Fusing Italian and Asian in Natick

The looks of the place, inside and out, give the first hints of its duality. It's located in a brick building in a little strip mall with a hot-top paving company in the back. But inside, the decor lends a formality to what was last a sushi restaurant. All of the details -- curtained partitions, tones of beige and white, water trickling over stones, a chandelier that dangles a little too low over a table, a manager in a smart suit greeting each guest -- suggest the kind of special-occasion restaurant Tony Soprano might take Carmela to in an effort to make up for his dalliances.

OK, so we're eating Italian and Asian in a fancy-looking place in a Natick strip mall. "Can this work?" is admittedly my thought as I greet my companions on the first visit.

The mix of Italian and Asian dishes evolved, executive chef and co-owner Mitchell Maxwell says in a phone interview, from his time in Hawaii when he trained with chefs from the Friuli region of Italy. He later spent years in Asia, which added to that repertoire. Among other restaurant management positions, Randy Nason, the other owner, worked at Armani Cafe, and Maxwell's resembles the original upstairs room of that restaurant.

Those explanations help sort out the provenance of the cuisines, but as always the proof is in the eating -- and the service.

Overall, the cuisine is jumbled, with excellent dishes juxtaposed against so-so ones. And it's not as though Maxwell and his chef de cuisine, Brian Cooper, shine on Asian and pale on Italian or vice versa: It's mixed throughout the menu right on into desserts.