Restaurant Radar: Eating Sustainable Sushi at Rosella Makes You a Better Person

Omakase sushi may be the dinner of choice for finance bros everywhere, but there’s another story to be told if you’re ready to listen. It’s centered around sustainability, and lucky for us, it’s a story that involves silently eating seafood at Rosella. Now that there’s an omakase tasting menu on almost every other block in NYC, the idea of receiving 10 to 18 raw pieces of fish directly from a chef’s hand doesn’t seem so crazy. Well, as long as they use hand sanitizer and now use gloves I suppose.

One of biggest challenges of eating sushi today, aside from having to sit next to guys named Chet and Tyler that become intolerable once “the uni hits,” is that you’re eating food that’s getting harder to catch…because it’s becoming obsolete. Rosella is calling attention to what kind of sushi we eat by focusing on sustainable species. Instead of getting fish flown in from Japan, they’re focusing on the bounty of New York Harbor and its surrounding waters. All fish is approved as being cool to be eaten by organizations like Seafood Watch or NOAA prior to appearing on the menu, so you should take comfort in knowing this restaurant actually cares about its impact on both farm raised and wild caught fish. So what can you expect? Well it’s based on seasonality, but a few items from the listed menu include rolls like Yoni’s Breakfast (named after Chef/co-owner Yoni Lang) - a smoked trout with dill cream cheese and tomago that might make you rethink your morning bagel order, and spicy bluefish made with kimchi, herbs, avocado, and jalapeno. There’s also laksa and ramen because winter is a cold beast and enjoying warm broth helps.

You can make a reservation, and preferably request a seat away from parties of two or more gentlemen wearing Patagonia vests, for Rosella here.

A table spread at Rosella, which offers ramen, laksa, and chirashi too!

A selection of rolls at the brand new Rosella.