Torien – NoHo's one-star yakitori counter from Tokyo's Torishiki

Torien sits behind blacked-out windows and a discreet street-level entrance on the northern stretch of Elizabeth Street, in NoHo, where guests walk through heavy curtains before settling onto a counter built for watching a chicken become something else entirely. It opened in January 2020, the first restaurant abroad from Tokyo chef Yoshiteru Ikegawa, whose reservation-only Torishiki in Shinagawa has held its own MICHELIN star since 2010. Torien translates that single-minded devotion into an omakase format rarely attempted outside Japan: a bird broken into its parts and grilled piece by piece over Kishu binchotan charcoal shipped in from Japan. It holds one MICHELIN Star. What separates it from New York's crowded field of yakitori counters is precision rather than range — thigh, wing, heart and neck skin each treated as a dish in its own right, interspersed with a handful of vegetables chosen to hold their own against the smoke, before the meal closes, improbably, with a bowl of ramen.

01The room and the setting

Behind the discreet entrance and blacked-out windows, guests walk through heavy curtains before reaching a counter that wraps in a long C-shape around the open kitchen, where chefs work the grill under the gaze of every diner. Situated in the vibrant NOHO area, Torien is an under-the-radar spot that exudes an air of exclusivity with its discreet entrance and black-out windows. After you walk through some heavy curtains, you'll be seated at a 17-seat counter and proceed to have a mostly silent meal that's only interrupted by brief descriptions from the chefs.

Inside, the room reads as dark wood and black-toned, modern Japanese rather than rustic izakaya, with a couple of private rooms tucked off the counter for those who want the omakase away from the main room's hum. Long C-shaped counter wraps around an open kitchen where chefs prepare yakitori over Kishu Binchotan charcoal, creating an energetic and intimate atmosphere. Dark wooden and black-themed interior offers a modern Japanese aesthetic with cozy private rooms. A bell at street level, rather than a sign, marks the way in.

02The chef

Yoshiteru Ikegawa opened Torishiki in Shinagawa, near Meguro Station, in 2007, and it earned a MICHELIN star in 2010 that it has held ever since. In 2007, after he was sufficiently trained, he opened Torishiki (鳥しき) in Shinagawa, near Meguro Station. The place was well received (it's notoriously difficult to secure a reservation), and achieved a Michelin star in 2010, which it has retained ever since. His standing in Tokyo made him hard to lure abroad, until Edo Kobayashi, co-founder of hospitality group Showa, began dining at Torishiki while pursuing the collaboration that became Torien. Although chef Ikegawa's high profile means that he's received many offers all over the world, he was drawn to the synergy he felt with Showa cofounder Edo Kobayashi, who dined at Torishiki several times while courting him to team up for a project Stateside.

Insider tip

Dinner only, Wednesday to Monday from 5:30pm; book roughly two weeks ahead for the counter.

The New York room opened in January 2020 with chef Yoshiteru Maekawa running day-to-day service. The restaurant debuted in early January 2020 with Yoshiteru Maekawa (ex-Torioka) running the day-to-day, though Ikegawa was also on hand to get things up and running. Today the counter is led by Executive Chef Hideo An, also known as Hideo An Yasuda, who trained for three years between Torishiki and sister restaurant Torioka before taking charge of the kitchen. Then, in May 2022, Ganaha-san was supplanted by Hideo An Yasuda (a.k.a. Hideo Yasuda), who trained for three years at both Torishiki and Torioka before taking over here.

03The cooking

The format is yakitori omakase taken to its logical extreme: a single chicken dismantled into its parts — skin, thigh, wing, heart, neck, even organs — plus duck breast and a run of seasonal vegetables, with the course count shifting slightly from night to night. The restaurant serves only a 14-course omakase menu, with skewer and course offerings changing daily. In addition to the various chicken cuts — chicken neck skin, chicken shoulder and thigh — they're also serving duck breast, as well as lighter fare such as pickled seasonal vegetables, okra, zucchini.

Classic cuts such as kashiwa (thigh), tsukune (chicken meatballs) and nami (chicken neck skin) are grilled over Kishu binchotan, the same slow-burning white charcoal used at Torishiki in Tokyo. Ikegawa is offering a chef's selection of skewers, or omakase, ranging from familiar cuts like Chicken Kashiwa Thigh and Tabaski Wings to Tsukune Meatballs (chicken) and Nami Chicken Neck Skin. Each is cooked over kishu binchotan, a slow-burning white charcoal. Lighter moments arrive as charred cipollini onion and silky agedashi tofu, breaks from the grill rather than detours from it. Not to be overlooked are the vegetables—like charred cipollini onions and silky agedashi tofu—which share the spotlight and are enhanced through Chef An's masterful touch.

04What to order

Dinner opens with a chilled, kombu-poached chicken, a quiet entry into a menu that gets louder with every course. The journey begins with a chilled, kombu-poached chicken that melts tenderly on your tongue, setting the stage for the symphony of flavors to come. From there, kashiwa and teba stand as the benchmark skewers, alongside glazed tsukune meatballs. The action-packed 13-course chef's choice tasting menu changes often and includes signature skewers like kashiwa (chicken thigh) and teba (chicken wing).

The one real departure from Tokyo tradition comes at the end: rather than rice, the New York kitchen closes its omakase with a half portion of ramen, a dish devised specifically for this address. A new dish they're introducing for New York is a half portion of ramen, which is served as the final course.

05Wine and drinks

The bar is built around sommelier Akio Matsumoto, previously of L'Effervescence in Tokyo, whose list runs through sake, wines by the glass and a short run of sake- and shoyu-based cocktails made to sit alongside smoke rather than compete with it. Meanwhile at the bar, head sommelier Akio Matsumoto (most recently of Tokyo's L'Effervescence), brings forth a crafted menu of sake, wines by the glass and sake- and shoyu-based cocktails.

06When to go and the neighbourhood

Torien serves dinner only, open Wednesday through Monday and closed on Tuesdays, with seatings from 5:30pm. Torien NY is an omakase experience open six days a week. TORIEN NY is open Wednesday – Monday CLOSED Tuesday. Dinner: 5:30 pm – 9:00 pm. The counter is small enough, and reservations tight enough, that a table is worth securing roughly two weeks out. Reservations are required at least two weeks in advance for the omakase experience.

Just off Bleecker Street, on the northern tip of Elizabeth Street, Torien sits inside a stretch of NoHo that New York City's own tourism board counts among the neighbourhood's defining restaurants. Torien 292 Elizabeth St (Bleecker St) New York, NY, 10012 Japanese restaurant Torien specializes in yakitori—skewered meats cooked over a charcoal fire—that's offered omakase style.

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