Izakaya Tenzo

Wendy Wu

Only in NYC can you recall once upon a time moons ago working in the same actual space as Toukouleur Cafe- and frequenting it later regularly as "Oaxaca tacos", and then years later only to return and stumble upon super "oishii" (tasty) local yumminess round 3! AGAIN! The term 'izakaya' is a fusion of 'i' (to stay) and 'sakaya' (sake shop) so we did just that- small plates tapa style and ideal to bring a partner in crime to try more- and otherwise "izayaka" typically described as a local food tavern / pub- but hands down appeasing our hungry palettes and and certainly plan to go back! Taste and enjoy... slowly! We got super lucky that on a Saturday night after 7 there was a table for 2 as walk-ins! Admitting I've tried making Takoyaki at home (still work in progress), but soooo tasty here (main pic) as was the grilled hamachi collar ( yellowtail collar aka "fish cheeks"- portion behind the gills that I don't see often & loved when I lived in LA near LIttle Tokyo- and could find more regularly), pork belly mazemen (comes on a bed of ramen), softshell crab roll, seaweed salad and - and well, I'm usually too excited partaking to take pics, but just sharing a few here for good measure. Staff was busy and for such a small crew working small plates- and doing so much- yet super nice and friendly! Definitely hope to go back myself for the sashimi and rolls- and for dinner again with my honey to share and try the blue fin tuna rib, short rib, and Karaage (fried chicken)... and meanwhile simply confirming how much dinner last night hit the spot- SUCH a nice treat- and ready to return for round 2! 😍🙏🏽

Malina

This casual izakaya was perfect for our friendly dinner. The food was fire and affordable, and their staff were friendly and attentive. The guy I went with who I was visiting moved into the neighborhood recently, and was very happy to find this spot and said he would be frequenting this place often. 🫶🏼

Nahiyan Naser

Came here for a date. Their service is top notch. Food arrived fast and everything tasted amazing. The hamachi collar is a must try

Howard Edelbaum

Very attentive and kind staff. Good coffee. I had the shrimp and avocado on gluten free bread with a very creamy sauce that was delicious. This was my first time here and didn’t know what to expect. I definitely am looking forward to coming back for dinner to try other menu items. Their breakfast menu is very unique not just having the traditional egg menu. So, if you want a yummy breakfast, good coffee and great wait staff then go here.

Wiki C

Incredible food, flawless service, and a cozy, authentic atmosphere. The sushi was fresh, the ramen rich and flavorful, and the staff were kind and attentive. Easily one of the best Japanese dining experiences—5 stars!

Rosanna Huang

Bed stuy is in need of more food options and this is an all-around great addition to the neighborhood! Fresh fish, tasty, affordable plus friendly staff, comfortable seating, and warm n clean environment! Also great for solo dining (: Our favorites were the spicy tuna crispy rice and rock shrimp (a la Nobu)! Only grumbling I might have and not really haha is that they seem to season w less sugar (I feel that Japanese food is usually on the sweeter side esp on glazes like for a tsukune) which hey is great for those watching their sugar intake! Can’t wait to dine in or get take out again! 🍙🍣🍱🥢

Harry Murugappan

Really great dinner. Salmon carpaccio, mackerel, and tsukune were amazing!

Jeff Thomas

The fish is fresh and tasty, the service is attentive, the place looks nice. I go here for a reason; it’s always good.

Farnoosh Namdarpour

A great addition to the neighborhood! I tried their sushi, and it was delicious

So good! We’ve been wanting to try this neighborhood spot for a while and so glad we did. The service was lovely and the food was delicious! We had the udon shrimp, seaweed salad ( the best I’ve ever had!!), crispy tuna rice ( a must!!!), salmon carpaccio (also a must!), sake, the double tuna roll and the yellow tail roll. Every thing was so good would order it all again!! Can’t wait to come back and try some of the other menu items.

Tenzo is a simple, unassuming dining room with cozy counter seating - a nice spot to drop in on a chilly night for udon and takoyaki with a date. The open kitchen and friendly, attentive staff make the place feel especially homey

Amazing food, phenomenal service, great atmosphere; we got a great meal and it was reasonably priced. Very nice restaurant

My husband and I had a lovely dinner here and ordered the crispy spicy tuna, katsu, and the ebi udon. Each dish was well balanced, well seasoned, and tasted great! It’s a no frills kinda place and we loved the casual vibe. The menu is straight forward and has a little bit of everything so there’s something for everyone. Our server was so sweet and attentive. We’re so happy to have another tasty restaurant option in the neighborhood. We’ll definitely be back to try more things on the menu!

My new favorite local restaurant. My boyfriend and I love coming here. You can tell their ingredients are fresh. The miso soup and rock shrimp are great. Both the sushi rolls they offer are super good. The portions are smaller than your typical American portions but I personally love it because I’m not overstuffed by the end. Yuzu cheesecake was sweet but not overwhelming, great balance of flavors. Nice ambiance and always clean. Staff is always friendly.

Robin Singleton

Tenzo is a simple, unassuming dining room with cozy counter seating - a nice spot to drop in on a chilly night for udon and takoyaki with a date. The open kitchen and friendly, attentive staff make the place feel especially homey

Erin Mahone

So good! We’ve been wanting to try this neighborhood spot for a while and so glad we did. The service was lovely and the food was delicious! We had the udon shrimp, seaweed salad ( the best I’ve ever had!!), crispy tuna rice ( a must!!!), salmon carpaccio (also a must!), sake, the double tuna roll and the yellow tail roll. Every thing was so good would order it all again!! Can’t wait to come back and try some of the other menu items.

Phoebe Do

Amazing food, phenomenal service, great atmosphere; we got a great meal and it was reasonably priced. Very nice restaurant

Tiffany Horen

My husband and I had a lovely dinner here and ordered the crispy spicy tuna, katsu, and the ebi udon. Each dish was well balanced, well seasoned, and tasted great! It’s a no frills kinda place and we loved the casual vibe. The menu is straight forward and has a little bit of everything so there’s something for everyone. Our server was so sweet and attentive. We’re so happy to have another tasty restaurant option in the neighborhood. We’ll definitely be back to try more things on the menu!

Ife Bowman

Super tasty, fresh and reasonably priced Japanese offerings. The broiled Mackerel was fatty and fantastic, the salmon don was light and delicious, but the star of the show was the smashed cucumbers! So refreshing! The miso soup was good too (those sensitive to salt beware) but overall I throughly enjoyed my meal and will make this a staple in my dining rotation. Shoutout to our lovely waitress/hostess holding it down with a smile while she seemingly runs the restaurant, great work all around.

Daniel Komanoff

I’ve had great dinners here both with takeout and dining in, and now they’ve added a super reasonably priced lunch menu for the weekends too! Can’t wait to try those lunch bowls / bento boxes. My favorites have been the shrimp tempura rolls, mackerel, short rib, and udon. Only suggestion would be to somehow raise awareness of their takeout offering, hopefully that’d help increase their business presence in the neighborhood.

Victoria

My new favorite local restaurant. My boyfriend and I love coming here. You can tell their ingredients are fresh. The miso soup and rock shrimp are great. Both the sushi rolls they offer are super good. The portions are smaller than your typical American portions but I personally love it because I’m not overstuffed by the end. Yuzu cheesecake was sweet but not overwhelming, great balance of flavors. Nice ambiance and always clean. Staff is always friendly.

I was intrigued by the high ratings of this restaurant and made a point to visit for a weeknight dinner. Having eaten there, I am puzzled. The service was attentive and quick. No notes there. The shop was a standard-issue corner restaurant, basically undifferentiated from the Mexican restaurant that was there years before. Not a place you’d select for ambiance or date night, but it was clean and well-lit. The food was quite average. I had the pork belly mazemen and agedashi tofu. My partner had seaweed salad, vegetarian roll and yellowtail roll. Of all these dishes, mazemen was the tastiest. The noodles were overcooked, but the pork and egg combo compensated. All the other dishes were unremarkable, poorly seasoned or weirdly textured. Fortunately, dishes are reasonably priced so our exploration did not set us back too much. Overall, it’s a fairly average neighborhood restaurant with moderate prices.

We’re so thrilled to have this new spot right around the corner and went to check it out the first week they were open! It’s nice to have some asian flavors in the neighborhood 😊 All the food tastes great. The pork belly mazemen was our favorite! The pork was really well seasoned and the poached egg and sauce that coats the noodles was so luxurious. The whole squid and the grilled vegetables were probably the weakest dishes. The squid was nicely cooked and the sauce was tasty, but it could have used some lemon. The sauce on the grilled vegetables was also really yummy but we felt the vegetables themselves could have been cooked a bit longer; they were on the harder side to bite into. Everything else tasted great! Next time we’ll make sure we order one serving of yuzu cheesecake per person, instead of sharing 😅 The servers were very sweet and attentive though the food took a while to come out. Probably just due to it being the first week of opening and assume they’re still smoothing out the logistics. It was a little bit on the pricey side—we spent $100+ for two people with no drinks. Overall we’ll definitely be back and will bring our friends in the neighborhood too!

Good solid option, crispy rice was nice. The tuna to rice ratio felt a bit overwhelming but I just love crispy rice.

Jen Wong

We’re so thrilled to have this new spot right around the corner and went to check it out the first week they were open! It’s nice to have some asian flavors in the neighborhood 😊 All the food tastes great. The pork belly mazemen was our favorite! The pork was really well seasoned and the poached egg and sauce that coats the noodles was so luxurious. The whole squid and the grilled vegetables were probably the weakest dishes. The squid was nicely cooked and the sauce was tasty, but it could have used some lemon. The sauce on the grilled vegetables was also really yummy but we felt the vegetables themselves could have been cooked a bit longer; they were on the harder side to bite into. Everything else tasted great! Next time we’ll make sure we order one serving of yuzu cheesecake per person, instead of sharing 😅 The servers were very sweet and attentive though the food took a while to come out. Probably just due to it being the first week of opening and assume they’re still smoothing out the logistics. It was a little bit on the pricey side—we spent $100+ for two people with no drinks. Overall we’ll definitely be back and will bring our friends in the neighborhood too!

Marcus Watson

Delicious addition to Bedford avenue. All the dishes we ordered were engineered to perfection.

All around this place is great! Good food, reliable service, friendly staff, Sapporo Draft... That said, I wouldn't go out of my way for this place. I don't mean that in a bad way and I can't quite explain what that is. But its the perfect neighborhood spot! If you are thinking on traveling to eat here im not saying NO bc its is really good. All over 10/10 no notes. I eat here at least 1 a month.

Dex Offer

All around this place is great! Good food, reliable service, friendly staff, Sapporo Draft... That said, I wouldn't go out of my way for this place. I don't mean that in a bad way and I can't quite explain what that is. But its the perfect neighborhood spot! If you are thinking on traveling to eat here im not saying NO bc its is really good. All over 10/10 no notes. I eat here at least 1 a month.

Was disappointed by the skimpy $14 Tonkatsu takeout—barely any sides… a bite of shaved cabbage? I’d give a higher rating if it came with rice, soup, more cabbage, and just generally more effort to make this more of a Bento.

Emily Kao

Was disappointed by the skimpy $14 Tonkatsu takeout—barely any sides… a bite of shaved cabbage? I’d give a higher rating if it came with rice, soup, more cabbage, and just generally more effort to make this more of a Bento.