Since we had such great food at Sakagura the last visit specifically for their lunch special (you can read about it here: http://www.foodlovergirl.com/sakagura/), we went back for more! We went on a different day of the week, as their special lunch menu is weekly menu. Again, they only serve it 30 a day, and at great price, so we got there right when they opened.

This time, we were seated in the main dining area, closer to the bar. It is still a quite beautiful, very Japan-like atmosphere. I really like the nice, relaxing feeling they produce. One difference from out last visit was their hostess. Unlike the cold, more of a rude hostess we encountered the last time, they had a younger American female working there as a hostess, and she was really nice, polite, and made us feel welcomed.

On this day, the lunch special was Bara Chirashi Don with Soba ($11.50). The lunch special always comes with soba noodle, and they change the donburi. We again got the soba cold (you can choose hot or cold soba). The soba was as good as I remembered, good texture and flavor.

The donburi is made with assortment of raw fish and dried squash over sushi rice, and it was delightful. It was so fresh and tasty, good amount of fish, and the rice was very good also. It was so worth the trip and worth every penny. It really is a great deal at $11.50! I wish if I can go every day to try their different lunch special…

Our waitress was a-ok. She was polite but not friendly, and again, we didn’t really get “service.” She was hard to find and catch when we needed assistance. At the end of the meal, she was going to take our dishes away without giving us the soba-yu, so I had to stop her and ask for it. She looked as if she was surprised, but complied without a fuss. It is always a good way to finish the soba meal with nice, hot soba-yu. Good for digestion and nutritious.

After that, we decided to have desserts, which we also had to ask for the dessert menu. I felt as if she couldn’t wait for us to leave… Yes, the one thing this awesome place is missing, is “Omotenashi” or Japanese hospitality which is so essential to Japanese culture and customer service. Anyways, we ordered Black Sesame Cream Bruleé ($9) and Pear Millefeuille ($9).

Black Sesame Cream Bruleé came in a ramekin, and was topped with black sesame ice cream and a thin, sweet, but hard black sesame cracker/brittle. It had a nice presentation, and for the price, it is good that they offer more than just a simple Cream Bruleé.

The ice cream was very rich and creamy. It had a good, strong black sesame flavor throughout. But yet, it was very elegantly done that it didn’t feel like it was too much of black sesame. The pudding part also had crushed black sesame mixed in it, so that the flavor was consistent from the first bite to the end.

The Pear Millefeuille was interesting. It was unlike any Millefeuille I have seen before, but it was more like pear “sandwich” with two fluffy and crispy crackers. It had a sweet cream in the middle, which also helped them from falling apart. It also came with earl grey ice cream which was really good, more so than the pear & cracker sandwich.

 

We again had a great lunch, even with the lack of service. But since we had not-so-great service before, we didn’t have high hopes for a better service this time either. We only held our expectations high for the food itself, and it was as great as I wanted them to be. Desserts are a bit pricey and I feel like it could be hit or miss. I would definitely return for more of their delicious lunch special for sure, regardless of the service (or lack of)!

 

Sakagura – 211 E 43rd St, New York, NY 10017