Glad to know that Kiku Sushi is just as good as before the pandemic. Prices are still very reasonable and not much higher. Most of all the fish is very fresh and prepared with very good eye for presentation. We came for lunch and the interior was very clean. We enjoyed our Lunch Chirashi and Moriawase Lunch Bento so much! Good selection of fish in both orders. Nice added touches with the shiso leaf, micro greens and shredded daikon to cleanse the palate. Even the miso soup was made with good dashi flavor. We will be returning to this favorite of ours. read more

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

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My wife and I love hanging out in North Berkeley, and Kiku Sushi is a hidden gem. The ambiance is modest and welcoming, while the staff is friendly. But the main reason to come here is for the food. The salmon skin salad, miso soup, and tempura are solid and well done. The rolls off the standard menu are nice and tasty as well. But if you're in the mood to splurge a little, everything we've had off of their daily or special menu has been exceptionally fresh and delicious, especially the nigiri. We can't say enough good things about our experiences here so far. Kiku has all of the best flavors without an ounce of the pretentiousness. That sums up what we love about Kiku and what we love about Berkeley itself as a town. We're new to the East Bay, but look forward to being regular patrons at Kiku for the years to come. read more

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Kiku is hands down the BEST (vegan) sushi I've ever eaten and is run by some of the nicest people you'll meet!!! I'm so thankful that this little treasure exists and only wish that I could clone them and put one in every city and town in America. Thank you, Kiku, for offering such a bomb vegan menu and for leaving nothing to be missed by abstaining from meat. You are doing the damn thing!!! Pro tip: next time you're there, order eggplant nigiri and the spicy vegan scallop roll. Omg, flavor bomb. I've honestly been brought close to tears with an eggplant nigiri in mouth. read more

Unfortunately a very disappointing experience. I had been several times before but this time the fish did not taste fresh. I would not go back again. read more

My husband and I went here on a date for the first time and had an excellent experience! Our waitresses name was Helen and she was very sweet and attentive to us. The sushi was super fresh! We've lived out here in the bay area for three years and have not found a place that we actually really like. We will definitely be returning! :) read more

Kiku Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

Came here for lunch with my boyfriend craving some sushi. It's a small tiny Japanese restaurant with about 3 people working. 1 seems to be cooking, 1 handing out the dishes and another in the back cleaning so it makes the service here slow. Food:: - chirashi lunch special : good quality sushi, good price ($15), the sushi included was salmon, tuna, shrimp, hamachi and one other sushi - Zaru soba vegetable tempura : soba was decent although after munching on it there was a grainy after taste. The soba was clumped together and the dipping sauce came 10 minutes after getting the soba. Tempura itself pretty good with a variety of vegetables I ordered an ikura and after waiting 1 hour and already finished with the entrees we got, i never received it. When I got the check I told them that I never received this dish and would like it removed from the check. The person said oh we have your ikura and shows me. If you had my ikura why didn't you just give it to me rather than at the end when I pay? Overall the sushi was good quality, but I have to give 3 stars because of the service and the way they acted when I never received my dish. read more

Service is great. It's a small place but I have never had an issue getting a table. Food is good although a bit pricey. It's sushi so to be expected. They also serve real crab which gets major points in my book. Plus the sushi tastes fresh and they have specials quite often and a unique menu in general. read more

I've been here twice with my family. I found this restaurant to be very different from other Japanese restaurants I've been to, but not in a bad way. They just don't have the usual entrees you would expect. Check it out for yourself, you'll know what I mean. With that said, I don't prefer the menu selection here, but what I did have was delicious and the fish was fresh. Which is the most important part. I got the Curudo Special and a few orders of Nigiri because I couldn't find anything on the menu I really wanted. I was looking more for a bento box selection, but they didn't offer during dinner. It was the first time I tried Monk liver! That was interesting.. Lol. But it was surprisingly good. Uni was fresh, and I loved the scallop. Presentation was also beautiful. I also liked the agedashi tofu we ordered for the table. I wasn't too happy with the sizes of the rolls, but the pieces of nigiri were good. My daughter liked the customized sashimi over rice she had. That girl can eat salmon and hamachi like there's no tomorrow! Takes after mama. Don't know that I'd come back, but I definitely think it's worth trying. They have some really interesting items on the menu. read more

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Worst sushi place I've ever been. Seasonal green salad was raw kale, dressing was a sesame dressing with too much garlic. Order the negi Toro and they didn't have green onions! Then the bill was $47, gave $60 and he just assumed the rest was his tip! SMH read more

The food is really good. The restaurant has a very nice ambiance, homey feeling to it. The service is excellent with hard working and passionate employees. Hands down the best sushi restaurant in the city! read more

All of the rolls tasted like they were made with high quality fish cuts...and until I go to Japan and can get that first-hand sushi experience, I'm sticking by my taste buds. [Also, if you get certain rolls like the Rainbow Roll or Sweet Potato Eggplant Roll, the portions are American aka big] read more

Kiku Sushi - Sweet potato eggplant roll - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Place is very small but very clean. Sushi is fresh. The entree menu is a better value and portions are generous especially for lunch specials. I had the chicken teriyaki and gyro combo, my friend ordered the Tempura combo. The service was very attentive, constantly refilling our tea and water, picking up any trash ( left over straw covers etc). Authentic Japanese restaurant and reminds me of those I dined at in Kyoto and Nara. The only draw back it the limited parking, so get there early. read more

The Kaisen Futo-Maki and the California Roll are amazing!! The first had lots of fish and was absolutely delicious. We ordered a second roll because of how much we loved it. You'd also never think that a simple California roll would be that tasty, but it really was. Definitely one of the better that I have had in the area-- extra craby and creamy! We weren't a fan of the tajín on the dynamite roll (and I usually LOVE tajín, just not on my sushi). It was also super spicy. I would love to go back and try more variety though. The service is very attentive, and I liked that they give you the option to choose your own sake cup. Such a nice little detail. read more

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Today i came into Kiku sushi a new customer, i will definitely be back to experience other amazing dishes on the menu. Today i had the pleasure of enjoying a chicken katsu bento lunch box. To start the meal i was brought a very flavorful miso soup in which was at the perfect temperature to consume immediately. I then enjoyed the Chicken bento box lunch. The box includes a side salad miso soup chefs choice rolls and chicken katsu let me tell you this is to die for! The chicken is cooked to perfection very crispy, the katsu sauce is very flavorful especially with the rice! (So flavorful in fact i had to pack it up and save it for later LOL) The sushi all in all was flavorful just on my california roll the rice was a bit hard but the flavor was still there!!! Most places have pre prepared salads but that is not something Kiku does as there salads are fresh refreshing and packed with flavor! There is also a very flavorful vegan and vegetarian menu packed with many options! Next is the eating space. It is a bit small but utilizes it's spaces efficiently and is very clean. During the warmer days there is outdoor seating.The service was on time and the waitress was very kind and helpful she had also filled me in on the history of the building and wow what a turn around especially during the pandemic. They opened up on the same foot they left off with from reading past reviews. This is a place i will definitely become a regular at and would recommend to many friends the food is great! read more

Kiku Sushi - Miso Soup and Sapporo Beer - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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I want to like this place so bad because it is convenient and local but it's just laking flavor in my opinion and overpriced. Two people eating over $100 is a lot. I understand that Gilman is expensive but for the price I was hoping better quality. The bento box chicken was good the first time I ordered and the next time it was dry. I've tried a few vegan sushi rolls and the flavors didn't mesh well together for me. Japanese pickles were just ok. The staff is very nice and service is timely. I like the interior and it looks clean. About the only thing I liked was the gyoza and tempura when it came to menu items. read more

This is the best, and most innovative vegetarian, and vegan sushi I have ever had! I have dined in and ordered takeout and every time, it's wonderful. Get the fireman roll (smoky eggplant), ninja roll (crunchy tempura), and sunshine roll (mango and jalapeño). Prices are reasonable for all you get -- not cheap but not too high I can't wait to bring my dad when he comes to visit. read more

Went here for a take out order. We were celebrating the end of a project so I decided to pick up 2 bento box lunch specials: teriyaki chicken which came as I expected and miso glazed black cod which was smaller than my glasses lens. It was smaller than the times of a dinner fork. It looked like they had trimmed a corner off of a filet or had given me someone's leftovers. As you can see it's broken on the side as if it been someone else's before being sent off with me. Rice was hard and cold. Will never be back: really disappointed. read more

Kiku Sushi - Miso Glazed Black Cod Bento Box Lunch - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

Me and my family's very fav sushi place!! it's small and very comfortable and warm feeling, while also being pretty aesthetically pleasing. Sushi is so delicious and the service is great. highly recommend!! read more

Definitely one of my favorite sushi spots in the East Bay so far thanks to a friend who took me here pre-covid. Fresh fish. Good rice. Great value. Great service. They don't have a lot of fancy rolls, the focus is on the quality of their seafood. Been here for takeout and everything was just as good as dine-in. Great option for take out & picnic at a park. read more

Small and tightly knit sushi place! Do get their fresh Uni! It was great. As for their specialty hamachi carpaccio, it was nice with the tangy, but smooth grapefruit juice blend, small kick to the jalepeno and slender texture to the sashimi itself! They have the norm of sashimi and sushi rolls! Their hamachi kama was yum and rich in omega 3! I do recommend the Chirashi set if you want to sample the chef's special on their sashimi! It is quite a filler! For dessert, their tempera ice cream was interesting with the outer layer to be tempura texture. It was good, but not the best batter used. A good spot! read more

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There is a reason why there are 10-15 people waiting outside to eat here: -quality fish at affordable prices -kitchen and bar execute efficiently -generous portions, nigiri was NOT a one bite deal -aji nigiri comes with fried aji bone, like the whole skeleton!!! -hamachi crudo could use a few of the jalapeno seeds, to give it more zip, buttery, love the acid from the grapefruit slices instead of the typical ponzu yuzu -hamachi kama is HUGE and just anything hamachi here is buttery and great -seaweed in salad was a bit over hydrated and the dressing while sparse, didn't love, creamy, I like soy, citrus and oil based for this course -rolls are clean and surprisingly have a lot of flavor on their own, without the need for soy, get the dynamite and kaisen futo-maki, which is just 5-6 types of fish, half being chef's choice. Weird: TWO types of wasabi, one squeezed from a large food grade bag. Would skip: -nigiri next time and just go with sashimi, the rice leaves much to be desired, no wasabi between fish and rice -hon maguro is NOT what I was expecting, not a lot of flavor Japanese run, but they have the low-sodium soy option, rare. Be prepared for the kitchen to be out of a lot of the favorites, 7:30pm and no: shima aji, toro and black miso cod. Prefer the sushi bar, since it's so tight in the rest of the restaurant and would probably try to get take out in the future, since their bathroom facilities are not the most pleasant. Definitely make a reservations, but make sure to show up within 10 minutes, or they will give your table away. That's what happened to us. Don't fret, they will put you back on the list and not at the bottom. Generally, the wait for two people at prime time, 7PM is about 15 minutes, not horrible. It's DAMN chilly in Berkeley to be waiting outside. If you're a picky princess like me. Just under $100 for two, no drinks, with food to take home and FULL bellies. read more

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Have you ever had fried uni in a shiso leaf? If you're adventurous and want to try this dish, then I highly suggest you come here. Their fried uni was as good as the one I had when I was in Japan. (I paid extra, $15 instead of $8 to have their uni flown in from Japan which was totally worth it) If uni isn't your thing, then may I suggest their sampler? Toro, ankimo, salmon....all flavorful and fresh. Think notes on a piano. If raw fish isn't your thing, then how about their cooked miso cod? With a hint of truffle oil? Decadent and delicious. Had several of their rolls. Toro, hamachi, butterfish, all were excellent. Who knew this restaurant in the middle of nowhere could be as good as the ones in SF? Bravo! read more

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Good sashimi on a Wednesday? Nice. The balanced layers of grapefruit slices, fresh hamachi, and jalapeño in their hamachi kurudo makes my mouth sing. I've come here twice for lunch and both time left very satisfied. At $12 for a miso black cod bento or a chirashi bowl or their sashimi lunch complete with salad, soup and.california rolls, they're quite affordable for Japanese food. And the staff here have been nothing but gracious and hospitable. There was a moment today when the server brought out something different than what I ordered. She immediately brought the dish back and gave me the benefit of the doubt. Thanks Kiku! read more

Kiku Sushi - Miso black cod bento (lunch? $12 - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Fish is the best here and service improved but be prepared to spend a long time here.

I've been going here for almost 9 years and will take any out of town guests here if they want to have good sushi. They give generous cuts of fish and their staff are great. I will go here for any birthday or celebratory event and get the omikase and small hot sake. A good appetizer is their crispy rice with sweet potato (the avocado version is good too). read more

La atención es pésima, se tardan mucho tiempo en llevar tu comida. En mi experiencia en este lugar pedimos tres royos los cuales nos llevaron por separado. El costo se me hizo excesivo para lo insignificante que se miraban nuestros platillos y la sopa miso, sin sabor, teníamos que estar pescando las moronas de queso tofu que le pusieron. Me gustaría dar una reseña más detallada pero me lleve un mal rato y sabor de boca que no quiero darle más importancia a este lugar. Simplemente es malo. The attention is terrible, they take a long time to bring your food. In my experience in this place we asked for three royos which were taken separately. The cost was excessive for how insignificant our dishes looked and the miso soup, tasteless, we had to be fishing for the tofu cheese moronas that they put on it. I would like to give a more detailed review but I had a hard time and a taste in my mouth that I do not want to give more importance to this place. It's just bad. read more

I ordered the premium grade AAA sashimi and California Rolls. The Sashimi tasted soft like butter and super fresh! Such a big difference vs regular sashimi. The California Rolls had real crab, which was nicely seasoned and tasted spectacular vs fake crab. Really no comparison here. A nice corner spot that serves fresh and premium grade sushi and sashimi. read more

Kiku Sushi - Premium grade AAA Sashimi (top) and real steamed crab in these California Rolls (bottom). Delicious! - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

Their posted opening time on a Saturday is noon but when I got there at noon, the chef had not arrived yet, there was no fish in the refrigerated case at the sushi counter, and the staff had no idea when they would be ready to start serving sushi. read more

The sushi here was incredibly fresh, generously portioned and absolutely delicious! It is the best sushi I have experienced outside of Japan. read more

This place is 100% dead to me. The food is fine but the review from Jenn S. sums it up perfectly. We were treated EXTREMELY unprofessionally. The team brought a small ice cream as a peace offering. (never an apology though!) We both basically wanted to get out of there right away, so we finished quickly and I asked for the bill. When I said we had never been treated that poorly in a restaurant (much less one we've been to 30-40 times) the person who both wedged a chair into our table and then forced us to move (has anyone EVER been asked this in a restaurant when you'd already gotten your food? Ever...? No?) rolled her eyes and made it clear that she could not possibly care less while walking away. I let her know we wouldn't be back, and we will not. The strangest thing about this is that the employees have all been there for years giving absolutely garbage service. Almost every review of this place, even if positive, mentions the attitude of the servers and they way they treat you as a drawback. That should generally alarm a decent manager, but this one seems like they don't care at all. While I'm fine overpaying a bit for good sushi, I don't see any reason to give my money to an establishment that treats you badly and follows up the initial disrespect with more disrespect. The owner and manager of this place should be ashamed of the employees behavior here, but at the same time, its much more than a training issue if you can't treat people like human beings. I've given places one star reviews before, but I've never went out of my way to encourage others to find somewhere else to spend your money, but I'll make an exception here. Do not give this place money, its one thing to be bad at cooking or lazy or something, but to not be able to treat fellow human beings like human beings is inexcusable. read more

Went back again to Kiku for round #2 to see how consistent they were. After ordering a wide variety of Nigiri, it was just like the first visit. Incredibly fresh and fantastic rice which really makes the Nigiri. My only disappointment was no Salmon Skin Salad but it's understandable that if you don't have fresh product, you don't compromise. I was reminded about the reasonable prices and am now willing to make the 25 minutes drive here whenever I want to get my Sushi on! Definitely one of my favorite Sushi spots between Hayward to Livermore. read more

Kiku Sushi - Anago, Trout, BlueFin Tuna, Scallop, Ikura, Uni (sweet!) - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

Very good, limited seating but bar is open now. Fish cuts have big portions, everything is fast and fresh. The owner is very accommodating. I would visit again! (Only on paydays lol) read more

Kiku Sushi - Black Cod Belly Tempura - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Can we talk about love and obsession? This is my go-to sushi location in the Berkeley area. Ive been here about 5 times and everytime I come I get the 10 piece sushi made of 5 different variations. I also order the rainbow roll with a hot cup of green tea. The green tea here is amazing, the sashimi is fresh and melts in your mouth. The sashimi comes with rice and miso soup. This is located in a little nice area of berkeley with a bakery down the street, another brazil cafe area with food and outside patio. Great service at this location and also price is very decent! read more

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Cute little corner restaurant, service was ok, feel a little rushed. but I am in love with their miso glaze black cod.

The worse wait time, they made me wait 40min and came to me saying they didn't even started to make my take out. YOU GONNA DIE WAITING

I've been coming to KiKu for years! Their fish is soooooo fresh and everyone who works there is very kind and knowledgeable. I'm not a vegetarian but have recently been having their it vegetable rolls because they are so good and very inventive. Huge vegetarian selection there. If you're looking for a super fast meal, this may not be the place. They are often full (because their food is so good) and so sometimes there is a wait. This place is truly wonderful and a neighborhood favorite, so come try if you haven't yet. You'll be glad you did. read more

This is my favorite local sushi place! The fish is always fresh. Their uni is especially always good. I consider uni and quail egg to be the bacon of the sea. The service is very friendly! I typically end up staying longer than I expected. Highly recommend. read more

Found these cute little spot with a friend visiting from out of state. We are both sushi lovers and so relish in these little experiences! I am NOT a tempura fan at all, but I will say the tempura served here is one of the best I've tried. There was some actual light flavor in the chosen batter and it really made the experience that much better. They are quite compact and quaint, so if you are not a people person or don't like other tables gawking at your food this is not the place for you. LOL Service was excellent from start to finish and really love the mom and pop feel.. but they really need to look into purchasing a larger space to truly compliment the products being generated. The size of the rolls are small though, ordered two and left hungry. So I would suggest maybe appetizer style and drinks kind of eating.. rather than full meal consumption. read more

Kiku Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Late night sushi cravings, and Kiku was one of the places that opened a little later on Sundays. They also had outdoor seating so me and the S.O. brought along our pup! On arrival, the place was relatively low volume. Quite a nice walk to Kiku, since it was close by our place. Service was great, they were extremely attentive and promptly turned on the outdoor lights for us. Our waitress checked up on us frequently. Overall, service was perfect. It's nice that the restaurant offers vegan meals for variety! On their menu, they had a veggie charashi bowl. We ordered one of those and I must say, it was delicious! The sesame sauce they used went well perfectly with the assortment of veggies. On the other hand, the grade of sushi used for the three rolls we got were okay. Nothing spectacular or memorable, but then again I'm not too much of a sushi snob. They were fine for fulfilling my sushi cravings. Overall, I'd come back since it's close by and has outdoor seating, which is great when we want to bring our dog along with us. But it's the first sushi place I've tried in the Berkeley/Albany area, so there are more to try! read more

Kiku Sushi - Veggie charashi, Alaska roll (salmon and avocado), *forgot other two* - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

I had an AMAZING time at Kiku sushi tonight. We sat at the bar so we could see the sushi being made by the amazing husband and wife who run the place. We ordered almost half of the sashimi and sushi menu tonight. The fish was wonderfully fresh, and the portions were generous. We had some of the specials too, and I definitely could taste the differences between the two kinds of Saba (strong and a milder version), hamachi, and salmon. Here is what we had: - seaweed salad - tempura - fish liver appetizer - Saba (normal and the special which had a milder flavor) - hamachi sushi and hamachi appetizer (had jalapeño, grapefruit, and some citrusy ponzu sauce. So refreshing) - tuna (I forgot which kind but it was very sweet in flavor by itself) - sweet shrimp - salmon roe - uni (sea urchin) I can't remember what else we had. All I remember is how fresh everything was. I could tell by the color, texture, and of course, taste. They had no more tamago, so I'll have to try that another time. The damage? $134.00. NOT BAD!!! Would I go back?! Absolutely! Food and service were great! Thank you KIKU!!! read more

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