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All done up in blond wood paneling and cool black marble, with simple glass bell lamps hanging from the ceiling, Sen-nin looks sleek and elegant—until you notice the huge banners hanging over the sushi bar, with intensely colored sumo wrestlers and dragons proclaiming this to be the BEST SUSHI. The effect is a little goofy, and rather charming. The food suggests a similar balance of polished restraint and unexpected exuberance. Though not quite approaching fusion, the menu is filled with flavors and textures you won’t find in more earnestly traditional Japanese places. Hot sauces are used well and with subtlety—they never overwhelm the high-quality fish. Particularly appealing is the creamy green dip, with hints of cilantro and a sharp chile bite, that accompanies the namatako fritter appetizer—perfectly fried nuggets of what the menu entertainingly calls Fresh Octopus Suckers. More tasty spicy stuff is judiciously applied to the Carpaccio Crunch, a plate of slivered fish topped with crisp panko crumbs. Dabs of an earthy red-pepper paste and micro-slices of jalapeño enliven the sushi assortments. Of course, purists might object to all this gilding of the lily (as well as to the oversize sushi). Well, it's their loss. — Steven Stern

Every bit of chicken anatomy (as well as beef and vegetables) can be found skewered and set over coals at the yakitori bar in the back.

Namatako fritters, $15; black-cod misozuke, $16; scallop carpaccio crunch, $24; deluxe sushi, $30