2006 100 Very Best Restaurants

THE SCENE. One of the biggest secrets in town is this basement haunt with signage so tiny it seems designed to dissuade customers from coming in. But Japanese businessmen know all about it and flock to it for its purist approach to sushi and sashimi.

WHAT YOU'LL LOVE. Varieties of fish seldom seen elsewhere--kingfish, for instance, or a mash of white yam studded with jewel-like cubes of tuna--turn up regularly on this small menu of gems. More familiar dishes can evince an almost lapidary craftsmanship--a tuna tataki turns up a dish of sweet, tender toro so beautifully cut and arrayed that you almost hate to spoil the composition by eating it.

WHAT YOU WON'T. Unless you're a regular, you'll have to return several times before you command the kind of attention you deserve from the staff. And there's the rub--the prices can be as off-putting as the indifferent, gruff reception you may receive.

BEST DISHES. The chef's daily assortment of small appetizers, always fresh and interesting; tuna tataki; excellent, elegantly presented sashimi, including unusually fine selections of yellowtail, octopus, and clam.