Demi Palo Alto

Downtown Palo Alto sit-down restaurant from Kyoto-born chef Demi Ebara, serving elevated yoshoku — Japanese comfort food reimagining Western classics with Japanese technique.

DEMI is the namesake sit-down restaurant of chef and owner Demi Ebara, who was born and raised in Kyoto and moved to the United States roughly 15 years ago. She founded the Demiya restaurant group in 2016, which now operates five casual Japanese curry locations across the Bay Area. DEMI, which opened in summer 2026 at 407 Lytton Avenue in downtown Palo Alto, is a more elevated and personal expression of her cooking, focused on yoshoku — the Japanese culinary tradition of reworking Western dishes through Japanese techniques and flavors. The snug, light-filled dining room seats about 25, with a small backyard garden adding outdoor seating. The menu spans lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturday, plus weekend breakfast service. Signature dishes include karaage chicken and waffles with dashi maple syrup, omurice (a fluffy omelet folded over fried rice finished with demi-glace and enoki mushrooms), Japanese carbonara, curry doria (baked rice with Japanese curry, Japanese sausage, spinach, and melted cheese), katsu sando, and white miso avocado toast. A Japanese sake and craft beer program is available. Reservations are recommended.