After opening a second location in the Iron Skillet Plaza last spring, Yuki Japanese Restaurant is still fine-tuning.

I personally have never heard a negative comment about the food or service at the original Yuki Restaurant on Scottsville Road, and the regulars are so regular that my dining companion said she once overheard a customer ask if he could pay for lunch when he came back for dinner. Now that’s regular.

The new Yuki has gained space, especially at the sushi bar, which is where we were seated. We noticed right away the chefs preparing sushi were quiet and not as engaging as they are at most sushi bars.

We arrived just as they were opening for dinner, and it was the middle of the week, but I felt the subdued tone made for a less eventful evening.

Not lost in transition, however, is the feeling of traditional Japanese cuisine, from ingredients to presentation to the serving plates, bowls and utensils. And, of course, the fish is fresh. Yuki pays close attention to this all-important detail.

We ordered a large plate of sushi a la carte including dynamite rolls, crunchy shrimp rolls, California rolls, Kentucky rolls, rainbow rolls and smoked salmon. At the same time, we ordered a dinner plate of teriyaki chicken to arrive after we finished our sushi, but the meal came before the sushi, which was awkward. Dinners are served with a salad and miso soup. The soup is a flavorful soybean broth with morsels of tofu, mushrooms and green onions – traditional and comforting.

Steamed, sliced vegetables served with the teriyaki chicken created a pleasing color combination on the plate. In my experience, restaurants use teriyaki sauce with too many ingredients, but this sauce had a light, delectable flavor combination with a hint of ginger. The chicken itself was slightly dry and the generous plate of teriyaki sauce was well used for dipping.

Excitement reigned when the sushi arrived just before the second round of sake (warmed Japanese rice wine) that my companion ordered.

Even if you don’t eat raw fish, Yuki has at least 19 cooked or vegetarian sushi rolls to choose from and several dinner plates, lunch specials and tempura (shrimp or vegetables lightly battered and deep fried). The Kentucky roll is a good example – it is a combination of seared tuna with cream cheese.

The rainbow roll was my favorite. It was a perfect mix of color to the eye and flavor to the palate with a kaleidoscope of fish and avocado served over rice. And speaking of the rice, it was sincerely the best I’ve ever had.

At the other end of the sushi spectrum, you can order what I consider the Mack Daddy of sushi: raw salmon roe topped with a raw quail egg wrapped in seaweed. Apparently the roe is salty, but the sweetness of the egg balances the flavor. You’ll have to let me know about that one, because I wasn’t brave enough to give it a try.

Again, one of Yuki’s best features is that those in your dinner party can range from sushi novices to sushi connoisseurs and everyone will find something to their liking on the menu.

What may not be so easy is finding the new Yuki. The new location in Iron Skillet Court off Scottsville Road, near Greenwood High School, behind a row of other businesses, is a little hard to find. Call ahead for directions and ask for landmarks to guide you. Even the new stone-and-siding building doesn’t make you feel you’ve arrived at a Japanese restaurant, but fortunately, once inside, the food does – traditional Japanese and delicious.

Yuki Japanese Restaurant is still open for lunch at the Scottsville Road location behind Rafferty’s. The new location is open for lunch and dinner (both are closed for lunch on Saturday and all day Sunday).

Yuki

151 Iron Skillet Court (393-8477) and 1945 Scottsville Rd. (746-6490)

Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Closed Sunday.

Cuisine: Japanese

Specialties: Sushi

Price range for meals: $5.45 to $13.55

Price range for sushi: $1.95 to $7

Smoking: Yes

Libation Situation: Full bar