Noda

With its violet-cushioned chairs and elaborately stocked whiskey bar, this discreet Flatiron omakase establishment looks an awful lot like a caricature of a young bond trader’s fantasy sushi den, but thanks to the presence of a young chef named Shigeyuki Tsunoda, the spare, 14-piece dinner has the focused, uncluttered feel of something you might encounter in the backstreets of Tokyo. The “edomae” nigiri sushi dinner includes maki rolls made with long, silvery strips of mackerel, yellowtail belly to go with the usual tuna belly, fat grilled scallops folded in slips of toasted nori seaweed, and slices of esoteric “cherry” sea trout, which the genial chef will tell you in his polished English inhabit the tidal river estuaries of northern Hokkaido in the spring. At $285, the prices aren’t cheap, but the meal is filled with subtle touches, like the chef’s signature brand of unbleached rice, which he treats with sake lees, and the tuna tartare, which Tsunoda mixes in a bowl toward the end of dinner and hands around to his customers folded into a nori hand roll, like they’re guests at a party.