Odori Japanese Cuisine — Restaurant in Palo Alto

I went to the website to order, and it sent me to an ap called qmenu. So I order a bunch of stuff and my order is confirmed. Eta was half an hour so I wait and when I get there I wait like ten more minutes because there's another party there and they only allow one person inside. Then I go in and they tell me they only accept cash because of that ap. I was like oh I guess I never put in my card. I just assumed it went through Google pay like every other online thing but I checked my account and it wasn't charged so I had to jog down the street to go to the ATM, pay the ATM fee, and then go back. And I go in there and there's no one in the front. They don't have a bell or anything on the table so I'm just chilling there trying to wave someone over for a cool minute.

I give them the cash and I'm like this is pretty unusual. Usually I can pay online when I place the order. And they told me yeah, it's just qmenu. If you use grubhub or something, you can pay. And I'm like ok, you should use a different service. This is the one your website takes me to. I have to pull out my phone and show them their own website to show that it goes to qmenu.

The guy tells me, if you call in the order, you can pay with card. I was just like ok w/e because I just wanted to leave, but if I can pay with my card over the phone, how can I not pay with card in the actual store????

I know we're in tough circumstances right now but it's not such a hassle to order takeout from any other place right now. This place has to step it up.

Then I get home and something was missing. Too bad I paid in cash or else I could have called them to take it off the bill. The flimsy chopsticks just broke. Portions were...

I'm so glad I stumbled upon this little gem! It's quite unassuming from the outside with its location on El Camino among hotels, restaurants ,and other shops. They have a small little lot in the back.

My friend and I walked in and waited a couple of minutes before a waitress seated us. They seem to run pretty lean here -- there were two sushi chefs at the open bar (there's seating too if you're alone or want to watch the chefs prepare food) and two waitresses working the floor. The place wasn't busy, but I think they could have used an additional set of hands to bus tables and take care of water and bills. Despite the slower service, the food here was great and it's reasonably priced.

My friend and I shared the tuna carpaccio (sushi bar appetizer) and Lion King Roll (crab, avocado, baked salmon with a creamy sauce on top). I got the mixed sashimi from the appetizer section (6 pcs of tuna, yellowtail, and salmon). The fish tasted fresh and I'm intrigued by some of the other special rolls they have on the menu. I'm definitely coming back and telling my friends about it to come on a week day evening (I'd probably shy away from Friday and weekend nights when there might be more people dining here; the parking is also limited). They also have lunch and dinner specials (bento box style with a variety of items in a set). Vegetarian options include vegetarian rolls...

5 stars for the food, but 2 or less for their recent customer service... I had ate here a few times last year without any issues. However, my last visit was a different experience.

I went to order take out, since they have changed all of their orders to take out only during this COVID pandemic. However, upon entering the building no one acknowledged or greeted me; despite 4 or 5 employees standing in plain sight behind the counter. All of them glared at me, sort of like a deer in the headlights. Realizing that they would just stare at me all night, I spoke up and said I would like to order for take out and asked for a menu. One of the employees simply pointed and said there's a menu right in front of me. I looked at it and placed an order. Right after placing the order the same employee said they are doing cash only. I actually suspect they were not restricted to just taking cash, but simply just too lazy to fill the order on the spot. If they were doing cash only, then why weren't there any signs posted anywhere saying so? Or why did not mention they were doing cash-only before placing the order? Needless to say I won't...