Sushi Seki is the creation of Chef Seki Shi who hails from Tokyo where he once worked at the famed Tsukiji Market; one of the biggest fish markets in the world. In New York City he worked for several years with one of the city’s most inventive sushi masters, “Gari” Masatoshi, at Sushi of Gari, where he helped pioneer a more modern and innovative style of sushi – most notably topping nigiri with ingredients that would be unorthodox in his native Japan. Examples include his ode to New York-style bagel and lox where he tops fresh salmon sushi with charred tomato and seasons it with minced white onion toast. Another example is his toro tartare mixed with pickled daikon.

Sushi Seki is often crowded and has an extremely loyal following. The good news is this Upper East Side location is open till 2:30am, and your odds of snagging a seat at the bar go up considerably after 10pm.