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Review content:
My friend was raving about Taro for months before we had a chance to try the restaurant. I'm a food snob and my girlfriend is a gormet diva, so I thought my friend could possibly ruin a good experience by over-hyping the restaurant; however it lived up to her extravagant praises in every way plus some. Four of us had the omakase menu by the bar and enjoyed every minute of it. Chef Sano (very friendly) prepared the meal with the perfect pace, as well as explaining each course and how to enjoy them correctly. One good example is the course with two different Hamachi sushi ... he slightly seared one piece by torching it right behind the bar along with putting a onion ponzu sauce on top, while asking us to lightly dip the regular piece (on the fish side, not touching the rice) in a bit of soy sauce to appreciate two totally different but delightful tastes. Btw, soaking the rice part of the sushi in soy sauce would be a complete waste considering the fact that it's the best tasting sushi rice anywhere. Everything was so good, with multiple dimensions of flavor in each bit, that we had to ordered extra pieces of sushi and some more of the wonderfully, not so creamy, spicy tuna hand rolls. Now, everytime I think of Japanese cuisine, I relive the fond memories for each morsel of food that danced in my mouth that night.. Since I had mostly sushi on my first visit, it wouldn't be fair to say that everything at Taro is fantastic. But comparing just the sushi to the best restaurants in Manhattan (Yasuda, Gari, Nobu, etc.), Taro ranks very favorably. I personally do not like Nobu except for their cooked dishes. While Yasuda and Gari has more selections, Taro's fish is just as fresh and has them beat in the flavor of the sushi rice. And on top of that, it's half the price of those restaurants, which now ranks Taro as my favorite Japanese restaurant in NYC. I will be going back soon, and often.
Pros: Excellent Food, Great Value, Friendly Staff
Cons: Small Place
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