The first time I visited Nagomi Teppan restaurant in early January, it was a work in progress. The dining room was finished but the lounge was still under construction. So I made plans to return when the work was expected to be complete, in three weeks time.

This is how busy the dining scene is: The lounge opened before the end of January, but my three weeks stretched into three months as other new spots beckoned. Circling back, Nagomi’s time has been well spent. I wasn’t won over by the original menu, but early complaints have been addressed and Nagomi 2.0 is a marked improvement over its original incarnation.

The main menu was far more casual in the beginning, dominated by dozens of izakaya-style shared appetizers and highlighted by okonomiyaki and negiyaki specialties.

With Victor Jian, formerly of Jinroku, in charge of the kitchen, Nagomi opened with a lot of promise. But despite the fact he was an okonomiyaki specialist, I didn’t care for the okonomiyaki and negiyaki at all. Both were flavorless. The negiyaki has since disappeared, and the okonomiyaki, which started as a flat, lifeless pancake, has been pumped up in size, texture and flavor to easily rival some of the best in town.

Meals in the main dining room have become more structured and pricey, but if budget is a concern, head back to the lounge, where the mood is casual, pupu-style dishes prevail and during 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. happy hour, you can find favorite dishes priced from $5 to $7.

For a better idea of the price differences, here are some dishes that appear on both menus: seafood Nagomite ($7 happy hour, $11 dining room), split chicken wings (fried chicken served plain, spicy or topped with garlic; $5 happy hour, $8 lounge, $9 dining room) and tako poke ($7 happy hour, $10.50 lounge, $11 dining room).

From this point on, my comments refer to the action in the main dining room. (The lounge menu will be covered on a future date in the TGIF Pau Hana Patrol column.)

During my revisit, I questioned the rationale of taking a more formal approach and increasing the number of pricey teppan entrees, but as I settled in, I found that the strategy offers the best of two worlds. Those who don’t like to share can enjoy keeping their entrees to themselves, but those who prefer to share and graze will find that entrees are just super-sized pupu platters.

If you like a bit of theater with your meal, take a seat at the teppan bar, where you can watch Jian and his crew work their magic. There’s nothing simpler than food coming off the teppan grill, and when starting with quality ingredients, little tampering is needed to bring out the sweetness of natural juices, whether dealing with meat, seafood or vegetables.

Jumbo scallops ($12.50) are perfectly seared, finished with garlic and served with light lemon mayonnaise. Even better is sauteed ika ($8.50), served with citrus soy sauce or lemon butter. It was difficult to stop eating these tender morsels.

One dish that has improved since an early tasting is the gyoza nakami ($11). On first try, nothing about this "inside out" work was remotely like gyoza. In pancake form, it was more flabby than crisp and had little flavor. This time around, the exterior had the crispness of thin-skinned gyoza, and the chopped veggies inside had all the right flavors.

Okonomiyaki still is a menu headliner, and the savory cabbage pancake can be augmented with your choice of ingredients, from pork belly and kim chee ($11), to Wagyu beef ($12), to cheese and sweet potato ($11).

You can also get this veggie pancake in "Meat Lovers" form with pork belly, Wagyu and bacon bits ($13), or "The Works," with shrimp, calamari, scallop, tako, pork belly and Wagyu ($18).

One of the most popular okonomiyaki is the "Ma Special" featuring mochi, cheese and bacon bits. Like the cheese, the mochi melts partially into the blend of chopped vegetables, egg, flour and mountain yam, so some diners have not detected its presence.

It’s always daunting to see double-digit pricing on a menu, but don’t let it stop you from indulging in the likes of teppanyaki sirloin ($26, 7 ounces), filet mignon ($32, 6 ounces), rib eye ($29, 9 ounces), mixed seafood ($32) or Tristan lobster tails ($39, 7 ounces).

With enough appetizers, just one of these could be shared by two for a reasonably priced and satisfying meal. The rib eye hits the spot and accompanying teppan bell pepper and zucchini are an extra treat. The sweet Tristan lobster is sublime.

Fried rice with kim chee ($12), garlic shrimp ($11), pork belly ($10) or seafood ($14), and noodle dishes round out the menu. The Nagomi Special yakisoba is popular, with its mix of tiger prawns, shrimp, scallops, octopus, squid, pork belly and vegetables ($16.50). Opt for typical yakisoba sauce, or have the dish served shio style, with salt, to avoid masking the flavors of the ingredients.

Mochi turns up quite a bit on the menu, most obviously as a bacon-wrapped appetizer ($8). Coming full circle, it reappears in the Nagomi Special dessert ($7), fried and served with a choice of green tea or black sesame ice cream. Black sesame has become the new "it" ice cream flavor at Japanese restaurants in town, and while it’s a nice diversion from the usual green tea, in this case, the light flavor of the tea is a better match for the mochi.

Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com.