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Flamboyant Japanese-fusion dishes and wild rolls draw crowds to the Upper West Side’s answer to Nobu. The interior's warm wood tones and long, inviting sushi bar, though simple, are a big step up from the typical Japanese restaurant—and should be, given Neo’s prices. For a restaurant whose name promises new sushi, the menu includes a surprising number of derivative dishes done in the style of Sushi of Gari, the popular Upper East Side restaurant that started the fad of experimenting with sauces over sushi. Each piece is topped with an eccentric sauce or condiment, instead of the more traditional team of wasabi and soy sauce. While fish are variably fresh, toppings—tasty garlic sauce, pasty tofu sauce—are variably successful. Nobu imitations fare better. Yuzu miso cod comes appropriately moist and silky with an addictively sweet miso sauce; hamachi serrano chili includes slices of buttery yellowtail, arranged like petals of a flower around a tower of crunchy grated daikon, and sauced with a tart blend of yuzu and soy. Some dishes, however, break strange new ground: The Twisted Neo Roll, lobster in spicy mayonnaise wrapped in rice and smoked salmon, is delicious, especially if you leave the accompanying candy-sweet mango sauce on the plate. — JJ Goode

Yuzu miso cod, $19; hamachi serrano chili, $19; Twisted Neo Roll, $20