The Japanese-based Pierthirty USA arrived in the summer of 2014, announcing plans to open 300 restaurants across the United States within 10 years, 20 of them in Hawaii in five to six years, all with different concepts.

Gokoku Sushi was first to open, at Koko Marina Center that fall, and its early struggles over pricing, service and unmet expectations cast doubt on the company’s ability to meet its ambitious aims.

But Pierthirty persevered, recently opening its second and third restaurants, Cafe Lani at Ala Moana Center and the self-explanatory Tempura Ichidai (more on this one later). At this rate, we will be lucky to see five new restaurants in five years, but at least Cafe Lani restores some of my faith in the company’s ability to juggle disparate concepts.

Cafe Lani’s Japanese-style family dining comprises a menu of salads, pastas, steaks, gratins and dorias (rice and cheese casseroles), plus social media-ready parfaits. But the real stars of the menu are the breads baked on-site by Akiko Morimoto and her team. Morimoto was the talent behind the now-shuttered Central Bakery’s baked goods and is easily the best baker in town. (There might have to be a showdown when Belinda Leong brings her b. patisserie to Waikiki.)

Biting into one of Mori­moto’s miniature croissants or the delicate, crackly sugar crust of her sugar danishes, you’ll wonder why you’ve been settling for less all these years. But you’d better get your fill while you’re there. Under its lease terms the restaurant can’t sell the baked items, but can offer all the bread you can eat on site as part of a complete meal. They are served with pats of butter, chocolate, cream cheese and simple sugar and berries, but the delicate pastries and breads are just fine naked.

The bakery operation (and the full house) can be viewed through a glass window from the mall’s second-level Ewa parking lot. Those who stop to gawk have helped generate a crowd that has turned into lines to get into the restaurant. It’s quite sad to be standing outside for 40 minutes, staring at people eating, but lines do have marketing value for restaurateurs who know some people require lines to validate their choices.

One thing to keep in mind is that flavors are delicate here, in keeping with Japanese tastes, so it’s not the best place for those with a penchant for good ole American bombast, which I characterize as being bombarded with fat, salt and sugar.

Simplicity reigns. Appetizers include a small smoked-salmon and prosciutto duo that’s $9 without bread, $13.50 with. A portion of either smoked salmon or prosciutto solo is $8 without bread, $12.50 with.

These same proteins make their way onto salads. A salad of smoked salmon and ikura over arugula and mixed greens is $13.50 without bread and $18 with, but note that if you also order an entree, the bread is covered by the cost of the entree. This salad is splashed with a salty ponzu-wasabi dressing that I could take only in small doses but that people who love Japanese food really seem to crave.

Fans of Japanese family-style pastas will love the light touch of pomodoro sauce over the house fedelini pasta ($16.50), a capellini-like noodle with more body. The pasta is simply dressed with cubes of mozzarella, bell pepper and arugula, crowned with a layer of prosciutto. Other delicious iterations include fedelini in pesto sauce with shrimp and mussels ($18) and fedelini in a tomato-cream sauce with shrimp and broccoli ($22).

Even if not exactly Spanish in nature, the Lani-style paella ($22) is spare yet flavorful, with shrimp, mussels, chicken, bacon and vegetables layered over saffron rice, the telltale orange threads clearly visible.

My favorite is the fedelini with porcini cream sauce ($16.50), tossed with porcini and other seasonal mushrooms and bacon and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. This cream sauce sauce started whisper light but, perhaps due to diner feedback, has become heavier and even more flavorful over the past month. I also love it over grilled chicken ($15).

Each time I’ve dined here, I’ve ordered porcini this and that. I’ve been told to try the Hamburg (that’s hamburger to us) steak with gorgonzola sauce ($17.50), so I will order that next time.

Crisp panko-and-mustard-crusted opah ($17) and grilled opah or salmon with white wine cream sauce ($22) come in smallish portions that won’t make you hate yourself when walking out the door. Meat lovers will skip all in favor of rib-eye finished with balsamic sauce ($26). What I didn’t care for was a bland seafood doria ($18) and chicken gratin ($15) over dry penne.

For little ones the menu includes a loco moco ($8.50); penne with meat sauce, broccoli and a sliver of boiled egg ($4.50); fried chicken and fries ($4); or just the fries ($3).

The restaurant’s display highlights its ginormous fruit and ice cream parfaits. The largest, at $30, is said to serve four to five people, but a friend who ordered it said eight people could not finish half of it. A more reasonably portioned fruit parfait is $10, “Very Berry” is $12 and a chocolate parfait with bananas and chocolate bars is $9. The feedback I hear most is that they’re difficult to eat because of the tall glasses and the need to dig to the bottom to access all the layers. I like the relative simplicity of the cheesecake tower parfait ($12) with its layers of cream cheese, ice cream and fruit cocktail, plus the crunch of cornflakes.

It’s worth a try if you don’t mind the lines.

Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com.