Snug and welcoming, Ju Hachi is a bustling neighborhood Japanese restaurant. Filled with chatty business-types at lunch, the restaurant also attracts a great local crowd for dinner. The small restaurant features a compact wood sushi bar, brightened by fresh orchids. If you sit at the bar, you’ll be entertained by a television dialed to the Food Network—it’s a bit surreal (and amusing) to see chef Guy Fieri vigorously applying a dry rub to pork chops at the same time a Ju Hachi sushi chef is whipping up your caterpillar roll. A teeny bamboo-enclosed foyer sits at the front of the restaurant, and a jaunty, bright red kimono adds a splash of color to the back wall.

I like the laid-back ambience and interesting menu at Ju Hachi—this is one Japanese establishment that doesn’t focus on glitzy, over-the-top sushi rolls. Explore the restaurant’s appetizer list, where you’ll discover a ravishing, light-as-a-feather calamari tempura, dotted with bits of jalapeno pepper, and a delicate-crispy gyoza, harboring a juicy, meaty interior. Soup lovers will enjoy the kitchen’s shoyu ramen, a soy-based soup with spinach, enoki mushrooms, strips of marinated pork and fish cake; and, yes, there’s a full line-up of sushi items from which to choose. Popular dinner entrées include a spicy chicken teriyaki; pan-roasted duck breast with a Japanese mushroom ragout; and a sushi and sesame chicken combination plate. — Kira O'Donnell

Insider tip: Ju Hachi fills up quickly at lunch. Arrive before noon to snatch a table or space at the sushi bar.

Reservations: Recommended for large parties and for the sushi bar on Friday and Saturday nights.

Payment methods: AmEx, Discover Card, MasterCard, Visa

Alcohol: Wine, beer and sake only

Corkage fee: $10

Hours: Monday–Thursday: Lunch 11:30 a.m.–3 p.m.; Dinner 3–9:30 p.m.
Friday: 11:30 a.m.–3p.m.: Dinner 3–10 p.m.
Saturday: noon–10 p.m. (continuous, one menu)
Sunday: 4–9 p.m. only