SUSHI ON A BELT

Sushi is usually considered fairly high-end fare in New York, but in Japan it can be fast food. One popular form of sushi service there is keitan, in which plates of raw fish on rice, color coded for price, swing by on conveyor belts to be grabbed as diners see fit.

Keitan is all the rage in Los Angeles, too, and New York is starting to catch up with Sakae Sushi (405 Lexington Ave. at 43rd Street, 212-286-8867). The Singaporean chain’s long-awaited New York branch partially opened on Friday. The full menu is not in place yet, with only cold items available, but management expects the restaurant to be completely up and running next week.

DUCASSE’S LATEST

Alain Ducasse is trying his hand at fine dining in New York again with Adour (2 E. 55th St., at Fifth Avenue, 212-710-2277), which opened in The St. Regis Hotel on Monday.

Mr. Ducasse closed his Essex House restaurant late in 2006, but he kept its chef, Tony Esnault, who heads up the kitchen at the new restaurant. Sandro Micheli also has been retained as pastry chef. Adour’s style is more flexible than Alain Ducasse at the Essex House was, with à la carte options as well as a five-course chef’s tasting. The wine bar and lounge area have a separate small-plate menu.

“I think we can say that the ambience is more casual, and the service is very professional, of course, but less formal, more New York,” Mr. Esnault said, noting that the menu has been developed with a particular focus on food that pairs well with wine.

THRICE AS NICE

Bar Veloce has opened a third location, in SoHo (17 Cleveland Place, between Spring and Kenmare streets, 212-966-7334), serving panini and other inexpensive Italian food and wine.

ALL IN THE FAMILY

Padre Figlio (310 E. 44th St., between First and Second avenues, 212-286-4310) opens today. Run by father-son team Antonio and Mario Cerra, who also ran the recently shuttered Da Antonio, the new restaurant is a 150-seat Italian steakhouse, featuring chef Alberto Argudo’s Neapolitan food. The lobster agnolotti are $19. The 12-ounce Piedmontese rib eye steak is $38. Buffalo and ostrich steaks are market price.

PLATS TRADITIONNELS

Bagatelle (409 W. 13th St., between Greenwich and Washington streets, 212-675-2400) is scheduled to open tomorrow, serving the fairly traditional French cuisine of Nicolas Cantrel, most recently of Bobo.

Steak au poivre and herb-roasted chicken are on the menu, along with straightforward branzino, grilled with fennel and thyme. Dessert items include profiteroles and apple pie.

Mr. Thorn is food editor of Nation’s Restaurant News. He maintains nrnfoodwriter.blogspot.com.