A fusion of Cal-Asian sensibilities

Leaning back on a luxurious woven leather bolster at the new Zen Grill Sake Lounge in Westwood, I glanced up and saw the back of someone’s head in a window high above. Big head, I thought, then had to laugh later when I realized that is no fat head -- it’s a Buddha figure.

The canny, serene fellow is an increasingly popular L.A. restaurant mascot. He has presided over Chinois on Main for 20 years; he gives the outdoor dining room at White Lotus some cachet and Buddha Cafe a spiritual gloss. Now he’s nurturing the fortunes of this new, high-end Zen Grill.

The original is a modest Cal-Asian cafe on 3rd Street. Locations in Beverly Hills and Sherman Oaks are equally unpretentious. With the new Westwood version, owners Elaine Johnston and Adolfo Suaya of Gaucho Grill are going for the upscale and glamorous. Whether that will fly remains to be seen, but the soaring space certainly has the right look, with a sweeping red-carpeted staircase and posh leather booths curtained by banners emblazoned with the Japanese flag.

The menu is a fusion of Asian cuisines from chef Ryu Hamada, who created the Asian comfort food at the original Zen Grill. Spring rolls come dribbled with a spicy mayonnaise. Steamed shrimp dumplings look just like the ones from your favorite dim sum restaurant. Pot stickers are plump and juicy. But the best is the plate of shisito, Japanese hot peppers shriveled from a passage in a hot wok. They’re soft and wrinkly with a sharp snap of heat.

Hamada’s curiously named rice tower isn’t a tower at all, but domino-sized rice cakes topped with sliced raw tuna and avocado. As for more substantial dishes, there’s tender kalbi, or Korean-style grilled short ribs, served with a few leaves of cabbage kimchi; Mongolian lamb stir-fried with scallions in a rather sweet sauce; and Thai green curry with Japanese eggplant and broccoli that tastes mostly of coconut milk.

Though the cooking tends toward the sweet, it’s also light and clean enough to appeal to a broad spectrum of tastes. Everything is served family style, so you can nibble on an array of small dishes, or mix and match “zen-sum” with soups, salads, sashimi and sushi, and more substantial plates.

The sake list is some 60 entries long and includes a dozen by the glass or decanter if you don’t want to spring for an entire bottle. Right here and now may be the perfect time to get into sake; the wine list is pitifully short in comparison.

Some diners, I’ve noticed, head straight for the hard stuff and are knocking back glasses of the Japanese spirit Sho-chu.

Kampai!

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Zen Grill Sake Lounge

Where: 1051 Broxton Ave., Westwood

When: Sunday through Thursday, 5-11 p.m.; Friday and Saturday,

5 p.m.-midnight. Parking in nearby lots.

Cost: Small plates, $3 to $12; larger plates, $11 to $20. Sake, Sho-chu, beer and wine.

Info: (310) 209-1994