Sushi House Hayakawa

Atsushi “Art” Hayakawa’s low-key bar is a purist’s retreat for Japanese cuisine. Too much cream cheese gimmickry and loud techno blight many of the city’s sushi emporiums. What a relief to sit in a plain room and savor simple dishes like ikura don—salmon roe marinated in homemade soy sauce, gilded with sea urchin, and served over rice and seaweed—or a plate of sashimi arranged so meticulously you wonder if the staff moonlight as photo stylists. More a fan of cooked food? Try the crunchy fried oysters with a wedge of lime and homemade tartar sauce or the sublime hamachi kama (yellowtail collar).