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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

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$
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Reader Rating:
9.3 out of 10
|
3 Reviews | Write a Review
Cuisine: Dessert / Ice Cream Shop, Japanese/Sushi

Photo by Jerry Errico

Map Rate & Review

Official Website

kyotofu-nyc.com

Hours

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

Nearby Subway Stops

C, E at 50th St.

Prices

$7-$10

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. The menu falls within certain Far Eastern flavor parameters, but 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 the chef can be seen drizzling syrups and cocking tuiles at jaunty angles. — Robin Raisfeld and Rob Patronite

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 w/ rice and the inari. What I really like about this place is that their stuff tastes different...in a good way. Also, I've never been much of a tofu person, but I love the tofu dishes at kyotofu.

Pleasant and seductive

food_is_amazing from 10019 | Posted on 3/14/08

Overall 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 desserts were wonderful. The cupcake was soft and pretty, and creamy in the middle, but it was not too sweet. The restaurant compensates for the lack of icing on its cupcakes by putting a healthy dollop of cream on top instead. The asian pear cake was surprisingly light and moist and, like the cupcake, it was not too sweet. The space in the back (where the tables are) is just COOL; the photo on the profile does the space justice. Kyotofu is low-key, pleasant, and seductive. It was the perfect place to spend a Thursday night after work. . .

Read All 3 Reviews >>

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