Restaurant in New York City, United States
À la carte sushi with a sustainability edge.
Rosella is an à la carte, hyper-sustainable sushi counter in New York's East Village, ranked #245 in North America by Opinionated About Dining in 2025. Chefs Yoni Lang and Jeff Miller deliver technically precise contemporary sushi with a North Fork and West Coast wine list. Easier to book than most venues at this quality level, and more flexible than a fixed omakase.
Yes — Rosella is one of the more interesting sushi restaurants in Manhattan's lower East Village, and it earns that position on the strength of its sourcing philosophy rather than the usual prestige-format playbook. If you want technically serious sushi without the omakase price commitment or the blonde-wood reverence of most high-end counters, Rosella is the answer. It ranked #245 on Opinionated About Dining's Leading Restaurants in North America in 2025 (up from #449 in 2024), which signals genuine upward momentum, not a one-cycle fluke.
Rosella sits at 137 Avenue A in the East Village — a neighbourhood that rewards explorers willing to look past the familiar Midtown dining circuit. Chefs Yoni Lang and Jeff Miller run a hyper-sustainable operation that is deliberately unbound by sushi convention. The room reflects that: instead of the spare minimalism you find at most serious counters, Rosella uses cerulean blue hues and a counter made from a single tree trunk. It reads as a conscious statement about what a contemporary sushi restaurant can look like when it is not trying to signal tradition through décor.
The menu is à la carte, which matters practically. You control the spend and the pace, making Rosella accessible for diners who want serious sushi without a multi-hour omakase commitment. The sourcing philosophy shows up in specific technique: shrimp nigiri is cured, then seared until it curls into the rice, and finished with shrimp head-chili oil. Dessert takes the form of amazake presented as a porridge with white peach-nectarine jam. These are not arbitrary flourishes , they reflect a kitchen that applies the same level of thought to every course rather than front-loading the counter experience and coasting at the end.
The wine list skews toward the North Fork and West Coast, which fits the sustainability ethos and gives you regional pairings that feel considered rather than obligatory. For food-focused explorers, this is the kind of detail that adds genuine value to the meal rather than padding the bill.
Esquire named Rosella among its Leading New Restaurants in 2021 at #27, and the two successive OAD rankings confirm the kitchen has not lost momentum in the years since. With a Google rating of 4.7 across 338 reviews, the floor-level consistency matches the awards-level recognition , a combination that is less common than it should be.
Book Rosella if you want chef-driven, sustainability-focused sushi in an à la carte format that lets you eat well without a fixed menu. It suits two people more naturally than large groups, and it fits a neighbourhood-anchor dinner better than a formal occasion requiring a private room. The East Village location makes it a natural pre- or post-dinner anchor if you are already spending an evening on Avenue A. For visitors staying further uptown, the trip is worth making if contemporary sushi is the goal , the OAD ranking puts it ahead of many better-known names in the city.
See the full comparison below.
Rosella is open Monday through Sunday, 5–10 pm. Booking is rated Easy, so you do not need to set reminders weeks in advance, though a reservation is still sensible given the counter format. The address is 137 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009. Price range is not published, but the à la carte format and neighbourhood positioning place it well below the $$$$ tier occupied by Masa or Per Se.
For more on eating and drinking in the city, see our full New York City restaurants guide, our New York City bars guide, and our New York City hotels guide. If you are exploring further afield, Pearl also covers Lazy Bear in San Francisco, Alinea in Chicago, Providence in Los Angeles, Single Thread Farm in Healdsburg, The French Laundry in Napa, Emeril's in New Orleans, Alain Ducasse Louis XV in Monte Carlo, and Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen.
Quick reference: 137 Avenue A, East Village | Mon–Sun 5–10 pm | À la carte | Booking: Easy | OAD #245 North America (2025)
The counter is the heart of the dining room at Rosella , the distinctive tree-trunk counter is a design feature, not an afterthought. Counter seating is likely available, but call ahead or check the booking platform to confirm specific seat preferences, as the room is described as quaint, meaning capacity is limited and every seat fills.
The room is small and the format is intimate, which makes large groups difficult to seat together. Pairs and tables of four are the practical sweet spot. If you are planning a party of six or more, Rosella is probably not the right venue , consider a restaurant with a private dining option instead. For group sushi in New York, browse our full NYC restaurants guide for better-suited options.
Rosella is dinner-only, open 5–10 pm every day of the week. There is no lunch service to compare. If an early evening slot suits you, arriving close to opening at 5 pm is your leading option for a quieter experience before the room fills.
For high-end sushi with a much larger price tag and a traditional omakase format, Masa is the obvious reference point , it sits at the leading of the city's sushi tier. For modern Korean at a comparable serious-dining level, Atomix is worth considering. If you want seafood-focused fine dining without a sushi format, Le Bernardin is the benchmark. Rosella's point of difference against all of them is the à la carte flexibility, the sustainability sourcing, and the significantly more accessible price point.
No dress code is published for Rosella. Given the East Village address and the room's deliberate departure from traditional sushi minimalism, smart casual is the appropriate read , you do not need to dress for a formal tasting-menu evening, but the OAD ranking means the room will not feel out of place if you arrive dressed well.
It works well for a food-focused special occasion between two people , the OAD #245 North America ranking and the Esquire Leading New Restaurants recognition give it the credibility to feel like a meaningful dinner. It is less suited to milestone celebrations that require a private room or a set ceremony. For a birthday or anniversary where the food is the event, yes. For a corporate dinner or a proposal requiring a specific setup, look elsewhere in our NYC restaurants guide.
Booking difficulty is rated Easy, which means you are unlikely to need to plan weeks out the way you would for Eleven Madison Park or Atomix. That said, the counter is small and the OAD ranking draws serious diners. A few days to a week ahead is a sensible buffer for a Friday or Saturday evening. Midweek slots are likely available with shorter notice.
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rosella | Sushi, Sustainable Sushi | Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in North America Ranked #245 (2025); This high dining, hyper-sustainable operation is proudly unbound by tradition. The space is quaint and deviates from the blonde-wood minimalism so prevalent these days. Instead, find hues of cerulean blue and a counter made from a tree. The à la carte menu showcases this restaurant's sourcing philosophy. In terms of cuisine, it's pure contemporary elegance, as seen in shrimp nigiri that's first cured, then seared until it curls into the rice and finished with shrimp head-chili oil. End with amazake, presented as a porridge with white peach-nectarine jam. The impressive wine list sources from the North Fork and West Coast.; Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in North America Ranked #449 (2024); Esquire Best New Restaurants #27 (2021) | Easy | — |
| Le Bernardin | French, Seafood | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Atomix | Modern Korean, Korean | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Eleven Madison Park | French, Vegan | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Masa | Sushi, Japanese | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Per Se | French, Contemporary | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Rosella has a counter made from a tree trunk — it's a central feature of the room, not an afterthought. Counter seating is a legitimate way to eat here and arguably the right format for the à la carte menu. Book a counter spot if you can; the room is small enough that there's no bad seat.
Rosella is a quaint, compact space on Avenue A — it's not set up for large group dining. Parties of two or four will be comfortable; anything larger risks overwhelming the format. If you're planning a group dinner of six or more, consider a venue with private dining infrastructure instead.
Rosella is a dinner-only restaurant, open 5–10 pm every day of the week. There is no lunch service to compare. Plan accordingly and book an evening slot.
For a higher-budget omakase format, Masa is the benchmark but costs significantly more and requires advance planning. Atomix is the better comparison if you want a chef-driven tasting menu with serious credential — it holds two Michelin stars. Rosella's advantage over both is its à la carte flexibility, lower barrier to booking, and sustainability focus that neither competitor prioritises in the same way.
Rosella is an East Village neighbourhood restaurant with a counter made from a tree and cerulean blue walls — the setting is relaxed, not formal. Clean, put-together casual is appropriate. You won't feel out of place in jeans; you also won't be overdressed in a blazer.
Yes, with the right expectations. Rosella is an OAD Top 250 restaurant in 2025, which is real credibility for a celebration dinner. The format is à la carte in a small, intimate room — it suits a birthday or anniversary for two better than a large group milestone. If you want a grander, more ceremonial setting, Per Se or Eleven Madison Park will feel more occasion-appropriate.
Booking at Rosella is rated Easy, so you don't need to set calendar reminders weeks out. A few days to a week in advance should secure a table for most nights. That said, it's a small room and an OAD-ranked restaurant, so don't assume walk-in availability on a Friday or Saturday.
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