Restaurant Review: Shuko in the East Village

Jimmy Lau and Nick Kim opened Shuko following a stint at Neta, their first perch after leaving the truffled nest of Masa Takayama.”

“You like spicy?” Jimmy Lau asked from behind the counter at Shuko, the new restaurant just below Union Square where he and his partner, Nick Kim, prepare an elevated and memorable species of Japanese food. Before I could answer, he handed me a spicy tuna roll that would casually knock over my ideas about spicy tuna rolls, and spice, and tuna.

Pickled red Thai chiles sat on top of the roll, chopped to bits and ready for action. The tuna underneath was soft sinew cut from the belly of a bluefin. It was grilled until the fat ran, until it soaked through the rice in its crisp nori wrapper and dripped out the bottom of the roll and into my palm.

“Actually, it’s not too spicy,” Mr. Lau said.

Ten seconds later, Mr. Kim leaned over and said almost the same thing: “Actually, it’s not that spicy.”

WHEELCHAIR ACCESS The dining room is one step up from the sidewalk; there is an accessible restroom elsewhere in the building.

WHAT THE STARS MEAN Ratings range from zero to four stars and reflect the reviewer’s reaction primarily to food, with ambience, service and price taken into consideration.

Email: petewells@nytimes.com. And follow Pete Wells on Twitter: @pete_wells.

A version of this review appears in print on February 18, 2015, on page D5 of the New York edition with the headline: A Temple of Sushi for All Comers. Order Reprints| Today’s Paper|Subscribe

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