Midori

Midori
Authentic Japanese Cuisine

Rancho Mirage Restaurants - Midori

Server Machiko Garber, Executive Chef Nobu, and Owner Ako Hiroto invite you to enjoy the Midori experience.

Midori fans have frequented the cheerful, authentic Japanese restaurant for seven years at its Rancho Mirage location in the Pavilions shopping center at Bob Hope and Gerald Ford drives. For nearly two decades in Palm Desert, Midori’s owner Ako Hiroto had welcomed friends to her bustling, fragrant restaurant. Ako and her loyal kitchen and dining staff invite you to her fresh, contemporary Midori restaurant with split-level granite-topped sushi and martini bar.

As Midori means a “green place” in Japanese, the restaurant is painted a cool apple green with smart charcoal accents. Midori has always been an oasis of Japanese culture and cuisine in the desert.

Polished teak tables are spot lit with blue lotus lamps. Wrought-iron tables under umbrellas in the patio lend even more dining choices. Comfortable teak bar stools are drawn up to the duo bars where diners can sip a variety of martini drinks and sample sushi while waiting for a table, or opt to stay at the sushi bar for the complete experience. Enjoy such martinis as the Samurai with orange juice, vodka, and vermouth, the Geisha with pineapple juice, and Hiro’s Martini with peach schnapps and cranberry juice.

Midori’s well-trained sushi chefs know how to entice first-time sushi eaters, as well as when to take experienced sushi lovers to new levels. Among favorites are the Rainbow Roll with seven kinds of fish, the Midori Roll with fried calamari and green beans topped with fresh avocado and fresh water eel, and the Caterpillar Roll, a freshwater eel roll topped with avocado.

Midori’s full menu of authentic Japanese cuisine includes a variety of noodle specialties, steamed dishes, tempuras, kazus or cutlets, and entrées don style, served over rice. A popular noodle dish is Nabeyaki Udon, in a tantalizing broth of shrimp tempura, chicken, and mushrooms.

Special combination and boat dinners provide samplers of favorites from sushi and sashimi to tempuras and teriyakis that serve two or more people. Lunch specials include choice of entrées such as beef or chicken teriyaki, tempura, or sushi served with salad, soup, and rice.

Midori is open for lunch daily from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and for dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. Early bird dining is from 5 to 6 p.m. in season; 5 to 7 p.m. in summer.

Rancho Mirage Restaurants - Midori

SHOWN ABOVE: A dramatic array of the fresh ingredients served at Midori — Red Snapper surrounded by sweet shrimp, Futomaki sushi, tuna roll, cucumber roll, sashimi, assorted sushi, green mussels, garnished with flowers in a melon. In the background are hot pot yosenabe and sukiyaki. The suggested beverages are Otokoyama Japanese Sake, Takara Plum Wine, and Sho Chiku Boi Unfi ltered Sake, silky mild.

“Midori welcomes you to an oasis of authentic Japanese culture and cuisine.”

MENU HIGHLIGHTS

APPETIZERS
Full Sushi Bar
Gyoza
Beef or Tuna Tataki
Midori Mixed Salad

ENTRÉES
Tempura
Deep-Fried Shrimp and Vegetables
Beef or Chicken Sukiyaki
Special Combination Dinners
Midori’s Love Boat For Two

DESSERTS
Green Tea Ice Cream
Mango Ice Cream
Fried Bananas

BEST OF THE CELLAR

HOUSE WINES
Red:
Napa Ridge Merlot
White:
Napa Ridge Chardonnay

JAPANESE BEERS
Asahi
Kirin
Sapporo

SPECIALTY MARTINIS
Samurai
Geisha
Hiro’s
Sake-tini

MIDORI
36-101 BOB HOPE DRIVE (AT GERALD FORD DRIVE)
RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIFORNIA 92270
(760) 202-8186

More Information - Websites, Maps and Directions

BY PAMELA BIERI
PHOTOGRAPHY: ARTHUR COLEMAN/ASSISTANT: TIM CARTER
FOOD STYLIST: ROLAND BIERI