When your fresh squeezed orange juice arrives with a stainless steel chopstick in it, you know you're in a restaurant that's trying.
Zukini is an wholly organic place which can best be described as "funky Japanese, sort of". I guess "fusion" is the term used here, but it sounds a bit wanky. Of course, a lot of places end up being wanky because they try too hard. Zukini is lucky because it mostly succeeds.
The decor in the main dining room (upstairs) is cavernous and dark, kind of like being on a covered wooden deck outside at dusk. Downstairs is a lounge bar which is quite cosy and groovy but not open at lunchtime. Unfortunately if you get a seat along the side wall, where there is a long, soft bench, you have to move the table to sit down, and then move the table back, which traps you in your seat.
We started by sharing the Sashimi Plate with Lemon Sake Ice ($15.50), which was not traditional sashimi the way your obaasan makes it. For starters, it wasn't all sashimi - there were several pieces of sushi on the plate. It was okay, but not as good as what I've had in traditional Japanese restaurants. The lemon sake ice, however, was delightful - and too small to really share. It was kind of like an alcoholic lemonade sno-cone, only a hundred times more refined. On a stinking hot afternoon, you want a bowlful of this stuff.
For mains, Dave ordered the Braised Lamb Shank on Wasabi Mash with Oxtail Miso Soup and Chicken Liver Soba Noodles ($21.50). It was excellent, even the chicken liver part. I was in a veggie mood for some reason, so I tried the Tofu and Miso Soup with Wok-Seared Asian Greens and Warm Vegetable Sushi ($18.00). Not as good as Dave's lamb, but respectable. The greens were very fresh and full of that "burnt wok" flavour (not that they were burnt, but if you've had good wok cooking you know what I mean). The veggie sushi was a little bit hit-and-miss; one piece was filled with wasabi mash instead of rice. Sometimes I think these places get a bit too creative for their own good.
We ate all this accompanied by Callanan's Road Pinot Noir, which is a nice solid drop at the less expensive end of the wine list.
Dessert raised the stakes a little. Dave and I ordered the same thing this time. Usually I try to vary it but nothing appealed to me except the Steamed Banana Pudding soaked in Ginger Wine with Honeycomb Ice Cream ($9.00). It was fantastic. The cakelike pudding came out in a little baking cup of its own, tender, moist, and too hot to touch (the waiter didn't warn me - ouch!). The ginger wine was sweet and strong and the ice cream provided the perfect contrast. I'd go back for this again.
The restrooms are downstairs here, adjoining the lounge bar. They are clean and trendy, but look unfinished due to the bare concrete floor.
Service was very good, with two waiters serving the small dining room. They passed the auto-water-refill test.
I don't know how many wholly organic restaurants exist where the staff and customers don't all wear tie-dyes and dreadlocks, but Zukini does a decent job with business and smart casual - and the food's not bad either.
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Dave's summary: (this space left unintentionally blank)
Probability that we will return: 33 / 42
Note that the probability rating is affected by the fact that there are hundreds of places to eat around here.