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Illusion Asian Fusion Cuisine
Rating Details »
Category: Asian Fusion
Neighborhood: Bay Ridge6814 4th Ave
(between 68th St & Bay Ridge Ave)
Brooklyn, NY 11220
(718) 238-5531
- Nearest Transit:
-
Bay Ridge Ave (R)
- Hours:
Mon-Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 11:30 p.m.
Sun. 12:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Lunch, Dinner
6 reviews for Illusion Asian Fusion Cuisine
A few days ago when I was hungry and in the mood for some sushi:
I got a dragon roll ( $8.00) , a mini-roll ( $1.50 or 4 for $5.00), and two pieces of tako ( $1.50). The dragon roll was good, but they did skimp on the eel, which is my favorite part. They advertised mini-rolls outside, so I decided to try one. Basically, a mini-roll is baby-sized roll. I got the eel and avocado, which was tasty. The tako was sliced too thick and, as a result, was too tough to eat. I don't think it was fresh, so I am sticking to rolls here.
A month or so before that:
I went with a group of friends and we all ordered lunch specials and rolls to share. I had shrimp with mango sauce and tom yum soup. The tom yum soup was so good, so spicy, and so lemograssy! I loved it. The prawns in it were also delicious. My friends had chicken with pineapple sauce and chicken with mango sauce. They liked it, since it was so huge. We shared a shrimp tempura roll, California roll, and a Boston roll. We even got our non-sushi eating friend Kelly to try some sushi! The kani salad was savory. When can you go wrong with cab, cucumber, tons of mayo, and some spice? Our grand total for 5 people was about $70 or so. Not too shabby...
Maybe it was all an illusion ; )
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
4/10/2009
I came here yesterday.
All I ordered were two pieces of eel and one piece of kani. It took them 25… Read more »
The positive reviews of this restaurant are untrustworthy. Would you trust the sushi-sense of someone who would have sushi...
1. At a "pan Asian" restaurant (that's codespeak for "Chinese")
2. A restaurant that doesn't specialize in sushi in the first place?
3. At any restaurant in a quasi-ghetto neighborhood?
Nay, I tell you. Nay. It's like asking a Chinese baker to cook a mole sauce. An Italian chef to cook a stir-fry. A greasy spoon chef to cook eggs benedict. A Mexican chef to whip up a Vienna brunch.
In the immortal words of Jimmy Valmer... "Come on, now!"
Call it "morbid curiosity". Call it "devotion to my yelp readers". But I had the sushi here, and I will tell all.
I had the Phoenix roll, the One Night Stand Roll, and the salmon roll. All beautiful. All tasteless. Literally. No taste. I'd be willing to bet the fish was old and previously frozen. I hope I don't have parasites.
This restaurant can be summed up as:
Beautiful dishes, great business sense, very good staff. Food is mildly flavorless and lackluster. If you go across the street to the ghetto Chinese food place, you'll pay less and get better tasting food (but will die from clogged arteries). Sorry, I don't want to diss the other reviewers, but honestly, the food here ain't great, but it's easy to be fooled because it's prepared so beautifully. In that sense, perhaps the restaurant is aptly named "Illusion".
Expect fast delivery; 15-20 min. The woman who takes orders on the phone is very competent and polite.
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Some other reviews of their dishes:
Steamed Shumai: B-
Fried Shumai: B-
Jeez, guys. How could you screw up fried shumai? You freakin drop them into hot oil and serve. The shumai looked good, but were tasteless. No hint of flavor.
Tuna/Salmon pancake: D
Disgusting.
Summer roll: B
Like a small greasy eggroll. At least this had some flavor and interesting texture.
Cripsy Chick Wings: B
Again, how can you fry chicken wings and not get an A? This was actually one of the better things on the menu, but they axed it. You can't get it anymore.
Wonton Soup: C
Uninteresting. Only flavor was salt. Very little "stuff" in the soup.
Tom Yum Goong: B-
Again, you'd be crazy to get this at a Chinese restaurant. I ordered it out of morbid curiosity and was sorry.
Hot and Sour Soup: C
Jumpin' Jehosephat! This is an easy soup to get an A with. The only flavor was mild pepper and salt.
Chicken and Shrimp Hibachi: B+
Steak and Chicken Hibachi: A-
Shrimp and Scallop Hibachi: B
The hibachis are generally pretty good. Grilled meat / seafood on a bed of stir-fried veggies with a side of rice. These were actually very tasty, and I'd consider getting them again.
Salmon Teriyaki: A-
Quite yummy; very tasty. They managed to cook the salmon perfectly so that it's not dry and not slimy. Great hibachi taste to it. Kudos on this one.
Chicken Katsu: C-
Ick.
Thai Curry: B-
Not memorable.
Pad Thai: C
Again, getting pad thai at a "pan Asian restaurant" (read: Chinese) is like asking Aunt Jemimah to whip up a wet mojito. No. Aunt Jemimah cooks PANCAKES. Want a mojito? Ask Ramon at the local cuban bar. If you order pad thai here, you get what you deserve (which is exactly what I got).
Phoenix Roll: C-
Sweet Heart Roll: C-
Salmon Roll: C-
Tuna Sushi: C-
All beautifully prepared but utterly tasteless.
Okay - I'm being a little picky here because for Brooklyn, this place is kinda pricey. The portions are small. We got the sushi and sashimi platter for like $17 but it was so...unspectacular. There were a few pieces of sashimi and sushi slices (not very inspired at all) and the salmon was still icy cold! It just came outta the frig!
We got two special rolls - Obama roll and Red Dragon Roll and they were alright. Definitely not the best sushi I've had. In fact, for better price AND better sushi, go to Bay Ridge Sushi a block away (see my review for that place). It's SOOOOO much better. We also had panang curry with chicken and the sauce was very milky and thick.
That location has bad feng shui because three or four restaurants has opened and closed in quick succession. For its sake, I hope this restaurant gets to succeed and do better in terms of their service and food. They are very creative with their special rolls but they need to up the ante on the freshness and flavor. The decor is beautiful, especially the ceiling.
I haven't been satisfied with any of the other restaurants that have been in this spot, but finally we've gotten a spot with excellent sushi for a very reasonable price. The wait staff is unbelievably attentive and polite.
Overall this spot is a great bang for the buck.
Edit: The prices went up not too long ago- it's no longer quite the deal it used to be, you should stick with Omiya if you're looking for a bargain in the hood.
Surpisingly good and plentiful sushi. We went for lunch and were pleasantly surprised. A great, small place for sushi.
The sushi here is okay. I live in the neighborhood and I love sushi, so when I want sushi on the go I'll come here, otherwise I'd just go somewhere else. If you really want sushi at the moment, it will satisfy you. Each time I went to illusion it was really quiet and I had lunch specials. The rolls are pretty big so you'll get full. But I don't think that the price is worth what you get.
