Great Big Story (CNN)
The Brooklyn restaurant merges Japanese and Jewish culinary influences. On the menu? Matzoh ball ramen and a lox bowl version of chirashi.
— Great Big Story
CBS NEW YORK
In Brooklyn, New York, husband-and-wife chefs are drawing on their cultures in a restaurant that’s both Japanese and Jewish…
— Elle McLogan
GRUB STREET – NEW YORK MAGAZINE
Since the day it opened six years ago, the M.O. of Shalom Japan has been to bring together on one harmonious plate the comfort-food repertoires of two seemingly discordant cuisines: Ashkenazi Jewish and Japanese.
— Rob Patronite & Robin Raisfeld
THRILLEST
Matzoh Ball Ramen is a delicious combination of Jewish and Japanese cuisines. This Matzoh Ball soup has a Ramen twist…Shalom Japan marries Jewish and Japanese cuisine.
— Mel Ibarra
NEW YORK TIMES
Shalom Japan…is a serious restaurant that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Their food here is not so much a fusion of culinary traditions as a mapping of resonances and sympathies.
— Ligaya Mishan
THE NEW YORKER
At its best, their food is fusion in the truest sense, seamless and utterly convincing. Matzah Ball Ramen…belongs in the canon of soup…
— Hannah Goldfield
MICHELIN GUIDE
Husband-and-wife team Aaron Israel and Sawako Okochi have an impressive resume between them, and their charming dining room is attended to with gravitas.
— 2015 Michelin Guide
NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE
Together [they] have created a unique Japanese twist on the Jewish tradition of eating Chinese food for Christmas. One of their first Jewish-Japanese Christmas dishes was “okonomi-latke.”
— Malia, Wollan & Sam Sifton
GRUB STREET – NEW YORK MAGAZINE
At Shalom Japan in Williamsburg, married co-chefs Aaron Israel and Sawako Okochi fuse their Jewish and Japanese heritages by crowning their okonomiyaki with corned lamb tongue and sauerkraut.
— Robin Raisfeld
NEW YORK OBSERVER
Nothing in recent memory approaches the ambition of Shalom Japan or has met as much success. At Shalom Japan, the triumphs are many…
— Joshua David Stein
BUSINESS INSIDER
Chefs Israel and Okochi serve up delicious and inventive food, showcasing both their backgrounds and their creativity, in this small and airy spot in Brooklyn.
— Christian Storm
SERIOUS EATS
Shalom Japan is a pleasant change of pace—a true neighborhood spot fashioned with creativity and care.
— Jamie Feldmar
THE INFATUATION
They’re enjoying themselves a lot, and you can feel it in every aspect of the dining experience…Shalom Japan exceeded all of our expectations. Add it to the top of your Hit List immediately.
— Andrew Steinthal
CONDÉ NAST TRAVELER
This is a sweetheart. These are combinations that at first glance don’t seem to promise harmony and yet, here it is, cozy as hell.
— Leonor Mamanna & Junot Díaz
NY1 News
Lawrence Weibman from NY1 News learns how to make Japanese-Jewish food at Shalom Japan with chefs Aaron and Sawa
— Lawrence Weibman