It's not just any old cafe that would think to use a rich, thick, sweet balsamic vinegar, good enough to sip all by itself, on their avocado toast.

itzelenaho

Yopparai, a hidden gem in the Lower East Side brings an authentic Japanese izakaya experience to New Yorkers. The intimate space features traditional tatami mat seating creating a cozy and transportive atmosphere for both sake lovers and food enthusiasts. Their exquisite menu is of authentic Japanese flavors from delicate to comforting to exciting items. Pair them with sake and enhance all those flavors. Dessert is just as delicious with traditional tastes. Whether you're after a unique date night or an immersive taste of Japan, Yopparai delivers an unforgettable dining experience.

+27

Yuri P

The vibe and food presentation are both stunning! The seafood donburi, named after the restaurant, is truly impressive—I’ve never seen such a generous serving in all of New York. It’s packed with fresh sashimi and delicious rice!

Kathy Lee

Yopparai has the cute low tables and tatami mats. Really nice and comforting. We sat near the door but they had a heater for us. Loved everything we got. We got the specials, okonomiyaki and the gyutan. Highly recommend the gyutan, it was buttery and had a great texture. The butter scallops were amazing. We poured some of the butter on our sushi rice lol Get the parfait!!!

+3

Magnus Borgenstrand

Went to Yopparai on the 20th July 2024. I had the miso soup and the 6 piece sashimi and a beer. My wife hade the Tsukune and some sake. Loved the place and the service was great. Highly recommended!

+1

Savanna Li

Spent a wonderful night here. Great service and great good quality. Me and bf are both extremely picky eaters and born and raised in Asia, we both agree the food here is legit. Please come to enjoy your night and chill out with loved ones here. Highly recommend

+3

Andy Gho

Upscale izakaya fare in an intimate bar/lounge setting, Yopparai is perfect for dates or small group dining. I went for a birthday and got a solid assortment of nigiri, tempura, homemade tofu as well as some more exotic (by USA standards) dishes like shirako (cod fish sperm) grilled over charcoal. It can get pricey - after drinks and tip we spent ~$450, but we felt it was fair given the quality of ingredients and diversity of the menu. Really photogenic bar too.

+4

Alexander Sharabaroff

A very authentic Japanese place - styled as a traditional interior, it has a pleasant ambiance, and good friendly service. The food was great. I recommend ordering non-sushi/sashimi to taste all the authentic Japanese dishes. The restaurant is expensive: sushi/sashimi was good, but in my opinion overpriced, while other dishes were really original (I’ve been told by a Japanese friend that those are traditional/non-fusion) and somewhat more reasonably priced.

+9

Jessica Wong

My experience eating at Yopparai was quite pleasant. We were immediately seated at 7:15pm with a reservation for 7:30pm and were instructed to take off our shoes so that we could sit at the dining area. We ordered the Tsukune (Homemade Chicken Meatball Topped with Raw Egg Yolk), Hotate Butter (Grilled Scallop in Soy based butter sauce), and the Ika Ichiyazuke (Grilled Whole Marined Squid) for the appetizers. They were all around $16-$18 each, which is honestly not too bad for the quality of the food that was received. We also ordered the 10 piece chef's choice sushi for $85. The Chicken Meatball was really delicious. On the perimeter of the dish was this chopped radish-textured formation that was coated beautifully in this soy-based sauce. It was the perfect amounts of sour and savory. We had to mix in the raw egg yolk with the meatball and it tasted absolutely amazing. I could not stop eating the Hotata Butter scallops, the butter mixture was so rich and flavorful, and the added lemon juice complemented the scallops and the sauce perfectly. The scallops were also extremely tender and flavorful, and they even put salt on the side to add an extra zing. The grilled squid was also extremely appetizing and delicious, and they gave an extremely generous amount of squid that was addicting to eat. Lastly was the omakase-styled sushi part of the dinner. They gave us generous amounts of fish ranging from salmon roe, botan ebi, yellowtail, tuna, chutoro, salmon, fluke, and uni. Each piece was curated beautifully and was an absolute pleasure to eat. Overall my experience was great and my stomach was pleasantly satisfied at the end. We also got the Yopparai Partfait at the very end, which was $12 for vanilla ice cream, a ton of whipped cream, sliced bananas, strawberries, and cereal. It was a perfect way to end the dinner and the night.

+1

Hidden Hidden

The experience is very good. Me and my friend ordered some sushi and roll the flavor matched the price point but nothing got out of my expectations. The chef is definitely a experience sushi maker. The presentations are beautiful. The fish and ingredients are fresh. Pretty happy experience. Good job!

+1

Danny Chong

I love this place and the food is good! The food is not outstanding, but the service and entire experience is! However, the food was delicious and everything was in small portions - ideal to order a lot and to share. The establishment is small...most seating is for 2 (or the bar) and there are only 2 tables in the back for 4 people each. They have a lot of variety on their menu so I look forward to returning to try other dishes.

+7

Black Cat LES has an inconspicuous storefront for a Lower East Side cafe. once through the door, the interior opens up into a surprisingly medium/large space. it’s well-maintained and clean. the vibe is very community living room with a variety of seating options. lots of laptop-pers & tablet-ers at work when here last. there’s WiFi for those who need it. there are live events at night like music, readings, comedy, etc. there’s a variety coffee & tea drinks on the menu as well as variety of simple savory eats like sandwiches, toasts, and bagels. got a large drip coffee to fight a chilly weekday off with hot caffeine and it did the job. strong coffee, nice caffeine kick. it was a huge cup of coffee and it warmed up and sped up my walk of endless errands in the neighborhood. the staff is very chill and kind. cafes like this are becoming the rarity in NYC. cherish the neighborhood gems.

Black Cat LES isn’t your average coffee shop it feels like a living room for the Lower East Side. From the mismatched couches to the community events, there’s an unpolished charm that makes you want to linger. Their coffee hits the mark strong, unpretentious, and always fresh. I love that it doubles as a coworking space by day and a creative hub by night. It’s the kind of spot where conversations flow easily, and everyone feels like a regular.

Alana W.D

So many great dishes at Yopparai. Some of my favorite dishes (not depicted) were the nigiri, kakuni, and chicken meat ball w/ egg. 🥹 I also enjoy the comfortable seating positions you can take on in the booths!

K. Sher

Came here for a birthday dinner - pretty good selection of small plates and we tried a number of different things. It did not wow me though but overall we had a good meal and worth trying if you like izakaya style food!

+3

GrAcIE W

Dim lighting, intimate setting and food is pretty good at this upscale Japanese izakaya. We (3 couples) went for dinner on a Friday evening and tried a bunch of different dishes. We ordered a couple special dishes of the night, Braised Beef Tongue and Pancake. The tongue was flavorful. We also tried the Chawanmushi topped w/ Salmon Roe which is one of my favorite, it was so good. Karaage was alright, Grilled Scalloped in Soy Based Butter Sauce was delicious. The Grilled Miso Marinated Black Cod also my favorite of the night as well. The Tsukune Chicken Meatball Topped with Raw Egg Yolk was tasty. The Assortment of 8 Types of Sashimi, although fresh but small cut. Overall very decent food and good service.

+5

Amanda W

Overall I would give this place a 4.5. A traditional Japanese sake bar izakaya with a good selection of sakes to choose from, small dishes and sashimi. My favorite dishes are Washu Gyu Tataki and Gindara Saikoyoyaki. Super delicious. Sashimi and sushi also very yummy as well. Very good service and nice atmosphere.

+1

Saddmun Ahsan

Good food, small portions, EXPENSIVE pricing. Food was good! We got an assortment of dishes (portions are on the smaller side for sure), but the two winners were the miso black cod and the tuna (toro) roll... Also enjoyed the wagyu roll as well but definitely wasn't worth $25 The ambiance of the restaurant was very nice though. It was an intimate space with limited seating. I appreciated that - the noise level never got overbearing like so many other restaurants. Recommend counter seating - we got to sit next to each other but also interact with the chef on the other side. Expect to spend ~$50 - 75 per person all together.

+2

Came here to work remotely. The place is super grungy with a cool vibe, the Barnstable isn't the warmest person but I didnt mind as its part of the underground "charm" of the place. My main issue was with the wifi- for a place that requires a purchase to get the password, I tried 3 different times and the internet was basically not existent. So if you're planning yo actually do some work- wouldn't recommend it.

Went on 10/5/2025 at 8:10 am and the Barista was just opening. Didn't start taking orders for another 10-15 minutes and was kind of rude. The latte when it finally came out was really good, I got the nutella latte which felt a little juvenile but she did great on that. Just got the bagel and it looks awesome so we'll see.

Kyle Liu

Positive: atmosphere. Negative: portion. Ok so this place is cute, good for an intimate date night or a place to grab a drink and bites after a full dinner, but not a good place if you want a fulfilling dinner. Izakaya with a steep price tag for dishes with portions that are small for ants. The place has a bar and Japanese style traditional tatami booth (shoes off), so pretty unique and a good place to have a conversation. This place is for someone with a tiny appetite or come hang out already full. We ordered a bunch of items from the menu, and each average costs about $25, but the portion for each was astonishingly small. We ordered the fish hotpot and we got literally five pieces of trout and a little bit mushrooms and watercress ($35). Oden tasted very good, but that small bowl (5 kinds) costs $21. Other food items all tasted alright, nothing special. We ended up spending over $100 per person, and had to go to another place to get more food because all of us were still hungry. So again, don’t come here if you want to get full, unless you want to spend over $250 per person. Good for a first date or business talk where you don’t expect to eat much.

vivi Chanle

I was really looking forward to dining at this Japanese restaurant again, especially because of the unique tatami seating and beautifully styled interior. I had visited once before the pandemic and enjoyed a pork hot pot that left a great impression. This time, however, I came to celebrate a friend’s birthday and was honestly disappointed. The prices were very high—over $500for four people—and none of us felt full afterward. The food was just average, and unfortunately not to my taste. It’s a beautiful place, but with the current pricing and food quality, I don’t think I’ll be coming back.

Adam Cheung

Food is alright, nothing special. Very traditional but lacking in simple refinement. Ordered the tsukemono like dish and there was a carrot, daikon, and eggplant. There was nothing but salt to the flavour. The sushi is good, rice is firm annd well cooked and fish is fresh. Botan miso is also good. Yaki oni was lacking crunch and the rice just tasted dehydrated on the outside. The beef tataki was also fine but lacking in any flavour complexity. The miso butter scallop was extremely over cooked. To the point where the scallop almost didn’t taste like scallop any more. The flavour of the sauce was good though. Wagyu truffle nigiri is fantastic. Smoked mentaiko is alright but serving is quite large. Great drinking snack. All in all not awful but not worth.

+4

Gabriel

Nice Japanese place. Had a bit of different plates: Tuna, Sushi, Tofu, Tempura and miso soup. What I liked the most was the tuna and the sushi. The assorted tempura its over priced based on its taste, I’ve had better tempuras. The tofu taste was normal. Had half bottle of sake. Fast and efficient service.

+3

The barista was extremely unfriendly, exhibiting passive-aggressive behavior and clearly hating her job (evident from her shouting at guests towards the end). I visited this cafe for an event, and when I ordered an iced matcha latte (and tipped), the barista was not only passive-aggressive but also impatient. She/they made me feel as though I couldn't speak English while I ordered, even though I have lived in the U.S. for 10 years, speak fluent English, and work in a communication-heavy job. Towards the end of the event at 9pm (despite the cafe's closing time being listed as 10pm), the barista shouted at everyone, saying, "The cafe was supposed to close an hour ago! Nobody is paying me for this hour! Please leave!" This was unprofessional and unacceptable behavior. No professional staff member should ever shout at guests. Despite paying for drinks and tipping, the experience was terrible. Based on this, I cannot recommend this cafe to anyone. If you are the business owner, please address this rude behavior that occurred on June 26 (Wednesday) during the night shift. Improving staff behavior is crucial for customer satisfaction and the reputation of your cafe.

Very bad vibes here. There was only one employee working who was eventually rude and yelled at us and snatched our food away for accidentally taking the wrong order even though the ordering process was very chaotic and you had to guess if an item was yours when it came out. It was taking more than 20 minutes to get simple drinks out and I waited upwards of 30 minutes for a sandwich. Orders were disorganized and thrown out with no names attached which was very confusing. Food was ok although overpriced for the quality, but the rude and aggressive staff member made it a horrible experience. Would not recommend coming here.

The barista is *rude*. Idk if there are several but there is an older lady and does not put names on the coffees. So when people order the same kind of food or coffee they don’t know what belongs to who. Very uncomfortable. Poor customer service - she literally yells at customers. It also took over 30 min to get food

This place needs to seriously think about when and what days they do open mic comedy shows as they are often intrusive and do not have a schedule posted online so that people know to avoid the business those days. For example I am here on a Tuesday where every table is someone here to work and the comedy club essentially has forced multiple people to move for their setup.

Barista made a very rude comment about not tipping after I had paid. This was very off putting and made for a less than ideal experience.

Stevie T

One uni cut into 5 slices... Where are the gold flakes?!? The $62 Yopparai Special Chirashi isn’t worth it. 5/10 It contains very little fish (mostly cheap, lean tuna and salmon) and only a small amount of uni. I’d pay a maximum of $32 for this. A photo from two years ago showed a much more generous portion of fish. I wouldn’t recommend coming here: the recession has clearly hit this place, and the dining room is uncomfortably warm. Also, avoid the $35 Pork Belly Hot Pot had 6 thin slices of pork, and the broth had no salt. 2/10