The sashimi - hamachi (yellowtail) and ami-ebi (sweet shrimp) - are arranged over mounds of julienned daikon; the fish is so fresh and clean that the pieces glisten. As we exclaim over the first bites, Hiroko Sakan, who we realize must be the owner, overhears us and stops to tell us the hamachi is fresh, not flash-frozen as many sushi places sell it. And she's right, the flavor is much different - almost buttery - and the shrimp is delicate and, yes, sweet, perfectly filling the mouth.
Tiny grilled "roe-carrying'' smelt have a hint of smokiness, a bit of saltiness from the roe. Rainbow maki, a riot of color, are big and beautiful layers of tuna, shrimp, mackerel, salmon and avocado. In another dish, slices of mackerel, shrimp and crab are soused in a vinegar sauce, giving a piquant bite to the fish flavors.
And breaking away from what we usually think of as Japanese, morsels of fresh giant clam, a mollusk I often find too chewy, are sauteed in butter until the texture resembles a wild mushroom but with flavor still of the sea. Each dish is exquisitely arranged, the tastes and textures matching the looks.
But as we savor our appetizers, only one other table on this weeknight is occupied. Cafe Japonaise waits, like Cinderella, to be discovered.
Opened three months ago by Sakan, who also owns the popular Japonaise Bakery in Brookline, Cafe Japonaise is a bright, airy space, very unlike the previous restaurants at this location near Boston University. The food, too, is unusual, although the menu doesn't advertise this at first glance.
Pheasant teriyaki reveals the difference. The plate comes with crispy-edged pheasant in a soy-kissed sauce, the meat juicy and still a little rare in the interior. The pheasant is surrounded by a mound of a refreshingly crisp tomato and onion relish, a little hill of shredded daikon and a complete salad of lettuces and mesclun with a well-balanced vinaigrette. It's lovely and a very contemporary take on Japanese cuisine.
In a phone interview, Sakan says her intent is to present the kind of cuisine one might eat in Japan today. The style of her chef, Hideo Furuwa, is very sophisticated and she herself is "very picky,'' Sakan says.
The diner is the beneficiary of this perfectionism. Prime sirloin teriyaki sports delicious beef, impossible to resist. Chawan mushi holds surprises in its silky custard, bits of fish cake, crunchy ginkgo nuts, slivers of shiitake mushrooms and shrimp. Resilient soba noodles float in a light yet distinctively savory broth.
Some of the best qualities of Furuwa's cooking are revealed in traditional dishes that seem suddenly new. Vegetable tempura comes in a tangled mound of finely julienned carrots, zucchini and other vegetables. One pulls apart the tangles, marveling that each bite is clean and greaseless, yet full of the flavors of the vegetables.
Each compartment of a vegetarian bento box holds many such delights, from the tempura to a tiny stew of black seaweed with chunks of carrots, to tofu and mushrooms in a brown sauce to sweet rice studded with sesame to a little steak of delicately fried tofu.
A few dishes resemble the current craze for serving European-style food with Asian touches, such as a salmon fillet with a thin layer of cheese and roasted in a banana leaf, delicious because of the Asian-influenced marinade and the care with which the salmon was cooked more than for the almost unnoticeable cheese.
Other offerings display the glories of Japanese tradition. A large clay bowl of seafood and vegetables, sakenai udonaki, cooks at the table, the server ladling the clams, crayfish, tofu, scallops and vegetables into the strong, slighly sweet broth filled with thick udon noodles. The theater of waiting for the steam to rise sufficiently from the pot adds to the satisfaction in eating the concoction.
Desserts at Cafe Japonaise hail from the owner's bakery and are very good, especially a lemon fantasia custard over a crisp crust. Ginger ice cream has big chunks of candied ginger, and a chocolate-banana torte is satisfying without being overly sweet. Sakan has said her pastries are European with a Japanese twist, but still the green tea cake filled with a custard is a little too unusual, and perhaps it's the color that seems wrong.
There are other discordancies in Cafe Japonaise. The wait staff members, all very sweet-tempered, seem to get easily flustered, especially if the party is large, forgetting a spoon for the egg custard, mixing up some orders. The background music pushes to the foreground too often, and the room is really too brightly lit.
Although there is a nice list of Japanese and European beers and sake, more wine offerings than just house white and red by the glass would better match the level of the cuisine. Somehow beer doesn't seem to fit with prime beef teriyaki and some of the seafood.
The food and its presentation, however, make Cafe Japonaise delightful, a wonderful addition to the culinary landscape.
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