When you hear the word "fusion" to describe a restaurant, you naturally think of the menu. A green salad with miso-ginger dressing. Calamari with Thai chili sauce. Beef short ribs with bok choy.

Azel, a chic little spot tucked in a deceptively bland nook of strip-mall shops and office buildings, serves all this and more. Billed as a restaurant where "East meets West," Azel exhibits the fusion concept off the menu, too.

PHIL SKINNER/AJC STAFF (ENLARGE)
Ginger marinated sesame seed Atlantic salmon would be served well by the extensive wine list. Complementary desserts could be the green tea ice cream or mango and champagne sorbet.
PHIL SKINNER/AJC STAFF (ENLARGE)
The marinated sea bass comes with wasabi mashed potatoes and bok choy in beurre blanc.
PHIL SKINNER/AJC STAFF (ENLARGE)
Sophia Lee samples the food at Azel while Debianny Lia Shin, 15 months, watches. While the restaurant is mainly geared toward adults, there are high chairs and kid-friendly edamame to munch.
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Azel 9810-C Medlock Bridge Road, Johns Creek, 770-622-9829 • Hours: Lunch 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday-Friday; dinner 5-10 p.m. Monday-Saturday • Entrees: Lunch $7-$12; dinner $13-$25 • Recommended dishes: Sashimi, spring rolls, sake-miso sea bass, tempura shrimp and soft shell crab

Its sleek interior, decorative lighting and cool fish tank make it a sophisticated dining destination — especially on Saturday nights, when a jazz combo provides a soulful backdrop to your meal.

But it's also a fine place for a casual business lunch, judging by the tables of guys wearing corporate-logo golf shirts one afternoon. And kids will feel at home at lunch or early evening, too — a number of high chairs are discreetly tucked in a corner toward the back.

The menu

We started with tuna sashimi. Cool, tender and the color of fresh ruby red grapefruit slices, it was a velvety, feather-light start to our meal. Pan-fried chicken dumplings are served with a spicy soy sauce. Azel's vegetable spring rolls are a little different. Tucked into each crispy wrap is an entire shrimp, its tail peeking out one end. Cute! It's served with a sweet ginger sauce.

Especially if you're out with young diners, order a side of edamame. Steamed and lightly salted, this healthy, fun-to-eat snack might impart the idea that kid-friendly food needn't be chicken nuggets or mac-n-cheese.

Tempura soft shell crab and shrimp arrive artfully arranged with light soy bonito sauce for dipping. Among the more fuse-tastic dishes is the sea bass, grilled in a sake-miso marinade and served with wasabi mashed potatoes and steamed bok choy in a beurre blanc.

Wrapping it up, we loved the green tea ice cream — the green tea adds a lovely flavor and cuts the sweetness. The mango and champagne sorbet is fruity, elegant and light.

The wine list is extensive, featuring lots of California labels and some from Australia, Spain, South Africa and elsewhere. It's worth noting that all the champagnes listed actually are Champagne, from France. The full bar includes a small selection of sake and plum wines as well.

The scene

Dark walls and artful lighting give Azel the feel of an exclusive supper club. The place has about a dozen tables and half that many spots at the sushi bar. The cool little banquette booths in the back are the best seats, we've found.

The staff's equal-opportunity courtesy deserves a special salute. When I dine at various places with my husband, we generally receive good, often excellent service. Should I return solo, however, I can usually expect aloofness bordering on fearful disdain, like I might be carrying anthrax in my purse. (Once, at an upscale spot on Peachtree Parkway, the host actually snapped, "What can I do for you?" when I walked in for lunch.)

This isn't so at Azel. True, there was more pageantry when we dined as a couple one evening. Manager Johnny Peng greeted guests like old friends and departed each table with a little bow. Emily Fu, partner of chef/owner C.N. Li, stopped for a moment of genteel chat with each group of diners. The staff is pared down at lunch, but the solo female is afforded all the courtesies as the table of businessmen. A grand — and rare — thing.