FRESHNESS AND QUALITY MAKE THE CUT AT AHI.

Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic

ASK FOR TORO at the new Ahi Sushi in Studio City and you get thick meaty slabs of slightly seared, top-quality belly of bluefin tuna that are so utterly scrumptious you almost don't mind paying $9.50 for the two pieces of sushi.

Ahi Sushi is the latest of the amazing, continuing explosion of sushi cafes on Ventura Boulevard, competition notwithstanding.

Highly visible, it sits next to the long popular, free-standing, art deco coffee shop Twain's at the Coldwater Canyon and Ventura Boulevard intersection, a few steps east of the well-established Iroha Sushi.

Unlike most closed-in sushi bars, Ahi sports a look-in windowed facade and an attractive boulevard patio in front. Inside, it has more of a cafe appearance than much of its competition, with its dining tables seemingly just as important as its actual sushi bar seating.

Chef-owner Jimmy Wu, who gained a following at Sushi Zawa in Burbank, has brought many of his devotees to this location.

Here, he prides himself on his global array of sushi fish, which are listed with sources of origin in parentheses on his restaurant's sushi menu.

Sit down at his sushi bar and you're likely to get a smiling greeting and a complimentary tidbit that can be as good as a dollop of spicy tuna tartare with a kick served up on a crispy wonton.

But Ahi Sushi is not one of those cut-rate sushi bars by a long shot. Its emphasis on freshness, quality, generous servings, laborious plate artistry and attentive service doesn't allow low pricing.

Consequently, be prepared to spend around $65 to $75 per couple before tips for an evening meal.

Even if you order an entree plate - one night I tried the grilled New York strip steak ($17), which comes forth sliced with teriyaki sauce and grilled onion and tomato accompaniments - this was more the addition to, rather than instead of, a normal sushi snacking dinner experience.

Of course there's fresh ahi tuna from Hawaii available here as a rule, but so is Atlantic big-eye tuna. They are both ticketed at market price. On two occasions ordered as tuna sushi, the cost for two pieces was $4.90.

Both the halibut ($4.80) and albacore ($4.80) sushi efforts arrive well-presented and generally as good as the competitors' equivalents.

You can enjoy goodies here like calamari stuffed with blue crab ($6.50) or a tasty grilled yellowtail creation ($7).

Another yellowtail offering, this time dubbed a ``kaliata roll'' ($6.50), is delivered chopped and spiced with jalapeno chiles, coated in tempura batter. Quite delicious.

Scallops are fine as a soybean paper hand roll ($5) or as scallop sashimi off the shell ($13). There's a sauteed king crab and asparagus roll ($9.50) that's a real treat.

But there may be disappointments here. A clam and mussels soup ($7.50), for example, described as green mussels and Littleneck clams in a buttery sake broth with chopped tomato, sounded alluring one time.

``Sorry, we don't have it,'' said the apologetic waitress quite a while after she'd taken the order.

So I settled for a clear fish broth with a few pieces of Japanese snapper, shiitake mushroom and yuzu skin (4.50). Not bad, but the first choice appeared so much more substantial.

But that's all part of the sushi experience, trying to make everything you order add up to a substantial meal that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

Good luck.

AHI SUSHI

Food: Three stars. Service: Three and one half stars.

Where: 12915 Ventura Blvd., Studio City.

Hours: Open for lunch and snacks from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. weekdays, from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, for dinner and snacks from 5:30 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 5:30 to 11 p.m. Friday, from 4:30 to 11 p.m. Saturday and from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

Recommended items: Tuna sushi, spicy tuna tartare, toro, other nigiri sushi (yellowtail, halibut, albacore), blue crab-stuffed calamari, scallops (hand-roll sushi, off-the-shell sashimi), kaliata roll, king crab roll.

How much: Sushi from $4 to $9, special rolls from $6.50 to $15, soups and appetizers from $2 to $16, entrees from $14 to $26. Beer and wine. All major credit cards.

Wine list:Sake and beer are beverages of choice. Cold Sierra sake is $9.50. Large Asahi brew is $5.95. Limited wines.

Reservations: Taken for table seating inside and out. Call [phone].

CAPTION(S):

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Photo:

Thin-sliced tuna sashimi and fresh blue crab meat are encircled by cucumber in Ahi Sushi's sashimi rolls.

Joel P. Lugavere/Special to the Daily News