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Only nine people can sit at the downstairs counter, and another handful at two tables in the upstairs tatami room. Chef Isamu Soumi"s menu is a winning combination of traditional fare from the Niigata prefecture, north of Tokyo, and his own flights of fancy. The prix-fixe dinner changes roughly every two weeks. You might poke your chopsticks into a bowl of oshitashi (steamed spinach), then nibble on fried sardines wrapped around smooth tofu and paired with sweet pickled-plum sauce. Fish preparations, such as steamed tilefish topped with creamy wasabi, are phenomenal. Tiny as it is, Toraya draws a steady clientele of Japanese professionals.

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