Profile

With unusual entrées—sunflower chicken with spicy aioli, rock shrimp tempura with peppercorn salt and jalapeño—Hane Sushi delivers on its Japanese-fusion promise in every area but sushi. But since sushi basics are good here, there’s no need to embellish. Vibrantly colored sashimi is generous and fresh while traditional maki rolls carry the right balance of rice and fillings. Best are the massive house-created special rolls, like the candy-colored Tobiko Rainbowl (spicy salmon sprinkled with roe) and the Tiger Roll (a graceful construction of eel, salmon, asparagus, cucumber, and burdock). At lunchtime, suits and skirts pack the small, bright room with its faux-marble tables, and nearly bare, paneled walls. Dinner quiets in comparison with a slow, steady flow of neighborhood diners and takeout customers. Murray Hill locals may remember this space as Sakura of Japan before it reopened as Hane Sushi in 2003; in 2007, Hane Sushi opened a sleek second location on First Avenue near Peter Cooper Village. — Michael Kaminer

Tiger roll, $13.95; tobiko rainbow roll, $16.95