Niko

170 Mercer St., SoHo, NY

3.9

map & more

Neighborhood
SoHo

Cuisine
Japanese
Sushi

Nearby
Blue Note
Le Poisson Rouge

212-991-5650

Official Website

By Andrew Steinthal
September 13, 2011

You know what sucks? Taking one of your artists to a restaurant that turns out to be awful. I made the call on Niko and wound up looking like a chump. Allegedly I’m supposed to know something about restaurants in this city too. All Neon Hitch wanted was some delicious sushi and a fruity vodka cocktail. Niko delivered neither.

Niko had potential – or so I thought. It’s got the pedigree (a chef who used to work at Sushi Yasuda), solid reviews (NY Times), prime SoHo location and subsequent colorful art installation by some upstart designer who knows that models enjoy their sushi from the comfort of a cushy booth. With all the buzz, we figured it’d be packed. That was not the case. On a Thursday during prime time, the restaurant was three quarters empty. Apparently everyone but us got the memo that this place is bad.

Our meal here was a mess. First, it was the cocktails, which tasted a little like soap (or, as Neon put it, “like butthole”). When we flagged down a waiter to send them back, he knew it was coming – “I should have told you not to order that one, it’s not very good.” Thanks, guy. The sushi, which is astronomically priced, was sloppy and not good. One of the rolls was easily one of the worst smelling (and tasting) sushi rolls I’ve ever seen. Then there’s the service, which is an absolute joke. I think we had four different waiters over the course of the meal, all of which were too busy to pay any attention to us, hanging out in the corner, scoping the scene and cracking jokes.

Look, it’s definitely possible to come to Niko and have a reasonable meal. Some of the cooked dishes, like the Tokyo Crispy Chicken, are definitely tasty. However, it’s not good enough to warrant a trip. You can do way better down the block at Lure Fishbar. Simply put, this restaurant is not Infatuation friendly, and given how empty it was, Eater should consider putting Niko on immediate Deathwatch. That’s some expensive real estate.

Photo Credit: floto + warner

Food Rundown:

Sushi/Sashimi/Hand Rolls
The fish is not what we expect from a restaurant like this, and it sure as hell ain’t worth the $45 price tag for “Some Sushi.” The sushi was sloppily cut over the rice and a bunch of our pieces showed up hacked up and falling off their home base. The yellowtail hand roll, as referenced above, was repulsive. Even the toro was a let down. It was weird, it all seemed to have an off-putting aroma to it. I don’t know if we just got a bad batch, but judging from what we ate, and we ate a lot, we can’t believe Niko received high marks from reputable publications.

Fluke Ceviche
Basic and a little too boring for our liking. The thin slices of tasteless fluke were swimming in lemon juice, which was really all we could taste.

Soy Burnt Octopus
This sounded so good, I couldn’t not order it. Chunks of octopus with herry belle radish, cucumber & kiwi. The kiwi was a random addition, and didn’t do much for the overly chewy octopus. Oh well.

Big Eye Tuna Tacos
I’m not sure how its possible to screw up a tuna taco, but Niko found a way. In theory, this should be an excellent snack to start the meal. What’s not to love about a big eye tuna taco? The spiced avocado purée, that’s what. Whatever spice that was overpowered the whole dish in a bad way.

Tokyo Crispy Chicken
The best item on the menu. If you find yourself at Niko, order up the crispy chicken. It comes with a couple of different dipping sauces for optimal fried chicken dunking.

Blackened Lobster
Served in its shell, this lobster dish was serviceable. The lobster was well cooked well, was super juicy and served with a simple drawn butter. I still don’t like this place.

Miso Cured Salmon
Served with pear, celery root and a black sesame miso, the salmon was pretty standard. This was definitely a decent dish, but not was also not all that exciting. I mean, it’s salmon.