Ini Ristorante

As the most prominent outparcel of a Fountain Valley plaza with multiple other Kei Concepts restaurants, Ini Ristorante so successfully fuses Italian cooking with Japanese ingredients that the menu – packed with novel pizzas, pastas, appetizers and desserts – already feels classic, despite its youth. Inspired by Asian/Neapolitan pizza sensation Pizza 4P’s, Ini debuted in 2022, launching and adjusting its menu so impressively that we’ve never had a complaint across numerous visits. In ambition and quality, it’s the closest alternative to Kei’s beloved and currently shuttered Gem Dining, featuring similarly excellent service, plating, and environmental considerations despite its considerably larger size and major differences in culinary focuses.

Ini’s menu has a roughly 4:1 ratio of Italian to Japanese influence, leaning heavily on pastas and appetizers, lighter on pizzas, entrees, and desserts. Those seeking a mostly Italian meal will be happy with items such as the Seafood Mafaldine, simply the best handmade pasta texture and al dente prep we’ve found anywhere locally; Prosciutto and Burrata Pizza, augmented nicely by an optional pinch or two of red chili flakes; a perfectly cooked Branzino stuffed with sweet onions; or Duck Ragu, cavatelli pasta with duck confit and arugula. Light Japanese influences creep in with the Uni Pasta, which is creamy and luxurious but over too quickly, outstanding lobster arancini, pistachio-crusted lamb chops, and squid ink risotto with scallops, any of which might appear at a progressive Italian restaurant.

For us, the real excitement over Ini began with a seafood poke pizza – an amazingly compelling combination of a Neapolitan-style crust with tobiko, sesame seeds, salmon, hamachi, octopus, shrimp, and sea green/seaweed salad – and mentaiko pizza, a study in super fine mozzarella, nori, and bonito textures, hiding mentaiko (cod roe) cream and slices of octopus. These pizzas weren’t just must-tries for seafood fans; they’re profound demonstrations of Ini’s fusion potential, executed in the hands of able chefs. You can also go fully Japanese here at lunchtime with a panko-fried pork cutlet katsu sando, one of relatively few purely Asian items on the menu.