Kōyō, Michelin recognized—which recently reopened from the pandemic shut down—is one of just a handful of New York restaurants that focuses on kaiseki cuisine and is the vision of Chef-Owner Jay Zheng.

CUISINE:  Zheng’s vision has transformed Kōyō from a restaurant that focused largely on its omakase sushi offerings to a Kaiseki dining experience including hot dishes that Zheng has designed by infusing his Chinese cultural background into traditional Japanese cuisine.

 

 

NEW MENU: 

For Zheng’s debut menu, Kōyō highlights a seven-course tasting menu, beginning with Sakizuke, their amuse bouche nerigoma tofu, house-made black sesame tofu with classic kaluga caviar and freshly grated wasabi; followed by Hassun: a collection of smaller bites served on an eight-inch dish intended to be eaten clockwise beginning on the left:  monkfish liver with freshly grated daikon, followed by mozuku salad, dressed with a tosazu gelée, meant to be taken as a shot. Botan ebi, spotted shrimp from Japan, topped with Hokkaido uni is the next suggested bite. Rounding out the Hassun is braised bamboo shoot along with hotaru ika and firefly squid, served atop of sake steamed broccoli rabe.

Next is the soup course, Suimono, a sugar snap pea puree and Dungeness crab, followed by the Yakimono, a grilled octopus leg from Monaco brushed with tare and finished on our charcoal Binchotan grill served with a Japanese jidori egg yolk, to be used as a sauce. Pulling from Zheng’s cultural background is the rice course, Gohan, forbidden black rice with hijiki seaweed, and aori ika, Japanese reef squid, then finally a Nigiri course, which is six pieces of sushi composed from the freshest fish from Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Spain, each individually selected and prepared by Zheng using Kamini rice. The meal ends with Mizumono, the dessert course: a hojicha milk pudding along with black sugar tapioca and a light kuromitsu.

 

You can choose to add supplemental dishes such as: Uni Ikura Donburi, uni with ikura and oyster mushrooms; Uni Toro Toast, uni with taro and caviar served on milk bread; an Uni Tasting, or an Extended Nigiri course, which contains an extra five pieces of sushi.

To accompany Kōyō’s kaiseki cuisine, Zheng and Wing Yee of World Sake Importers together  chose the finest and rarest sakes that enhance the overall kaiseki experience and rotates based on market availability. Kōyō also offers a number of Japanese craft beers with more diverse options like the Oze No Yukidoke IPA and the Kizakura Matcha IPA.

Kōyō offers outdoor patio dining with roof and heaters for cooler or rainy days allowing diners to comfortably enjoy their meal outdoors.  Indoor dining features a Chef’s Counter that accommodates 6 with social distancing and the dining room accommodates 7 with social distancing.  Takeout and delivery are available through Kōyō’s website and UberEats. 

Kōyō is located at 37-12 31^st Avenue, Astoria, NY.