THE BUZZING BUSY SIGNAL on the other end of my cellphone line should have been an indication. Late for a reservation at Geisha House, I was trying to call the Atlantic Station restaurant to let them know. What kind of restaurant always has a busy signal? The explanation from the hostess upon my arrival was that the 411 directory has the restaurant's fax number listed instead of the phone number (the fax number on the Web site and the phone number given out by the 411 directory are not the same, btw).

While I'm sure getting all that changed might be a bit of a hassle, gosh, I would think it might be at the top of someone's list to get it done. Fast.

Becky Stein/SPECIAL (ENLARGE)
Geisha House's dramatic interior
Becky Stein/SPECIAL (ENLARGE)
The 'Hawaiian' mochi ice-cream dessert is a high point on the menu.
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For all the money that went into bringing Geisha House to Atlanta as part of the growing number of Los Angeles-based Dolce Group's brood of eateries, eating here feels, well ... cheap. Investors in the group that includes the reopened Los Angeles restaurant Les Deux, Dolce Enoteca (here and in L.A.), Bella Cucina Italiana (because L.A. can never get enough Italian restaurants?) and Ten Pin Alley (here and in L.A.) include Ashton Kutcher and others of the "That '70s Show" crowd, as well as actor Dulé Hill.

Dark, brooding reds bathe the future-world fusion of the décor, highlighted by a circular dining room lined with giant rope pulls and really loud Euro-trash music. Of course there's an upstairs bar and lounge for peeking down, used for private parties. Of course there's a futurama feel to the sushi bar and lounge that flank one side of the space. Yet the atmosphere all this creates is almost comical, like a little girl trying to dress up like a man.

And the menu feels like someone playing dress-up, too, offering everything from "robata world" (an offering of chicken, beef, salmon, asparagus and tofu-tomato kebabs) to "Hawaiian" mochi. There are cold dishes of albacore carpaccio and uni shooters (which weren't available); hot dishes of salmon teriyaki (also absent), king crab leg with a yuzu butter sauce and black cod.

The no-rice roll called "Ocean's 3," made with crab, scallops, shrimp and avocado, wrapped in cucumber and topped with tobiko, is light and refreshing, making it worth all the fuss. And the black cod is marinated in miso until almost caramelized; though sweet, it is scrumptious if eaten with sashimi to balance it. Agemono dishes, like the soft shell crab tempura, are good bets — lightly fried and crunchy to the last bite.

The trouble is, the service staff barely knows the difference between nigiri and sashimi, and will bring one for the other if given the chance, i.e., if you order it. On one visit I was brought saba (mackerel) for hamachi (yellowtail). I could almost forgive someone for confusing hamachi with shiro maguro — the flesh at least looks a little bit alike. Sort of. But mackerel and yellowtail? Order an assortment of sashimi and it will come in an igloo, a fish-on-ice affair that's pretty but belongs more at a Weeki Wachee mermaid show than at a restaurant touting itself as serious Japanese.

Which really is the issue with Geisha House. For all the hullabaloo about the rare sakes, the freshness of the fish and the beauty of the environs this place gives itself, it just doesn't deliver. What's worse is that very few people working here seem to care. Like the buzzing phone line, there always seems to be a convenient excuse.

Mochi is an ancient Japanese tradition — hot, steamed, glutinous rice is pounded with a huge mortar until it turns into a soft, silky dough. Sometimes it is cut into squares, sometimes it is wrapped around chestnut-flavored red bean paste. At Geisha House the "Hawaiian" version is wrapped around different ice creams — chocolate, mango, green tea — and of all the gimmicks this place tin-drums up, this one is actually a soft sell. The cool ice cream melts inside a capsule of mochi to make a mouthful of fun. Molten chocolate cake? All out.

And I'm afraid I'm all out, too.

Overall rating: Poor

Food: Japanese

Service: Not many of the servers know their maki from their mochi

Address, telephone: 1380 Atlantic Drive (inside Atlantic Station), 404-872-3903

Price range: $$ — $$$

Credit cards: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB Card

Hours of operation: Open for dinner Sunday through Thursday from 5 to 10:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 5 to 11:30 p.m.

Best dishes: Agemono dishes such as tempura-fried soft shell crab, no rice rolls, black cod

Vegetarian selections: Edamame, vegetable tempura, miso soup

Children: No

Parking: Inside Atlantic Station

Reservations: Accepted

Wheelchair access: Yes

Smoking: No smoking

Noise level: High

Patio: No

Takeout: Yes

Website: www.geishahousehollywood.com