First impressions are everything. You can tell a good restaurant from the moment you walk through the door. It could be a visual cue or the general layout, a subtle feeling that the feng shui is right. It could be the way you are greeted at the door, the movements of the chef or the reassurance of seeing other customers thoroughly enjoying themselves. At the very best places, it will be all of the above.

The first thing you notice at Terauchi is the appetizing aroma of cooking. Nothing sharp or penetrating, just the wafting scent of Mediterranean herbs gently underpinned with garlic and warm bread, perhaps, and the heady perfume of fine olive oil. No need for a second glance into the open kitchen to know that here you will be in good hands.

This is one of those places where nothing is allowed to detract from the primary business at hand -- the pleasure of eating. There is no background music, cell phones are discouraged, and the decor has deliberately been kept understated. Apart from the large flower arrangement in the center of the dining area and a couple of rows of empty wine bottles arrayed along the narrow window sills, it looks as simple and unadorned as a whitewashed farmhouse in Sardinia.