Miyako Sushi
Categories: Sushi Bars, Japanese [Edit]
Neighborhood: Manhattan/Upper West Side642 Amsterdam Ave Frnt
New York, NY 10025 (212) 724-5200
- Nearest Transit:
96th St (1, 2, 3)
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: Yes
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
14 Reviews for Miyako Sushi
Decent All You Can Eat sushi places are becoming a rarity in the restaurant jungle of New York. The places that are decent keep falling off the map, and others almost sneer at you when you ask for more.
This is not the case with Miyako. The fish is decidedly average, possibly a hair worse on a Monday, but the sushi chefs prepare decent pieces. The rolls are *not* pre-made, which is a nice change from some establishments that like to try to cut corners.
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We stumbled on to this place because of the AYCE special. I love sushi (not even good sushi, just that it's not horrible for me and it tastes good) so this is the perfect thing for us.
I've never had a bad experience before, the sushi's always plentiful and the waitress knows me and my friend by name now (we used to come twice a month, but now that we've all left the UWS, we're a lot more sporadic in visiting) but it's always been a solid, unlimited amount of sushi.
I'm a little curious about the last few reviews I saw about the health code violations -- that's quite worrisome. But I've never had a problem.
Restaurant inspection warning! May 1 '08 83 points! Follow-up May 29 '08....still 45 points of violations! Fucking GROSS!
Sometimes you think, ok sure everyone has mice. They're practically part of our diet NYC. But horrendous insepction results at a neighborhood sushi place? NOT cool.
Forget rats, mice, insects food temps, hand washing, thermometers, plumbing, dirty cloths...my favorite was the personal cleanliness inadequate.
GO AWAY. you have no place being in business.
Update: July only 16 points....BUT for a sushi joint i still can't deal with:
4.) Cold food held above 41°F (smoked fish above 38°F) except during necessary preparation.
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This place has 4.5 stars? REALLY???? HOW?!?
This place was a little scary. And I mean that as in, the sushi chefs were 3 young Chinese guys who seemed to have no idea what the hell they were doing. Oh sure, these were the people handling my raw food. Greeeeeeeeeeeeat. I wish I didn't understand Chinese because after I placed my order, I could hear their conversation with the waitress...which was something along the lines of:
Waitress: "Is this seared toro?"
Chef: "Seared toro?"
Waitress: "Yes, that's what she wants. Seared toro"
Chef: "Uhm"
Double great. I got my seared toro in the end but still...it was somewhat unsettling and I wondered if it was safe to order anything raw at Miyako. Well, I did...and I didn't get sick or anything so I guess it was all good (but then again, I have an amazingly strong stomach). Actually, the food quality wasn't bad (it was more a matter of the chef's inexperience that scared me). The white fish in particular was really good and the scallop sashimi was sooo creamy (hence the first star as opposed to the zero). Yes, the scallop and white fish saved the rating a little...and I guess the salmon belly was also quite good.
But they also do the serve-miso-soup-with-a-spoon thing. Oh well, I guess I shouldn't have expected anything authentic the minute I realized that Miyako was opened by a Chinese guy, is completely chinese operated and is on the upper west side of NY. The waitresses were pretty friendly and I had a nice little chat with one of the waitresses who spoke cantonese (hence, the 2nd star). She was really quite nice...but still, the chefs!! I sat at the bar and they didn't do so much as glance my way to make sure everything was ok. They were busy talking amongst themselves and figuring out what seared toro is!
Price is reasonable. I had quite a bit of sashimi and the bill came out to be a little over $30 (plus tips). But really, I wouldn't try it again, just in case...
This was definitely one of the more interesting dinners I've had so far. We had just walked into the restaurant, sat down and ordered the AYCE sushi for $22.95 when BAM! the lights went out. Seriously, for the next 10 minutes, the lights flickered on and off. But the lovely wait-staff were apparently prepared for such an event because before you knew it, you were dining by candlelight and it was awesome cause there were only couples there so I thought it was very cute.
Decor is very plain and modest - not much to report there. The wait-staff were extremely sweet and helpful, not at all over the top like we've experienced at SOME restaurants. I didn't visit the bathroom but my boyfriend says that they have good smelling soap (that was a huge plus for him).
Now, the food. The salmon sushi was some of the prettiest I've ever seen, really yummy too. The eel was too big for my taste and the tempura was too oily. Its a yummy place really, my boyfriend enjoyed it more than I did though. (I've been spoiled by Kinoko.)
My only reason for not giving it the five stars is because we kept ordering the salmon with the cream cheese roll but it never came and we were explained why which I think is pretty rude but tevs.
All in all, good place, yes, I would go back.
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Food: 6/10
Service: 7/10
Decor: 7/10
Overall experience with AYCE: 7/10
Food is just O.K. but for all you can eat (Mondays 5-10pm) it's not bad at all. For those who had been to Kinoko's. Kinoko's sushi is better. Miyako's sushi selection on the AYCE menu is rather limited. But something that may be of interest to you is that Miyako's monday night AYCE menu includes a small section of kitchen items that includes vegetable tempura, chicken terriyaki, and the like.
raw fish is generally quite fish. They have one of the better tuna sushi I've had at casual places. Dragon rolls leaves something to be desired and spider rolls have to be ordered separately. But overall it's still not bad considering it's 22.99 AYCE. I will visit again when I feel like stuffing myself with sushi, or has a friend who wishes to.
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Miyako is one of the few places that I go to repeatedly in NYC. The wait staff has always been very friendly, my water glass rarely empties, but it is really the Monday night all you can eat sushi that makes it hard to pass up.
My girlfriends mom always warns us "don't eat that AYCE sushi! What are you thinking!" and it seems like reasonable advice, but then Miyako comes along and makes it hard to accept. Even though it is AYCE the fish is surprisingly fresh and large. I love the sea bass sashimi they offer, and some how each time the size of the salmon sashimi surprises me (maybe they know me and just keep making it bigger).
The maki rolls are pretty standard... it really only takes one visit before you know all the maki rolls on the AYCE menu by heart (the regular menu has many more options but I'm just talking about AYCE here). But that isn't to say they aren't good, they are still very enjoyable.
To top it all off you can get a ton of other sides/ mini meals free with your AYCE sushi like various types of tempura, miso, teriyaki... what have you.
Really I am struggling to keep this balanced and include some negative comments, but like I said in the beginning, this is one of those rare places that I find myself thinking "I should go back to Miyako tonight instead of trying somewhere new". Admittedly, the sushi offered is pretty standard, and I'll go somewhere more expensive if I want to spoil myself... but if you are trying to satisfy a monday night sushi craving on the upper west side then you really shouldn't consider anywhere else.
Finally, I saw some one talking bad about the peanut avocado roll. NEVER talk bad about the peanut avocado roll. I love that little guy.
AYCE Heaven. Nice. Overstuffed myself like woah. Like WOAH! But it was sooo good. Miso soup was not bad, veggie tempura good. The eel avocado fell apart a bit, but overall none of the rolls were too rice heavy! Interesting roll - peanut avocado. Hm.
For $22, AYCE that is yummy. And that's always a good thing.
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All you can eat sushi! But there is a disclaimer, they charge $1.95 for any piece left! Which led to a very funny and amusing bartering system when one person (Irene F.) couldn't finish the very last piece of a roll. And yes, the peanut avocado roll is just what it sounds like, don't get too excited.
But overall, I was impressed and enjoyed finding a sushi restaurant I can truly say "I"M FULL" when I leave!
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Was in the area on a Monday night and splurged for the all-you-can-eat sushi special even though i only had 40 minutes to eat. The special included an app, salad or soup, and a decent-sized list of sushi and rolls.
I went with a chicken yakitori app which was two skewers of teriyaki chicken. The chicken was juicy - the sauce was okay. Not the sexiest dish I've ever had but I was pleased with it.
Never even got offered the salad or soup. Seemed a waste since I didn't have time but was surprised they didn't ask.
My initial order of 3 pieces of sushi and a roll took much longer than expected. The place was maybe 3/4 full and had 3 sushi chefs going full bore (I was at the sushi bar) and it still took over 15 minutes. To her credit, once the waitress realized I hadn't received my order, she proactively reminded the sushi chef without me having to tell her.
The sushi wasn't worth the wait. The first unagi piece I had was good but the yellowtail and snapper were tasteless. Even more disappointing was the spicy tuna crunch roll which had little crunch and even less spice (it did have tuna though and was shaped like a roll so they're batting .500).
I ordered up two more unagi pieces and the waitress made sure I got these quickly as I told her I needed to leave soon. She seemed a bit shocked - I guess they see a guy walk into a sushi place alone and order the all-you-can-eat, they just assume I'm putting on the feedbag...
Anyway, the final two unagi pieces weren't as good as the first one. The eel was just too warm and the flavor didn't stand out.
The pineapple chunks and orange at the end of the meal were a nice enough touch.
Final bill w/ tax and tip was in the $25 range. Even though I didn't get my glutton on, I would've been fine w/ the tab if I had liked the sushi.
I'm giving this place a third star only as a benefit of the doubt - I trust Ted and Nicole enough that I'll chalk this up to a bad night...
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I love sushi, and Miyako is one of my very favorites. From the super cheap lunch specials- around 9 bucks for 3 rolls, salad, soup, and some pineapple- to the crazy fast delivery, this place is solid for quality sushi. I used to live across the street from there, and they had my business 3-4 times a week.
Nowadays, whenever you order, they give you a complimentary tasting of a sample roll....I love surprises!
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I love sushi and Miyako is my absolute favorite!!!!! Their "Amsterdam Roll" has a million things in it, I can't even begin to name them all, and it is just the best roll ever. When I lure my friends up to the UWS I always bring them here. I've never had anything bad here!! Love it love it love it!!
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I also have them on speed dial. This place is a real find for the money and I love their little freebies. I'll have a Maki combo with Soup please. I've never actually been there though, it looks small
this is my absolute number one place for ordering in. i love them so much that i even have them on speed dial in my phone (sadly this is not a joke). their sushi is fresh and delicious, they make a great seaweed salad and they always give you a little dish of pineapple for dessert. plus, no matter what you order, they throw in a little something extra as a treat! they truly know the way to my heart.
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