Tomisushi

Location: San Jose, CA (Saratoga Rd)
Cuisine type: Japanese, sushi bar
Atmosphere: authentic, intimate
Meal: dinner (takeout)
Overall score:

Nina

After a tiring day at work and yoga, I was not feeling up to cooking dinner, so I stopped by for a pickup on my way home. First place that popped in my way was Mitsuwa Marketplace, where I found this small sushi restaurant. At first glance it looked like a very small and modest place, but the atmosphere was actually quite pleasant and intimate, and the wood lining the walls gave it a rustic feel. There was a line of seats around the sushi bar, and the rest of the dining room consisted of small wooden tables.
I ordered takeout, and took a seat by the sushi bar while I waited for the food to be prepared. A waitress offered me a drink while I waited, though that green tea never showed up, which was a bit disappointing. After a 15-20 minute wait, I got a large bag with neatly stacked boxes comprising our dinner.
First of all, I ordered one of their daily specials for an appetizers, the seared spicy scallop appetizer. I was impressed by the presentation, the one single large scallop was well seared on both sides, then put back into a half shell as a plate. The spicy factor, however, came from an all-too-familiar spicy mayo, which was nicely garnished but a bit too heavy and greasy to be fully enjoyable. The miso soup and salad that seem to accompany every Japanese meal ever were mediocre, but I don’t really count on them very much unless I order them off a menu a la carte.

The first dinner combo we enjoyed was a tempura mix with salmon sashimi on the side. The tempura involved potatoes, red potatoes, zucchini and shrimp - it was a bit plain and not as crispy as I would like (though the latter could be attributed to takeout vs fresh). The salmon sashimi was fresh, tender and creamy - it wasn’t outstanding but it was tasty and enjoyable. The second entree was pork and egg; when I ordered it, I was imagining something of a breaded tenderloin with a runny yolk egg on top, not that it was based on an actual detailed description, I suppose it was just wishful thinking. The reality was closer to a plain old pork stir-fry with scrambled eggs, which was not particularly exciting or flavorful, but good enough for what it was.
Overall, I found this place tasty, but not extraordinary - a little overpriced for the food I got, and the dishes were largely hit or miss with no big surprises. For the short time I was in the actual restaurant, service was courteous but not well followed through and prices seemed generally higher than in other similar caliber sushi places.

Food	7
Drinks	n/a
Atmosphere	8
Service	7
Value	6

Cha Cha Sushi

Location: San Jose, CA
Website: www.chachasushi.com
Cuisine type: Sushi
Atmosphere: cozy cafe
Meal: lunch
Overall score: 7.3

Nina

Small space, cafe style seating with sushi bar option, unassuming facade on a strip mall, I didn’t really expect anything exceptional. However, I was in for a surprise, the food really delivered and the lunch menu value was great.
Without necessarily planning it this way, I picked an all salmon menu. I ordered the lunch combination meal with two components($10), teriyaki salmon and salmon sashimi. In addition, I couldn’t resist also ordering the salmon roe sashimi, which despite the general sashimi descriptor of “4 slices” came in a pretty pile of pink-orange gems.

The lunch combination included a small salad and miso soup, pretty routine for many Japanese sushi restaurants. The salad was quite bland, with a few watery iceberg lettuce chunks topped with a small amount of shaved carrots and drenched in a ranch-style dressing. The miso soup was more flavorful, though nothing out of the ordinary. I was, however, surprised, when the server came to our table with a small plate with two very large mussels dressed with a pickled spicy dressing and explained that it was an appetizer on the house. It was quite a delicious bite, striking a good balance between the tender mussel meat and the bright acidity of the dressing.

Finally, it was time for the main course. The teriyaki salmon was fairly pale in color (so I can eliminate wild sockeye as an option), but perfectly cooked, to the point where it had a smooth and almost creamy texture on the inside and a very slight crunch on the outside where the teriyaki glaze caramelized on the grill. The sashimi was even better, with the meat clearly fresh tasting and well cut, with a melt-in-your mouth texture. Last but not least, the row was also very fresh and well presented. I was impressed that none of the pearls were soft or oozing, which indicates both freshness and care in handling.
Overall, this place is quite the hidden gem in the busy parking lot of this strip mall. The many positive reviews it received are well deserved, and it’s a great value particularly for lunch combinations.

Food 8
Drinks 6
Atmosphere 6
Service 8
Value 8

Michi Sushi

Location: Campbell, CA
Website: www.michisushi.com
Cuisine type: Japanese sushi
Atmosphere: authentic decor, simple chic
Meal: dinner
Overall score: 8.75

Nina

It’s not a secret that sushi is my favorite food, so I never pass on an opportunity to try something new. Michi Sushi is a popular place in Campbell, and their claim to glory was that their sushi was made only with seafood imported fresh overnight directly from Japan. Since the tsunami wreaked havoc in Japan, however, and since the fishing industry has been hard hit from multiple angles, over the past year they started finding alternative sources, but they stand by their promise of providing fresh and authentic seafood on their menu.
There is not much parking at this small place, but they do set up a double parking situation where you leave your key with a valet to sort out the cars when you leave. Upon entering the restaurant, we were greeted heartily by the sushi chefs behind the bar, and we had a 20 minute wait before we could get a table. Especially since it was a Friday evening, it would have been a good idea to make a reservation ahead of time, which we’ll be sure to keep in mind.
The menu is extensive to say the least, it could easily take an hour to decide what to get among the dozens of different sushi rolls, entree combinations and appetizers etc. I made my task easier by picking options that were either very unique or just classics that I enjoy every time. For an appetizers, we ordered Hamachi Kama, which is broiled yellowtail collar - I’ve heard cooking shows sing the praises of this part of the fish saying how it’s loaded with flavor and is highly appreciated in Japan, so I had to try it. Even though it was a bit difficult to pick out the meat from among the collar bones, the effort was well worth it, the meat was moist and flaky and the flavor was balanced by the charred grill marks on the outside.

The appetizer came out at the same time as a bowl of edamame and some seaweed salad, which were nice touches of bright green in both color and flavor. The nigiri sushi came very soon afterwards, so the table got a bit crowded, but I couldn’t really complain when we were presented with this thick, very fresh and very tender strips of fish (salmon, yellowtail, tuna, shrimp, eel, the usual suspects for a chef’s combination of nigiri).
Next, was the part that I was perhaps anticipating most yet fearing a little bit - the roll we ordered. It is called “SJ Road Dogg” (not really sure what the reference is here, but they had something for everybody in term of theme), and aside from the not so unusual filling of hamachi, tuna, kani (crab) and yamagobo (the pink marinated ginger root), the roll was topped with sake, seaweed salad, macadamia nuts and … wait for it... jellyfish! That’s something I had never eaten before, and I was curious to the extreme, yet dreading the texture just a little bit just from what I was picturing in my mind. Unfortunately, when the roll came we were informed that they were in fact out of jellyfish, so our roll was made without it. When I expressed my disappointment, the server apologized profusely and offered to put in an order for our second preference of roll.

Our makeup roll was the FJ40, a roll filled mainly with hamachi and seasoning, but topped with scallops, fish roe and lemon slices. I was glad we did take her up on her offer, because this roll was delicious. The first one we got lost some of its sheen since we knew it was incomplete (though to be sure it was still fresh and creamy and delicious), but the second roll we got was really satisfying, with the tender scallops coming through in flavor and balanced out by the acidity and creaminess of the other toppings.
This restaurant is definitely worth the hype - the atmosphere is authentic, service is exemplary and the food is outstanding. Even though it’s on the pricey side among sushi restaurants in the South Bay, it’s definitely a clear favorite.

Food 10
Drinks 9
Atmosphere 9
Service 9
Value 7

Ben

We eat a lot of sushi. So much so that I have been quite bored of it lately. Despite this, I don’t remember ever having a better purely-food experience eating sushi than Michi sushi. We went with a 10 nigiri combination of 6 types of fish and two large rolls: FJ40 (hamachi, sake, wasabi sauce and scallions; outside: sake and scallops, topped w tobiko, lemon slices, scallions & wasabi sauce) and SJ Road dogg (amachi, tuna, yamagobo and kani; on top: sake, seaweed salad, jellyfish (out, thus free roll), macadamia nuts, Korean spicy sauce and michi special sauces). The nigiri was simply incredible, a truly melt-in-your mouth experience. The taste was so fresh, the portions generous. The rolls were incredible too, in a much more overt way (I am glad we ate nigiri first, rolls second). I can see how this little gem has won so many awards and is so popular locally, and I now realize how much of sushi I have been missing by eating the rubbery sashimi served at 99% of japanese look-alike restaurants. The atmosphere is really active and fun, with a large crowd (prepare to wait if you don’t have a reservation). The owner seems to make his way around the restaurant quite well and know a lot of his clientele. The sushi takes center stage here, but the drink menu and rest of the menu are respectable as well. The prices do reflect the rarity of this standard, but are not outrageous. The service was very busy but polite (even granted us a free roll when they made a mistake). I would say it’s definitely a place worth checking out, if you go simply for a few sashimi slices.

Food 10
Drinks 8
Atmosphere 8
Service 9
Value 6

Satsuma

Location: Mountain View, CA
Cuisine type: Japanese, sushi
Atmosphere: plain decor, booth seating
Meal: dinner
Overall score: 7.6

Nina

On Valentine’s Day it was my treat to name my restaurant preference for dinner, and more often than not I choose sushi :) We planned on a late dinner to accommodate my cake decorating class, and picked a restaurant close enough to my class to save us time. That brought us to Satsuma Sushi close to 9 pm, when most of the dinner crowd was already gone and activity at the restaurant was dwindling.
The atmosphere was fairly standard, with a small sushi bar in the corner and basic tables and booths scattered along the restaurant floor. We had to wait for a few minutes before we were seated even though there were no other customers in line, and once we sat down it took much longer to place our order, get water and drinks, etc. We finally ordered the Satsuma Special, a large platter with an assortment of sashimi, nigiri and a classic California roll, the usual suspects. Unlike previous mixed selections I’ve tried, the nice surprise about this one was that the nigiri sushi came in pairs, so it avoided the tough decisions on who gets which types of fish, and allowed us both to try each type. The sashimi came in generous, thick chunks which tasted very fresh and light. The one part of the platter that we were not excited about was the California roll - I find it to be an overused and overrated item, and odds are it is made with flavorless fake crab instead of the real stuff. In order to correct that, we asked for an upgrade, which the server allowed us to order after checking with the sushi chef (we paid part of the cost of the upgraded roll to make up for the difference). I picked the Lion King roll, which was quite a bit more spectacular than the California roll we gave up on - it was a generous shrimp tempura roll, topped with scallop and salmon in alternating strips, and fish roe sprinkled on top.
Service quality aside, this Mountain View sushi restaurants definitely ranks among my favorites due to the freshness and flavor of the raw fish, and the creativity of combinations in their rolls.

Food 9
Drinks 8
Atmosphere 6
Service 7
Value 7

Ben

This is one of the nicer sushi places we've been to in the bay area, though a little pricier than many. The server was a little awkward in her impatience to get an order placed or answer any question about the menu. We ended up ordering a sake and sushi special, replacing the california roll with a "lion king roll" of shrimp tempura with scallop and salmon. The sushi special was an attractively plated large variety of food, and the flavor on the nigiri and roll were good. The fish was all delicious and fresh tasting, and overall the food was very good.

Food 9
Drinks 7
Atmosphere 8
Service 6
Value 6

Sushi Boat

Location: San Jose, CA
Cuisine type: Sushi Boats bar
Atmosphere: sushi bar or table option, smooth music, traditional decor
Meal: dinner
Price range: ~$3 - $6 / sushi plate
Overall grade: 7.25

Nina

The fact that I don’t remember too much of what I ate here speaks to two different things - one, that it’s been quite a while since I ate here and I really should be more diligent about keeping up with the blog; two, the food here has not been too memorable. Of course, that means not only that I was not particularly blown away by their selection, but also that there I didn’t encounter anything particularly bad - that would stick with me for much longer.
In broad terms, this place is a somewhat typical mall restaurant - accessible, quick, and with just enough unique atmosphere to make you forget you’ve already spent half the day on your feet, hopping from store to store for a dress you’re only going to wear one. But I digress. We chose the serving style that’s near and dear to my heart - the sushi boats - where fishy yumminess passes slowly in front of your eyes on little boats chained together, while you pick and choose which plates will leave the boats and join the growing stack on your part of the counter. I like this not only for the large variety of choices (at the better places, which I would say this one qualifies as) and the option to ask for customized plates from the sushi chef directly, but also for the bite-sized portions on each plate which allow you to try much more things than if you had to settle for a couple off-the-menu rolls or even a “chef’s choice” variety platter.
Aside from the usual variations on the overdone California roll, this place did have a few unique offerings. One example would be the baked stuffed shrimp covered in a creamy sauce, or the roe nigiris with their fishy yet delicate oily mouth feel. The thing that probably stuck with me most was the dessert, which I was not able to find in most other restaurants of this type. On the boats they also had these thin slices of green tea cheesecake, which I had on my mind from the moment I sat down until the satisfying moment when I decided I had eaten enough fish and wanted to dig into a mildly sweet and unique dessert.

Food 7
Drinks 6
Atmosphere 7
Service 8
Value 6

Ben
A nice place for a restaurant in a mall (Valley Fair in San Jose). We went with the sushi boats during prime dinner time. The cuts were pretty fresh and pretty generous portions. They had nice cuts of all of the classics nigiri (including sea urchin, a gooey delicious favorite) and a good amount of creative rolls as well. We enjoyed that the counter was high, so it was easy to see the behind the running boats chefs, cutting sashimi pieces off a large salmon. It was a lively atmosphere of people coming in and out, and the running boats are conducive to quick snacks between shopping or full meals. Overall most of the dishes we tried were very good, the green tea cheesecake was probably the only real disappointment (firm and bland, not as good as it looked..).

Food 8
Drinks 7
Atmosphere 7
Service 9
Value 7

Sono Sushi

Location: Mountain View, CA
Cuisine type: Japanese, Sushi
Atmosphere: sushi boats bar, austere decor
Meal: late dinner
Price range: $2 - $4.50 / plate
Overall grade: 7

Ben

This is an average sushi restaurant, at a great location on Castro street in Mountain View. We were hungry and stopped for running sushi.. a la carte dishes from $2 - $4.50. The fish was good, tea was served, prices were fair. Overall a perfectly standard place for sushi, not a reliable stop if you're in the area and craving raw fish.


Food           7
Drinks         7
Atmosphere 8
Service        8
Value          7

Nina

We stopped at this place while walking through downtown Mountain View on  Friday night not because we had not eaten dinner, but because we passed by and I couldn't resist the crave for some bites of sushi floating along in little boats. We entered through this very run down door and didn't have very high expectations for this place.

When you have such low expectations from the start, it is hard to be disappointed, so I was fairly pleased with the food. It was the run of the mill rolls and nigiri, nothing too exotic since the more interesting rolls are always on the a la carte menu. Then I discovered that any of the a la carte nigiris could be ordered at the running sushi bar, so I went for something more exciting - I ordered my first uni sushi. It was a new,  interesting flavor profile, a briny ocean taste, yet delicate in texture and mouth feel. I'm glad I tried something new, but this is not necessarily the first place that I would turn to when I crave for sushi.

Food            7
Drinks          6
Atmosphere  6
Service         7
Value           7

Little MadFish

Location: Redwood City, CA
Cuisine type: Sushi
Atmosphere: cafe style seating, cozy
Meal: late lunch
Price range: $6-$14/roll (half off for Happy Hour)
Overall grade: 8.5

Ben

Little Mad Fish is a sushi bar with a large selection of rolls and a great happy hour special. The sushi was served very fresh, with soft, tender and flavorful sashimi. The selection of nigiri was standard and came out delicious, and the roll offering was pretty large for the size of the place. We had ordered the rolls without knowing they were half off for happy hour, and were still satisfied with the price. The atmosphere is befitting of the stripmall on which it’s located, very casual, well lit, widespread seats, and wall TVs. The drink selection was average, offering japanese beers.


Food          8
Drinks        7
Atmosphere 7
Service       8
Value         8

Nina

Between sleeping in on the weekend and Ben's ultimate frisbee game, we had a late start towards the city for watching Purdue get dominated in football by in-state rival Notre Dame :( Being in a hurry, we picked sushi at the type of cuisine which could get us on our way quickly, while being satisfying at the same time.

Little MadFish was not far out of the way in Redwood City, and the promise of Happy Hour pricing was tempting as well. We ordered a plate of nigiri sushi to satisfy the sushi purists in us, and two different rolls to share (Mad Fish Special and Mango Lobster). The fish cuts on the nigiri were exquisite, I don't remember ever eating sushi which tasted so fresh and felt so tender, almost creamy (as strange as that sounds) to bite into. The presentation for the two rolls was short of impressive, but I've learned not to judge a book by its cover. Of the two rolls, the Mango Lobster was clear favorite. I believe that the mango must have been part of their special creamy sauce, though it didn't come through very strongly - and I didn't really mind it. The filling of the roll consisted of tender crabmeat and sliced avocado, but it was really the topping that put it over the top - lobster and baked scallop, utterly scrumptious. The second roll, filled with deep fried shrimp and avocado, was topped with unagi (eel), crab meat, crunchy flakes, fish roe and unagi sauce. While the flavors were all there, it might have been the over abundance of ingredients which made it a little too heavy for me.

This little restaurant had just the right ingredients to make for an excellent go-to sushi place. The atmosphere is not overly festive, but it doesn't need to be for a casual get-together or a quick meal. I like that even though it is part of a chain (there are a few locations in the Bay Area), quality doesn't seem to be affected by it, at the same time bringing the benefit of more easily finding one of these restaurants nearby. Last but not least, the happy hour offer of half off all rolls (every day between 3 and 5 pm, and Fri&Sat 9:30 to 11:30 pm) is an awesome deal!

Food         10
Drinks        9
Atmosphere 8
Service       9
Value       10

YoYo Sushi

Location: San Jose, CA (Rivermark Plaza)
Cuisine type: Japanese, Sushi
Atmosphere:  quiet, fast-food, running sushi bar
Meal: dinner
Price range: $3-$4.50 / plate
Overall grade: 6

Ben

We ate at the running sushi bar in the middle of the restaurant, offering plates of four colors and prices running on a chain of boats across the bar. A lot of the plates appeared to have been sitting out a while and the selection was somewhat limited, particularly in non-nigiri dishes. To be fair, we went for an early dinner so there weren’t many other patrons at the bar. The chef did supply a few of our special requests and put them on the bar. After sampling many of the dishes, we tallied up the plates, we found we had spent already over $50 but could still eat much more. These prices seemed a little overpriced for the location (northern San Jose, next to a Safeway) and ambience. The prices off the menu may have been much better, as we saw a majority of the patrons were sitting in booths away from the bar. Overall I found the sushi average and the prices high, and would not recommend eating at the running sushi bar as I expect there are better ones in the area.

Food          5
Drinks        6
Atmosphere 6
Service       8
Value         6

Nina

On the night before our first day of work, we stopped by Safeway to do some grocery shopping for the dinners we wanted to make on work nights (thank you, Rachel Ray 7 day planner). Enticing us right next to where we parked was this fun sounding Japanese restaurant - YoYo Sushi. We hadn't eaten sushi in a while, so why not?

To my delight, beyond the usual simple table-and-chairs arrangement in the style typical to many Asian restaurants, they also had sushi bar seating in front of a lazy river of sushi boats. Choices! We immediately sat there and started picking plate after plate of sushi yummy-ness from the boats gliding in front of us. The nigiri sushi was delicious, albeit not the widest selection I've encountered; the chef was very generous with his fish cuts, which were up to two times larger than the nugget of rice hiding under them. The rolls were also of very few different types, but the great part about this was that the chef would make new rolls upon request - so I could try almost anything off the sushi menu without having to eat a whole roll. That being said, there was nothing about these rolls that wow-ed, pretty typical run-of-the-mill sushi selection.

This place is very conveniently placed - should I really go grocery shopping, or just enjoy some quick sushi? I see myself choosing the latter every so often in the future. While the overall restaurant atmosphere is not very festive and the sushi is nothing outstanding, sitting at the sushi bar is much more interesting because you can see the chef at work and make special requests with very short response time. 

Food          6
Drinks        5
Atmosphere 5
Service       7
Value         7