THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Mifune

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Mifune Restaurant Review:

About the chefs & restaurant: Led by French- and Japanese-trained chefs Yuu Shimano (Restaurant Guy Savoy) and Tomohiro Urata (Maison Troisgros) and named after Toshiro Mifune, the respected Japanese actor famous for his powerful portrayal of true samurai warriors, Mifune offers an elevated dining experience in Midtown. With tasting bar seating as well as a nature-inspired, wood-filled room with tables and booths, the place appeals to locals and visiting UN dignitaries.

Likes: Attention to detail in food composition and service.
Dislikes: Midtown location and proximity to the United Nations makes this a very busy lunch and after-work restaurant.

About the food: The cuisine, proudly labeled washoku, draws on the traditions of Japanese cooking, focusing on seasonal ingredients and flavors combined with artistry and complexity. The result is a staggeringly fresh array of unusual dishes, best consumed in an orchestrated sequence from the pair of tasting menus. There, the likes of scallops, Japanese Miyazaki Wagyu, pickles, bone marrow, fish and vegetables are presented with top notes including truffles, caviar and yuzu. Tender chunks of lobster are interspersed with Ibérico chorizo across a bed of quinoa, dressed in a lobster curry sauce. Dreamy foie gras brioche is layered with seared foie gras, shallot confit, rhubarb jam, sunchoke chips and a sweet-and-sour duck sauce. Butternut Kabocha truffle croquette coated in squid ink panko mimics the look of a truffle and hides under finely sliced mushrooms delicately dusted with porcini powder. You can also order from the extensive à la carte menu where you’ll find sushi and sashimi of the highest quality, cold and hot small plates, grilled meat and fish, soba, tempura and the popular uni sampler set of uni brioche toast with nori butter, uni and caviar sushi, and chilled uni chawanmushi. Desserts, an important part of the dinner presentation, are as carefully sculpted as the main courses; a delicious choice is vanilla winter truffle ice cream with a no-bake chocolate terrine and whiskey crème brûlée.

About the drinks: Also changing seasonally and crafted by master mixologist Shingo Gokan (Angel’s Share), cocktails are elegant and dramatic, such as the Seven Samurai, a potent mix of rye whiskey, aged saké, sherry and bitters, finished tableside with a flourish of cinnamon smoke. An extensive saké and shochu list is available along with a diverse selection of red, white and sparkling wines from Europe and the U.S. Wine and saké pairing suggestions are on the menus.