You Know?? Uno!!

326 N. West Ave.

Fayetteville

We suspect that You Know?? Uno!! will be a grand success for the Fayetteville Dickson Street area, soon. Residing in a two-story wing of the newly refurbished Laundry Building, You Know?? Uno!! offers a distinctive atmosphere for a business lunch, and overall, we enjoyed our recent visit.

Elaborate decorations such as detailed wood-carvings and an upstairs, wide-window balcony create an exotic feel for the restaurant, and the owners gave a personal touch to the experience by greeting our party at the table and introducing themselves. Service in the restaurant was also attentive and friendly.

We started our meal with an eight-piece California Roll ($4.50) — a rice and seaweed roll stuffed with cucumber, avocado and crab meat. Our party of five shared the appetizer, but it was such a hit, we should have ordered three rolls. A dab of wasabi, a green paste made with Japanese horseradish, especially impressed our fan of fire flavor.

One of the entree’s, a hot and spicy pork and rice dish called Hot-bokum ($7), was described as “a very new, and interesting taste with the right amount of spice.”

“New” and “different” were actually the most frequently used adjectives by everyone in our party. We were unfamiliar with some of the flavors we tried at You Know?? Uno!!, but the chance to branch out of the ordinary was welcomed by all.

The sweet sauce served with the Teriyaki noodle dishes ($7 with beef or chicken and $8 with shrimp) was unique. Two of three members of our party enjoyed the mild flavor, and the other person said it was a little bland.

Two of the teriyaki dinners were served with shrimp, but our diners had to savor each seafood bite — one meal came with three shrimp, the other with five — and we liked it so much we wanted more. The shrimp were, however, exceptionally large and tasty.

Another table guest tried the Saewoo-bokum ($8). Pan-fried shrimp and rice in a teriyaki sauce made this meal, but she wished there would’ve been more to enjoy. For the price of the food, the entree portions were smaller than we would’ve liked. A soup or salad with the meals might have helped to satisfy our cravings.

In contrast, the water and iced tea glasses were large and constantly filled, just the way we like it. We can never emphasize enough the importance of good tea to the business diner.

It did seem that You Know?? Uno!! still had a few kinks to work out. Although the menu listed some yummy-sounding desserts, such as green tea ice cream, the restaurant had none on hand. Such decadence will be available soon, the owners said, and a part-time sushi bar is in the works.