Fish Feast.

TODAI DISCOVERS THAT ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT SUSHI IS WINNING CONCEPT

Forget the subtleties when entering a Todai Restaurant. This is strictly hungry-man eating, Asian-style, with an eye-popping 80-foot-long buffet bar filled with 20 salads, 20 desserts., 15 hot entrees -- and most of all sushi, at least 40 kinds.

And the whole thing sets you back less than 20 bucks a person -- another world compared with the triple-digit bills that are commonplace at Matsuhisa and other high-end sushi houses in town.

"The secret is to not eat too much, nor eat too fast," said customer Jeff Berchin, 43, who visits the Todai location at the Beverly Center every month. "But the food is fresh. They have a huge turnover here so that keeps them restocking the sushi constantly."

But really, how good is it? Good enough for the Los Angeles-based, all-you-can-eat sushi chain to go national in preparation for a planned initial public offering in 2002. Todai recently opened in Waikiki to resounding success and 11 more locations are planned in the next two years.

"The timing is right for the company," said Richard Lee, director of Todai Franchising LLC, which operates eight restaurants in Los Angeles, one in San Diego and one in Orange "Financially, we're OK, and nowadays everybody is willing to try sushi."

Unlike many of the current Todai restaurants that are franchise operated, Lee said the new locations will be owned by the company to ensure quality control.

Two restaurants are expected to open this year in Pleasanton and Concord, as well as in Portland, Ore. and Houston. Locations in Phoenix, Chicago, Tampa, Fla, New York, New Jersey and two in Seattle will open in 2001.

"The phenomenon has trickled everywhere," said Tom Miner, principal at Technomic Inc., a consulting firm in Chicago. "I can see Bento (another Japanese restaurant ) here from my office, and there's room for more."

The average Los Angeles Todai restaurant generates $300,000 to $400,000 a month. Revenues at the San Jose location alone are $600,000 a month, and Waikiki rang up $400,000 in two weeks.

There are 5,000 sushi bars in the United States, roughly double from just three years ago and up from l,000 a decade ago, according to Nobu Yamazaki, the U.S. representative of Tokyo's National Sushi Society.

"People are more adventurous than ever before, even trying Thai and Indian food, so it's natural they're seeking out sushi," said Yamazaki, who also co-owns Sushi Taro in Washington, D.C.

At Todai, the selection is laid out on blueand-white checkered tiles that sit on ice. Note cards identify the sushi in English and Japanese. Patrons grab a tray and line up. For the non-sushi types, there are more generic Americanized items, including shrimp fried rice, grilled rib eye, crab claws, Caesar salad and chocolate banana bread.

"The presentation and simplicity and fact that there's one price makes it very safe. People feel very comfortable there," said restaurant consultant Phyllis Ann Marshall, owner of FoodPower in Costa Mesa. "It's more like Japanese Food 101."

That wasn't the case 15 years ago when Japanese brothers Toru and Kaku Makino started the restaurant called "The Lighthouse" (English for Todai) in Santa Monica.

"A lot, of people wondered how we could sell so much sushi," Lee said. "Sushi was still relatively new to people back then."

Although The Lighthouse changed hands in 1986, the Makinos went on to open a series of restaurants and called the rest of them Todai. In 1998, Kaku Makino was bought out by Todai Franchising, and went on to start his own Todai restaurants in Denver and Las Vegas.

Lee said Todai uses a top-grade sushi. "We can't compete with a $100 (a plate) restaurant," he said. "We're more in competition with the average sushi bar that will charge you about $40 per person."

This middle-brow approach has touched a chord.

"I think the quality is very good," said customer Marty Chuang, a 22-year-old USC student. "This is my second time here and I was surprised at how good it was."

And diners even appreciate the fact that the moment they walk into a Todai restaurant, they're greeted by a hearty "Irashaimase" -- meaning welcome -- shouted out by employees. "It's a nice touch," said 48-year-old Borris Bord. "But I'm here for the sushi."