Walked by a few days ago and saw their sandwich board menu and decided to give them a try. I thought that they would prepare the dishes on site/behind the counter like this other Japanese market on 41st. Well, no, all their food items are prepackaged and refrigerated. They are labeled with instructions for microwave heating. Ended up picking up some pork katsu curry and a salmon onigiri. As you can imagine, you can never make a deep fired item crispy when heated via microwave... so, the batter on the pork katsu was pretty bad. Mixing the meat with the curry made it "better". The portion is also not very generous for bot the rice dish and the onigiri. For the price, I guess it is a passable meal, but, this is a bit of a walk from my office, so, it makes is not worth it for me. read more

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This is a wonderful small Japanese grocery. Unassuming but great inventory. I had a lot of questions. The staff person was helpful, patient. Highly recommend. read more

This was amazing and brought joy to my stressful day at work. I recommend this to anyone that needs something quick and cheap with good quality. read more

For a boutique Japanese grocery store with a kitchen making traditional Japanese fare and sushi, this place is INCREDIBLE. It's on my way to work, and I can always count on them for reliable quality and a strong selection of Japanese prepared and packaged foods. They also sell staples for any Asian kitchen - sauces, mixes, noodles, etc. My favorite part of this store is the prepared foods area, where you can get fried chicken, okonomiaki, takoyaki, fried fish, and other prepared food items! It's small and the checkout area isn't always the most efficient, but it's clear they make do and do a great job with the space they have. What a gem for the neighborhood - and they have another on the east side just past grand central and another one further south on the middle / west side in the 10s or 20s. read more

Dainobu - Prepared foods - International Grocery Near Me - New York, New York

More like 3.5 What a great cute little Japanese grocery / convenience store! They have A LOT prepared / premade items: savory items such as sushi, takoyaki, okonomiyaki, rice balls, gyoza, spring rolls, bento boxes, omelet(Tamagoyaki), etc., and also sweet desserts such as pudding, cakes, cream puffs, mochi, wheat cakes, taiyaki, etc. Their omelet roll (Tamagoyaki) is some of the most moist, juicy, tender one I've had! It's delightfully sweet and savory (it's very sweet - might be too sweet for some but I love it!) The pudding a La mode is quite interesting and I really enjoyed it! Structurally it's basically whipped cream with a layer of cake topped with flan and 3 slices of fruit: strawberry, honey dew, and mango. All the different flavors and textures work very well together! Tried wheat cakes for the first time. I've had my fair share of mochi but haven't tried wheat cakes. It's basically mochi with a different jacket lol - instead chewy mochi skin, it's fluffy bread/Bao skin filled with red bean paste. They also have fresh produce section and a bread/mochi section. They have impressive selections of drinks, snacks and spices/condiments. I was a little bit disappointed that I didn't see ice cream in their freezer. Overall things are on the pricier side though. read more

I usually love coming to Dainobu but today the cashier literally cursed at me?? I'm so confused because usually it's a sweet woman that's quick and efficient. Today it was a girl that was clearly struggling even before my friend and I got to the register - she was turned around and then she asked US if we were ready when we were already at the register. My friend was on the phone but despite that answered her promptly and politely: here's my card, no I don't need a receipt etc. She was muttering so much under her breath that I thought she must've been on a call on her headphones or something. Then I caught her saying 'I guess you don't need your f*cking receipt since you're on the phone' and I was like EXCUSE ME. She picked the wrong one because my friend let her know that she was having a bad day, and to not project on to customers just trying to buy sushi. She looked shocked and like she wanted to say something but she didn't. WILD. To a customer in a Japanese market? Get it together. read more

Food is nice Service is also nice, they help out whenever you need assistance Small place, and somewhat narrow hallways, but nice read more

Stopped by on the way back to my hotel....small place but I appreciate it because there is not another Japanese grocery store nearby in walking distance. The selections are limited but they got the basics covered. I bought a ham cutlet sandwich and I have to say it was not that good, and definitely not the same as you can get in Japan, although it looked good and was affordable. They had other prepared stuff like bento boxes, onigiri, rice bowls and appetizer items. There is an microwave so you can heat up what you bought. The cashier lady was very welcoming and nice. read more

A small Japanese convenience store with a great selection of premade food. As a lover of katsudon which usually goes for ~$20 at similar stores, I make the trip here every a few weeks to grab their's for about $12. The prepared sushi and sashimi are also noticeably better than other grocery stores. The bentos boxes and other Japanese side items like karaage and okonomiyaki are also fine, but some of the items seem a bit pricy compared to others. The onigiri is a bit underwhelming though as they don't have a lot of filling or flavor. FYI, when they ask you if you want a paper bag or a "bag with a handle" at check-out, these are mutually exclusive options. The paper bag has no handle and the "bag with a handle" is a reusable bag with their logo that costs $2. read more

Good, but for some reason I am under the impression that the branch by 14th Street is like better. Just the product selection and the quality of things. This location felt lackluster. Still a good place to get items, but something about 14th Street Dainobu eclipses here. Would only come back if mega desperate. read more

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Cute Japanese boutique. Although it's small, they pack a lot of good treats, noodles, and drinks! There are also spices and chips that can be difficult to find. This is a perfect place to stop for pre packaged sandwiches and sushi rolls! The cashiers are friendly enough, but it's annoying they try to sell you a $2 bag every time you go. read more

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Little Japanese grocery store with pretty much everything you need. I stopped by to get frozen packaged udon and chili garlic sauce. I didn't end up getting the udon because they were mostly single or 2 serving packages that I thought weren't worth the price (I was looking for a package of 5-6 servings). The chili garlic sauce was pretty on par in terms of price (compared to Target). I'm attaching their promo for 40% off frozen food on the weekends. I think I'll come back to buy the frozen gyoza (if that qualifies). read more

Dainobu - Promo on the weekends - International Grocery Near Me - New York, New York

I love the grocery store. But there are some ... health and safety concerns that I have about this place since it smells so funny/awful in there. Luckily most things are packaged ... but I'm still concerned. Hope store owner is able to get it renovated. It seems as it's deteriorating in the inside in places that aren't visible to the eye. Go and check it out yourself. Be careful of the items you buy. Make sure it's packaged and the date is not expired. Support this grocery store so that it can remain in the neighborhood and again, hopefully the owner can do renovations here. read more

Great spicy takoyaki!!! So flavorful! I wish I could've tried more of their stuff! Small store!

Cool store w a lot of variety for snacks, food, and products. came here on my lunch break and saw they had onigiri. This onigiri was not the best I've had as the chicken was just stuck to the rice in froand the rice wasn't as sticky as sushi rice. Was $2.39 for the chicken and i got two. The total came out to $5.20 read more

Dainobu - Spicy chicken - International Grocery Near Me - New York, New York

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A fun little market. It's quite small physically, and also has a fairly small selection, but still has a lot of interesting things. The onigiri are quite good. There's a decent selection of Ramens. Not much fresh produce though, and the drink selection didn't have some of my favorites. Overall always fun to walk through for a minute. read more

Conveniently near my office just less than a 5 mins walk. The premade lunch boxes and bento boxes are kept refrigerated so you have to microwave your food. I bet it would taste way better if they just kept hot temperature as so many other Japanese/Korean food grocery stores...just saying! I was staring at a few and debating from a rice ball to curry cutlet over rice (I am not the biggest fan of boring white rice and they tend to give more rice over meat), Yakisoba with Chicken Karaage...you are coming back with me to my office. Under $8 for lunch...such a sweet deal! I microwaved my food for 60 seconds. The wheat noodles gives me an after taste probably from the sauce that they use to stir fry the noodles. Mmmm tempura squid was still crispy and yummy. The Chicken Karaage's skin isn't as yummy when the skin was at least crispy. Overall cheap spot for lunch, snacks, icecream and etc. read more

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We stopped by because our hotel was nearby and I wanted to try the fruit sandwich. The fruit sandwich was good- not too sweet. However, the sandwich does have a little bit of the "fridge smell" but it didn't bother me. Another thing is that there is only half pieces of fruit inside- What you see is (in the picture) is what you get. read more

Dainobu - Fresh cream fruit sandwich - International Grocery Near Me - New York, New York

This grocery store has such a great selection of takeaway food (with microwaves in the back for reheating). Sushi quality was good and not that expensive! read more

Dainobu - Sushi assorted - International Grocery Near Me - New York, New York

Normally I would buy my Asian items at h-mart in k town, but I like to stop by this small Japanese convenience store on my way home if I want a treat. If I'm in a pinch they have a great selection of all the Japanese sauce bases which can include basic substitution for other Asian condiments. Their ready made meals are pretty affordable, and they have two microwaves in the store so you can reheat your meals if you're picking up a bento on your lunch break. A plus for me is that I can usually find a tub of seasoned pollack row in their freezer when I don't feel like shopping around for the good stuff. Sometimes I just want mentaiko without the fuss. You can also find a decent selection of miso, tofu, natto, etc at competitive prices. Their udon and soba noodles are cheaper than other stores, comparative to hmart. They also sell household items and plenty of dried goods and teas. Produce is on the pricey side but if you're in a pinch and you need Asian produce and you're stuck in midtown the price may be worth the convenience. For a tiny convenience store they pack a lot in. read more

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A cute place with a great selection, but I totally do not understand why tiny salads in tiny boxes cost $ 6 (5.99). Even in a standard sushi restaurant it costs a lot less. Most of your customers are students, I would appreciate it if you would try to be more considerate, because it really doesn't make sense. read more

Excellent spot to pick up all your Japanese eats! Sushi is fresh and great value, lots of little sweets to be found in these asiles and I'm glad they have such a variety of home and beauty goods too! read more

Dainobu - Sushi - International Grocery Near Me - New York, New York

What a cute find! I was craving Oxtail at Tina's... and while walking back, I did a double & saw Japanese snacks! Went right in and browsed around... It's like one of those "7/11" type stores - they have loads in Asia - like HK, Tokyo, Seoul! A place where you can grab a quite bite, they provide microwaves and hot water for your instant ramen crave! Boxes of food, side dishes, sushi and sweets - and packaged food! It's a small location - so be polite - efficient check out. I treated myself to a yummy Matcha Baum $2.69 (like green tea roll cake but healthier bc it's whole wheat... lol). And also a "seasoned watercress salad"... this was quite good! I love how they blanched it almost al-dente and just seasoned it w/ sesame oil & sliced onion. $2.99 - kind of pricey... but around midtown west, it's probably norm. And of course my fav - Calpico Soda $1.69! Feel like a kid in this store! I would definitely come back for more browsing! Good for my tummy, bad for my wallet! ;) Happy Box Lunching Yelpers! read more

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You can get most of major Japanese products here. What I like to buy here is rice - the five pound package is usually discounted and cheaper than other grocery stores. Also there is no credit card minimum, hurray! Unfortunately the bento (lunch box) here is not so good, especially mabo don. read more

Cute little Japanese grocery! Though small, it's very organized, clean and chock full of various Japanese food and drink (ingredients, prepared foods, and take-away items), condiments, a small home/beauty section, and condensed produce and frozen food sections. Walking down the street, it's easy to miss this spot since it's such a narrow storefront in the middle of a fairly long avenue in a mostly commercial and high-end residential neighborhood. But what a approachable and affordable destination it is, smack in the middle of a multitude of hotels, restaurants and high end retailers! It's a convenient spot to pick up a small bag of groceries after work, or grab a snack of mochi or other Japanese snacks if you happen to be in the area. Two things that make this store 4 stars instead of 5 are mostly bc the shop is so small, so: 1) while the total selection of merchandise is quite impressive relative to its size, (they more than exceed expectations as a deli), if you're looking for a large-format supermarket then a suburban one like Mitsuwa will have more variety of products. 2) the aisles are extremely narrow especially towards the back of the store. So there's barely space for one person to squeeze past another. This makes for a) very quick shopping esp given the current covid situation, since you want to limit your time inside a small enclosed space, and b) some routing and re-routing of foot traffic walking around the store. Both Sunrise Mart and Katagiri provide more spacious shopping experiences. Aside from these two issues, I find the employees to be very friendly and courteous, and I'm glad Dainobu has an outpost here! read more

Great Japanese market with authentic dressings, lots of Japanese stuff. Support local shops

Dainobu is a treasured Japanese supermarket in the midtown area. I thank God that it exists close to my work, so I have access to my favorite Japanese grocery items. It's a fairly small store with tight aisles, but has all the main items, including prepared perishable and non-perishable items. The prices are either comparable or slightly higher than what you'll find at Sunrise Mart, which I much prefer (the East Village location), though Midtown rent is higher. -Good variety of matcha green tea (culinary and ceremonial uses) -Desserts, such as mochi, daifuku, yuzu cheesecake, sponge cake -Different brands of ice cream (my favorite are Maeden-en's black sesame and green tea ice cream and the mochi ice cream) -Different varieties of furikake, bonito flakes, and other seasonings -Prepared Korean pancakes -Prepared Japanese entrees and sides, such as the omelet, seaweed salad, bento boxes, seawee, etc. -Raw fish, including the sashimi-grade uni and salmon -Miso paste, tofu, natto, etc. Real Japanese people shop here--always a good sign for authenticity. Sometimes you'll find discounts on the prepared foods, such as raw fish, on Friday evenings (though I would be wary of freshness). The staff is very friendly and helpful. read more

Dainobu - Uni (may not have been the freshest...purchased on a Sunday night) - International Grocery Near Me - New York, New York

Great option for quick Japanese. Their cooked food is pretty cheap for the area. You can get two basic sushi rolls (i.e. salmon or tuna) for about $7. Chicken karaage is only $3.50! It's cold but it's still surprisingly crispy! You can skip the onigiri. I got a raw spicy tuna one and the tuna tasted cooked to me. There was also not much filling so you're basically eating seaweed and rice. They also have noodles, katsu, and some banchan. Dainobu also has a good selection of Japanese groceries like noodles, candies, dried goods, frozen meat for BBQ, and even frozen pieces of sashimi. The sashimi seemed a little bit questionable since it was so cheap (about $5 a piece) but I decided to take a risk and try it. I'm glad I did because it actually tasted pretty good (for the price). Il'l deffo be back to try the sushi rolls and for some more sashimi! read more

Dainobu - Chicken karaage - International Grocery Near Me - New York, New York

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Cute small Asian market. Fresh and shelf staples. Good location near Central Park . Many to-go meal selections. take away only.

I LOVE Japanese markets. Eric R. was rolling his eyes when I said this was the nearby bookmark I wanted to check out. He gets tired of being dragged to Japanese markets in every city we visit. This is one of three I bookmarked in the area. My brother lives near the Mitsuwa in Edgewater, NJ, but I don't expect to make it to that mecca this trip, so I wanted to start with a trip to Dainobu. It is small inside so the aisles are almost too small to pass someone without some acrobatic maneuvers. However, I was really impressed with everything that fit into the space. The first focus was the refrigerated case upon walking in. There were so many types of bottled teas, onigiri, bentos, and even cold beers for the taking. There were more teas tea flavors here than I have ever seen, and I should have taken a picture of the shelf! The price was incredibly low for them too, so I bought five to take back to the hotel to last me for my trip. Besides my favorite jasmine green, I also got the genmaicha, plus the cucumber mint matcha cold brew (it tastes like cucumber water essentially!) and the lightly sweetened mango yuzu tea. I have not tried this yet because I do not like sweet tea much, but I love yuzu so I had to get it. There were also sushi rolls, raw tuna don, salmon and ikura don, and other little salads/sides like hijiki and edamame or kinpira. There were aisles of beauty goods, snacks, noodles, sauces, teas, and candies. I was enamored with the yuzu juice and sauce section. My favorite shirakiku yuzu juice was only $10 a bottle, and it is at least $15 in Austin at Asahi Imports. There were yuzu dressings I had never seen. I can make these myself but I still get excited. Side note: topo chico with a splash of yuzu juice = yuzu soda heaven! Anyway, as we passed a section of beautiful produce a la kabocha, several types of mushrooms, Japanese cucumber, daikon, myoga, shiso....) and desserts, I was happy and Eric R. was bored. While I paid for my drinks, he went outside. I may have to go to the other markets by myself so I can spend more time wandering. My suitcase came full and I had to carry it on since we are here for a brief trip. I would have bought half of the sauce section if I had the space! Itadakimasu! read more

Dainobu - Interesting almond raspberry matcha kit Kat! - International Grocery Near Me - New York, New York

Got Japanese barbecue source and shoyu. A lot of bento. The curry bento tastes good and the price is attractive. read more

Dainobu - International Grocery Near Me - New York, New York

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56th street is one of the most underrated streets in Manhattan when it comes to food. A gold mine for lunch patrons wandering away from the truck scene. Dainobu is simple Japanese fare and a surprising price. With microwaves on-premise, this takes me back to the Japanese convenience stores of my college days. The standard katsudon is plenty filling, drown your way back to work a few chugs of Pocari Sweat. Tastes better than it sounds, trusts me. read more

when i am in the mood for quick and easy this is the place to go. i love their drink variety and ready to go meals. i have gotten soba , udon and uni from here all were very good. everyone is super friendly and it is a small spot but it hits the spot read more

Great little Japanese grocery store/prepared lunch spot in midtown. I go to Dainobu once or twice a month to fill up on Asian staples and to get veggies I can't find at whole foods (daikon, shiso leaves, certain mushrooms). I usually try to go on Saturdays/Sundays for the 40% of frozen foods (minus meat, fish & ice cream). I prefer it to Hmart not only because it's closer to my home, but also for the quality and variety of Japanese ingredients. I can't speak to the prepared foods because I've never had them, but everything looks pretty good! read more

I don't think cashiers pay close attention to discounted items ...I have experienced a lot of times that I checked the receipts I had to go back to cashiers to tell them they did not discount. It makes so awkward and uncomfortable to go back. These experiences can be applicable to other dainobu stores. They really need to be instructed or trained to pay attention to it. It's a principle read more

I was dying for some legit Japanese food and saw that Dainobu was near by so I decided to check it out. The store itself is pretty tiny but probably carries whatever Japanese item you are in search of!! They have a large selection of bentos, sushi, donburi, musubis, etc and the prices are not too bad either. I picked up a decent sized bento for $7.50 and a small piece of sashimi fish for $4! The don't have a ton of fresh produce or meat/fish (though they do have a decent selection of frozen meats). The workers are also super sweet! read more

What a gem of a convenience store. We were visiting for the weekend and didn't feel like going through the hassle/cost of eating out. So we picked up a few food items and microwaveable meals. The food is above average for what it is, and it's a cute place to pick up reasonably priced Japanese snacks and goods. Had a lot of fun finding junk food and comfort food for dinner, to enjoy at our hotel nearby! read more

Interesting snacks and candies... I will try again during the day because at 8:30pm most items were gone or old . lol. Cool little market but its more of a market than food store. Its not like Katagiri which focuses on prepared foods more than market... but still very good read more

Value: 8/10 Experience: 7/10 Taste: 7/10 Good if you're looking for a quick bite to eat at cheaper price than typical fast food places. They have a variety of Asian food lunch selection from bento boxes, sushi, noddles, and more. You may need to heat up your food with a microwave though! Value: I got the fried chicken over rice ($7) and seaweed salad ($3) and it filled me up (and I eat a lot!). Honestly just the chicken and rice would have been enough for me but I needed some veggies to balance it out. Experience: Pretty straightforward, you grab you selection and check out. It's like a 7-11 style store so you can get in and out quickly. There are also multiple cashiers to keep the line moving. Taste: Heat the rice and chicken for 2 min for best result. The chicken was moist and matched with the spicy mayo sauce. The excess also mixes with the rice for more saltiness. I also added some seaweed into my rice for more flavor. I couldn't really tell it was microwaved lunch. read more

Dainobu - International Grocery Near Me - New York, New York

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I wouldn't have give it a 5 if I never been to Sunrise mart or other Asian supermarket. I got a curry rice box. It got vegetables curry rice with pork dumplings. It said "use Japanese rice " on the cover. I was blown away with the taste of the rice and the curry. It was flavorful and the rice was amazing! I did taste the different between Japanese rice and other rice. And it was $7.50. I would go there more often read more

Dainobu - All their lunch box are using Japanese rice - International Grocery Near Me - New York, New York