Masa

Masa Takayama trained for eight years at Ginza Sushiko in Tokyo, ran restaurants in Los Angeles, and in 2004 opened this one on the fourth floor at Columbus Circle. The room is deliberately bare so that attention lands on the counter — a single solid piece of hinoki, sanded every day — and on a branch arranged fresh each morning. It holds two Michelin stars.

It is omakase only, in two forms: the Hinoki Counter Experience, with a sushi chef guiding you in person, and a Classic Omakase at a table in the dining room. Dinner runs to five or six small dishes, then fifteen to seventeen pieces of sushi, then fruit; his toro tartare with caviar is the signature. Gratuity is not expected. Skip the cologne — the room is designed for aroma.