Bento Box Japanese Grill, 12202 Central Ave. (at Philadelphia), Chino; also, 2910 S. Archibald Ave. (at Riverside), Ontario

Casting about for a local place to have ramen, friends and I found Bento Box, about whose ramen a Yelp diner raved (“Try the Ramen. Dear God, try the Ramen”). We met for dinner at the Chino location, on Central just above the 60, part of a shopping center with Goodwill and 99 Cents stores.

Not promising, perhaps, but Bento Box (its website is here) has an impressive modernist interior with parquet flooring, a gleaming bar, the requisite industrial ceiling and indie rock on the playlist: the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Hot Chip and Vampire Weekend among them. Definitely hip. It was a quiet night, the music was unobtrusive and the conversation flowed. There’s no sushi bar, which may also keep the noise level down; sushi comes out of the kitchen.

Despite the Yelp rave, the menu had only one ramen soup ($9), which one of our group ordered. Sticking with the theme behind the restaurant’s name, I got a bento box with sushi and sashimi ($12, pictured), and the third got a baked lobster roll ($12). We found the food average, the atmosphere notable. Thursdays, the day we visited, drinks are half-price with an entree. One of us got a raspberry mojito for $4 and liked it.

In short, this shouldn’t be your first choice for Japanese food, but if you’re in the area, it’s a comfortable, pleasant spot to hang out.