What it's like to catch your food at Zauo - the new NYC fishing restaurant
The chain restaurant has 13 other locations in Japan
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Your support makes all the difference.In a city with more than 24,000 dining options, many deliverable to your front door, one new New York City restaurant requires a little more effort to secure a meal - as diners are expected to fish for their dinner.
Zauo, a Japanese restaurant chain that just opened its newest outlet in Chelsea, Manhattan is offering the unique twist on the freshness of farm-to-table and it’s finally ready to open its doors after months of delays and preparation.
We were fortunate enough to try the quirky dining experience ahead of the restaurant’s official opening on October 15. This is what it’s like to fish for your meal in NYC.
Upon entering Zauo, one of the first things you notice is the gigantic tank opposite the bar surrounded by nets and filled with a variety of rather large fish - a sign of what's to come.
After we were seated, amidst cheers from the wait staff as other parties successfully caught their dinners, we were handed a stack of menus and instructions about what to expect - and how to go about fishing for our meal.
Once we decided that we would indeed like to fish, as the menu offers many other options for those who aren’t interested (including fried octopus and pork belly) we were asked to fill out a form to acquire a “fishing license.”
The forms, which required signatures from all “anglers,” release the restaurant from any loss, cost, damage, liability, or expense which may arise as patrons attempt to wrangle their food.
Although the form wasn’t explicit regarding what personal injury patrons may incur, we imagine biting fish could be a risk.
Upon completion and receipt of our fishing licenses, which must be worn around your neck, we were asked to choose what fish we’d like to catch - from a variety of salmon, rainbow trout, striped bass, fluke, flounder, lobster, abalone, and rockfish.
The prices of the fish vary, but considering you get to eat the entire catch, the deals are quite reasonable.
For trout or bass, expect to pay $38 to $45 (£28, £34), while the huge salmon cost $110 (£83).
As a rule, the 134-seat restaurant employs a strict no catch-and-release policy - whichever fish you catch is the one that will end up on your plate.
The saltwater tanks holding the unlucky water-dwelling creatures are spread out on both floors of the restaurant and, once we’d decided to catch a salmon and a lobster, we were led to the appropriate fishing spots - complete with signs warning against diving and swimming.
The second floor of the restaurant, home to the lobster, is designed to look like the hull of a boat - made from what appears to be a real wooden ship.
With the ship pointing forward, a somewhat narrow space, and fish swimming merrily around, it’s easy to pretend you are at sea - until you remember you are in the middle of New York City.
Finally, it was time to muster our inner hunter-gatherer abilities, and employ the skills of our ancestors.
We were handed a fishing pole by the extremely attentive staff, who were standing nearby prepared to help, and caught a lobster within minutes.
The process is made simpler by the fact that only 15 to 20 diners will fish at any given time, meaning you don’t have to worry about accidentally knocking a fellow fishermen into the tank.
After hauling the Maine lobster in and deciding on two methods of preparation - tempura-fried and sashimi - we were off to the main downstairs tank, with the hopes that the task of catching a salmon would offer slightly more of a challenge.
And it did - standing next to the tank of salmon, pole in hand, as the fish swam by the drifting bait unconcerned, we realised our second course would be more difficult to secure.
Eventually, we were successful - as a flopping, shimmering grey fish met its fate as it was pulled out of the water attached to the end of our pole.
Unfortunately, our second catch of the night wasn’t what we’d had in mind. Instead of hooking a salmon, we’d caught a small rainbow trout.
Since we couldn’t return the unfortunate fish to its tank after removing it, we decided instead to add it to the menu and continue fishing (we were quite hungry from the effort).
We chose to have the rainbow trout prepared tempura-style and sashimi-style as it was carried off to the kitchen.
A huge salmon raised in New York was our final catch - one that was met with cheers and clapping from the wait staff.
The resulting celebration of the catch, complete with a song and drums, was loud and very over-the-top, but enjoyable nonetheless. However, it does get old when it's not your own catch being congratulated.
After hauling the last fish from the depths, the waiters informed us it would be possible to prepare the gigantic salmon all four ways offered - tempura-fried, sashimi, grilled, and simmered in soy sauce and mirin.
Ravenous from our efforts, we sat down to the freshest sashimi we’d ever had - as well as delectable tempura complete with our own separate dipping sauces.
After finishing our lobster, our waitress asked if we’d like the head made into a fish-bone broth miso soup - we, of course, said yes.
With each course brought out, complete with head and sliced body intact, it was set down to congratulations from the staff.
By the time we’d completed our various courses of fish, we had to pass on dessert - which included the questionable but likely tasty choice of wasabi gelato.
While the experience was certainly memorable - and delicious - we aren’t sure of the frequency with which we’d return to Zauo, as it is a rather gimmicky adventure.
If we do decide to visit again, we’ll be able to use the stamped rewards card we received that promises a reward after five visits - which could be anything from a free fish to a free $8 (£6) appetiser.
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