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Restaurant notes: Sushi in Fairmount; bistro in Montco; fish 'n' chips in Haddonfield

Three small newcomers.

In this post, I'm going to think small, with regard to new restaurants.

  1. Dasiwa is under construction in the old corner store at 26th and Aspen Streets -- a scone's throw from the back of the Art Museum's Perelman Building in Fairmount. It'll be a morning coffeeshop/pastry cafe that will segue into sushi service from 11 a.m. on. Owner Tom Kim, who owns Trust Deli up the block at 26th and Brown Streets, translates Dasiwa as "come again" or "come back." And here's a bit of trivia for you Independence Mall-ers: Kim and his brother owned Benny's Place, the coffeeshop in the Lafayette Building at Fifth and Chestnut, for many years. (Update: Sushi service begins Monday, July 19 at 11 a.m. Coffee starts later in the week.)

  2. Grant Brown (ex-Blue Horse in Blue Bell, ex-Meritage in Graduate Hospital) has surfaced in the bosky burb of Cedars (near Skippack in Central Montco) in the tiny space that housed such spots as Alison at Cedars, Cafe at Cedars, and Restaurant Rosalie. It's called 19 Bella (610-222-8119), and the 20-seater (plus 22 outside) does a Mediterranean menu with tapas-sized plates, BYOB, open for lunch, weekend brunch, and dinner.

  3. Break out the Union Jacks. The family from the British-theme gift shop English Gardener in Haddonfield has ventured across the street with a fish-and-chips shoppe cleverly called the British Chip Shop (146 Kings Highway East; 856-354-0204). It's open morning till after dinnertime. Menu is here.