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You can’t throw a shoe without hitting an Italian restaurant, bagel shop, or pizza parlor in Staten Island. But despite its ubiquity in Manhattan, sushi hasn’t yet become commonplace in the city’s southernmost borough. In a tiny strip mall with a parking lot as tight as its Seven jeans–wearing customers, one sexy little jewel box of an eatery seeks to remedy that oversight, and succeeds, admirably. You can set your watch by the half-hour delay, reservation notwithstanding, but you can also count on attentive waiters and, most important, stellar raw fish once you’re seated, either at a table or at the river-stone-backed sushi bar. Special rolls like the Todt Hill and the S.I Rainbow roll are more than a local shoutout or menu gimmick; the chef’s artistry is apparent in the lusty stacks of shrimp, striped bass, yellowtail tuna, and salmon, with each layer set to achieve the full-on Technicolor pow. A 2006 renovation added a banquette-lined lounge off the main dining room, so poker-faced bartenders now shake up pretty sake-laden concoctions at the glowing-red, faux-marble bar. — Amy Zavatto

Sesame tuna steak, $26; dancing dragon (special roll), $15; Staten Island rainbow (special roll), $14; eel cake (special roll), $15