Restaurant in New York City, United States
NYC's top yakitori. Hard to book, worth it.
Torien is New York City's only yakitori restaurant operating at Michelin-star level, making it the clear answer if this format is your focus. The NoHo counter — a sibling to Tokyo's Torishiki — ranked #48 on OAD North America in 2025. Dinner only, hard to book, and worth the $$$$ commitment if you want binchotan yakitori at its highest expression in the United States.
If you are comparing yakitori options in New York City, Torien is the answer — full stop. There is no direct competitor at this level in Manhattan. The NoHo restaurant is the American sibling of Tokyo's celebrated Torishiki, holds a Michelin star, and ranked #48 on Opinionated About Dining's Leading Restaurants in North America in 2025. At the $$$$ price point, this is a serious commitment, but it is one of the few Japanese restaurants in the city where the format, the ingredient quality, and the execution are genuinely aligned. Book it if yakitori is your focus. If you want broader Japanese fine dining, Masa operates in the same price tier but with a sushi omakase format instead.
The first thing you notice at Torien is what you cannot see from the street. The entrance on Elizabeth Street is marked by blacked-out windows, and you are buzzed in at street level before a staff member draws back a curtain to reveal the room. It is a deliberate sequence, and it works: the reveal sets the tone before a single skewer arrives. What greets you is a pristine counter workspace where Executive Chef Hideo Yasuda operates with the focused economy of movement that serious yakitori demands. Binchotan charcoal is central to the experience — the smoke becomes part of the room, part of the aroma, part of why this format is so hard to replicate at lesser addresses.
The menu is built around chicken and the yakitori tradition. Skewers progress through cuts and preparations in a structured sequence, and vegetable skewers , broccoli, Brussels sprouts , appear alongside the main act. The nikomi (a simmered preparation) is listed as an opening course in the venue's own descriptor and is worth noting as an entry point before the grill work takes over. This is not a menu that rewards half-attention. The counter format puts you close to the action, which is the point: you are watching a skilled cook work, not waiting for food to arrive from a kitchen you cannot see.
This question has a short answer: dinner is the only option. Torien opens at 5:30 PM every operating day and does not offer a daytime service. The restaurant is closed on Tuesdays. For diners weighing this against other $$$$ Japanese experiences in the city, the dinner-only format is worth factoring into your planning , it means you cannot use Torien as a less expensive lunch alternative the way you might at some French fine dining addresses. Le Bernardin, for example, runs a prix-fixe lunch that offers meaningful savings compared to dinner. Torien has no equivalent option. When you book here, you are booking the full evening commitment at full price. Plan accordingly: this is a deliberate, paced experience, not a quick pre-theatre dinner.
Wednesday through Friday evenings are the optimal target. Saturday bookings fill earliest and tend to attract a more celebratory crowd, which changes the energy at the counter slightly. Sunday through Monday is a reasonable middle ground , the restaurant operates Sunday through Monday with the same 5:30 PM opening, and Tuesday closure means Monday is actually the easiest night to secure. If counter dining is important to you, request it explicitly at the time of booking rather than assuming availability. The counter puts you in direct sightline of Chef Yasuda's work, which is where the format makes the most sense. Arriving at or close to the opening time gives you the quietest room and the most attentive service window before the space fills.
Torien is a hard booking. The Michelin star, the OAD ranking, and the limited seat count combine to make availability tight across all nights. Book as far in advance as the reservation system allows. Cancellations do appear, so monitoring for openings closer to your date is worth doing if your first attempt fails. There is no walk-in culture at a restaurant operating at this level , do not arrive without a reservation expecting to be seated.
Torien is at 292 Elizabeth St, New York, NY 10012, in NoHo. The price range is $$$$. Hours run Monday and Wednesday through Sunday, 5:30 PM to 10 PM; closed Tuesday. Google reviews sit at 4.6 across 242 reviews. Awards include a Michelin star (2024), Pearl Recommended Restaurant (2025), and Opinionated About Dining Leading Restaurants in North America rankings of #31 (2023), #40 (2024), and #48 (2025). No lunch service is offered. For broader New York City dining options, see our full New York City restaurants guide. You can also explore our New York City hotels guide, bars guide, wineries guide, and experiences guide for trip planning.
Quick reference: Dinner only, 5:30 PM–10 PM, closed Tuesday. Hard booking. $$$$ price range. 292 Elizabeth St, NoHo.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Torien | Yakitori, Japanese | $$$$ | Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in North America Ranked #48 (2025); Blacked-out windows mark the entrance to this NoHo sibling to Tokyo's Torishiki; diners are then buzzed in at street level, both of which add to the mysterious proceedings. A staff member then pulls back a curtain—et voila—you're here. Inside, Executive Chef Hideo An may be found working his skills like a master pianist—turning, fanning, saucing and brushing. It's a pristine workspace and the menu is a tribute to the yakitori tradition. Naturally, chicken takes center stage, though binchotan charcoal plays as vital a role as the fowl itself, with the aroma becoming one with the space and skewer. Begin with an appetizer like their nikomi, and though chicken is the focus, there are vegetable skewers like broccoli or Brussels sprouts.; Pearl Recommended Restaurant (2025); Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in North America Ranked #40 (2024); Michelin 1 Star (2024); Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in North America Ranked #31 (2023) | Hard | — |
| Le Bernardin | French, Seafood | $$$$ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Atomix | Modern Korean, Korean | $$$$ | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Eleven Madison Park | French, Vegan | $$$$ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Masa | Sushi, Japanese | $$$$ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Per Se | French, Contemporary | $$$$ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Dress as if the food is the event, because it is. Given the $$$$ price point, a Michelin star, and a format built around a chef-focused counter, guests typically arrive in business casual or better. There is no documented dress code in the venue data, but showing up in workout gear at a $$$$ yakitori counter with blacked-out windows and a buzzer entry is a mismatch worth avoiding.
Torien is a counter-format restaurant with limited seating, which makes large group bookings difficult. Parties of two or four are the practical sweet spot for a counter experience. If you are planning a group of six or more, check the venue's official channels before assuming availability — the seat count is tight enough that most nights will not absorb a large party without advance coordination.
Dinner is the only option. Torien opens at 5:30 PM every operating night and does not offer lunch service, so this is not a comparison to make. Tuesday is the one night off each week, so plan around that when booking.
At $$$$ per head, Torien earns its price for anyone who takes yakitori seriously. It holds a Michelin star, a Pearl recommendation, and ranked #48 on the Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in North America list for 2025 — the credentials are consistent across independent sources. If you are comparing spend, the question is whether yakitori is the format you want: if it is, there is no comparable option in NYC at this level.
Yes, with the right expectations. The counter format, the buzzer entry, the binchotan smoke, and the chef's precision at the grill create a genuinely considered atmosphere. It works well for a dinner where the food is the occasion — birthdays, anniversaries, or a milestone meal for someone who knows their way around Japanese cooking. It is not the right call if the group wants a loud, social table-service celebration.
The format at Torien is built around the omakase/tasting progression, and the Michelin star and OAD Top 50 ranking both reflect how well that format is executed. Yakitori as a tasting format is the entire point here — this is not a venue where ordering a la carte is the intended experience. If you are committed to the format and the $$$$ price range, the answer is yes.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
