Ariyoshi

The close quarters in this "traditional Japanese style pub restaurant" owe partly to its size and partly to its popularity, especially among expats. To balance the effects of the beer and sake lineup, try the likes of pork shumai with hot mustard (top photo; $6), mushrooms and spinach sautéed in (lots of) butter ($6), and kurobata pork sausages (bottom photo; $6.50) sided with mayonnaise.

Downers: Deep-fried chicken ($6.50) was ordinary; so were a smallish order of grilled eggplant with miso sauce ($6) and a pot of udon noodles in special miso soup ($10).

At an earlier, lunchtime visit, my grilled saury deluxe box ($12) was preceded by a small green salad and a cup of vegetable soup. The saury — a 10-inch-long whole, thin fish with an oily texture like mackerel, served with lemon and grated daikon — was accompanied by a small, eggy potato salad with vegetables; a warm, brothy stew of chicken, carrots, and cabbage; slices of pickled daikon; two small bites of yellowtail sashimi; a one-inch cube of plain tofu with scallions; and rice. Above the faint sounds of the radiator and the radio, I heard only Japanese voices; unfocusing my eyes, I could imagine myself in Tokyo rather than Turtle Bay.

Ariyoshi
226 East 53rd St. (Second-Third Aves.)
212-319-3940