This is not a “fusion” restaurant. Simply, it is an Italian restaurant owned and operated by Japanese chefs and business people. There’s no sushi on the menu, and no wasabi on the pasta. It’s straight up, peninsular Italian cuisine, lush with olive oil and Parmesan, with an open kitchen right by the bar where you can peek at the chef de cuisine plating your roast duck and watercress salad.

The menu offers a series of antipasti that owe as much to the broad definition of continental cuisine as they do Italian, with some nice surprises such as the roasted mushrooms, served in their roasting bag. Everything is expertly plated, which the regulars seem to expect and wait for. The pastas are homemade; some generously tossed is a hollowed-out wheel of parmesan cheese. The roasted codfish, grilled lamb chops and risotto are all well done. The desserts are elegantly designed, but the crème brulée runs out early in the evening, so keep that in mind.

Overall, a nice interpretation of Italian food, done with a lighter hand and a flair for plating. Curiously, the wine list is presented as a series of business cards with teeny weeny images of the actual wine labels. Heavy accent on American and Italian vintages.

Recommendations: Go early or make reservations – this place gets busy fast and you can wait a long time to get a table. Sit at the bar if possible and order there. Small groups only – six or less. The dining room bustles, especially with the open kitchen, but it all feels right. Good place to go meet a few friends and have a conversation. Popular with the international crowd.