Source: Complex

With its oversized windows, high ceilings, and brick walls, Niko’s décor feels hip, but the food is an unqualified success. Name drop 30-year sushi vet Chef Hiro Sawatari, formerly of the Sushi Yasuda, and now we’re talking high-end. Previously a semi-pro baseball player, Hiro now serves up paper-thin hirame sashimi (sliced raw fish) and custom omakase (chef’s choice) dinner options rather than home runs.

No cream cheese or mango in the makis here—instead Niko’s menu puts a spin on the expected by using ingredients like fried sweet potatoes in their tempura-salad or watermelon radish and macerated cucumbers in the Soy Burnt Octopus.

Non-sushi lovers have no fear; Niko offers an array of hot plates sure to wet your palette including their take on southern cuisine with a seasoned Tokyo style fried chicken. The dessert, mochi (rice cake), is free, but don’t skip out without trying their Japanese margarita with jalapeño infused tequila.

If seated at the intimate eight-seat sushi bar, guests can kick it with Hiro himself and if among the selected eight, be sure to bare gifts, preferably Asian baseball player bobbleheads to add to Hiro’s collection.

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