Kirakuya (CLOSED)

The New York Times. December 12th, 2012. -- From the street, you’d never know it was there. And once you’re on the second floor, you may still have doubts.

Instead, there is a handsome, inviting Izakaya, or Japanese pub, with low lighting, dark, wooden floors, gleaming oak tables and a display of sake bottles behind the bar that is so artful it looks like it belongs in a Soho boutique.

The specialty of Kirakuya is its small-brewery sakes; the roster features more than 100 of them. The smooth, dry Ikina Ona from the Ishikawa prefecture ($17 for a generous glass, goes well with the grilled eggplant and miso ($8); the warm bowl of burdock root with roasted sesame seeds and mayonnaise ($6); and the grilled yellowtail neck ($12).

This is a definitively a mellow retreat, and one that merits recommendations to friends and return visits of your own.