Soy & Sake

So obviously it’s closed now, but I wanted to point out that in my previous review I asked you guys to help keep it open. I wrote that review while dining in the restaurant on our last visit. When leaving the hostess stopped me and told me that the following day would be their last and they were closing up. The irony was so painful I didn’t have the heart to update my review until now. I only hope they open again before we return to the city.

So sad this place closed. It had amazing food.

I’ve been so distraught since Soy and Sake closed! Ever since it first opened, it had been one of my favorite restaurants. I absolutely LOVED the spicy tuna roll, and don’t know of any other vegetarian place that serves something like it in the city. :(I know there are places like Beyond Sushi that are good, but something about the mock tuna used in this roll… just isn’t the same :/

So sad they closed!
My absolute favorite restaurant in NYC. I’ve brought many friends here, vegetarian and not and everyone loves it. My favorite roll is their house roll which has veg chicken in it and «eel» sauce on top – SO GOOD. My younger sister who often doesn’t like the taste or texture of fake meat loved her «chicken» skewer appetizer. I’ve come for lunch and dinner and both are amazing and affordable. Their lunch special is incredible though– 2 sushi rolls or an entrée plus miso soup or salad plus and appetizer for $ 9! The atmosphere is awesome as well.
I’ve probably eaten here 10 – 20 times in the past three years and have never had a bad experience!

I am so so so bummed that this place closed. One of my friends and I used to go here all the time and every time it was a treat. On our last (and sadly, final — please open up again Soy and Sake!) trip, we discovered the vegan ice cream.
Please open back up Soy and Sake! We miss you!

Sad that they closed (why???) because they had an infinite menu full of vegan options. Food was great and portion huge. The only thing that really pissed me off every time I would go there is that they would automatically add 18% of tip in the price to pay (for a table of 2 people…) and then would bring another bill and a pen for me to add some more tip. Yeahhh not.

I very much enjoyed Soy & Sake over the years and I’m sad that it closed its doors 8÷30÷2014. From small get togethers to big meetups, I enjoyed it much. Their owner retired and they closed-​up shop. Here’s the closing message from their website.
«Soy and Sake will be closing its doors after 6 years. We will open for another week to say good bye to our friends and customers. August 30 will be the last day we are open for service. We like to thank all our loyal customers for their patronage over the years.» [sic]

I should have written a review a long time ago when I first started coming here two years ago. I come back every couple of months for dates, gnos (literally all my friends like this place, even my meat loving guy buds), and celebrations (like my graduation). The place can set up large parties in the back but because it is quite popular, it can get filled up pretty quickly at night. The pad thai is one of the best I’ve had (and also one of the largest– definitely share-​able) and the buffalo wings are surprisingly wonderful. Though I am not a vegetarian, I do not eat chicken and I have not done so for 7 years. Thus, my first encounter with vegetarian buffalo wings brought back many memories and definitely satisfied my taste buds. The desserts are great; the ice cream is really creamy (made from tofu I believe) and the vegan mango cheesecake that I ordered once was perfect. I rarely drink anything other than water or tea but I make an exception for the juices that are super fresh. I am incredibly sad to find out that they are closing in less than 2 weeks! JUST 2 WEEKS!!! I have to go in once more before I go back to college. This place will forever be my favorite restaurant.
BTW, a great lunch special spot. «Worth.»

I was introduced to Soy & Sake yesterday!
Everything that I tasted/​ate pleased my every satisfaction & tastebuds! Which is a rarity! So Bravo Chef!!!
Staff members were AMAZING! Patient, Poised, Respectful, Interactive, Attentive & just my style. They understood the cues! If you have a team in the service industry send them here to pick up some lessons, it’ll only cost you a meal.
Even when the cheque was paid for they allowed us to sit at our table & did not once rush us!!!

Absolutely love this place. The atmosphere is nice and they make amazing food. Even my non vegetarian friend loved it. The Tom Yam soup is great (even though I probably won’t be buying again because of what you get for the price) and their sesame chicken perfection. A must for vegetarians!

Im not sure how much of a review i can give this place because im not a vegetarian. As a matter of fact, i love meat. But i went with my best friend, who had previously been here and loved it. Therefore, i decided to go with an open mind and did not think about the fact that i was eating «fake» meat.
We ordered the avocado boat and rock shrimp, which was my favorite. The avocado boat consist of half an avocado stuffed with spicy tuna and mango. The avocado itself was good, however, i found the «tuna» to be flavorless. It didnt taste like much. And honestly the only way i got myself to swallow it was with a big piece of avocado. I must note that the presentation was very appealing and attractive.
On the other hand, the rock shrimp was delicious. It was breaded and deep fried shrimp tossed in spicy mayo. Dont let the spicy part intimidate you, i dont like anything thats spicy and this was everything but spicy. It was served over a bed of lettuce inside a martini glass and they were very generous with the amount of shrimp that they served.
When it comes to the service, i give them five stars. I got there around 5:30 and they gave me a table right, even though my friend wasnt there yet. And most importantly our food came in a timely fashion. Since we only ordered appetizers, they didnt bring both of them together. They waited till we were halfway done with one to bring the other one out. Also, my water glass was never empty. I truly appreciate when a server doenst lose sight of their customer and is always making sure they are okay.

What this place lacks in atmosphere, it makes up for in taste.
Pros:
+ OMG IT TASTES LIKE TUNA
+ Veg*ns can order something other than an avocado roll. So many options!
+ Full bar
+ Happy hour!
+ Great appetizers
+ No, but seriously, the sushi is delicious.
Cons:
— It’s kind of awkward??? The first half hour, no music was playing and it was uncomfortably silent

I was a little nervous when my friends told me they were taking me to a restaurant that serves soy meat products.
However, I must say I was pleasantly surprised after eating at Soy & Sake. I enjoyed my entrée and the entrees of my friends that I sampled. I’d be willing to try this place out again when I’m in NYC.
Entrees
— Double Happiness with white rice (soy chicken & soy beef sautéed with mixed vegetables) — was really good. The soy chicken and soy need were flavorful. I couldn’t tell I was eating soy at all.
— Bourbon Chicken with brown rice (grilled soy chicken marinated in BBQ sauce served over grilled vegetables) was so good. The soy chicken tasted better than any Bourbon Chicken I’ve had at any mall or airport Chinese establishment. It was so good I found myself eating half of my friends food.

A fairly good place.
My first time having vegetarian sushi.
Not too expensive.
Good service.
The mango chicken was amazing.
Veggie lover roll & spider roll awesome.
Get a side of spicy mayo if you’re into that kinda thing.
Didn’t have dessert but I’m sure they’re probably good if they even have any here. Haha overall a good place: D

Full disclosure, I’m a meat eater.
However, I do eat vegetarian about 50−75% of the time, and I’ve been to some awesome vegan/​vegetarian Asian fusion restaurants in both New York and California. So when my vegetarian friends suggested dinner here one night, I arrived enthusiastic and with high expectations.
Unfortunately, I was very disappointed. The dishes we ordered were a poor attempt at meat substitutes. We ordered the buffalo «chicken wings» and some other dishes that I can’t remember, but the flavor profiles were way off – I’ve had some excellent vegan buffalo wings and Soy & Sake’s interpretation was gross. Maybe they were going for more of a sweet BBQ flavor, in which case they should have specified that on the menu.
Don’t think I’ll be returning here again; I’d much rather enjoy the vegan spin on Asian fusion over in Williamsburg.

I was surprised to find a vegetarian Japanese restaurant in the city. I had some pretty good vegetarian meals before (soy meat to be specific) so I expect this place to have similar quality, but boy I was wrong.
Despite the cheesy asian decoration, the food is amazing. We ordered a Hawaii Roll, Teriyaki Chicken and Bento Box with Soy Pork Katsu curry. Teriyaki Chicken was nothing special, just like other vegetarian restaurants. The Hawaii roll is made with fried banana, avocado, korean pear and mango. You wouldn’t expect fried banana in a sushi roll come out so nicely. The roll is light, but the flavor is perfect. My curry soy pork katsu taste nothing like soy chicken, thick slices of soy pork katsu came with curry sauce definitely compensate the lack of meat in this meal.
I am not sure if everything in this restaurant is vegetarian (especially sushi entrees) so please ask your server before you order.

Three words: Collard green roll.
I basically started to come here because it’s closer to my office than VP2 but the truth is Soy & Sake is just as good so whatever! Big fan of the basil chicken but I’ve never had anything bad here. It’s also usually decently uncrowded which is refreshing (versus VP2 and Red Bamboo…).
Pretty sure the chicks who run this place think my friend and I are psychos since we always come here and just spend an hour laughing like maniacs at inside jokes, but at least they’re always friendly!

— recommend: «Chicken» nuggets, for non-​meat the flavor was pretty convincing though the texture gave it away
–one of the better vegetarian meals I’ve had
–service was inattentive and a bit surly

I can’t put my finger on what the exact cuisine focus of Soy & Sake is, but for the most part, Soy & Sake is a sizable, somewhat modern Asian restaurant that caters to vegetarians and/​or those looking for healthier alternatives. Everything and anything on the menu are vegetarian options and soy-​based products. They have a 3 to 4 page extensive menu of various dishes borrowing from different cuisines; heavily Chinese, a bit of Thai, a bit of Indian, a bit of Japanese, etc. I did find their menu to be perplexing because there were so many different choices that borrow from so many different types of cuisines. Therefore, I wouldn’t call this place Japanese even though it’s categorized as Japanese on this site.
First visit, we went with a selection of orders that were all varied and perhaps a bit of an odd combination, but we figured we wanted to try a little bit of everything — a starter of Roti Canai, a side order of Eggplant in Cantonese-​style Spicy Sauce, and then some sushi rolls. The Roti Canai was good, but far from being spicy as described. The curry dipping sauce came with some soy-​based chicken and coconut. Again, if you’re open to the idea of substituting proteins/​meats with soy, then I see little reason for complaints. The soy-​based meat wasn’t off, and however they substituted the meat, they did quite an impressive, convincing job. Onto the eggplant, it was mild in terms of spice but tasty overall. The sushi wasn’t bad considering it wasn’t real fish. The style was fusion though and hardly authentic Japanese. We had the Black Dragon Roll, Salmon Avocado Roll, and Spicy Tuna Cucumber Roll. The sushi, although substituted by soy, tasted and looked like real fish. It was very interesting considering it was my first time having soy-​based sushi. I was impressed while being aware it wasn’t real sushi. It could easily have been mistaken for the real thing.
Apparently, eating vegetables doesn’t always mean a bland, tasteless meal. Soy & Sake has much to offer to those who are vegetarian and the like. Soy & Sake isn’t flawless, but considering there aren’t too many vegetarian restaurants like this, where they offer such a great variety of options from one menu, I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. Being the carnivore I am though, I cannot justify having the soy-​based sushi mainly due to the fact that I love the ‘real thing’ too much. However, their soy-​substituted dishes are close enough to being the real thing and may even fool some. Overall, a solid dining option for those who are vegetarian and/​or want to consider healthier but still very tasty alternatives. It’s also a great option to those who are making a transition to vegetarianism but cannot entirely give up that distinctive flavor of meat.

This is precisely what vegetarian eating should be. Normally, when I go to a restaurant I am forced to flip directly to the one small portion of the menu that caters to the vegetarians. On large menus there are usually a few items (sometimes even a whole section), but on smaller ones it’s sometimes just one. One! Heaven help you if you don’t want what they have chosen to serve you. Vegetarians deal with this dilemma every single time they go out to eat.
I have been a vegetarian since I was pretty little. If you gave me a ham and cheese sandwich in kindergarten, I would have picked the ham out. It’s not a moral thing, the idea of eating animals just creeps me out. When I was little, my dad would tell servers that I had a disease (jokingly, of course). This also happened:
Me: What would you recommend for a vegetarian at this restaurant?
Server: Ummm, lettuce?
So, when I walked into this place and was handed a menu of pages… and pages… of delicious vegetarian options? Happy doesn’t quite cover it. I’m not trying to convert anyone. I’ll eat my dinner, you eat yours. As far as I know, I’m not contagious, but it was nice to not have to worry if there is food for me for once.
— — — — — — – Comes down from soapbox. — — — — — -
The décor of this place is swanky and trendy, but not so much that you and a friend can’t show up without a reservation and get a table for two. We had a prime spot next to a gorgeous fish tank. If the whole restaurant is as clean as that tank, we are in good shape. It was spotless. Definitely wins the award for cleanest tank ever.
Service was prompt and friendly. Although, she never actually mentioned anything about the restaurant, or asked us if we had been here before. Seems like vigilante meat-​eaters would want a warning about what they are ordering.
We ordered some sake, which was reasonably priced at just $ 15 for the large. I got the fbeef teriyaki bento box, and my cohort got a fchicken stir fry.* Everything was soo good. The bento box came with salad, edamame, veggie potstickers, fcalifornia roll, and sliced teriyaki beef over vegetables. So much food for only $ 14! I ended up bringing a bunch of it home for tomorrow.
I ended up asking my non-​vgetarian cohort if hers was vegetarian too. Her response, «Oh, I don’t know. Is it?» Victory. I’m quite sure that I will be back here again and again.
* I add f’s before anything faux-​meat, or «fmeat.»