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.

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