Innovative sushi at Ikko

Ikko is for sushi lovers with an open mind. However, it’s not for anyone looking for sushi rolls or even soy sauce on the table. The tiny restaurant is known for its innovative delicacies at the hands of skilled sushi artist Ikko Kobayashi. Sit at the bar and ask for the omakase (chef’s choice), which starts at $60 for six courses and you might wind up with treats such as the steamed egg custard with sea urchin sauce and black truffles, oysters with ponzu mousse or foie gras tacos, and so on and so forth. Otherwise, tasty picks include the salmon nachos (slices of fresh salmon and wasabi cream dotted with salmon roe, all atop crunchy tortilla chips) to spicy tuna with eggplant tempura to prosciutto-wrapped duck salad. Don’t forget to check out the blackboard sushi specials for an array of fish flown in from Japan like whelk, amberjack and barracuda, too.

It can get packed for dinner, reservations are recommended.

Ikko is located at 735 Baker St. in Costa Mesa
714.556.7822
Hours:
Lunch: Noon - 2:00 p.m. Mon-Thu.
Dinner: 6 p.m. - 10 p.m. Mon-Thu.
Lunch: Noon - 2 p.m. Friday
Dinner: 6 p.m. - 11 p.m. Friday
Dinner: 5:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m. Saturday
Dinner: 5:30 p.m. - 10 p.m. Sunday

Photo credit: J. Wesley Brown