Ono is Japanese fine dining in New York City

Ono? OYes!
Japanese Fine Dining
Meets New York Glitz

By Zain Deane

Many years into its zenith, the meatpacking district is still the place to be on a weekend night in Manhattan. With bars and lounges so trendy they don’t post names outside their doors, hotels so hip they only seem to attract the most beautiful people, and restaurants that draw celebrities even for brunch, this small irregular chunk of New York City is where it’s at. So it naturally falls that this is where Ono is at, too.

Another creation from Jeffrey Chodorow, the man who brought you The China Grill and Asia de Cuba (among other well-known establishments), Ono is quite possibly the funkiest and coolest creation to emerge from China Grill Management. The restaurant, set in the lobby of the swanky Hotel Ganesvoort, is a blend of nouveau Japanese cuisine, décor that could belong in a photo shoot, and a few extra tricks up the sleeve to make the experience uniquely New York (with a little Vegas showmanship thrown in).

The restaurant is fabulously, almost outlandishly posh. From the beautiful circular bar with a raindrop curtain to the reflecting pool and cabanas in the outdoor terrace, the restaurant offers a stunning visual cornucopia to match the menu. The indoor dining area is sectioned into multilevel spaces across two floors, with alcoves tucked into the corners offering a bit of intimacy. The furniture and table setting is typically Japanese, featuring floating paper lanterns and eye-catching posters of yakuza-style body art. Even the bathroom offers an added attraction, with a Toto toilet that’s fully automated and capable of doing just about anything short of giving you relationship advice as you go about your business.

For a true escape into nouveau Japan, however, book a table in the Garden of Ono, a lush outdoor oasis of bamboo, wood, steel, and glass. The garden is state-of-the-art, with a retractable roof, heating and cooling systems to match New York’s varying seasons (the Garden is open from Spring through Fall), and—the pièce de résistance—a raised platform floating in a reflecting pool adorned with floating flowers and candles. It’s a masterful blend of old-world Kyoto with new-world New York.

Dinner at Ono is an experience best shared with friends. That’s the best way to take full advantage of their menu, which is split up into four sections that invite you to try a bit of everything. Naturally, we start with “small plates” of delicacies including the fantastic kumamoto oyster shooters with wasabi tobiko & quail egg and miso-barbecued tuna “spareribs” that will have you questioning your loyalty to pork.

In my opinion, the best part of any meal here comes after the appetizers. Ono offers a wide selection of robata, a longtime Japanese tradition of grilling meats and seafood over Japanese binchotan charcoal. Here is where Ono shines, with skwers of kobe beef, king crab, head-on shrimp, and a mouthwatering combo of duck and lychee roasting on a mini grill before you. I can happily end my review here, but we must move on to the sushi menu.

And even here, Ono tickles your tastebuds in unexpected ways. A specialty is their riceless rolls, such as the refreshing salmon-and-avocado roll wrapped in cucumber (which is common in other sushi restaurants) and tuna yuba roll, a layered mix of chopped tuna, seared tuna, tuna flakes, and yuba seaweed (which isn’t). There are plenty of traditional nigiri and maki options as well.

By the time you get to the main dish, you may be done for the night, which is why Ono is such a great place for groups. One or two large plates that are easily shared should wrap up your dinner nicely, and favorites include the plum barbecued duck, tuna porterhouse with a wasabi béarnaise, or the amazing surf and turf combination of kobe beef and miso-grilled crab legs; you might choose not to share that one at all.

I give Ono huge props for the sheer audacity of its ambience. I suspect most people could do without a sake sommelier and some of the other gimmicky aspects of the restaurant, but when you come right down to it, a hip and pretty restaurant still has to stand on its food. And Ono stands tall and proud.