Wegmans Opens an NYC Sushi Restaurant, But Who Is It For? | Eater NY

"Stationed next to the grocery aisles at 770 Broadway (at East Ninth Street), this second-location restaurant — a follow-up to an original grocery-store restaurant in Rochester that accompanied Wegmans’ Manhattan expansion after its 2019 Brooklyn Navy Yard debut and 2023 Astor Place project — presents an intentionally upscale dining room with Art Deco patterns, plush booths and large potted trees that turned out to be fake. Staffers man the entryway and servers and managers wear name tags with the slogan "Every day you get our best," setting a high bar even as some practical details feel overlooked (for example, one bathroom for a 95-seat room, wooden chopsticks, unclear shopper-bag storage and the physical rumblings of the 6 train at some booths). The menu bills itself as the market’s "take on contemporary Japanese cuisine," using ingredients from the seafood department: yellowtail sashimi ($22) is dressed with what the menu calls a ceviche relish (minced marinated fish atop the slices); the king salmon "pate" ($25) is described as "more of a thick and stodgy schmear than a creamy spread" but comes with substantial rice crackers; the six-piece nigiri set ($52) is "solid enough," with good-quality fish. There are many tableside preparations — some old-fashioned, some playful — including a halved baked sweet potato ($18) smashed tableside with black garlic-ponzu butter and a leafy salad with avocado and wasabi-cucumber dressing mixed in front of diners ($16). A sleeper hit was the half-chicken ($39), grilled robata-style over charcoals and rendered juicy; desserts are classic (pistachio semifreddo, a chocolate cake, and ice creams/sorbets plated with chocolate floral designs, $6–$16). Overall, the restaurant’s trappings and supermarket origin make it feel out of place in downtown Manhattan: prices aren’t wildly high by local sushi standards, but the décor and concept don’t match those prices, and in a neighborhood dense with stronger omakase and sushi options it reads as a safe, all-around meal destination (useful for bringing in-laws) rather than a celebratory or must-visit dining experience." - Nadia Chaudhury