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You might expect a place with a Japanese owner (Tadao Mori, of Restaurant Lan), a Japanese architect (Hiromi Tsuruta), and a Japanese chef to serve, well, Japanese food. But Dieci confounds expectations with a name that means “ten” in Italian and a chef who worked at Fiamma Osteria and San Domenico in Imola long enough to become culinarily fluent. The menu is as streamlined as the 25-seat subterranean space (formerly occupied by Miss Williamsburg Portavia), with a selection of cheese and salumi, pastas like garganelli with lamb Bolognese, and the occasional Eastern accent, like the wasabi veal stock he uses for his aged prime Angus, served with fingerling potatoes and crispy onions. — Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld

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