MEGUMI HAS CHANGED ITS NAME TO UMI
MEGUMI96-05 Metropolitan Avenue
Forest Hills, NY 11375
(718) 261-3483
Having eaten two meals at Megumi, I strongly doubt I will bother with a third one. Megumi is one of a seemingly endless supply of small mediocre Japanese restaurants that have cropped up in the past few years and it doesn't stray far from the herd. It rests on the industrial, car wash end of Metropolitan between a nail salon and diner that I don't think is open anymore. I plan to eat a lot more on Metropolitan Avenue in the coming months, as people have described Metropolitan Avenue as Forest Hills' new dining district, but I think that such a statement is an exaggeration, at best. Especially between Continental and Woodhaven.
Walking inside, you immediately notice the blandness of the place. No passion seems to have gone into it. Even the air conditioner, a necessity in this sweltering heat, seemed to have given up. It was very stuffy inside. Maybe that's why almost all of the lights were off and I ate in the dark (I intentionally overexposed the photo). Maybe that's why I was the only one eating here instead of having take out.
The Miso Soup, a mainstay of any Japanese restaurant, was pretty good, but it was all broth. Not one cube of tofu, not one scallion, accompanied the few, lonely shards of seaweed, floating at the bottom as though hiding from my cheap plastic spoon. The Sushi meal, which consisted of a Spicy Tuna Roll and six pieces of sushi was actually warm. The fish itself was good if not varied, but someone needs to invest in a bag of ice. I also tried the Beef Teriyake, which came with a salad and sat on a bed of barely cooked onion. I can't say anything much about this except that I wouldn't order it. It was boring and tasteless and the salad, admittedly never the most impressive part of any Japanese meal, appeared to have more dressing than lettuce.
Each dish was pretty cheap at under $10. I feel like there could be room for improvement if they cranked up the AC, turned on the lights, took the cheap paper signs down from the window and put more energy into their chow.
Oh... and I got a fortune cookie???
Oh... and I got a fortune cookie???
Little light on content, no? :)
ReplyDeleteIt's no Narita (sarcasm)...
ReplyDeletejess
That salad looks downright rank. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteIt was not one of my better dining experiences.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Metropolitan Ave, have you heard anything about the Casa de Elian space? They are definitely in the process of renovating. Someone on Chowhound said it might become a Greek place - any info?
ReplyDeleteNo idea what's going on there. But if Aged and PJs are any indication (which is still closed but has all the liquor on the bar shelves), it will be a looong time before anything opens.
ReplyDeleteYou're right. Forget Megumi. Try Katsuno, also on Metropolitan. You won't regret it. No atmosphere, but the food is fantastic.
ReplyDeleteTried this place for the first time since it changed owners with a new name. My daughter liked the bubble tea from the old place, and was disappointed they didn't have it on the menu. The service was horrendous this past Friday at about 8pm. About 4-5 tables had couples, 2 couples had come in after us. I had a party of 6. One waitress, 2 cooks/sushi chefs. Not sure what the kitchen staffing was like. 30 minutes to take our drink order, so we ordered everything with the drinks. Another 30 minutes for the drinks to arrive, and another 30 for the food which arrived one or too items at a time over 20 minutes. Plates, paper napkins, and under counted utensils were dropped off at the head of the table. Never came around to see if we needed anything or if everything was alright. They comped a few drinks because of the wait. Food wasn't bad, poor sushi selection on hand. I'd give them a few months to see if they get their act together.
ReplyDelete