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Shigenori Tanaka, formerly of Masa, helms the kitchen at this Astoria spot. Named after the Nipponese concept of refined simplicity, Linn’s soothing gray palette is accented by a wall screen soundlessly unspooling black-and-, white Kurosawa classics. Tanaka’s modern Japanese menu is both traditional and inventive. He forms glistening fish into sushi pieces, assortments, and unusual rolls like saba bousoushi, blanketed with savory marinated mackerel. But Linn isn’t primarily a sushi joint. Tanaka’s stock-in-trade is gorgeously presented Nipponese small plates. Luscious yellowtail is prepared as jalapeño-sparked sashimi or as “cheek salt,” rich chunks broiled with soy and ponzu sauce. Seaweed salad impresses with a toothsome white miso dressing, and yose tofu, served as soup, settles into a soulful pudding that diners season at the table with scallions and bonito flakes. Linn’s extensive menu hopscotches from bravura pork-belly slices simmered in sake to teriyaki entrees and even cheesecake, flavored with sweet miso paste. — Karen Tina Harrison

Pork belly, $7; yose tofu, $8; yellowtail cheek salt, $12; saba bousushi, $12; silver cod, $22

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