Sushi Metsuyan

This kosher restaurant has all the Japanese and Chinese dishes you'd expect, plus steaks, Vietnamese, Caribbean and Cuban specialties. And this is one lively place.

Tables are reserved, takeout is popular and waits occasionally can be expected at Sushi Metsuyan, a bright kosher Japanese- fusion-steak house. There's a branch in Teaneck, N.J., and another expected to open in Kew Gardens Hills.

The buoyant Cedarhurst restaurant is decorated with sand-hued reliefs of marine life. And the designers give the familiar blond wood of countless sushi spots a handsome turn, with wave-like contours. The woodwork curves atop a colorfully populated fish tank, a blue streak nearly the entire length of the eatery.

It's parallel to the sushi bar, which may account for the especially animated movements of the sheltered, tropical residents.

For diners, Sushi Metsuyan's appeal includes satisfying preparations of uncooked fish and creative, eclectic appetizers. Moreover, service is warm and accommodating, with the staff trying gamely even when the dining room is jammed and at its most demanding.

Nibble on the lightly salted edamame, or soybeans. Then, move on to the tangy, Thai-style rice noodle and dumpling soup, spiked with cilantro and coconut milk. There's a modest shot of spice.

Sushi Metsuyan's udon soup, a tasty beef broth loaded with vegetables and the fat white noodles, also is recommended. Mild, aromatic shiro miso soup floats cubes of tofu, sliced mushrooms and threads of scallion.

The thatch of enoki mushrooms, dubbed "enoke calamari" and fried in like fashion, could be crisper, but the flavor is gentle and fine. "Malaysian cigars" materialize as finger-size variations on spring rolls, with chopped steak and rice noodles. But the beef is dry. You're better off with "El Bomba," described as "the mother of all egg rolls," filled with avocado and sun-dried tomatoes, ready for a cilantro-seasoned dipping sauce.

A little bamboo steamer carries chicken and beef dumplings, in the shumai, gyoza and crystal styles. They're good variations on the theme. That goes for the tamarind-glazed vegetable tempura, too.

Sushi Metsuyan trails, however, with several of the "grill room" main courses. The hefty prime rib is overdone. Instead, sample the juicy Korean-style kalbi: tender, boneless ribs slowly grilled.

"Balinese satays" rise on skewers from a disc of pineapple. The overcooked beef and chicken have a tastier partner in the peanut sauce than they do in the dull, too-sweet marinade.

Sesame-crusted ahi tuna is very gray, helped only minimally by a more-sweet-than-spicy honey-wasabi "aioli." Miso- glazed, salmon Japonica is a moist, delicate and preferable selection.

"Kamikaze macadamia chicken" crashes into a blandly sweet sauce. Rather than go for the one-way ride, consider the panko-crusted chicken katsu, or the sauteed lemon chicken.

The most consistent fare is sushi, particularly the creative fish rolls. The dragon roll of spicy tuna and avocado stands out, as does the sashimi-and-tobiko Five Towns maki in a cucumber wrap. A cooked roll, called Godzilla, is a suitably large tempura-style production with tuna and salmon in the cast. The Yankee roll takes the tempura approach, too, with tuna, mayo, carrot and peanuts outside. More traditional nigirizushi and sashimi are well-prepared.

For dessert, the fresh fruit plate leads the limp fried banana and a Bundt-like, mini- chocolate cake billed as a volcano that's definitely dormant.

Sushi Metsuyan rarely is.

Reviewed by Peter M. Gianotti, 3/14/04.