It’s easy to fall for a place where love of family is paramount in all that it does.

Such is the case at George + Kin, a new Japanese American-inflected diner in Napa.

When I found myself in the Napa Valley a few days after it opened, I knew I had to stop in. At 11:30 a.m. on a Friday, it was already humming with patrons.

Owner Ben Koenig named his restaurant in honor of his great aunt and uncle, Kinuko and George Sato, Japanese American farmers from Pocatello, Idaho, who helped raise his mother, Wendy, after she lost her own mother at a young age.

Although he partnered with hospitality professional Charles Whittaker and consulting chef Itamar Abramovitch to open the restaurant in the Bel Aire Plaza, Koenig is no stranger to opening businesses. He is already well known in the Napa Valley for his MOTHERS, Heritage Eats (now closed), Best Food Truck Ever, and Napa Valley Lobster Co.

Serving breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert, the modestly priced menu at George + Kin reminds me of a homey hangout you’d find in Hawaii with its mix of comforting diner food with Japanese influences. Japanese egg salad sandos on house-baked Japanese milk bread ($9.50), anyone? You can even pre-order a loaf or half-loaf to pick up to take home.

You order and pay at the counter, then find a table either inside or outside on the covered front patio. Your order number that gets perched on your tabletop is fashioned from an old family photo. And don’t be surprised if Koenig’s mom is the one bringing you glasses of water or utensils, as she flew in from the East Coast to celebrate the opening, lend a hand, and to visit her grand-kids, of course.

My husband zeroed in on the Diner Smash Cheeseburger ($9.50) with added tallow-fried fries ($4). It’s a solid burger — juicy and nicely crusted all over. The thin fries arrived hot, and crisp through and through. I especially loved the accompanying jumble of pickled carrots, daikon, garlic cloves, and ginger coins that were crunchy, a little sweet, and gently tangy.

My fried chicken sandwich ($12.95) was massive. So much so that I took half of it home. Pounded flat, flavored with a soy marinade, battered in panko, and fried to a deep crispiness, it spilled out of the toasted, soft milk bread that’s reminiscent of brioche. Sesame slaw was piled on top, adding even more great crunchiness. My added side salad ($4) may have been a simple mix of greens, but they were prisinte fresh leaves dressed deliciously with a miso-ginger vinaigrette.

We may have gone full bore on the carbs, but who can resist the lineup here? Not when there’s a “Big Apple ‘XL’ Cinnamon Bun ($10.50) that’s billed as serving two. It measures just short of the size of my hand with outstretched fingers. To be honest, I have seen larger cinnamon rolls. But served warm, there’s no denying how decadent this one is covered in melty, gooey brown butter cream cheese frosting. It’s achingly sweet, so a cup of coffee or tea might be in order to go with it.

“Kin’s Dream Cake” ($11.95) is an outrageous 12 layers of chocolate sponge cake and whipped buttercream frosting. It’s less sweet than the cinnamon bun, too. The cake is very moist with the rich taste of nostalgia.

When so many restaurants and hotels in the valley priced so steeply these days, it’s a refreshing change to see a place boast such moderate prices and such a big dose of family warmth.

Another New Restaurant in Napa: Hestan Restaurant