New York - March 21, 2003

Inspir-Asian

Yujin Restaurant Opens

There’s the Japanese restaurant. And then there’s the Japanese-inspired one.

Both serve raw fish. Both provide chopsticks. And both ply you with sake. So what’s the difference?

Originality, baby. Or so says Chef Eiji Takase of Yujin, which opens today on the Greenwich Village block littered with upscale spots like Gotham Bar & Grill and Strip House. To back up his claim, his menu offers starters like yellowfin-tuna ravioli and rock-shrimp dumplings. Main courses include grilled lobster onigarayaki, poached red snapper with tofu, and miso-marinated salmon.

The space shows no trace of its former incarnation: a dreary Kinko’s. In the place of the copiers and the hideous fluorescent lighting are beige suede banquettes, minimalist black-and-white furnishings, and a ceiling dangling 29,500 chopsticks.

Japanese? Sort of. Inspired? Definitely.

Yujin, 24 East 12th Street, between University Place and Fifth Avenue (212-924-4283).