When I saw the renovation begin on the building that was the old Habitat for Humanity Re-Store (and before that several incarnations of restaurants), I couldn’t wait to see what was going in. After all, there aren’t many restaurants within easy walking distance of the Brentmoor neighborhood, so a new eatery would be welcome. As I headed south each morning, I’d see the construction progress, and when the telltale signs of a Japanese restaurant began to emerge, I thought, “great, this is a nice addition to the lower part of Nashville Road.”

Because Manpuku is a brand-new restaurant, I visited it on three different occasions over the space of three weeks, sampling a wide variety of dishes. I would say that by and large my experiences were not very good, and this restaurant has a lot of work to do, especially with regard to service and the quality of the sushi.

The interior of the restaurant shows little sign of the previous occupants, which is a good thing. The light green d/cor is pleasant, and the space is wide open and airy. Manpuku is all nonsmoking, which is an added benefit.

My first visit was for a lunch. We ordered appetizers of shumai and gyoza. Shumai originates in China, but is a popular and simple appetizer that can be found in Indonesian, Philippine and Japanese cuisine. Generally filled with meat and vegetables and then steamed, the flavor should be soft and not overly bold. Gyoza is an Asian version of a pierogi, found in both Japanese and Asian cuisine, and is a thick dough wrapped around a meat filling and then steamed. The waitperson took our order, but did not write anything down. The gyoza arrived after a while and was good, but unremarkable. The dough retained a firm consistency, as it should, and the meat inside had a slight touch of ginger to it.

The shumai never arrived.

For lunch I ordered the regular sushi meal from the regular menu. What came out was the lunch sushi from the lunch menu, which has fewer pieces on it. Disappointing. The nigiri sushi in any kind of lunch special is going to be run of the mill, and not the choice cuts. That’s fine, as long as the diner understands this going in.

The sushi that arrived included egg, tuna and salmon. But the fish didn’t seem to be of the best quality. It had lost the shine that should come with fresh sushi, and had a bit of firmness to it. One note: I ate this meal on a Monday, which is generally considered a no-no when ordering fish. I don’t know how it works at Manpuku, but seafood deliveries generally arrive late in the week to accommodate the weekend crowd. The lack of freshness might have been due to timing.

I also ordered the crunchy shrimp roll (maki), which is one of my favorites. I ordered it “hand-rolled” (temaki), which means that instead of rolling it into a tube on the counter and pressing it, the sushi chef rolls it by hand, creating a cone. This came out as a regular roll, not as I ordered it. When I inquired, the waitperson at first said that the sushi chef isn’t always there, and that often the manager makes the sushi. I was also told, in response to a specific request for a hand-rolled (temaki) replacement , that all the sushi at Manpuku is made by hand. Here is a server in need of greater education as to what the restaurant sells.

The replacement temaki sushi came out in a nice presentation, but the construction of the sushi was poor, and the temaki fell into pieces almost immediately. It was inedible.

With the first visit a bust, I returned for lunch on a Friday, hoping to score fresh sushi made by the sushi chef. This time I pointed specifically to the “Regular Sushi” on the menu. Again I was brought the wrong item – the lunch special. Again the fish was not of very good quality. However, the temaki crunchy shrimp roll was perfectly made and presented, and very tasty. However, my dining companion and I remarked that the nigiri sushi resembled sushi purchased from Kroger.

Determined to press on, I next sampled the dinner offerings. Wanting to avoid the service, I tried three dishes as takeout. Wanting to try as many different items as possible, I had entr/es of shrimp and scallops, steak and chicken, and salmon. All three were OK, but not outstanding. The shrimp and scallops were perfectly cooked – tender, not chewy, and with a nice consistency and flavor – but quite small. I asked for the steak medium rare, and the stir-fried pieces were cooked exactly so. The chicken was a bit rubbery, but I would chalk that up to the time it took me to get it home and start eating. The highlight of all the visits was the salmon. This strip of fish was seasoned with pepper and what tasted like ginger and cooked to a nice, delicate, but firm consistency. The crispy outside and “melty” inside combined with the flavor to make for a very good dish.

A bed of flavored rice and saut/ed vegetables accompanied each of these. While the rice was good, there was nothing remarkable here, and several Japanese steakhouses across town make the same dishes just as well, and some do it better.

In all, none of my visits was all that good. For sushi, Shogun remains my go-to lunch place – high-quality fish, low prices and great service. And Kyoto does great dinners with the grand show, while Ichiban has quick, cheap high-quality dishes. Still, Manpuku has a niche to fill on that side of town and so close to Western Kentucky University’s South Campus and several neighborhoods. With some improvements with regard to server knowledge, service, and the quality and presentation of the nigiri, Manpuku can become a very good restaurant. The foundation is in place.

— Our anonymous food reviewer gives new restaurants a six-week grace period before reviewing. To comment, contact Managing Editor Mike Alexieff at 783-3235 or via e-mail to malexieff@bgdailynews.com.

MANPUKU

2323 Nashville Road

• 904-4663

Hours: 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday

Cuisine: Japanese

Price range: $4.59 to $13.99

Smoking: No