Intimate Escape: Midorikawa Japanese Restaurant

With only four tables and a sushi counter of untreated wood, Midorikawa uses its petite size to advantage, offering an intimate escape from the world beyond its latticed windows. As diners exchange confidences over a bossa nova soundtrack, sushi chefs with sharp outfits and sharper knives slice pricey, pedigreed seafood airlifted from Tokyo's Tsukiji market.

Daily lunch specials offer relative wallet relief: We opted for an eight-course kaiseki set (RMB 120), the stars of which were a mise en bouche of octopus and pickles in wasabi vinaigrette, salmon roe sushi that burst happily in our mouths, and juicy, briny grilled mackerel. Conversely, the tempura was bland and oily and the sashimi, while texturally toothsome, fell short of the gold standard set at the more austere, more refined Yotsuba.

Midorikawa 绿川
Daily 11.30am-2pm, 5.30-10pm. 18 Sanlitun Beilu (in Nali Mall beside Jazz-Ya), Chaoyang District (6416 4861)
朝阳区三里屯北路18号(Jazz-Ya旁)

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