Each Tuesday The Register reviews an area restaurant, with an emphasis on establishments where a couple can dine for $30 or less.  Reader suggestions are welcomed.

Amid the frenzy of Napa Premium Outlet shoppers looking for deals on designer apparel sits Fujiya, an oasis of quiet dining.

Fujiya offers sushi and more diversified Japanese fare in a small, tranquil space saturated with the sounds of cool jazz.

It’s easy to overlook Fujiya, which is at the north end of Napa Premium Outlets, far from the food court. When you find the Perry Ellis store, you’re just about there.

We arrived for lunch on a weekday when the tempo of the center is relatively slow. Several of Fujiya’s dozen tables were occupied. A waitress stood at the ready. So did a chef behind the sushi bar.

We were invited to sit wherever we liked. We chose a table near a piece of hanging floral art that was for sale. Above us were light fixtures in the Japanese style.

Fujiya anticipates that Americans are not nearly as familiar with Japanese cuisine as they are Italian and French, so it provides laminated cheat sheets that help to decode the menu.

In a minute or two, a diner can get up to speed on sushi rolls and nigiri (raw fish without the roll) and learn how to eat miso soup without a spoon (pick up the bowl and slurp).

We scanned the instructions, then looked at another sheet showing pictures of prepared fish with explanatory labels. We were ready to order.

Fujiya has luncheon specials that package miso soup, rice and an entree, with prices ranging from $12 to about $15, not counting a $19.95 filet mignon selection. At night, these same specials are each several dollars more.

The specials include abundant teriyaki choices. Combination plates, priced around $17.50, offer meat and fish, teriyaki-style or not, with deep-fried tempura vegetables.

My companion ordered vegetable tempura for $11.95, while I picked rainbow sushi from the sushi roll section of the menu. My selection, costing $10, was a sampler, offering tastes of six fish.

While waiting, we shared a pot of green tea and tiny complimentary bowls of a sweet and sour cabbage.

Fujiya assumes you will eat with chopsticks. If you want other utensils, you will have to ask for them.

Our food came quickly. First, the bowl of hot, aromatic miso soup in a lacquered bowl with a tight lid. (The instruction sheet even included a technique for releasing the lid without splashing hot soup all over yourself.)

We shared the soup, slurping per instructions. At the bottom, after the liquid was gone, were cubes of soybean. We slurped them too.

My rainbow sushi sampler featured six pieces of fish, including red snapper, shrimp, salmon and maguro tuna, wrapped around rice- and vegetable-stuffed cores.

Each one was a distinct flavor package, complex and intensely wonderful. Kiwi, asparagus and tempura sweet potato were detected inside the kelp wrap.

When I added dabs of wasabi, a Japanese horseradish, my taste buds exploded.

My companion’s plate showcased golden, battered pieces of cauliflower, sweet potato, broccoli and squash and three large, flaky, encrusted shrimp.

Shrimp on a vegetarian plate? There must have been a misunderstanding in the order-taking, but we didn’t complain. The shrimp cost an extra $2.50, but were worth it.

Tempura is a surprisingly delicate way of deep-frying food without crushing natural flavors. We shared pieces, dipping them in a special tempura sauce for added flavor.

The tempura plate included cold noodles resembling a macaroni salad, but creamier, that made a great counterpoint to the hot items. On the side, a bowl of sticky rice, the grains plumped to perfection.

By sharing rice and soup and exchanging bites of tempura and sushi, we felt we had dined royally for our $26 tab. One could easily have ordered more and spent more, but our choices fit the bill for lunch.

Fujiya is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.  and from 5 to 9:30 p.m.

Readers with tips about interesting places to eat should e-mail diningout@napanews.com