When I saw the “GRAND OPENING” banner flying outside of the newly opened Kibo Sushi, I was caught off guard. The restaurant seemed to appear out of nowhere, adding excitement to the corner of Borchard and Thompson.

As soon as I walked in, one of the hosts led us to a table. They were all very friendly and accommodating.

The vibe of the restaurant was a little odd. The building felt like it used to be a fast food restaurant; it’s square-shaped with a long open counter in the front and interesting tiles. Now there is open booth-style sitting around the perimeter and tables in the middle.

You know those giant plastic pendant lights from IKEA that you’re always too scared to buy because you worry you wouldn’t be able pull them off? Well, Kibo Sushi took the risk and has three of those, and they’re awesome. They give the restaurant its own personal flair and detract from the slight former-fast-food-joint aesthetic.

As I was eating, though, I heard the song “Let it Go” from “Frozen,” which was odd, but didn’t bother me until they proceeded to play the entire “Frozen” soundtrack, which was just kind of a weird vibe for a restaurant.

Regardless, Kibo Sushi was very enjoyable and I plan on returning, even if the overall vibe of the restaurant hasn’t totally been worked out yet.

The only other thing that also seemed to still be in beta mode was the menu. The menu was normal, but I was also given a paper checklist to check off what I wanted to order, which was totally different from the menu. It was hard to understand in relation to the checklist you’re also given to fill out, because they seemed unrelated. I ended up not using the menu at all, but I didn’t need to because the checklist had everything I needed anyways, without pictures.

The first thing I ordered was the Jessica Roll. It was not a very impressive roll but since it was the first one I tried, it was pretty good. It had avocado, asparagus, and cucumber, which gave it a very fresh taste, and shrimp tempura and crab meat, which weren’t very strong flavors. This roll was pretty simple, and, though decent, lowered my expectations for the rest of my food.

The next roll I tried was a huge improvement from the Jessica Roll. The Futomaki Roll was absolutely delicious and exactly what I was hoping for when I decided to go out for sushi. It had crab, tamago, gobo, and stick crab. The roll was delicious, but the pickled radish and raw tuna and salmon on top were what really made the Futomaki roll one of my favorites.

My absolute favorite dish I had at Kibo Sushi was the Crunch Roll. I’ve enjoyed crunch rolls at other sushi restaurants but Kibo’s was probably the

best I’ve had. The roll itself was simple, yet satisfying. It was filled with shrimp tempura, crab meat, avocado, and cucumber. What made it my favorite roll was the potato crunch on top and the sweet sauce on the plate. The crunchy topping complemented the rather un-crunchy roll, and the sauce added a great sweet flavor to the whole experience.

The delicious food and nice service made Kibo Sushi a great restaurant, even if they’re still trying to get the ambiance of the place right.