Kiku Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Pittsburgh

Having relocated from Philadelphia to the Pittsburgh area, I was naturally eager to find a good local Japanese restaurant to satisfy the occasional craving. Kiku is, to my knowledge, the BEST Japanese restaurant in the region. Of course, it comes with a significant premium, and it doesn't quite reach the heights of Philadelphia's Zama or Shiori Hana. However, Kiku boasts a more refined and intimate setting.

It's also worth noting that the chef appears to be Japanese, which is a rarity in Pittsburgh. The city's Japanese food scene isn't as robust as what you'd find in New Jersey or Philadelphia, where there's a larger Japanese food enthusiast population.

I've visited Kiku three or four times, experiencing their omakase(哦妈卡死) once, ordering à la carte another time, and having dinner there once. The average cost per person is around $150 after tipping and sake. One point of contention, however, is the exorbitant price of their sea urchin (uni). I understand that importing uni from Kagoshima or Hokkaido incurs significant costs, but I've ordered similar products myself from places like Marky's(famous for their wagyu and caviar). A box of twelve pieces of uni from them only sets you back about $150 include FedEx overnight from CA to PA, while Kiku charged me a whopping $38 for one piece of uni nigiri. I ordered four, making me feel like a complete sucker.(There was no price-tag, so I ordered according to my experience, like 20bucks a piece, but actually doubled, never expected that)

I definitely won't be ordering the uni again, but the rest of the menu is still worth exploring. Everything else I've had has been quite delicious.

The service is attentive, though it does feel a bit understaffed at times. Avoid going during peak hours; otherwise, you might find yourself facing a half-hour wait with no server, menu, or water.

My only other minor complaint is that their sake selection could be more extensive. I'd love to see options like Kiku-Masamune or Otokoyama's special Daiginjo. In a cold state like Pennsylvania, only having standard sake feels a little lacking. A sweeter, richer (amakuchi) sake would be more satisfying. And, honestly, guys like me, drinking Dassai feels played out.

I will visit this place soon again may add more pictures later. It is always a good idea while you get tired of steak and oily chinese dishes, to get some fresh nippon...

I honestly can’t say the food was bad, but the omakase experience was just not right. I had the Matsu omakase, and my boyfriend had omakase sushi only. In the first 30 minutes after we ordered, all we had were a small sashimi plate and a miso soup. Then in the next 30 minutes, all dishes suddenly came together. It was a mix of nigiri sushi, hot dishes, then Nigiri sushi again, so they were definitely not trying to pace it right. The sushi omakase came all in a single plate, and we waited a whole hour for it (imagine you were starving and just ordered this yourself). It should be called a $60 sushi assortment instead of omakase, and they should have warned us for the long waiting. The two small pieces of king carb ($22) especially were not worth it, as they were skinny and not fresh. The service was bad too, the waitress (who was friendly but not attentive) never came to check if everything was fine. She didn’t notice we we had to stare at our poor empty little sashimi plate for over 20 minutes, while our cups were empty too. Order the dishes you like, and avoid omakase. Also, I can’t believe a $$$ restaurant is providing its dine-in customers the same chopsticks as the cheapest Chinese takeouts (that taste so...

Our first experience at KIKU was highly memorable and a truly delightful evening! 5/5 stars all around! ⭐️ We made a reservation for 8 people which they easily accommodated, and the pacing of the many courses and dishes we all sampled was timely and thoughtful. We also requested a staff member who spoke Japanese because we are in a beginner’s language club trying to improve our Japanese and conversation skills. Yasuko B. was absolutely wonderful!! So patient, kind, and helpful in speaking with us and making it an extremely positive experience. She took great care of our table and made me feel welcome to try speaking in Japanese even though I am a beginner without a lot of confidence. I left feeling very inspired and motivated to continue seeking out experiences like this and hopefully meeting more kind people like Yasuko. All of the food was exceptional, and I especially loved the torikatsu, korokke, iidako, and beef tataki. The drink I ordered, Jade East, was hands down one of my favorite drinks I’ve ever tried. Also, the ube mochi was delicious! Overall, we loved everything about KIKU and we are already looking forward to our next visit. ...