Iki Omakase

I must say, I still think about this place! The food here was very fresh and every bite was so delicious. The omakase menu here offers a huge list of items. We were extremely full in the end. Our chef was knowledgeable and each bite tells a story. He was professional and delivered our food in a timely fashion. I really enjoyed seared nigiri pieces and this place offers plenty of those. The noodle with the yellow cream (can't recall the name) was one of my favorites! I didn't know what to expect but that dish really surprised me. The octopus in the beautiful presentation with the coral ball, wow. I am not much a fan of octopus but when cooked right, I can enjoy it. Chef said it was cooked for many hours. It was delightfully tender!The setting of this restaurant was intimate and clean. There were plenty parking outside and we had no issue finding one. Overall, I would definitely come here again! I have recommended this place to several friends. Thank you for a delicious meal.

Truly a top quality omakase! Every piece was the perfect size. Chef did not skimp on the fish. Our omakase had 5 appetizers, 10 nigiri + complimentary king salmon, tamago, miso soup, and a refreshing house made yuzu yogurt ice cream. We were also able to add some nigiri a la carte at the end of the nigiri course. It was tough to choose a favorite.The restaurant only offers 8 counter seats in front of the chef with two seatings at 5pm and 8pm. They also do bento boxes for lunch. I appreciated the calming classical music but after being there for 2.5 hours, we had heard the same songs multiple times. There is a parking lot across the street and street parking as well. This is near Caltrain so it may be hard to find close parking during peak hours.There is a 19% mandatory service charge which they say is not the tip so please account at least another 12-18% for the tip. For 2 people, our meal came out to $650 after everything - (this included our extra 3 nigiri + hojicha). We're so glad we tried this out because it might be our new favorite omakase spot!

Iki Omakase, behind a boring door in the streets of Palo Alto, teleports you to an omakase sushi restaurant somewhere in Roppongi, JP. Intimate setting, counter bar only, with exceptional service and sushi. I enjoyed myself so much, I forgot to take photos.Chef Li & and his team wowed in this omakase experience. Every nigiri piece was fresh, harmonious, balanced, and delicate. One of my favorite was actually a starter--ankimo. Creamy, rich! Of the gazillion times I've had ankimo, this is the 1 of the 2 experiences I've savored. If Palo Alto was closer, I'd be here too often.

My fiancé and I came here for dinner on a Sunday evening. There were only 3 other customers during our reservation time so it was nice and intimate.Chef Li was really nice and made conversation with everyone, and I enjoyed all of the courses here.

It's been some time since I've dined here but I'm still thinking about how wonderful my omakase experience was. Chef Li and his team were so welcoming and attentive. My friends and I really enjoyed our meal. The dishes were fantastic and we left very satisfied.

Wonderful serviceDelicious set menuIt was intimate as there were only 8 seatsThe chef was very knowledgeable and a wonderful host.

Iki Omakase is located in downtown Palo Alto and is brought to us by Chef Jiabo Li, a veteran sushi chef who used to work at Sushi Hon and Sato Omakase, both of which are located in San Francisco. The menu offers a variety of cooked and cold appetizer dishes and plenty of nigiri options, most of which have been lightly torched or cured. The fish is also sourced from Japan and was of really good quality. Iki Omakase only offers 2 dining times - 5:30 PM or 8 PM; reservations-only. As there are only 8 seats available per seating, it is a more intimate eating experience while the chef prepares food for everyone at the same time. When I first went, the omakase costed $175/person, had a mandatory service charge of 20%, and recommended additional tip on top of that as well. Now, it looks like the price has gone up to $226/person with a $31 service charge.ORDER|-| Omakase ($175/person) - 16+ courses including dessert

Super excited to hear of a new Omakase place that finally opened up near us - and after studying the menu, site, and fellow yelper reviews for a few months - we decided to finally go for my MIL's bday dinner. Given the price point - our expectations were 100% high, but pretty standard per any bougie Omakase experience. The restaurant was a bit hidden and unassuming from outside, although the inside was intimate and modern with a neat 9 seat sushi bar. The chef and service was amazing and the meal was a well balanced and delicate experience throughout. There were about 16 courses with a nice variety of starters, nigiri, hot dishes, and dessert - although the order the dishes came out was a bit out of the standard. Unfortunately, the food overall just fell a bit short from expectations for us. Although there were some good dishes that stood out - the majority was either...a bit unmemorable and or started to become one and the same in taste + flavor profile. Starters: (1) Uni & Noodz - tasty, noodz had a great chew in a light refreshing broth, while the uni was rich and creamy.(2) Crab & Jelly salad - meh, jelly was too tart and took away from the crab, didn't care much for the tomato or seaweed.(3) Picked Veggie - good, great crunchy texture and flavor.(4) Fish in a corn soup - interesting, fish skin could've been more crispy but the meat was perf flaky. Corn soup was creamy and added a richness to the fish, although dominated a bit overall.(5) Monkfish liver - good, the sauce on the side was made of innards & had a nice spicy kick that cut the richness. Nigiri: overall fish was very fresh & some of them had great texture from the skin and or sear, but since the majority was cured + brushed with the same sauce - they all started to taste too similar and monotone. My fave were: golden eye snapper (great crispy skin), scallop (nice and sweet), and the toro handroll with caviar (rich, flavorful, great texture combo). Cooked dishes:(1) Eggplant - meh, texture and flavor was not nice overall. (2) Smoked Octopus - OK, tender but bit too salty from the curing overall. (3) Uni Chawanmushi - OK, egg custard flavor was standard and although I love Uni, the texture being soft with the soft custard just got lost. (4) Tamago - good, lightly sweet and great texture overall.(5) Miso Cod - cod was simple and tasty, but spinach ball was meh - def missing something either pickled or tart to add some bite.Dessert: Ice cream was refreshing, bit tart and lightly sweet, also loved the little jam-like topping. Sad to say, compared to a few other Omakase places that we love, this place just isn't quite there yet. Open to trying another time, but prob. not anytime soon.

For my birthday we had the amazing opportunity to dine with another well-esteemed culinary artist, Chef Li. You could almost miss it even being in downtown, but this is definitely not a place to sleep on. Upon entering, you can already tell what a special and uniquely curated experience is to come with its intimate 8-seat sushi bar and elegant ambiance.This was quite the journey as we progressed through 20 courses of incredible flavors and thoughtful selection. The appetizers really set up the meal well from snow crab chawanmushi to black cod milt with ponzu to mozuku seawood shot. Chef Li's preparation of each nigiri is a fresh and modern take that enhances the fish. We even got to add a few a la carte nigiri, which ended up including my favorite of the night - channel rockfish with liver that just richly melted upon eating. We then ended with a red miso soup and unique housemade yuzu yogurt ice cream (I'm an ice cream fiend and still thinking about this one actually). By the end we left with our bellies very much full and hearts warmed.Chef Li has already made his name here in Palo Alto with his extensive experience and it's clear to see why. So happy we got to meet a colleague of Chefs Wen and Nagai. We missed Sunny-san who was traveling! Thank you so much for the hospitality and personable service. We will see you again in the new year!

The chef is an artist, and I respect his creativity and dedication. The food tastes great, and the restaurant's interior design, along with the background music, creates a calming atmosphere that enhances the dining experience. Uni was served in two variant grades both have its unique characteristics and distinctive flavors. Coupled with high grade seaweed makes more umami