Noreetuh

Came here with a group for a friend’s birthday during Restaurant Week.
First off, the host is wonderful and was extra attentive and considerate of all of the guests! Wine selection is very, very extensive. Try the Bruno Verdi Pinot Grigio ($ 45/​bottle)!
Here’s a rundown of the food we tried —
Appetizers:
Silken Tofu w/​Ikura & Uni
Tuna Poke
Hearts of Palm Salad
Pretty big portions for each, like a fist sized amount of food.
Mains:
Pork Belly
Mentaiko Spaghetti
Veggie Chow Noodles
Again, big portions. I would also like to call out the chow noodles, they come with a ton of vegetables and are a great vegetarian option. Everyone really enjoyed their entrees
Dessert:
Chocolate Haupia Sundae
Hawaiian Bread Pudding
Tapioca
The raisins in the bread pudding are extra rummy. Like it is not cooked off and straight rum-​soaked raisins. My favorite kind of raisins. Automatic five stars from me!!!

This place is good, and relatively unique. I came here to celebrate with my fiancé our anniversary, and it happened to be Restaurant Week. The RW week menu here, is a good deal, where they actually showcase good dishes. We were seated promptly, even though late for an 8pm ressie on a Sunday. Surprisingly, even as we were leaving the restaurant was pretty full. It also looks small but wraps around in the back so you can seat larger groups (it smelled weird back there, though). 3.75 stars, just rounding up because I think they are new.
Anyway. Here’s what we had
— He had the big eye tuna poke — great portion, fantastic taste (fatty, crunchy, spicy) and we loved the seaweed salad
— I had the silken tofu — Please note. Do NOT get this unless you really, really like roe, fish paste, uni… It was overall too fishy for me and didn’t have enough tofu in it. It made the dish really salty.
Portions were good, for the most part.
We had for dinner;
–He, the pork belly. Honestly, this sounded really delish and is a signature dish. Soft, caramelized pork belly (yummy!) with mustard greens and pineapple. Yum.
–I, the bluefish spaghetti. Honestly, I love the lemon flavor but felt it was overall a wee bit… salty. And I am a salt freak. And the fish didn’t add much flavor. I would have loved a bit of spice…
For dessert (arguably the best part)
–He the sundae, with salty graham cracker (yummmy!), coconut ice cream, nuts, marshmallow flush (it seemed like). This was a delicious dessert, hands down.
–I, the burnt orange ice cream with tapioca, red bean, dried fruit. Definitely a winner but still has more experimental Asian funk
I had a glass of crips Sav Blanc with my meal. They were great about water refill, and prompt with service.
I would recommend — especially if you’re not familiar with Hawaiian but overall love Asian/​Chinese/​Japanese flavors. My particular RW could have been a little too experimental and I wish the food was a bit more refined. But portions are not bad and prices on a regular day seem great so can’t complain.

Didn’t live up to the hype. Even with the Restaurant Week prix fixe menu, the meal was a poor value.
Each course was delicious. Despite what other reviewers say, nothing was too salty or too acidic. Every flavor felt deliberate. No one should be surprised that the Poke was phenomenal.
I shouldn’t have arrived hungry.
Even by Manhattan standards, it just was just too much money for too little food. The term «prix fixe» is used quite liberally as there is a $ 12 supplement for a tiny NY strip steak.
If you want to ride the Poke wave, there are much cheaper options elsewhere. I don’t see any other reason to go. The ambiance was nice enough, the service was good, and the bathroom was great, but at least in my eyes, that’s not reason enough to drop close to $ 100 and leave with an empty stomach.

Cute interiors. Silken tofu with uni and ikura was wonderfully fishy. Mentaiko pasta is delicious and buttery. Chocolate haupia sundae was not too sweet and had interesting flavors. Azuki bean and coconut tapioca was also not too sweet, and the textures made for a very unique dessert. Definitely recommend.

I went to Noreetuh the other night for Restaurant Week. Having lived in Hawaii, I was stoked to try the food (and planned out what I was going to order in advance). The poke was great — very fresh and I loved the macadamia nut crunch. Pork croquettes were awesome too — lightly friend with a tasty Katsu dipping sauce.
I ordered the garlic shrimp over rice as my entrée. To be honest, it was too salty, but my boyfriend had the teriyaki chicken which was tender and flavorful. We both had the haupia sundae for dessert which we loved.
The service was excellent and the waiter was friendly. My water glass was always full and the meal was coursed well.

This was our second time at Noreetuh — the first was for dinner, the second for brunch. Each time we had an noteworthy meal. Brunch was a combination of typical American cooking — fried chicken with fried eggs, this an eastern accent (kimchei). There was a noodle dish, fish dish, waffles, etc. Lots of nice drinks on the menu. Service was very good, atmosphere had a nice vibe. Dinner is also noteworthy and worth exploring. The food is creative with strong eastern elements combined with many of the familiar American dishes and flavors.

As a slight change of pace from my usual dining habits around this area and dining out in the full spirit of restaurant week (trying something new!) the SO and I went to Noreetuh for a weekday night dinner.
The restaurant itself looks brand spanking new, everything was shiny and clean. Well-​spaced dark wood tables, candles, and neutral walls. We sat towards the front of the restaurant next to the bar (which at the time of dining only had two stools there). We each took advantage of the three course prix fixe ($ 38) to try what Noreetuh had to offer.
I started with the pork croquettes. Croquettes were good, fried well, starch-​y but not anything too wildly different from what you would be able to get at a Japanese market. SO got the tuna poke which was really tasty! Would recommend that to start.
For mains, I had a bass with asparagus; the SO the mentaiko spaghetti. The bass was crispy, executed well. The accompanying asparagus tasted vinegar-​soy, not bad. The mentaiko spaghettie — was distinctly japanese with flakes of smoked butterfish mixed in.
The desserts: haupia sundae, and azuki bean and tapioca float. the SO and I swapped as the haupia sundae tasted like a sundae and I really enjoyed the coconut ice cream graham cracker taste together. The azuki bean and tapioca float tasted like a toned down halo halo which is a good thing, cause halo halo is crazy. Even then the sweetness level on both desserts were excessive. Just overly sweet so much so that the nuances of the flavors get lost.
Overall, Noreetuh is a nice place to grab dinner. Service was excellent, food was pretty good in a distinctly pacific island-​ish way. Would certainly stop by again.

Service at Nooretuh is excellent. They are very attentive, filling up your water glass and quick with catering to any needs that you may have. Their pork croquettes are very tasty along with the mentaiko spaghetti. The garlic shrimp over rice, lettuce and pineapple was also tasty, but wanted to see the pineapple infused with the rice instead of being on the side. Only issue with the place was that they use paper napkins.
As a tip, don’t ask for sriracha, they will give you chili paste instead.

A promising Hawaiian Japanese Korean Philippine restaurant. It is in the East Side in two tiny halls.
You walk in and it’s like a funeral house, you are looking for the dead man. And the worse is that they sit you in the back room, in front of a wall. A tuna can.
Incredibly spicy, you feel how you start to bloat. The desserts are nominated for the worst dessert of New York. The waffles were inedible. The wine by the glass disastrous. It’s like the typical restaurant that wants to stand out for their original menu, but the execution fails. A bummer. Don’t forget your Tums. It’s acid food. Crummy. Aloha and good bye.

Great recommendation from a friend and we decided to check it out while in NYC. Food was an absolute hit. Food are innovative and well seasoned. Big eye tuna poke + silken tofu w uni were my favorites. The restaurant was fresh, cozy and clean. Place was dimly lighted so it was difficult to take photos. Portions for the entrée at least for the halibut was kinda small.

Décor — Classy and dimly lit. It was more on the romantic side.
Service — The waiters were very attentive.
Appetizer — Silken Tofu, Uni, Ikura, Mushroom, Shiso ($ 12)
This was full of many different flavors. The tofu was really soft. I personally wasn’t a fan of it, but that’s because there was too much going on for me. I’m glad I tried it though.
Entrée — Mentaiko spaghetti ($ 22)
This was simply amazing. There was so much flavor in the spaghetti. I’ve never had pasta like this before. The waiter said it was the most popular dish, so I had to try it. The pasta had smoked butterfish pieces in it topped with crunchy. seaweed, and. just wow. I would go back to the restaurant just to get this again. I was honestly so sad to have to share this dish with my friend. I wanted it all to myself!!!
Dessert — Bruleed pineapple ($ 10)
I’m not going to lie. I thought this was going to be a pineapple-​flavored crème brûlée LOL. So, I was very surprised to see that it was just a pineapple. Nonetheless, it was still very yummy. They toast the top of the pineapple, so you’re eating chilled and toasted pieces at the same time. The pineapple pieces are lightly salted as well. That was a nice touch. I will definitely try putting salt on my pineapple in the future, although I’m not so sure if that’s all it takes.
The total bill came out to about $ 50 for 2 people. Not tooooooooo shabby. I want to come back to try the pork belly.

Coming from a Hawaiian childhood, I consistently crave Hawaiian foods. While this is by no means authentic, it does combine some of the French expertise (Per Se veterans) with the influences of Japanese, Korean, and Hawaiian.
While I do wish they served Spam Misubi, the corned beef tongue misubi is not too shabby. I’m also a huge fan of the (overpriced) poke, though quality and taste is comparable to, if not better than the poke I have had back home. The appetizers are tasty and reasonably priced.
The food is 3.5 stars actually, but the service here is top notch. They recognized me after two times in the restaurant, and hey, it’s the little things that make you feel special.

relatively new Hawaiian fusion restaurant which is unique to Manhattan and weird because these types of dishes are usually very cheap (were talking spam which is super low meat quality but everything here is pricier)
—corned beef masubi: flavorful corned beef!
—silken tofu: not bad, I liked the quality ingredients with uni and salmon roe but it was prob my least fav dish
—pork croquettes: delicate fried crust! Loved the moist shredded texture of the pork inside but it def needed that dipping sauce
—spam tortellini: unique and tasty take on tortellini
free japanese gummy candy after your meal
NOTE: Small restaurant so make RSVPS or snag a bar seat

I’m currently relatively unschooled in Hawaiian cuisine, but not for long, as I’m planning on visiting the Big Island and Oahu in late Jan/​early Feb. Our visit to Noreetuh turned out to be some very pleasant trip research.
Even for a newbie like me, it’s pretty easy to tell that the chefs here create sophisticated takes on traditional Hawaiian cuisine, with attention paid to both interesting/​unique flavor profiles and the aesthetic. The restaurant features two different rooms, each with a different look but both with a modern, classy vibe. The place was relatively empty when we arrived around 7, and things started to pick up and get pretty noisy when we left at 8:30.
I only had one item each off of the «snacks» and «mains» sections, and while I didn’t leave hungry, I probably could’ve had a little more food. For the price, I thought the main dishes were a tad on the smaller side. But to be fair, I was realllly hungry when I arrived.
I started with the tempura-​flaked shishito peppers. I enjoyed these a lot, even though several times a particularly hot pepper left me panting and nearly incapacitated. Shishio peppers are not for the faint of tongue. Anyway, I liked that the tempura was in flake form and enhanced but didn’t completely overwhelm the flavor of the pepper.
My friend had the pork croquettes and the braised pork belly. I thought the croquettes were great, but didn’t love the pineapple sauce on the pork belly.
Since I’m trying to get into the Hawaii mood and islanders’ love for spam is a well-​known trope, I decided to try the spam agnolotti (burgundy truffles, celery, parmigiano-​reggiano cream). There were a lot of distinct flavors in this dish, but I thought they blended together well. It was tangy, earthy, meaty and cheesy-​creamy all at once. The truffles were sliced very thinly on top and provided the light, earthy flavor (don’t expect that familiar intense truffle-​y taste from a burgundy truffle). The tanginess came from something at bottom of the dish, although I’m not quite sure what (artichokes?). The spam, which was minced, was more understated than I thought.
Since our trip isn’t for another few months, I would definitely consider coming back soon and maybe trying some wine pairings this time.
Overall, I thought Noreetuh was a 3.5-star experience and I’d give it that if I could.

It’s not hawaii, but its the best poke in NEW YORK
We had the
Wagyu Beef — came with sweet potato greens and was delicious, melts in your mouth goodness, and the greens were fried just the way I like it.
Pork belly– super tender came with sweet potatoes and peanuts
Big Eye Tuna Poke — soo good, I’ve been to hawaii and theres this hole in the wall that makes amazing poke. I’ve been trying to find good poke in the city for the longest time and this place has made that happen! Also came with macadamia nuts! very hawaiin: D
Uni and tofu– The ingredients were very fresh, and there were just so many flavors, the roe was salty and the mushrooms were sour and the tofu just helped balance it out
Corned Beef Tongue Musubi– Never had beef tongue but its interesting, it was pretty good!
We left the restaurant stuffed and our bill came out to be around $ 100 including tip. Very reasonably priced.
Presentation was great
Customer Service was great
and they give you japanese gummy candies with your bill
I’ll be back!
It is a hit or miss depending on what you order, and you need to be open to flavors

A-​OK is a great way to describe Noreetuh. Self described as korean, hawaiian, japanese fusion, but Vicky described as having the flavors that I am familiar with but not quite executing it well enough to warrant it good fusion food. With these kinds of flavors, I prefer to just have them the good old fashioned korean, or hawaiian, or japanese way.
For example — the Crispy Mochi Waffles, Whipped Peanut Butter, Alaea Salt. This was basically the chinese street style rice noodles adapted to a dessert. However, the mochi waffles did not have a good consistency, it was way too chewy. The whipped peanut butter was way too sweet, and although they tried to balance it out with some of that Alaea salt, it just didn’t work. I would rather have my «dai pai dong» chinese rice noodles any day over this.
So I felt this way about many of the dishes on the menu.
I think the only thing I liked here were the Kalua Pork Croquettes, which were exactly how croquettes should be — perfectly fried, soft, with a delicious meat filling. Did it have a distinctive korean fusion flavor? No. Was it a good croquette? Yes.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that the thought behind the dishes was amazing. I read the menu thinking my socks would be blown off. But, in reality the execution just wasn’t there. The flavors didn’t work together as a fusion dish as they do prepared in their original way. Just MHO.

Came here last night and had a wonderful time.
Service: 5 stars
Food: 3.75
Ambience/​décor: 5
Our waitress Allia (?) was amazing, warm, professional and kind. We were reset promptly for every course, kindly guided through the menu, and had just the right amount of conversation with her. Everyone else, from the busboys to the host, was also great. (It also didn’t hurt that I bartend at a Patina Group restaurant, and one of the chefs used to work for Lincoln Ristorante)
The ideas behind the food were all really good, but not everything succeeded.
Tuna Poke:
By far the most delicious thing we had that night. Pretty fresh tuna, marinated in a vinegary liquid with all sorts of things, like seaweed, folded in. The dish was intricate, tangy, delicious, and kept us coming back until the last bite.
Monkfish Liver Torchon:
The overall dish, with the passion fruit compote and the soft King’s Hawaiian bread was good but not great. Everything together was much too sweet, and the liver paté itself was just blah.
Spam Agnolotti:
My least favorite dish of the night. The taste of preserved lemon overwhelmed everything, and I didn’t find the spam to be «transformed» as some Unilocalers suggested.
Mentaiko Spaghetti:
So so so so good. That smoked butterfish just works so well, and the buttery (but not creamy) sauce was beyond addictive.
Bread pudding:
Yummm. Sweet and warm bread pudding balanced out with rum raisin and tart pineapple ice cream.
Drinks:
His gruner was wonderful. My rosé was just ok.
Overall a very cool and fun dining experience; a restaurant that makes you feel welcome with both its warm service and chic but cozy ambience.

Given the sheer amount of coverage that Noreetuh’s gotten over the past few weeks, there are very few people who haven’t heard of the cozy East Village restaurant. Started by two Per Se vets (manager Jin Ahn, executive chef Chung Chow), the restaurant takes a modern, playful spin on Hawaiian cuisine, best evidenced in the fact that «Noreetuh» translates into «Playground» in Korean.
The space isn’t the most ideal, though. The dining room is split into two divided sections, and tables are tightly packed with minimal walking space between them. The lengthiness and narrowness of such a layout also means that sunlight is a very precious commodity, and darkness settles faster than at most venues (which may be a benefit to some diners). My group of three were seated in the second room, and our server was quick to fill our glasses with water and give a welcome overview of the menu. Noreetuh offers a variety of snacks, starters, and mains, making it an ideal place for shared plates; how else would you try the endless tempting options available?
We started first with the Silken Tofu, one of the more visually arresting dishes. Served in a small bowl, the delicate tofu is topped with a few servings of uni (sea urchin), ikura (salmon roe), and a shiitake mushroom duxelle. A few sprigs of shiso finish off the presentation, and it’s at once a simple, yet quietly complex dish; the pairing of such ingredients have been tried and true. We also opted for the Corned Beef Tongue Musubi, a take on traditional Hawaiian snack which is usually served with Spam. It was certainly tasty, a foolproof wrapping of sushi rice, cilantro, and crushed peanuts in a nori sheet, and the corned beef a welcome alternative in both taste and texture for the canned «meat product».
Perhaps not worth an order are the Kalua Pork Croquettes, two piping hot, deep-​fried croquettes served over cabbage with katsu sauce. While tasty, the preparation prevented us from noting any distinction of the kalua. Replace that instead with the much-​loved Big-​Eye Tuna Poke, a surprisingly traditional take on the popular Hawaiian dish. The tuna is delicious, the subtle flavor highlighted beautifully by the hint of sesame oil and tobanjan-​hinted seaweed strands. Let’s not forget the addition of the macademia nuts and pickled jalapeño slices, which add just the right amount of heat and acidity to each bite, without overpowering the main protein.
For the daring, the Braised Honeycomb Tripe is a solid order. Korean dukbokki, or sticky rice cakes, are cooked with the braised tripe; a smart decision as it takes away the typically overpowering flavor in the offal. Add on a healthy amount of gochujang sauce, the sweet-​spicy Korean red pepper paste, and toss with bamboo shoots, onion, and chili, and you have a recipe for success. The bite of my friend’s Spam Agnolotti was eye-​opening as well, as the pairing with ramps, honshimeji, green almond, and bonito brought out a completely different flavor profile than I had been expecting.
I hesitate to call Noreetuh a «fusion» restaurant, as much of Hawaiian cuisine has its roots in Japanese food, and the interplay of Korean ingredients and flavors is smartly and subtly done. What the restaurant has succeeded in doing, however, is establishing an identity that is unique from any other restaurant in the city — which, coupled with well-​conceived and executed dishes, makes for a value proposition you can’t deny.

Excited to try this new Hawaiian-​inspired food and see what it is all about. We even had someone who was a native Hawaiian to chime in with our group.
For larger parties, you can make a reservation which was nice for the 7 of us. The wine list was pretty extensive and the waitstaff were good resources to ask about the wines. I ended up also getting a pear cider as they have 4 craft beers and a cider on draught as well.
Service was very attentive with two individuals constantly cleaning off tables, giving us fresh plates, refilling our water, and pouring the bottles of wine.
We ordered a bunch of dishes, all to share so that we could try everything.
SNACKS:
We started with the Truffled Taro Chips which was amazing and had so much truffle flavor on each chip.
The Corned Beef Tongue Musubi came next and it was wrapped with some flavorless green cilantro sauce and whole peanuts. It was also difficult to keep the rice and peanuts from squishing out after every bite. I secretly wished it was SPAM I was biting into. At least season it… will ya?
The Silken Tofu with Uni, Ikura, and Shitake purée was a winner. It was well composed, flavorful, and fresh tasting.
STARTERS:
The Grass-​fed Beef Tartare was boring and bland. You had some small fried greasy wonton chips to put it on. There was this weird light yellow paste on the side that didn’t taste like anything either. We did not finish this dish at all.
The Octopus Poke was great! The textures were well balanced and the fingerling potatoes gave the dish some depth. The octopus was tender and saltiness of the tobiko brought out the flavors of the sea.
The Kalua Pork Croquettes were a miss. It was these fried discs of indeterminate mushy filling inside. The cabbage underneath is just for decoration. The Katsu sauce to dip tasted very generic.
The Big Eye Tuna Poke was middle of the road for us. Decently tossed with a variety of seaweed and fresh tasting with the nicely pickled jalapeño but still a bit bland again.
The Monkfish Liver Torchon was delightful. It melted in your mouth and the composition of all the flavors worked really well together. It came with mini fluffy white toast.
MAINS:
The Mentaiko Spaghetti with the butterfish was a good transitional starchy dish that we were craving at this point. It was nicely cooked al dente with a very slight kick to brighten the senses.
The Mochi-​Crusted Halibut was flaky and nicely seared. I’m not sure where the mochi comes in. It just looked like seared fish with no crust. There was a nice creamy sauce on top with some bok choy on the bottom.
The Duck Breast was a let down. We think it was prepared sous vide but was overdone. All the slices were cooked to grey medium well to well done, no pink at all. The apricot kernels that was scattered around didn’t work with the dish and the hardness of it was a distractor. The Li Hing Mui is an orange plum that also felt like it was «just there» and didn’t cohesively work with the dish.
The Pineapple Braised Pork Belly was nice and tender. It was easy to break apart and we all had a taste. The size was very small though and I wouldn’t consider it a main.
DESSERT:
The Bread Pudding was good with golden raisins and pineapple ice cream.
The Brûléed Pineapple was a cold quarter chunk of pineapple with a brûléed sugar crust on top dusted with sea salt. Some liked it and half of us didn’t. I didn’t like how cold it was but the sea salt was a nice touch to bring out the sweetness of the pineapple.
Overall, some good dishes while the misses are just because it was boring or wasn’t well composed. I guess we had higher expectations going in but while it was generally good, it’s nowhere near the top of my list for a place to return to anytime soon. Hopefully, they’ll get to work out some of these kinks.

It seems like every 10 – 15 places we pick from via Unilocal rankings are completely off and it usually happens with those places with not that many reviews.
We are still scratching our heads as to how this place warranted 4 – 5 stars and we suspect this one will settle out somewhere around 3 – 4 over time.
It seemed like none of the dishes we tried had any real backbone/​character/​aggression and were noncommittal in flavor. And we were absolutely famished we walked in and were in the mood to try anything — we did not ask the server any questions and just picked shit at random. Turns out we had the corned beef tongue musubi which was probably the highlight and the most richly-​flavored item, but it went all sideways from there as the hearts of palm, the white asparagus and the mains of chow noodles and mentaiko spaghetti just got shrugs around our table.
We walked in with enthusiasm and walked out deflated — and the most novel part of the dinner was the sign on the single toilet for the restaurant. Décor was slick and the service was impeccable but those factors will not be enough to get us back thru the door…