Here’s the kicker, Bozu isn’t even really a sushi restaurant. It’s “Japanese Tapas,” because of course it is. I think what that means is that they have all kinds of inventive small plates on the strange tiny plastic menu they hand you, a few of which we tried and cared for very little. What that also means is that you won’t find straightforward sushi here either. What you will find are sushi “bombs,” which are basically rice and fish and other stuff pressed together into a neat dome shaped thing. The bombs we liked.

Eating here is a blast, and their sushi is the bomb-quite literally. The unique sushi bombs (flat coin-like rice cakes topped with fish, spicy sauces and such) are one of the kitchen’s signature dishes and for good reason. But do try the tender pork Betty and delicious fried tako balls too. The menu here has been described as “authentically inauthentic.” But however named, the important thing is that the food is executed with care and attention.

Bozu chef-owner Makoto Suzuki has expanded the definition of Japanese tapas (if there is one) to include deep-fried kataifi-crusted shrimp, pumpkin risotto croquettes stuffed with mozzarella, and an unconventional version of sushi. Suzuki’s “bombs” are the shape of things to come—small mounds of rice tinted red from cabbage or pink from codfish roe, and topped either traditionally (salmon, tuna, eel) or not (radish, mint leaf, green tomato sauce). These light bites can be eaten at the bar, on epoxy tables ringed with Eames chairs, or on the back deck.