One year ago, Roanoke staple Szechuan Restaurant near Tanglewood Mall in Roanoke County renovated its bar and seating area and updated its menu with a host of new dishes, including sushi. Here’s how it checks out.

THE VIBE

Stepping into Szechuan’s remodeled foyer, I am tempted to play a little James Bond make-believe. Ceiling speakers pluck the obligatory Eastern elevator music as I pass a poshly lit bar, complete with model ships and sushi boats . Stifling the urge to coolly order a martini, I am led by a friendly server to the 60-person dining area past a large aquarium filled with exotic fish. I take note to remember to throw any oncoming foes in the tank’s direction.

THE MENU

The menu makes for heavy reading; in addition to appetizers, soups and salads, entrees are mostly arranged by meat (seafood, beef, pork and poultry or vegetables ). These listings include basics such as sweet and sour chicken ($7.95) and new dishes such as shrimp with walnuts in teriyaki sauce ($12.95). The “Chef’s Suggestion” section features more complex entrees. Szechuan also offers lunch specials ($4.95-$6.25), and this location includes a sushi bar.

For starters, the encompassing pu pu tray for two ($9.95) will pacify indecisive eaters, with food including barbecued beef, pork ribs, egg rolls, fried shrimp and crab rangoons. The food was set on a large, round tray with a puzzling mini-barbecue pit in the center. Perforated aluminum foil covered a palm-sized black cauldron that housed a burning flame. My friend and I were instructed to further grill our hors d’oeuvres to our liking, but the makeshift pit was little beyond amusing.

Unfortunately, this presentation-first theme continued throughout. Aside from the crab rangoon, which shone with a creamy, flavorful center, the appetizers tasted like mediocre buffet fare: the rolls were greasy and the meat tough. The tea was similar; when opened, the ornate, heavy, black kettle revealed one tea bag — cheap, watery and slow to steep.

A handful of sushi orders were misses as well. Neither the salmon roll ($4) nor the yellowtail with scallion ($4.50) tasted fresh. The rice was either mushy or sour, and was served too warm, subduing the fish flavors.

Only the soup stood out among the first courses — Sea Treasure soup for two ($7.50). Our server ladled the cloudy mushroom cream into a pair of bowls. Though opaque, a quick stir revealed the plentiful treasures: crab, shrimp and scallops. The seafood flavors blended smoothly into the creamy broth.

Entrees here are big and served hot — but despite presentation rife with radish flowers, parsley forests and painted ceramic, the gourmet suffered. The exotic-sounding Dragon & Phoenix ($12.95) was simply General Tso’s chicken and shrimp in wine sauce, side by side.

The Three Sailors ($13.95), one of the new menu additions, featured a trio of jumbo shrimp dishes: a light, tame white wine sauce with broccoli, red and green peppers, pea pods and water chestnuts; a brown, salty-sweet garlic sauce with orange flavors; and a neon-red tomato sauce, also syrupy with pineapple notes and a bit of heat.

Although the portions were generally satisfying, some promised ingredients were sparse. The Four Treasures ($12.95) was billed as shrimp, scallops, beef and chicken in the aforementioned garlic sauce (the menu has plenty of sauce repetition). But after poking around for the few shrimp, my friend described it as “more like two and a half treasures — with a couple of gold coins on the side.”

THE GOOD

For the hungry, Szechuan will satisfy. The large entrees are mostly meat (very clean cuts), served with a side bowl of white rice. The soups were tasty, meat-abundant and — in the case of specialties such as Sea Treasure soup — creative.

For some reason, dessert was never suggested or offered. Although it wasn’t easy to make room, the sesame apples ($3.95) were a lightly fried delight, served over honey and sprinkled with sesame seeds.

THE NOT SO GOOD

Appetizers are mostly misses but not a necessity to a full meal. The sauces, however, are pervasive in seemingly every entree. Simple and overly sweet, they seem prepackaged — a hunch aided by suspiciously quick prep time. Notably high serving temperatures temporarily distract from the homogenous flavors, but as the dishes cool, the sauces become candylike and cloying.

A dizzying menu gives the appearance of wide variety, but your neighbor’s dish may taste quite like your own. And although the service was friendly and attentive, limited English was a problem when asking for recommendations or food descriptions.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Szechuan’s cuisine is satisfying, but it’s the heavy, saccharine sauces that do it in. Despite attractive decor and presentation, it’s hard to overlook that the simple dishes are only a small step up from buffet fare.

Basics such as General Tso’s chicken are tasty but essentially fast food, and while they would make for fine lunch specials, few of the entrees are worth ponying up double-digit prices for dinner.

Szechuan Restaurant

Rating: HH

Where: 5207 Bernard Drive (right off Electric Road/Virginia 419), near Tanglewood Mall, Roanoke County.

More locations: Towne Square Shopping Center in Northwest Roanoke and Ridgewood Farms in Salem

Menu: Chinese, sushi bar

Price range: Entrees are $7.95 to $16.95, except for a whole Peking duck ($23.95) and lobster ($19.95)

Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

How long in business? 18 years

Seating capacity? 60; private room available

Soda products: Coca-Cola

Adult bevs? Full bar

Homemade desserts? No

Plastic? All major credit cards accepted

Smoking section? No

Takeout? Yes

Delivery? Yes, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Reservations? Yes

Kid-friendly? No children’s menu

Live music? No

Handicapped accessibility: The Blue Ridge Independent Living Center has determined that this restaurant is not accessible based on the Americans with Disabilities Act Checklist for Readily Achievable Barrier Removal for existing facilities.

Call: 989-7947

Net: www.szechuans.com