Itani Sushi - Berkeley — Restaurant in Berkeley

I’ve been a huge fan of Hopscotch, Itani Ramen, and Yonsei Handrolls for years, and I was beyond excited to see that the same group was opening a sushi spot in the Gourmet Ghetto! Of course I had to try it with a friend 😅

We each ordered a three-course sushi set and decided on the ITSU set and the baller set. We also added some miso soups and eventually more nigiri, including their delicious Hokkaido scallops and fantastic Hokkaido uni, both of which were about half the price I usually see when eating sushi in the Bay Area, Seattle, Hawaii, and New York. The arctic char was also phenomenal 🤤 (I should probably mention that I didn’t confirm that the scallops and uni were from Hokkaido, but the uni had that sweet butter consistency that I’ve only seen with Hokkaido uni.)

For drinks we both had still water, and my friend tried the iced tea. I went with the yuzu lemonade, which was delicious and perfect for the warm day but threatened to overwhelm my pallette at times. Service was prompt, generally lovely, and better than most of the service I’ve experienced across multiple states in the last few weeks (including other Bay Area restaurants). They also have different soy sauces available, and both of the ones we tried (I think it was the Yonsei house soy sauce and a garlic soy sauce?) were delicious!

Itani Sushi also had a bunch of freshly made to go options that looked like a perfect option for those in a bit of a hurry or wanting to enjoy the sunshine and some fresh air in their gorgeous, shared back patio (accessible if you walk past the bathrooms and towards the back of the building). I will 100% be back and look forward to...

Came here right before closing with a big group. The staff were all lovely and accommodating. We got several rolls and snagged a table on the back patio. It was convenient to grab stuff right from the cooler up front so there wasn’t a wait for the kids.

We ordered several other speciality rolls which were all made to order. It was beautifully presented on one large plate for everyone to share. The patio also connects to Tiger Lily and we grabbed drinks from the bar there.

The Yonsei roll was absolutely insane- seared hamachi, shrimp tempura, pickled red onions, and black garlic- say less!!! We were fighting over these. Could easily put down a few rolls without sharing.

The other stars were the nigiri and California rolls. Why doesn’t everyone put fresh snow crab in their California rolls?? Love Itani Sushi and anything chef Kyle creates. This place was...

Awesome experience with the order/delivery and the food was amazing! Everything on the menu looked delicious but settled on Cold Cali Noodle Salad, Nigiri Combo, Spicy Mama, Yonsei Seared Albacore Roll, ITSU Roll, Yonsei Salmon Belly Roll, Negihama Roll and the Ume Shiso Roll. All the dishes were plated very well and the sushi had very fresh fish with a perfect rice to fish ratio. I am a big fan of ume and shiso so the Ume Shiso Roll was a pleasant surprise to see on the menu and it did not disappoint! Another highlight was the Cold Cali Noodle Salad. The salad was loaded with crab, the soba was cooked perfectly and the dressing was delicious! Excited for my next order to try the rest...