ONSEN SUSHI may look like other Japanese storefront restaurants, but the four-month-old Oakdale newscomer is far from ordinary. The decor is spare and cool, with a beautiful granite sushi bar, bamboo wall sculpture, dramatic tray ceiling with blue lights, etched glass, and graceful drapes. From behind the sushi bar, Jason Chen, the restaurant's co-owner as well as the sushi chef, shouts a cheery hello to patrons as they arrive and banters with them throughout the meal, asking how they like his creations.

Onsen will delight sushi lovers, and may even convert those who were previously not fond of it.