Shion 69 Leonard Street – Eat seafood just off the plane from Japan in NYC

Shion 69 Leonard Street is a One Michelin Star restaurant located in NYC. Shion is the name of the chef and the rest is the address of the restaurant. If you arrive early, you can go take pics of the NYC Bean which is basically across the street (diagonally).

There are only 8 seats at the bar and we were seated at the end.

The meal started with a trio of sashimi. The soy sauce was nice and savory and the clam was sweet and very good.

Next, what I believe was snapper (I prefer restaurants that get to the Nigiri right away, but that’s just because I love sushi!):

This was followed by a Murasaki vs Hokkaido uni tasting. The Hokkaido had more flavor.

After the chef presented the crab shells to be used in a future dish…

A scallop in seaweed:

The crab:

…and then the chef started preparing for the nigiri:

…but not before one more cooked fish…

…and palate cleanser…

The first nigiri was, according to the chef, a rare Japanese lake trout. It was so good. Fatty and the rice was perfectly seasoned. The soy used had a nice touch of acidity.

Next, fluke or hirame, with the perfect touch of wasabi. The only other restaurant which I recall being able to added just the right touch of wasabi is Kabuto in Vegas. The wasabi should not overpower the bite, but give a slight heat at the end and complement the sushi.

The next was a shrimp that the chef proudly proclaimed had never been frozen and came from Hokkaido that morning.

Next, chu and o toro. They were the perfectly balanced bite with acidity rounding out the fat and the rice perfectly seasoned.

Next, more nigiri:

…and then kama toro which made me say “wow” to myself. Perfect salt, acidity, and fatty.

…more nigri…

…then a strong finish was the anago…

The meal finished in a traditional manner, and this was probably where the only misses of the night came. First, the miso was more sake and clam forward. I like miso to be more dashi based.

…a delicious tuna handroll…

…and finally tamago, where the second miss came. The texture was more of a custard whereas I prefer a spongy texture…

Overall, the service was excellent and I would classify the meal as the same. I would go back and highly recommend.