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With its modest size and stark décor, 15 East feels like that rare and exotic thing: a traditional Japanese-run restaurant. The proprietor, Marco Moreira, owner of the nearby Tocqueville, had the good sense to hire Masato Shimizu, a talented young sushi chef who formerly worked at Jewel Bako. Shimizu is a purist who cures his own gari (ginger) and produces high-class, no-frills sushi in the classic style. There are no tricked-out maki rolls on his menu, and no newfangled sushi items containing seared foie gras or Kobe beef. You can get seven varieties of silver fish on the à la carte menu, however, and an impeccable example of sayori (needlefish) with scallion. The anago (poached sea eel) is another specialty, and if you’re feeling flush, order the $75 “tuna flight,” consisting of five different cuts and grades of fresh bluefin, which the gregarious Shimizu will illustrate for you with a special tuna chart. — Adam Platt

Omakase, $75; seven-course tasting menu, $120

“Spaghettini” of yamaimo, kakiage, sushi omakase.

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New York Magazine Reviews

• Adam Platt's Full Review (5/21/07)

Featured In

• Where to Eat 2008 (1/7/08)
• Where to Eat 2008: Best New Restaurants of the Year (1/7/08)
• Three New Sushi Bars:15 East, Sasabune, Sumile (12/18/06)