How is Bessou restaurant rated?

Bessou

4.6

130 Reviews

$30 and under

Japanese

Top Tags:

Bessou offers a modern take on everyday Japanese comfort food. Our ingredients are responsibly sourced and prepared with care, with a menu that is driven by local and seasonal produce.

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Additional information

Dining style
Casual Dining
Price
$30 and under
Cuisines
Japanese
Hours of operation
Sunday-Thursday Dinner: 5:30pm - 11:00pm Friday-Saturday Dinner: 5:30pm-11:30pm Weekend Brunch: 11:00am - 3:00pm
Phone number
(212) 228-8502
Website
http://bessou.nyc/
Payment options
AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
Dress code
Casual Dress
Executive chef
Emily Yuen
Catering
We offer a wide array of services for catering, office lunch, and bentos! Please contact us at konnichiwa@bessou.nyc for more information.

Location
5 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10012
Neighborhood
NoHo
Cross street
Bowery and Elizabeth Street
Parking details
None
Additional
Beer, Cocktails, Counter Seating, Non-Smoking, View, Weekend Brunch, Wheelchair Access, Wine

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What 130 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

4.6

4.6 based on all time ratings

4.6Food
4.5Service
4.4Ambience
4.3Value

Noise • Moderate

130 Reviews

TS
TaylorS
New York Area
5 reviews
4.0
5 reviews
Dined on March 11, 2020
overall4food4service2ambience3
Good food and value but seemed woefully understaffed. Our server was great but became hard to get his attention as the restaurant filled up.
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OT
OpenTable Diner
San Francisco
4 reviews
5.0
4 reviews
Dined on March 8, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience5
Unreal food, creative dishes, great spices
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r
rienne
New York Area
3 reviews
5.0
3 reviews
Dined on March 7, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience5
Smashed potatoes. Really, that’s it. And crispy rice, pork belly, and... smashed potatoes.
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OT
OpenTable Diner
New York Area
3 reviews
5.0
3 reviews
Dined on March 7, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience5
The best Japanese food ever! Their pancake and chicken sandwich are amazing! Please try them😋
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OT
OpenTable Diner
New York Area
2 reviews
5.0
2 reviews
Dined on February 16, 2020
overall5food5service4ambience5
The food was absolutely delicious - would highly recommend the miso pork. Variety of sake, knowledgeable servers. A little pricey but the quality of the food is worth it. My only complaint is we had a 7:30 reservation and were not seated till 7:45/50. The place was packed. But once we sat nothing felt rushed and it was a great meal.
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OT
OpenTable Diner
New York Area
4 reviews
5.0
4 reviews
Dined on February 13, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience5
Warm hospitality and excellent food. Highly recommended.
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OT
OpenTable Diner
New York Area
9 reviews
4.0
9 reviews
Dined on February 2, 2020
overall4food4service3ambience4
Overall good, they just need to fix the door so that it will close when people leave
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JX
JoeXB
New York Area
39 reviews
vip
5.0
39 reviews
Dined on January 25, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience4
This is our second visit to Bessou and it was consistent with the first; interesting and friendly, low key and efficient. All our dishes were delicious, our waiter was warm and professional. It was a busy Friday night and we felt very well taken care of. Definitely will try to get here more often.
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LV
LauraV
New York Area
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on January 21, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience5
Great food, especially nice happy hour! Super friendly staff.
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AS
AmyS
Philadelphia
38 reviews
vip
3.0
38 reviews
Dined on January 19, 2020
overall3food3service3ambience3
This was our first time to try this restaurant. While the specialty Tonkatsu on Toast looked good, we went with our standard favorite of Udon. It was very mediocre. Just warm, not hot and the dashi broth was almost tasteless. This can not compare to the spectacular udon at Omen in SoHo (which unfortunately isn’t open for lunch). We also tried the homemade pickles which missed the mark as well. The restaurant itself was charming but very noisy with slow (but friendly) service. Overall not terrible, but I don’t see a compelling reason to go back.
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MG
MerrillG
New York Area
1 review
vip
5.0
1 review
Dined on January 5, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience5
Gorgeous innovative cuisine. Beautiful artisanal minimalism. I will return again and again.
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C
Chia
New York Area
7 reviews
5.0
7 reviews
Dined on January 3, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience5
I'm Japanese, so I know a bit more than average Americans about Japanese cuisine. I love the creativity that is balanced so well with traditional ways, ultimately making dishes that are exciting and delicious and fun to eat. I think the chefs are outstanding. Go there now - before it moves somewhere else and becomes more pricey. We eat everything, so we tried dishes that were vegetarian, hanger steak and chirashi with raw fish. All excellent. The mochi dessert was so good and interesting, too. Love the place!
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d
dpwatkins
New York Area
6 reviews
5.0
6 reviews
Dined on December 22, 2019
overall5food5service5ambience5
Love this restaurant and have been coming for a few years. My favorite neighborhood spot with an innovative but authentic menu.
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CS
ConnorS
New York Area
20 reviews
5.0
20 reviews
Dined on December 15, 2019
overall5food5service5ambience4
The pancake is amazing. If you’re familiar with Filipino Bibingka, this feels like a not-too-distant cousin. Maybe they can do a version of this dish as an homage. The portions are nice, the food is creative and the price point is appropriate. It’s a small restaurant and the seats don’t invite you to linger but the staff is kind, attentive and didn’t rush us.
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JE
JEP28
New York Area
2 reviews
vip
2.0
2 reviews
Dined on December 14, 2019
overall2food3service1ambience3
Our first time here and we were excited to try out their offerings. One of our friends has some slight dietary restrictions and wanted to clarify them with the waiter. He didn't seem to know all that much about the menu and when he went to check for us, just got lost and never came back for some time. It's a tapas style restaurant, so of course your encouraged to get as many small plates as they can sell you and we erred on the side of caution. We ordered what we thought would be enough and our waiter reassured us that if we wanted to order something more we could do so anytime during the meal. We did in fact want to order some more food a little later in our meal as we enjoyed one of the dishes. When requesting to do so, the waiter asked us what we wanted and then had to "double check". He came back and advised that because they had another reservation for the table within 15-20 min, he could not accommodate the request for additional food, he could bring us desert however. Our reservation was at 7, this was now 8:30. Our friend requested a desert, but wanted to make sure of the ingredients (again). The desert arrived and we had to hunt down the waiter to see if it was ok for our friend to consume. We found him outside the restaurant having a heated disagreement with a party that had just finished dining. I guess his tip wasn't up to par..... The food was good, the fried chicken moist and delicious, the special yellowtail collar (only a small part of the collar to be exact) was very good and the Japanese take on the Chinese dandan noodles interesting. The rest of the 4 or 5 other plates were ok and easily forgettable. The restaurant was cozy and tight, busy and loud with a constant flow of guests waiting to be seated. We sat by the door and there was a constant stream of cold air by the never ending rush. Unfortunately the poor service and time constraints could not overcome the reasonably good food. One and done for sure...
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CK
ChristineK
New York Area
4 reviews
5.0
4 reviews
Dined on December 13, 2019
overall5food5service5ambience5
We absolutely loved our meal and experience. You could tell that the food is made with so much care and attention. Flavors were unique and on point (I highly recommend the squid ink rice), with interesting dishes that you can’t find at typical Japanese restaurants. Attentive and warm staff and service as well. We’ll be back again...and again.
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C
Chia
New York Area
7 reviews
5.0
7 reviews
Dined on December 3, 2019
overall5food5service5ambience5
Interesting and delicious Japanese food experience (I'm Japanese, so I know!)
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DM
DavidMenemsha
New York Area
6 reviews
5.0
6 reviews
Dined on December 1, 2019
overall5food5service4ambience5
If you're pining for Kyoto, this is the place for you. The Japanese pancakes were exactly like the ones we had in the Rhinebeck Café in Kyoto. The rest of the menu is wonderfully inventive Japanese fusion home cooking. A fantastic place for brunch, especially, extremely warm, friendly, homey.
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EJ
ErinJ
New York Area
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on November 23, 2019
overall5food4service5ambience4
Real Japanese cuisine. Everything was great and especially their service was outstanding.
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K
Kilo
New York Area
1 review
4.0
1 review
Dined on November 18, 2019
overall4food5service4ambience3
Delicious food! Everything had a distinct flavor to it . We ordered the blistered red potatoes, miso flavored pork ribs and the steak. Service was friendly. Seating was cramped. Great value for money!
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SZ
StephZ
New York Area
25 reviews
vip
5.0
25 reviews
Dined on November 13, 2019
overall5food4service4ambience4
A great little neighborhood restaurant with inventive Japanese food. Great atmosphere. Good for lunch and dinner
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P
Parke
Austin
46 reviews
vip
5.0
46 reviews
Dined on November 6, 2019
overall5food5service5ambience4
Great dishes, wonderful service. Was happy to stumble across Bessou in looking for dinner options. I love Japanese food and the flavors did not disappoint. Service was quick and friendly, giving great recommendations for beer and drinks. Started with the shishito peppers and spicy tuna rice cakes, and ended with crab and ikura chrirashi - everything was delicious.
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NY
NYdiner7
New York Area
49 reviews
vip
4.0
49 reviews
Dined on October 28, 2019
overall4food4service3ambience4
Servers were great, though the pacing of the meal was way too fast. All the dishes came almost at the same time - no room at the table plus and food was going cold by the time we could get to it.
1 person found this helpful
OT
OpenTable Diner
New York Area
2 reviews
vip
3.0
2 reviews
Dined on October 26, 2019
overall3food4service2ambience4
Service was not great. Asked the server for a drink menu several times and never received one until I asked a different server. The platters were worth it everything else was mediocre.
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F
Foodwoman
New York Area
230 reviews
vip
5.0
230 reviews
Dined on October 13, 2019
overall5food5service5ambience5
Keep checking Bessou’s Instagram for special dinners and sign right up. This time it was the Harvest, Full Moon Dinner. Extraordinary. Imaginative and delicious, delicious. I should say the cost was only $55 per person for an amazing meal. Does anyone on earth make Crispy Rice better than Chef Emily!
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A
Alvina
New York Area
4 reviews
vip
5.0
4 reviews
Dined on October 12, 2019
overall5food5service5ambience5
I love this place. Everything on the menu is delicious and feels special.
1 person found this helpful
KS
KSKORMAN
New York Area
166 reviews
vip
5.0
166 reviews
Dined on September 27, 2019
overall5food5service5ambience4
This restaurant is extraordinary - not clear why it's not on everyone's top 10 list - the Asian inspired dishes are both gorgeous and delicious - each one is a masterpiece and the wait staff are always eager to make suggestions and are concerned about allergy issues
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CD
ChaodiD
San Francisco
5 reviews
vip
3.0
5 reviews
Dined on September 24, 2019
overall3food3service4ambience5
There were too few options for meat fan. We are not fan of fish so we even could not make an order. The Udon and fried chicken were very mediocre and overpriced. Too expensive. The same Udon I can have for half price in other restaurants.
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OT
OpenTable Diner
San Francisco
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on September 22, 2019
overall5food5service5ambience5
Loved it - service was incredible and all the food was great!
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OT
OpenTable Diner
Seattle
2 reviews
4.0
2 reviews
Dined on September 20, 2019
overall4food4service4ambience5
Great decoration and cozy place with reinterpretation of traditional Japanese cuisine. Food is over all thoughtful and fun. Great place
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OT
OpenTable Diner
New York Area
1 review
vip
5.0
1 review
Dined on September 13, 2019
overall5food5service5ambience5
I love the food here! It’s so unique and delicious. Every dish!
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KS
KSKORMAN
New York Area
166 reviews
vip
5.0
166 reviews
Dined on August 2, 2019
overall5food5service5ambience4
Love this restaurant - have eaten here many times - the food is outstanding and the servers are delightful - also located in the heart of the village - close to boutiques and streets to wander.
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PC
PraneethC
Washington DC
6 reviews
vip
5.0
6 reviews
Dined on July 27, 2019
overall5food5service5ambience5
Great food, excellent service. They serve tea instead of water which was really nice! Food has extremely high quality and delicious
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OT
OpenTable Diner
New York Area
4 reviews
vip
5.0
4 reviews
Dined on July 25, 2019
overall5food5service5ambience5
Best Japanese restaurant in the city!
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JQ
JoseQ
Greater Boston
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on July 18, 2019
overall5food5service5ambience5
One of my go to's. Great for sharing with a group or friend. Breakfasts are great
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SF
SFoods
New York Area
3 reviews
5.0
3 reviews
Dined on July 16, 2019
overall5food5service5ambience5
The fried rice with hamachi was delicious I highly recommend it
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OT
OpenTable Diner
New York Area
2 reviews
5.0
2 reviews
Dined on June 26, 2019
overall5food5service5ambience5
It was amazing. The staff was so friendly and Yuki, the chefs sister was so hospitable. In the first few minutes I felt like I was at home.
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J
Joenaka
New York Area
6 reviews
5.0
6 reviews
Dined on June 23, 2019
overall5food5service5ambience5
Good place for brunch and yummy dishes
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VK
ViktarK
San Francisco
1 review
1.0
1 review
Dined on June 23, 2019
overall1food1service3ambience1
It was super loud. Table was right in the entrance door. Food portions were small and tasteless. Disappointment. Will unrecommend for all my friends.
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LC
LanC
New York Area
1 review
4.0
1 review
Dined on June 12, 2019
overall4food4service4ambience4
Great place for a comforting meal. The crispy rice topped with whatever seasonal fish is on the menu - get that!
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FAQs

Bessou is rated 4.6 stars by 130 OpenTable diners.

Not available on OpenTable

Unfortunately, this restaurant is not on the OpenTable reservation network.

If you like, we'll notify you by email if this restaurant joins.

Is this your restaurant?

Claim this listing

5 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10012

Additional information

Cross street
Bowery and Elizabeth Street
Neighborhood
NoHo
Hours of operation
Sunday-Thursday Dinner: 5:30pm - 11:00pm Friday-Saturday Dinner: 5:30pm-11:30pm Weekend Brunch: 11:00am - 3:00pm
Price
$30 and under
Cuisines
Japanese
Dining style
Casual Dining
Dress code
Casual Dress
Parking details
None
Payment options
AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
Executive chef
Emily Yuen
Additional
Beer, Cocktails, Counter Seating, Non-Smoking, View, Weekend Brunch, Wheelchair Access, Wine

Website
http://bessou.nyc/
Phone number
(212) 228-8502
Catering
We offer a wide array of services for catering, office lunch, and bentos! Please contact us at konnichiwa@bessou.nyc for more information.

Featured in

Discover the Top Women-Led Restaurants in the U.S. and Canada

Bessou

Not available on OpenTable

Additional information

Discover the Top Women-Led Restaurants in the U.S. and Canada

Overall ratings and reviews

FAQs

How is Bessou restaurant rated?

Not available on OpenTable

Additional information

Featured in

Discover the Top Women-Led Restaurants in the U.S. and Canada