Umi, Buckhead's long-running Japanese hot spot, is heading north. The Atlanta favorite is set to open a Manhattan outpost later this year at 63 Madison Avenue in the Flatiron-NoMad corridor, bringing a full dining room, sushi bar, private dining and a dedicated omakase counter a short walk from Madison Square Park.
What They Are Building
According to Eater New York, the New York Umi will take over roughly 5,000 square feet and marry a buzzy, design-forward dining room with a tightly run omakase counter. The Flatiron-NoMad restaurant is slated to land near a cluster of neighborhood institutions, and the team plans to expand its drink program as much as New York's sake distribution scene will let them.
Owners' Pitch
Owner Farshid Arshid says the move feels overdue. "After 12 years in Atlanta, New York feels like a natural evolution," he said in a press statement, calling Umi "a gathering place for the creative community," as reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The outlet notes that the group is targeting a fall opening and describes the space as roughly 4,000 square feet, a slightly smaller figure than other reports have suggested.
Menu And Omakase
New York diners can expect a greatest-hits lineup built off the Atlanta original, with dishes like lobster toban-yaki, wagyu steak and uni risotto headlining the menu. The restaurant plans to offer both a la carte options and a dedicated omakase counter. Eater New York reports that the team wants to keep the experience high-end without turning every seat into a white-whale reservation.
Who Is In The Kitchen
Umi is putting its Atlanta talent to work on both coasts. Co-executive chefs Todd Dae Kulper and Kazuo Yoshida are set to oversee the menu across the two locations. Yoshida, who moved from Nagasaki to New York in 1992 and first made his name in U.S. sushi rooms, relocated to Atlanta in 2025 to lead M @ Umi and is now listed as overseeing the sushi program, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
For Manhattan, Umi's arrival adds another player to the growing roster of spots that blend a traditional sushi counter with a full-scale restaurant in a neighborhood already thick with careful, high-end openings. The group has not yet announced an exact opening date or reservation details, so New York fans of the Buckhead original will have to wait for more news as the build-out moves ahead.
