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Grab a bento box and matcha latte to go, peruse a marketplace with Japanese ceramics and fresh vegetables or even enjoy a full-service, Japanese-inspired brunch at a new culinary destination slated to open in Palo Alto by the end of the year.
Yutori, created by the team behind Taro San Japanese Noodle Bar at Stanford Shopping Center, will feature a 120-seat restaurant offering brunch and dinner; an eight-seat bar serving pan-Asian-inspired cocktails; a grab-and-go section with sandwiches and poke; a cafe offering matcha and pastries; and a Japanese marketplace stocked with artisanal soy sauce, imported snacks, specialty knives and home goods.
The 6,000-square-foot project adds to the growing list of Asian food concepts along the Peninsula combining a sit-down restaurant with a marketplace. Yutori is considerably smaller than 75,000-square-foot Korean food complex Jagalchi and 13,000-square-foot Asia Live, which plans to open in Westfield Valley Fair in the fall.
For chef-owner and Palo Alto resident Jerome Ito, Yutori fills a “missing element to the area,” he said, explaining that the closest Japanese markets to Palo Alto are in Mountain View and San Mateo.
Ito, who was born and raised in Los Angeles, moved to the Bay Area in 2013 to take on the position of head sushi chef at Google’s first full sushi bar. He opened his first restaurant, Go Fish Poke Bar, in 2015 in San Jose and has since expanded the fast-casual concept to Palo Alto, Redwood City and Pleasanton. In 2019, Ito opened Taro San Noodle Bar with the help of business partner Lily Peng, who has invested in restaurants like Wilder and Morella in San Francisco.
The concept for Yutori has been in the works since creating Taro San, Ito said. In 2018, Ito went to Japan four times to train at the Yamato Udon School and to purchase items for Taro San. Since then, he’s visited Japan at least once a year for inspiration and to meet different artists and vendors, whose home goods and kitchenware will be at Yutori.
“Yutori, the reason why we picked it is the Japanese meaning behind it: giving space, room to breathe, having this peaceful environment and mindset,” Peng said. “And so a lot of the design elements for Yutori inside, and outside too, is to reflect that.”
Located in the former Corner Bakery Cafe space, Yutori’s aesthetic will be bright and clean, with Japanese Scandinavian influence and a lot of plants, Ito said. The full-service restaurant will seat 80 inside and 40-50 outside, and the cafe will have 12-20 seats inside and plenty of outdoor patio seating, Ito said. The outdoor space will feature a Japanese garden, and there will be lots of parking in the back, he said.
The sit-down restaurant, which Ito described as “higher end,” will take up about two-thirds of Yutori. For brunch, expect variations of Japanese omurice (a thin omelet with fried rice), including that with short rib and Japanese hamburger steak. Also on the brunch menu will be traditional Japanese breakfast, wagyu steak and eggs, Japanese pancakes and katsu and egg sandwiches, which will also be available with grab-and-go items in the marketplace, dubbed ‘Yutoriya’ (ya meaning marketplace).
The dinner menu will feature dishes like wagyu steak, family-style tableside nabe (hot pot), izakaya dishes (small shared plates) and fresh udon noodles.
While the bar program is still in the works, cocktails will feature pan-Asian ingredients. There will be a Japanese take on a bloody mary as well as a yuzu martini, Ito said. Also expect Japanese and local sakes as well as Japanese beers and craft beers on tap. Beer and sake will also be stocked in the marketplace.
Over in the cafe, expect lattes and matcha-focused drinks. Pastries will be made in house and brought in from local pastry chefs.
“We want people to be able to come here on their weekend mornings as part of their routine, to grab their coffee, sit outside with their children, bike there and bike to the next destination,” Peng said.
Grab-and-go food items will include bentos, sandwiches and poke, featuring a different recipe than Go Fish’s. To-go nabe, artisan soy sauce, imported snacks and Japanese produce will be available at the marketplace, as well as retail items like pottery and knives.
“Our goal is always to bring something to the community that’s missing or it’s lacking, and we feel like this is something that is not around in Palo Alto or the neighboring communities,” Ito said. “You really have to go a distance to get some of the stuff that we will carry.”
Ito hopes to open Yutori by November and said the projected hours will likely be from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., varying depending on weekday versus weekend.
Yutori, 3375 El Camino Real, Palo Alto.
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