From the outside, The Alley at Aiea Bowl doesn't look like a spot for Cordon Bleu cuisine. It doesn't look like it on the inside, either. But for true-blue foodies, beauty is never skin deep. At The Alley, plate-lunch fare is raised to a level that's oh-so-haute.

By the time we headed to 'Aiea to check it out, the story was already becoming the stuff of local legend. Two brothers, whose parents took them to Waialae Bowl as little kids, grew up with dreams: Gregg Uyeda wanted to own a bowling alley, but became a dentist. His younger brother, Glenn, hoped to open a restaurant and became a chef.

Fast-forward a few decades, to 2005, and the dentist and the chef got together and bought Aiea Bowl. They spent big money to update — putting in a state-of-the-art scoring system, a pro shop and a full restaurant and bar. And voila, Aiea Bowl has turned into one of the most happening spots west of town.

Along with regular big, hip bashes featuring cosmic bowling and party themes like "Exotic Erotic" there's also a full bar here, with a big-screen TV just out of the shot.

So what gives? Haute plate lunches at a bowling alley diner? Turns out Glenn Uyeda trained at Le Cordon Bleu and Le Bernardin. After months in the test kitchen with his mom (an awesome home cook) and executive chef Shane Masutani, the team introduced specialties like their best-selling Tasty Chicken, oxtail soup, spicy and garlic shrimp and "handmade" hamburger steak.

On most Monday and Wednesday nights, just inside the front doors opposite the lockers, The Alley rolls out an added attraction: a sushi table serving up hand rolls, including California, spicy tuna, Spam and sometimes Tasty Chicken for $2 apiece, or three for $5.

Sushi makers Layton Pang and Erron Yoshioka are friends who set up the station whenever their schedules allow. Pang is an architect by day and sushi chef/kitchen cook at night; he's also cousin to the Uyeda brothers. Yoshioka, a schoolteacher, has a secret recipe for the spicy tuna that makes it so 'ono. The two usually sell out to bowlers who line up for the made-to-order rolls between sets.

We started out with the shrimp cocktail ($8). The panko crust was light and crispy and, best of all, the cooks did justice to the shrimp inside, leaving it soft and delicate, not rubbery.

We also ordered the boneless spicy chicken wings ($10). Boneless wings? And when was the last time you had wings with no skin or dark meat? This looked and tasted like breast meat — and whatever it was, it didn't wow.

The Asian braised pork ($10.95 with rice and salad) was fantastic. It's slow-cooked and came in big, soft chunks with a slap-the-table-good, caramelized glaze that means there was a decent balance of sugar. Choose a bowl or a full plate with white or brown rice and tossed or mac salad. But what's with the haute-y name — isn't this shoyu pork?

If you have no other reason to set foot in the door, do it for this oxtail soup ($12.95). We used to go to Kam Bowl for their oxtail soup. Took our own pot, even. Had we known the Uyeda boys' mom was cooking this up in her kitchen, we'd have shown up at her door with that pot. Why so good? The broth is rich without being too salty or greasy and tastes of beef, boiled peanuts and star anise, and the homemade ponzu dipping sauce lends the rich meat a revelatory zing.

Another wow: Tasty Chicken ($7.95 for bowl; $9.95 with rice and salad). Everybody compares this to Sugoi's garlic chicken. We tried Sugoi's, and the sting of obscene amounts of undercooked garlic searing up our nostrils when we popped open the Styrofoam left that one way behind.

This one is killer. Garlic: check. Sweetness: check. Light and crispy: check. We loved the unapologetic swaths of chicken skin arcing over modest morsels of boneless meat fried crispy and tender. Cholesterol heaven — which is what makes it so good.

Not so super was the Suppa Garlic Shrimp ($10.98 for bowl; $13.95 with rice and salad). Maybe we're not posh enough for scampi-style. Again the cooks respect the integrity of the shrimp, leaving it tender. But together with the grated gobs of buttery garlic, maybe it was a case of too much of a good thing.

A foodie friend just back from gastronomic gluttony in New York pronounced The Alley's Mega Crunch French Fries ($3.50 for small; $5.50 for large) as good as Daniel Boulud's. As good as a James Beard award-winning French chef's french fries! Every one crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. 'Nuff said. Note: Two orders of McDonald's large fries would easily fit onto the "small" plate.

Even with all this going on, The Alley's most famous creation may be its lemon cake. Excuse me? Mention the place to a foodie, and that's likely the first thing that pops out of their mouth. That cake is one of several popular items prepared by a team of pastry chefs and stacked in plastic takeout boxes inside a chilled case next to the bar. Also in the case: a layered chocolate cake finished with ganache, a creamy tiramisu, pumpkin crunch and a cream cheese brownie.

So the Lemon Drop Crunch Cake ($5.95) was the first thing we heard about The Alley. Now we sank our forks into four inches of lemony bliss. They use lemon curd, plus whipped cream on top, sprinkled with real toffee bits. That's spongy-creamy-crunchy, paired with sweet-tangy-milky. The secret is to get all four vertical inches on your fork in one bite.

As for the tiramisu ($5.95), it was the best we've ever had on O'ahu. Period.

So the verdict on The Alley isn't a matter of whether you should go, because that's obvious, but whether you should go out of your way to go. And here we should mention that our quest to try the most popular things left no room in our bellies for the assortment of salads, including one featuring turkey breast marinated in Coca-Cola, or soothing ochazuke bowls.

If you don't mind the prices, if you're not put off by the incessant thunder of flying bowling pins, if you like the idea of simple, bold plate-lunch dishes executed well, it's worth going out of your way for.