We tried a weekday lunch at the Broadway location of Wokuni, a Japanese restaurant run by Tokyo Ichiban Foods, a Japanese restaurant company that operates a bluefin tuna farm. The lunch tendon is $29, and the tempura Inaniwa udon is $33. Lunch sets come with edamame, salad, a small appetizer and miso soup.
We visited Wokuni's Broadway location, a Japanese restaurant on Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, for lunch on Thursday the 5th. It is the restaurant's second New York location after its Lexington Avenue flagship, at 1359 Broadway, just north of Herald Square. It is a few minutes' walk from Koreatown on 32nd Street, making it a convenient lunch spot for Korean American office workers as well.
A Japanese Restaurant With Its Own Tuna Farm
Wokuni is operated by Tokyo Ichiban Foods, a Japanese restaurant company. Starting out as a restaurant business, it has since expanded into aquaculture and seafood processing and distribution. The company runs a farm in Furue Bay, Hirado, Nagasaki Prefecture, where it raises 400 to 500 bluefin tuna, and says it sends tuna raised there to Wokuni in New York as well.
Inside, the first thing you notice is a long bar with a wall filled with bottles of liquor. Farther in are a sushi counter and an open kitchen, and the ceiling is decorated with wave-shaped wood paneling. It has a 4.6 rating on Google Maps (44 reviews).
Lunch Sets Range From $15 to $63
Lunch is served daily from 11:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. The Lunch Prix Fixe menu ranges from karaage don ($15) to saba shioyaki set ($23), salmon rice bowl ($25), tendon, kaisendon and barachirashi ($29 each), eel rice bowl ($33), black cod saikyo-yaki set ($48), bluefin tuna chutoro don ($53) and daiginjo barachirashi ($63). The Wokuni don and the sashimi set ($35 each) are limited to 8 and 5 servings per day, respectively.
Sets come with edamame, salad, a small appetizer and miso soup. Sets are available only to customers dining in. The lunch menu also lists happy hour drinks, including draft beer ($7) and wine ($9).
Tendon $29, Tempura Inaniwa Udon $33
We ordered the tendon and the tempura Inaniwa udon. The tendon is a rice bowl topped with shrimp, squid and vegetable tempura. Two large pieces of shrimp tempura rise above the bowl, and it came with miso soup and pickled side dishes.
The tempura Inaniwa udon is an à la carte item, not a lunch set. Inaniwa udon is a thin, flat udon that originated in Japan's Akita region, and it can be ordered hot or cold. The hot version comes in warm broth topped with wakame seaweed, with shrimp and vegetable tempura served separately on a plate. Extra noodles are $3.
The bill for two people for the tendon and udon came to $67.50 including tax. Tip is not included. A final 18% service charge is added for parties of six or more.
A Wide Range of À La Carte Dishes
Besides the sets, the lunch menu lists à la carte sashimi, sushi, rolls, and grilled and fried dishes. Items include Miyazaki A5 Wagyu steak ($93), bluefin tuna chutoro steak ($53) and roasted Long Island duck ($39). Reservations can be made through OpenTable.
