Opened by the owners of Kyoto, the restaurant changed hands in 2005. Current owner Steven Louie has kept some of the original menu items - mushroom ravioli and rack of lamb, for example - as well as the "Kyoto Yamasaki" sign at the limited parking lot's entrance. The sign is misleading, it should simply be called Yamasaki. Trying to please many palates, the menu, with its "fusion" cuisine, regularly veers off course. Some items are straightforward fusion, such as beef tenderloin with a mushroom-sake demiglace. Others aren't, such as seafood linguine, french onion soup and cheesecake.
While no dinner entree is more than $24, making a choice between 27 items is tough. What's more, several of the appetizers appear with entrees. Why the redundancy?
Customers would be better served if the kitchen ditched the incongruous menu items and concentrated on fusion dishes like the beef tenderloin mentioned above ($21) and the seared ahi with soba noodle salad. Rosy pink and tender, the filet, served with rice and grilled asparagus, was exceptional while the big slices of seared ruby tuna ($19), encircled with white and black sesame seeds and fanned around a mound of chilled soba noodles, succeeded on many levels. Seared pork tenderloin ($18) with candied Satsuma yams and ginger-cranberry reduction sounded intriguing, but the pork was cooked beyond medium and the yams were bland. A seared duck breast ($20) was overcooked. So was the lamb ($24), which rested in a sweet overreduced sesame-five spice sauce.
The bento boxes may be a good choice for indecisive diners, but only if all the components are executed successfully. That was not the case with the vegetarian bento ($17). Mushroom ravioli filling was overly puréed, the pasta had dry edges and the sauce was salty. Tempura vegetables had no crunch. But agedashi tofu, the same deep-fried cubes as in the agedashi tofu appetizer ($6.50), were silky on the inside and crisp on the outside.
In the original bento with ebi tempura, chicken teriyaki, gyoza and California roll ($18) the chicken was tender and the green onion and beef-filled gyoza had good flavor. Too bad the wrappers' edges were dry.
On another visit, the kitchen did a much better job with the tempura in the teri- yaki chicken entree ($16). Two tender chicken breasts sliced crosswise and drizzled with teriyaki sat next to crackling tempura-dipped carrots, green beans and onion rings.
On weekdays, that chicken teriyaki might also show up in the restaurant's popular lunch special ($6.75) which includes an entree of the day, tempura vegetables (green beans, carrots and onion rings), rice and miso soup or salad.
As if the choices weren't daunting enough . . . there's a separate sushi menu that lists several rolls and nigiri that are just average. If you don't have a sushi bar, don't offer it. Watching sushi being made is part of the experience.
The spider roll ($8.50) lacked flavor and crunch, other than the leggy end pieces of the soft shell crab. A smoky salmon skin hand roll ($4.75) with tobiko was also short on crispness. Other rolls were more successful with fresh-tasting ingredients, such as the Alaskan roll ($7) with salmon and avocado, and spicy California roll ($4.75).
And what's so fusion about berries anglaise ($6) or cheesecake ($4.50) for dessert? Yamasaki had New York-style and chocolate on two separate occasions, and they were poorly commercially crafted. There also are four flavors of Fendall's ice cream ($4.50 for three huge scoops) to choose from: mango, raspberry, ginger and green tea.
Service at Yamasaki is gracious and professional, though during one visit, a less experienced server delivered our entrees with our appetizer plates yet to be cleared. He stood there holding plates while we scrambled to clear space.
If Yamasaki were able to rid itself of those superfluous non-fusion dishes, stop trying to be all things to all people, and execute well all of its true fusion dishes, the restaurant would be even more charming. I'd come back just for the beef filet or seared ahi.
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* LESLI J. NEILSON is a Tribune restaurant reviewer. E-mail her at lneilson@sltrib.com. To comment on this column, write livingeditor@sltrib.com.
Yamasaki
* OVERALL RATING: 
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* MOOD:
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* IN A NUTSHELL: This charming restaurant should stick with straightforward fusion fare rather than try to accommodate all tastes. The beef filet with mushroom-sake demiglace and ahi tuna entree are outstanding. The $6.75 lunch deal can't be beat.
Yamasaki
* WHERE: 6055 S. 900 East, Murray; 801-293-7115
* HOURS: Monday to Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Monday to Thursday, 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.; Friday to Saturday, 5:30 to 10 p.m.
* CHILDREN'S MENU: Yes
* PRICES: $$$
* LIQUOR: Beer and wine
* CORKAGE: $8
* RESERVATIONS: Accepted, recommended on weekends.
* TAKEOUT: Yes
* WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes
* OUTDOOR DINING: Yes
* ON-SITE PARKING: Yes
* CREDIT CARDS: All major
