RESTAURANT REVIEW : Sushi Fit for Buck Rogers : The Japanese eatery in Thousand Oaks has an appeal that will stand the test of time.

In Japan thousands of soba shops concentrate on serving only buckwheat noodles and broth to their patrons. Another type of specialty restaurant is the tofu ryori , places where all items on the menu, from appetizers to desserts, have been imaginatively concocted from tofu. In Kyoto you can eat at a tofu ryori that has been in the same family for 300 years.

I tried to imagine the Tempura House in Thousand Oaks 300 years from now. The Evergreens shopping center would be a late-20th-Century relic, the whole area possibly covered by a biosphere dome. People might even tele-transport themselves to the restaurant by the touch of a button.

The decor here could easily hold its aesthetic appeal for 300 years. Beautiful Japanese prints and works on paper grace the walls. Paper lanterns and bamboo shades hang from the ceiling, giving tables the illusion of separation. They have the Japanese knack for creating a sense of privacy out of very small spaces.

Though the Japanese do like to concentrate on a single food, that is not what the Tempura House has done with tempura. In fact, the best part of the restaurant isn’t even the tempura; it’s the sushi bar.

However, most of the menu items are paired with tempura, batter-fried combinations of vegetables and fish--and if you like crispy, greasy food, you’ll love the tempura here.

The prices are quite reasonable, $4.50 to $7 at lunch for generous meals served on cute compartmentalized plastic trays. Entrees came with rice and pickled vegetables and a crisp salad with a pleasantly slurpy dressing that had a hint of toasted sesame and a nice wedge of pineapple on the side.

For dinner, among other choices, they offer giant boats filled with food for $12 to $15.

I had the tempura with teriyaki chicken, which had a thick, sweet-tasting sauce with a hint of plum flavoring. The tempura had a thick crust and seemed more starchy than veggie, with both white and sweet potatoes, fat button mushrooms and yummy onions.

I have had more elegant and spectacular Japanese food, but there was an appealing sense of Japanese home cooking here, food that is simple, with a minimum of frills. Miso soup for instance came perfectly plain, a cloudy broth with no additions.

In a subtle broth of its own, udon , or white noodles, serenely overflowed their bowl, topped with plain, boiled root vegetables. A very basic kind of meal. Donburi was a homey dish of somewhat clumpy rice and chicken with a slightly sweet taste. Pairing it with the sunomono , thin sliced cucumbers in vinegar, improved it.

An appetizer special of soft-shelled crab from the sushi bar was astoundingly good, crisp and soft in just the right places. It directed my attention to the small sushi bar, where I discovered that the sushi was fine, but the specials concocted by the sushi chef were really delightful.

Barbecued mushrooms with seafood were delicious. No discernible barbecue flavor, just marvelous floppy mushrooms with bite-sized pieces of seafood in a spicy cream sauce.

Scallops with garlic were cooked in a buttery garlic sauce and served, also with mushrooms, on a lovely white shell. Another special, bonito sushi , doused with vinegar sauce, was meltingly good. They do especially fine sushi rolls here, including a very tasty California roll and a Westlake roll with tuna, yellowtail and avocado, a slam dunk winner.

It all came together spectacularly with the soft-shelled crab roll, where the added textures of rice and seaweed enhanced the pleasures of the wonderful fried crab. It was both crisp and chewy, with a subtle interplay between sweet and salty that was marvelous.

If they can still make a dish like this 300 years from now, all will be right with the world.

Details

* WHAT: Tempura House.

* WHERE: 3709 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Westlake.

* WHEN: Open for lunch, Tuesday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Dinner, Tuesday through Sunday, 5 to 9:30 p.m.

* COST: Dinner for two, food only, $16 to $30. Wine and beer. Visa, MasterCard, American Express.

* ETC.: Call (805) 496-5793.