Sushi, according to the manager of Roslyn Heights’ newest eatery, Sushi by Kuryu, is an art form that cannot be hastened. But the same cannot be true about the story of their new location’s opening.
“We came up with this like, ‘OK, let’s do this,’ in the middle of November and we went to that fish market,” Choco Yoshioka said. “And a week later we started talking, ‘Oh, why don’t we do it? We can do this.’ Two weeks later, we opened.”
The sushi bar in the Roslyn Seafood Gourmet on 444 Willis Ave. in Roslyn Heights launched Dec. 12. The restaurant provides takeout, catering and omakase, which is an open bar of the chef’s choice of cuisine, in addition to the more typical eatery experience. They also provide food other than Japanese dishes.
This is the latest venture for Teruo Yoshioka, a Japanese-born and raised chef. He worked at the renowned Manhattan sushi restaurant, Nobu Downtown, before opening a catering business and later Kuryu New York Kitchen Lab in Park Slope.
Choco said that the owner of the Roslyn Seafood Gourmet was seeking a sushi chef, which is how the couple came to discover the site. The space had just been refurbished to accommodate a small dining area, which added to the allure.
“We saw the space next to this fish market — it was pretty nice,” she said. “They were planning to have a salad bar or smoothie or something like that. But a lot of their customers said they wanted sushi.”
Now customers have their sushi. Looking ahead, Sushi by Kuryu’s goal seeks to deliver a dining experience that draws gourmets from both inside and outside of the Greater Roslyn region. They plan to start offering alcoholic beverages once they get their permits.
Choco said the restaurant’s pre-opening Dec. 6 went well. She added that as the days pass, it becomes busier.
“What we do is not fast food,” she said. “Sushi needs technique and preparation. But as we are doing tables and takeout only, they want it really quick, but we had to make them wait because so many people just came in on [our] opening day. We were like, ‘Oh, my god. Can we handle this?’ And we did.”
One can visit www.kuryunyc.com or follow @kuryu_nyc on Instagram for more information.
