Clark Street Sushi: How do you decide?

By on October 8, 2010 11:18 am in Brooklyn Heights, Food

We’re lucky over here in Brooklyn Heights– we have a vast selection of sushi restaurants anytime we’re craving a giant dragon roll. With three sushi restaurants on Clark Street alone, how do we decide where to go? Ambiance? Price? BYOB? Let’s take a look at the break down:

1. Iron Chef House, 92 Clark Street

Atmosphere: Small and cozy, exposed brick, and unique ceramics, but fills up fast

Price: Miso Soup – $1.75, Spicy Tuna Roll – $4.50, Lunch Special (two rolls, soup AND salad) – $7.50

BYOB:  No, but they have a full bar.

2. OZU Japanese Cuisine and Lounge, 78 Clark Street

Atmosphere: Spacious, modern, and lots of seating, but with neon lights and a TV in the corner

Price: Miso Soup – $2.00, Spicy Tuna Roll – $5.00, Lunch Special (2 Rolls, soup OR salad, $8)

BYOB: YES

3. Sushi Gallery, 71 Clark Street

Atmosphere: In Clark Street subway station, good for quick lunch grab, bad for ambiance

Price: Miso Soup – $2.50, Spicy Tuna Roll – $4.50, Lunch Special (sushi box with four pieces, soup AND salad) – $9.95

BYOB: No, but they supply beer and wine.

Tell us Brooklyn Heights-ers, do you go for the cheapest soup? Are you there solely for the BYOB? What’s your sushi pick?

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  • Matthew Parker

    For years, I avoided Sushi Gallery. Perhaps the Clark St. subway entrance location turned me off. I was so wrong. Tried them for the first time a few months ago. Their fresh rolled sushi, IMHO, is the best in the hood. Even better than (clutch my pearls!) the much beloved Iron Chef. Very good Udon soup, miso soup.

    My reviews of Sushi Gallery and Ozu can be found here: http://mattparker.yelp.com

    Iron Chef is good, but IMHO, slightly overrated.

    Best Japanese in the area can be found at Hibino on Henry just south of Atlantic.

  • marshall maher

    We just moved to Brooklyn Heights 2 weeks ago but have made the cycle of Clark Street sushi joints (I can feel the mercury). Iron Chef had good stuff but they served my girlfriend and forgot about me – they made good by offering a free Asahi. Ozu is very friendly, much more posh but sushi quality wasn’t AMAZING (did like the fishy miso soup though). Sushi gallery is dark, small and I’d put it on par with Ozu in terms of quality of food. The search continues!

  • tb

    Iron Chef hands out toys to the kids, Ozu has average food and bad chopsticks Subway Sushi, as we like to call it…well, it’s in a bad location.

  • north heights res

    Devotee of Iron Chef; never had anything but excellent food & service. Had takeout from Ozu once, perfectly good; hate BYOB, so deal-breaker there for dining in, and as sushi seems on a par or below Iron Chef, no need to switch.

    Recently got takeout from Sushi Gallery which smelled & tasted funny. Off the list.

  • soulman

    We eat at Iron Chef all the time and have never been disappointed. It’s the kind of place where they know your name and recommend new dishes that we might like (and always do).

  • Bongo

    It’s easy. Walk down Henry street to Hibino. Streets ahead of everywhere else. Leave everything else alone.

  • Bongo

    @Matthew Parker. Agreed. Sushi Gallery does surprisingly good rolls. Iron Chef very overrated.

  • mike

    Bongo’s got it – though it is not in the neighborhood and doesnt do delivery – take the walk to Hibino.

    If you really want to blow your mind, order up an Agadashi Tofu soup there.

    Better sushi than anything I have had in Brooklyn Heights.

  • PJL

    Iron Chef’s delivery service is great too!

  • harumph

    Make that three of us – Hibino is ridiculously better than any of the sushi joints on Clark.

  • 52 Clark

    When I’m too lazy to walk down to Hibino (which definitely the best in the area), Sushi Gallery (for take-out) can’t be beat, especially for their avocado rolls!

  • x

    Iron Chef is best out of those three.

    But we love the fresh rolls from Tenda on Montague. Two thumbs up!

  • Raisincat

    The best sushi out of the Heights is Ki Sushi Boreum Hill!

  • Foodie Troll

    Without desiring to start a flame war at such a late hour on an otherwise beautiful fall Friday, the North Brooklyn Heights prejudice on this site is rather palpable at times, more in this post than others. There is a substantial portion of Brooklyn Heights south of Clark Street, even south of Montague St., even east of Clinto Street. Atlantice Avenue, the north side, is even part of Brooklyn Heights. No passports are required for these locations and even the buildings are shorter, which allows in sunlight and air, without the feeling of being covered by tall buildings. Do walk around and see the vast selection of other places, sushi and otherwise.

    And, I add my vote for Hibino. There is a photo on the Cobble Hill Blog (http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/2976) of Mayor Bloomber dining there (as I recall, he was in the Heights and crossed the street for fine dining in Cobble Hill). The man has taste.

  • Karl Junkersfeld

    I was at Hibino the night the Mayor arrived and my vote goes to Hibino, hands down. I eat sushi on average, 3 days a week, (sometimes 5) and go to Hibino most of the time and Nobu for the tasting menu for lunch around twice a month.

    Problem with sushi is, once you had good sushi a substitute will not work. It is either good or it isn’t.

    By the way, Hibino buys its sushi from the same wholesaler as Nobu. I recognized the similarity and asked the owners Masaru and Hiru who confirmed my suspicion.

    Brooklyn Heights south of Montague is fantastic. Willowtown rocks.

  • Lisa

    We’re Iron Chef fans here, as well as Hibino. Ozu turned us off with their Z100 party music and neon lights–and the sushi just wasn’t that great. Sushi Gallery is fine in a pinch. No one mentions the sushi at Lichee Nut on Montague. I guess there’s a reason: it’s awful.

  • WillowtownCop

    If you’re willing to venture even further on the other side of Atlantic, try Kotobuki on Columbia and Degraw.

  • Matthew Parker

    @Velvetflip:

    I felt the same way about Sushi Gallery. Perhaps it was the Health Department “A” hanging in the window that got me to finally try it. It’s very clean inside, and run by a super-polite and friendly husband and wife team. As I said above, IMHO, best rolls in the Heights. Especially the eel/avocado.

  • guest

    Tenda is actually really good for sushi as well, especially for rolls. Fresh, decent prices. It’s certainly the same in terms of quality and price as Iron Chef House, though I like it a little more. Will have try Hibino. Have heard great things about it. Also, friends in South BH often order in from Kai, which is supposed to be great, but it’s a bit pricey for my blood.

  • guest

    Sorry – it might be Ki Sushi, not Kai.

  • NB

    Iron Chef House all the way!! Try the hardrock rolll and 2010 roll. They are amazing!

  • eg

    Excuse me, but IMHO stands for what, exactly? Pls answer.

  • http://selfabsorbedboomer.blogspot.com Claude Scales

    eg: In My Humble Opinion. It’s one of several abbreviations commonly seen in on-line discussions. I generally try to avoid them, but some find them useful. Others that come to my mind now:

    LOL: Laughing Out Loud (my least liked).

    ROFLMAO: Rolling On the Floor Laughing My Ass Off (baroque version of the previous; sometimes ROTFLMAO).

    BTW: By The way.

  • nabeguy

    That’s actually ROTFLMAO, but I’ll STFU now.

  • http://selfabsorbedboomer.blogspot.com Claude Scales

    I won’t bother explaining that last one.

  • nabeguy

    +1, i.e. plus one, i.e. I agree.