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Hopefully the rest of the South Street Seaport area will take a cue from this sushi joint, a bright alternative to the neighborhood's usual dim-lit after-work sports dives and frozen-in-the-'90s wine bars attracting Wall Streeters. The crowd in this spot, styled with spartan latticework of glass and steel, is a far cry from suits as well; it’s a wide cross-section of New Yorkers who flock for the dramatic cobblestone view of the Brooklyn Bridge nearby. The sushi's fine, if not exotic, with luscious standards like fatty-tuna rolls, and specialties obviously geared toward the American palate, like the sakura roll, a hefty shrimp-tempura roll dredged in panko and topped with flying-fish roe and spicy tuna—overkill in less deft hands but a pleasing contrast of textures and tastes here. The hot-rock dishes are a misfire, with inferior, unevenly hot stones, stingy portions, and a salty dipping sauce that seems like an afterthought. But service this cheerful attentive quickly banishes the urge to complain. — Michael Y. Park

Available from $42 up to $120.

Fatty tuna roll, MP; sakura roll, $14