If you’ve been feeling guilty about skipping a workout or two, you might want to time your visit to CoCoLo carefully. The Japanese restaurant is located across the street from Kitsilano Workout on West 4th Avenue. From a table at CoCoLo’s second-floor window, I had a clear view into the gym’s aerobics studio. As I ate my lunch—deep-fried prawns and all—I was subjected to a view of a roomful of keeners bouncing their way through a cardio class. As I contemplated dessert, they had the nerve to hit the floor for crunches.

CoCoLo opened this past summer in the bright, airy space formerly occupied by Shijo. It isn’t affiliated with the old restaurant, and the name means “heart” in Japanese, says owner Peter Cheung by phone. The menu offerings read as part sushi bar, part izakaya, and part robatayaki.

The latter means “hearthside cooking”. In Japan, robatayaki-style pubs tend to be rustic places specializing in food grilled over charcoal. But while CoCoLo leans toward robatayaki fare, it waters down the theme with offerings such as dynamite rolls.

Photos of their lunch specials, which are posted at street level, reeled me in. Priced between $8.95 and $12.95, the set meals just looked authentic, each with a collection of small, artistically arranged mismatched dishes. Choices include a main dish such as hot or cold soba, chicken karaage, or sashimi, with sides like tempura and onigiri (rice balls).

Service was friendly from the first enthusiastic irasshaimase greeting. For those who would rather not overlook the street, there’s seating at the robata/sushi bar and an intimate section of sunken tables.

I ordered the barbecued mackerel combo, which arrived looking just as pretty as the picture. A heavy-black ceramic bowl set off the snow-white rice, and the miso soup was served in roughly hewn pottery that was a pleasure to hold. The soup itself was outstanding, with an opaque broth made robust with vegetables like mountain potato, daikon, and carrot. My husband’s rather plain udon could have used some embellishment, however.

The tempura was delicate and original, with black sesame seeds and green tea powder added to the batter. The mackerel itself was a large, nicely grilled fillet with soft, buttery flesh. It’s a strongly flavoured fish by nature, so I wrote off a slightly fishy aroma as normal.

Workout guilt aside, it was a lovely lunch, right down to the tiny origami crane that was presented with the bill. Thus, I was quite optimistic when I returned at a later date for dinner.

After perusing the menu, we decided we weren’t feeling rich enough to order the American-raised Kobe beef, which was on special that day for $19.99 for 120 grams, down from $36. We ordered mostly robata, with the exception of the “famous” CoCoLo hamachi sashimi. We shouldn’t have deviated: the distinctly fishy yellowtail overwhelmed the mellow citrus pepper sauce.

Other dishes fell short too. The stodgy ebi chili mayo lacked zing and sat in a pool of heavy sauce. The chef’s assortment of yakitori turned out to be mostly skewers of liver, gizzards, and chicken skin, along with chicken thighs.

I have absolutely nothing against liver and gizzards. Done right, they can make surprisingly delicious yakitori. But the gizzards didn’t have enough flavour to counter the unsettling pop-crunch of their texture. The liver was similarly lacking, as were the chicken-thigh skewers. Perhaps that’s because CoCoLo grills over gas, not charcoal.

I also have no problem eating pure fat—but it must be crisp. The chicken skin was a flaccid letdown, and I tasted every calorie. Even the skewers of bacon-wrapped enoki and asparagus were too much flab, not enough sizzle.

Some dishes did satisfy. The gorgeous black cod marinated in a citrus-soy sauce flaked into beautifully moist pieces. I also enjoyed the yaki onigiri, a plump ball of grilled rice freshened with shiso leaves and painted with sweet miso.

For dessert, we were intrigued by the “NY yaki imo” because the menu stated that it was limited to only five orders per day. But the grilled patty of mashed sweet potato stuffed with chocolate was texturally bland and tasted like chocolate-covered mashed potato.

Sake fans will find plenty to choose from at CoCoLo, which has 17 varieties including the premium Yoshi No Gawa Goku-jo Ginjo, as well as a good selection of umeshu (plum wine). Flights of three one-ounce samples go for $8 to $10.

The evening’s bill came to about $50 for two without drinks. The eager-to-please staff—who were sometimes too attentive—almost made up for the evening’s culinary shortcomings. CoCoLo clearly takes Japanese hospitality and attention to detail to heart. Perhaps it just needs to put some heat on the grill.