Midorie 79th

A small Upper East Side sushi spot on NE 79th Street doing donburi bowls, hand rolls and Toyosu fish from the Ogawa team.

Checked November 2026

Best for a sharp, unfussy sushi lunch or a quiet dinner for two near the Upper East Side. The room is small and it's not cheap once you start ordering toro by the piece.

The temaki bar

The 79th Street location is the one with a dedicated temaki bar, and that's the reason to pick it over the Coconut Grove branch. Hand rolls run from $14 for ume shiso whitefish or salmon torch up to $40 for wagyu with toro, with uni and ikura at $30 and toro taku at $22. The kitchen will also roll any fish on the menu as a temaki if you ask. Spicy tuna at $15 or spicy hotate at $16 makes a quick lunch, and ordering two or three in a row is how this place works best.

Bowls and the big spend

Donburi bowls are the everyday order: pick sushi rice, multigrain, cha soba or greens, add a sauce like spicy miso or wasabi soy, and the fish goes on top. The house Midorie bowl with salmon, tuna, blue crab and tobiko is $28; salmon alone is $24, and the vegetable bowl is $22. The chirashi, ten pieces of seasonal sashimi over rice, is $45. To splurge, the omakase platter is 12 nigiri plus a maki for $100, and otoro is $15 a piece. Fish arrives daily from Toyosu in Tokyo, the same supply as Ogawa, the group's Michelin-starred counter.

Two services, one small room

Midorie 79th runs lunch from noon to 3 pm and dinner from 5:30 to 9:30 pm, Monday through Saturday, and it's closed Sunday. That dead stretch in the afternoon catches people out. The concept seats around 22 between indoor and outdoor tables, so it stays calm and doesn't suit big groups. It's on NE 79th Street in the Upper East Side, and 4.7 from about 340 Google reviews says the regulars are happy. This location takes reservations, and takeout is there if the room is full.

Reservations

With only about 22 seats, book ahead for dinner, especially on Friday and Saturday.

Good to know

The kitchen closes between 3 and 5:30 pm, so don't plan a late lunch.

Questions people ask