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Kyotofu

Critics' Pick

705 Ninth Ave., New York, NY 10019
nr. 48th St. See Map | Subway Directions Hopstop Popup
212-974-6012 Send to Phone

Price Range: $-$$
Reader Rating:
9.3 out of 10

3 Reviews | Write a Review
Cuisine: Dessert / Ice Cream Shop, Japanese/Sushi

Photo by Jerry Errico

Map

Official Website

Rate & Review

Hours

Sun and Tue-Wed, noon-12:30am; Thu-Sat, noon-1:30am; Mon, closed

Nearby Subway Stops

C, E at 50th St.

Prices

$8-$17

Payment Methods

American Express, Diners Club, Discover, MasterCard, Visa

Special Features

Dine at the Bar
Great Desserts
Hot Spot
Lunch
Notable Chef
Open Kitchens / Watch the Chef
Prix-Fixe
Romantic
Take-Out
Catering

Alcohol

Sake and Sojou
Full Bar

Reservations

Accepted/Not Necessary

Profile

This isn’t your college food-co-op tofu, though, or some arbitrary marketing ploy. The owners were inspired by a Kyoto tofu manufacturer, Kyotofu-Fujino, and its affiliated cafés—in fact, the family of one of the partners owns it—but they tailored the concept for a Manhattan market. They hired a Japanese chef, Ritsuko Yamaguchi, to work within certain Far Eastern flavor parameters, but her desserts fuse Eastern and Western techniques and presentations. They also have a dainty, delicate quality—a femininity, you might say—which makes the place a magnet most nights for dainty, delicate females and chirpy, dessert-nibbling aesthetes of the opposite sex. They’re probably also drawn by the clean, contemporary look of the space, which was conceived by Hiro Tsuruta (the designer of ChikaLicious too) as a home in Kyoto, with a long pathway leading to the entrance, or, in this case, the dining room. On the way, you pass the glass-walled kitchen, where Yamaguchi can be seen drizzling syrups and cocking tuiles at jaunty angles. — Robin Raisfeld and Rob Patronite

Ideal Meal

Black edamame, rice balls, tofu cheesecake (and miso-chocolate petits fours, by any means necessary)

Reader Ratings

9.3

good stuff

cupcakemonster from 07305 | Posted on 6/28/08

Overall Reader Rating: 9 (Highly Recommended)


Food:	9
Service:	9

Décor:	9

Value:	10

Love the sweet tofu, my mom likes the chocolate cake but she's more into chocolate than I am. Also enjoyed the cheesecake, as well as the appetizers. I've pretty much enjoyed everything but my favorite appetizers are the salmon...Read More

Pleasant and seductive

food_is_amazing from 10019 | Posted on 3/14/08

Overall Reader Rating: 9 (Highly Recommended)


Food:	9
Service:	6

Décor:	10

Value:	10

What a lovely little restaurant. We somehow managed to avoid all of the tofu on the menu (we had the asian pear cake and the chocolate cupcake), so maybe it does not matter how you feel about tofu after all. Both...Read More