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Categories: Sushi Bars, Japanese, Lounges
Neighborhood: Kips Bay28th St-Park Ave S (6)
Mon-Wed. 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
Thu. 11:30 a.m. - 3:00 a.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:30 a.m. - 4:00 a.m.
Sun. 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
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Wow what a place! It was so nice and cool. Not too pretentious and an overall cool crowd. The management there are nice as well. They even bought us a round of beers for my girlfriends birthday. The sushi is well above average and the presentation is even more precise than you could imagine. Went to Nobu the other night and the Buddahkan downtown and the sushi pretty much tasted the same. I like Amber for the neighborhood feel as well.
I have only been here for the lunch specials.
I normally order the salmon teriyaki which is good here. It wasn't the best I ever had, but definitely one of the better ones.
I had ordered delivery once. Although the food came fast, it wasn't as good as eating it there.
Also on another note, the exposed walls and decorations go well together. Its a little dimly lit but it sets the ambiance.
So if you are in the area check out the place.
A friend and I went for an early dinner on a Friday evening. The happy hour is pretty decent for a sushi bar (though it's only for drinks...no special food pricing). So being able to order half priced drinks with dinner was great. The coconut-cucumber saketini was a little bitter and potent, but the mojitos were delightful! As for food - the salmon carpacchio was really good. Who knew this Asian-Italian fusion would be amazing? I would go back just for that...and maybe a few rolls. The sushi was pretty fresh and the rolls were cool. They weren't the best that I've had (I still prefer Iron Chef House in Brooklyn Heights), but they'll do if I'm limited to options around Kips/Murray Hill.
The other reviews are right about this place getting packed later in the evening. Right around 8pm, lots of people started to roll in and fill up the upstairs portion of the restaurant. There was still a good vibe going on in the place, but it was just a little more crowded.
Also, a giant thank you to the staff who was really friendly. Service was great, and the student discount was even greater! You guys rock... Amber was the color of my energy that night.
New York City is a strange place. There are thousands and thousands of delicious and cheap authentic Asian places, but most white people would prefer to dine in their own neighborhood eating a blander overpriced version of Asian food.
While tacky neon shades of light danced upon a Buddha bought at Home Depot outfitted with dollar bills, I was served soggy tempura, a tuna roll that didn't seem to have much tuna, and two teeny tiny pork buns, which were good, but a 400% markup from Chinatown.
Chinatown is just a few subway stops away....
I ordered a lunch special via Seamlessweb from here. The lunch specials online include miso soup AND salad, and a mini appetizer and cost $2 more. Everything was packaged nicely, and they even use these containers with separate compartments for main/rice/side.
I had the thai crispy chicken breast, which was a breaded/fried chicken cutlet with sweet chili sauce (on the side). It was good, but I think I was expecting something more "Asian" than your standard chicken cutlet.
The salad is mini, but the sesame dressing is awesome. Miso soup is miso soup.
To meet the delivery minimum, I had to get another appetizer, although the lunch special was more than enough food. I got the Indian Pancake with Potato Curry dipping sauce. The pancake was moist, flaky and delicious! But! They served it on top of a bed of sugar? (and shredded carrots) I was annoyed and tried to shake off as much of the sugar as possible. Also, they use the shredded carrots a lot as garnish.. but they could have put some in the salad!
The other thing that annoyed me was during lunch(on seamlessweb) they don't have any appetizers to choose from except for the 2 that they upsell you on when you make your entree choice.. they actually don't have anything except for rice, soup and soda that is under $8 at lunch time.. so to meet the $10 delivery min. you don't have many choices when you get a $9 lunch special.
Meh - a okay. The sushi is okay, not great. I have tried it several times, and every time, the experience is very so so.
This place is AMAZING!!! I loved the UES location when I lived up there but this one is even better. I've dined in and ordered delivery and they have the best service of any restaurant that I've been to in Manhattan. The sushi is amazing! I love the triple toro roll and the salmon tar tar. They are extremely attentive and courteous when dining in and the atmosphere is very cool. Don't walk...run to this place!!! Enjoy!!!
I order a lunch special from here at least two times a week. I usually get the roll combos. The sushi is always delicious & fresh. The rolls are big too. I love their salad dressing. I work around Grand Central Station & the delivery is usually fast.
I went here for a friend's birthday party on a Saturday night. Everyone was scattered between the three floors & the only bar was downstairs so it was annoying to have to go up & down just for a drink, but other than that I had a good time.
I really like this place.
I've been here twice. Once for drinks/dinner, and once for lunch. Both times were great, but totally different experiences.
Lunch: Great lunch specials - $7 for a plated dish with soup/salad. However, they'll get you on the alchohol - $7 for bottled beer! I thought some of the menu items were innovative fare.
Dinner: We tried several menu items, including the sea bass skewer (not to be missed!), sushi, steamed dumplings, etc. Everything was off the charts awesome. It was really busy when we were there, dark, with loud music. I think it's great for a date, but it is a little loud.
Overall: Expensive drinks, but the food and ambience is so good i'm willing to put up with that.
just ordered in from this place. There is no reason to go here with Mizu and Senin a few blocks away. Tuna is chewy like a tuna steak and I got the king crab roll for 8 bucks. It was imitation crab. forgetting the outrageous prices of these "special" rolls, i'd rater spend the same money at Mizu and get quality sushi.
If you decide you are in the mood for dogfood and rice and end up ordering in, make sure the delivery guy gives you the change you ask for. If f they don't like their tip, they should get a real job that requires skill instead of giving a look like they deserve more than they are getting.
I'm staying away from this place from now on. I'd feel guilty giving my leftovers to a homeless person.
I have yet to dine here, but did order delivery from Amber a few weeks ago and everything I tried was gerat.
-Vietnamese Shrimp Summer Roll served with chili hoisin sauce
-Yellowtail chive handroll
-Thai spiced chicken wraps-chicken marinated & sauteed with basil, diced green & red pepper, pineapple, served with fresh red lettuce wrap
There were so many other things I would like to try next time, but I didn't want to overdo it. I was dining for one, after all.
Delivery did take a while, though it was a Saturday night and I didn't realize that the restaurant wasn't as close to my apartment as I expected. But, it was well worth the wait and, in my opinion, better for Asian fare than nearby RedHouse.
Let's just say that I am a disaster in the kitchen so I opt to order in. I've only ordered hot food and it was great! My favorites are the Crispy Thai Chicken, Pad Thai, & Pineapple Fried Rice. The portions are decent and the price is average. I'm not a food snob nor a picky eater so if you're looking for something quick, decent, and friendly than Amber is definitely the place to order from! They deliver + take credit card.
Came here for a friend's birthday party. From the outside, it's cute - it has that dark, black-red glow from the decor and an Asian (theme, not people) vibe. The drink specials were decent, and the service was OK.
My complaint (and something many others noticed) about this place was the awkward layout, esp. for a party. There is only one bar, which is downstairs, so if you're upstairs you have to keep coming down for drinks, which I guess isn't such a biggie but it just makes it feel like a frat party. Upstairs, the set up is like a middle-school dance. There are tables along the perimeter of the room with couches, but no other chairs, so there is a huge space in the center of the room where people who are standing are basically on display. Downstairs, it gets crowded quickly and the passageway is narrow.
It's a cute place, but I just don't think it was ready for the volume of the party.
I really can't stand Amber. I've been a few times with people who like it. These are the types of people who live in Murray Hill and have no taste. Well, no taste in food. We'll get back to music another time.
The sushi is hella overpriced and not very good. The spicy tuna tastes gummy. The servers ignored us. The place is too dark, and the bar smells fishy.
Not worth it. In fact, it's kind of a microcosm of Murray Hill--we could all do without it.
The glass doors were really heavy for me to open and I thought the place closed because the doors were so hard to open lol. Once inside it's a really spacious and neat place. The decor is really nice. Cute place for a date. The drinks weren't expensive. There's 3 levels, but the 3rd level is more of a private room for parties. The food was pretty good. I ordered a pina colada and it was very watery. The service was pretty good too and the waiters/waitresses were friendly as well. No matter when I come here for lunch or dinner, this place is never crowded.
Amber is doing pretty well... 3 restaurants now and I think this location in Murray Hill is the nicest. I won't go overboard and say that this place is the be all and end all of sushi restaurants. It's definitely not... it's in Murray Hill... so that would be impossible.
But I will say that my sashimi dinner was really good and the cuts of fish were massive. It was a little more expensive than normal for me and didn't come with soup/salad as I expect... still, it was worth its price in my opinion. My friends liked their specialty rolls and our appetizers -- yellowtail tartare and scallop something-or-other -- were both very solid. The tartare comes in a bowl sitting on ice that has a blue glowing light in the bottom... while this is clearly a gimmick and it's the kind of thing that you would obviously find in Murray Hill (or Times Square), I liked it a lot and it was a nice touch.
The lighting scheme in general at Amber is pretty intense but I should hope you get a little decor for the prices here. Ah yes, the prices: Amber is a little more expensive than my average sushi outing... of course, I'm not comparing Amber to the top notch sushi spots in NYC because it's not on that level. But like I said, the fish seemed fresh and they weren't skimping on portions. Our large bottle of ginjo sake hit the spot, and was reasonable at $30. Overall there is a fairly cool atmosphere here and if you can stand the slightly increased prices and manage to deal with 70% of the clientele in here who come from The Towers just a few blocks away, then it's not a bad restaurant.
The enormous Buddha upstairs doesn't hurt either...
Can't Speak on the food, just if your going for a party atmosphere. Went last Friday night at around 12:30 - there was probably 20 people in the whole place, including staff. This would be great if you had 60 friends with you and wanted to start your own party. Me, I only had 1. Boo.
In their defense, the upstairs looked pretty (there is actually 3 floors), they were jamming on the ipod and I'm sure I would have enjoyed the food.
I don't really do Murray Hill. It takes an act of God (or a really good friend's birthday) to get me over to this part of town. But like everyone else before me has stated, Amber manages to rise above it's 3rd Avenue address and deliver a great evening.
First of all, and most importantly, the food is delicious. Of the many things I tried, the hot items seemed to fare better than the sushi. Not that the sushi was bad, but it wasn't really memorable. Try the duck spring rolls or anything related to sea bass. I also had a very good saketini. Secondly the service is efficient, quick, and well organized. We were a big group with a lot of random requests - they handled everything quickly and with not one screw up. Impressive.
But, yeah, the music is a little much, more than a little - it's too much. Particularly when you go to the bathroom and are drowned out by Whitney Houston dance remixes from the 90's. Same goes for the decor - tone it down a notch, guys. But Murray Hill is not known for its high taste level, thankfully there's good food to be found beyond the neon.
The sushi at Amber passes the freshness test, which is the most important criterion for any sushi restaurant. I ordered a cross section of nigiri tonight, along with a tuna maki for good measure, and everything was reasonably fresh, with no pieces of fish showing any of the telltale signs of having been frozen and thawed (hello, Choshi, are you listening?) As an added bonus, the cuts were on the generous side, with the fish on the nigiri extending beyond the rice ball on both ends, and the portion in the center of the maki more fish than rice. This compensates adequately for the New York standard prices (not inexpensive, but neither outrageous). The sushi is a touch fresher, and the fish a bit higher quality than East across the street, but more expensive and not as much fun as the instant gratification of grabbing a plate off the conveyer belt as it passed by. Amber stays open much later than East, which is a big point in it's favor.
Another big point in Amber's favor is it's excellent manager, a fellow named Eric (or Tse when in his native Hong Kong). After I had paid my bill, Eric presented me with a surprise second glass of the house sake, explaining that the waitress hadn't realized it was happy hour. I highly doubt it was happy hour at 11:00 pm. Instead, I'm pretty sure Eric had seen me perusing the reviews of his restaurant on my iPhone, and surmised (correctly) that I was preparing to write one of my own. Well, his strategy worked - I'd been vacillating between three and four stars, and the free sake pushed me over the edge. Which I consider to be legitimate, as the quality of the staff and their treatment of their customer is a legitimate factor IMHO in any restaurant review.
So I raise a glass of sake (and the number of stars in my review) to Eric the manager. And let that be a lesson to us all: when eating in a restaurant, make sure to conspicuously peruse Yelp on your iPhone. There's no telling what freebies may cone your way.
I wanted to hate this spot. I live less than a block away and despised the pseudo club vibe Amber initially put off. I'd be walking home and all of a sudden hear deep beats and see some kind of neon green glow pulsating from the upper reaches of Amber's top floor. However, upon the recommendation of my sister, I finally decided to try out their sushi. I was pleasantly surprised.
Going to dinner around 7pm, it was obviously still dinner time and thankfully free of obnoxiously loud music. My dining companion and I decided to share a bunch of rolls and while pretty standard, were very fresh and tasty. Amber's not breaking any new ground here, but the food is reasonably priced and delicious.
Like I've written before in many previous reviews, I've never been a fan of eating Asian food in places with thumping bass or deep beats, especially not one with a giant Buddha as a decorative item. But, because we live a block away from this place, we inevitably tumbled into this 3 story restaurant this cold evening when I was craving sashimi.
I was quite surprised by the quality of the food. The white tuna tataki ($10) was pretty nicely done. Very thin strips of seared around the edges fish, soaked in a citrussy sauce. Like an Asian capaccio. And then the grilled sea bass ($20) was actually quite excellent. The sashimi platter (16 pieces for $22) was pretty good, and the fish portions were a nice size, but it didn't come with rice. WTF. So we paid $1.50 for a tiny bowl. Lame.
Anyway, the main gripes I have about this place was the lousy waiter (of course although there were a bunch of earnest and hardworking Asian waiters around, we were served by the one totally uninterested, completely awkward and rude punk ass white dude with a bad attitude). Just bad luck I guess. Everyone else from the manager to the bus boy were really nice. And the other thing that bothers me is that the fish was cut really thin and long. I think that's fine if it's sushi as it envelopes the rice, but when it's sashimi, I prefer it to have some bite, and be easy to grip without having to fold into a little roll.
Overall, decent Japanese food for the hood. 3.5 stars. If you're too lazy to go down to the EV for much cheaper stuff.
GREAT FOOD! Black Miso Cod, Shrimp Tempura....everything was awesome!!
I just had a surprisingly good lunch here and thought I'd let you folks residing or working in the culinary wasteland that is 3rd Ave. and the 20's in on it. Amber looks more like an Asian/fusion/bar than a lunch spot, but the crispy Thai chicken says otherwise. For just 7.95 I got a bowl - not a fake coconut shell - of really good miso soup and a platter of 2 chicken breasts, lightly fried, sliced and served with a sweet chili sauce and rice. Man was that good. My buddy got the basil chicken which came with a generous amount of sliced chicken and thinly sliced eggplant. We traded bites and both agreed the food was pretty great. There's also a sushi bar in the back that looked pretty clean and professional, but the lunch special was pretty generous so there wasn't room for sushi. Not a bad lunch for, "Hey it's raining let's go in here."
Wheelchair Access: Ramped in for easy access. Downstairs there's only a bout 4 or 5 tables, but it was fine. Didn't check the bathroom.
Decent food, service and decor. The place is not your typically small sushi house. The tables and chairs are in good repair. The fish is fresh and the portion sizes are ample. It's affordable and tastes pretty darn good. Service was a bit rushed at times, even though the restaurant was practically empty. Amber is a nice casual place to visit if you want decent sushi without unloading a lot of dough.
I have to admit, the rotating disco ball that filled the ceiling with red, blue and green lights was funny and cheesy.
Not sure why there are turntables on the main dining floor. I would hate to see this place turn into some quasi dance place at night. That would super obnoxious.
At 10:15 PM, we finally got our act together for dinner. We had initially planned to go to Blue Ribbon Sushi, but after learning that the wait was at least forty five minutes, we chose elsewhere. Miffed, we began walking to Amber. We stepped inside to see that most people were at the bar or upstairs. The disco ball casting red, blue and green lights throughout the restaurant was in full rotation. With music blasting and the majority of people finishing up their dinners, I felt slightly out of place. But my friend and I were starving and Amber's kitchen was still in business.
We were seated towards the front of the restaurant and adjacent to the door. While I do enjoy people watching, that activity did not compensate for the cold air which rushed in every time the door was opened. To warm up, my friend ordered a dirty martini with grey goose vodka; as a light weight, I ordered a lychee martini. We munched on edamame sprinkled with sea salt until our appetizers arrived. When our waiter dropped them off, I honestly thought he made a mistake. My companion's miso soup came in a bowl so massive that it would have taken a half hour to finish it. My salad was also too big, but that wasn't the main problem in my opinion. Sprinkled with a generous amount of California raisins, I was turned off immediately. I appreciate innovation in traditional dishes, but raisins, field greens, cucumbers and ginger dressing do not go together--at least not for me. Fortunately, Amber was redeemed with the first bite of sushi. My friend ordered two rolls: crab stick and the red hot dragon, while I selected one of their specialty rolls called the salmon tuna rollover. Filled with spicy tuna and topped with a swath of salmon and salmon caviar, mine was full of flavor and varying textures. The caviar was smooth and salty; the salmon was as soft as velvet and the pre-diced tuna wasn't too spicy. I didn't try her crab stick, but the red hot dragon was certainly hot! Spicy and crunchy tuna rests atop a tuna and avocado roll drizzled with spicy mayo--all together, I couldn't even tolerate the heat.
We didn't want to leave Amber when the check came, but that was more due to the cold than anything else. Don't get me wrong, there are times when I enjoy dining in trendy locations with energizing music, giant Buddhas, fake bamboo paneling and dim lights punctuated by a disco ball (well Amber could lose the disco ball). However, when I can't hear my companion speak and I can't exactly identify what I'm eating, I would rather be somewhere else. Maybe I will return for lunch.
My boyfriend and I found this place on-line and decided to come here for my birthday. The decor was tasteful but I found the music was to loud for me. I felt like I should have been at a club instead of a restaurant. The service was speedy and prompt. Our waiter was available for any questions we had and even offered to take a picture of us.
The sushi was a 7 on a scale of 1-10 just because I like my sushi to have the best, fresh taste. Our entrees were yummy and I would recommend this place to anyone!
I came here with my little sister (she's 17 and she picked the place) and we were both really pleased with our meals and the ambiance of Amber. Very cool and sexy, esp for the UES.
The waitstaff was very nice! I was about 15 mins late meeting my sister and they were so sweet and polite to her. I was afraid they were going to make her leave or thought she was just a kid goofing off, but she said they were very nice to her and even went over the menu with her, pointing out some suggestions.
We got the tuna tartare to start and it was fantastic. My sister HATES raw fish and she loved the tartare. She then got the crispy duck and I got the green curry with chicken.
We plan on going back the next time she comes to NY.
So during my last visit, I was treated to criminally tasteless wonton with watered down dipping sauce, sushi so badly prepared that I believe that they have changed over their staff, and a noodle dish that seemed thrown together. Off night for the main crew or too busy? No. It was a relatively light Saturday night... prime-time. Sadly, I don't know what has happened but I won't be giving it another chance. The one bright point was some juicy and tasty fried chicken wings.
The sushi/maki are fun and usually well prepared though it does seem inconsistent. The main dishes… Read more »
I was pleasantly surprised by the food here. Murray Hill isn't usually on my restaurant circuit, but I was meeting some friends here. The bartender was super nice and accommodating, as was the manager. The vegetable dumplings were good and I really enjoyed my Chilean Sea Bass with Black Bean sauce and steamed veggies. My friends enjoyed their sushi. All in all, not a bad choice in the 'hill. Loved the cheesy 80s music that they were playing that night, too. A few more drinks and I would have been up for some table dancing.
Best sushi in Murray Hill that we have had....the service is impeccable, they are all friendly and super attentive. The sushi is not overpriced, tastes fresh and prepared nicely. Atmosphere a little clubby, but if you go on the early side you don't have to wait and the music is not too loud for conversation. Tip-- go on Monday or Friday when they have buy one get one at the bar!
i don't really have an opinion about amber. it's not great, it doesn't suck. but then again i didn't eat the food, i was there for a birthday party so all i had was a $7 beer which i thought was pretty good considering i usually pay $10. the music? eh. i went with a bunch of fun people but i don't know if i would go back to amber unless i had to. i don't know if i want to try the food.
Blech. I called in an order to pick up during a Friday lunch believing they must have been busy based on the distracted and less-than friendly service I was getting on the other end of the phone. Not so much - the place did look beautiful on the inside, but there were only 4 or 5 customers in the restaurant and as I paid, I was again treated as if I were interrupting the staff from something way more important.
I found the average-tasting, sloppy-looking rolls I ordered to be slightly over-hyped and way over priced based on the reviews I saw here on Yelp. My yellowtail jalapeno came with giant crunchy chunks of jalapeno rather than normal thin slices, and my edamame was over cooked.
Maybe they were having a bad day or something, but I can't imagine trying again with so many other options around.
Shrimp Pad Thai ..........you are the best Shrimp Pad Thai in the whole city. Oh how I love you and how you make feel so warm inside. Oh Shrimp Pad Thai.
I have eaten here over half a dozen times and I have never had a bad meal. The appetizers are good, not amazing but for the price very good, and the Shrimp Pad Thai is out of this world.
I am all about bang for the buck these days, and amber is not too expensive for a very satisfying meal. Yea the decor is a little cheese and the music shows that they are really trying too hard but if it bothers you that much you can have the Shrimp Pad Thai delivered. I have done it a few Sunday nights (yup that's right i broke the Jewish tradition of classic Chinese) and the delivery is quick and equally delish. I think you actually get more food in the order when you call for delivery for all you fat asses like me.
Oh Shrimp Pad Thai........if only my next girlfriend can be as sweet and spicy as you all at once.
ehh... what else can anyone say about another sushi restaurant? just that it's another sushi restaurant that changes the name of the same roll (their gramercy roll is basically lobster and strawberry with mango sauce roll that every other sushi restaurant has) and make it their "special". it wasn't bad, just not worthy of a second visit. one good thing is that they have hh special where you get 2 drinks for the price of one. so drink on.
so i have been wanting to check this place out for awhile and just got around to it tonight. has a lot of apps on the menu which i was not necessarily expecting. the drink menu is relatively creative, but pricey ($11 for a vodka cocktail). i had the sushi generation which was 2 piece of tuna, salmon and yellowtail and a spicy salmon roll. not the best sushi i've ever had, but certainly not the worst. love the atmosphere, slightly dark, multi-level, buddha water fountain, red lighting, pop music blaring. good place to grab a drink and some sushi after work.
I went here last friday with some girlfriends. We stumbled in after some serious happy hour damage along 3rd avenue. We were seated promptly and the place was packed at like 9:30. The food was pretty good and the drinks were even better. I recommend the mojitos, they use real fruit to make them!
rolls + music + bathroom = HOT!
Neighborhood: Upper East Side
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Upper West Side
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Midtown East
Category: Lounges
Neighborhood: Murray Hill
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Kips Bay
Category: Pizza
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