Kiku Japanese Restaurant Review

Kiku itself is hard to find- and perhaps rightfully so. Located in a purgatory-like mall facade, once found it stands out from its drab surroundings with its extremely authentic looking Japanese decoration. The inside, however, is a mixed bag. The decoration and architecture says authentic Japanese restaurant, yet the dim and plain lighting says dreary office building. No matter the ambience, however, the food ranges from average to disappointing.

I ordered the spider roll and chicken teriyaki. The chicken teriyaki itself was satisfactory. Nothing to write home about, but it had a decent portion of meat with a smattering of veggies, and included a bowl of lukewarm miso soup and a bowl of mostly cooked steamed rice (it's certainly not pleasant finding uncooked rice grains in the bowl- or worse, in your teeth). The spider roll, however, was a total rip off. For 14$ one gets 6 pieces of sushi, four of which contained almost no crab and two contained large chunks of crab. Hopefully not their finest work.

Overall an overpriced and underwhelming experience, without even the great view the chain restaurants across the street have of the river. Don't go unless you're desperate.

Great food and excellent waiting staff. Strongly recommended for sushi lovers. Their dumplings are pure ecstacy.

There is no such thing as street parking, so you will have to park in a lot or garage. The menu is quite limited to what kinds of food they had, but the food was really good. The udon noodle soup w/ shrimp tempura was really good. The only problem was the price being a little too high for their teriyaki options... $18 for chicken teriyaki is really expensive.

I love that you can order a reasonably priced Omakase - that is sushi only, as a single person and you dont need a 2 day notice in advance. That means they do the rice perfect all the time, and the fish is always great. You can tell the sushi chef's take their job seriously. The rice was a perfect temperature! My biggest complaint is how pricey their sake is per bottle. But they provide unique imported brands, so I can understand it.

This is the most authentic Japanese restaurant in Pittsburgh. Everything they make here is fresh and delicious. The salad, tempura, soup, and sushi that I got were all amazing. Hands down my favorite sushi anywhere. It makes me feel like I m back in Japan.

Excellent!! The moment I tasted the shrimp tempura, I knew this place is legit. I rarely give five stars.

Great service, nice and quite ambiance, faint traditional Japanese music playing! Food is delicious, and the sushi is fresh. Ordered the Kiku super combo (I may be wrong on the exact name) it was perfect, it came with veggie and shrimp tempura, plate of shushi and sashimi, as well as teriyaki chicken and rice the ultimate combination for having a taste of everything. Plus the portion was very generous I would have brought some home if I didn t share with everyone on the table! They also have a nice small desesrt menu, try the mochi!!

Great variety of food in decent dining environment.

Beautiful and delicious food. Nothing here is ordinary and everything is served with loving attention to detail. This is my favorite restaurant in Pittsburgh.

Best sushi in Pittsburgh and maybe the state. Sushi chefs have been there over 35 years. Very traditional Japanese, it's a a hot spot with the Asian community of Pittsburgh and beyond. If you want Sushi this is the place to be. You simply can't match the fresh Toro or the 200 year Tomago recipe they have. They are also revered for their chicken, steak, Shabu Shabu, and Sukiyaki. Just about everything is made from scratch, like the dressings (ginger, sesame walnut, etc.) and the absolute best homemade soy and ponzu sauce. Matcha green tea cheesecake and tempora fried ice cream, Yum!

So, we went to the tattoo Convention at the Sheraden and this was a completely unexpected find! An instant new favorite. I love everything about this hidden gem. The service was impeccable, the food was amazing. It was the type of meal you eat as slow as possible because you honestly don't want the moment to end. Buy one of the house signature drinks here!!! Certain ones come with a collectable mug! I cannot wait to go back!

This is my favorite Japanese restaurant in Pittsburgh. There is a parking lot across the street. The restaurant itself is located inside of another building.

We had the 10 course omakase. It was an experience that was paced perfectly. The flavors had a good balance to them and you could really taste the ingredients. Remember to chew slowly and enjoy each dish. It tool about 2 hours.

I really enjoyed their sauces that came with some of the courses. Normally I never use sauce because I like to taste the dish for what it is, but their sauces worked well with the dish. I actually wanted to drink one of the sauces out of the bowl, but my wife threatened to divorce me if I did.

Excellent food great service. Just like being in Japan

Authentic Japanese cuisine. Always a fantastic meal.

Dunno why it s so highly reviewed. The food was sub par and did not impress us for the price we paid. Menus were very basic and did not live up to my expectations. Wouldn t recommend this place for the sushi.

Good food. I had the swordfish teriyaki with white rice. The fish was cooked perfectly and the sauce was sweet and savory. The matcha ice cream was also delicious, as was the hot green tea.The restaurant is fairly small. I like that there is a sushi bar, as well. I think it may help to have more pictures/descriptions of the foods on the menu for those patrons unfamiliar with Japanese cuisine.

Fantastic food and atmosphere it's the closest to Japan you can get in Pittsburgh.

Excellent food and chill atmosphere. I always go for lunch as the prices are cheeper and definitely is a steal for what you get. No reservations are ever needed for lunch as it's really quiet.

Otherwise, great selection of Sushi and side dishes.

Food was ok. Decor was old and dated. Could use a breath of fresh air.

Really enjoyed Kiku. Not cheap and not huge portions but a strong representation of several Japanese dishes. Went there for sushi but many other entree dishes exist. The toro tuna was top notch and there are many many variations. We ordered several rounds of sushi and nigiri. Certainly not good for a quick bite but it's comfortable and quiet for an evening dinner with conversation.

I wish I could make it here more often! I feel as though this is one of the better Japanese restaurants in the area. The sushi bar is fantastic, and their dinner options are just as great. The atmosphere is pretty chill (low lighting and soft music, so it's a good place for a date).

Never order delivery from this place. Placed an order an hour before closing time and these guys decided to close 2h early and stop taking orders without noticing the app or customers. Terrible customer service when I also called on the phone to ask what had happened.

Food is very expensive. For $18, you only got six piece of crab legs very thin, and only about 5" long. And it did not taste special. Spent $70 there, still feel half full.

This is our go-to place for special occasions, including my wife's birthday and our anniversary. We've had the sushi platter for two and tempura, would definitely recommend them. you have to use the Station Square parking lot, which charges a lot of money if there is an event, so be careful of that. This is by far the best Japanese food we have had in the Pittsburgh area.

Waited an hour for food - they push my group of 6's order because another group came 10 minutes later that was "larger" than ours. Guess it's not first come first serve but rather priority by group size. The food was not worth the wait and was a bit pricey for it's actual value - would not recommend the place for cooked food.

Food is good but it did having odor in the restaurant itself. Smelled like there had been remediation lately for water damage.

This restaurant is my favorite Japanese restaurant.

The best sushi in Pittsburgh. Shabu Shabu and sukiyaki highly recommended.

Good food, interesting beers, decent atmosphere despite being inside an arcade. Fun Japanese toilet seats

Great and authentic place worth the high price point.

excellent rolls and sushi, staff is friendly and helpfull

Not really that good. Cold rice and not the freshest fish!

Our waitress was extremely helpful. Every food item we tried was absolutely amazing!!! Totally worth every penny. Their fish and soups were extremely fresh. If you're considering, this place is a definite yes!

Delicious. Found a couple items on there that I've not seen at other Japanese places. It's inside the plaza, so you can get some quiet from the river crowd

We had Shabu Shabu this evening. It was not worth it AT ALL. We are not big eaters but my wife and I left hungry. $60 was a rib off. Asked about getting more and the waitress said $20 for 5 more ounces. Never again... I'll stick to Chinese hot pot.

Pleasant staff. Bit on the expensive side but you get quality food. Definitely worth it!

Ordered rainbow roll and, dynamite roll, and gyozas. My rolls were served after a 30-35min wait and they were falling apart, gyozas came after sushis.

Best sushi/Japanese restaurant in Pittsburgh! You can literally order anything off the menu and it will be fabulous!

I love rolls and the salmon and shrimp tempura we're out of this world good! Highly recommended.

The food was beyond outstanding! If you like beef you will go crazy for the beef maki! The sushi was amazing and the tempura shrimp and vegetables were beautifully cooked. If you want great sushi KIku is the place for you!

The sashimi platter and the grilled eels are good and fresh.

A top spot for quality Japanese food. Certainly a top place in the area. The place has a nice atmosphere. Reminds me of a restaurant in Philadelphia that I enjoyed.

There may not be any other place in the city that focuses so specifically on sushi. The chefs are obviously highly trained professionals, the wait staff are knowledgeable and helpful. The atmosphere of the restaurant is great, this place is really a special treat.

Great food. Use the valet parking. Lovely cucumber salad.

This Japnese restaurant has an authentic taste of sushi, noodles, and other Japanese tapas. Something different from the food served in other Japanese-ish restaurants you may find in shopping malls.
Somewhat pricey but stuff like sushi was delicious. I think that it is a valuable shop in the inland part of the eastern United States.

A little hidden inside the store, but worth the search, we had sukiyaki and it was delicious!! Authentic japanese!

Food is DELICIOUS and well worth the price.

The chicken teriyaki is especially tasty.

Excellent and delicious sushi with authentic Japanese chefs

We ordered a couple donburis from the lunch menu. While the pretty lunch boxes that they came in seemed small at the onset, they turned out to be pretty filling. The tempura one came with three shrimp pieces plus a few vegetable pieces, all of which were fluffy and slightly crispy on the outside and flavorful inside. The katsu was better--just as tasty with the breading on the outside of the meat, and accompanied by sliced onions and carrots.

This location is very clean and the food was well prepared and priced fairly. We sat at the sushi bar and ordered a good variety of things off of the menu. All of our selections came out quickly and the staff was a very accommodating to all of our requests and needs. The location was very clean and safe and I would definitely go back and highly recommended it

Kiku has the graceful/peaceful feeling of a traditional Japanese restaurant. Following Japanese customs and serving the freshest/ tastiest sushi Pittsburgh has to offer.

Their food is FIRE. Homemade soy sauce for the win!

I heard this was the "best japanese restaurant in Pittsburgh". It was good, certainly, but I think the metrics used for 'best japanese' restaurant are probably different for me than most people. I care that it tastes good, the ingredients are quality, and that the atmosphere is nice. I don't care who owns it or their heritage, but I think a lot of the people who voted on this must care about that exact thing, because I otherwise can't think of a reason that you would choose this place over Sushi Too in Shadyside, or Umami, etc.

TLDR: The food was good, not great. The staff were great. The atmosphere was nice once inside the restaurant, but you walk through an under construction mall to get there. The prices weren't low. 4 people, ~$200 bill, no more than 3 rolls a person.

Pittsburgh's best kept secret! I've loved this place for years. Always the freshest sushi.

Good sushi tasted pretty good, but presentation could have been better.

A little expensive, but worth it. Click here if you miss Japanese food.

Pittsburgh's first and only authentic Japanese restaurant.

I travel the world, and Kiku has the quality you would expect in Tokyo, San Francisco, Chicago, or New York City. Their sushi is the best in Pittsburgh. No other place comes close in terms of quality, authentic recipes, and presentation.

Kiku was opened by people from Tokyo, its as real as you're going to get. There are no other authentic Japanese restaurants in Pittsburgh.....they're all americanized imposters.

Prices are average. Sushi is served by the single piece whereas other places usually sell 2.

Its well worth a visit.