Ai Japanese Restaurant PERMANENTLY CLOSED

This place has been open since I was in (at least!) high school... and after eating there last night, I'm wondering "why didn't I come here SOONER?!" We ordered the miso soup, the vegetable tempura appetizer, and 3 sushi rolls (yellowtail, california, and shrimp tempura rolls) and everything was beyond excellent. The sushi is fresh and made to order. I'm definitely planning on going back again very soon!

The best sushi in north florida. Enjoyable atmosphere and great food.

If you enjoy Japanese food, HEAD RIGHT OVER to Ai. My wife and I like to travel and part of the fun is to find good Japanese food. Ai provided a wonderfully dining experience. The couple running the restaurant made us feel welcomed with good service, well prepared food, and smiling faces.

The Edamame was fresh, crisp, and perfectly cooked. The seaweed salad was fresh and plentiful. We tried the shrimp tempura which had the lightest batter that I can remember ever having.

We ordered sushi for dinner. Although the sushi menu was limited to the standard fare, it was well prepared, FRESH, and tasty. The Tuna was like "budda".

We tried the Mochi desert. It was ice cream surrounded by a rice based covering. It was like a strawberry gummy bear texture (not tough) surrounding the ice cream. Although unusual, it was a pleasant finish to a wonderful dinner.

I was there 2 times within a couple months... first time, well, new to the whole chop sticks thing but grew to liking it.. chicken teriyaki was great with the vegetables.... yum yum in my tum tum... also the sushi is excellent... I recommend the avocado roll... will go there a lot more... thanks for the sushi and whatever Japanese beer I had there.

We dined here around 5pm on a Thursday evening and had a wonderful experience. We thought the atmosphere was okay, but the service and food was out of this world. The couple running this place made you feel like you were in their living room and had just come over for dinner. The food was fresh, plentiful and extremely well made. If you are looking for a delightful place to eat Japanese food we highly suggest you visit Ai. I must state that we did not have any sushi on our last visit, but plan to next time due to all the good things we have read about it here. We suggest you try the Miso soup.

This place is a little gem. It's a small restaurant that's very clean and organized. The staff are limited (at least when we go) but they still manage to get around to everyone and provide top notch service. The food is very good with quite a wide variety. It offers the usual Japanese dishes such as tempura and sushi and all are prepared skillfully. The prices are a little high but worth the quality. If you're in the mood for some creative food in a civil atmosphere and tired of the mainstream restaurants around here, try Ai.

Can't believe you can get awesome sushi in Palm Coast! Cute place, nice staff, as good as any other Japanese food we've ever had. Very fresh sushi! We will be back!

We moved here recently and stumbled across this place. Now we go there at least once a week. The food is amazing and the service is excellent. Take my word for it. My husband was a sushi chef were we use to live and we both agree that the quality of fish Sam gets is so much better. We bring all our house guests there when they come and they always ask to go back again.

Had dinner @ AI again last nite. We go there as often as our schedules will allow. Usually this is on Thursday's after 8pm because it is our nite to work a little late. Sushi was great as well as the soft shell crab appetizer. Sam made us a surprise item that was just wonderful, he icorporated 4 different fish items into one wonderful presentation. great place and we love Sam, Joanna and little Jeffrey.

I love the sushi there! Geat food, too! I only did to go and it was so great even I bought it home. Nice presentation!

I have been eating there three times a week since the restaurant first opened. Excellent food and very friendly service.

Went there on Saturday night with the family and all we can say about it is awesome!! First of all, the sushi was incredible... you have got to try the Crabmeat Tempura roll.. it was so good we ordered another. Also had the chicken terriyaki and it was so good. Others had the chicken tempura, salmon and shrimp terriyaki and others which I can't recall since I was too busy enjoying my meal. Also, the service was great. The waiter was attentive and always smiling and helpful. We will be back soon.

I moved here from SF, CA last month and my neighbor told me about this restaurant. And I thought there shouldn't be any good Japanese restaurant in such a small town. But, suprisingly the sushi was excellent and a special sushi order also could be done by the chef. I also love the Shrimp Teriyaki they have. One word to describe this restaurant "Excellent"!

Hadn't been here in a while so went back and was not disappointed. The food is still carefully prepared, fresh, and delicious. Some of the best Japanese food you will find anywhere.... still the best kept secret in Palm Coast!

I just moved here from CA and also a Japanese grew up from Japan. The food here was excellent and the sushi was very nice presentation and fresh! I really love the tempura too, I was glad that they did not do any American style Hibachi in there. That makes me feel they are really doing the real Japanese food, not the show like other restaurant does. I feel so happy not to miss any food that I love all the times.

Fresh food and good services!

My husband and I have found the best kept secrets in Palm Coast. The food is wonderfully prepared to order with a beautiful presentation. My sons came to visit and they don't often rave about restaurants but both were talking about the food for days. I have taken friends there on several occasions confident that the food and the service will always be superb. The waitresses are good but we have a favorite--her name is Mitzy. She is extremely polite and professional but makes you feel as if you are part of the family. She goes above and beyond the call of duty to make your visit warm and inviting. She has a wonderful sense of humor and always makes us feel great. Although, we haven't seen her the last couple of visits ( We hope she didn't quit--it would be a tragedy because she is truely an asset to the restuarant). We highly reccommend this restaurant and when you go in ask for Mitzy---you will not be disappointed.

My husband and I travel from Ormond at least once a week to this quaint restaurant. This is Palm Coasts' best kept secrets. The Beef dishes are wonderful. My husband is the sushi lover and there is no place that serves sushi as fresh as this. The owners/chef will personally come out and talk to you to check if everything is fine. They take a personal interest in each and every customer. The waitresses are good. There is one there who is older than the others a blonde, she in herself should be a comedian. When ever we go the AI we try to get her, she will make you laugh. She brightens up the whole restaurant and makes everyone feel like they are the most important person there. We truely enjoy her. The other waitresses are good but are young. I know (having a restuarant in Indiana) that it is hard to get and keep good help. Missy or Mizzy is a gem. The owners have come along way since they first took over from the previous owners. We wish them the greatest success. This little, intimate restaurant is the place to go when you are in Palm Coast.

We just moved here from N.J. and a neighbor told us about this little restaurant. The other night we decided to give it a try. I am a tempura fan and I have to say that this was the best tempura I have ever had. The shrimp were sweet and the veggies crunchy but more importantly it was not greasy. It was light and delectable. My husband had the beef&shrimp teriyaki and he raved
about it for days. The other couple had scallops teriyaki and chicken yakitori. We all shared and we were all impressed with the taste and presentation. The food was so fresh and tasty. This is a little restaurant but don't be fooled by the outside appearance. It is big on flavor. The chef prepares everything to order---so it is Fresh. The atmosphere is homey but intimate.
The staff are very cordial and professional. They go above and beyond to make sure that you are happy. Even though there were some customers there last Saturday night that would have made Mother Theresa cringe in despair. Apparently, they forgot their manners. Go and see for yourself what a wonderful restaurant it is. Restaurants like this one are few and far between but leave your "up north" bad manners at the door.

Food is always excellent. Presentation is nice and service is very friendly. One of our favorite restaurants in Palm Coast.