I was very fortunate to be traveling with Grace. She is an amazing travel partner and she graciously helped plan out all the details of our NYC trip back in May 2022. One of the highlights was dining at Odo and experiencing their lunch kaiseki service. I highly anticipated this meal. We walked back and forth in the vicinity and noted that there was no signage. Grace had to ask someone to help find the entrance to Odo. He pointed to the entrance to a discrete dark, empty bar. This bar was a speakeasy and was closed during the day. I saw a dimly lit wall of liquor bottles with just a few bar seats in the front. The speakeasy was the storefront of Odo. We walked through the small, intimate speakeasy and a young woman guided us to the back room. It was soft lighting with 12 seats surrounding the kitchen with 2 seats on each corner and 8 seats facing the kitchen. There was young woman as the wait staff and 2 chefs cooking in the kitchen. They were bringing out small bowls out of warmers and using tweezers to gently add garnishes. The kitchen was slightly larger than a home kitchen and they worked in coordination weaving past each other like a dance. The long table was a neural tan color adorned with wooden trays in front of each seat. In front of the tray, she gently placed a pair of chopsticks and a spoon. I saw a couple already eating their first dish and felt the anticipation gain momentum. Grace, JT, and I occupied the furthest corner and watched the 2 chefs delicately prepare the dishes.
She handed us a warm towel and took our drink orders. I ordered a Yuzu soda and Grace ordered a hot cup of hojicha. She brought the drinks over in a tray. JT tried a sip of the Yuzu soda and decided he wanted one too. JT immediately went back to his game of Pokemon. Grace and I did not have any service so we didn’t scroll on our phones and used our phones strictly to capture the beautiful food. We also watched JT make animated sounds every time he caught a Pokemon. He rattled on names and how he battled them which is logic I didn’t understand. I diverted my attention back to the dish that was coming our way.
The first dish was a small bowl of chawanmushi, steamed egg topped with seaweed and uni. I loved the silky texture of the egg and the buttery taste of the uni.
The next dish was a Japanese sea bream soup with a milky texture which comes from the bones. You see a small white radish and a shiitake mushroom graced with a bit of shaved yuzu on top. The soup was light, nourishing with a tinge of citrus touch.
I saw the sizzling action as the chefs carefully plated the cubes of wagyu on a small plate then topped with white asparagus and sesame glaze sauce. Each marbled piece melted in your mouth.
Next came a mini chirashi bowl with otoro, ikura that bursted in each bite. It was sprinkled with micro shiso, ginger, and marinated mushroom bits.
The last dish was a small bowl of soba noodles made in house with slices of smoked duck breast. She shared that this was their signature dish.
Our meal ended with dessert which consisted of milk cream soft serve strawberry foam and fresh strawberries paired with a hot cup of hojicha. The cost was around $125 + tax + service charge, which amounted to about $170. I was sufficiently full and satisfied. I highly recommend making a reservation with Odo as a treat if you are ever in NYC.
Travelogue 