Baku was a curiosity from the start. The concept originated with two men who searched abroad for a restaurant idea they could bring home to North Carolina. They found their eureka moment in Japan, where they came to believe the appeal of fire plus meat, spiced with the exoticism of another culture, would be a hit.

They were right, but as we in Hawaii have experienced many times over in instances of cultural appropriation, something is bound to get lost in translation. Honolulu is an unusual market for Baku, given our close ties with Japan and familiarity with Japanese cuisine. It’s fortunate the restaurant opened in Waikiki, where a daily, changing flow of diners may believe all “Japanese” restaurants are created equal.

Of course they’re not. At a time when transparency is prized, local robata­yaki and yakitori restaurants have been moving steadily toward austerity. This allows chefs to showcase ingredients cooked simply to highlight natural flavors and textures, with very little sauce and distractions. Baku takes the opposite approach. That’s OK. Big flavor does play well with a lot of people, but those who understand Japanese cuisine will be dismayed.

There is an audience for both styles. Some would consider a morsel of chicken merely salted and peppered, cooked to a perfect doneness, yet served without sauce to be dull and flavorless. It’s up to diners to decide which end of the spectrum they fit in.

At Baku, the subtlety of authentic Japanese cuisine is out the window, but the restaurant’s key selling point is man’s fascination with food and fire. There is seating indoors and on a patio, but the most coveted seats have a view of the kitchen’s robata grill, which uses a combination of Japanese binchotan (oak) charcoal and kiawe wood to enhance skewers of chicken thighs, wings, pork belly and beef tenderloin.

Skewers start at $6 for tofu and $8 for a combo of chicken thigh and spring onions with house tare sauce and togarashi salt. Chicken liver, gizzards and beef tongue are on the menu but were unavailable when I visited.

Whereas the emphasis at robata­yaki restaurants is slow, even cooking, man has not yet tamed Baku’s 8-foot, multitier grill. It’s great for the show, less so for controlled cooking. I don’t mind a little char to give food the ambience of a backyard cookout, but some skewers arrive looking like charcoal on a stick. My friends are good sports who didn’t complain when this happened to them. They just laughed about it. Others might not be so amused by burnt chicken that should never have left the kitchen.

Those with larger appetites will find entrees of lamb chops with Korean chili and garlic ($36); pork chop with miso- yuzukocho marinade ($35); and steaks, highlighted by a 38-ounce USDA prime tomahawk ($105) served with ponzu, fresh wasabi, truffle and assorted salts. A couple of dishes I enjoyed were a flavorful pork belly skewer with gochujang-miso glaze ($14) and a plate of kalbi-style shortribs ($26) big on flavor, but that could have used some Korean-style tenderizing.

One item that could become excellent over time is a dish of sake-glazed chicken wings ($9). It’s listed under skewers, but arrives like typical plated wings. Delicacy and timing are crucial to the robatayaki experience, but that is not the case here. The wings are slathered with sauce back and forth, with all the delicacy of a house painter at work. Because of this, they never crisp up, and while the chicken itself is nice and juicy, one can’t help but wonder why the skin is so gummy.

Sashimi, nigiri, sushi rolls, and plentiful raw and small plates round out the menu, and while some people have remarked “sushi is sushi,” Baku’s is problematic, with the rice not quite right in flavor and texture. Although if you’re of the anything-goes school, a lot of shoyu and wasabi will probably make it right.

A starter of Kona kampachi is passable ($15), but while a butter-ponzu sauce sounded interesting, it was curiously light and watery and did not boost the fish, which could have used a brightening touch of citrus.

Some selections I enjoyed were a Wild Mushroom Kamameshi Pot ($18) crowned with a finishing touch of freshly shaved truffles, and 8 ounces of a spicy sliced filet of beef ($45) served with a raw egg yolk in sukiyaki sauce for dipping, with a decadent side of bone marrow dotted with grape jelly to lend balance to the fatty delicacy.

Late-nighters can hang out over artisan shochu selections and cocktails such as the Katana ($12) with tequila, Combier Liqueur D’Orange and Mezcal El Silencio essence; or Rising Sangria ($10) with white wine, orange blossom water, lychee liqueur, calamansi and fresh fruit. When drinks are flowing, diners are likely to be more forgiving.

Desserts are another work in progress; for example, a “shave ice” that is instead potentially tooth-chipping crushed ice that doesn’t hold on to syrup.

Aiyah!

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