So you’ve heeded enthusiastic praise and found Sushi Wasabi in Tustin and Abe in Newport Beach. Congratulations. Now, please make your way to Ikko Sushi in Costa Mesa. It’s a shiny shoebox with all of six tables and a small bar that seats 10.
My discovery of Ikko came an hour too late. I had just finished eating at a nearby restaurant, made a wrong turn and found Ikko’s bright orange sign, which describes the food as ’sushi and free-form Japanese’ to be irresistible. A small chalkboard outside the door lists the day’s specials in English and Japanese. I don’t know where else you’ll find Japanese flying squid, grome fish, tongue fish, whelk or wild amber Jack. (I came across a brief slideshow of someone else’s meal at Ikko.)
They have sushi rolls, but it would be a shame to order such standard, lowest-common-denominator fare here. For the live sweet shrimp is as thick and succulent as you’ve ever had. The fresh octopus is sliced petal thin and gently softened with a knife. Thick discs of tempura zucchini are drizzled with plum sauce and topped with rich, soft pink toro.
Since I had already eaten, I asked the waiter for only three dishes of whatever the chef wanted to make. Yes, I answered, I eat everything. What arrived first was a long rectangular plate. On it was a drizzle of deep golden olive oil, six discs of halibut sprinkled with kosher salt, sliced chives and a few pink peppercorns. To my utter shock, the sushi chef pulled out a truffle slicer and a small plastic dish containing a single black truffle, a few thin slices of which made up the final component of my first dish. The combination ($18) was ethereal.
Then came a refreshing three radish salad ($5.95) with daikon, red radish and spicy kaiware. The heap is tossed with a bright green basil oil and topped with crunchy shredded yam. Finally, we ended with baked squid in a spicy cream sauce topped with tiny yellow roe that pop between your teeth. Sliced tiny okra and green beans added texture.
I was as full as I’ve ever been and I ordered dessert. Green tea jello ($3.75) is the color of a forest and opaque. It is silky, not gelatinous and most definitely tasting bitter, of tea that has steeped too long. But that flavor is lovely when tossed with sweet red bean sauce.
Ikko, 735 Baker St., Costa Mesa. 714-556-7822.
