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At first glance, a sushi sanctuary tucked in a nook beneath Grand Central Terminal bears no name, no door and no sign.
But if commuters rushing to their trains pass a Japanese rock garden under a staircase, Harry Potter style, they could stumble upon a secret gem. Follow the rocks, guarded by a uniformed security officer, and you’ll find the hidden entry to Jōji – and its $375 per person menu.
The 18-seat ode to omakase was opened Sept. 14 by top French chef Daniel Boulud in partnership with sushi master George Ruan, formerly of Masa, and developer SL Green – which built One Vanderbilt, the 90-story office tower adjacent to Grand Central.
Boulud helms Le Pavillon, a culinary destination at the base of One Vanderbilt. If there was any space left over after the build out, Boulud and SL Green CEO Marc Holliday joked they would create a small temple to omakase, similar to the kind found in Japanese train stations.
Turns out they weren’t kidding, squeezing the new restaurant into a 1,763-square-foot alcove under the stairs that connect Grand Central and One Vanderbilt. The Cambrian black granite rock garden adds another 393 square feet.
“It was a very undesirable spot for a tenant, but we decided to wrap it with a Japanese garden and create a very unique and special experience inside. We hope it gets as famous as the Oyster Bar,” said Boulud, referring to the century-old seafood restaurant located on the terminal’s lower level.
Jōji’s harder-to-find location is part of Grand Central Terminal’s long history of hidden hotspots — from The Campbell, a secret bar inside a former office for a 1920s-era mogul, to the fourth-floor tennis court once leased by Donald Trump.
Even the fictional villain Lex Luther, Superman’s archenemy, kept his evil lair in an abandoned part of the terminal 200 feet below Grand Central.
“Maybe we’ll play tennis together,” Boulud quipped.
You may need to be a criminal mastermind to score a prized seat at the 10-seat sushi bar, where the waiting list shows no seats available for the next two months. The restaurant offers just two, 10-person sittings a night, along with two eight-seat settings in a private dining room.
In-the-know office workers craving menu options like tuna nigiri, tuna maki, uni nigiri, salmon nigiri and maki rolls, which start at $10 for one roll, can order from Jōji Box, its takeout sister spot. Delivery options launch next month.
But it’s the experience of pulling up a seat at the roomy sushi bar — and watching Chef Ruan work his magic — that Boulud and his partners say makes Jōji special. As soon as you enter, you are enveloped in a dimly lit, womb-like space that is worlds away from the hordes of commuters and tourists nearby
The decor by Shinichiro Ogata’s Simplicity Design focuses on natural elements like stone and wood to create the serene setting.
And just like Le Pavillon — where Boulud shut down part of 42nd St. to truck in 10,000 pounds of olive trees to plant inside the restaurant during the pandemic, as we exclusively reported — it’s the obsessive attention to detail that makes Jōji unique.
The sushi bar, for example, is made from a single Lebanese cedar tree sourced from Italy. It is sanded down by hand every morning to maintain its silky smooth texture, Chef Ruan tells Side Dish.
Even the walls seem to be in on the secret, decked out in subtly textured white Japanese washi, or rice paper.
Chef Ruan might have a glass of wine while chatting with guests who actually talk to each other, even the people they don’t know. And while the seasonal menu is set, Chef Ruan along with Chefs Wayne Cheng and Xiao Lian, will mix it up for regulars.
Cheng also sets the fun and playful mood with an eclectic playlist that features artists such as El Michels Affair, Mobb Deep and Bahamadia.
“The partnership with Daniel has been incredibly rewarding — for us, for our tenants, and for the New York City dining scene,” Holliday said, adding that Le Pavillon and La Terrace, a tenant-only amenity space run by Daniel, and now Jōji, are “redefining the work experience.”
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