"You should have seen it last week," said executive chef Jay Matsukawa, the driving force behind this new eatery and whose first initial is the restaurant's namesake. "You couldn't even see the floor. It was a complete mess."

Officially opened last night, J at The Willows was once the site of the Rainbow Room, which is directly located above the main buffet area.

Moving away from Pacific Rim dishes and toward French-Asian cuisine, Matsukawa said he has been developing the menu and the restaurant's overall concept for more than a year.

"It's rustic French and not Nouveau French," said Matsukawa, who re-joined The Willows back in February after a stint at the Plaza Club. "Ingredients will be tossed and folded into the dishes. It's approachable food. And items won't be stacked high."

In other words, what you see is what you get. The fresh Japanese hamachi carpaccio ($12) is a point in case. Paper-thin slices of hamachi are topped with equally thin shavings of garlic, all blanketed with shiso oil, black sesame seeds and a dash of sea salt. No guess- work here; all ingredients are visible to the naked eye.

J's European-like ambiance with soft hues, piped in classical music and swag window treatments is antithetical to the rest of the property, which boasts an Island theme, both in decor and in cuisine.

"We wanted this restaurant to be totally separate from the buffet downstairs," Matsukawa said. "The food, the look, the feel are all different. We even hired a completely new staff to work the restaurant."

This includes a new kitchen crew, who will be responsible for executing the menu, which runs the gamut from the carpaccio to kiawe-smoked salmon Nicoise salad to pan-roasted rack of lamb.

Tucked in a handsome koa wood folder, the menu is stripped down to bare essentials. However, it still contains enough selections to satisfy all preferences.

Appetizers lean more toward cooler flavors, ideal for our warm summer climes.

In addition to the carpaccio, guests can start their dinner with thin slices of chilled portobello mushroom accompanied by roasted pepper and marinated mozzarella cheese.

Also refreshing is the Nicoise salad ($7), which is neatly presented with house-smoked salmon, local vine-ripened tomatoes, hard-boiled egg wedges, steamed potatoes and French beans.

Signature dishes include the rack of lamb and the hamachi carpaccio.

"People loved the lamb's morello cherry glace," Matsukawa said. "And they enjoyed the Grand Marnier butter sauce with the duck breast and the duck leg cassoulet."

Other selections include the pan-seared onaga with shrimp dumplings in Thai-style broth ($26), charred Black Angus beef tenderloin ($27) and seafood bouillabaisse ($26).