Great service and food - had lunch there today and was very happy with the tempura, chirashi sushi, and California maki. Looking forward to my next visit. read more

Came here o. Sunday with my best friend and two kiddos. They were not busy at all and we were seated promptly by our lovely waitress Maigan. The sushi chef - Ben made us our food promptly. The duo treated us well and served us excellent food and were super polite and kind. We even had the chance to chat with them after dining and they were just two amazing people ! Many thanks to them for their great food and service! I definitely recommend them and will be coming back. read more

I've been to Kiku twice in the past month. Both times were excellent. I appreciate they offer so many vegan rolls with really creative combinations of vegetables, tofu, and sauces. The ninja roll is particularly delicious. The fish nigiri is excellent as well. And the service is friendly and attentive. This place is a hidden neighborhood gem. read more

Kiku Sushi - Ninja Roll, Green Dragon Roll - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

Neighborhood sushi place that the locals obviously like, but I wonder if they know that this place does not serve genuine Japanese food. We ordered the chirashi and by the look of the sloppy cuts of fish, the chef could've been using a hatchet. Since Kiku appears to be a family-owned restaurant, I will not completely trash it, but I don't think I'll be returning. BB read more

So disappointed to not find good salmon skin rolls anywhere in the east bay. This was the worst yet. So bummed I wasted my money. The skin was not grilled nor julienned. Big fat hunk of cold skin with way to much meat attached. Making the roll unreasonably large. Not a nice cone shaped roll that fits in your mouth. None to fresh and the California roll wasn't any better. Update to be fair. Called the restaurant to express my displeasure and they refunded my money completely. read more

Kiku Sushi - Garbage - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

Was in West Berkeley looking for vegetarian food and saw the large vegetarian sushi menu at Kuki and decided to try it out. Arrived at 1:15 to a PACKED place with available space at the bar. My mom and I shared Avocado Tempura, Veggie Tempura and Plum and Shiso rolls. All were AMAZING. The tempura was perfectly airy and crisp, the veggies tender and fresh. The plum was a bit too sour for me, but that was a me thing. The sushi was beautifully presented and the staff was quick and efficient in getting all of the orders to tables both inside and out. I can see why they were packed all the way to 3pm. Well deserved! read more

I've heard about the place on "Check please Bay Are". So decided to try it . Ordered rainbow Roll togo for $21 (if you pay cash, otherwise it even more expensive ) Was very disappointed. The rise was soooo dry , one practically cannot chew on it. Perhaps they used leftovers rice for a togo order? read more

Kiku Sushi on Gilman has just re-opened, with a new owner. We're still fans, but with new prices we'll reserve Kiku for special occasions. WHAT'S NEW? ***Cosmetic Upgrades*** The space looks very similar, but more upscale and less cluttered. There's nice new wood paneling in back and over the bar. The most noticeable difference is the much brighter modern lighting, which I liked at first, but found to be a little harsh. ***Vegetarian Delight!*** The biggest change at the newly reopened Kiku is an extensive and creative array of new vegetarian and vegan menu options! This is easily the most extensive and diverse fish-free sushi menu I've ever seen. There are over two-dozen vegetarian or vegan Maki rolls, each filled with various combinations of avocado, eggplant, sweet potato, crunchy potato, spicy tofu, and some even have ginger carrots, or pumpkin seeds, and multiple types of mushrooms. All were quite tempting, we tried two and they were both delicious. They have multiple other vegetarian options as well, including salads, soups, noodles (hot and cold), vegetarian teriyaki, they even offer a vegetarian Chirashi bowl, which is something I've never seen anywhere else. We were surprised when we ordered seaweed salad and found it was made from fresh seaweed with homemade sauce -- totally different from the fluorescent-green seaweed salad we're used to, and also delicious. ***Service Improved*** Service still wasn't perfect, but much more attentive than in the past. OLD KIKU: As more or less monthly regulars for 15 years, we'd grown to expect poor service, and we repeatedly chose to forgive amateur mistakes from waitstaff because the sushi was consistently cheap and delicious. KIKU NOW: In a dining room this small, we were generally able to get somebody's attention after only a minute or two, but when my daughter (of course) knocked over her full water glass, the three of us were quick to jump up and begin strategic napkin placement, but even with our whole party standing up and performing flood-control, nobody noticed, and after getting the spill under control we eventually had to ask our waitress for more napkins. For a meal of this price, I would expect a higher level of attentiveness. That brings me to the last thing that's changed, which is: ***New Prices*** Welcome to 2024. We ended up spending almost $300 for dinner for two adults and one child. This includes a surprisingly expensive Otoro nigiri from the specials menu (my fault, I should have asked), and also a $35 bottle of sake. Even with those indulgences, we were a little surprised by the total. I understand there's often a premium for good fresh sashimi and sushi, but at this price we'll reserve Kiku for special occasions. WHAT'S UNCHANGED? ***Fresh Sashimi*** As always, the fish is consistently fresh and delicious, with multiple specials available. They didn't have the chalkboard set up yet, so our hostess recited the various offerings verbally (and quickly). When we got the bill I regretted not inquiring about pricing before we ordered. ***Accessibility*** Generally excellent. There's limited parking in this neighborhood, we sometimes end up a block away, on narrow residential streets. Outside, there's no covered waiting area nor seating. Inside, there's again no waiting space, the small dining room is packed with tables, leaving very limited standing room. The small space could make it tricky to maneuver a wheelchair to your table. There are no stairs to enter the restaurant, but there's a single significant step up to access the restroom, which also requires walking outside and around back. The dining chairs are comfortable and supportive, and there's also a padded bench along one wall, and four tall stools at the chef's bar. read more

Best vegetarian sushi ever. Great service and excellent selection of sushi sashimi and non- fishy dishes.

Found this spot by chance on Yelp! Berkeley really has no shortage of sushi bars. Kiku is a bit further out, tucked into the corner of a residential cul-de-sac. Takeout only due to COVID. We called our order ahead of time (4 dishes) and had it ready in 15. The doorway is closed off as a pickup-only counter, along with register and hand sanitizer up front and center. CHIRASHI: BOIII she thicc as hell. I'm wondering if they compensate for the small portions by including larger cuts of fish. While I love the convenience of bento boxes, there's significantly less fish & rice than most places offer. Regardless, fresh af & mouthwateringly fatty. Couldn't ask for better quality. BAKED SCALLOP ROLL: Exceptionally good! Loved the savory sauce with the plump pieces of scallop. While I usually shy away from scallop rolls, Kiku's was baked to perfection. ALASKA ROLL: Standard salmon & avocado roll. Still tasty, I'm not complaining. A little out of the way from downtown, but still worth checking out! read more

Kiku Sushi - Chirashi - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

A favorite local Japanese spot. Excellent vegetarian options and one of the few places that has sukiyaki at times. read more

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This is the best sushi I have had except in Japan. Everything is meticulously plated, perfectly presented and tasty in all the ways sushi should be from the Japanese Uni to Ami Ebi with the fried heads. The miso soup was super flavorful and not too salty, and even the pickled ginger was not too sweet or too astringent. Seriously the BEST SUSHI around. read more

Make it part of your family exploration to the Berkeley San Pablo neighborhood. Fresh and delicious Japanese food, friendly service. A gem in the town. read more

Local neighborhood sushi place. Maybe 12 tables inside and 6 outside. Reasonable prices and nice selection. Extensive vegan and vegetarian menu which my wife explored. The toro special was excellent. read more

Friendly staff, didn't realize that the menu is mostly vegetarian with some fish and a little bit of chicken and egg. We tried two of their three soup bowls. Tasty but not satisfying. We also realized they have been open for 13 years! Next visit we will have a different mindset when eating there and also try their sushi. read more

I love this place. In addition to the wonderful variety and high quality of their sashimi and their delicious appetizers--from pickled vegetables to miso eggplant--I love the casual atmosphere and incredibly warm and accommodating service. read more

The best selection of vegan sushi. They have unique pairings and ingredients. One of my overall favorite restaurants and I'm not even vegan. They have fish too but i haven't tried it. Cute interior and friendly service. read more

Fresh fish and great service. Family owned business. A great local gem that we were happy to find while visiting Berkeley.

Food: 4.5 stars Service/speed: 2 stars The food here is good, but the service speed is terrible. Seeing the waitresses trying to get their things together was stressful, and the entire restaurant seemed chaotic, with customers wondering when they will get their food and the waitresses getting people's order wrong. We came at around 6:15pm on a Sunday night and waited around 20 minutes to get seated. This wait time might seem reasonable at some restaurants during this time, but there were open tables (some still with leftover plates from the previous party on them, but some completely cleaned and ready). There were several people waiting outside even longer than we did. Some waited for so long that they just left. Once we finally got seated, we ordered immediately, because we did not want to wait another 20-something minutes for the waitress to come back to us. The food came 30 minutes later. The restaurant is not big, and that night, there were 3 waitresses and 3-4 chefs in the back. The waitresses were extremely inefficient and slow in taking orders, giving out the receipts. They gave glasses of water late, gave people's soy sauce plates by the time they were finished eating, and messed up orders. The fact that everyone's food took a long time to come out might have been due to the orders being bottle-necked at the waitresses or due to the chefs themselves also being inefficient and slow. However, if it is the chefs who are slow, it might be because they have limited kitchen space and cooking stations (do not if this is true for sure). I do not know why the waitresses took so long to seat people and run the tables. It was not that they were rude, lazy, or understaffed--they actually were trying their best--but they just seemed inexperienced. Everything seemed poorly managed. The food was good though. The Sake Oyakodon was delicious. I would recommend! The sushi rice was firm and fragrant. The Rainbow Roll and Futomaki Roll were good too. I want to like this place, but the poor management and coordination was unbearable. I wish them the best in improving their service efficiency, but until then, I won't be coming back again. read more

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I ordered the sushi lunch special and chirashi sushi lunch special through a third party delivery service and the food was amazing! I sincerely wish that Kiku offers a delivery service of their own so that I can order without all of the extra third party fees because everything I had was delicious. The chirashi came with a variety of pickles and mushrooms which I loved as much as the fish itself. The rice was seasoned to perfection and the fish was buttery, flavorful goodness. I don't normally like tuna as much as other fish, but the tuna that Kiku served me left me wanting more. The variety of fish served in both the sushi and chirashi lunch specials was more than generous, especially with two different types of rolls in the sushi lunch special. The menu states that these are subject to change seasonally, so this time I got a mix of a california roll and a spicy tuna roll, both of which were delicious. The worst part of this experience is not being able to eat from Kiku Sushi regularly because they left such a darn good impression on me. Please please open another restaurant closer to Berkeley! read more

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Very friendly staff and welcoming, even for large parties. They have an extensive menu vegan and not. Some of the rolls are mind blowing, orhers your tasty normal options. It's small but that makes it more of an experience. I do have to warn, if in a hurry not the place. It's more old school slow dinning. I'd definitely go back. read more

Pretty good sushi rolls Recommend the: --baked scallop roll: 6 pieces/order is on the smaller side, more of an appetizer tbh, still a decent good roll/order read more

Kiku Sushi - baked scallop roll - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

Small busy Japanese restaurant on Gilman. I was a bit taken aback by the musky smell of the interior, and how some of the utensils were a bit oily. We loved all nigiri! Wonderfully fresh fish with amazing texture and flavor. I would like to have a bit more rice on the nigiri. Some of the fish pieces were a bit fatter and oiler, which would've paired much better with some additional sushi rice. Butterfish - soft, rich and buttery texture Aji - not fishy at all, good meaty texture Salmon - torched? Rich and smooth Amaebi - very sweet and soft Chutoro - chefs kiss, buttery and meaty Hamachi - delicate and balanced Salmon belly - thicc and melts in your mouth Ankimo - too much hot sauce, covered up all flavor :( Kaisen futo maki roll - interesting scallop, fish roll, fish egg gives the pieces a good salty pop read more

This is a wonderful family owned restaurant that makes very fresh sushi!! This is definitely my go-to place in East Bay if I want to splurge on some good o-toro, salmon belly, and fresh ebi. The slices they give are so thick and fresh, I definitely feel like I am getting what I paid for. Their sukiyaki is also very flavorful and great balance between sweet and salty. They do not skimp on the ingredients and is pretty filling. Yes, the service can be a little slower but they were all very attentive to our needs. I would definitely recommend coming early, since it is pretty small inside and you'd have to wait. Parking can also be a bit tough since it's all street parking! read more

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Love this place! Really good sushi for a fair price. We got the dynamite and crunch roll. We also got the moriawase box lunch special and black cod belly tempura lunch special. We probably got too much food for two people but it was all delicious!! I would highly recommend checking this place out. The service was also really good and the place is super cute! read more

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I had a mixed experience here. The waitress was so sweet and accommodating and that added to the neighborhood feel of this place. However, the fish was hit or miss for me. The scallop (hotate) nigiri was incredible. So sweet and fresh and buttery. Not all of the fish in the futomaki was fully fresh so I ended up skipping most of it. I also am not a fan of largely cut rolls; I think they should basically fit in your mouth, so it's gotta be either wide in width but cut thin, or tall but skinny. They used tobiko and not ikura, which for me is a huge difference. The negihama was tasty and fresh. However, I wondered if the negihama maki was actually yellowtail? Tasted and felt more like a firm white fish. Finally, the Hamachi Crudo. I really do appreciate that they try and give you generous portions of fish, but I greatly prefer delicate slices of fish. That way it can melt in your mouth and you can enjoy the flavor without all the extra chewing and sinewy pieces. Also, a great crudo needs no sauce. ;-) I might give this spot another try if I'm in the neighborhood. But I might order differently. read more

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Food was beautifully prepared and de e e e licious... can hardly wait to bring friends and come back come back!!

My husband and I are trying to eat our way through every sushi restaurant in Berkeley and I am so happy this place is so close to us! It is so cute and cozy. It definitely feels like a neighborhood spot. Its on a semi-busy street (although most places were closed by the time we arrived) with plant stores and other businesses around. I can see it being really cute when the other spots are open. They have a ton of fresh fish on their specials menu and we ended up ordering almost everything on there. This reminds me of those small local spots you can find in Japan! I called in Friday night to see how long the wait was but I think since its still COVID there were plenty of seats available at 7:00pm. We ordered: carafe of sake, clam miso soup, regular miso soup, toro, umi masu, escolar, iwashi, suzuki, sake toro, and black cod belly which was around $140 pretip. Everything was presented really nice!! They even let you choose your own sake cup which is a sweet touch. -1 star for the service. The waiter was very nice but I think he is just a college kid and not really sure what hes doing. He dropped the miso soup on to our table spilling it into our sake and he had zero reaction to it and just walked away. Half the menu items were out which in some ways I love because you know the fish is fresh and they just don't have a hoard in a freezer somewhere but after we ordered, he did not alert us that 1/3 of the items we ordered were out until 25 minutes later which is kind of weird. They were swamped with take out orders the entire time so they might have just not gotten to our order to let the waiter know they were out of items. read more

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Found this restaurant while craving sushi today! Overall vibe: cozy and homey, good for casual/date night. Kind waiters who are kept busy by the crowd We ordered: - miso cod belly tempura - 4/5: this was my first time trying this dish and it was tasty. Would recommend sharing because it might be difficult to eat on your own. - miso cod appetizer - 5/5: loved how it was soft and buttery, but still had the crispy edge. You could also taste truffle oil but it wasn't overwhelming - Kaisen futomaki 5/5: tasty, fresh, well wrapped - sashimi (10pc): I was pleasantly surprised how large the pieces of sashimi are. Each piece melts in your mouth! Since 2-3 of the 5 fish are 'chefs choice' per the menu, it would have been nice for someone to tell us what each one was Parking: found residential parking easily read more

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This is a great neighborhood spot. They have both indoor and outdoor dining. Service is fast and very friendly. We had the tempura to to start. The tempura was done perfectly. The tempura was super light and not greasy at all. We then ordered several Maki rolls. The spicy tuna roll, dynamite roll, rainbow roll and the scallop roll. Every roll was delicious. So much so that we just dug in and forgot to take pictures. Definitely a place to come when you want great sushi read more

Kiku Sushi - Best tempura around - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Looooooove! My husband and I have been itching to find a great VEGETARIAN sushi spot! I was so thrilled to find Kiku Sushi available for delivery on DoorDash (I swear I'd made a request for this one way back when!) This place is absolutely amazing! In addition to a California roll and soba salad, we ordered three vegetarian rolls: ninja roll, fireman roll, and spicy crunchy roll! They did pure magic with tofu, having it taste and feel just like tuna! Each roll was unique and had great flavor. Normally, we find ourselves still a bit hungry after sushi-dinners. This set was perfectly filling. The hubs also got a beautiful bottle of Sayuri sake- the perfect treat for the weekend. Cannot wait for more! read more

Kiku Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

Great vegetarian sushi choice!! Tried the Golden Roll, Vegan Roll, Crunchy Spicy Tofu, and the Kiki Roll and all were HIGHLY delicious read more

Why do I bother? Sushi is not all created equal. Anyone including you and me can go get fresh raw sashimi grade proteins, a bamboo sushi mat to make rolls then buy some rice cook it along with some nori squares and start a rollin. And if you go to most other sushi take out places that's pretty much what you get. However if you go to a real sushi restaurant, that happens to offer take out. Winner winner Sushi dinner! This is such a place. Just getting home from LA wanted a simple clean light meal. Three great rolls spider rainbow and shrimp crunch roll. Got them to go to share. So now I'm beginning to get it. There is a balance between all the ingredients. Most importantly the rice is equal to the protein and the sauces and other ingredients are there to enhance the either strong or mild flavor of the proteins. There is not globs of rice sticky and starchy with thin or skimpy pieces of protein then fancied up with combinations of sweet, salty, spicy or mayonnaisy sauces. Ever notice how you can order four or five rolls from a lesser place and although the combinations of proteins are varied... it all tastes pretty much the same? The stars in our order shined through... the briny crunch of the soft shell crab, the light panko batter and sweetness of the shrimp and in the rainbow a variation of pallet pleasures with each transition from tuna to salmon albacore etc,. The academy award for best supporting actor was the rice. Again perfectly cooked individual grains carefully assembled to bring balance and harmony to the other ingredients. And by being a humble co star to the proteins, there was no need to over embellish with lathered array of sauces and pyrotechnics to try to cover up the lack of effort. You know it's good when you don't feel the need to dunk a piece in a bath of wasabi and soy sauce to somehow breath flavor into that morsel. So why do I bother? I keep thinking because it's so small and gets so busy. Parking is an issue. I need to tattoo KiKu on the frontal lobe of my consciousness and stop wandering Around the neighborhood looking for something else. read more

Kiku Sushi - Specials for valentines - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Oh my gah. Had such an amazing lunch here today. After going to the gym and finishing some REI and Roadrunner errands, I was in the mood for some sushi (as usual) and saw that a spot called Kiku with delicious looking sashimi and sushi pics was nearby. Walked in and saw that the place was small but cute, felt warm/cozy, and lo and behold, I see women sushi chefs!! I'm already sold! Love this place already. Had a great convo with our super cool server and she said the prices are slightly higher because they have super fresh fish flown in from Japan and other local spots (i.e Santa Barbara for uni)- they never freeze their fish. Also, she let us taste freshly made wasabi. Mind you, I'm not a wasabi fan but I was able to appreciate the quality and freshness of it. Moving on to the food- we ordered miso glazed black cod, gyoza, sashimi lunch special, sake toro and escolar nigiri, and a rainbow roll. All of these are must-haves. Each bite was super fresh, flavorful- you can taste the TLC! Do yourself a favor and come to Kiku when you need your Japanese fix- you will absolutely love this place! read more

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Extreme health hazard! Do not come to this sushi restaurant, as I order 3 vegan sushi rolls and vegan miso and found human hair in the rolls. This is extremely disgusting and nasty to say the least. read more

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It's one of those small Japanese spots that had me wavering between three and four stars. It's in a great area, the Westbrae neighborhood in North Berkeley just far enough away from the traffic spewing off of San Pablo Avenue, and it's definitely a congregation spot for young families and recent UC graduates judging from the mix of customers Jamie W. and I saw on the Sunday evening we went. The menu was fairly comprehensive for such a small operation with two full pages devoted to vegetarian selections. They know their Berkeley customer base well. We were pretty hungry and started with the $5.50 Veggie Gyoza. It was a good price for five medium-size potstickers placed on a small platter (photo: http://bit.ly/2Lkebgr). They were certainly a decent enough starter for our meal. Jamie ordered the $14.50 Chicken Katsu Curry dinner (photo: http://bit.ly/2KFD3xV) which entitled him to a hearty bowl of Miso Soup and an even larger bowl of Green Salad with Miso Dressing (photo: http://bit.ly/2IRLmtl). Nothing too surprising there except the portions perhaps and the fact that if you order off the Moriawase section of the menu, you don't get the salad part of the meal. I found that out when I ordered the $21.50 Chirashi Special, which was quite a cornucopia of fresh seafood - maguro, tako, hamaichi, sake, unagi, ebi - added to tamago, kanpyo, and shiitake mushrooms over sushi rice (photo: http://bit.ly/2kfNvkC). No complaints on the breadth or the freshness of the collection offered in my bowl. Amazingly it felt a bit on the skimpy side when it came to the portion. Guess I was hungrier than I thought. We ended up ordering the $7.85 Negi Hama, a sloppily made roll with hamachi and green onion (photo: http://bit.ly/2x3cm4e). Our total tab inched toward $60, and while I gave a four-star rating, I still wished it could have been more than what it was. FOOD - 4 stars...everything done to expectation, just missing something more AMBIANCE - 3.5 stars...small space that crowds fast SERVICE - 3.5 stars...nice though a bit on the harried side TOTAL - 4 stars...a motherland option to consider in North Berkeley but not mandatory read more

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Great value. They even have hard to find things like Uni from Japan. Go early they do run out of things.

This place is amazing! I came with my friend on a Friday night and there was a few parties waiting. The inside only fits a few tables, but it's cozy. Luckily, we were quickly seated at the bar. The chef interacted with us and it was a good experience watching him make different nigiris and rolls. We sampled most of the special nigiris on the wall and they were all super fresh and delicious. Some of my favorites were: live scallop (presented on the shell!), o-toro, sake salmon, negitoro handroll (off the fish slab and not diced ends!). The wait staff was attentive and filled our waters without us asking. They came by a few times to check in on our experience. Great causal place to dine and have conversations. Will definitely be back again! read more

Kiku Sushi - Nigiri's - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

We always come here never disappointed . Best yellowtail by far ever. The fish here are always the top of the top with amazing variety.These are really good sushi people. Be patient with the service it's super authentic (: read more

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I was in the mood for Sushi . But it was already 9 pm . Luckily for me Kiku Sushi is open to 11pm on Saturday night. So I rolled to Berkeley . Kiku is located on Gilman near a residential neighborhood so parking is limited. I parked my Whip a block away and street hiked to Kiku Sushi. I rolled in And opted to sit at The Sushi Bar. I was brought a Glass Of Water and Menus . I Perused the Menu and ordered a 10 piece Sashimi Platter , Gyoza , Calamari Legs , Black Cod in Miso , Negi Toro Roll and Green Tea Tempura Ice Cream!!! My Sashimi Platter was crafted right in front of me as well as my Negi Toro Roll. The Sashimi pieces were generous in size and very fresh. Good Quality Fish!!! The other items were prepared by a Su Chef right in front of me. The Black Cod in Miso and the Gyoza are Must Orders Yum!! For Dessert I had the Green Tea Tempura Ice Cream also another Must Order!!!! Service was Very Good And Friendly!! Decor Intimate and Low Key !!! Great Place to take a Date!!! Kiku Sushi is a Baller On a Budget Approved Establishment!!!! read more

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