Tenzan 89

This was my first time here. OMG it was delicious and the staff was great. Walking here tomorrow.

I rarely write reviews, but this restaurant has so frequently impressed me. I typically get the Mushroom Soup and Hibachi Fried Rice (with either shrimp or chicken), both of which are very good portion sizes for their prices, and both of which are delicious. (The rice also makes for great leftovers the next day, since I can’t always finish everything.) I’ve brought friends and family here (they’ve gotten a variety of other dishes, including sushi), and have come in a few times around 10 or 10:30 at night as well, exhausted, hungry, and alone (and one time, soaked from the rain with no umbrella). Each time, I’ve been treated like family. When I came in from the rain, I was brought some extra napkins to dry off without asking, and I’ve never felt judged for coming in alone or half an hour before closing. Service has always been speedy, the wait staff is friendly and attentive, and the food is tasty and fresh.

This has been my favorite go to local spot for the last 6 years. Unfortunately instead of writing about how much I’ve loved this place I’m sad to report that with recent ownership change so did the food. The menu for now is the same but the quality has proven to have lost its flare. I’ve had their lunch special and attempted one more time to order Fantastic Role (my fave). The rice was dry and heavy. After my second try I will not be going back and will set out on a new search for a favorite spot.

Delicious Sushi. Absolutely loved the ambiance. A perfect place to hangout with friends and relish healthy food. Prices are reasonable as well. I am a vegetarian, and I ordered an avocado roll for $ 3.50 and cucumber roll for $ 3. I personally preferred the avocado roll. One should definitely try it!

Clean fast delicious sushi with thick slices of sashimi and very well prepared rice. But pricier than other local destinations Give it a try. I’ll be back

This is a chain sushi joint and a pretty good one too. I sat at the bar and enjoyed a standard selection of nigiri including uni which was fresh and piled high. Not many of the tables were filled during dinner time and I sat at the bar while watching in amazement as four sushi chefs worked nonstop the entire time I was there. If there were only eight guests in the restaurant, what the heck were they doing? It turns out they do an enormous amount of sushi take-​out business. Once I noticed the ticket machine I could see the orders spitting out at a constant rate. This is a great indicator for a sushi restaurant because when you’re dealing with lots of raw fish knowing there is a steady and constant turnover is pretty important.

While the food has been good in the past, the management and delivery service are so grossly inept that it warrants ordering from elsewhere in the neighborhood. Despite being regular customers, we waited two hours tonight to never receive food or any kind of apology or reasonable explanation for why they continued to tell us they were on the way. Unfortunately, the restaurant’s infuriating incompetence and disregard for its customers outweighs the quality of the food.

Good quality sushi at reasonable prices and quick delivery. Hard to top it.

Knowing that Tenzan is a chain helped narrow down my options for sushi in the Upper East Side. I’ve dined at their Midtown and UWS locations before, and while I was never wowed, I wasn’t let down either. This location occupies the corner of the 2^nd and 89^th, with lots of natural light flooding into the restaurant. I could see myself getting delivery from Tenzan though, because their maki roll specials are on point. The fish to rice ratio is highly favorable, but what was most striking was the relatively lower price. Let’s compare the prices of the same dishes between Tenzan and Ichiro, a sushi restaurant just one block south of Tenzan:
Chirashi: $ 19 at Tenzan vs. $ 20 at Ichiro
Maki roll combo: for $ 0.50 more, you get yellowtail at Tenzan instead of a California roll, all else being equal
Not everything is definitely cheaper, but I typically only order the two above items, and I’ll be going to my Tenzan specifically for my chirashi and/​or maki roll combo fix.

The sweet potato roll is the best I’ve ever had. It’s literally chunks of sweet potato — YUM. The other two rolls I got were very good too; standard spicy tuna and a salmon avocado. Fresh fish — and my tab was only $ 12.50! Servers are extremely friendly too which is a bonus!

Tenzan is a chain (I’ve been to the one located in the UWS), and the quality is definitely consistent. After walking to Carl Scurz park, my friend and I opted for a nice sushi dinner outside. We were recommended this milky sake to try (I think I’ll stick to the ordinary one next time), but the wait staff was as helpful as they could be. A good restaurant, clean and simple; probably very good for delivery!

First night in my apartment in NYC. Was trying to find a good Asian restaurant in my neighborhood (UES). Stumbled upon this restaurant, great atmosphere specially outside seating in good weather, Great food! Great price! Will be back!

I HATE leaving bad reviews. But I honestly feel the need to warn people about my last two experiences at tenzan. I’ve gone to Tenzan a hand full of times. The staff is always great. The décor is very nice and the atmosphere is great.
Ugh so let’s get to the bad part. Bad fish. Old fish. A couple months ago I got extremely sick after eating tenzan. That was the first time that I felt sick after eating tenzan so I thought maybe it could have been something else.
NOPE it sure was tenzan ! I gave it another shot and what a mistake that was! I spent the entire night in the bathroom. I was so horribly sick. I hate bashing tenzan like this but its a warning. I don’t want anyone to go through what I went through.
I would never eat here again. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone else… Unless you want to spend a whole night in the bathroom :(

SEAMLESS DELIVERY REVIEW ONLY:
This place is AWESOME. Delivery takes 30 minutes tops and I’ve never had a problem with spills or wait time. I’m absolutely in love with the Maki Lunch — Any 3 Rolls special. Sushi is fresh and delicious. It hits the spot on days where you need your sushi fix. When I first discovered Tenzan I must have ordered dinner 4 days in a row — so I’m pretty sure this is the start of a wonderful relationship. No complaints.

I enjoy the atmosphere of this wooden sushi restaurant. The fish is very fresh, and all the food is good. It’s your standard sushi restaurant. The best part about this place is that in the spring/​summer they have outdoor seating. A rare attribute to a sushi joint. Try it!

Good service and good looking shop. Nice enough to enjoy a sit-​down meal, but not fancy. Priced reasonably. ~$ 6 for fish rolls – you can guess the menu from there.
Despite the positive things stated above, I’m really sorry to give this a 2 star rating. The fish I just had was downright bad. I’ve had lots of sushi ranging from 5 star to 1 star. I frequently order really cheap sushi from a few takeout places. And this was much less flavorful than that. It didn’t taste old but it totally lacked flavor. I found myself trying to saturate my fish in soy sauce just to get some flavor.
That and the Wasabi/​Ginger was both weak and bad tasting.
**I’d really like to think I just caught them on a bad night. Because everyone was good except the actual flavor of the food.**

Tenzan has locations on both the UWS and the UES side — we enjoyed the West Side location and decided to visit the UES as well, just a few blocks from home.
And I’m really thrilled we did.
We wound up ordering shrimp gyoza, edamame, shrimp/​veggie tempura, and entrees chicken teriyaki, chirashi and a sushi/​sashimi platter.
Everything was presented well, tasty and solid. The fish was super-​fresh, the dishes were theatrical, and everything tasted great. It’s not run-​of-​the-​mill, plain old boring sushi, so if that’s what you’re looking for you’ll be (pleasantly) surprised. They present their dishes with flair, but not to mask or at the expense of taste and quality.
The chirashi dish (sashimi with sushi rice) was really great and I’ll order that each time I return, but everything we’ve ordered has been and continues to be great. I’m just glad we decided to stop by and even moreso that they’re so close to us.

I come to Tenzan for dinner about once a week. I know it’s decadent, but it’s THAT GOOD. Each time I have their sushi I think, «oh THIS MEAL is DEFINITELY a the best one yet!» My favorite rolls are: white tuna scallion, spicy tuna, peanut avocado, shrimp tempura roll. I love that their rolls are light on the rice and big stuffed with fillings. And how delicious they are! Sushi pieces are also very generous. It’s so hard to get anything but their sushi, as I’m like a fiend over it. I love their Nabeyaki Udon when I’m sick and run down. So tasty. Service is friendly and helpful. If I drink an inch of water or tea, they kindly top me off. I absolutely LOVE Tenzan!

Not an awful place, but less than impressive. Service is very slow. Edamame was mushy and overcooked (and also needed salt). I ordered the ramen, and while fine, it obviously doesn’t compare to ramen houses. Prices are good and it’s certainly a reliable fallback, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to return.

pro: fish looks decent, tastes like most fast food sushi joints
con: WORM LIVING in the fish!
When I called to complain, they denied the possibility. After much persuading, I was offered a new sushi lunch. uhhhh,… i’m not tryna have a worm collection.
FINALLY, after more debate, I finally got a refund. «Watch what you eat» has a whole new literal meaning.

Best sushi delivery EVER.
BIG FAT JUICY SALMON pieces… sashimi, sushi, and roll. Get the salmon!!!
I’ve always ordered from them, and they’ve been consistently good every time. Their special rolls are great, but tonight I had the salmon deluxe or whatever it’s called, and it just made my night. I’m sad about all the bad reviews; I guess delivery is probably your best bet. It’s probably not worth it if you sit in? Shrug.