Yagura Japanese Market

Pleeeeeeasssse come back. This place was my favorite grocery store/​lunch spot when I worked right across the street. Cash only, but everything was priced much more reasonably than any other Asian grocery store in Manhattan for the quality. If you think differently, please message me and let me know where I should go grocery shopping in the city. I remember frozen edamame was $ 2/​bag and nato was also $ 2/​package. I miss black cod and seabass as well as hirame for sashimi I bought here, all of which I purchased for under $ 4 (granted they came in small portions fit for one meal.) I liked seeing them expand the menu to include ramen and cream puffs. The ramen was pretty good. Never got to try the cream puffs because they always had a long line and I had Beard Papa before in California. Now I have to travel to the Upper West Side for that, pshh.

Glad this place closed.
Worst Japanese Grocery in the city. What terrible service.
Totally lacking in any of the amazing Japanese customer service, which Japan is known for. As mentioned in previous review, there is actually some lady who stands at the front and watches everyone to ensure they aren’t stealing… Oh I forgot I want to get in trouble for stealing a $ 3.00 Kuala’s March snack. Also they talk about customers in Japanese (which I speak). Very rude & very dirty. I guess when you treat your customers all like thieves they decide not to spend money at your store.
The only thing this store had going for it, is that they have some good deals. Also, it is good to know they run low on a lot of their products. Save yourself the trip here and go right next door to Sun Rise Mart or another nearby Japanese grocery. They are much better.

My japanese friend (does this mean it’s valid info?) told me that there was a fire there. And that Yagura will be opening up in the space that held OMS/​B rice ball restaurant at 156 East 45^th Street New York, NY 10 017. Let’s hope it’s true! It will be pretty small then.

Please come back! 41^st Street is not the same without you…
Wherever you open again, please bring back those Chou buns please!

I really liked this place, cheap and good japanese den. It was my easy lunch-​box in the corner.
But too bad, they will be closing tonight, 28 september. The lease was not extended. That’s sad, the the sunrise supermarket in the conrer is as good as Yagura, with better choices of prepared food.

A revelation. A godsend. My new go-​to-​lunch-​joint. I had a craving for Japanese food but wanted to avoid the longer waits and higher prices at some of the places west of here.
They’re cheap, they’re quick, the service is friendly, and most importantly the food is tasty. Ate here two days in a row and I’m still impressed. I’m just running straight through the menu, and I was impressed with the taste and quantity of their pork dishes (katsudon and curry katsu). A few more impressive showings and they may just get hero status from me.

I was walking back from the UES along library row and pass this place that is jam-​packed with people waiting for their lunch. There was no signage to tell me what this place was, but the number of people made me want to be a part of whatever food experience they all knew about. So I got in line… looked up at the picture board menu and ordered myself a Miso Ramen.
It was a-​ok, not outstanding, not terrible. In hindsight, I should’ve gone for one of the rice bowls… say the katsu-​don.
The place is reasonably priced, cash only.
I perused the grocery side a bit… and I’m not sure what the standards for Asian groceries in NY are… but it was mediocre at best in terms of freshness and selection. But I feel like that’s pretty much the case for Asian groceries in general here — but perhaps I should stop comparing to the West Coast.

I went here looking for groceries as opposed to food/​snacks that they sell in the front. The grocery portion of the store was dimly lit with that terrible «i make everything look tasteless and disgusting» florescent lighting.
Mostly i looked around and wish i didn’t come to take a look.
The prepared food on the other hand looked alright.

I had a bowl of tonkotsu ramen here, and in a city where people wait two hours for a bowl of ramen, standards are pretty damn high. But the ramen here is bare bones and serviceable. In it contains a couple of slices of slightly dried out pork, a sprinkling of pickled ginger and a well-​made albeit small, halved ramen egg.
This place is always bustling during lunch hour and the service staff are nice and sweet, so they must be doing something right.

I never had the food there but just those cream puffs definitely reminds me of Bread Papa (RIP). I ordered the Chicken Udon. I love the love and slurping up the udon. The only flaw is leaving the chicken skin still on. The price is affordable and you get great quality of food.

I was walking around Manhattan and happened to stumble upon this street which has several Japanese delis/​markets. I decided to stop inside this one because the sign outside showed that they sell cream puffs. This place is basically made up of three parts.
Towards the back is a Japanese grocery section. This area is very small and the selection is a bit sparse.
On the left is a bakery area where they sell cream puffs (with regular white cream, red bean, or green tea flavor). The cream puffs are only $ 1.50 each and you can see the people making them. When you order the flavor you want, they actually inject the flavor into the cream puff. These cream puffs are the real star of this place — they are so soft, flaky, sweet and delicious! The cream puffs get five stars.
To the right of that is counter selling hot food, made to order. They have udon, soba, bowls of ramen, katsu plates, and «don» bowls. I tried it the chicken udon. It was okay — nothing special. The soy sauce broth was good, but the chicken tasted slightly old. I need to try more of the hot food to get an idea of how it is.
If anything, go just for the cream puffs!

Oh, Yagura, how I love thee and thou cream puffs. Forget about all your other food… I’d be okay if you just sold cream puffs and nothing else.
Cream puffs come in red bean, green tea, and plain cream. In my experience, they are freshest during the lunch rush, as I’ve picked a couple up after work before and they weren’t as crispy and were a bit flat.
Red bean is by far my favorite, followed by plain and then green tea. The cream is filled fresh usually and isn’t too sweet. OISHII! The flavors are true to taste, for lack of a better explanation. I agree with Paul B… there is no way you can’t try the cream puffs here and give an accurate review :)
The red bean and green tea puffs are $ 2 and plain for $ 1.50. Buy 10 get 1 free.

The cream puffs make everything else irrelevant. Even if the other counter only sold dirt cakes with no spoons, the cream puffs would still get Yagura five stars. I was even …
wait.
Did you just see that?
Lili K. wrote that you should NOT get the plain cream puff? Kanchana S. gave Yagura 2 stars without even trying the cream puffs? This is horse shit. HORSE SHIT. I’ll be Café Zaiya paid you to write those reviews didn’t they?
I guess you just can’t trust anything you see on Unilocal.Your only option is to swing by with $ 1.50 in hand (in cash, more for green tea flavor I think) and try one out… Maybe get some of that legit chicken curry while you are at it. I’m pretty sure you will agree that it was totally reasonable for me to write horse shit multiple times (once in caps even) in a review that for all I know my mom could be reading.

Another good Japanese joint on Library Way in Midtown. This place has no signs in front of it, and it offers some inexpensive delicious Japanese food. Plus they just renovated the store to accommodate the space for cream puff and bubble tea. Two thumbs up for that! You can also find some Japanese grocery and snacks here as well.
Beef Don, Pork Curry and all the Ramen bowls are must-​try dishes. Even though, they don’t take credit card, I still if them 5 stars for the cleanliness and friendly staffs!

4 stars because I came here on a Saturday and it was full of Japanese folks gettin their ramen, soba, teriyaki fix on.
I actually had the pork broth ramen and it was pretty good and compared to the very expensive ramen shops in the city, the prices were reasonable at about $ 8 bucks a bowl.
Like most Japanese places, CASH ONLY.

Those cream puffs were freakin’ delicious!!! Yumm you must try it! Get the red bean. Either way, don’t go plain.
We also got the ramen-​tonkatsu and miso. The miso had some spiciness to it, but I liked the creamy broth in the tonkatsu, too. Each were about $ 8.
The market itself has some good food to check out and buy, like their mini coffees, curry and other types of noodles. Yum!

I clearly have over checked-​in at Sunrise Mart using Foursquare lately so I’ve decided I need to take a break and venture to other surrounding Japanese grocers. I used to work in this area so I know there are at least four Japanese venues on this small and relatively quiet street. But Yagura never really caught my attention as much as its neighboring Café Zaiya or Sunrise Mart. Here’s why:
1. Their inventory is kind of lackluster and sparse. You do get suspicious and wonder why there is only one item of a certain product on display.
2. The lighting and décor reminds me of going into a warehouse. Dreary and ho-​hum.
3. There is only one cash register in the grocery section and of course, it’s CASH only.
If you’re looking for pastries like cakes and baked goods, you’re probably better off going to either Café Zaiya or Sunrise Mart. But if you just want dry goods like Japanese candy and snacks, it’s not a bad place to get it but probably overpriced compared to what you may find in Chinatown. The place also serves hot food like udon and rice dishes. I tried a Udon noodle soup here once and it was Ok but wasn’t the best.

Three weeks ago SL introduced me to this spot saying it was REALLY GOOD. She was right as it was pretty TASTY…
The food station serves various Japanese dishes like udon noodles and rice plates at reasonable prices. I went with the pork katsu curry for $ 5.99 before tax:
The fried pork cutlet was great and they use the light brown curry which is much better than the dark brown muck served at GO! GO! Curry! for the following reasons:
1. tastes better
2. less heavy as it is thinner
Summary: This place is way better than GO! GO! Curry! and cheaper as well. I recommend it!

Are you in Bryant Park? Are you hungry? Feels like eating REAL Japanese food? Then come here!
For a quick lunch, my coworker and I visited this Japanese takeout spot near Bryant Park. There were many customers standing and waiting for their food to pick up. I have been to many Japanese restaurants, but it is really hard to find a restaurant where real Japanese people work. At this place, all the employees were Japanese speaking in Japanese! The food must be real Japanese food too! No, they do not sell sushi. Yes, they sell whatever Don! I had Shrimp with Egg Don which is shrimp tempura with cooked egg on rice with some sauce. Plus, miso soup to warm up my body in the cold rainy weather. The food tasted real good and cheap!
I am definitely coming back for more food! ;D
p.s: there is a small Japanese grocery area inside!

A serviceable Japanese market with a miniature food court, but you would never mistake this for Mitsuwa. The market has a good variety of snacks, staples, and beverages. However, as other Unilocalers have noted, there is a lack of pre-​packaged ready-​to-​eat dishes. The biggest reason to come here is their food station during lunch hours.
The food station menu offers a variety of soba/​udon noodle soups for less than $ 6 as well as meat over rice bowl (chicken katsu, ton katsu, salmon teriyaki, beef teriyaki) served in an aluminum container for under $ 7. The daily special (udon or rice bowl) is usually around $ 5. The rolls are economically priced with a dragon roll (8 pcs) costing only $ 6. On the other hand, the rolls seem to be slightly fresher (and more expensive) at Chiyoda a few doors down. Rolls are Café Zaiya aren’t much better.
Patrons that come for lunch typically stick to the udon and rice plate menu much rather than the sushi, and that is probably a good rule to adhere to. The food station is closed on weekends and market only takes cash.