Ima Izakaya
Japanese · Detroit · $$
4.6(2,119)
Japanese · Morningside Heights, New York, NY · $$
The roots of SAPPS began where SHI Owner, Shih Lee used to eat as a teenager in the East Village. A no frills, authentic Japanese restaurant serving izakaya style dishes before the popular explosion of Japanese food on St. Marks Place. Fast forward to 2017, the vision starts with a determination to create a similar experience in LIC, but with a modern NYC vibe SHI bartender Eric Lehrer, along with long-time waiter Selix Lai have partnered with Shih Lee, the well known owner of the Center Boulevard restaurant SHI to make this dream a reality. “Shih has been a mentor to me,” Lehrer said, adding that he has learned a great deal about the restaurant industry from his long-time boss. “He is like an older brother.” Our goal is to provide an upbeat spot for Manhattan residents that will be much more than a just a restaurant.
“Sapps is a Japanese food craving saver. Affordable and DELICIOUS sushi/sashimi ✅ the most filling unagi rice bowl ✅ yummy drinks ✅. Cannot wait to come back and try the ramens and other cooked dishes.”
“The most delicious Japanese food I have ever had in a long time, reasonably priced. We ordered two different grilled fish dishes. One super tender and fresh, the other one flavorful.”
“Sapps is the best for Japanese food. Good environment, good price and a lot of space! Specially if you wanna do birthday party or celebrating something special for your special moment and with special person.”
“My Sister and I went to Sapps for dinner and liked it so much that we went back a few weeks later. The interior is very nice with lots of seating. Both times we went we had no issues with being seated quickly. From our two experiences we had the Sashimi Dinner, Firecracker (Yellowtail topped with yellowtail Jalapeno, Seaweed Salad, Yellowtail Serrano, Karaage (Japanese style fried chicken), Salmon Skin Salad, The Thunder Dome (Cubed tuna or salmon, wrapped with avocado and topped with spicy mayo, eel sauce, and tobiko), and the Matcha Churro for dessert. The sashimi was some of the best I have ever had. It was extremely fresh, flavorful, great quality, and the portions were larger than I expected. All of the dishes were great. The Thunder Dome was very unique and I have not seen (or tasted) anything like it before. The wait staff was really attentive and took great care of us. My sister and I are huge sushi fans and this place ranks near the top of the places we have been. We had two awesome experiences and would definitely come back when we are back in the area.”
“I ordered the lunch special. The spicy tuna was very strange in color (yellow to gray), had no taste, and was not spicy. I would not recommend it. The eel avocado roll looked like a skin-ell avocado roll. :) The phyladelfia roll was okay. The food deserves 3 stars.”
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