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Since this place has thrived since 1987, you’d figure the owners would coast on its formula of tasty Chinese with especially fresh produce and proteins. But in 2006, along with a dark-wood-and-sconces overhaul of the narrow room, Chef 28 added Japanese specialties to its menu, and a sushi bar to the restaurant’s rear. The split personality doesn’t work. If you’re in the neighborhood, it’s still worth stopping in for hearty dishes like chicken with perfectly crunchy asparagus or rich beef in garlic sauce. But Japanese offerings come off as half-hearted and bland. Sushi and sashimi also arrive wan and faded, understuffed rolls barely holding together. Weirdly, Chef 28 boasts one of the area’s livelier after-work happy-hour scenes; with a giant flat-screen TV behind a well-stocked bar. — Michael Kaminer

Chef 28 is housed in an ornate 1879 building designed by James Renwick, Jr. of St. Patrick’s Cathedral fame.

Cashew chicken salad, $8.25; beef with garlic sauce, $11.95; chicken with asparagus, $11.95