I believe the same owner of this restaurant owns Sakanaya, which explains the similar date vibe and decor. I was surprised at how much each entree cost in comparison to the other restaurants around downtown (~$18-$40, with wine bottles up to $120). Explains the largely older crowd!
The restaurant is dimly lit, each tabletop has its own set of candles and each person their own placemat. The hostess sat us down at what others have referred to as a "community table", where they seat you at the ends of a 6-person table, across from one another. I could barely hear my partner as we competed against the other couple's conversation at our table. It felt intuitive to look over at people sharing your table, except they were utter strangers. This isn't a big city where you have to fight for space; this is small town Champaign-Urbana. The choice to seat us with another couple while there were many empty tables throughout our meal was distracting and felt inconsiderate.
I ordered the gnocchi, which was a plateful of rice cakes drowned in sauce with a handful of sliced egg, seaweed flakes, mushrooms, and hot peppers. The flavors were strong: sweet (is this the American-fusion part?), very salty, and largely spicy. It left an unpleasant salty feeling in my mouth even after I left the restaurant.