Osaka Japanese Restaurant

Location: 740 E. Washington St., Sequim

Phone: 477-4391

Daily hours: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. lunch; 4-9 p.m. dinner

Also: Takeout available

The Osaka Japanese Restaurant opened barely a month ago and already it’s attracting a good evening crowd for its teriyaki, sushi rolls, Bento-style meals and noodle soups.

Owner Young Song, who has 20 years of experience as a chef cooking Japanese, Chinese, Korean and American food, said he chose the former Greathouse Restaurant location because he likes Sequim and its retiree population and thought a small Japanese restaurant would fit in well. He added that customers have said they’re glad to see the site being used again.

Schyrell Jones, a waitress with experience in other Japanese restaurants, explained how the Osaka is special for diners.

“It’s how he (Song) does his rolls and his teriyaki differently because it’s not as sweet and it has a lot more flavor — you can taste the different spices and they don’t mask the flavor of the meat,” Jones explained.

“He uses infusion styles in his cooking so you get all the different flavors and can taste each individual ingredient.”

The menu is so varied that it takes four pages to describe all of the dishes available. Offerings, with ingredients thoughtfully listed, consist of 16 types of nigiri sushi, 15 premium rolls, seven crispy rolls, seven classic rolls and six vegetable rolls. The Osaka also serves chicken, beef, pork, tofu and salmon teriyaki, nine Chinese wok meals and teriyaki/wok combos.

Some of the more striking ingredients include crab, tuna, salmon, scallops, salmon roe, squid and eel.

Popular rolls, Jones said, are the Harmony with real crab, cucumbers, avocado, tuna and salmon or the Bloody Vampire with spicy tuna and salmon, creamy scallops and sweet chili sauce. For vegetarians or those watching their calories, there’s vegetable tempura with squash, green beans, carrots, asparagus and sweet sauce. All the rolls are very filling, she noted.

“Of course, you can never go wrong with the Spider, with deep-fried soft shell crab, cucumbers, avocado, sesame seed and sweet sauce,” Jones said.

Appetizers include pot stickers and egg rolls, plus dishes with edamame, tofu, calamari and mussels and one with the buyer beware name of “Heart Attack.” There also are salads, fried noodles and flour noodle soups. If you’re not very adventurous, there’s always chicken, beef or shrimp stir-fry.

“Business has been really good at night — the atmosphere is bright and cheerful because of the colorful, eye-popping food,” Jones said.