Zutto is located at 77 Hudson St, New York, NY 10013. And is open for lunch Monday-Friday 11:30am-5:30pm, dinner Sunday-Thursday 5:30-10pm, Friday-Saturday 5:30-11pm. For more information, please call (212) 233-3287, and visit zuttonyc.com.
The name Zutto may be familiar to connoisseurs and Tribeca locals as it was the first sushi restaurant in the area 30 years ago. Now, while the name and location remain the same, the new chef Joshua Smookler has recreated the core concept and turned Zutto into an Japanese American izakaya-inspired pub. Yes, they still have sushi, but the real star is seen in the Japanese menu, which draws from Smookler’s French culinary training and includes an extensive wine, beer, shochu and sake program.
Chef Smookler, a Korean raised Jewish who grew up in New York, came into the professional kitchen world in an unusual way. After he finished his bachelor’s degree, Smookler was supposed to study medicine. But, he decided first he wanted to see more of the country. He got as far as San Antonio, Texas before he needed to stop driving and work. He saw an ad for wait staff at the French restaurant L’Etoile and went in for the position dressed in a T-shirt, shorts, and sandals. Lucky for him the owner was Jewish and when Smookler started speaking to him in Hebrew, he got the job.
The Amazing Pork Belly Buns
His training can be seen not only in the stunning way he plates his food, but in the solid flavors and innovative bites he offers, especially in his Japanese pub-style food. Take the Steamed buns (but go easy . . . are terrific), Smookler whips up variations that include a classic Asian style pork belly with miso-mayonnaise, tender and sweet short rib, and a Kobe beef patty with hijiki, his version of an American slider. Other menu items also speak to the izakaya style like the finely pounded fish that gets breaded and fried to create salty fish “chips” with a side of spicy edamame and jalapeño dip. The result is a deceptively simple and memorable creation.
Lobster Rolls
For the signature ramen, the chef’s favorite dish, Smookler starts by making the various broths, a process that takes almost two days to complete. He pours the rich, velvety liquid over long, tender noodles made from Smookler’s own recipe and tops the dish with various ingredients. Start with the tonkotsu classic bowl, which comes with smoky chasu, sweet pickled ginger, sesame, and kikurage, also known as wood ear mushroom. It is the star.
For heftier fare, go for Smookler’s take on steak frites, which uses tender Kobe beef ribeye. The portion isn’t huge, but the quality is superb and the fries are wonderful.
While their menu remains sophisticated, the giant communal table in the center, cozy bar, intimate banquette seating, and soft Japanese lanterns hanging overhead helps create the down-to-earth vibe Smookler wants. It’s easily a place where you can pop in for a great bowl of ramen, a snack, and a glass of beer or wine. Actually, the beverage list alone is worth the Tribeca trek as it features Asahi on draft that is actually brewed in Japan and shipped here. In bottles they offer spiced Schneider Weisse, rich Allagash Dubbel, and light and nutty brews by Hitachino Nest’s.
On the wine menu Smookler taps into his years working as a wine director and has created a masterpiece of whites, reds, and sparkling from all around the world. He arranges on the menu from lightest in body, to the heaviest. For example the list of whites starts with a Hautes Noelles’ 2010 Muscadet Sur Lie and ends with Le Vieux Donjon’s 2010 Rhone blend. For reds he features over two-dozen bottles including CVNE Imperial’s 1999 Tempranillo and Kenzo Estate’s 2007 Bordeaux blend. All wine prices are value oriented and lower than many places charge for the same bottles.
Another feature on the drink list is the flushed out sake list. Where the original restaurant offered few, the new Zutto has around 60 including unfiltered Hakushika “Snow Beauty” Junmai, earthy Shichida, and the pear tinged Yaegaki Mu. Loyal Zutto customers will also find the classic sushi list re-imagined save for the traditional triangle shaped Tribeca roll, which has been on the Zutto menu since the beginning. Other rolls Smookler has created to express the more wild side of things including the animal roll, a feisty maki with short rib, jalapeño, garlic, and a sweet and savory soy glaze, which gets served on the bone from which the beef came. Also innovative is Smookler’s bright yum yum sae woo, which is made with a thin, lime-green tofu skin and wrapped around tempura shrimp, lettuce, and crab, giving it a crisp texture and more of a summer roll feel than traditional sushi.
Dessert is an experience unto itself as Smookler comes up with all sorts for fun creations like the salty-sweet chocolate-caramel crème du pot and a melt-in-your-mouth caramelized brioche with grilled bananas and homemade vanilla ice cream, which is so airy and light it’s hard to believe it’s really ice cream. He used to offer a dish called a tasting of three chocolates and rum, which consists of a molten chocolate with three chunks of chocolate, paired with three amazing single barrel aged rums from different parts of South America.On our visit, it wasn’t available, but we adored “coffee and donuts,” a fabulous coffee semifreddo with foamed cream and zeppole donuts. It would put any Italian restaurant to shame.
Whether you come to Zutto for a light snack and a drink, a full dinner, or for lunch, grabbing a seat at the community table or outside, once they open their glorious French doors, gives you the full Japanese pub experience with an international twist.
Service is friendly and the ramen is as good as it gets.
Copyright 2012 By Punchin International. All Rights Reserved.
Sample Menu (Items and Prices Subject To Change)
FROM THE KITCHEN – CHUUKA MANJUU (STEAMED BUNS)
$12.00
Kobe Beef
hijiki, red onion, togarashi mayo
$9.00
Pork Belly
lettuce, miso‐mayo
$10.00
Short Ribs
spicy fermented cabbage, tobanjan mayo
$11.00
Portabella
rucola, parmesan crisp, brown miso mayo
FROM THE KITCHEN – SMALL PLATES
$12.00
Ebi Mayo
fried shrimp, yuzu mayo
$8.00
Silken Tofu
tempura tofu, pickled mushrooms, pickled eggplant, spicy shoyu sauce, micro cilantro
$12.00
Fish “chips”
edamame‐jalapeño dip
$8.00
Shishito Peppers
charred fried Japanese peppers, yuzu salt, lemon aioli
$6.00
Edamame
charred edamame, chilis, yuzu salt
$12.00
Manila Clams Garlic
enoki, white miso, butter, crostini
$9.00
Green Papaya Salad
dried shrimp, tomato, peanut, long bean, thai chili, lime juice
FROM THE KITCHEN – RAMEN
$15.00
Tonkotsu Hokkaido Classic
"tonkotsu" noodle soup topped with pork jowl chashu, kikurage, menma, red pickled ginger, sesame, and scallions
$16.00
Spicy Miso
red miso and pork based soup, topped with scallion, chopped pork, menma, white pickled ginger, sesame and chili oil
$16.00
Chicken Paitan
chicken and premium soy sauce based soup topped with scallion, onion, char siu pork, and nori.
$15.00
Wasabi Shoyu Ramen
soy sauce, chicken and vegetable based noodle soup, topped with bean curd, wasabi, menma, kaiware radish, shiso, scallions, and wasabi infused oil
$18.00
Seafood Ramen
pork and seafood based, head on shrimp, manila clams, roasted garlic oil, red pickled ginger, menma, wakame, enoki
$18.00
Parma Karma
soybean paste and pork noodle soup topped with pork chashu, parmigiano-reggiano, menma, fresh grated ginger, karashi, and scallions
FROM THE KITCHEN – RAMEN TOPPINGS
$2.00
Onsen Tamago
slow poached egg
$3.00
Karashi Takana
leaf mustard
$4.00
Menma Seasoned
bamboo shoots
$4.00
Braised Kakuni
pork belly
$4.00
Chashu
pork jowl
$6.00
Topping Sampler
choice of any 3
$4.00
Shiitake
pickled shiitake mushrooms
$2.00
Kae Dama
kae-dama is a system that offers you an extra serving of noodles. when you have almost finished your first serving of noodles, order by saying, "kae-dama, please". in a few minutes the server will bring you another ‘ball of noodles’, and put it in the soup. at that time, you must have enough amount of the soup in the bowl to accommodate the new noodles.
FROM THE KITCHEN – PLATES
10oz $42.00
16oz $69.00
Steak Frites
kobe beef ribeye, french fries
FROM THE KITCHEN – SIDES
$5.00
Wedge Salad, Ginger Vinaigrette
$5.00
Miso Soup
$7.00
French Fries
$9.00
Caramelized Brussel Sprouts
*has bacon
$9.00
Seaweed Salad
$11.00
Sautéed Asparagus And Mushrooms
$9.00
Sweet Potato Tots
$12.00
Rucola Salad
bacon, parmesan, saba
FROM THE SUSHI BAR – APPETIZERS
$24.00
Sashimi Appetizer
two pieces of tuna, salmon, white fish, one‐piece fluke
$18.00
Lightly Seared Big Eye Tuna
with daikon radish and ponzu sauce
$13.00
Seared Salmon Salad
salmon sashimi lightly seared with assorted pickles
FROM THE SUSHI BAR – SUSHI & SASHIMI
$5.00
Sawara
spanish mackerel
$5.00
Saba
mackerel
$4.00
Zuwai Kani
snow crab, alaska
$5.00
Hotate
scallop, hokkaido, jp
$4.00
Tomago
egg omelet
FROM THE SUSHI BAR – SUSHI & SASHIMI – BIGEYE TUNA
Mebachi Maguro, From East Coast
$5.00
Akami
lean tuna
$7.00
Toro
big eye fatty tuna
$7.00
Negi‐toro
big eye fatty tuna w/ scallion
$5.00
Shima Suzuki
striped bass
$6.00
Madai
japanese snapper, goto, jp
$6.00
Hirame
live fluke, long island
$6.00
Hirame Engawa
fluke fin
$8.00
Botan Ebi
sweet shrimp, maine
$5.00
King Sake
king salmon, new zealand
$6.00
Hamachi
yellowtail, kagoshima, jp
$6.00
Hamachi Hara
fatty yellowtail, kagoshima, jp
$6.00
Kanpachi
greater amberjack, kumamoto, jp
$7.00
Kanpachi Hara
fatty amberjack, kumamoto, jp
$6.00
Unagi
fresh water eel w/ eel sauce
FROM THE SUSHI BAR – ROE
$4.00
Tobiko
flying fish roe, canada
$6.00
Ikura
salmon roe, alaska
$8.00
Uni
sea urchin), santa barbara, ca
$0.50
Udama
extra quail egg
FROM THE SUSHI BAR – NEW STYLE MAKI (RICE OUTSIDE)
$12.00
Tribeca
spicy tuna, avocado, caviar, in a a triangle
$15.00
Soft Shell Crab
flying fish roe, scallion, cucumber and kaiware sprouts
$9.00
Miami
salmon, salmon roe, avocado and kaiware sprouts
$6.00
California
snow crab and avocado
$11.00
Gulf Of Mexico
shrimp tempura, flying fish roe, scallion, cucumber and kaiware sprouts w/ spicy mayonnaise
$16.00
Maine
lobster tempura, flying fish roe, scallion, cucumber and kaiware sprouts w/spicy mayonnaise
$10.00
Maryland
lump crab, avocado, caviar, tuna
$9.00
Yum Yum Sae Woo
tempura shrimp, crab, lettuce wrap, yuba, spicy red beans sauce
$14.00
Panko Eel
panko fried eel, yuzu crème fraiche, avocado
$12.00
Animal Roll
short rib, jalapeno, garlic, soy glaze
FROM THE SUSHI BAR – TRADITIONAL STYLE MAKI
Seaweed Outside
$6.00
Tuna
plain or spicy
$12.00
Negi Toro Pickles
fatty tuna, scallion and pickled daikon radish
$11.00
Yakishushi (cut Roll Only)
grilled tuna and scallion roll w/ soy sauce
$8.00
Yellowtail And Scallion
$11.00
Futomaki (cut Roll Only)
snow crab, egg custard, mango, spinach and pickles w/ bonito flakes
FROM THE SUSHI BAR – MAIN COURSE
$39.00
Premium Sushi
9 pieces of sushi (toro fatty tuna, akami, kanpachi, botan ebi, madai, king salmon, unagi, white fish egg custard) and negi toro roll
$34.00
Daily Selection Of Sushi
9 pieces of sushi and half roll
$29.00
Sushi & Sashimi Combination
sashimi (tuna, white fish and egg custard), 6 pieces of sushi (tuna, fluke, salmon, shrimp and 2 white fish sushi
LUNCH PRIX FIXE SPECIAL ONE
$15.00
Miso Soup
wakame, tofu
Wedge Salad
red onions, cherry tomatoes, ginger dressing
LUNCH PRIX FIXE SPECIAL ONE – CHOICE OF
$15.00
Kobe Beef Hirata Bun & Fries
hijiki, red onion, togarashi mayo
Portabella Hirata Buns & Fries
rucola, parmesan crisp, brown miso mayo
Chef’s Sushi/sashimi Platter
chef’s selection of the day (please ask your server for the chef’s selection of the day)
LUNCH PRIX FIXE SPECIAL TWO
$17.00
Ocha-zuke
recommended with a special side order of rice to enjoy the ramen soup "ocha-zuke" style. (please select 1 from the following) chasu pork jowl, ikara salmon roe, negi scallion
Chopped Pork & Wedge Salad
red onions, cherry tomatoes, ginger dressing
LUNCH PRIX FIXE SPECIAL TWO – CHOICE OF
$17.00
Shiromaru Hakata Classic
"tonkotsu" noodle soup topped with pork jowl chashu, kikurage, menma, red pickled ginger, sesame, and scallions
Spicy Miso
red miso and pork based soup, topped with scallion, chopped pork, scallions, menma, white pickled ginger, sesame and chili oil
Chicken Paitan
chicken and premium soy sauce based soup topped with scallion, onion, char siu pork, and nori.
Wasabi Shoyu Ramen
soy sauce, chicken and vegetable based noodle soup, topped with bean curd, wasabi, menma, kaiware radish, shiso, scallions, and wasabi infused oil
Seafood Ramen
pork and seafood based, head on shrimp, manila clams, roasted garlic oil, red pickled ginger, menma, wakame, enoki
LUNCH PRIX FIXE SPECIAL TWO – RAMEN TOPPINGS
$2.00
Onsen Tamago
slow poached egg
$3.00
Karashi Takana
leaf mustard
$4.00
Menma Seasoned
bamboo shoots
$4.00
Braised Kakuni
pork belly
$4.00
Chashu
pork jowl
WINES BY THE GLASS – SPARKLING
Raventos I Blanc, Cava Reserva Brut , ‘l’hereu"’
penendes
Domaine St. Vincent, Brut Rose
new mexico
WINES BY THE GLASS – WHITE
Luc Choblet, Muscadet , Clos De La Senaigerie
loire
Domaine Duffour , Colombard , Cotes De Gascogne Blanc
southwest
Gobelsburg, Gruner Veltliner, ‘gobelsburger’
kamptal
Joostenberg Wines, Chenin Blanc , ‘little J White’
paar
Hoffmann-simon, Riesling Spätlesen, Piesporter Goldtropfchen
mosel
WINES BY THE GLASS – RED
San Pietro, Schiava
alto adige
Dom. Madone, (gamay) ‘perreon-futs De Chene’, Beaujolais-villages
beaujolais
Turley, Cinsault , ‘el Porron’
california
Cavallotto, Dolcetto D’alba , Bricco Boschis -’scot’
piedmont
Aldo Rainoldi, (nebbiolo ), Grumello
valtellina
Charles Smith Wines, Cabernet Sauvignon , ‘chateau Smith’
wa state
WINES BY THE GLASS – DESSERT
Chateau Du Juge, (semillon ) Cadillac
bordeaux
Oremus (furmint), Tokaji Aszu, 5 Puttonyos
tokaji
WINES BY THE BOTTLE – SPARKLING
Domaine Mittnacht, Cremant D’alsace
alsace
Gruet, ‘vintage’ Blanc De Blanc
new mexico
Gobelsburg, Brut Reserve
kamptal
WINES BY THE BOTTLE – CHAMPAGNE
Pierre Gimonnet, ‘selection Belles Annees’ Blanc De Blancs Brut
cuis
Egly-ouriet, ‘brut Tradition’
ambonnay
Goutorb, ‘special Club’
ay
WINES BY THE BOTTLE – WHITE
Hautes Noelles, Muscadet Sur Lie, Les Granges
loire
Ulacia, Hondarrubi Zuri, Getariako Txakolina
basque
Domaine Sigalas, Assyrtiko
santorini
Schmitt-wagner, Riesling Auslese, Longuicher Maximiner Herrenberg
mosel
BEERS
Asahi Draft
light, clean, sweet
Allagash Dubbel
dark amber, medium bodied, complex malty taste
Allagash White
light, crisp, fruity, spicy
Coedo Beniaka
amber, sweet potato
Chimay Blue Grand Reserve
b elgian-style dark strong ale
Corsendonk Brown Ale
port, raisins and black chocolate
Full Sail Ltd
american-style amberred ale
Hitachino Nest Ginger Brew
ginger-spiciness, malt-sweetness and hoppy in the finish
Hitachino Nest Red Rice Ale
hints of strawberries, intriguing mix of sake and malt
Hitachino Nest White Ale
refreshing complex flavors of coriander, orange peel, & nutmeg
SAKE – SPARKLING
Choryo Sawa Sawa
sparkling sake
Kagatobi Junmai
less filtered, rich rice flavor and refreshing taste
SAKE
Ohtouka
nama (unpasturized). gentle, velvety and smooth. continually mild and refined
Kira (honjozo)
sharp & refreshing with mild bitterness, super dry
Tonyu (soymilk)
smooth, sweet taste of soy, unique marriage of junmai sake and organic soy milk
SAKE – NIGORI (UNFILTERED)
Hakushika "snow Beauty" Junmai
rice flavor with a mellow finish
Kagatobi
nigori
Hakutsuru Sayuri Junmai
refreshing aromas, natural sweetness and smooth aftertaste
Yaegaki
well balanced, silky and creamy, touch of delicate sweetness
Wakatake Onikoroshi
fruity, melon, tropical fruit, cotton candy, thick mild and earthy
SAKE – GINJO
Kawacho
gentle fragrance, sturdy, dry finish on the aftertaste
Narutotai Nama Genshu
gorgeous seet aromas, fruity, powerful and dry
SAKE – JUNMAI GINJO
Hakushika
fresh, fruity with subtle flavor and smooth finish
Suehiro Yamahai
complex aromas of hay & smoke. round, smooth well balanced with umami
Shichida
earthy, refreshing, followed by fullnes of steamed rice, rich
Daishichi Kimoto Classic
full bodied and dry with rich layers of rice aroma and taste
Kurosawa Kimoto
sweet savory coconuts, banana, vanilla and walnut aromas. medium body
Otokoyama
hint of fruit, refreshing lightness, dry and full bodied
Ryo
fresh, smooth and luxurious as it enters, leading to subtle bitterness
Tenkawa
"sacred river"
SAKE – DAIGINJO
Ken
melons, pears, and peaches, elegant and crisp
Otokoyama
elegant, harmonious, long finish, finely balanced, velvety smooth and delicate
Hakushika Sennenju "kuromatsu"
smooth sake with fruity aroma and a gentle body
Daishichi Houreki
sweet, and velvety aroma of fruits-delicate but crisp
Yaegaki Mu
asian pear, whipped cream. soft, delicate leading to fruity medium body
Kamoshibito Kuheiji
ripened fruit and very floral
Wakatake Onikoroshi
beautifully round, silky, deep with slight sweetness, elegant & great acidit
During lunch hours, Zutto offers two prix fixe specials for under $20. One has miso soup, salad with ginger dressing, and your choice of Kobe beef or portabella steamed buns with fries or a sushi or sashimi platter. The other comes with salad and your choice of ramen.
