I thought my cover was blown. Steven Yee, one of the flitting, friendly owners of Tides, bee lined over to my table. Grinning, he gushed countless details about the restaurant – managerial woes, design decisions, plans for future ventures. Why, unless he suspected I was a reviewer, would he unleash this unsolicited torrent of talking points? As I was preparing to abort my compromised review, I noticed that the other tables were getting the same treatment. Mr. Yee is just a natural host, excited about his new restaurant, and he loves to talk about it.

Tides – a simple seafood restaurant on the Lower East Side – is unquestionably pride-worthy. The design, by the firm LTL, sets it well apart from the kitschy gingham-and-lobster-trap look of restaurants in this vein. Thousands of greenish-gold bamboo skewers in the ceiling form grassy whorls that evoke receding tides. Inlaid bamboo covers most surfaces in the tiny 20-seat restaurant.

Though the design is slick, the menu hews to the classics. Steamed clams, fried clams, lobster roll, whole lobster, all prepared without any unnecessary frills by Judy Seto, formerly of Mary’s Fish Camp. The simple treatments – nothing more elaborate than crispy batter and tartar sauce – flatter the impressively fresh seafood, which the restaurant buys in small quantities and uses up well before it can get old. A starter of big steamers ($10) comes, classically, with hot broth and drawn butter for dipping the fat, juicy clams. Chewy deep-fried clams and creamy deep-fried oysters share a bowl ($9). A fresh-tasting tartar sauce with just enough crunch comes alongside, but the bivalves are so delicately tasty in their own right that to dip each one mechanically in the sauce en route to one’s mouth would be a shame. The same goes for tender fried calamari ($8) with its chipotle-laced mayonnaise dip.

The star of the main courses is the lobster roll, which – as the menu warns – tends to run out over the course of the evening. The price varies with the market; when I was there, it was commensurate with other mains at $23. Two-thirds of the plate are taken up with limp, under seasoned sweet-potato fries; ignore them and head straight for the top-loading hot dog bun spilling over with silky Maine lobster meat. The meat is lightly dressed in a mayonnaise that tastes of dill and citrus. Bite after bite yields the simple, sweet flavor of the sea. Ms. Seto’s flair for pure flavors shows, too, in a buttery salmon filet ($18) that’s lightly cooked and laid on the plate with nary a reduction or coulis.

A pair of soft-shell crabs ($21) are panfried until their shells are crisp and innards succulent, then given a gentle nudge toward the Southwest with a spoonful of fruity salsa and a bed of savory black beans. This is as complex a preparation as the kitchen offers. The deep fryer is pressed into service for a whole fish of the day ($23), which is neatly gutted before cooking but needs no further enhancement. Where the fried morsels of the first course thrive in their thick, crunchy batter, the fish (daurade one week, tilapia the next) is given the thinnest crispy-salty coating needed to contrast with its lush, moist flesh. The fish can also be ordered grilled, with a little olive oil, garlic, and fresh pars ley; it’s perfect that way, but it’s even better fried.

Perhaps due to well-placed modesty, the desserts don’t have their own printed list: instead, servers casually mentioned to us that a lime bar and an espresso brownie (each $5) could be had. Neither dessert is egregiously bad, but neither is worth ordering: They have the lifelessness of vending machine desserts.

A dozen or so wines are offered, each by the glass or bottle. The predominantly white list features a delicious saumur blanc from Chateau du Hureau ($12/$49) at the high end; lower down, one finds Pascal Jolivet’s “Attitude” sauvignon blanc ($9/$38) with a clean, summery flavor, and a subtle, dry Hessen riesling ($8/$37). A Jolivet pinot noir ($11/$42), so light it’s barely a red, drinks terrifically with the salmon and the whole fish. Bottled beers ($6-$7) are available to give the meal a different spin; then again, fried clams and a Coke is a classic pairing, too.

Tides’s opening menu promised fillips like fennel in the mussels and wild mushroom spaetzle, but those were quickly whisked away; it will be interesting to see if that sort of creativity is reintroduced as the restaurant matures. Ms. Seto clearly has the skill to add complexity if she wants to. But tis a gift to be simple, and the pleasingly designed space – check out the bathroom sink – bestows class on the plainest of dishes, particularly when their quality is this high.

Tides, 102 Norfolk St., between Rivington and Delancey streets, 212-254-8855.