So here's the story. Bozu, our favorite place for fried oysters, closes down, and in its place, just off 11th Avenue Atrium in Kaimukí, sprouts Umi no Sachi.

The new Japanese restaurant/sushi bar/izakaya looks exactly like Bozu, all natural-wood columns, paper lanterns and contempo-organic black-and-white floor, but in place of Bozu's big teppan counter is a sushi bar, and 27-year-old chef James Matsukawa stands behind it.

The first dish he sends out is table-thumping good: Spicy tuna chips ($6) drizzled with aioli and sweet chili sauce atop crispy, tempura-fried nori bites. Second and third dishes are pretty good: The Kona roll ($16), inside-out with fresh crab, that same spicy ahi, sweet chili sauce and tempura flakes; and okonomiyaki ($7) from the daily specials whiteboard — super-thin and not exactly stuffed with choice seafood bits, but crunchy-chewy and yummy like takoyaki. Not good: ika geso squid legs ($6), which are cold and tough.

Aw, no mochi ice cream tonight. Matsukawa brings us morsels of his sweetly steamed, custardy egg as an apology. "I notice you guys play it pretty safe," he says.

"What?"

He smiles, very innocent and young. He has no idea he's just challenged serious foodies.

"You know what?" we tell him. "Next time, we'll let you choose the menu."

He smiles again.

So far, so good, right? Then, we're outed. Wasn't supposed to happen. As food reviewers, we eat strictly undercover, but scheduling issues force a call to Umi no Sachi to set up a photo shoot before we're done reviewing the food.

That's how Matsukawa figures out that 1) we've already been there, 2) we're the friendly ones who asked lots of questions, and 3) we're coming back to finish the review.

Just so you know, because the difference between our two visits is the difference between maybe going back if we're in the area and "heck yeah, we are so there."

So next visit, he's ready. We're ready. We're going for small-plate izakaya eats, no full-meal teishoku. And we've learned something: Matsukawa's worked at Sushi Sasabune and Tokkuri-Tei, which means he can handle sushi purists, as well as his fellow 20-somethings looking for awesome grinds to go with their Asahi.

"Strictly from the menu," we tell him.

Matsukawa puts his head down and gets to work. Here's what was out of the ballpark:

Ponzu salmon burgers ($5) from the daily specials menu, four crispy-melty bite-size salmon cakes topped with grated daikon and ponzu. Rich, buttery salmon and tart ponzu work together for an awesome, yin-yang flavor. Same with gyu yaki ($3.50), a skewer of rib-eye grilled to just-medium in the middle (if you're lucky; one co-taster got a well-done stick, which she said was blah), the juicy meltiness cut through with wasabi and ponzu.

Matsukawa goes for the same yin-yang with his fresh, perfectly grilled yakitori chicken sticks with wasabi, grated daikon and ponzu (aha! He's also worked at Kohnotori, the yakitori place next to Imanas Tei), the memory of which is making our mouth water four days after the fact ($2.50 per skewer). We like even better his yakitori with big black pepper bits and simple salt crust that reminds us of bacon ($3).

Here's what's pretty good:

Spicy tuna avocado roll ($14) is fresh and well-made, but this is the third time we're saying hello to that spicy ahi-sweet chili drizzle combo, so steer clear unless you're in love with this theme. Our co-tasters scarf the blackened ahi tataki ($14), a salad of daikon threads and romaine garnished with silky slices of seared ahi, but after the progression of yummy Asian flavors, the Cajun rub on the fish throws us way off.

We are stuffed. Our co-tasters abandon us and move on. They munch through skewers of smoky arabiki sausages, more spicy tuna chips, nigiri sushi and finally, a bowl of plain hot udon ($8). We stick in a spoon to get at the broth: yum, not too much shoyu, just subtle smoky hints of katsuo and kelp (aha! Matsukawa also worked at Jimbo). It's perfect, our co-tasters moan. It's the best thing yet. Which at this point is saying a lot.

No misses this time.

Don't get us wrong: Umi no Sachi offers a range of teishoku sets, including tonkatsu, broiled fish, steak and sushi. And nigiri sushi runs $3 apiece for hamachi/yellowtail, all the way to $7.50 apiece for otoro/fatty tuna. Next time, we'll try one of the three- or four-piece sushi sampler sets, unless we go for lunch, because the Japanese-style loco moco on the one-page lunch menu is calling to us.

So there's the story. All sides of it. Flavor combinations both big and subtle, reasonable prices, well-executed food. And heck yeah, we'll be back to see if we were right.