Considering the crack team assembled for Le Miu, which includes ex-head chefs from such luminous points on the New York sushi map as Megu, Moto, and Onigashima, it’s surprising how low a profile the new restaurant has kept. You wouldn’t know from the street that the East Village spot is a repository of fine modern Japanese cooking – or even that it’s Japanese at all. With none of the architectural drama of a Morimoto or a Nobu, nor the queues of hungry connoisseurs that advertise cult favorites like Sushi of Gari, it fits unassumingly into the row of average restaurants on Avenue A. But the quality of its fish is unexpectedly high, and the ambition of the preparation only slightly less so.

The menu is split between innovative “new-style” concoctions and the unfashionably antediluvian kind of sushi and sashimi that relies on just fish and rice for its effect. The latter stands out on the strength of its ingredients, particularly in the chef’s-choice platters ($30-$45) wherein the experts select what’s freshest and best that evening. In their care, I enjoyed various unexpected pleasures, not least of which was superb sea urchin ($6 a la carte) that tasted purely of the ocean, with none of the ionic tinfoil flavor that emerges when that little echinoderm is even slightly past its prime. Large, firm botan shrimp ($4), simply beheaded, peeled, split, and served, had a penetrating sweetness far removed from the common shrimp experience. The fancy, fatty otoro cut of bluefin tuna ($9) melts sumptuously on the tongue; a similar preparation of salmon ($4) made a surprisingly effective bargain alternative.

Osaka-style sushi, an older form than the familiar rolled kind, is pressed in a rectangular mold before cutting. Le Miu offers the specialty with thick pieces of beautiful mackerel ($9) or sea eel ($12), layered with just a modicum of rice for a treat with luxurious balance.

Faced with such fine ingredients, it seems a shame to play around with them too much, and the chefs’ inventions err accordingly on the side of modesty. Unconventional fish treatments at Le Miu include a pudding-like tartare that heaps sea urchin with chunks of mild soy sauce jelly ($9), and superb yellowtail sashimi ($14) in which the fish’s cool subtlety is escorted by fresh jalapeno’s vicious tingle. A carpaccio of bright-red bluefin tuna ($12) wears an ill-fitting Italian costume, in the form of balsamic drizzle and Parmesan shreds. Supple, thin-sliced scallop drizzled with ginger sauce ($6), and freshly tempuraized lobster bundled into a lightly spiced sushi roll ($15) do a better job of representing their constituents.

Cooked dishes, often an afterthought at this sort of restaurant, here pack every joule of punch that the sushi does. Chawan mushi, a broth-based egg custard, typically has a simple flavor whose only luxury is its near-liquid delicacy. Le Miu’s version ($12) places a sweetly seared lobe of foie gras on top of the custard, which, even if it could be better integrated, converts the dish into a decadent comfort. Ordinarily I wouldn’t consider ordering lamb chops at a sushi restaurant, but the gamble paid off at Le Miu: These three little New Zealand chops ($14) have a dense tenderness and remarkably deep flavor, coaxed out by a hot grill and by a tangy white miso sauce. The restaurant’s miso soup ($3.50) gains flavor interest from tangy yuzu, spicy pepper, and appealing bits of tofu skin. Other notable soups on the list include a luxuriously creamy “chowder” ($6) packed with mushrooms and fresh-shucked clams and capped with milky foam.

With so many pleasures in so many categories, the menu can be best navigated by means of two generous five-course prix-fixe plans, one at $45, the other offering larger portions at $65. In each, you get an array of appetizers, some inventive sashimi, a cooked entree, a platter of chef’s-choice sushi, and dessert.

The care taken with the ingredients extends to the fresh fruit purees – lychee, passionfruit, raspberry – that enrich the cocktails, and the housemade ice cream flavors – roasted green tea, caramel – that form the heart of the dessert list. The list extends beyond the ice creams, to the tune of a gorgeous mont blanc ($8), a classical French chestnut dessert that the kitchen seizes on as a prime fusion opportunity, combining Japanese chestnut paste with meringue and cream. Panna cotta ($6) submerged in fresh citrus juice is another winner.

Fifteen sake choices range from $6 and $8 glasses served hot, up to a bottle of the fizzy and complex Okunomatsu “Formula Nippon” for $300. The smooth, broad-flavored Wakatake Onikoroshi ($14/$75) occupies a delicious middle ground, as does the floral, elegantly balanced Sougen ($12/$60).

Le Miu has not gone the splashy route, but, with its dramatically delicious, and even affordable, fish, it seems destined to build a loyal following sooner rather than later.

Le Miu, 107 Avenue A, between 6th and 7th streets, 212-473-3100.