Grab-and-go bento boxes are available at Yutori.
Giselle Garza Lerma/S.F. Chronicle
Yutori boasts a spacious outdoor garden with Japanese maple and cherry blossom trees.
Giselle Garza Lerma/S.F. Chronicle
Yutori’s mitarashi dango, chewy dumplings made from rice flour and tofu.
Giselle Garza Lerma/S.F. Chronicle
Four years ago, Jerome Ito started searching for a space where he could fill what felt like a void on the Peninsula: a destination that would channel the konbini, coffee and artisan cultures of Japan.
On Monday, his vision finally comes to fruition. Yutori, a 5,000-square-foot space comprising a restaurant, café, deli, bar and market with Japanese ceramics and other products, opens at 3375 El Camino Real in Palo Alto.
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It’s the most ambitious project yet from Ito, a former head sushi chef at Google who runs local poke chain Go Fish Poke Bar and udon shop Taro San Noodle Bar in Palo Alto. Yutori, which was inspired by Ito and his wife Linh Tran-Ito’s many trips to Japan, will operate all day, serving miso lattes and Japanese sandos during the day, then, eventually, cocktails and Wagyu steak at night. The café, deli and marketplace are debuting first and are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The restaurant will follow in about two months with brunch and dinner.
Jerome Ito is opening Yutori in Palo Alto.
Giselle Garza Lerma/S.F. Chronicle
The serene, light-flooded space, which Ito and Tran-Ito designed themselves, has more than 100 seats, including on a sprawling outdoor patio and a carefully raked stone garden with Japanese maple and cherry blossom trees.
Ito has big plans for the future of Yutori, especially given it sits on an acre of land and has ample parking. “The property is what made it so unique,” he said. He wants to use the space to host events, such as a Japanese beer garden with yakitori or an Obon festival, as well as popups or food trucks.
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Ito hopes Yutori will feel at once “celebratory” and approachable for families with children. “We wanted to do something accessible to all, but we want it to feel special,” he said.
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Here’s everything you need to know about Yutori.
A daytime hub for specialty coffee and Japanese pastries
At Yutori’s café, customers can order espresso drinks made with beans from Voyager Craft Coffee in Santa Clara as well as matcha, hojicha and loose-leaf Japanese tea. Specialty creations ($6.50-$8) include a latte flavored with miso and Okinawan brown sugar; an espresso tonic with calamansi; and a matcha latte with a foamy Earl Grey cream top. Yutori also serves a rotating selection of single-origin pourovers, starting with Denmark roaster La Cabra, made in a Hario V60 ceramic dripper.
A matcha latte with an Earl Grey cream top.
Giselle Garza Lerma/S.F. Chronicle
Pastries, from matcha financiers to black sesame scones ($4.50-$5.50), come courtesy of pastry chef Janet Tong, who previously worked at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon and Ad Hoc in Yountville. The case also features a banana loaf with kinako streusel and chocolate chip cookies that are slightly nutty thanks to neri goma (sesame paste) and a sprinkling of sesame seeds on top. Another pastry chef contributed her family recipe for mitarashi dango, or chewy rice flour dumplings made with the unusual addition of tofu. The orbs, served on a skewer, are slightly charred and glazed in sugar and soy sauce. Artisan chocolates, such as a hojicha-flavored “Twix” and black sesame feuilletine bar, are made for Yutori by Lance Nitta, former executive pastry chef at the Rosewood Sand Hill.
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Savory treats include a cheesy mochiko ginger-scallion waffle ($6) and a limited number of tamagoyaki sandwiches ($15) made with a dashi rolled omelette.
A konbini lover’s dream
Yutori’s konbini takes inspiration from Japan’s famed 7-11s — there are egg salad sandos and snacks — but expect also inventive sandos, such as a miso-pecan-crusted version filled with banana cream; bento boxes with miso cod and an array of housemade side dishes; and fresh sashimi and sushi.
Sweet and savory sandwiches and pastries from Yutori.
Giselle Garza Lerma/S.F. Chronicle
The highly curated market also carries products Ito and Tran-Ito have discovered on travels through Japan: handmade ceramics from Shigaraki, knives made in Tsubame-Sanjo, glossy design magazines from a Tokyo home store. There are plenty of specialty food products, such as jars of shio koji garlic paste, wasabi salt and bags of the same Okinawan brown sugar used in Yutori’s lattes (and, of course, fun flavors of Kit Kats). Down the line, a refrigerated section will be filled with produce from Watsonville’s Japanese American Hikari Farms and cold items like miso or Hokkaido butter.
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Just beyond the market is a deli where customers can order hot sandwiches, such as ebi katsu or a chicken teriyaki bacon club. In about a week, the deli will start to sell fresh seafood and sashimi cut to order.
Yutori’s market is stocked with Japanese ceramics, glassware, textiles and other imported goods.
Giselle Garza Lerma/S.F. Chronicle
Next up: a restaurant and bar
When the restaurant opens, it will be geared toward family-style, shareable dishes, Ito said. Expect whole grilled fish, Japanese-Italian pastas and a double-cut bone-in tonkatsu. For smaller groups of diners, there will also be an omakase option featuring a chef’s selection of dishes. For brunch, there will be traditional Japanese breakfast sets with grilled fish, rice, miso soup and sides — but also shareable souffle pancakes.
Yuki Yamazaki, a prominent Japanese mixologist known for starting his own bitters company, is consulting on the bar program.
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The café serves coffee, matcha, pastries and Japanese sandwiches.
Giselle Garza Lerma/S.F. Chronicle
The restaurant, on the other side from the café, is spacious and open, with custom woodwork, curved banquettes and turquoise and gold accents. Doors can open onto a large, enclosed outdoor patio that looks onto the Japanese garden.
“Japan has been such a hot place to travel. People ask me: ‘Where can I get this?’” Ito said. “We feel the same way. That’s what brought on a lot of the things on both sides, the marketplace and the restaurant.”
Yutori. Opening April 13. 3375 El Camino Real, Palo Alto. instagram.com/yutori_pa