Yopparai

"In 2021, Yopparai moved from their second-story Rivington Street location on the LES to a bigger space on Clinton Street. The result: more room to set up kotatsu tables where you can sip sake, eat some delicious Japanese food, and share a blanket if it’s cold out. It’s one of our favorite date-night moves on the LES, since you can simultaneously eat chirashi loaded with crab and ikura and play footsy with someone you’re attracted to." - nikko duren

"Modeled after an upscale izakaya — a bar that serves food which complements booze — Yopparai has been feeding guests salted squid guts beside an expertly curated list of approximately 50 sakes since 2012. The space itself is narrow and intimate, with most of the restaurant’s 30 seats dedicated to a bar that spans its length. Behind that counter, chefs prepare a lengthy menu of mostly small dishes using a variety of cooking methods: fried, roasted, simmered, and raw. Some dishes are more familiar, like sashimi and agedashi tofu, but Yopparai shines with the lesser-found bites, such as tofu stuffed with mochi, and chopped wasabi with sake lees. The restaurant even opened its sophomore effort in Tokyo in January 2019." - Kat Odell

"In 2021, Yopparai moved from their second-story Rivington Street location on the LES to a bigger space on Clinton Street. The result: more room to set up kotatsu tables where you can sip sake, eat some delicious Japanese food, and share a blanket if it’s cold out. There are a lot of different directions you can take with the menu, but standouts are the chirashi loaded with crab and ikura and the dip-it-yourself shabu-shabu selections (we like the octopus option since we can make sure it’s not overcooked). The sushi rolls are always changing, but we’ve had delicious versions stuffed with smoky trout and roe as well as salmon with sweet egg and eel and crunchy vegetables. All of it pairs well with their long sake list." - Carlo Mantuano

"In 2021, Yopparai moved from their second-story Rivington Street location on the LES to a bigger space on Clinton Street. The result: more room to set up kotatsu tables where you can sip sake, eat some delicious Japanese food, and share a blanket if it’s cold out. It’s one of our favorite date-night moves on the LES, since you can simultaneously eat chirashi loaded with crab and ikura and play footsy with someone you’re attracted to." - Hannah Albertine, Nikko Duren, Carlo Mantuano

"Lower East Side: Well-liked Japanese restaurant Yopparai is leaving Rivington Street after nine years. The restaurant temporarily closed following the state-mandated shutdown of indoor dining last March. “We tried takeout, but our menu and style wasn’t well suited for that,” co-owners Christy and Gaku Shibata tell Bowery Boogie. blog Bowery Boogie. The duo is apparently planning to reopen the restaurant at a new location in the next month." - Luke Fortney