Review: 236 in Syosset

Every detail has been considered at 236, not just the high-quality fish, most of which is air-shipped from Tokyo's Toyosu Fish Market. Owned by WH Group, which also boasts omakase spots Sora in Stony Brook, this intimate sushi hideaway anchored by a sexy speakeasy-style Japanese whiskey lounge is named after its Jericho Turnpike address.

The front of the restaurant, replete with blue-velvet chairs, moody table lighting and clubby wood paneling serves imported sake, whiskey and hand-shaken cocktails, such as the Yuzu Verde, which features tequila, basil syrup, pineapple and yuzu. There, you can sample its a la carte bar menu, which includes cold plates such as sea bream crudo with shaved uni and lemon zest; and a four-piece Toyosu nigiri selection. Hot dishes include a batter-fried chicken thigh, lobster udon pasta and an 8-ounce A5 Wagyu strip with polenta fries.

Pass through the speakeasy door hidden among bookshelves along the back of the space for the main affair. Amid seductive black tiling and lotus flower accents, an assigned seat and a menu inscribed with your name await. Beginning with five otsumami, or small bites, diners are guided through the world of Japanese raw fish. Standouts are the Jidori egg, soft and gooey, topped with a generous shaving of bottarga, a cured mullet fish roe, for texture, and the A5 Miyazaki wagyu topped with foie gras and Burgundy truffle.

Next comes eight pieces of meticulously prepared nigiri. There’s mild madai and ruby red akami (lean) tuna, uni served in seaweed, like a tiny taco from Hokkaido, and ishidai, or Japanese knifejaw, a tougher but no less tasty imported whitefish. From otoro topped with gold leaf to scallops dusted with Meyer lemon zest, one slick and shiny bite trumped the last. The coda, or closing, section of the menu, includes a fatty tuna handroll (toro-taku temaki) with pickled radish and shisho and a sansho pepper and chive-laced red miso dashi.

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