The only thing cheerier than the bright yellow walls and grinning sushi chef at Sakura Japanese is the food presentation.

Sushi and traditional Japanese dishes arrive with artful arrangement, not to mention flavorful reinforcement.

Phil Skinner/AJC STAFF (ENLARGE)
Sakura rolls at the restaurant are made Osaka style and contains spicy salmon, anago, snow crab and red tobiko. The menu also includes nonseafood dishes.
Phil Skinner/AJC STAFF (ENLARGE)
The Twister roll.
Phil Skinner/AJC STAFF (ENLARGE)
Sushi chef Tim Wijaya works on one of the creations that can lure sushi lovers straight to his bar. His brother takes care of table service.
MOST POPULAR STORIES Who are metro Atlanta's sexiest men? 'Housewives' star forced to move from Duluth home Prosecutor: Jealousy behind Hudson family killings Tyler Perry takes the stand in copyright lawsuit CBS to show story of Cobb teacher with Tourette's
EMAIL THIS PRINT THIS MOST POPULAR

Kudos to brothers Sandy Bazar and Tim Wijaya, who recently took over this intimate eatery. At the moment, it's strictly a two-man operation with Bazar handling table service and Wijaya behind the bar. But with their combined attentiveness and kitchen wizardry, they're a culinary Batman and Robin.

IF YOU LOVE SUSHI ...

Sushi addicts might want to bypass the tables and private dining rooms and head straight to the L-shaped bar. That's where Wijaya works his magic. He nips, tucks and rolls fish, rice and other ingredients into creative edibles.

A row of rectangular Sakura rolls line up single file on a plate. They came Osaka style, which means pressed. The first bite reveals a sweet sensation because of the top layer of flying fish eggs, salt water eel and snow crab salad. Next is a layer of rice, then a creamy sliver of spicy salmon, then another layer of rice.

Tuna, asparagus and yellow tail make up the Twister roll. The lightly fried discs are wrapped in nori (roasted seaweed) and wade in a mixture of curry sauce, kabayaki sauce and a green sauce made of spinach, green onion and green tea. Daring types can graze the menu for even more exotic sushi such as kohada (shad gizzard) and uni (sea urchin).

GET COOKING

The choices on the sweeping menu are plentiful. Pick an appetizer, then take time to graze the offerings. Sakura bills the baked lobster and mango tempura as a starter, but it's entree-worthy, too. A pile of fried lobster tail is on one end of the plate, the empty shell on the other. Hunks of fried mango and thin slices of king plum sit on either side of the lobster.

Tender chunks of meat — not overly fried or greasy— tingle the taste buds.

Skip seafood altogether and try the wafu steak, a rib-eye cooked in sake.

Or opt for fried pork (tonkatsu) or the ever-popular chicken teriyaki.

Wijaya scatters sesame seeds and drizzles teriyaki sauce over thin strips of white meat chicken giving it just the right amount of tang.

FUN WITH FOOD

Playful choices pop up all over the menu, from whimsical names for sushi rolls (such as the Don King) to interesting drinks. Instead of hot tea, try the iced green tea, a slightly sweet and refreshing blast.

Kids will love bottles of Ramune, a Japanese soda. A hybrid of flavors somewhere between Sprite and Mountain Dew, Ramune features a clear ball trapped inside the upper half of the bottle. It helps keep the beverage cold, Wijaya told us.

But the kids' menu leans on the pricey side. Fried shrimp (ebi tempura) sets you back $9.95. The vegetable fried rice on the regular menu proves to be a more affordable selection at $6.50.