Ninja NYC

Near financial district, there is a secert underground Japanese ninja village serving fine sushi, quick witted servers and magic shows. This village is called Ninja. I went there twice, once with my friend Kim, and a second with my boyfriend. The lobby to this place is painted all black and there is only a host stand. Behind the host stand is a black elevator. After going down the elevator you are surprised by a ninja, popping out of nowhere. He will ask you if you want to take the "safe" route or the "dangerous" route. Of course the adventurer in me takes the "dangerous" route. It ends up being a long walk of up and down stairwells within an small confined space in the dark. Once you reach the opening, you are graced with the presence of little replica village huts with people seated in them. You cant really see their faces but you can hear them. Our mini hut was tiny and only seated two. After being seated our ninja server whips out a menu scroll.

Mystery Sake Tasting

Taste: Since this was a mystery tasting I had know clue what the server gave me, I could only guess. The first one was a sweet rose like sake, the the one to the left was more dry and had a bolder, grainer taste

Texture: Both were smooth and had a light syrupy feel on the palette

Smell: Sweet and fresh

Price: $12.00

Ninja Star Caesar Salad

Taste: It came with a large flat parmesan wafer that you needed to " ninja chop" into the salad. Pictured on the side is a wrapped rice wafer "mortel" After chopping the cheese wafer into bite sized bites, the overall taste of the salad was standard, kind of boring and nothing to write home about. The lettuce was actually kind of soggy.

Texture: Super crunchy cheese wafer + soggy lettuce= not worth the price

Smell: anchovies

Price: $12.00

Floating Sashimi

Taste: It was composed of three different types of sashimi picked by the chef. Essentially I got 12 pieces of sashimi on top of a large bamboo with dry ice making a "floating" effect. The presentation was very beautiful and the sushi was extremely fresh. I got salmon, tuna, and squid sashimi.

Texture: Very velvety, light and the fish melted in my mouth

Smell: fresh, didn't smell fishy at all

Price: $25.00

Teriyaki Chicken

Taste: It was a combination of grilled chicken thigh, wing and breast. These were prepared three different ways, grilled, fried and breaded. The fried chicken was very dry, but the grilled was juicy and the breaded was very flavorful. The teriyaki sauce itself was overly salty.

Texture: Three different ways of chicken, each had the appropriate textures expected of them

Smell: Teriyaki sauce

Price: $28.00

Rose Chocolate

Taste: It was a creamy chocolate topped with whipped white chocolate sitting next to a rose infused dry ice vase. The chocolate was a decadent rich intense dreamy pudding. My taste buds were setting off fireworks! It came with a side of a little wafer truffle, but it was nothing compared to the actual star of the dish. This is definitely one of my favorite desserts in the city

Texture: Creamy, airy, smooth like velvet on my tongue

Smell: Sweet sweet chocolate

Price: $10.00

Ninja Star

Taste: It was a soft chocolate mousse cake. The presentation was so much fun! They brought out an empty dish and set it on fire, then some crazy explosion happened and BOOM, it appeared out of nowhere! Anyway, back to the taste, it was very tasty, very chocolatey and the mousse was light and fluffy. I enjoyed the solid chocolate sheet topped with edible gold as well

Texture: Perfectly whipped mousse that was creamy and the chocolate was at a perfect temperature

Smell: Sweet sweet chocolate

Price: $10.00

Verdict: Overall, I wouldn't go back for the food, maybe for some cocktails,definitely for dessert and the magic show at the end. The ambiance is was makes this place so expensive. Even with dessert, I left hungry and undoubtedly ended up at my neighborhood beer hall for bratwurst later on. On the other hand the waiters were very friendly, attentive, and interactive with tricks, magic and quick witted chit chat. The magic show at the end was so much fun and lasted at least 15-20 minutes. This is a great place for a first date, or kids.

Ninja NYC

25 Hudson Street

New York, NY 10013

www.ninjanewyork.com