This pint-sized sushi joint, blessed with a buzzy little terrace, is practically adopted by the pétanque players of Place Arson. Behind the counter stands the radiant Lobsang-Jinpa Khangsar, originally from Tibet; in the dining room, the ever-smiling Danlei Song, aka Lei, a Beijing native. They met in Northern France – where he was a chef in a Japanese restaurant, and she worked in marketing – then they came to Nice on vacation and simply never went back. Eat in (if you can snag a seat – it’s perpetually rammed) or take away, and home in on the unpretentious sushi – shout out for the grilled eel unagi, the flame-kissed aburi salmon and the spicy spring onion gunkan (those battleship-shaped maki). Other impeccably handled bites include the sea bream sashimi, tataki, shrimp and avocado dragon rolls and California rolls with a crunch that snaps back just right. Bonus points for well-executed small plates, especially the homemade huntun (pork and vegetable dumplings) bobbing happily in a rich miso soup. For something sweet: mochi ice cream and coconut balls. · Alban Mont

FEELING THIRSTY? Japanese Coedo Beniaka sweet potato beer (€7.20 for 330 ml), organic genmaicha (€4.50 a cup), sweet Dragon God sake (€14 for 140 ml), plus a few natural wines (No Bullschiste, a chenin blanc from De Vini at €7.50 per glass, or Les Canilles, a skin-contact clairette and terret blend from Domaine Ribiera at €33 per bottle). And yes, plum wine too (€4 for 90 ml).

PRICE: Sushi and gunkan (two pieces) €5.50-€6.50, sashimi (nine slices) €15, set menu €42-€46.