NYCReview
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
U-Gu
Included In
New York is near an ocean with plenty of free fish just asking to be caught, so theoretically, we should have an abundance of affordable seafood. Unfortunately, that isn’t how life works, and great, not-crazy-expensive neighborhood sushi can feel like some kind of mythical beast. But unlike centaurs, hippogriffs, or any other creature invented by the horse-obsessed people of ancient times, this type of sushi does in fact exist. If you want proof, go to U-Gu.
U-Gu is a Japanese restaurant in the bottom of a glass-and-steel building in Clinton Hill, and from the outside it looks like something you’d find in a strip mall next to a Cinnabon and a Lady Foot Locker. But it’s actually a charming little space where you’ll want to hang out, drink sake, and eat some high-quality seafood without having to bring a bribe-sized bag of cash.
You come here to eat either sushi or sashimi, and there are a few basic combos like a six-piece sushi set (for $18) and a $26 sashimi plate that comes with enough fish to feed a small porpoise. The pieces are large and taste like the fish equivalent of USDA Prime meat, the rice is warm and well-seasoned, and the selections aren’t limited to your basic tuna and yellowtail - you’ll get things like striped bass with shiso, a thick piece of salmon garnished with roasted red pepper, and unagi topped with a tiny fried quail egg. In addition to sushi, there are options like tuna tartare and salmon tataki, as well as some rice bowls and ramen - but you don’t really need to order those, because the sushi is better. If you do want to mix things up a bit, go for the $40 omakase, which comes with sushi, sashimi, and a few little dishes like diced toro in wasabi soy sauce.
It’s an impressive meal, especially considering the fact that you could walk into U-Gu wearing pajama bottoms and a Henrik Lundqvist jersey and feel only slightly underdressed. This is a great place for a weeknight dinner with a couple of friends, and with its hardwood floors and abundance of old-timey light fixtures (over 30 by our count), it feels like a nice, vaguely-steampunk antique store. It’s also full of signs with phrases like “Be a warrior not a worrier” and “Dance like no one’s watching” - and if you pretend you’ve never heard these things before, you might even find them inspirational.
You probably won’t, but that shouldn’t change your opinion of this place. Because even on a Saturday night, you can walk into U-Gu, get seated immediately, and have dinner for roughly the same price as a new hardcover book. In a city where seafood tends to be priced like it was shipped from Tokyo in the back of a gold-plated taxi with the meter running, that might seem improbable. But it’s true. The next time you’re in the area, take advantage.