Profile

Funayama's owner spent years as head chef of Yama, the Irving Place spot with the Flintstones-size slabs of fish. After a sojourn to Japan, he took over the old Peacock Café, before striking out on his own with Funayama (a nonsense word meaning "boat mountain"). The formula here is gargantuan sushi and sashimi minus the frills. It works; chatty groups and phone-toting solos fill the place nightly as if they couldn't care less about scuffed diner furniture, industrial carpets, and dingy walls. Nor do they grumble about barely defrosted appetizers or fish that occasionally arrives frigid. They're too captivated by sashimi thick as a steak and bulging rolls that implode under their own weight. It's best to follow their lead: Tune out the room, skip the menu openers, and focus on the fish. — Michael Kaminer

Chirashi, $17.25; sushi sashimi combo, $19.50; tri-salmon combo, $15.25