I often get asked to provide recommendations for tourists visiting New York City. And I always hesitate to just spit out my highest ranked place. Without knowing further details – like where they’re staying, what their spending tolerance is, how adventurous they are for example – it’s basically a guessing game.
That said, one thing I can say with virtual certainty is that most tourists will find their way to the times square/midtown area. In that event, Haru Times Square is a worthy option, despite the fact that it currently resides underneath scaffolding (like most places in Manhattan). Though I went for lunch, I suspect that dinner is as efficient given that tourists/business folks make up most of their clientele (and likely want to be quick).
The Food was surprisingly high quality for what I thought would be a tourist trap. As I’ve mentioned before, the best way to tell the quality of the Uni is to try and make out the individual eggs that make up the Sea Urchin roe. The picture to the right should adequately show the quality, and given the reasonable prices ($6 per nigiri), I would recommend it. I always enjoy maki that has fish eggs on top, so the Spicy Titanic Roll (to the right) hit the spot. I even ignored that the menu referred to flying fish roe as “caviar”. Pet peeve.
The Atmosphere is inviting, but certainly does have the pace of a business environment. From my memory, the other Haru locations are much calmer – and frankly, duller – than the Times Square version. Haru Times Square is a mild recommend.
