Diners build their own meals at this popular Cambridge eatery.

The Scene
Only the brave venture to this eatery below street level off Harvard Square on weekends, when it's usually packed and noisy. After filling a bowl with offered vegetables, noodles, meats and fish, diners hit the sauce station and watch their concoction cook on an eight-foot circular grill. Friendly waiters squeeze past patrons moving to and from the grill. The colorful bar produces an array of tropical drinks.

The Food
Quality is hit or miss. Veggie selection is fresh and colorful, with flavorful accompaniments like roasted garlic, pressed ginger and Mandarin oranges. Meats and seafood are inconsistent; smallish shrimp, grisly sirloin and bland scrod do not a meal make. Sauces run the gamut from teriyaki to barbecue to creamy Alfredo. Sticky rice and warm tortillas are included in the flat rate, as is a pedestrian salad bar. Super sweet desserts are usually ignored.