Omen

Chef Norio Shinohara turns Japanese cuisine on its head at this low-profile spot. Though the brick-walled dining room is spare—MoMA-worthy lamps wrapped in billowing white paper illuminate wooden tables—the food verges on high art. Raw quail eggs quiver on tuna tartare; salmon arrives in the shape of a swollen rose; and black codfish, marinated in miso, rests on a bright-green bamboo leaf. As for the booze, keep it simple and opt for one of the sakes.