Restaurants & Bars
Beloved Cheap Eats Spot Dojo Shuttered By Health Department
The Japanese Greenwich Village restaurant was popular with NYU college students and famous for its carrot-ginger salad dressing.
WEST VILLAGE, NY — Japanese restaurant Dojo was shuttered by the city's Department of Health last month, and after weeks of languishing on W. Fourth Street the eatery has been gutted and its signage removed.
Known for its cheap eats and addictive carrot-ginger salad dressing, the Greenwich Village eatery was a local staple popular with New York University students. Dojo, located on W. Fourth near Mercer Street, was shut down by the city's Department of Health last month after it was hit with a whopping 62 violation points, including evidence of mice, flies and for not properly storing raw meats.
The restaurant has since been cleared out and its signage removed. East Village blog EV Grieve first noticed the change.
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Dojo had a brush with death back in 2013 when its owners initally planned to close the restaurant due to a rent hike. Instead, the cheap meal mainstay was renovated and reopened in 2014 with a new look and updated menu.
Loyal patrons took to Twitter to lament the restaurant's death and its signature dressing.
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I honestly can't remember one thing I ate at Dojo (and I ate there a lot) but I can't forget the taste of the carrot-ginger dressing. Weird.
— Jason Diamond (@imjasondiamond) October 25, 2018
As a student at NYU and resident of 3rd Avenue north, I've many many Dojo memories, not just of the Soy Burger Dinner with muenster cheese and carrot-ginger dressing but also of a waiter who once seduced me with carrot cake. Goodbye Dojo! Goodbye grungy youth! https://t.co/6ukVOcG09u
— Alysia Abbott (@AlysiaAbbott) October 25, 2018
I’m so sad Dojo closed. I spent so many afternoons as a grad student at NYU there. I will miss that damn delicious carrot ginger dressing most. And the cheap sake. RIP Dojo.
— Anni Irish (@AnniIrish) October 25, 2018
My daughter was basically built in utero on Dojo soy burgers and carrot-ginger dressing. Recently brought her there (9 yrs later) to see if she recognized the taste—and her eyes lit up!
— Lauren Acampora (@LaurenAcampora) October 25, 2018
I met my wife at dojo on st. Marks 30 years ago. She was the one nice waitress there. I’d wait for her to close at 3 am. They’d sweep our baby rats and play blues traveller to get people to leave. It was all about the tahini sauce.
— Michael Ahn (@storysaveslives) July 20, 2018
Lead image courtesy of Google Maps
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