Shalom Japan - Brooklyn

On a recent trip to NYC, I heard about a place in Brooklyn called Shalom Japan. It's the collaboration of a husband and wife team (he's Jewish, she's Japanese). This is a restaurant that combines two of my favorite cuisines. Although the concept sounds like it could simply be a kitschy cliche, it's not. They are turning out some serious food that draws from both cultures without forcing the issue.



Since I was dining alone and wanted to try as many dishes as possible, I opted for a chef's tasting menu. The good news is that the food was really good, but the bad news is that because it was a set tasting menu, I was unable to try a few things that really called out to me. For example, they offer Okonomiyaki made with pastrami & sauerkraut. That's right, a reuben okonomiyaki.

Despite missing that dish and a couple of others I would have liked to try (matzoh ball ramen, anyone?), my meal was very good. I'll apologize in advance for the quality of these pictures. It was dark and I only had my cell phone.

I started off with an appetizer that combined hamachi tartare [sic] and tuna tataki along with a small loaf of house baked sake kasu challah with raisin butter (sorry, no pictures).

Next up, Grilled waygu tongue that was melt in your mouth delicious.

Grilled Wagu Tongue
daikon & kyoto carrot slaw, burdock dressing


Next course was their take on a Scotch egg, the Jew egg. This was a perfectly cooked soft boiled hanjuku egg encased in falafel, served over a winter squash puree along with some trumpet mushrooms.

Winter Squash Jew Egg


Next up, seafood "hot pot", which included (among other things) a nice fish filet and a small ball of scallop based gefilte fish. This was followed by black truffle & beef shortrib congee.

Seafood Hot Pot


Black Truffle & Beef Shortrib Congee


The congee was a huge umami bomb and was satisfying down to my soul on a cold New York night.

Shalom Japan was a very pleasant surprise. I enjoyed my meal very much. I would't say that it's a can't miss destination, given the plethora of outstanding places to eat in NYC, but if you've got an extra meal and can get to Brooklyn, it's well worth checking out.

Shalom Japan
310 S 4th St
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(718) 388-4012

very intriguing- thanks steve. matzo ball ramen sounds very doable and so does the okonomyaki...