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Categories: Japanese, Sushi Bars [Edit]
Neighborhoods: North Oakland, Piedmont AveMon-Sat. 11:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Mon-Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
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Who ever told you that good sushi has to be expensive obviously hasn't heard of Geta.
Geta is super small (less than 10 seats), but offers sushi with a big punch! The fish is fresh and the amount is plentiful! 8 pieces of spicy tuna for only 4.50? Count me in! My boyfriend and I ordered Miso soup, a salad, a spicy tuna roll, a spicy salmon roll, a rock n' roll, a crunchy california roll, a speciality shrimp tempura roll and gyoza for only 31.50!!!! That is 38 pieces of sushi, baby.
Geta makes quality sushi affordable, and thank goodness because I love sushi more than my sister loves Twilight... (and believe me, that's a lot)
Jeopardy clue: Deliciously cheap.
Question: "What is Geta?"
Geta is a hidden gem of a restaurant after my own heart. It's where you'll find me when I'm jonesin' for some great Japanese fare that won't break the bank.
Geta offers a little bit of everything. You can get mouth-watering appetizers, udon, your favorite bento item (katsu, tempera, etc), nigiri, sushi rolls - anything your heart desires. They also have a plethora of cheap daily specials, chaotically tacked on the corkboard at the sushi bar. And although Geta is not known for crazy creative speciality rolls, what they lack in originality, they make up in freshness, quality, and consistency.
I've been here a handful of times and the food has always left me feeling satisfied and satiated. And the icing on the cake? It's so cheap! Seriously, you'll find yourself doing a double take at the ridiculously affordable menu offerings.
Heads up:
- Did I mention hole-in-the-wall?! Geta has about 5 tables and few seats at the "sushi bar". On most nights for dinner, be prepared to wait to be seated.
- Addendum to above: don't come with a large party
- Staff is constantly busy, so be ok with refilling your own water and tea. You will probably need to get their attention to get the check.
Yelp has done it again! This charming hole-in-the wall now holds the title of my go-to Japanese restaurant in the East Bay. If you want wallet-friendly good eats, Geta can't be beat!
Finally, a sushi place that I feel that I can yelp about in the east bay!
As far as everyone saying that they don't want to write about it for the simple fact that it will start getting too overcrowded, I share the same sentiment. But, it's really too good to NOT share with y'all. On that note, come here to get your sushi to go! ;) There are about 20 seats total, so if you want to come with a big group, well, don't.
After reading some reviews, I have to highlight two remarks. That is, their sashimi is SUPER fresh, perhaps it's because (as a fellow yelper says) they get their fish fresh on Mondays. The second is that their imitation crab is no joke! It's not the $1 "seafood" salads you get at a cheap supermarket price. Definitely the best I've had and it definitely made a world of difference in the rolls.
At Geta, you really get a bang for your buck, without compromising on the taste. Here's what I got:
- Sashimi Combo $11, it came with 13 fat-slices of yummy fish along with a bowl of miso and rice
- Rainbow Roll $6.25, amazing cali roll topped off with huge slices of sashimi on top
- Spider Roll $5.75, fresh + crunchy soft shell crab with avocados
Total came to less than $30 including tip + tax, and 2 happy campers.
This place has some of the best Toro I have ever had at just $7.50. No other reason for five stars is required.
Good Japanese food, just minus the bells and whistles.
I'm pretty sure that if I were to go the Japan…
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Don't you hate when you move away from your hometown and can't seem to find a replacement for your favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurants? I've been living in Oakland for a about two years and just recently discovered Geta Japanese Restaurant. Not that I haven't driven past it like thirty million times, but I just recently decided to give it a try.
It was a rainy Friday night and I didn't feel like going out to eat. I decided to pick up some takeout on my way home from work. My partner suggested pizza, but I wasn't feeling it. So I Yelped "Japanese takeout" in Oakland and Geta comes up. I had no idea this place was so small until I went to pick up my food. It reminded me of my favorite Japanese takeout place in Daly City. Small, fast, cheap and good. What more do you need?
The food isn't out of this world, but it's very satisfying. My usual order is the Chicken Katsu entree. It comes with miso soup, salad, some noodles (buckwheat?) and a good size portion of rice. I think it costs me about $6.50. There is also an orange slice, which I thought was lemon (it was more yellow than orange) and I ended up squeezing it on my chicken! Ooops!
Also, I noticed they put a little dab of wasabi on the rice. Not sure if this is normal or a mistake, but it's happened twice. First time I didn't see it and got a mouthful of wasabi which brought me to tears. Second time I noticed it and scooped it out. Nothing like finding a little surprise in your food. It keeps me on my toes.
One thing that sucked was when I ordered takeout most recently, they forgot my katsu sauce. Japanese takeout FAIL!! That has got to be one of the worst things that can happen. Thankfully I had some sweet chili sauce which saved the day, and was quite tasty with the chicken katsu! Nonetheless, I recommend Geta for those cold rainy nights when all you want to do is order takeout, watch a movie and snuggle on the couch.
So for a minute I was visiting this place once a week on Friday. It is a ok spot to get quick take out and please the comfort that comes with sushi.
Quality of the food is ok, fresh, good size portions and very very affordable
Why not 5 stars well because it is kind of tasteless.
Now I am not a sushi expert but I have had some sushi that melts in your mouth and a poki roll with spicy tuna that has opened my noise and sent flavors through my taste buds. This is not the case at Geta.
However, this place does satisfy the craving. Try it! Its a good find
Wow this place is cheap!! And for what you pay for, the sushi ain't half bad. I think I'll stick with cooked foods more here since I think that seems to be stronger than their raw offerings.
But damn, did I mention this place is cheap?
Can't wait to try the udon next time.
This place is not bad! They have wonderful service, wonderful people working there and wonderful prices. The sashimi salad is amazing and is definitely something everyone should try, especially if they're on a budget.
But the sushi itself? Kinda eh...
I've been eating sushi since I was young and have had sushi many times in Japan so I have a pretty good idea of what I consider to be good sushi. This place definitely has decent sushi but it's not the best.
BUT I do appreciate the fact that they have so many different specials every single day. And I want to reiterate the service...they are SO freakin nice, which is why it pains me to give them a mediocre review.
So I'd say...one star for location, one star for service, one star for selection of sushi. So...three stars overall... :-(
But they have so many good reviews, my mediocre one is just a drop in the bucket! ;-)
Despite the small space, Geta is anything but a hole-in-the-wall in my definition! It's bright. It's clean. No rickety chairs. No sticky tables. Yeeeaahhh!
2 ppl ordered:
-a large Asahi (http://www.yelp.com/bi...)
-ikura (http://www.yelp.com/bi...): nicely seasoned!
-sashimi combo (http://www.yelp.com/bi...): nice thick cuts. so fresh and just melted in my mouth. orgasmic!
-side of tempura (http://www.yelp.com/bi...): hot. crispy. perfect amount of batter!
Prices are beyond reasonable. There are only few items that are over $10. Our meal came out to be $27 before tips. Not bad at all for a great quality and tasty meal.
My curiosity struck when I saw the boxes of Hi-Chews. Someone said it's free in their review. Sounded too good to be true, so we asked. And guess what person-who-took-Hi-Chews, they're $1 per pack! You stole from Geta! Shame on you!
Recommended by friends, I was drop dead surprised at the low prices and wondered how they stay in business in the bay. After trying the sushi, I guess you get what you pay for... the place is a hole in the wall so you're lucky to find a seat, but it looked like a lot of folks order to go. I'd come again if I was in the neighborhood and wanted a cheap eat, but wouldn't take a date here or anything, ha.
I get takeout from Geta on a semi-regular basis. It's inexpensive, but most of the time the sushi is really yummy.
I usually get the shrimp and/or vegetable tempura appetizer and then a couple of the less expensive rolls. I like the philadelphia roll, rock n roll and salmon avocado roll. Sometimes the rolls aren't rolled that well and they kind of fall apart, but they still taste good.
I've never eaten at the restaurant, but its really small. You have to wait outside for your to go order. Overall, it is a great place to get cheap but yummy sushi and that's why they get 4 stars.
The atmosphere here is 'cozy' to say the least, but that's o.k. I guess. In fact, I kind of like it.
Now I'm no sushi expert so I really have no business being all that critical, but for what it's worth, Geta is one of my favorites in Oakland. It's not as cheap as Tako Sushi in Berkeley, but the prices are pretty good overall and the fish seems really fresh. And I can definitely vouch for the fried oysters; they are delicious.
Also, self-serve all of the water and tea you'd like, but steer clear of this place if you happen to be claustrophobic. Go to Kotobuki instead, which is right down the street. There, you should have the place all to yourself.
OK, so sometimes it takes a newpaper review to remind of a local restuarant. SInce my review long long ago, I have walked past this place and never really had the urge to walk in...
So, with the beauty of YELP, reading Victor G. extensive list of Japanese eateries, plus the Chron doing a favorable write-up of this place, I decided this would be a great time to re-connect and check things out again.
Did take out and ordered the Tempura entree and the Sashimi Entree.
Results?
Mixed.
The Shrimp tempura were to die for, ..not sure but almost positive they season the shrimp prior to battering it.
Loved the tempura dipping sauce with the pieces of batter inside.....a little item forgotten thesedays at many places.
The vegs were just OK, kinda greasy and a bit heavy.
The Sashimi---
the Maguro was OK, a 3
the Yellowtail -a Zero, was bad---it kinda had water leakage, kinda like it was frozen and defrosted and the water coming out.
One Standard shrimp---whatever-3
The Sake--was good, not the best, not the fattiest, but good--a 4
the other one-similar to the colour of Hamachi, but with some red on the edges --was outrageous, 5 out of 5, ---I could snort that stuff all day
So, did today make me change my ways and get me coming back here? Maybe maybe not, I am not that fired up to fight parking for a quick lunch pickup.....
I went here today for lunch. based on the prior reviews I was pretty fired up to give GetA a shot. I… Read more »
Love Love LOVE! This place.
It's super cheap and I love super cheap Japanese food that is delicious. It's a pretty small place, so I would come here early if possible with no more than 4 people. I usually just come here for the sushi but I've had their bento boxes before and they're good. The only thing I didn't like was the lobster roll, it didn't look appetizing either, but everything else I've gotten is good. Their Lion King rolls are really good for only 6.80 (or something like that) and their Spider rolls are bomb! Come to Piedmont if you want cheap, good, Japanese food.
Amazing! Really great fresh sushi for such a great price. Help yourself to all the tea you want, keep ordering as you go. Thought the menu was a little bit small then I noticed all the sushi specials they have going on. Probably ordered more from the board than the menu.
Recommend:-
Hamachi Kama
Toro
BlueFin
Hamachi
Short Ribs
Hirame
Everything we ate was amazing. My only teensy tiny complaint is that I'm pretty sure I ordered Amaebi in our first round of ordering and we never got it. I don't have my receipt to check if they charged me. But that's not going to stop me from going back at all. Super friendly staff. It's a tiny little place but WOW!
Tip - gotta spend at least $10 to charge it.
Awesome food, even more awesome prices!
Today we had five (!) "special" rolls:
* spicy tuna,
* salmon,
* fatty tuna - daily special
* real crab
* regular tuna___I know that's a lot of tuna-s, heck I'm a big tuna fan
+apetizer seaweed salad and miso soup.
Separate word about the miso soup: fantastic. Not salty like in many other sushi places, nice and refreshing.
Total bill: $35!!!! (no alco)
We rolled out stuffed with seafood and happy as clams. Be back, mark my word
I like this place. Small but accommodating and sushi quality is great for the price you pay.
I'll admit, I'm lying if I tell you I wanted to come here to try their fabulous sushi. Nope. I came here because another Yelper said you get FREE HI-CHEW after your meal! You can imagine why my heart dropped when I saw all the other dinner tables get empty check trays--no HI-CHEW! Granted, the meal was good enough (salmon, white tuna, tuna, and yellowtail nigiri and an unagi-don), but I couldn't help but be sad over the non-free HI-CHEW that stood on a table near ours.
I guess one of the servers or owners of the place saw my longing look over the HI-CHEW as we were leaving, and handed me a pack! As I left the restaurant I threw my arms up in success. I was so happy I almost forgot about my great meal!
Cheap, delicious, and fast. We get takeout from Geta all the time because the place holds maybe 20 people. When we do eat there, it's a cozy experience. What costs $50 at Ozumo costs only $25 here. A hole in the wall, but worth finding.
This place is such a hole in the wall, but alot of times, those are the BEST restaurants!
Geta is really a good example of how just because the food is super cheap, it doesn't mean that the quality of the food has to suffer!
For two people we ordered like 6 rolls and a seaweed appetizer dish and it only came out to be ~$30!! So cheap!
The specialty rolls were super BIG, just like those other sushi places that charge you an arm and a leg!
This place is so good that I really didn't want to give it good reviews and let more people know about this place so it won't always be so crowded when I go, but I guess I'll stop being self-fish and share this wonderful eating joint with the rest of the yelping world!
As a Japanese reviewer, I do like Geta, not because my friends worked there and gave me free-stuff, but for its price-range. I used to frequent Geta for take-out dinner when I lived around the area. It's a reasonable price for what they serve, considering authentic Japanese food/sushi costs quite a lot in the States.
If you are willing to pay more, you can certainly find better quality sushi.
Amazing! My new favorite sushi spot. I rarely go out to sushi bc it is just so damn expensive and I have been making it at home for about 3 years and have gotten pretty good it myself. That said, I think I might retire and let the folks at Geta take over.
Their spicy tuna roll was incredible. For under $4 you get huge pieces of tuna, not the mushed up stuff like at other pieces, beautiful whole chucks of tuna. The spicy sauce is blended with rice and just a bit is added so it is not overwhelmingly mayonnaisey, which I hate. Then just to really make you get excited they put seaweed salad as well instead fo the normal cucumber. The best spicy tuna roll ever!
I also order the sake nigiri and dragon roll. Both were yummy and again large portions of fish. My boyfriend also ordered the chicken teriyaki tempura combo bc normally he has to eat a ton of sushi to fill up. Well not that the tempura, chicken, miso, and rice weren't delish, but there was no need for it. The sushi was so filling that next time we will only order sushi.
I love the tiny place, it is a nice change from the normal restaurant scene. I will be back many many many many times.
Oh... GAUUUD!... JOoooss thinking about this place.. my oral fixations, l-i-t-e-r-a-l-l-y, kicks into HIGH GEAR!!
My bff's lead me here last night to listen/observe my sushi hyman burst in total DELIGHT.... *OHHhhhh-oooooooffff* mah knees just buckled.
Oh... and it's totally inexpensive! IIiii-ahhhh KNOW!
Geta is now my favie sushi dive....
It's always so packed, busy and chaotic in here. The staff are super friendly and the food is cheap. I ordered a chicken teriyaki donburi and a salmon avo roll to go. When I arrived, my order had disappeared. Apparently whomever took my order either didn't write it down or the order got lost somewhere. So I had to re order and they made it in 10 minutes. It took me 15 minutes to get there, drove around for another 10 minutes to finally find parking. Had to wait another 10 minutes for the re-order. It took 35 minutes total for a to-go order :( My chicken teriyaki donburi was digusting. The chicken was burnt and dry. The char from the chicken was scattered all over the rice. The rice in the salmon avo was too sour from too much rice vinegar. This isn't my first time here. The food isn't very consistent. Sometimes your rolls are nice and neat and sometimes they are falling apart and cut extremely unevenly.
It's cheap food and reasonably tasty. ORDER YOUR FOOD TO GO!!!! AND MAKE SURE SHE WRITES DOWN YOUR ORDER!
The food is decent but it's so crowded that I feel super rushed. If you're a party of two, your… Read more »
This place is cheap cheap cheap! But the quality is actually quite good! Most of their 8 piece sushi pieces can be had for the 4-5 dollar range and their california rolls are 3 bucks! Also ordered a Wakame salad for 2 bucks!
The place is very small tho. The restaurant is the size of a dorm room. Service was also quick and responsive. I'm not a sushi expert by any means but when it comes to asian food I usually determine the quality by the asians that eat there and this place had a lot of japanese customers so it must be pretty good in comparison to other places!
Seriously, Yelp, what is up?
No one mentioned the ENTIRE PACKAGE OF HI-CHEWS you get at the end of the meal.
On a price/quality continium, this place gets 5 stars. Yes, there are better places where you walk out with a $200 hole in your wallet.
This is a really small space, however, the people who run this place have managed to create a little gem of a restaurant. Although it is almost always packed because of the great prices, the customer is treated with great respect and the staff takes its time.
To the people who sit in here for over an hour after you're done eating just sipping tea and bullshitting: GET OUT, WE ARE WAITING FOR THAT TABLE.
Because of people like you I gave up eating in the restaurant and pretty much only order takeout- which honestly isn't that slow in light of how crowded the place always is.
Anywho, Geta is my favoritest.
I grew up in Japan. This place has good food. The rice says it all. I know my rice. PLUS, the owner is super awesome and sweet. I didn't yelp about this for a long time because I don't need dumdums ruining this place for me, but I really really love the owner and want so much for this place to do well. DON'T GO RUINING THIS PLACE FOR ME FELLOW YELPERS. thanks.
Awesome place. Food was really good, staff was friendly and the price was right on.
This place is REALLY small though so take out is better than dine in.
This is proof size doesn't matter. For restaurants that is. The fish here is always fresh. Hamachi and albacore tuna always buttery. Sushi restaurants in the east bay come a dime a dozen. Good sushi restaurants are hard to find. Geta, I'm glad I found you.
Can't take the small size of the restaurant? Order it to go. I mean it is what it is. This place is all about quality fish, not to wow you with it's colorful decor.
My neighborhood go-to spot for my sushi fix.
Excellent value, friendly service just don't expect a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
The kitchen could use a bit of tidying up tho.
I almost don't want to share this awesome place but yelp has always been so good to me...
This is the best sushi place I have been to in Oakland and there are a million. Not only is the sushi always delicious but the price is so reasonable.
I've been to all the sushi bars in grand lake and lake merrit but they are way more expensive and the sushi has been hit or miss. Geta is the BEST!
Crispy California roll w/ real crab meat, Dragon roll, Spider roll, Lion King, two miso soups, a side of tobiko, and seaweed salad.... all for $40 including tax and gratuity. Soooo cheap for good sushi.
My only complaint is that the place is SO tiny and we had to wait almost 20 minutes for a seat. Most of the servers weren't helpful or nice, except the only lady server that we had. She was so cute and friendly.
I thought there would have been some sort of catch since the rolls were like $5? I was expecting our rolls to be super tiny, but no...they were the standard size of rolls. I would definitely come back.
review take out only:
though i haven't updated my reviews, i and my family members are here at least twice a month, spending $40-$80 take out every time. mostly we order hamachi appetizer, salmon appetizer, albacore appetizer ($10ish, not on the menu). also we like the real cali roll (3ish) and rainbow rolls (6ish). the katsu curry rice (6ish) is nice also.
you can call in (if you can get in) and pick up later. it's better to try a little something first. know your favorites and order in quantity latter.
seatiing: 6 seats at sushi bar, 4-5 tables total
handrolls:
-betty h. gets it right, don't come here, i also don't like waiting for my food.
-sushi dining mondays and fridays: mondays cuz it the first fish delivery after the weekend. friday cuz it's the last sashimi (fish) delivery before the weekend. any other day. it isn't as fresh.
-grassshopper: look before you grab that sushi/sashimi. recommedation is for monday or friday ONLY.
-lots of metered parking in the lot behind geta's.
-real japanese run this place though they have chinese and indian waiters now.
just after 6, we scored the last table (out of 6) and things promptly went haywire. a chinese… Read more »
Don't go here. There's not enough room for both of us.
Apparently I'm totally missing out on the free Hi-Chews since I always get take-out. =(
But that's ok since I'm a little claustrophobic anyway....and you can't be that to enjoy eating here. I don't blame the owners for having a small restaurant, but I do blame clueless and pushy customers who block the entrance w/ their bodies or cut you in line when you are clearly waiting to order.
My favorites: Katsu-don, udon w/ tempura (really tasty shrimp!), authentic chicken kara-age. I won't mention my favorite off the menu item....cuz then they won't have any left for me. ;)
This is my go-to place on Piedmont Ave for Japanese food and dinner in general. The last time I went to Kotobuki down the street it smelled like something died in there. =(
Our favorite Japanese place in the Area so far. yay!
But don't eat there. I feel smooshed when we ate there. To go is the way to go.
Excellent hole-in-the-wall with very reasonable prices. I really like their Katsu Curry and their Spider Rolls. The beef terriyaki is good too, but sometimes overcooked.
I tend to be a bit of a sushi snob when it comes to raw fish, so I rarely order raw fish in places unless the fish looks really really fresh. I've tried the raw fish a few times, but found it so-so. Acceptable for cravings, but usually I opt out.
I tend to have a love-hate relationship with Geta because they are so incredibly slow when it comes to take-out. To be honest, they try their best, but I'm really just not a very nice person when I'm hungry. And then I resent them for keeping me so hungry for so long...but to their credit, I do admit they try and they are very nice people.
Not big on sushi - went with the Chicken Teriyaki Don. Very tasty. I was happy that it was not swimming in sugar sauce, like some other places. Geta is now in the rotation!
I am a chicken snob, though, so I had to remove the skin from the chicken thighs. Picky, picky. I understand white meat is more expensive, but I prefer it. Not sure if they offer it though - I'll have to ask next time. People were nice, Miso was fine and the gyoza were good too.
I come here once in a while for my sushi fix. A solid 4 1/2 stars! This place pretty much sums up a hole in the wall type restaurant. They probable have 5 tables and enough room at the sushi bar for maybe 6 or 7 people. The sushi is really good though and is perfect for takeouts. Make sure that you check out their specials board when you're inside! They have good stuff in season like uni or toro.
I ordered a tempura dragon roll to go. For $7.95 how can you go wrong? It wasn't the biggest roll I've ever had but it sure was tasty! The tempura shrimp inside was nice and crunchy. You can tell they used a freshly fried tempura shrimp or two in it! It was covered in avocado and unagi!
This place is really good and the prices are as good as it gets when it comes to sushi!
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