Odori Sushi and Teppanyaki

Ordered delivery at 7 pm. At 8 pm I was informed that the restaurant is too packed, and my order cannot be made. Does it really take an hour to let me know?

We came here on a Wednesday evening around 8PM. No wait. We were greeted and seated very promptly. Service was good. We were given menus. There were 2 TVs, one in the sushi bar and another in the main dining room showing «America Ninja Warrior».
My boys and I ordered the following:
1. Nabeyaki Udon for my 14 yr old
2. Dinner Combination 3 items with Chicken and Beef Teriyaki and Tuna Sashimi for my 13 yr old
3. Chirashi bowl for me
For #1, my son immediately smelled something off with the soup. Udon is his favorite and go to dish in any Japanese restaurants. When he did this, I started reading other reviews on Unilocal and some other reviewers mentioned that they were Chinese owned. Well, I think that’s the discrepancy my son noticed. The soup base is more Chinese than Japanese soup base. It’s more fishy the Chinese way not the Bonito flavor way. Also, it was spicy! Udon are. It typically spicy. So I asked the server to change it and they did. The second bowl came almost to the end and it was still slightly spicy and still fishy. Needless to say, my son did not finish it and would not want to take the left overs home. Will not order this again.
For #2, my son devoured it. It was like a piranha passed by… it was gone, cleaned out, consumed, and he really liked it. This one we will definitely get again. For the price, quality and portion, it’s a great deal.
Now for my #3, I was disappointed about the size. Chirashi bowl usually is the bowl of the scrap sushi on top of vinegared rice with some shiso leaves. Well, I got some very thinly sliced sashimi. Half of them tasted great. Half was not and was tough. The amount of fish didn’t warrant the $ 25 price tag. My bowl was the smallest and most expensive of the 3.
Overall, we will be back especially since we live nearby. We will try other things and definitely avoid the udon. Maybe we’ll try the ramen and rolls next time.

Like most of the food I’ve had in Palo Alto, the food here was decent but a little overpriced. I guess it’s hard to compare when I come from S. CA, land of all kinds of good Asian food. My table of four shared a bunch of dishes, including some rolls, Miso Fish (very good), Fried Dumplings (I don’t know who wanted this, but they were whatever), Agadeshi Tofu, Kalbi (they called it something else I think, but it was basically a few slices of kalbi — good though), and a plate of teriyaki chicken (something you can get anywhere except here it’s like $ 18). They do offer cocktails — I had an apple martini and it was super sour for some reason. Overall, very average but maybe considered good for the area. Not quite as expensive as some other places, though.

We had a great food experience here. The service was excellent, the manager came and made suggestions which we tried. We tried their bluefin tuna — amazing — sweet buttery smooth and melted in our mouths. My friend is a better judge of raw fish and he said it was incredible. All the food was expertly prepared and tasted great. We were in Palo Alto during the rush hour so we chose to stay and eat rather than sit in traffic. We will come back to this place the next time we are in Palo Alto. The restaurant was cozy and the bathrooms were clean. There is parking behind the restaurant.

Great sushi! First time there, but we left happy.
There was a wait when we arrived, but only waited for 15 – 20 minutes at most. Was a nice night, so wasn’t a problem waiting outside.
The fish is excellent quality & everyone is friendly. They were super busy, but we still had great service. I would say that it did feel a little rushed, like they were trying to flip the table — however, that wasn’t enough to knock of a star. Highly recommend!

SERVICE SUCKS ASS
Like literally sucks SO bad…
Came in here at 5:00pm with two girlfriends and the restaurant was empty with one individual sitting at the sushi bar. We got seated and the server gave us our menus and asked us what we wanted to drink right away. We didn’t even open our menus yet!
After the server brought us our drinks, we literally sat there waiting and had to wave a server down to take our order but she just walked away cause she doesn’t take orders ?? So we waited for her to get someone to take our order which took forever that we had to wave down a SECOND server and this one ALSO said «wait a minute» so he can tell someone else to come…
FINALLY someone came to take our and by then I had finished the small sake I had ordered to drink so I asked for a second.
Food came out really slow cause it seemed like they were serving the sushi bar customers first. But even after my food came out, my second sake didn’t. I called the waitress over to get another one again. Finished my food and my drink never came … Wtf… So I asked again. And all of a sudden. two servers brought out two individual sakes to me… By then I was really frustrated… So they said the third one would be on the house.
When the bill came, they charge me for all three sakes… SERVICE SUCKES… Omg… No communication or management whatsoever…
Food wise, I ordered some Nigiri’s and they were good. Which is the two stars. But service is NO STAR… I would’ve given this place four to five stars. But SERVICE SUCKS

Food is good BUT service is extremely disappointed. Waitress urge us to leave for countless times When we even haven’t finished our meals!
We gave the waitress tip for 9% in response to their bad service.

The food is ok, but the service is really bad! The waitress asked me twice if I have finished my dishes while clearly I was still working on it. After the second time, she just brought the bill to the table. In the end I don’t feel comfortable to give a tip at 15% so I give a little below 10%. The waitress collected the bill and checked the tip, then give me a very unpleasant facial expression.
My last time in this restaurant.

I managed to get in this time.
The restaurant is operated by Chinese, but the food is Japanese enough. The sushi was fresh. The staff was friendly but had some odd vibe; guess this is why nobody noticed me waiting last time.
PS
Thanks for offering 50 bucks, but I prefer not to expose my identity to avoid poisoned sushi or something like that.
=D

They have amazing specials including live scallop prepared two ways, whole mackerel served as sashimi, nigiri and fried (they fry the bones and head after), live uni served on its shell, omakase nigiri and sashimi. I usually sit at the counter as the chefs are very fun.
I have recently discovered this place and feel like I am in sushi heaven. Their sashimi is fresh and the omakase is a great option at $ 30 dollars and 10 different kinds of fish, usually including toro and torched salmon (to die for). I love that their menu is inventive. Overall, it is a Japanese style hole in the wall with Michelin quality presentation and quality. I believe the pictures I’ve attached speak for itself.

Super fast service, even on a Friday night! All of the fish tasted super fresh, and they had a wide range of specialty rolls on the menu. Prices were pretty fair, especially given the location, and it was overall a nice experience!

I used the eat24 function to order the sushi which was a great feature. My order was ready in just about 15 minutes which is excellent, considering I ordered about an hour before lunch was over. The sushi was good, I got a Spicy Rainbow roll, Red Dragon roll and salmon sashimi. Everything tasted good and was fresh, but it was nothing special. Also, the sashimi was a very small order, I was hoping for slightly larger slices.
All in all though, a good place to get my sushi fix quickly while at work!

Odori is pleasant enough and if you live in the area or are visiting Stanford and just have to have sushi or Japanese food, this isn’t a bad option. I like that there usually is street parking nearby and it doesn’t get too crowded on weekday evenings.
I recommend the hamachi kama, salmon sashimi, uni, and seaweed salad. Their soup noodles (udon or ramen) and bento options aren’t terrible either. If the aji (spanish mackerel) is in season, a sashimi order of this is a real treat too, as they’ll serve the pieces with sliced ginger and chopped scallions and the skeletonized fish, which will then be deep fried for your enjoyment after you are done with the sashimi. I haven’t been impressed with their fusion rolls. Having lived near Alameda’s Sushi House for years, I find Odori’s Lion King roll to be a complete joke (for $ 12, you might as well order another kama!).
Wait staff are polite but can be a bit slow with the bill. Ambiance is cozy, I usually see an equal number of couples and young families. All and all, good for locals or if you happen to be in the area.

The food was fine, but I have to give 5 stars for the service. There were 6 of us on a very busy Saturday night, and we were pressed for time since we had tickets at an event at Stanford later that evening. Although the restaurant was super busy and crowded, they very quickly took our order and got us our food after we explained our time crunch. Our very helpful waitress even told us which entrees could be prepared quickly vs which ones would take awhile. (Apparently miso black cod takes a lot of time to prepare)
I had the spicy pork tonkatsu ramen, and the broth was very porky and the noodles were nice and chewy. It was pretty good, and most importantly, it was fast. We were all in and out in about 30 minutes, and we made it to the event with time to spare.

To be honest, I was surprised. I didn’t have a high expectation, and I thought that this place was not authentic at all. However, it turned out that it is a good Japanese cuisine place.
I ordered Dinner combo (special roll; my choice was Stanford rainbow, my friend’s was 6pcs of nigiri, served with miso soup and salad).
Tuna, salmon, hamachi… everything was good. I don’t say it was 100% authentic, but it was tasty. The service was not very friendly (workers were not Japanese, I don’t know about the owner though). If I have a good experience one more, I would give 4 stars.

This is a review from a vegetarian perspective* (although the husband is a meat-​eater and also enjoyed his food)
We’ve been here twice now and have very much enjoyed it both times. They don’t do reservations, which is a little tough. First time we went, there was a 30 minute wait for 2 people. Second time we went there, it was a 5 minute wait for 4 people. So, call in advance to see how it is before going, maybe?
I am that person who orders stuff that’s not on the menu. Just because I don’t eat fish doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate unique and exciting Japanese food (having lived in Japan for a year). I requested the sushi chef to make me a roll with avocado, sweet potato tempura, and asparagus and it was utterly delightful! I will likely do this every time I go here in the future. I’ve ordered this both times and the most recent time I got it, they put the avocado on top of the roll and it was really pretty!
I also very much enjoy their Nasu Miso (grilled eggplant with miso sauce). I’ve gotten this both times I’ve gone. It’s silky and rich in texture and melts in your mouth. Yum!
I’ve also had the veggie tempura, which was tasty (although I wish they had lotus root tempura in the mix, which is my favorite).
I was not a fan of their agedashi tofu. I am someone who loves tofu and prefers kinugoshi tofu (the really soft kind) in this dish. They used firmer tofu, so it didn’t melt in my mouth. The batter was also a little thick and the dipping sauce a little bland for me.
Overall, I definitely plan to come back and am thrilled to have a quality Japanese restaurant with a number of options available to me.
*I am a vegetarian who’s willing to consume food with a dashi-​based (aka fish flakes) broth.

This place is quite economical and accommodating for large groups. Lots of sushi, rice, noodle, appetizer, Americans rolls and even vegetarian roll selections. Overall it is fun for groups.
Recommend the nasu miso or miso eggplant, sweet yam rolls (unique), avocado rolls, lion king rolls, garlic spicy edamame, rock n roll, fried rice, karaage chicken.
It’s an easy to consume sushi place good to go with American friends and people who probably won’t like traditional sushi too much

Eh. Not impressed.
I live literally 5 mins from here and tried it for the first time last week.
We came at like 9pm, ordered 2 item bento box for $ 12. I thought wow the price is pretty good for Palo Alto area! If only you see the size of my salmon *sobs*
I guess its true that you get what u paid for right? I left hungry and had to cry to sleep :(

This is my first time here but second time eating food from Odori. The service was amazing. Everyone was so nice! The chef was very friendly and my waitress was always smiling. Funny story, I met a graduate student from Stanford here and we started talking about math education for a while before I had to leave to pick up a package before the center closed. Anyway…
Sashimi Chef’s Choice (7 piece)
–I asked for only fish options because I developed a shrimp allergy a couple weeks ago and was not feeling other non-​fish options. Each of the 7 pieces was a different type of fish: Kanpachi Amberjack, White Tuna, Tuna, Salmon Belly, Yellowtail, Bluefin Tuna, and Salmon. First off, every piece was extremely fresh, so the taste and texture were all good! That’s a big plus in Katelyn’s book. The sizes of the cuts were a bit big, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the sashimi. The salmon belly was slightly torched and had a more chewy texture than regular salmon. I found myself liking it more than I thought I would. The bluefin was very delicious and I wanted more than just one piece! The standard tuna, salmon, and yellowtail all surpassed my expectations for fresh, yummy sashimi! Yay!
I had to write an updated review and bump up Odori to a 5 star, because honestly this experience was great. I will definitely be coming back here to eat at the sushi bar and trying the Today’s Special options!

I stumbled upon the reviews of this place on Unilocal while searching for a reasonably priced sushi place in palo alto for a double date last weekend. The place has changed owners so many times, changed names too, obviously, but it looks like the new owner is doing fairly better than the predecessors… well, at the moment, it seems like!
We arrived around 640pm on Saturday. The place was about 75% full and they had two 7 people reservations but willing to accommodate my group of 4. Service was very friendly and the guy (guessing the owner) immediately told me their specials of the day as soon as we were looking at the menu. Their scallop two ways captured my interest. I was a bit put off that the server who took our orders didn’t seem to know about it and didn’t know the price! But o well, letting it slide since this place is fairly new and perhaps still has to work some of the kinks.
We all ordered their bento dinner combo which was probably the BEST deal on their menu. $ 13.95 got you 3 combo items bento box. CHEAP for PaloAlto! (only $ 11.95 if you choose 2 items).
I ordered the crunchy shrimp roll and white tuna sashimi for my bento. I got 3 slices of thinly sliced sashimi, but for the price, I wouldn’t complained. The rice scoop is smaller than the other places I’ve been to, but the rice was cooked well, not overly cooked, just perfectly chewy.yumm. Who needs more carbs anyway! I don’t get why the roll is called «Crunchy» shrimp roll. nothing is crunchy about it. it’s just like a shrimpy version of california roll. The taste was good though even though it was pretty basic. BTW, I thought the sashimi was pretty fresh, not bad!
The scallop didn’t arrive until I almost finished my bento! The scallop came one as sashimi, raw and thinly sliced into 5 pieces. Sweet and refreshing. One came baked in the shell. I don’t think there was any scallop there. just imitation crab meat topped with some mayonaise sauce and baked! Too sweet for my liking and the hefty price of $ 16.95.totally not worth it! bummer!
I came back today for lunch with a coworker and ordered the hamachi kama and stanford (rainbow) roll. It was obvious that they couldn’t handle the rush at lunch time even though the restaurant was not full (but there were door dash people picking up orders for delivery). Food came out very very very slowly and I saw other tables were also slowly getting the food to their table. The hamachi kama was fresh and a good size for $ 10.95; the stanford (rainbow) roll was delicious but they skimp on the raw fish, but the price tag was $ 9, so lets just say it’s fair!
Overall, not a bad place, just need improvements in terms of speed as the service is a bit slow here.
PS: their rolls don’t have too much rice which I really appreciate!