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Ariake Sushi
Category: Restaurants Japanese Japanese [Edit]
759 E El Camino RealSunnyvale, CA 94087
(408) 245-8383
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
156 reviews for Ariake Sushi
Review Highlights
"Have only had the bento boxes (great deal, especially at..."
(in 18 reviews)
"PERFECT for a really fast sushi fix with their sushi boats."
(in 25 reviews)
"Or the spicy tuna roll with asparagus and radish sprouts."
(in 4 reviews)
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155 reviews in English
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Review from Tony R.
San Jose, CA
2/7/2012 1 Check-in Here
Damn really?! Only 2 and a half starts? I can agree this isn't the best Sushi place in the world but man, it taste's good to me and its easy on my wallet. I've had really good sushi somewhere else and spent maybe $70 to even a hundred bucks on the experience. But Ariyake - cut em' some slack!
I come here for the Bento boxes, especially at Lunch time - for $8 bucks you get a feast that will hold you till dinner! The sushi is legit, nothing nasty about em'. Service wise, Ive been there when they are busy and they're on point. Been eating here for 7 years since its by my old job and my current job. Anywhere that can get you 2 Bento Boxes and maybe a roll or 2 and keep the bill under $35 for 2, I'm cool with. But yeah, I'm totally a fan here, nothing but love. -
Review from Alex B.
2/7/2012 1 Check-in Here
I decided to give Ariake a try, despite the poor Yelp reviews. Well yelpers - you were right! Although I received my food quickly (we told the server that we were in a hurry), the temperatures were off and the flavors were poor.
Miso soup - room temperature, watery
Salad - bruised lettuce. My husband didn't enjoy the dressing, but I liked it
CA roll - just 3 small pieces. Boo.
Dinner Bento Box -
large portion of beef teriyaki, but the flavors were plain
tempura was fine, but nothing special
sashimi was rock-hard and tough to eat
rice - mushy
Overall? Meh. Will I return? No. =( -
Review from Kahveh K.
San Jose, CA
1/22/2012
I ordered a California roll and spicy tuna, and it was completely warm and bland. I've had a lot of different sushi from different restaurants and I can say this doesn't come close to it's preceding competitor. The wait to get our drinks, which was only water and a sprite, was over 10 minutes. The waiter also seemed very agitated, maybe from a long day at work. When we were finished, the check took another 10 minutes.
Overall, I didn't enjoy it. I'm willing to give it another try because I think I just caught it on a bad day, but I'm skeptical. Proceed with caution. -
Review from julie n.
Sunnyvale, CA
1/14/2012 1 Check-in Here
I have been to the Ariake in San jose in blossom hill and this Sunnyvale location is NOTHING like that...
when we came in we thought it was closed because the workers were vacuuming.
we went in on a Thursday night and we were the only customer =X
we were starving so we decided to give it a try.
-Price was cheap but quality food was just ... ok. If there was a fast food drive through for sushi, this would be it...
our salmon sashimi came out on ice cubes... rice on the sushi was a little cold and stale. We had to ask for plates and tea n refills... I dont want to sound snobish but usually its provided for.
- on a good note our food came out super quick (because we were the only customers?)
Overall... this place would not be one of my top 5 recommendation for sushi.
#1 Kayenyama in fremont (monday half off rolls deals)
#2 Sato sushi in san jose (san jose rolls)
#3 Hanamaru in sunnyvale
#4 Sushi 85 in mountain view (all you can eat $25)
#5 Ocean sushi in sunnyvale -
Review from Greg G.
San Jose, CA
1/6/2012
Old fish
Roll very dry
Ginger on table, dry
Generally lousy -
Review from Elizabeth B.
San Jose, CA
1/23/2012
BENTO BOX you are my weakness with all the food my body craves and makes me weak 4. Lunch time $8 bento boxes cant go wrong with that . sushi is so so not a fan but tolerable give it a try for 8 dollars what more can you ask for
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Review from Julie N.
12/5/2011 4 photos
I had so little exposure to designer sushi rolls until one fateful day in Downtown San Jose when my boyfriend and I stumbled into Smile Sushi. That was back in 2007...
Prior to that, I thought Ariake was as good as it gets. My boyfriend and I both worked at the Best Buy across the street and my feelings would get so hurt whenever he ordered lunch from here with his friends and failed to ask me if I wanted anything too...which was every time ='( lol. The answer would have been, "YES! the spider roll, a spicy tuna hand roll or maybe a bento box please. thanks, love youuu."
Oh well. Vending machine snacks served me well hahaa
The restaurant was never too busy and the workers were always really warm and accommodating. Food usually came out pretty fast and quality was good enough for a solid meal. The food here is pretty standard, but that doesn't make it bad. I've never had a bad experience here, and although I now prefer more extravagant and fatty sushi rolls, I wouldn't have a problem coming back here to my humble, puppy love beginnings ;) -
Review from Julie K.
Santa Cruz, CA
11/28/2011
I haven't been here in ages and I am still not impressed at all. I have actually had worse else where. I really wanted to go to Kitsho but alas I was not the one to decide, I was not the one driving, nor was I the one paying.
I ordered the Monica Lewinsky roll and after one bite I knew it was "off". I knew if I took one more bite I would be ill with in a matter or minutes or hours. I refused to eat the rest.
I ordered the Hollywood roll and the rice was so dry and crunchy. The roll was falling apart and practically inedible.
My best friend and partner in crime had to share most of his Bento box with me.
One star for the hot tea which was served promptly and another star for the decent croquet (a.k.a. the flattened tater tot).
I am not really a sushi snob; I'm more of a yum cha snob, but this place is "pretty bad" as William S. writes in his 10/4/11 review (which is highly accurate). -
Review from William S.
Milpitas, CA
10/4/2011 1 Check-in Here
Aaaaahhhhhh, I never tried such horrible sushi. Ok wait, yes I have, 7-11 sushi is pretty bad, and worse than this. But this place was pretty bad as well. I won't go on and on to tell you how bad this place is and I'm not going to write a whole review on this place with every other word being 'bad'. All I can say is that, this place is shady, not tasty, expensive and service was horrendous. I know I'm not sushi expert, but I sure can tell when sushi isn't good.
Try it out for yourself, you'll see what I mean. Now I know what this place wasn't even packed when we walked in. -
Review from helen f.
8/16/2011 1 photo
This is for dinner review! My friends told me lunch bento boxes are better value
Most of the items in the bento box are ok. I liked the teriyaki beef and the salad. The tempura was ok. However, the tuna sashimi was quite bad... Thus the 2 stars.....
I will try again for lunch, and stay away from the sushi :) -
Review from Albert H.
7/20/2011 1 Check-in Here
It's not like we didn't read Yelp. It's not like we didn't know what we were getting ourselves into. It's not like we couldn't see the signs. It's not like there's not a dozen better sushi places within walking distance of this one, including the sushi counter of the Safeway a couple doors down.
But we went in. We had to. We'd seen this place every time we went to the Cold Stone right next door. We were perhaps entranced by the boats? I blame my dining companion, really, though the choices in sushi at 9pm on a Tuesday night are not many.
At least we were smart enough not to sit at the deserted sushi boat bar.
Service was quick and very friendly ( we have fond memories of extravagantly friendly service at the Stevens Creek location a decade ago ). The menus, and table were kind of sticky in that way that things get when they've been wiped too many times with the same cloth. I suppose that we should not have ordered the sashimi assortment. Or the spicy tuna roll with asparagus and radish sprouts. I forget what they called that one.
The menu is, actually, huge. Four pages of sushi and sashimi. Plus a fairly wide assortment of bento and so on. Prices are pretty low, though not astoundingly so. Rolls start around $5.95. We get fifteen pieces of sashimi for $15.95.
The miso soup which came with the sashimi plate was actually not bad. Though it came with a chinese soup spoon. It reminded me of the stuff you can make from packets.
Very dry pickled ginger and strange little green logs of wasabi are available from glass condiment jars on each table. We were afraid and slathered ourselves with purell after touching the lids.
The roll was actually okay. Not pulled off the sad and lonely line of boats, but made more-or-less freshly. It was properly spicy, and the tuna was the completely pulverized type that seems to be popular these days, not chunks.
The sashimi was pretty bad. Five types of fish ( salmon, yellowtail, tuna, white tuna, and something else ), carelessly cut and bearing the watery sadness of freezer burn. Not fishy tasting. Not much other taste either. And not a large portion given the relatively high cost and very low quality. But we didn't get sick! Yet.
The other patrons were interesting. A quartet of loudly drunk folks just a little too old to be that loudly drunk. A family with small child. A few older couples. A loving mom who had obviously promised her young son to take him out to sushi boat, and who courageously sat at the empty bar and ordered a bento box. We kind of felt sorry from them. Except the drunk ones. They were having too much fun until they started arguing.
I mean, these guys all seemed nice enough when they were not terribly busy, but this is not the place to go for good sushi. You knew that already. We knew that already. But there we were. And there you are. -
Review from K C.
Sunnyvale, CA
10/1/2011
I've been a fan of this place since I visited the one in San Jose. Prices are cheap and the food is good. I don't ask for much when I go but I always get it to go. They are super quick and read in 10 minutes.
One of my favorite things is that they guy there sees me often enough that I get special treatment. Super nice to me always. I see all the bad reviews that are going down but honestly, I haven't had a bad experience and I'm just happy to get my stuff quickly and head home. Yeah, the ambiance could be better, but if you don't eat there, who cares?
My husband is grabbing me some take-away as I write this. Love it! -
Review from April B.
Sunnyvale, CA
11/13/2011
I have only eaten here twice and both were good experiences. The California rolls are so good and reasonably priced. The soda is only $1.25 very good deal. The atmosphere is nice and both times the service was great.
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Review from P S.
Sunnyvale, CA
12/6/2011
Love this place. Best sushi. I keep trying other places but keep coming back here. The staff is friendly, attentive and they treat you like a long lost neighbor when you keep coming back. One of my favorite restaurants.
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Review from K G.
Sunnyvale, CA
9/24/2011 2 Check-ins Here
I am only speaking about the Sunnyvale Ariake location. I don't recommend this place to people that are Sushi connoisseurs. You will be disappointed.
Though while it may not be an authentic japanese sushi place, the food is generally good for those of us with no expectations of perfection. Also, if you order your sushi from the menu rather than grab from the boats, it is freshly prepared and tastes good to us.
My husband and I plus the kids go here at least twice a month for an affordable family dinner out. The kids and I love the salmon nigiri and my husband likes the tuna and yellowtail. We are also fans of the Terriyaki dinners and Bento boxes though the Bentos at dinner are a bit pricey. So for the amount of food you get (which is good portion), we usually go with the chicken terriyaki dinner which is only missing that extra side like the tempura or sashimi that you get with the Bento. Sometimes the kids split a dinner and get a nigiri or roll each.
Here is my only negative comment; there is one waiter who can be a bit abrubt sometimes and no matter how many times we go there (it's been over 50 times) and I use my credit card, he only brings me my customer copy of the credit card receipt after I sign the restaurant copy and I ask for my copy. He definitely knows me and my family and I feel like he should bring it automatically knowing that I will ask for it. It feels like a battle of wills sometimes. :)
So, all in all, reasonable pricing and good tasting food. Our family is glad to have Ariake in our neighborhood. -
Review from Daniel H.
San Jose, CA
12/5/2011
I stopped in for lunch today with the family and noticed the only person eating there was the owner. We sat down anyway despite this weird smell that I understand is their miso soup. We looked at there menu and sipped some water then we left. Then I come home to read their reviews on yelp and boy am glad we didn't stay.
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Review from Michael M.
San Jose, CA
9/2/2011
OMG Stop think about what your doing before you eat here. I can't begin to discribe how bad my sashimi lunch was. I new it was going to be bad when I saw the sushi boats.However I thought it would be best to see it out as this was going to be my only opertuinty to eat lunch. So I ordered Hamachi, 6 pic came 3 were brown and 3 were white and server on a bed of ice. It kind of smelled like something you would use to catch Yellow Tail. I Had two bites and that was it. I coulden't pay my bill fast enough.
Listed in: When hell freezes over!
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Review from Sharon Q.
Santa Clara, CA
6/16/2011 1 Check-in Here
I am a fan of the cheap bento boxes for lunch! For $5.95, you can't get a full meal anywhere else. Of course, you have to compromise a few things...but not much.
Today, I got the tempura bento and it was pretty good. Service was a-ok. They weren't as quick as some places, but it will do.
Their yakiniku is prepared differently than what I'm used to... so don't come here if you are looking for authenticity. You'll have to pay more for that. :) -
Review from Daniel K.
San Jose, CA
11/22/2011
If I could give it negative stars I would. I should have known from the get go that we were in for a night of stomach aches when we realized our miso soup smelled like detergent soap. After asking the waiter nicely to remove our miso, he stated that " there are different kinds of miso soup" and disregarded out input completely. If that wasn't bad enough, we ordered their specials, and requested (a bit late) that they not include the cucumbers in some of the rolls, as one of our guest's had a severe allergy to them; once again I expected some type of courtesy after our previous episode, but he blatantly stated we already made 2 rolls and continued to stare dumbfoundedly. As the episode went on, our sushi had the consistency of powder, and the owner finally arrived in which we explained the situation, yet the waiters seemed to me adamant till the very end about the 'quality' of their products, regardless of simple constructive input/criticism from us, their consumers. The owner continued to apologized which is probably the only reason I left without stuffing a bowl of soap soup in the waiters throats. As a courtesy the owner stated he would give us a ten percent discount, which to be honest I could have cared less for but at least he tried. Once receiving the check, no discount was shown, and he stated there was 'misscommunication' between his workers and his command. At this point I wasn't only feeling sick, but tired of the preschool quality service and attitude of the entire place. I signed the bill, $109 and left. I don't recommend this place to anyone unless your palate is that of a scavenger which has no taste buds. There are plenty of other places around this area you can visit; thus take my advice GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!
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Review from Cindy B.
2/12/2011 1 Check-in Here
How I got here was a long story... was thinking of Orenchi for Sunday Lunch but three was at least one hour wait and they were closing in an hour. So we drove onto El Camino towards Sunnyvale for sushi, except Chocolate Sushi didn't open for lunch.
I was checking Yelp for a new place but the driver decided that we were going to stop at the next place we see. It turned out to be Marie Callender's but since Ariake was next door and served sushi, we decided to go there instead.
It was very sparcely seated at 12:30, with a server, a bus person. The server was nice and give me a cup of miso soup even tho I didn't order a bento combo. It was much welcomed on a cold, rainy day.
Tried 2 rolls, each 6 pieces for $6. They were ok but pretty small, which was also fine considering it was quite cheap. In fact pretty much everything was quite cheap, just not very good. Especially the beef tariyaki, very thin and small slides and cooked to death (because it was thin).
In short, nice service but I wouldn't go back there for the food. -
Review from Jon A.
Sunnyvale, CA
9/25/2011 1 Check-in Here
Albert H.'s review is spot on!
We came here on a Saturday night around 6pm. When we walked in there were only 2 other customers there so we were a bit apprehensive. But, we were hungry and decided to stay. We saw there were sushi boats and asked to be sat there (bad idea) but were told they would be ready in 5 minutes. So we sat and waited. The ambiance was not welcoming. None of the people behind the counter (I refuse to refer to them as sushi chefs) acknowledged us when we sat and did not even look at us as we waited. It felt like everybody working there (except for the guy who brought us our check) was mad. Aside from that one person, the guys behind the counter and waiter seemed very annoyed by the mere presence of customers. When the waiter asked for our drink order we told him what we wanted and he just walked away. No, "ok," or, "sure." He just walked away! When he brought out our drinks he plopped them down in front of us and didn't say a word. My wife and I looked at each other and started laughing! We were trying to figure out how we offended this guy! Unbelievable. We should have left right then and there but hunger got the best of us so once again we decided to stay.
Once the boats started moving we grabbed a couple plates. The value of the sushi is pretty good. As long as you are not expecting anything above average you'll find some value here. You can easily find higher quality sushi at Safeway (which is not saying much) but the sushi here is edible. However, after a few minutes and trying a few plates we realized nothing new was being placed on the boats. Next to us a family tried to order some things off of what seemed to be a "fresh fish" menu hanging up behind the counter. Most of the things he asked for were not available. Well, if it's not available why don't you change the sign! A group at the end of the counter realized no new plates were being placed on the boats as well and quickly asked for their check. We finished our drinks and did the same.
The food isn't bad but it isn't any good either. However, the customer service is so bad that I will not be coming back. -
Review from Ron A.
San Marcos, CA
8/28/2011 1 Check-in Here
Good place to go if you want sushi quick and go. I sat at the bar where the sushi revolves on a boat. If you do not see anything floating around, you can request one of the Filipino sushi chefs to make a roll of your choosing. The prices are a little high. The sushi rolls are a little too big for one bite. The waiter seemed to be rushing to serve everyone. There was not even that many people to be served.
-
Review from Sung S.
Santa Clara, CA
3/10/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Come here for the bento boxes not for the sushi.
If you want sushi, go somewhere else, if you want some Teriyake Lunch or Dinner stuff, this is good.
thank you come again. -
Review from Vinny M.
San Jose, CA
1/31/2011
I frequent this place on my lunch break. The staff is pretty friendly. The sushi bar is OK. I usually grab the tempura shrimp roll, unagi nigiri or tekka maki. Sometimes the tekka has a weird taste to it but sometimes it doesn't. The chicken and salmon terriyaki are OK... nothing special but does the job. Gyoza is pretty good.
The good thing about this place is the lunch time prices are pretty cheap, espeically if you get a combo bento box. However don't expect superior fine dining. It's a basic sushi quick fix joint. -
Review from King S.
Sunnyvale, CA
9/20/2010
They people are very nice and polite, the service is really good, i go there about once a week or once in two weeks for sure, this is like a meeting place for me and my girlfriend, the food is good. The price is really moderate.
.. Good place to go if you want try same kind of sushi but with better service. -
Review from seng s.
San Jose, CA
11/15/2011
A great place to eat at cause the server their are curteous. I always come here for lunch when I was out doing my job. the rolls are good especially the vegas rolls cause it deep fried. so when they bring it out its nice and hot.
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Review from Jennifer M.
Sunnyvale, CA
I love Ariake Sushi! I have been a fan of Ariake for many years and the staff and sushi never disappoint. I think everything on the menu is great and highly recommend this sushi restaurant for anyone looking for good sushi at an inexpensive price. My favorite items are the Zebra rolls, shitake rolls and the Agedashi Tofu. Many of my friends eat the sushi and the bento boxes. The boxes are large, tasty and filling. I also recommend that you sit at the bar. Space is limited and the establishment is small so show up early for lunch or dinner.
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Review from A C.
San Jose, CA
12/2/2010
I guess this restaurant doesn't read yelp reviews, which is a shame.
I even feel guilty writing this truthful review, but its necessary.
The service was really good. Nice waiters and sushi chef. Food came fast. Special rolls are around $5 or so.
The quality of the food is pretty bad. The food is edible (at least I didn't find hair in it like YoYo Sushi in Mercado), but doesn't taste good at all.
My friend hated the sashimi.
I could barely tolerate my own orders.
Fantastic service, horrible food.
This is such a rarity. I'm actually surprised to find such an odd combo. Usually, you run into great food, bad service or bad food, bad service, but bad food, great service?
Well, I won't be coming back unless there is an indication that ownership has changed. -
Review from Bethany P.
Mountain View, CA
6/19/2011
If you want friendly service and fresh sushi, then avoid this place!! The host (a man) did not smile at us once during our meal. I think he said three things while we were there: "Ready?" "Finished?" and "Thank you." And none of it with a smile. No, hi, no, do you need anything, how is everything, etc. Plenty of other fish in the sea (sushi places) to go eat sushi.
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Review from Tim Y.
8/17/2010
I don't give out many bad reviews but after my last experience here I have to. The hamachi we ordered was warm and super fishy tasting. The nigiri is paper thin and room temperature (wondered if they just pulled it off the sushi boats for us). The staff is friendly but that still does not make up for the poor quality of the food/fish here.
Their bento boxes are a pretty good deal and taste OK.
I haven't been back since...and I will keep it that way. -
Review from Jing G.
Los Angeles, CA
9/8/2010
2.5...
We walked by it and thought it was a cute mawarizushi place. It wasn't... at least, I don't think it was. The conveyor wasn't even moving and there weren't any sushi on it.
Still, we decided to give it a try... the beer was cheap (and that's good), but that's about it. The tatsuta-age wasn't tatsuta age.. it was more just like little pieces of teriyaki chicken.
I (tried to) order 3 things on the menu, all of which they did not have. Including abalone, urchin, and a few varieties of clams.
The server was nice enough, though. I don't think we'll be back. -
Review from Carol G.
San Jose, CA
11/23/2010 1 Check-in Here
I eat sushi at least once a week so when I needed lunch after flying all day, I hit up Ariake. I am always hesitant to read negative reviews until I try a place for myself. Well the negative reviews for this place are both true and false in my trip here.
The service was slow but there was only one guy working and he was super sweet. The gentleman in the suit who I assumed was the owner just wandered around doing nothing productive.
I ordered the ume roll which was DRIPPING with paste. As someone who eats an uneboshi plum every morning, even I deemed this roll inedible after one piece.
The seaweed salad hand roll and miso were decent but let's be honest, how hard are they to mess up?
The poke hand roll was stringy and grey. I didn't even chance it.
The Shanghai roll looked okay until it got close to my mouth. It had a unique smell but one I couldn't place. I thought it might be the sauce so I put a piece in my mouth and my mouth was instantly filled with a wretched spoiled taste so I spit it out right away. All under the watchful eye of man in suit.
I asked for the check and the server asked it I wanted a box since it was clear I had left almost everything on my plate. I explained what was wrong and he looked embarrassed and apologized. It looked like he was used to apologizing for things out of his control.
The man in the suit came up and apologized for the server giving me the wrong order and I stopped him and said the order was right but the quality of the fish was very wrong. He just looked at the food and walked away to fix the welcome mat. I paid and tipped the server (NOTE that you should always tip the server even if the food sucked... they shouldn't suffer for management error) and as I was leaving the man in the suit mumbled a "sorry" and my reply back was that if he was sorry he should consider refunding my bill. He just walked away. So I walked away too.
Never going back. For those who are hesitant to trust bad reviews, know that I don't write them but I had to prevent others from flushing $ down the drain and leaving hungry (or worse, sick). -
Review from Stephanie T.
Sunnyvale, CA
8/20/2010
I've been here a few times for lunch and it's decent. Don't get me wrong, I don't think it's the most wonderful place ever for sushi but I do like that it's cheap and decent.
The lunch bento boxes are relatively big and moderately priced. I'd wish their salad dressing wasn't so biter and watery.
This place is great for a quick lunch. -
Review from Deanna W.
San Jose, CA
4/10/2011
I went her a few years back and not only was there sushi on the boat but a roach!! Eww! Haven't been back since and never will be!
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Review from David L.
San Francisco, CA
12/23/2008
Filipino sushi chefs
Mexican waiter
Predominantly white customers
We were the only Asians in there
It was the Benetton of sushi places.
I knew we weren't treating ourselves to "great" sushi but we only had a few minutes to eat, saw the sushi boat sign, and figured why not. The play it safe plan was:
Order two cooked appetizers
Grab some simple nigiri
Eat just enough to stop our stomachs from growling
Get the hell out
The Nigiri- Holy crap. The raw fish was dry and the mushy ass sushi rice had no discernable vinegar taste to it. The rice to fish ratio was WAAYYY off and it was like a mini bowl of rice tucked under the fish. I started building snowmen out of the leftover rice balls. Tis the season!
The cooked crap- The saba had no trace of its natural salty mackeral flavor. Very impressive that you could screw up cooked fish. Hats off to you Ariake! Miso soup was salty but I needed this as a filler so I drank all of it. There goes my blood pressure.
Davids Bottom Line- WTF was I thinking?? How in the world is this a chain with multiple locations?? Nary a day goes by that I dont kick myself for this lapse in judgement. Good day to you. -
Review from Tam H.
Santa Clara, CA
9/19/2007
This place sucks rice balls!
Once you step into this place...you notice the smell of urine burning your nose hairs away. But once the urine odor kills your smelling senses you then notice that there's some bugs kickin it with you at your table. The kind that live through nuclear war ie: roaches.
Now if all that isn't enough for you to leave. Just ask the waiters there for nothing more than a refill, and expect some attitude with that.
I'd come back here again...only with a health inspector and to punch the waiters!!! -
Review from Caro M.
Boston, MA
4/12/2008
Aiiiight, hold up. Gimme a minute to finish yacking.
Came here because all the other sushi joints are inconveniently closed during the hours of 3-5pm y'all... and that includes saturdays, too! Sen Dai, Cherry, Sushi-o-Sushi... all closed. I couldn't help but scream profanity after seeing the "closed" sign at every window of each joint. bitchfuckcuntmotherfuckingstupidshit......and as my deceased, loving, but hot tempered Chinese Father would say, "booooo-shieeeyit"!
I just ordered vegetables tempura and a cucumber/pickled raddish roll. Simple shit. Tell me why both turned out to be the nastiest shit I've ever eaten in my life? I'm not even on my period nor am I over exaggerating. The tempura batter was not even fully cooked. YACK. Then, the rice in my roll was super mushy... a consistency similar to that of the boogers in my nose. You know, the sticky ones that resemble little bits of fat you pick out when no one's looking and you smash between your fingers... YEAH.. I know you know... YOU know.. =P
"You, miso soup? On da house, fo you!" Oh thanks! But no thanks. I think that's what lead to my stomachs demise this evening. Shitting my intestines out. But I guess it's a good thing because I'm trying to lose weight.
ALSO, the soy sauce here is diluted. WTF?! Never coming here again. -
Review from Michelle W.
Los Altos, CA
3/23/2008
To borrow Miz Tam's favorite word...Ass.
I contemplated not paying.
So I was looking for a different restaurant that I had not been to before- just had the address- and as the street numbers on El Camino are not contiguous, I couldn't find it. So I saw the sign for Ariake Sushi. How 'bout Sushi? I say to the 4 year old. Good. She says. Pay attention that's the last time you see the word good in this review.
SERVICE:
We walk in and are kinda half greeted. I'm not sure an actual word was spoken, but eye contact was made. They have the sushi boats. I should have known then, but I was famished. Breakfast was at 7am and it was near 1pm and a lot had happened in between.
We decide to sit at the counter, not because we didn't want to order non-sushi things, but because the 4 year old likes to watch the boats. So we sit there for like 5 or 10 minutes and no one has come to take our order. El hombre de Sushi had asked us if we wanted some sushi, but I told him we hadn't decided. So I was ready to start with some miso and rice and I was jonesin for a diet cola. So I tried to get the waiter's attention. I don't know if he was purposefully ignoring us or what. I had to move my chair out and lean in front of him as he passed us to get his attention.
So I say, "We'd like some rice and miso." He turns his back on me. I pivot the direction he's going in and say, a little louder, "And a diet cola." Then I get the attention of El Hombre de Sushi and order an advocado roll for the 4 year old and take a tuna roll off the boat. We did get the soda, miso & rice, but only 1 bowl of miso & 1 bowl of rice. I was also going to order Chicken yakitori and some unagi, BUT... No one ever checked on us again and even if they had I had decided not to because...
Food:
The tuna was fishy- the fishiest tuna I have ever tasted. Any fishier and I would have spat it out. Any less hungry and I would not have eaten it. The miso soup was NAS-T! It was worse than the powdered in an envelope kind you get in the grocery store. And there was almost no tofu in it, which is my daughter's favorite part. The rice had a weird flavor and was over cooked and somewhat mushy. I had one bite of miso. I had two bites of rice. I lost my appetite. Now look at my profile picture. I have more than a hearty appetite. I like to eat. I lost my appetite. When I finally got the waiter's attention and asked for the bill he said, "Only two plates?" and made a little laugh. I should've said to him how bad it was. I mean, how else are they gonna know, but I didn't.
I hope I never have to eat here again. -
Review from Esther T.
CA
6/25/2008
I've had sushi and then I've had great sushi. Nijiya's sushi, Sushi O Sushi, sushi in Tokyo and around Japan...
This isn't sushi.
Seaweed all wilted and stringy around a glob of unproperly seasoned rice. Unripe avocado. Smelly fish.
Cheap yes. Quality no. -
Review from kevin q.
Sunnyvale, CA
2/27/2006
who cares if not evrybody there is japanese yeesh. Atleast the food is good.
if you haven't noticed, they have the best salad dressing out of every japanese restaurant. AND they have a joyful greeting when you walk in the door.
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