Tanuki Tavern – New York

Stopping a yellow cab in the city used to be easy, not anymore though. I was with four single men ready to rock the city as they say on a cool summer night. “Where in New York? “ shouted the cab driver. “12^th and 9^th!” I said (aka the fashionable Meat Packing District). After a 15-minute bumpy ride from midtown to Chelsea we finally arrived. The cab stops the meter and a bellman opens the cab’s door and greets us, “Welcome to the Hotel Gansevoort gentlemen! Please enjoy your evening.”

Past the tall revolving doors is the lobby. The ambiance was elegant, trendy, comfortable, and posh! Next to the elevators was a small wooden door hidden waiting to be opened. “Come on boys” I shouted, “Our table is ready.” We opened the door and in a blink of an eye we were taken from trendy to sophisticated. “This is where they keep the good stuff,” I said.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to TANUKI TAVERN, a Japanese gem in the Meat Packing District of New York City.

Tanuki, incase you were just wondering, refers to a big-balled Japanese raccoon dog. It is believed that the dog brings good luck to booze and food businesses.

Tanuki Tavern is a two-floor restaurant, with an amazing terrace perfect for spring and summer. The design by several artists derives its Asian feel from bamboo floors, orange paper lanterns, hanging origami, and Japanese anime wallpaper. The food concept at Tanuki is a Japanese-style tapas bar offering comfort food meant to be shared.

We ordered the following:

We started with Sweet corn and white miso tempura cakes accompanied with sweet ponzu dipping sauce. Amazing tuna sliders with ginger aioli served on fennel seed buns. Fish and chips with yuzu tartar sauce. Thin-cut SPICY French fries with spicy mayo, they were to die for.  The starters were fantastic. We savored every bite. I remember a friend of mine had to cry himself to sleep the other day craving the tempura cakes.

We then ordered a variety of maki rolls that were incredible. We had the Sesame crusted tuna tataki roll which was ok, but then came the Rock shrimp dynamite roll which is a baked California roll topped with rock shrimp and some sort of sauce that was so amazing that I forgot my name when I tasted it. Then came the Emerald & Gold Dragon Roll, which was incredible. It had actual crab, shrimp, and mango. It tasted so good. We also had a couple of basic hand rolls such as Tuna, Toro, Salmon, and off course Hamachi that were great. Each hand roll was stuffed to the extreme and very fulfilling.

For main, we only had room for 2 orders. We tried the crispy rice with Tuna Toro and the Crispy duck served with peach and mustard fruits. The duck was a very interesting dish; the mustard fruits definitely gave in a kick with the meat.

Dessert? No room.

Overall, the experience at Tanuki was great. A friend of mine liked the word Tanuki so much that he kept saying it for hours and hours the next day. Exquisite food, great service, extraordinary ambiance, and we were out of $40 each.  Yes, it is pricy. But to tell you the truth, I won’t mind going back again because it was one of the best nights we had in town!

How to get there?

Tanuki Tavern at Hotel Gansevoort

18 Ninth Ave

New York, NY 10014

P  212.660.6766

Grade?

A-