{"id":408741,"date":"2025-11-27T16:56:23","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T16:56:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/408741\/"},"modified":"2025-11-27T16:56:23","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T16:56:23","slug":"sohos-best-kept-secret-rei-redefines-japanese-dining","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/408741\/","title":{"rendered":"SoHo\u2019s best-kept secret: Rei redefines Japanese dining"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1200\" height=\"796\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/\u00a9dianemoyssan-000020390026.jpg\" class=\"crop-center wp-post-image\" alt=\"Rei has officially opened in SoHo.\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"   title=\"SoHo\u2019s best-kept secret: Rei redefines Japanese dining 1\"\/>\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Rei has officially opened in SoHo.<\/p>\n<p>Photo: Diane Moyssan<\/p>\n<p>A new hidden gem quietly opens its doors in SoHo\u2014Rei, a restaurant that embodies the spirit of omotenashi, the Japanese philosophy of wholehearted hospitality.<\/p>\n<p>Step into Rei and experience an intimate dining setting straight out of Japan. With only twenty patrons, two counters, and two tables, guests enjoy an experience unlike any other. The intimate setting fosters conversation and connection.<\/p>\n<p>Typically, staff seat guests behind the counter, where the magic happens. Guests watch Chefs Shinta Omoto and Takehiro Shinogaya at work. Both chefs trained in Tokyo and abroad and bring over twenty years of culinary experience, making them the ideal duo to deliver an authentic Tokyo experience.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amny.com\/?attachment_id=137814084\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-137814084 nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-137814084\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/rei-food-photos-Diane-Moyssan.jpg\" alt=\"Menu options from Rei.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" title=\"SoHo\u2019s best-kept secret: Rei redefines Japanese dining 2\"  \/><\/a>Menu options from Rei.<\/p>\n<p>The highlight of the menu would be the kaiseki-style tasting menu, a six-course menu that incorporates kinpira, goma saba, black cod with miso, and various omakase sushi selections. It is definitely worth all $120. Watching the chef cook is a truly unforgettable experience, as he takes so much time and care with the meal while making it look so easy, as if he\u2019s in flow mode. They move with so much grace and precision.<\/p>\n<p>Other standouts include crispy chicken karaage and delicious Grilled Mentaiko Butter Potatoes (and if you\u2019ve been keeping up, you know I don\u2019t grade potatoes lightly).<\/p>\n<p>Producer Ryan Nohrenburg told amNewYork, \u201cWe focus on the other 95% of Japanese food, not sushi\u2026 it sets us apart because we have so much flexibility in what we offer, we are gonna show New York something I\u2019ve never seen before here.\u201d When you order, you might picture what your meal will look like, but even Asian classics like spring rolls (which are phenomenal) arrive reimagined\u2014or at least, they appear so to the average New York eye.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amny.com\/?attachment_id=137814085\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-137814085 nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-137814085\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/rei-food-photos-2-Diane-Moyssan.jpg\" alt=\"Menu options from Rei.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" title=\"SoHo\u2019s best-kept secret: Rei redefines Japanese dining 3\"  \/><\/a>Menu options from Rei.Photo: Diane Moyssan<\/p>\n<p>When guests sit down at Rei, they can expect to stay for a couple of hours; it\u2019s omotenashi. \u201cNot only do you see it in the service, you\u2019ll see it in the food,\u201d Nohrenburg said. <\/p>\n<p>I can attest to this: I never walk in with expectations, but Rei certainly exceeds them. Rei is now open and accepts reservations exclusively via text (646-357-2563). For updates, visit www.<a href=\"https:\/\/reirestaurants.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">reirestaurants.com<\/a> or follow @reirestaurants on Instagram.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rei has officially opened in SoHo. Photo: Diane Moyssan A new hidden gem quietly opens its doors in&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":408742,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,22671,47718,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,192466,8463,23789,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-408741","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-japanese-cuisine","10":"tag-japanese-food","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-city","13":"tag-newyork","14":"tag-newyorkcity","15":"tag-ny","16":"tag-nyc","17":"tag-rei","18":"tag-restaurant","19":"tag-soho","20":"tag-united-states","21":"tag-united-states-of-america","22":"tag-unitedstates","23":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","24":"tag-us","25":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115622719557115534","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=408741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408741\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/408742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}