Big And Brash, Kyu In New York Features First-Rate Asian Grill Food

The big, brash Asian restaurant has become a genre all its own in big, brash cities like New York, Miami and Las Vegas, and in some cases the food seems secondary to the show, which is built around endless rounds of Technicolor cocktails and Techno music. Kyu has a far more serious intention to showcase the food, under Exec Chef Chris Arellanes (formerly of Eleven Madison Park and Per Se) and Chef de Cuisine Martell Fonville, who offer a wide-ranging menu that takes in China, Japan, Thailand and Korea, even American desserts, with considerable authority.

Kyu, which originated in Miami in 2016, is described as a Japanese yakiniku wood-fired grill, though the menu goes way beyond that. The restaurant’s name, used in Japanese martial arts and tea ceremonies, refers to levels of proficiency, although owner Alan Omsky admits it was actually a typo for “ThanKYU.” The New York operation is a cavernous one with aa big Asian vibe, and there’s no question it’s set up to attract a crowd at the mirrored bar upfront and a twenty-to-thirty something crowd in the vast dining room, whose rear wall (though difficult to make out in the dim lighting) is a dramatic pair of women’s eyes surveying the night’s festivities. There’s an open kitchen to one side, bare tables, banquettes along three walls and a lot of tables packed into the center. The well-informed service staff, managed by Bethany Lucas, is fleet-footed and quite amiable even when the place is fullest, and the food comes out “when ready” rather than in courses, which makes it a lot of fun to share.

Before I get to the highly appealing food here, let me state that, unless they modify the sound level—which my handy app tracked at an excruciating 90 decibels—Kyu can be an ordeal over the course of a couple of hours, with everyone at every table shouting to be heard above the din. The high ceilings and hard surfaces don’t help, but the boom-thud-boom-thudof piped in music (which no one could possibly identify) makes for a lot more wear and tear on the eardrums.

The menu is long—a little trimming wouldn’t hurt—and portions are generous and easy enough for a table to share. Under the cutesy-cutesy category of “Snacky Snacks” there are two forms of shishito peppers ($14 and $17) and some velvety soft fat steamed buns, with either rich pork belly ($20) or soft-shell crabs ($25) now in season. Under “Chilled and Refreshing” are pink morsels of wonderful tuna tataki with fire roasted peppers, fermented chili and a bite of citrus ($24). A real surprise was something the chef sent out called “Chicories,” a big colorful salad with well-melded elements of yuzu, caramelized mirin wine and sesame bread crumbs for texture ($24).

By that point in the meal, I was hankering for some starch, so a generous stone pot of Thai fried rice, which can be had with either King crab ($42) or duck ($38) or by itself for $32, was very welcome. Since it is wood-fired, the rice and the ingredients take on a light smokiness with plenty of spices and sweet flavors laced in. Baby back ribs with yanikuku and cilantro ($40) seemed requisite, and to use the cliché that they fell off the bone is absolutely true. Dry-aged lamb saddle with a sweet-tangy Mongolian glaze ($64) was a huge triumph, both in flavors and portion (our table of four took some home), served with an odd but tasty potato gratin that was more soupy than substantial. By the way, there are a lot of dishes that are quite sweet, which is fine unless you order too many of them.

No one should resist the Korean fried chicken with braised spinach ($34), which is every bit as good as any you’d find around town, maybe even juicier.

One might not expect a kitchen like this to perform as well with seafood as with meats, but the bass with fermented Brussels sprouts, woodfired dashi and interesting smoked bread ($40) and a superb pan- roasted halibut with brown butter –white miso sauce and pickled myoga slaw ($38) were every bit as good as the rest of the meal. Again, the portions were lavish.

Desserts demand attention when they are as varied and interesting as “mom’s coconut cake” ($18) of many layers, with coconut ice cream; a truly yummy dark chocolate s’mores cake ($20) with banana bourbon ice cream; and a dauntingly good “soaked milk bread”($22) with wood-fired pineapple and sticky soy toffee sauce.

It’s impossible not to love so much or this food, and were I in the mood, I’d be here once a month. But, given the assault on my eardrums, I think I’ll wait till they offer take-out or the din dines down.

KYU

324 Lafayette Street

929-448-5188

Kyu is open nightly for dinner.