Kiku Sushi

«Hole is the wall sushi?» they questioned «wait and see, its not what you think, its better» i said.
This one man show, is just what we were looking for in a sushi place. I advise you don’t go starving and that you order an app. the pot stickers are great, and the seaweed salad is addictive.
I loved that you are able to choose your level of spicy on the spicy rolls, this is a perfect place to admire 16 year old polaroid pics while drinking a beer.

Very reasonably priced hole-​in-​the-​wall that’s easy to miss among the more glamorous options available in Fed Hill. The sushi was delicious and fresh, rolls were good sized, and the atmosphere super casual.

Kiku is legit. The owner is so nice and the sushi is delicious. This is my favorite sushi place in Baltimore.

Hands down the best sushi spot in Federal Hill. The sashimi salad is my favorite. Although the sushi can’t be beat, it’s somehow never crowded. So if you’re looking for great sushi for a good price without the wait, definitely try it out!
Also the chef had amazing hair, which bumps this up to six stars.

Great little sushi spot in Fed Hill. Small and quaint but great food, friendly and sincere service, and a terrific value overall value.

Wow! We go to sushi all the time and tonight we decided to try a new spot! Sunday night at 6:30 we came in sat and had our appetizers in 5 min.
Cold beer
DELICIOUS SEAWEED SALAD
Sushi was amazing
The owner is the chef which I think is very fun!
GREAT FOR A DATE NIGHT
very quiet and friendly service

Fresh and delicious. Literally a one man operation. I was fortunate to be the only customer, but I imagine if it gets busy (which it must!) it could take a while.
I tried the red snapper and yellow tail sushi, spicy tuna roll, and the house special horizon roll. Horizon was outstanding.
Grab a beer from the fridge as you walk in and enjoy!

The Good: Kiku sushi has become our go to sushi spot since moving to Baltimore. There were a lot of misses at other places before finding Kiku. The napkin art work on the walls are a cool decorative touch that took a couple visits to actually notice. Tori, owner/​chef, reminds me of Hattori Hanzo from Kill Bill, and he is a skilled chef. I have only ordered the nigiri and sashimi. The ratio of rice to fish is perfect; he does not put any wasabi on the nigiri and with the quality and freshness of the fish you don’t need it.
The Bad: It is a one man operation and if you happen to go when it is busy you are going to have to wait. Let’s say you show up starving and there are two tables ahead of you, grab a 22 oz Sapporo beer out of the fridge and check out the napkin art work on the walls.
The Ugly: Parking can be a pain in the ass depending on how busy it is on Light.

Sunday night and no one was there — literally — one person who was cooking/​serving and no patrons. It was good for us to have the whole place to ourselves but then more than ½ their menu was unavailable or it would take too long to cook. The one person was very nice and accomadating. The sushi was ok.

I am shocked at all the positive reviews. Went here twice — both experiences were PAINFULLY slow… because the owner is also the sushi chef. Both times he was the only employee present making dinners for those in the restaurant and those calling in takeout.
I understand there was nothing he could have done in that moment, so we patiently waited, however, as a business owner you should see that as a weakness and hire a staff! Due to him being tied up, service was terribly slow and tables were not cleaned off after people left. In addition, there is no ambience. You could hear a pin drop in there.
As for the sushi, I thought it was very good.

I go to Kiku Sushi about once a week. Tori is the sweetest man, who seems to run the entire place on his own. The sushi is absolutely amazing, the restaurant is in a fantastic location, and the prices are reasonable. It’s small, and usually empty (at least when I go there)– which I don’t understand. This is my favorite sushi place, and Tori always gives a warm greeting as soon as you walk through the door.

This man is a sushi wizard. Best sushi in Baltimore and possibly the world (I’ve been to japan) this guy kills it. Never go anywhere else in Baltimore you will regret it. 10 stars!

As a former sushi chef, I give this place my full seal of approval. The quality of the fish is excellent and the technique of the rolls shows the chef/​owner is a real pro. Not too much rice and and the proportion of ingredients inside is perfect.
One example of how Kiku stands out is the spicy tuna roll. Rather than a mashed up mix of minced toro and hot sauce, they use whole slices of lovely tuna and a really yummy Sriracha aioli! that’s the way I used to make it back in the day and it is superior to any other version.
It’s not a huge place, but it’s cozy and the atmosphere is homey and welcoming and the owner is VERY friendly!
And to round it all out, the prices are really, really good. We got four rolls and it was only around $ 25.
GO ASAP!

I came here with my boss and his boss after a conference at the convention center in downtown Baltimore. It was a not bad walk, so it seems the location is quite nice. The neighborhood that this restaurant is situated in is truly cute as hell and I hope I can get back to Baltimore at one time or another to explore more of that part of town.
Walking it, the seating area is on the smaller side, but it still offers a fair amount of seats. There is wine and beer in a fridge near the front of the restaurant, so it’s not quite BYOB.
The man who waited on our table was the same man who made our sushi. It came out very quickly, the miso soup was absolutely killer and the salads were very VERY fresh.
The sushi and sashimi came out in a wonderful display with the sashimi coming out on what appeared to be a large sea vessel. Absolutely adorable and set a good mood for the meal.
The sushi and the sashimi were killer top to bottom. All fresh, all very delicately placed on the plates for us and all neatly put together and in HUGE quantities.
Couldn’t ask for a better place tucked away near the harbor.

The thirst is real. If you want great sushi in a relaxing unpretentious atmosphere please come here. Torrey (sp?) is amazing. It is like you are sitting in his home and he is cooking for you. This is not a fast in fast out place. If you are looking for that kind of atmosphere don’t come here. If you want to relax your mind, enjoy your company, enjoy spirits and partake of lovingly made sushi then please… meet me here ;) but for reals this place is a must.

Quality? Good (check). Prices? Very reasonable (check). Service? Just the owner that night, who is very sweet (check).
So the New Yorker in me was completely baffled as to why is this place almost empty when everywhere around is has a 1 – 2 hour wait? Take this restaurant, transplant it to New York, and it would likely command a 30 minute wait time on Saturday evenings.
Regardless, this place is GOOD. The chef’s homemade spicy sauce used on the spicy rolls were excellent (actually hot too!) and the fish was very fresh. Portions were more than generous. There was a little more than necessary rice, but the rice itself was very good too so I didn’t mind that much.
If I lived in Baltimore, this may help feed my once a week sushi habit. But alas, I do not, so Baltimoreans, take advantage of this place!

This place surprised me — the food is excellent.
It’s a pretty small place, which is fitting with the décor. The owner is super nice and runs everything himself.
Rolls are very fresh, and very flavorful especially if you like spicy food. This dude’s home-​made spicy sauce is awesome, and the portions are generous too.
Spicy salmon and Hamachi Special rolls were my favorite

This place is so cute and not to mention yummy. You get to watch them make the sushi right in front of you. Definitely love! Hit the spot for my sushi craving!

I was so ready to fall in love with this place. Good Unilocal reviews? Check. Super friendly staff? Check. In and out the door with my carryout within 7 minutes? Definitely check. What could possibly go wrong?!
In short, the food. I am really easygoing when it comes to sushi because while I recognize that some is better than others, in general so long as it’s not from the supermarket I’ll still enjoy it. I got the lunch special with a salmon and spicy tuna roll which also came with 2 side salads. I don’t know what exactly was going on with the spicy tuna sauce but it tasted almost fruity and it was grosssss. The salmon would’ve been fine except that the tuna sauce had gotten all over it so everything was kinda ruined. If I were the kind of person who was capable of throwing away food I would have but instead I just ate half of it and threw the other half in the fridge, pretending I’ll eat it later.
And as for the salads, well I’m not even sure what I just ate. One was your standard iceberg salad with sesame/​soy dressing. No complaints there. But the other was some weird pile of glass noodles and random slices of root vegetables. It was bizarre to say the least and thinking about it makes me gag a little bit.
I’m sorry Kiku, I really wanted things to work out between us but we’re just not meant to be.

It’s not like Kiku is bad. I’ve never had a horrible experience there. It’s just always kinda ‘meh.”
I guess my point is this: I’ve never been to Kiku Sushi because I’m all like, «Man I am craving some Kiku right about now!» The five times I’ve been are for the following reasons:
–Wait at Thai Arroy was too long
–Wait at Abbey Burger was too long
–Home Slyce was not as nearby as we thought
–Federal Hill Festival food was too overpriced
–Saw someone we knew in the window who offered to buy us saki
That alone should give you a clue that there are much better places to grab food in Federal Hill. Personally, I think Matsuri is a lot better. I end up at Kiku because there is never a wait and they have some good specials. The other day I got soup, salad, and four rolls for $ 12.95. Not too shabby. The sushi is OK. Not too flavorful. Fresh enough. Nothing special. No frills. Just one waitress and its always the same lady. I think her husband must be the sushi chef.
If you need a quick meal and are craving sushi, Kiku will do the trick. I just don’t think its a destination with the abundance of great sushi not too far away (I’m lookin’ at you Sticky Rice!)