Harney Sushi is the type of restaurant that refuses to go with the flow. For starters, it’s located smack in the middle of taco-infested Old Town, where the average tourist from Podunk, Iowa, isn’t likely to pass up an enchilada for miso soup and eel rolls.

Secondly, the casual neighborhood atmosphere inside might fool you into thinking you’ve arrived for burgers, beer and billiards. The architectural sheen found in most sushi houses is refreshingly missing. Even better, the kitchen stays awake until midnight — long after many local eateries hit the sack.

But Harney’s biggest show of defiance stems from a menu filled with about 30 types of untypical nigiri and sushi rolls, named mostly after employees and esteemed friends of the business. Some are enhanced with fresh lemon and battered seafood. Others are dusted in hot chili spices while a few of them come fully cooked.

The Shawn-Na-Na Roll, for example, is constructed with shrimp tempura, sweet eels and crab — and topped with thin wedges of avocado. The Danielle is a California roll crowned with seared albacore, lemon and citrus masago sauce. And the Sushi Pizza is an oven-baked trundle of smoked salmon, crabmeat cream cheese and two plump layers of rice.

My sushi-savvy dining companion took the honor of choosing from the various “Harney specialties” while I perused the long list of hot entrées. Less adventurous appetites can take refuge here with dishes such as Sukiaki Beef, Teriyaki Salmon, Lemon Chicken and an incredible scallop-crab concoction called The Johnny Bomb.

We sprung for a little of everything.

A portion of our sushi platter contained two types of delicious rolls that dilate your sinuses better than a spritz of Afrin. The Old Town delivers a fast kick with its spicy tuna, chili spices and a piquant Japanese root, yama gobo. And the After Burner lives up to its name completely. It takes about 20 seconds before the heat from the spiced crabmeat, chopped hamachi and Sriracha hot sauce sets in. Both are excellent. And you can skip the wasabi paste when eating them.

The Nicole Nigiri, named after our knowledgeable waitress, is yet another joyful creation of fresh raw salmon enhanced with lemon, avocado and plenty of sesame seeds for extra flavor. As non-sushi lovers are told often by their friends, “you’ll really like this one” — I have to say that the Nicole is a very safe bet with no fishy aftertaste.

It was love at first bite when we tried the Johnny Bomb — a perfect entrée if you’re looking for something rich and creamy. Served in a decent-sized crab shell, the mixture contains chunky crabmeat and large scallops baked in a tangy Alfredo sauce with mushrooms and onions. The Japanese cooking wine used to marinate the seafood adds an alluring sweet flavor to the dish.

An appetizer of Soft Shell Crab was less captivating and seemed to overstay its welcome once the other foods arrived. The battered crabs retained too much grease from deep-frying while the meat underneath was scarce.

Prices on certain items drop down a notch after 10:00 p.m., as hungry patrons from the nearby Old Town Saloon begin filtering in. The late-night menu, offered in addition to the regular one, consists of several sushi rolls and appetizers, including Sunomono Salad ($2.75), Mixed Tempura ($5.50) and Spicy Tuna Hand Roll ($2.50).

But denizens may want to obtain a “membership.” For $50 a year, you can take advantage of various nightly specials that include half-price entrées and other significant discounts on food and drinks.

This two-year-old, gay-friendly restaurant will soon undergo some minor expansion to alleviate the long lines that form at the door on weekends. There are presently about a dozen tables inside and a few more on the patio, not to mention the cozy L-shaped sushi bar. Owner Dustin Summerville, who worked previously at Taka and The Sushi Garden, heads it up — and looks pretty sexy peering over the glass in his black sushi hat.

A wide selection of beer, wine and sake-based mixed drinks complement the well-rounded food menu. The atmosphere particularly comes alive on Friday and Saturday evenings, when a DJ named “Fish” starts spinning lounge music, reggae and slowed-down house favorites.

A hip atmosphere with friendly service and serious sushi that rolls outside of the box is what Harney’s is all about.