisine: Japanese
Price Range: Inexpensive

East Village
231 E. 9th Street
(between Stuyvesant St & 2nd Ave)
New York, NY 10003
(212) 979-9674
www.robataya-ny.com

Robataya, a Japanese barbeque restaurant, just opened in the East Village at 231 E. 9th Street, on Monday. The stylish eatery is touting the new and trendy Robata (short for Robatayaki) grilling method. A cooking style born in Japan on the open charcoal pit, Robata chefs share a passion for simple yet robust flavors, much like those appreciated by the American barbeque aficionado.


Similar to the increasingly popular Korean BBQ restaurants appearing all over New York, cooking Robata barbeque is done in large communal cooking areas, usually in front of the diners. However the theme, one could say, is simplicity of flavors and ingredients. Where Korean BBQ restaurants often slathers on spices and sauces to most of the cooked meats, Robataya will hold to the Japanese tradition of letting the ingredients speak for themselves. While still offering a variety of choices, the ingredients will typically be cooked with only teriyaki or imported Noto Japanese sea salt.


Some traditional Japanese restaurants in New York (Megu for example) have adopted this style into their repertoire of cooking methods, however Robataya is the most recent and most focused attempt of importing the style thus far. The owners are currently importing choice menu items daily from Japan and other areas, including foreign delicacies like, enoki and eryngi mushrooms, Australian Kobe beef, stingray fin, and premier smelt.


The minds behind Robataya have truly tried to capture the essence of the cooking style in the décor. Using a carved wooden table to enwrap the grills and cookware really brings a patron into the experience of crafting these dishes. The chefs also personally deliver the cooked meat right to your plate via the oar-like paddle. The tool is derived from the cooking style’s heritage as a fisherman’s impromptu beach restaurant.


Robataya plans to serve Japanese beer, sake, and shochu, but no liquor license yet, so it’s still BYOB for now. Hours of operation; 6:00pm-10:45pm Sun.-Thurs. and 6:00pm-11:45pm Fri.-Sat.
Full Menu
and Photos via NYMag