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Chiyono
Rating Details »
- Nearest Transit:
-
Astor Place (6)
2nd Ave-Houston St (F, V)
8th St-Broadway (R, W)
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
19 reviews for Chiyono
i honestly did not think that there was anything special with this place, and i'm bothered by any restaurant that will charge you for rice and/or tea. i cook rice at home nearly every night and it seriously costs ten bucks of brown rice to feed me for like three months, and i eat *a lot*. they charge $2 for essentially half a bowl of brown rice. now if i were ordering extra rice, then i understand. but the entrees are tiny and don't come with anything else (i.e. prepared veggies), so nothing really justifies this :(
the food was good. rice was cooked to perfection, salmon collar was amazing- fresh and moist at a fat, juicy medium-, and i really liked their sake. but arghghg the entrees were so small. i'd really call these appetizers...
oh well. at least i was in good company and the decor of the place was very pleasant. very quiet and intimate atmosphere and most parties were in couples.
The staff here are so cute..all women with the cutest Japanese manners...reminds me of the time when I visited my college roomate at her house and her mom made us homemade Japanee meatballs :)...mmmmm....so warm!
I liked the communal table stretched in the middle of the restaurant...something very casual, you can even carry on a conversation with the people sitting next to you. ^_^
order their obanzai appetizers that came with bitter melon tempura, eggplant and pumpkin. I liked the pumpkin the best.
Also had a sanma whole fish..very boney but had good flavor. Their deepfried ground pork was ok. I got their seeweed rice and my friend had the salmon rice.
The dishes were plated with care and delicately assembled. It was all good but I'm not sure I liked bitter melon.
We shared a cold nigori sake which came in the cutest little bottle :) Loved it!
I would come again to try other things on their menu.
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This place seems as advertised, and exactly what I would imagine a home cooked meal in Japan is like. You'll spend around $20 a person to get full, as the portions were a little small. Unfortunately it's home cooked food at not some home cooked prices.
I really liked the decor of the place and the customer service here is fantastic. I definitely recommend it if you're looking to try some different Japanese food, but you may be better off coming here and sharing a bunch of dishes with friends.
Though service was great the food was so so. I had better miso cod elsewhere, the fried oysters and chicken were boring. The food also came out a little cold. Good ambiance, dessert was good. Oh the pork was good too, small portion but tasty!
This is the very best in Japanese food. It is a home-cooked restaurant, in the style of many that you find in Tokyo. In fact it feels like you're in Tokyo at this place... The dinning room is clean and empty, decorated by a few art pieces, and somehow feels like you're eating at a friends house.
The food is very very good, each plate immaculately cooked and presented. Very tasty. One thing I'll say though is that the portions are rather small. This is kind of a Japanese style though, but for me it means I have to order an entre and three appetizers, and still I'm not really full. So it ends up being a little pricey, but it's very good.
I would say it's perfect for a date, but I wouldn't go here everyday because of the price...
HOME SWEET HOME! is how you feel when you eat their hearty foods. Located on Curry Row, all tackiness is left aside. You won't see sake ads or Xmas lights adorning the walls here. Instead, what you get is pure unadulterated home cooking, and according to many (including myself), just like how a Japanese mom would make it. The preservation of the integrity of ingredients is what makes kaiseke cuisine my not so secret crush. Chiyono is also the owner's name and she is happy to converse with her customers throughout the night. The green tea IS good and meets my expectations. It's up there w/ Ariyoshi's (by NYU) and Cha-An's. The price point is very affordable given its location. It's 'under the radar' status is a huge plus for those who want to avoid a wait. I will have to come back to try the sushi/sashimi next time.
Ordered:
-Hijiki ($4.25) [simmered black seaweed and vegetable] - packed with flavor, big portion, fantastic
-Tofu Casserole w/ Hijiki (~$12) - clear soup broth, 4pcs of silken tofu, diping broth, watercress, inoki mushrooms, great winter food
-Special Avocado Salad ($8.50) - avocado and lettuce, must be either mirin or crack in the avocado, awesome!
-Saba-Shioyaki ($9.25) [grilled mackerel] - 2pcs, smelled super fishy but was okay on the palette, served w/ potato salad and pureed daikon w/ soy
-Saikyo-Yaki ($12.25) [grilled cod marinated in miso] - 2pcs, delicate, melty, served w/ potato salad, MUST GET, CRACK!
Total came out to $30/pp after everything
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Our visit to Chiyono reminded me of the meals I ate during my teenage years when I lived in Japan with host families. Chiyono is home cooking, simply made, executed well.
I didn't find it prohibitively expensive. If you choose judiciously, you'll walk out pleasantly full for just over $25 per person - excluding alcohol. Portion sizes are small - if you are used to US restaurant portion sizes. If you share and manage your expectations, you'll enjoy your meal with few regrets. If your experience of Japanese food is limited to sushi joints and that's what you're expecting, you will be disappointed.
We came here because I was hoping to have some authentic home-style cooking while I was in New York. Chicago really doesn't have anything like Chiyono, so we decided to give it a try.
We ordered the house-made shiu-mai with shrimp (filled with shrimp and tofu) that were coated in egg and fried. They were quite tasty. The kara-age (fried boneless chicken) we had was as good as any I've had in Japan. The tofu and cod was a little short on cod but was very tasty, too. The hijiki was an 'everything but the kitchen sink' (shiitake, konyakku, hijiki, carrots, tofu, etc) version which I enjoyed. The kimpira (simmered burdock root) tasted just like my host mom's. We had a bowl of special rice that was made with a little bit of furikake, salmon, and edamame.
This isn't blow-you-away food. It is, quite simply, tasty home-style cooking. Do yourself a favor - if you are interested in this type of cooking, buy yourself Elizabeth Andoh's Washoku (http://www.amazon.com/...) and teach yourself to make it at home.
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A sweet little jewel box of a restaurant. The prix fixe was pretty good and included a glass of wine. My fried oysters were quite good, as was the pickled lotus root and pumpkin of my appetizer. Very much Japanese home-cooking with simple, clean flavors and simple preparations.
Chiyono is always fun --- NOT! They had a ladies set, HF decided she would try it out. It includes appetizers and one entree, soup or salad and dessert. The hijiki and kimpira were the fixed appetizers and for the entree, the only choices were the grilled salmon or deep fried chicken. HF decided on the Tori-kara-age deep fried chicken with special sauce. Her meal was in a cute bento box type ensemble, with super mini arrangements of each selection. She finished it before our entrees arrived. Her dessert was a nothing special Red Beans Spring Roll.
CY decided on the yam with avocado and tobiko. We were puzzled because we thought yam was soft and yellow, this dish was white and crunchy and coated with a sticky white paste. CY kept urging us to eat more of her dish. Avocado with tobiko is quite tasty, however. She got Kaku-nu slow simmered belly with soy sauce (much better than the yam dish) and her entree was the Grilled Mackerel with miso.
I got the typical Oishitashi, Iwashi-croquette deep fried potato stuffed with sardine, and also the Grilled Mackerel. We both really liked the mackerel, definitely delicious. The sardine croquette was crunchy, barely any potato, more fish. Last time I had the Chicken Cream-croquette deep fried potato stuffed with chicken and that was quite tasty. This could be an alternate route. The specially seasoned rice is the perfect accompaniment to our dishes. It came in konbu, salmon, and ume flavors.
Talk about language barrier, it was difficult to communicate with our waitress. We got there at 6:30 pm (they open at 6pm) but they had run out of this and that. (no cod nor sesame pudding) Also, the cod was too late to order because the chef will take too long to cut it? Does that make any sense? Also we needed special permission from the chef to order the oishitashi. I was warned it will take awhile.
Service is super slow. Not all the dishes will come at the same time, homemade food always comes with some consequences. Triple check the bill - our tab included a dish that we had not received.
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After I read good reviews in yelp, I insisted my bf to go to this place...and finally had dinner a few days ago. The restaurant looked really nice... not crowded and small but quiet, I felt like I found a hidden gem.
Then we ordered food, wow.. portion's really really small. Even though it tasted ... not bad, but $7 for 5 tiny little pieces of octopus?
I don't think I will go back.
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My bf chose this place based on reviews from Menupages. I must say I am a fan of this place.
It's a small little place that can be overlooked when walking past the restaurant on the street. The restaurant doesn't have that many seats, so reservations are advised unless you're arriving there right around 6pm. Most of the seating is one large table.
We ordered the pre-fix menu for $30, which included 3 appetizers, soup, entree, rice, dessert, & beer/wine.
My pre-fix menu came with the following:
o Appetizer - chef's choice of 3 - mine included pumpkin, lotus root, and octopus; my bf's included pumpkin, lotus root, and sea urchin. The sea urchin was super fresh & delicious.
o Soup - Gobo soup - this was delicious!
o Entree - our choice - so I ordered fried oysters - this was my favorite dish. The oysters were super fresh, and it was lightly fried. My bf ordered fried chicken, which sounds ordinary, but was very very good.
o Dessert - also chef's choice - mine was panna cotta w. ice cream. The panna cotta was good, wasn't too sweet; however, it didn't match the ice cream, which was too sweet. The panna cotta alone was good, and the ice cream alone was good, but didn't compliment each other. My bf's dessert was a banana spring roll with ice cream. His dessert was wonderful!
o Beer / Wine - We both opted for beer. Choice was Asahi or Sapporo.
We also ordered Pork Belly to split, and that was delicious. My mom makes something similar at home, but this place makes it with one kick in it that my bf and I couldn't figure out.
Our meal came out to about $55 per person including tax and tip. In addition to the $30 pre-fix meal, we also ordered a bottle of sake to split and the extra pork belly dish.
All in all, the food was pretty good at this place. It was homecooked, and it's one of those cute small places to just go and have a good time. Definitely not a place to eat quickly and leave.
Previous reviews have mentioned that portions were super small. With the pre-fix meal and the pork belly dish (that was split between six people), I was full when I left the restaurant.
I would definitely return for the Gobo soup and the Fried Oysters.
To start with, this place has fantastic green tea. The cod with miso is possibly the best, butteriest, most astounding fish dish you'll get for less than $20. Really authentic and perfectly balanced home-style Japanese food. Small portions, so order some soup, a couple of apps off the chalkboard, and try their interesting sesame panna cotta desert. Highly recommended.
I actually think this was a 3 star experience but I think its a 4 star place if you order correctly and have proper expectations.
Very good for simple, homestyle Japanese food without pretense. The pork belly was the best - similar to what my parents might make and the sauce was amazing. The fish was simple, grilled and healthy though a little bland. The miso grilled fish probably would have been better. I wasnt a fan of the croquette - it was too mushy. Overall this place is a bit pricier but much calmer than the St. Marks restaurants. Some of their dishes taste better, some don't but its definitely healthier with better ingredients. I would come here again to try their fixed menu or get the pork belly. Service is a little slow and most of the seating is one large table. Authentic homestyle cooking isn't everyone's idea of restaurant food so keep that in mind if you're looking for something more fancy.
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very homecooked style... the 2 girls who run the place are not very good at communicating in english but they do have a cute lil chalkboard with all of today's specials... which are quite a few to choose from... because these specials change a lot i would totally come back here to try more stuff... their menu has an extensive selection of veggies but i shyed away from them this time cuz i wanted meat... unfortunately they ran out of the two things i wanted to try (chicken karaage and croquette stuffed with sardine!)... even though it was a pretty empty friday night! which makes me worried for this establishment
so ordered the following:
- plate of shrimp sashimi... they fry the shrimp heads for u afterwards which was a nice surprise! very crispy and nicely salted! eat the whole head! ameibi was pretty decently sized
- octopus with cucumbers and seaweed - pretty decently plump in a simple vinegary cold soup
- croquette with chicken and cream - 2 huge crispy pieces, loved the cream, couldn't really taste the chicken... the cocktail sauce was a nice contrast with the croquettes... they give u tonkatsu sauce as well. salad on the side was bitter tho
- shrimp gyoza and chives gyoza - skin not too thick not too oily full of meat
- pork belly - very meaty... not as tender as sakagura's but very flavorful, love the broth
- grilled cod with miso - salty, good with rice, potato salad was sweet, cod was nicely glazed not too dry
- special rice - literally just rice with bits of whatever u choose, in our case it was salmon
- banana roll - think of a spring roll with banana in it fried to a crisp... its just one roll so could feed one person easily, pretty good tho even tho its easy to make... love the ice cream and red beans that went with it!
overall homey place very low key on indian food dominated street! hope it still survives!!!
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Chiyono is a charming, inviting restaurant specializing in homestyle Japanese food that's well worth a visit. The owner and hostess (also named Chiyono) understands the importance of hospitality to a good meal - she's very attentive and eager to explain the menu and share stories with you. The food is comparable in type and quality to what you'll find at En, but at about half to one third the price, and in a more intimate setting (unless you're prepared to take out another mortgage for one of En's private rooms). If your experience of Japanese food is limited to sushi, the menu won't be what you're expecting, but you'll be pleasantly surprised while learning more about the true range of Japanese cuisine. Chiyono offers an authentic Japanese dining experience of the sort you're more likely to find in Japan than in the US, all at a reasonable price.
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The $25 to $30 5-course prix fixe menu (drink included) plus a nice $25 and under review in the NYTimes was enough for me to give this new restaurant a try. It's Japanese home cooking with potato croquettes, burdock root soup, fried chicken and salmon collar dotting the menu. I'd say all in all it was worth a try, but the experience was hit or miss depending on what you ordered. Plus there was a bit of a language barrier and misunderstanding over the bill that left us somewhat disgruntled at the end. Certainly not the way to finish off a meal.
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Amazing home style cooked Japanese food made with nothing but love. This place is about quality, not quantity (bite-sized portions).
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This is a gem of a restaurant. The food is authentic Japanese "katei ryori" (home cooking) with healthy ingredients. My kids love the dumplings and the fried chicken pieces. I love the stewed pork (very tender, not fatty, few places do it well) and the croquettes. The onigiri (rice balls) make me homesick for Japan. My wife likes the vegetables in sesame sauce, the hijiki (seaweed). Prices are very reasonable, and the daily specials are very good.
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i LOVE chiyono. it's wonderful. do a little bit of homework before you go in terms of what to order. i'd always recommend the root veggie salad with gorgonzola, the avocado salad, the "special rice" of the day, the pork belly (it's *incredible*), the fried chicken, the broiled miso cod if they have it, the pork & vegetable patties, and the fried oysters. the soups are also lovely. a friend of mine has vouched for it's authenticity in terms of the homestyle japanese cooking. last time i went the bill came to $110 with tax and tip for three of us, and we were so stuffed we could hardly move. go!
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