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The cost of living! The cost of dinner! The cost of ingredients! It’s all anyone wants to talk about. Are prices going up? Is dining out affordable for regular punters? Is the business model sustainable? (The answers: Yes, no, and no.) No wonder so much of our dining scene these days is made up of quick, cheap noodles that require standing in line to access.

And also, while I’m in full-on rant mode: The sushi in this country! Why is it only very cheap or very expensive? Where is the middle ground?

Friends! For once, some good news: Nori Maki, a new sushi counter in the CBD from former Nobu chef Keisuke Kita, is answering my dining prayers. Here is a high-quality sushi menu, one that goes well beyond the standard salmon/tuna/kingfish paradigm, in a setting that feels special (without stiffness or pretension). It’s fun. It’s playful. And perhaps best of all? It’s fantastically affordable.

The focus here is on hand rolls – not the tightly rolled, premade kind Australia is known for, but a looser formation using premium nori wrappers and less rice. Fillings range from fatty tuna belly to grilled cucumber, piled lightly on top of beautifully cooked and lightly vinegared sushi rice, made in front of you and presented with a flourish.

My favourite was perhaps the raw Crystal Bay prawn, its sweet flesh almost creamy, accompanied by a “crunchy soy” with frizzled onion. The fish of the day – snapper when I had it – was bracingly fresh, firm and cut to order.

“It’s fun. It’s playful. And perhaps best of all? It’s fantastically affordable.”

There are a few premium hand rolls – the “CholesteRoll” finds monkfish liver, toro, salmon roe, chive and truffle paste piled high, and it’s a fun and over-the-top experience to eat, but I preferred the purity of the simpler offerings.

There’s something magical about the clean fattiness of kingfish matched with nothing but good rice and the umami of the nori, that transcends the frippery of truffle or multiple ingredients smooshed together.

You can dine a la carte at Nori Maki, but the real bargain is to have one of the set menus, which range from $34 for four rolls to $89 for a feast that includes four regular rolls and two of the premium, over-the-top ones. The $69 omakase gets you a sashimi plate, four regular rolls, a premium roll, chawanmushi and dessert, and is an absolute steal.

Seating is around a horseshoe-shaped sushi bar, and there is room for only 28 diners, meaning reservations are paramount, especially at dinner.

There are so many ways in which Nori Maki is the perfect middle ground, and that extends to the setting and experience. There’s plenty to watch as the chefs prepare your rolls, and your meal is interactive, but it also isn’t a theatrical experience in the way many high-end sushi counters are, which can be uncomfortable if you’re shy or just want to speak to your dinner-mate.

For this reason, Nori Maki is a fantastic date spot – it feels luxe but won’t break the bank, and there’s enough happening to help drive conversation but not so much that you’ll be distracted if you want to focus on more than the food.

Downsides? Not many. Currently there’s no alcohol licence, though there are plans for sake, beer and wine sales in the near future. And this is a very focused menu – you shouldn’t come here expecting to get anything other than hand rolls and a few sashimi options. You should absolutely have the chawanmushi, though, a delicate savoury hot egg custard with eel and crab meat hidden in its silky depths.

But limitation is part of what makes Nori Maki so smart. In restricting his offering, Kita is reducing the potential for waste, both of product and money. The kitchen only needs to know how to produce certain things, making for a streamlined service model. And, best of all, they’re passing those benefits on to diners, giving us great quality at a fantastic price. It’s the kind of innovation the industry – and my wallet – sorely needs.