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Tanaka Sushi
Category: Restaurants Sushi Bars Sushi Bars [Edit]
222 E 51st St(between 2nd Ave & 3rd Ave)
New York, NY 10022
Neighborhood: Midtown East
(212) 308-6976
- Nearest Transit:
-
Lexington Av/53 St (E, M)
51 St (4, 6, 6X)
5 Av/53 St (E, M)
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
Evan R. said: "Zutto is under new management, and their owner invited several Yelpers to come check it out for free. I don't normally spend much time in TriBeCa, but free is a great offer. I got there early, and service was attentive from the…" read more »
60 reviews for Tanaka Sushi
Review Highlights
"The fish was fresh and their sushi was well made."
(in 5 reviews)
"We finally found Tanaka, whose lunch specials are great."
(in 7 reviews)
"...cheap Japanese option I have found for lunches in midtown."
(in 16 reviews)
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60 reviews in English
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Review from Melanie Z.
San Francisco, CA
9/17/2011
I thought it was the perfect lunch- went there after someone at our hotel recommended it. It was as fresh and tasty as we had hoped.
Prior to travel I had planned out each of our meals, except for this one- and it was perhaps the best meal we had! -
Review from Ryan D.
Brooklyn, NY
1/6/2012
Some of the worst customer service I've ever experienced, but their Volcano roll is phenomenal!
I've eaten their twice now and the food is awesome but, the wait service is sub-par and customer service is further below par. I called to speak with the owner to tell them how much I enjoyed the food and an order taker pretended to be the owner, kept yapping away, wouldn't listen and as I started to tell them how much I love their Volcano Roll she said I don't have time for this and hung up... lol -
Review from Steve L.
New York, NY
1/23/2012 2 Check-ins Here
Very good value! I haven't eaten the sushi but the noodle dishes are not bad. Service is very friendly and there is usually some type of special going on. Worth trying out.
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Review from Stella A.
New York, NY
12/21/2011
hibachi is delicious. Don't get the Golden lemon scallop, they are lightly battered but served on a need of sauteed (wet) veggies so they were soggy, yuck.
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Review from Sui B.
10/25/2011
My co-worker took me here for lunch as he knows I appreciate good sushi. I got the lunch box which came with california rolls (which you can switch to any other roll), fried dumplings (which you can switch to shumai), salad with miso ginger dressing, and your main course (chicken teriyaki for me), with a bowl of rice on the side. The service was slower than expected for NYC standards, but every piece of my meal was delicious! The chicken was so tender and the sushi was fresh. I do wish that the tables are a set a little further apart.
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Review from Nelson W.
3/8/2011 1 Check-in Here
This review only pertains to Tanaka for delivery.
By far, Tanaka offers some of the best sushi rolls for a lunch option. The sushi was very fresh and each roll was stuffed with fish and avocado. Only a thin coat of rice was used for each roll, but when the rice was fresh and chewy, you almost want more!
Salmon avocado rolls can easily be butchered with unfresh ingredients, but flavors and texture were just excellent. Ordering a delivery of two rolls will also get you a small miso soup and salad. All of this for only $10. Not a bad deal in midtown Manhattan at all! -
Review from Kate B.
Portsmouth, NH
4/1/2011
Really good! Service was slow & prices seemed a bit inconsistent (my appetizer cost more than my sushi roll?), but the food was really tasty.
I ordered: shrimp shumai, greasy but in a good way; the sweet potato roll, only $3 & OMGPERFECT & crunchy; and the spicy king crab avocado roll, which was great but wasn't listed as having masago & had it anyway - yuck! I also tried my friend's gyoza, which is generally not my style but was still tasty.
Meal was about $15 - not bad at all. If I lived in the area, I'd definitely go back when the next Japanese food craving hit. -
Review from Jeff S.
We let Yelp lead us here when we happened to be in Midtown. Turned out to be a great choice!
We split the hibachi stir fry and an udon with vegetables and beef. Everything was quite good. The beef in the stir fry was excellent quality, succulent, well seasoned, and fresh. The soup was also well done; the flavors were spot on and the ingredients were top quality.
I should also add the service was very good and the server was quite friendly. And, they have a spotless and fresh smelling bathroom, always a bonus! Total for two with drinks, tax and top, just $36. Recommended. -
Review from Helena C.
Woodside, NY
Cheap, great for a quick bite. Service is slow but very polite.
Nothing too special. -
Review from Jisoo S.
Manhattan, NY
9/5/2011
Seamless web tip: if you and your office folks are ordering sushi, this place gives a free California roll for orders over $20 and two free rolls for order over $35 so it actually makes sense to order separately in increments of $35 if you're with a big group! Free bananas too - huh? Sushi and chirashi was decently fresh.
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Review from Stephanie M.
Manhattan, NY
9/1/2011
Honestly, I was rather bored by this sushi. I got a simple Mexican roll (spicy tuna with tempura flakes on top) and an eel avocado roll. As a sushi lover, I will eat just about everything, and I did finish my order, but I wouldn't return. I know New York has far better sushi for comparable prices.
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Review from David W.
Brooklyn, NY
8/27/2011
This is a great hole in the wall kind of Sushi place. A little cramped but good value. After eating here go across the street to a great mini park with a waterfall.
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Review from LORILYNN R.
LONG ISLAND CITY, NY
6/23/2011 1 Check-in Here
OK Have ya's noticed I'm a SUSHI FREAK Yet? Love this place. Like any NYC restaurant, small area but great atmosphere and energy.
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Review from Rachel F.
New York, NY
7/28/2010
This tiny spot is absolutely fantastic. I've been here two times, for lunch. Each time I've ordered a lunch special (two sushi rolls, salad, and soup -- at a great price).
The sushi is SUPERB. These days, I often find myself eating preservative-tasting sushi at various midtown lunch spots. But at Tanaka, the sushi is UBER fresh and unadulterated. Today, my Mexican roll and Salmon & Avocado roll tasted like perfection. The food is extremely special - even their soy sauce and ginger salad dressing is somewhat out of the "bento" box.
Keep up the good work, Tanaka! -
Review from Justin P.
Old Bridge, NJ
3/4/2010
A friend I hadn't seen in a while texts me seeing if I wanted to hang-out last night. She asked if I'd pick a place somewhere in Midtown East. Sweat drips down my brow. I start thinking: "I rarely went above 14th street when I lived in the city, I don't know many places at all in Midtown East." Then, serenity took over when I decided to go use the trusty "search for" function on http://Yelp.com. Not surprisingly, it did not fail me.
When I showed up to the place, my friend hadn't arrived yet. When I walked into the establishment, a nice lady greeted me and then I was promptly seated. Soon after, my waitress said hello and asked if I needed anything. I think it's a nice touch that they provide warm napkins. I then perused the menu again, and I noticed that the prices are quite fair compare to some higher-end sushi spots. I also liked that there were a wide array of sushi options. I was particularly glad that they had a banana and salmon roll, which I find delicious.
After about five minutes, my friend arrived and we were ready to order. We ended up sharing 5 different rolls, which we both liked. While the fish seemed fresh, the rolls were smaller than I had expected. Nevertheless, I still recommend this place because of the quality, pleasant staff and nice setting. -
Review from Stacy T.
Elmhurst, NY
1/11/2010
I am eating the Sashimi Lunch Special right now ($9.50 + tax = $10.35). I got Take Out for lunch today. Here is the run down:
3 pc Salmon - Pretty good, it is definitely a 5 star, considering the price. The fish is very soft and very fresh.
3 pc. Tuna - Their cut was odd, rectangular blocks instead of the usual trapezoid or parallelogram. The fish was not that fresh.
3 pc. Yellowtail - Not too bad, but a little hard for fish.
2 pc. Imitation Crab - Tasted standard.
Came with a side of rice, soup, and salad. All of which were standard tasting.
Overall, a good choice for lunch considering we are in Midtown. -
Review from Lucy L.
6/15/2010 3 Check-ins Here
2 times takeout order was decent.
Big portion, quick service, standard price.
The restaurant itself is pretty small. -
Review from Jonathan K.
Forest Hills, Queens, NY
11/13/2008
Serviceable sushi (super small servings).
Bland bento boxes (boring, but bulk-sized).
Proximate private park (private public park - perfect!). -
Review from Laura W.
1/2/2007
I've never eaten in, although I have walked by. It looks cute, there is a large good luck cat outside. I have had it delivered though, and what a great midtown lunch deal! For $7.95 you get:
-One item (I usually get Beef Negimaki)
-California Roll
-2 Fried Dumplings
-Miso Soup
-Salad
And then after eating alll that; I get back to my computer screen in a food coma stupor that is blissful. -
Review from Adam R.
8/26/2008
I'm not sure if it was just the hungry talking to me, but this place is a very decent choice for a sushi lunch in East Midtown. Not only were the rolls well made and tasty, but the salad and soup were pretty large. I was slightly miffed about having to wait 15 minutes for my pick-up order to be ready, but that's still not bad.
The rolls themselves might have had *slightly* too much rice, as compared to the fish, but they still tasted good. The interior has an interesting layout with the sushi being prepared right at the front where the take out is, and the diners farther back. And despite the fact that it's in one of those sometimes awful sub-ground level spaces, they managed to keep an airy feel in the restaurant.
Not bad at all.Listed in: Cheap East Midtown Lunch
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Review from patrick c.
New York, NY
2/6/2009
Obviously this is not the best sushi place but for the price is awesome. The sushi is bland and tasteless and the servings are pretty small but for its price? its SO CHEAP. Not only that they have specials where you order a certain amount i think 15 or 25 dollars you get a free california roll. I never have to remind them about it they always provide it.
Great service! cheap prices ! edible food.
Ive also had their Chicken Katsu Don and it was good. Very VERY little chicken but a lot of rice. This was edible and decent.
again this isnt suppose to be a gourmet sushi place. This is suppose to be a cheap quick and easy sushi restaurant. This place definitely gets the job done. -
Review from mark c.
Manhattan, NY
9/19/2008
Better than Sushi You. Good enough quality but great service
http://www.yelp.com/bi... -
Review from Susan A.
Updated - 12/22/2009
Two roll special? Awesome. Soup here is good, just the right amount of miso. Apparently you get the option of getting your sushi made with either white OR brown rice, which I'd never heard of before. Came with salad as well. $10 after tax & tip. sticker price? 8.25
Sushi is a definite improvement over the katsu there.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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8/21/2009
Whoot whoot lunch special! =D
$10 - soup, salad, dumpling, cali roll, & special plate
Salad & soup =… Read more »
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Review from Henry H.
New York, NY
4/29/2010
I went there with a few coworkers today for their 3 roll maki lunch combo and I was pretty impressed. The fish was fresh and their sushi was well made. It is one of the only lunchtime roll combos that has fish eggs on it; most restaurants will scratch that for the lunch rolls.
I've always loved spicy tuna but have been recently turned off by it at other lunchtime roll combo places like Aoki because I feel that the fish isn't nearly as fresh as what they serve in the non-combo plates or for dinner, so it was a nice surprise to see that the spicy rolls here had none of these problems. On top of that you get both soup and salad!
The place is small, so if you want to eat there, I would recommend going at an off-hour time (before 11:45 or after 1:00) because otherwise you might have a problem getting seating. I'm not sure if they take reservations but if they do I would look into it if you're going to eat in. -
Review from sherf b.
Putnam Valley, NY
4/19/2007
A steal of a deal!
My coworkers and I have SUSHI FRIDAY. We've tried a few different Japanese places but were always disappointed with one thing or another. We finally found Tanaka, whose lunch specials are great. You can't beat $7.95 for a variety of endless possibilities they offer. The amount of food you get for the price is ridiculous. The fish is always fresh and the service, whether take out or sit-in is always prompt. The place is pretty small and hard to get a seat during the lunch rush, but worth it. -
Review from Joyce L.
11/20/2008
The chica tried to up sell me from the moment brother and I sat down.
Hot sake? Here's our list of premium sakes... oh do you serve them hot? Oh I'm sorry we don't do the premiums hot.
(the circle went round, and round when finally I determined that the only sake they serve hot was the house one).
Can we please add 2 pieces of octopus sushi to our order? Three pieces? No, two pieces (V shaped finger to show digits one, and two). A-ok.
(3 pieces came out)
So why the 3 stars even though it was such a disaster? Because the food was, actually, quite good.
I found the sushi standard Japanese size, not jumbo American like most of the shops I've been to. Relatively fresh, even for premium items like toro which I can't imagine them selling too much of. The dinner service was quick and I walked away with a frustrated head but happy tummy.
I would expect my wallet to show a bigger dent if I was paying for perfection. But since I weren't paying like a lotto millionaire, something had to give... just as well it was service and not the food. -
Review from Albertro F.
Chinatown, NY
8/24/2007
I'm still trying to get my feet wet in the Mondo Cane of NYC sushi, so when the offer of a free dinner in midtown came up, I jumped to try Tanaka. Pleasant atmosphere, decent service, and good food. Not great food, nor even great prices. Maybe I need to supplicate myself to only eating at Chinese and Mexican sushi places because I nitpic economic...
Veggie tempura was lightly battered and cooked all the way through, but the dipping sauce was nearly flavorless. Eh. My side salad was small, but I dug the orange ginger dressing.
Two of the three rolls we got were pitifully small, and while I should have advised against them, the peanut maki my benefactress ordered were just that: toasted peanuts in a roll. The gringo shrimp temp roll was nicely flavored, but I was a little miffed about the size. The sashimi, on the other hand, was extremely fresh. The tuna was beet red and the salmon was dark orange. I don't care much for octopus or mackerel, so I don't know how it rates with other places. I got the $15 Sashimi Regular - omakase/chef's choice, so maybe I shoulda ordered the stuff I like ala carte, Nice presentation, though, on a huge pile of noodle-looking shredded daikon and veggies. Throw on a bottle of Kirin, and our bill was $40ish.
One can do better or worse I'm sure, but I know I had to eat half a box of wheat thins when I got back. -
Review from K D.
New York, NY
7/13/2010
Went here because I saw their lunch special and it was too good of a deal to pass by. I was wrong.
I ordered 3 rolls (spicy tuna, spicy salmon, and eel avocado). Soup and salad was great, but it took nearly 20 minutes for me to get my rolls. When I asked the waitress about my food, she snapped her head back at me and looked at me like that was an absurd question. I continued to wait.
When I received my rolls, the plate was dirty on the side with a streak of some sauce. I tried to ignore it and ate the rolls, but EW. The seaweed was CHEWY! Like it was not fresh (stale-ish). When I picked up most of the pieces with my chopstick, the rolls fell apart. So yeah, bad quality, but pretty decent price. I probably would not want to eat this again. -
Review from Olivia V.
1/20/2010
This place was pretty average. Just your run of the mill sushi places. The food and sushi wasnt anything to write home (yelp?) about.
I will write that the second we sat down, we barely had a moment to even touch the menus before being hankered for an order. When we asked for a few minutes to look it over, it felt like we were asked again and again almost every minute on the minute. Ironically, when we were eating, my water didnt get filled once during the whole meal and when we wanted to get the check, no one was around for a while for us to ask.
Aside from that, over all, this place was pretty average - nothing special, nothing terrible. I wouldnt go out of my way to eat here again. -
Review from Roger M.
New York, NY
6/24/2010
You will not find better take out sushi in all of East Midtown! I dare you to try. This place is fast, fresh, and delicious. Orders of $20 or more get a free california roll.
Once East went out of business/moved, my girlfriend and I were struggling to find our new go to sushi spot, this is it! -
Review from Sam H.
New York, NY
8/11/2010
Mediocre fish. I had sashimi and gyoza delivered. The gyoza were not particularly good and the fish was a little tough and a little bland. Exactly what you get at lousy sushi restaurants.
I can't complain about the quantity--15 pieces of sashimi, plus a free California roll for orders over $20 and a free banana. But quantity isn't what I look for in sushi...
For what it's worth, the banana was very good. -
Review from Deborah H.
New York, NY
12/14/2007
Decent for what it tries to be (a cheap, unauthentic, fast sushi joint), but Tanaka is nothing special. Lunch specials range from 7.50$-10$ and include sushi rolls, rice bowls, and udon. It's pretty tiny, so there was a bit of a wait around high-time lunch, but their takeout business seems booming. Service is good, but the food is very unimpressive.
For much better sushi, I'd rather go to Sushi You next door. -
Review from Bill K.
New York, NY
4/15/2008
Say what you like, but to be able to get a yummy lunch with soup, salad, sushi and a California roll for $8 is pretty freaking nice.
Another thing I like about this place is that it's ridiculously small. Usually that annoys me, but in this case, I think it's adorable.
The servers were really on top of things and we were in and out in 30 minutes. Certainly not someplace I'd take friends in from out of town, but for lunch, the watchword is expediency. -
Review from Pierre S.
Manhattan, NY
3/17/2010 1 Check-in Here
There should probably be two sections to Yelp: "for here" vs. "to go"
I pick up salmon don from this place quite regularly (~every two weeks) and I seriously love it. It consistently good, just the right size and it comes with soup and salad. One of my coworkers has the teriyaki beef and loves it just as much. -
Review from Alaina W.
Astoria, NY
10/2/2007
A quiet, unassuming Japanese restaurant on a Midtown block with a surprisingly large number of other eateries. The decor is simple, but the dimly lit dining area and candles at every table adds a nice touch. The place is tiny--I'd say less than 8 tables, plus the sushi bar. But the food is really good and decently priced.
I had the sushi appetizer (5 pieces of sushi) and the Fashion roll. They have a surprisingly extensive list of "special" maki rolls. They all sounded delicious, but I went with the Fashion roll, which included tuna and salmon. The fish was fresh and tasty, really good quality for what appears to be a neighborhood sushi joint. Between the sushi, a shumai appetizer, and tempura ice cream for dessert (this is huge! get this!), I was pleasantly full, but not stuffed.
Definitely worth a try if you're in midtown and craving sushi. -
Review from bratty k.
New York, NY
12/24/2010
Another cheap Chinese owned Japanese place. It's a good place for cheap (lunch specials under or around $10) quick lunch. Everything is okay, nothing great or authentic.
It's small and the place gets crowded with the lunch crowd so get there around 12pm if you don't want to wait in a tiny area inside the door.
The service is abrupt and borderline rude and they tend to rush you out even if you eat fast so they can free up the table.
I wouldn't recommend this place for date, just for quick cheap lunch with a small group. -
Review from Sara K.
Long Island City, NY
2/11/2011
I'm giving 4 stars because the food is fantastic but I've never actually been there - I always just order. And I always order the same thing so I'm not very well-rounded re: their menu. But...to the vegetable dumplings, garden salad and avocado roll, I can speak very highly. The dumplings are full of vegetables and have a nice thin dough as opposed to most other places where the dumplings are chubby and 50% dough. Their salad always tastes clean and fresh and the ginger dressing is absolutely perfect. Avocado & seaweed always fresh in the rolls which are nice and tightly wrapped (Yo mama is tightly wrapped. Sorry. It just fits.)
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Review from Laura C.
New York, NY
11/21/2010 1 photo
Great lunch specials!!!! I've had the chirashi and the sashimi lunch special. They come with a salad AND miso soup. The soup is sweet and delicious white miso with fresh tofu cubes. I could drink it by the gallon.
I can't say the same for the salad though. It's just lettuce with half a slice of cucumber in each box (preassembled) with a to die for Ginger dressing. I almost never eat salad but I eat their lettuce if only as a vessel to get the addictive dressing to my mouth (in a socially acceptable office manner)
They also give rice with most of the lunch specials (around ten dollars). The quality of fish is fresh and consistent. Thick cut slices taste fresh and clean. I even eat the tuna! I'm usually a tuna snob because I only eat bluefin chu toro and all regular tuna tastes like rubber to me. I am pleased to announce this tuna was soft and fresh as was all the other fish.
They don't skimp on portions and lunch specials end up being about $1/ slice for a good assortment of fish (not factoring in the price of miso soup and salad). They also have lunch specials on rolls and bentos which are very reasonably priced for midtown.
I usually get take out or delivery since the place is pretty small but the takeout is fast and delivery is free over ten dollars. -
Review from Mr. F.
Manhattan, NY
12/22/2010
Worst dining experience. I've been to a lot of sushi places I wasn't thrilled with, but only this one has forced me to write a review.
I know midtown lunch sushi shouldn't come with the highest expectations, but extremely rude service, when it was not non-existent, and poor quality fish which was so old we could smell it rotting as it was brought out to us is just unacceptable.
Called to make reservation, was told I didn't need to make one. Got there. Waited 10 minutes. Next group came in and was seated right away. Then we were asked if we were waiting for a table and how many we were, like we weren't just waiting there all that time. When we finally did get seated, we learned that there were three open tables there that had been unoccupied the entire time.
Then it took forever to get our food out. They can only fit about 15 people in that restaurant so I'm not sure what took so long, but they finally brought out my soup first. then 3 minutes later my gf's salad. Then 10 minutes later one of the rolls. Then 10 minutes after that the other roll. And we saw our second roll sitting there on the sushi bar while we were waiting all that time.
Although their menu appears extensive with many creative sounding rolls, let me assure you the sushi is awful. The fish was so not fresh, I could smell it rotting on my plate before it even went in my mouth. It didn't even look like real sushi. I've never ordered something and was not even able to recognize what kind of fish it is.
Anyway, it was somewhere in between inedible and atrocious, so we asked if we could just get something else. They were not accommodating at all. All they did was repeat the items that were in the roll and say that's what we ordered. Almost like they couldn't comprehend the fact that we didn't like it even though we ordered it - perhaps because their fish must have been weeks old.
Finally, we just said we are not eating this and they said okay we'll be right back. The waitress came back with our bill - full price, which is pretty expensive for terrible sushi you didn't even eat.
Wish I could give this place zero stars, but I don't think that's an option, so one will have to do. Honestly, you're much better off just picking up a salmon or tuna roll at the supermarket or grocery store.
Life is too short to waste your time eating nauseating sushi. Avoid this place at all costs. If not, then I look forward to reading your review. Eat well my friends. -
Review from Kristin H.
New York, NY
10/18/2010
I come here for dinner (or take-out) at least 1x a week, and have always had a positive experience.
The Menu: the fish is fresh and the menu is fairly extensive. The quantity of food they give you is definitely adequate, and you will not be left hungry.
The Prices: excellent - a lot of the standard rolls are ~$5-7 and the special rolls are mostly under $12. Plus, if your take-out order is over $20, you get a free California roll.
The Service: awesome - the staff is so nice, friendly, and attentive.
I have eaten at some other sushi places in the area, and Tanaka is by far the best in my opinion. I would definitely suggest checking it out.
