Bohemian opened in NYC in 2009 (second to the first location in Japan), so it is definitely not new, however they have maintained their exclusivity as a "secret" restaurant with an unlisted number for 4 years so why not give it a try. Getting a reservation is quit difficult, so we settled on a 9pm Monday night dinner with another couple. When we arrived I realized I had actually been there once before a few years ago with a friend, so I knew how to actually find the place by entering the unmarked door and walking through a corridor all the way to the back. After ringing the doorbell, they let you in to what I would describe as a large living room with a bar and an inset garden display. It is quite small, seating maybe 20 people, and all of the seats are large loungey arm chairs with coffee tables and other non-traditional restaurant tables. They have chill music playing, but it is very quiet and the place feels intimate.
There is an option for a reasonable $55 tasting menu, however I was with 4 people and since they serve everything family style, we figured we could try everything we wanted by ordering a la carte. We went with:
Mac & Cheese - kind of random on this Japanese menu, but good nonetheless.
Washu-beef tartar - delicious and not scary raw, just really high quality raw.
Uni croquette - croquettes of mushroom cream topped with fresh sea urchin. This had quite the umami flavor and was very rich, creamy, and divine. You must order this.
Washu-gyu beef sliders - again, high quality beef and a pretty substantial slider. Bigger than a slider and I wasn't sure if we ordered enough so this definitely rounded out our menu selection
Pan roasted branzini - brought to the table whole, head on, and in a cast iron pan accompanied by anchovies, kalamata olives, onions, fingerling potatoes, whole bulbs of garlic and rosemary sprigs. The waiter filleted it for us at the table, but there were of course lots of little bones you had to watch out for. Aside from that, this fish was amazing. Crispy skin and flaky tender fish inside that had a simple flavor, because light seasoning was all it needed. A must order.
Foie gras soba noodles - the noodles were served in a tasty broth and we had to weirdly ladle out our servings. Besides the difficulty of splitting up the dish, the broth was so flavorful and the foie gras was really rich. It was a interesting combo with the soba noodles, but it all blended so well. If you like foie gras, you want to try this.
Oh, and we also drank up a storm trying out much of their cocktail menu, which had many unique choices and all were made with fresh ingredients.
Lastly, I need to tell you about the bathroom here. I know what you are thinking - ew, isn't this a food blog? - however this toilet is state of the art and I have never seen anything like it. I forget the brand but it's a high tech Japanese toilet that has a panel on the wall with all different "cleansing" options among other features. The lid was automatic too. Totally crazy, but kind of weird because while this place is very intimate, it is still a public toilet. Anyway, it makes for an interesting conversation piece after the first person in the group goes.
Overall I had a really nice experience here. The service was great and the staff is super friendly and you can tell everything is made with great care. The atmosphere is very relaxed and quiet and it is a great place to go and actually catch up with your friends while enjoying an authentic Japanese meal at an "exclusive" NYC restaurant.
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