Sushi as the spark of reinvention

If at first you don’t succeed, change the name, retool the concept and voila: a new restaurant! More than one restaurateur has resorted to this strategy.

That’s what Jeff Peterson, who also owns Geoffrey’s in Malibu, has done with Union in Santa Monica. He’s scrapped the contemporary American concept and reconstituted Union as a sushi bar and Asian fusion restaurant called Akwa.

Given all the restaurants that have opened at this address over the years -- Bikini, Abiquiu, Rix -- it’s tempting to think the space has bad karma. Or something. In fact, it’s one of the most beautiful restaurant structures in L.A., a sprawling two-level space with a magnificent rooftop patio.

As Akwa, the place has been reconfigured to fit a sushi bar where a row of posh booths used to coddle romantic couples. In Santa Monica, it seems, there can never be too many sushi restaurants, and this one offers quality sushi in a low-key, chic setting. It’s not inexpensive, by any means, but it’s better than most.

Even on a Monday night, not the best day of the week to go out for fish, the seafood is pristine. Sushi chef Taka Fujita buys well. His kampachi is delicious, his toro suitably marbled. What’s on offer is straight-ahead sushi, along with some Matsuhisa-influenced dishes. Hamachi sashimi is briefly seared and dotted with jalapeno salsa and cilantro. Halibut carpaccio is drenched in tart yuzu juice and a little olive oil.

He makes graceful salads, including a frilly seaweed version with tofu. If you’re in the mood for something more substantial, he expertly cooks black cod in miso. There’s no yelling from the sushi chefs. Eating sushi here is as relaxing as a soak in a Japanese hot tub.

Upstairs, executive chef Fortunato Garcia offers a menu of easygoing fusion dishes, including ahi tuna tartare (how could it not?) with caviar and homemade potato chips, sauteed Maryland blue crab cakes and oysters on the half shell with ponzu sauce.

You can order sushi upstairs too. And follow it with slow-roasted salmon, charbroiled Chilean sea bass (it’s back!) or air-dried duck with soba noodles and shiitake in a tamarind sauce.

It could be that this middle-of-the-road concept is the one that takes root here.

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Akwa

Where: 1413 5th St., Santa Monica

When: Dinner 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday; 5:30 to midnight Friday and Saturday; closed Sunday. Full bar. Valet parking.

Cost: Sushi, $5 to $18; other dishes from the sushi bar, $9 to $18; appetizers, $7 to $16; main courses, $23 to $32

Info: (310) 656-9688