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Welcoming bows are extended to guests upon arrival at this intimate sushi spot on a quiet strip of Eldridge Street. There are only five tables, a sushi bar, and glowing red light, but food arrives looking like it came from a Michelin-starred kitchen, with some dishes inspiring cell-phone snapshots from diners. Most of the menu comes small-plates style, and is served in a strategic progression. A palate-cleansing starter of cold, spicy Japanese pickles with chopped red peppers and mushrooms is served before raw octopus over diced cucumbers with a sweet sesame dressing. Next is beef negimaki, tender bits of meat prepared stir-fry style with scallions and teriyaki. Elaborate sushi and sashimi combinations include lobster meat that arrives in hollowed lemons around the crustacean’s full upright remains, antennae and all. Diners are welcome to ask the chef behind the three-seat sushi bar to design a tasting, which in these tiny quarters only requires a pitch above a whisper. — Randi Eichenbaum

Lobster, $35; Japanese Pickles $3.75, Beef Negimaki, $7