Sushi Roku, the contemporary upscale sushi restaurant that’s been a sensation in Southern California since its founding in 1997, finally opened its first Northern California outpost late last month in Palo Alto’s Stanford Shopping Center.

Not far from California Pizza Kitchen on the Sand Hill Road side of the mall, the new restaurant comes complete with a nicely appointed outdoor dining patio. Sushi Roku is part of the Innovative Dining Group, which now boasts five different restaurant concepts in 13 locales.

By all indications, even in a well-heeled city such as Palo Alto, which has no shortage of premium sushi places including Nobu downtown, Peninsula patrons are eager to get in the door.

Two weeks ago, when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant even before its official grand opening, people were walking up to the host stand, clamoring to snag a seat at the sushi bar, despite it being full and the wait lengthy.

Despite the name, Sushi Roku offers up a whole lot more than just sushi, too. And everything is easily shareable.

Specialty cocktails include the Tea & Harmony ($19), a blend of green tea-infused Grey Goose vodka with lemongrass, honey, orgeat syrup, and yuzu. It’s floral with just a touch of astringency on the back end that gets softened by the sweetness of honey.

In a million years, I would have never thought to pair raw slices of fluke ($25) with — of all things — kumquat jam. But when our knowledgeable server mentioned it was one of the restaurant’s signatures, I gave it a try. And darned if it wasn’t an astonishing pairing. The smooth, translucent slices of fluke, with their mild taste, really came alive with the sweetness, tanginess, and subtle bitter edge of the tiny citrus.

For a splurge, there’s toro carpaccio ($49), the prized belly of the tuna that’s gilded here with dabs of caviar, a drizzle of truffle soy, and kizami wasabi, the real-deal rhizome finely chopped and marinated in soy sauce. Toro is not called the butter of the sea for nothing. The heavily marbled slices are so rich just on their own, but add all the accoutrements and it’s like an explosion of umami butter filling your mouth.

Another fun riff on nigiri is the hanabi or crispy rice with your choice of topping. We went with the yellowtail ($20), which brought four golden rice nuggets arrayed with raw fish slices seasoned with sweet soy sauce and jalapenos. Far from traditional, the texture of the rice cakes is crisp and slightly chewy, making for a novel morsel.

For more classic nigiri, you can enjoy selections in 2-piece orders, including firm, sweet amberjack or kanpachi ($12), and sea bream ($11), a denser, clean tasting fish finished with lemon, sea salt, and julienned shiso.

Signature rolls are all 8 pieces. They include the Gensai ($24) that’s draped with buttery tasting salmon done up with more kizami wasabi that gives way to a refreshing, crunchy center of cucumber, avocado, and jalapeno; and the Tuna Jalapeno ($25), a meaty tasting roll that’s draped with tuna slices over a center of spicy tuna with a drizzle of yuzu olive oil. Even with jalapeno in both rolls, neither is heavily spicy, allowing the taste of the fish to still be at the forefront.

The food comes out fast here, meaning the flash-fried miso eggplant dengaku ($13) might need a moment to cool before you dive in. But once you do, you’re rewarded with supremely custardy eggplant in a light sweet-salty sauce.

The quite crisp gyoza ($22) may look dainty, but they carry a powerhouse of beefy flavor and squirt with juiciness, thanks to a filling of ground American Wagyu.

The Japanese fried chicken ($15) again might need a minute to cool before you tackle clamp your teeth into the tender pieces that crackle with crunchiness.

From the robata side of the menu, the lamb skewers ($9) each are chops that are easy to pick up by the bone. A soy garlic sauce glaze is the perfect simple finish to the rosy, juicy meat.

If you’re in a spendy mood, spring for the A5 Japanese Wagyu ($78) that comes sizzling and smoking to the table atop an ishiyaki or searingly hot stone as smooth as a river rock. Immediately, you’re engulfed by the tantalizing savory aroma of the meat. A little soy sauce and yuzu kosho (chili pepper paste with yuzu peel) comes on the side to dip into to help cut the richness. And rich it is, gushing with molten fatty juices that fill your mouth from the first bite. One small piece is enough to satisfy, but you’ll go back for another because you just can’t help yourself with meat this extraordinary.

Should you have room for dessert, there is a chocolate lava cake with a sizeable center of oozy chocolate.

But the real star, which commands attention whenever it’s brought to any table, is the cheesecake. Served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, the cheesecake, itself, is satisfying, though, nothing especially memorable. What does make it unforgettable, though, is its presentation: A big cloud of wispy pink cotton candy is delivered on a plate. A server pours a little alcohol on one side, then ignites it, causing flames to incinerate just enough of the fluff to reveal the cheesecake inside. Overkill? Maybe. But there’s no denying the absolute joy of the theatrics.

To see the entire cotton candy show, click here. Be sure to turn on the sound, too.