Fresh, satisfying meals unfold at Origami

Review

Outside, Origami Sushi is wedged between a pool supply store and a picture framing shop in a small, nondescript shopping center that you'll miss if you blink while driving west on busy Waters Avenue.

Inside, it's all clean and contemporary décor, with purple walls, subdued light shining from steel pendant fixtures and a black-clad wait staff. There's a sleek, modern feel, somewhat belied by paper napkins and disposable chopsticks, but overall it's an inviting space centered around a long sushi bar situated against the far wall, with flat screen televisions tuned to sporting events.

Patrons filled the place on both our visits, but of course they weren't there for the décor. They came for a wide-ranging menu focused on sushi, nigiri and sashimi.

Origami Sushi is great for sushi newbies, featuring a menu with pictures of every dish - helpful if you don't know your spider roll from your dragon roll. Origami also has the most generous happy hour we've come across, lasting from 3 to 7 p.m. every day, including appetizers, raw and cooked rolls, and drinks.

Service was, unfortunately, somewhat lackluster on our first visit. We had to ask for plates with the sushi and forks with dessert. But that's why you go back again. Our weekend night service was stellar, with a conscientious server who could speak knowledgeably about the menu.

The appetizer menu is very extensive, with two dozen choices. We tried the traditional gyoza, six pan-fried pork dumplings. They were adequate, but we fared better with the Krab Rangoon (a dish most cuisine historians believe was invented in San Francisco, by the way) , four deep fried wanton-wrapped envelopes of crab stick, cream cheese and scallions.

Of course, the most important aspect of a sushi restaurant is the freshness of its seafood. From the tuna and conch to the shrimp and salmon - whether served in a roll, with rice as nigiri or on its own as sashimi - the seafood looked, smelled and tasted clean and fresh. While the presentation wasn't the prettiest we've seen, everything tasted fine.

The Crazy Horse is a popular roll with tempura shrimp, cream cheese, avocado and roe covered in loads of panko bread crumbs and a flavorful mayo. It's a bit of a mess to look at and eat, but the combination of texture and flavors is tantalizing. The Mexican roll of tempura shrimp, avocado and roe is, as always, another safe bet.

Among the raw rolls, the spicy tuna paired with cucumber and crunchy panko breadcrumbs was, as advertised, very spicy. For a milder taste, the Tunacado married tuna, avocado, lettuce and roe. The Shrimp nigiri was fresh and large - it took two bites - and the conch was sufficiently chewy. The menu also plays to more adventurous tastes, with quail egg or octopus nigiri and an Ocean Rice bowl featuring eel.

The entrees were hit or miss. The hit was the Shrimp Udon, with an ample serving of shrimp stir-fried to perfection with fresh vegetables and served with thick, toothy noodles in a mild sauce. The miss was the beef teriyaki, which presented like minute steaks stir-fried in a grocery store sauce. Entrees are served with soup and a pedestrian ginger salad of iceberg and cucumber under a ginger dressing. Both the chicken broth and the miso soups tasted a bit greasy.

The desserts were worth the calories. For the adventurous, there's a green tea crème brulée, but our favorite was the Tempura Cheesecake, fried perfectly so you get the hot crunchy shell and work your way into the cool cream cheese center.