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Mon. 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Tue. 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Tue. 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Wed-Sat. 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Wed-Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
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A rainy night with my mom and a hankering for good food led us to Homma's, a place my little sister's friend described as "one dude making really delicious sushi, slooowwwwlllyyy"
It turned out to be an entirely accurate description! Tucked in the back off the street, Homma's has about 3 tables, no servers, and a very down-home Japanese feeling. Kind of like a neighborhood sushi joint you would go to in Tokyo.
The food was awesome. Despite the fact it took 30 minutes of waiting, the sushi came out fresh and the brown rice actually added to the flavor instead of detracting from it. We had shiitake, una-avo, maguro, california rolls, and green tea. 26 pieces of sushi for $21? Sign me up!
Oh, and if you're sketched out about brown rice in your sushi (I love me some white rice), I can firmly say that you can rest your fears. Homma's is delicious!
A date took me here and at first I was sketched out. Plastic patio table and chairs outside? Register area kind of looks like a taqueria? Was I really going to eat raw fish from this place? My date assured me it was great sushi. After going over the small menu, I ordered some nigiri and a una-avo roll.
After the rather long wait (I'm told this is normal), our food came! And how delicious it was. This was the first time I had brown rice sushi and I have no complaints. The fish quality was good as well. The portions are a bit on the small side, so we ended up making a second order.
My advice for Homma's:
- cash only
- order more than you think you need
- get a miso soup because it'll tide you over while waiting the long wait for your food
I CRAVE the food from this place. I only wish it was closer to work/home so I could go there more often. If I did, I'd probably go there once a week so maybe it's better that I don't so that I actually go out and try different restaurants. The times that we do go though we are sure to call in ahead of time since orders typically take 30-45 minutes to fulfill since each order is made solely by Homma-san.
My favorite things there are the salad with fish and the una-avo roll. I love the uniqueness of the nutty flavor of the brown rice with the fish and vegetables. Very satisfying but makes me feel a little healthier too. Prices are also very reasonable for sushi especially with such fresh ingredients.
The cash only policy is the only thing that brings it down a star for me. Being a person who never has cash this is a big thing for me.
Have not been here for a while but my TOGO order was great. Love the brown rice...simple menu and always have great food. I have eaten in before...it does take a while..Call and order ahead. Very small but tasty when you want the nutty taste of their sushi.
Only - is ...the y do not offer Low Salt Soy Sauce.
a hole-in-the-wall that's pretty hard to find unless you know where to look. i ordered the chirashi while my friend ordered the chef's special and an order of the california roll. my chirashi had some basil leaves in it, which gave it an extra kick. plus, it didn't look like a lot of food but i was stuffed by the end. the fish was extremely fresh and was the brown rice was a very nice surprise. in my friend Stacy's words, "the consistency of the rice is what makes this place so good." (i may have paraphrased that/made that part up). very very reasonably priced.
i agree with matthew m - lots of great choices for vegetarians.
only downsides: no ambiance, cash only, and the wait can be anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes, depending on how many people have called in ahead of you. i recommend getting to-go.
I wanted sushi around the Palo Alto area but no affordable and good review restaurants popped out though yelping except this one.
I might be one of the few people who actually prefer brown rice over white rice (not for any health reason or sensitive about my carb intake). My boyfriend was sketchy at first to go try out this place with me but I successfully convinced him.
The decoration of the restaurant wasn't too impressive...actually I should say no decoration at all. Well, I am glad we have yelp. I can't go wrong if the place is so well-received by so many yelpers.
I was very fond of the food. My boyfriend got a Combo # 1 (3 cucumbers, 3 tuna, 4 nigiri), Vegetable plate, and a plate of spicy mackerel with ginger. The amount of food was perfect for two of us. we finished everything...not a single brown rice was left on the plates.
Oh, one funny thing was miso soup came in styrofoam cup. Never seen that before.
Delicious food - I can taste the vinegar in the rice as well as the ingredients with every bite. The fish quality was superb, nothing like the look of the restaurant. The brown rice was cook well. It was a very refreshing meal.
Bring your own tea coz it's not free.
Highly recommended this place!
Totally low key place with amazing sushi. The sashimi was really fresh, and the little bite-sized sushi was perfect. Because it's a family place, don't expect a nice sit-down place - just eat your amazing sushi and be on your way.
Will definitely be back!
I think this place is pretty sketchy. He probably adds more sugar/starch to get the brown rice to stick so well. I don't know if it's worth it since although I usually eat brown rice/pretty health conscious, sushi really requires white rice. The cuts of fish taste ok but from memory are smaller pieces than normal (for example the chirashi pieces are tiny compared to chirashi at other places). Go to sushi tomi.
Wonderful sushi! Not as cutting edge, but the brown rice makes up for it. Somewhat slow, but the… Read more »
I guess now I am updating this review with some actual food experience! Although I was sadly turned off by the fact that they did not serve fast food here at all and everything took forever, I was pleasantly surprised by my second visit where I called ahead and got to-go instead.
Please realize I am NOT reviewing the place because I honestly think to-go is the best way to enjoy food fro Homma's Brown Rice Sushi.
Of course, you cannot have delicious brown rice sushi without having delicious brown rice and the brown rice here is definitely past my standard for tastiness and has the perfect texture unlike many other brown rice places that disappoint me with hard, chewy brown rice that seems more uncooked than anything. They have very simple rolls that don't have many ingredients in them but surprisingly they are all, so, delicious. I am AMAZED at how you can make a maki with simply hamachi in it and have it taste so good, with such fatty hamachi goodness.
They have the most AMAZING brown rice salads I've ever had because their dressing just makes the rice THAT much more MM, MMM good. I am usually not at a lack of words for many food but this place is beyond my comprehension in their ability to make brown rice SO delicious.
I am going to be calling in again. Very. Very. Soon.
I hope to update this review with some actual food experience, but I feel like any experience you… Read more »
brown rice + sushi = crime against humanity
This small restaurant is super sketchy (plastic lawn chairs, one sushi chef, and rusted cooking equipment in the kitchen). You get your own water from the cooler. The food took forever (about 30 minutes for three rolls with only two other people in the restaurant). Yes, it is somewhat cheaper than other sushi options, but the source is questionable, and I wouldn't risk your health over it.
Great concept!! Love that this small shop caters to us brown rice eaters trying to watch our carb intake.
It's more of a to-go spot. This middle of an alley establishment probably has a capacity of 15. Service was fast during the lunch hour today. I enjoyed my Combo #1 for a mere $8.
Good food, great prices! I'd come back if I were in the area. :)
FYI - CASH ONLY
Don't go here. If you go here, and you like it (you will), it means that I will have to compete against one more person when I come here for food.
Okay, possessive anger issue aside, the Mrs. and I really like the sushi here. It was said before: Homma-san knows his work, and he is so very creative with the flavors and textures it's amazing. This is the first place I ate sushi that made me realize that soy sauce and wasabi are meant to cover up the taste of bad sushi, not augment the taste of good sushi.
I've been told that the test of a really great sushi chef is tamago. Yes, the sweet scrambled egg. It's apparently the most difficult thing to make, and most restaurants buy it premade from their distributor. Homma-san makes his own, and it's a treat unto itself.
Yes, call ahead if you know what you want. Alternately, you can place your order, pay, and go over to Antonio's Nut House for a beer while you wait for your order to be made.
Domo Arigato, Homma-san.
*If you are one of those folks who knows sushi is this or sushi is that and you want your order served to you on a boat in ten minutes or less, really don't come here. It's not intended for you.
I had the place book marked for the longest time but I couldn't get my head around brown rice sushi -- until I recently found brown rice sushi nigiri and maki at grocery deli sections of Nob Hill and Mollie Stone's -- and actually liked it.
Homma=san (the methodical chef behind the counter?) doesn't just substitute brown for white rice but creatively works with it and embraces it as he combines it in rolls, salads and chirashi. The chirashi was particularly creative, pleasing to the eye as much as the tastes and textures were to the mouth.
I visited around 1:00 PM mid-week and had a short wait between ordering and being serve. I can see how the wait could be painfully long if one to hit the lunch crowd head on with just the cashier/server and the chef. I appreciated the anti-ambiance of the place; very bare bones functional.
Wow. Just... wow. Some of the best fish I've ever had. Yes, it's a bit pricy, but it is totally worth it! The sashimi platter my date and I shared was amazing.
3.5
Homma's Brown Rice Sushi is an interesting place that's definitely worth a stop-in for lunch. I'd been wanting to try it for a while but was under the impression that it was a more expensive, fancier restaurant than it is. Really, it's just a simple ma'n'pa kinda place where I got my lunch for under 10$... though a bigger appetite might require more $$.
The fish was fresh. The service was kinda slow. The rolls were tastier than I'd imagined they'd be but a lil dry. I would not go with a group there...
All-in-all, I'd definitely be back for another try. It felt good to know I'd eaten such a healthy lunch. :)
See ya there!
homma's is amazing for vegetarian options. their combinations for those ones are my favorite and they are always quite interesting. i love when it's somewhat seasonal too.
it does take a long time for them to make everything usually--to get around this, my coworkers and i usually call ahead of time and give ourselves at least 1/2 an hour to 45 minutes for them to prepare. i love that they are really good about telling you how long the wait is and it's pretty spot on.
This place has all the makings of a potentially great sushi place - a hidden hole in the wall, a small menu without the plethora of giant rolls that some overblown sushi places like to have, and a dedication to detail and fresh fish. Having said that, the whole having to wait 30 minutes for a brown rice salad with fish and vegetables that looks like a scoop of brown rice flattened then covered in fresh greens, avocado, tomato, and chunks of fresh sashimi like tuna and salmon seems like overkill. Especially when there is no one else sitting in the restaurant.
Don't get me wrong - the fish is VERY fresh and delicious, the brown rice is an interesting twist to the normal white rice (it's denser, slightly sweeter, and has a nutty/woodsy flavor), and the salad is great as everyone says.
But, when I'm starving and I show up right when the restaurant opens, I don't see why I have to wait 30 minutes for a salad. I did get my order of tamago right away, and that was tasty. But it only whetted my appetite and made me more hungry as I waited and waited. Oh well, this place was definitely worth a shot and I'm glad I went after all =)
Because today was my first time at Homma's, this is just a tentative review:
My savvy friend Justin knows that you must call ahead to place your order (or you'll be waiting for eons), so we do so, and by the time we arrive, our food is already waiting for us.
I got a combo no. 2, which is four pieces of nigiri (salmon, tuna, hamachi, something else I can't remember), three pieces of tuna roll, and three pieces of cucumber roll. It was one of the healthiest lunches I've ever eaten.
The fish was, as expected, very fresh. I also liked the brown rice in the sushi, with its nutty, distinctive taste. I can't say that I love it, though. Brown rice is just not that sticky, and sushi and sticky rice go together like peanut butter and jelly... seriously, I think they do.
WARNING: Homma puts a little wasabi surprise in your sushi. This was a very unpleasant surprise for me. Fortunately, he only added a tiny dab, but it's something to keep in mind.
Anyways, I just felt a little underwhelmed about this now-overhyped place.
But I'm gonna give it another chance soon and order the donburi, so expect an update.
I've been meaning to come to this place for a while, even if it's in a back alley and seats exactly 14 people at capacity. Cash only and the food takes a while since it's literally the pop in the mom n' pop that makes all the food while the son rakes in the $. Surprisingly good and the brown rice doesn't really kick in until the aftertaste, so it's like having decent sushi with a nutty waft in the ol' nasal/oral passages. I tried the futomaki since I love having 8 ingredients in a chubby roll and also picked up a California roll. I could have passed on the CA roll, but the futomaki was really good. A bit more ginger and wasabi would have been nice, but I'm sure I could have asked for more.
This one is not the easiest to find, and is not where you want to go for your wedding rehearsal dinner, but if you are looking for good sushi with a casual atmosphere you found your spot. Don't expect to stare at the "special rolls" portion of the menu for hours on end trying to decide between an "HP - the computer is personal again" roll or a "Stanford Hoover Tower" roll. The menu is refreshingly simple and has a lot of vegetarian options just in case you are watching your heavy metal intake. I have tried the Tekka and Chirashi Donburi as well as a few of the rolls and I can't say anything bad about how the food tasted. The fish tasted fresh, and the brown rice adds a unique flavor that's addictive.
This is also not the place to bring your friends for sushi and sake bombs as they don't serve alcohol... or anything for that matter. You order at the door and if you don't buy a bottled drink, you fill your own glass with water from a pitcher near the cash register. If the one sushi chef is busy you could be waiting for awhile so it might be better to call in your order, set up some ambiance at your own house, buy some sake and Asahi, and make sure you have enough wasabi for those friends of yours that like their soy sauce a very light brown color.
Great food find! Nice hole in the wall place for sushi made with brown rice. Tucked away in a side street in downtown Palo Alto. Thanks Yelp for finding this one for me. Great for take out.
Pros
- tasty hamachi & uni nigiri. The texture of brown rice with the seafood is fantastic - I really like it.
- great nice service - feels homey.
- inside & outdoor seating.
Cons
- long wait for food - 45 min (cashier informed us). Call your order ahead.
- street parking
Return Visit
- yes. Next time I'm in town.
Would be five stars without the crazy long wait. Next time I would get takeout. The problem with eating there is that the sushi chef makes the to-go orders first. (I mean, you're also eating in a shack sitting on plastic lawn chairs with faded posters on the wall, but these things don't really bother me.)
I got the nigiri sampler, which was super fresh and very tasty. My favorite was the eel; I don't know what he did, but it was sweet and crispy and crazy good. I also got seaweed salad-stuffed inari...mmm. If you like regular inari, definitely try the seaweed version.
If not for the 30+ min wait on the food, would have been 5 stars.
I think the sushi is way over rated. Brown rice sushi is definitly a good concept,but it is extremly difficult to make brown rice stick. Thus, the brown rice needs to be over cooked and I believe there were some corn starch added to the brown rice to make the suhsi rolls easier to make.
Prices are good! Selections are limited!
Continuing in my budget sushi mode, I headed to Homma's Brown Rice Sushi. I had actually been to Homma's several times since discovering it on Yelp, but had never written a review.
Homma's is a prototypical Mom and Pop hole in the wall. Favored by Stanford students, local Palo Altans, and sushi foodies, Homma's has been serving high quality (and healthy) brown rice sushi for quite some time. The best part, given the lower overhead with the mundane decor and plastic silverware, is a reasonable price.
After having gone several times, I have found what I think are my favorite items. These are consistently fresh, delicious, and work really well with brown rice.
Nigiri deluxe - 8 pieces of the chef's choice of the best fish. Typically includes ebi, salmon, tuna, and unagi. At $12, it's an absolute bargain and the selections are as good as any high end fancy sushi house (although you won't get toro or amaebi)
California roll - 6 pieces of the typical California roll but made with brown rice. I'm not sure if it's the quality of the ingredients or the unique crunch of the brown rice, but this California roll is much better than that you see in every bento box. At $4, it's dirt cheap.
For $16, a person can have a nice meal that is significantly higher in quality than some place like Sushi 85 ($16.95). Really depends if you are in the mood for quantity or quality.
Brown rice salad w/ fish and vegetables - this dish gets more rave reviews than any other that Homma serves. I initially thought it was disappointing, not seeing a great amount of fish and seeing too many greens. At $10.80, it seems expensive for a salad. But upon mixing it together well and enjoying it slowly, the flavors hit. It's very good. The salad, fish choices, and sauce go very well together. If you feel like splurging or buying for two, get the salad. Otherwise, stick to the first two.
There is also a long wait usually at this popular joint. Best play: order ahead. It's a one man operation and the speed is about quality not efficiency. Finally, http://jatbar.com has a great link to menu image. Useful for ordering at home as Homma's does not have a website.
Homma's is cash only.
I've attempted to come here a couple times now, but always left because the wait was too long. I thought it might just be the times I had been there (for instance, there was a time when a huge party came in right before us and they told us it would be an hour and a half wait for sushi!!), but no, apparently this is the usual. Maybe cause there's only one lil' ol' sushi man working behind that counter and his hands can only move so... slow....
This place is literally like a shack in an alley with a few tables and chairs, but it produces amazing pieces of sushi! I don't know if it's the brown rice or what, but the spicy tuna was delicious and fresh tasting! It was also cheap, but the rolls were pretty small too, so maybe it evens out? I would maybe come back but order ahead of time, so that I don't have to wait half an hour. I would also say that this was one of those hole-in-the-wall places, and maybe it was or is, but too many people know about it for that to really be the case! I would say definitely try it, and highly consider ordering ahead unless you think that waiting is an essential part of the Homma's Brown Rice Sushi experience :D
The idea sounds great... you get to eat the sushi, and you get to stay healthy with the whole brown rice thing. I guess brown rice is good for your hair, digestion, heart and maybe nails... all good stuff.
It just didn't work for me. The guy working at the counter was incredibly nice, and the order to go was ready pretty quickly.... but the sushi itself wasn't that good.
I ordered a selection of nigiri.... and they all had the same problem. The rice tasted good, actually it was some of the best brown rice i've ever had... the problem is I wanted sushi, not brown rice. With each nigiri, all I tasted was rice, with maybe a little bit of fish at the very end.
Ordered a couple of simple rolls (the spicy tuna, which is my mainstay for testing sushi spots), and had the same problem... tasted a whole lotta rice, and not much fish.
I think it's a great idea on paper, but it just didn't work for me. I think the strong flavors of the rice totally overwhelm whatever fish you get. The good thing is that the rice is actually really good.
Remember that fateful day years ago, when your mom packed your school lunch sandwich (be it PBJ or BLT) and your favorite white wonderbread mysteriously got replaced with a dry chewy grainy brown wheat?
Or better yet, if you be da shiznit A$N kid, one day the bowl of white rice you've been eating suddenly is replaced with the bullshit equivalent?
Depending on your personality, your reaction could be one of two things
"BITCH, SAY WHAT?!"
or
(\____/)
/ o o \
( . o . )
\ . /\ . /
- - - - - -
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
\ IT'S BROWN RICE /
\ BITCH! EAT IT! /
\=============/
My upbringing involved ingraining the philsophy of respecting me elders, so option 1 was out the door, or get my a$$ kicked bamboo stick style (that was before there were laws against child abuse and protective $ervice$)
So you can see I was scarred $hitle$$ by brown rice.
As I've overcome the fear of bullshit rice over the years, I've also learned that it is a right bastich bitcha$$ to cook. Too little water, and you might as well deep fry or grill it into a rice cracker. Too much water and it becomes lumpy a$$ oatmeal pre-puke (but worse).
But chef owner Momoyo Homma of Homma's Brown Rice (Genmai) Sushi manages to make this gummy lumpy BS taste REALLY good with his fish and vegetarian offerings. And he's been doing it closing in on 20 years.
I don't believe he was classically trained in sushi. You can tell by his knife and nigiri molding skills. He does take the time to do it right by his standards, and by nature of the genmai's stickiness, the slice of fish adheres to rice pad nicely, also giving a good feel in the mouth. The brown sushi rice is also vinegar marinated and the end result is an interesting balance that includes sweetness (that doesn't taste like the bullshit mom tried to up$ell years ago or the Calrose sugar crap at your pseushi bar).
The sushi neta here are common fare; maguro, hamachi, hirame (sold out today), uni ($5, also sold out), ebi, unagi. Homma also does brown rice jive ass rolls, but the real low tech stuff and not the fancy ones at the Korean or Chinese type pseushi places with stupid names.
Ca$h only, and the table and chair setup might remind one of Yum Yum Fish (San Francisco). In fact fish quality might be similar to Yum Yum (when it was still Japanese owned) .
Breakdown:
NIGIRI
maguro - the amount of genmai was quite generous on all nigiri. The shape of the "shari" was irregular but still had hints of oval. No "dimples" to the side. The fish was a slice that fit like a rainbow curve. Decent tuna.
hamachi - lots of scallions on top. A small thin slice of lemon inbetween. Nice belly cut. Not high or medium end hamachi by any means, but a good oily belly cut that complemented the gummy brown rice flavor.
unagi - the cashier tried to upsell this and as they ran out of hirame and uni ($5), I had little choice. Fortunately it was actually very decent and roasty toasty. The unagi sauce was a bit on the sweet side, but for a ca$h only place where the average nigiri pair is under $4 what do you expect?
saba - oooo nice one for a cheap sushi place! Only recommended if you like saba, and when it's oily. Lots of scallions and thin ginger shreds on top with the thin lemon slice in between.
ROLLS and other things
scallop - ($4.00+) served gunkan style (like uni or ikura). with shiso inside. White board special item. Cashier asked if spicy was OK and I said yes. Fortunately Homma didn't use the spicy mayo sucka MC mix, but put a tiny piece of pineapple on top, then some spicy type paste. The scallop was fresh and chunky, the whole thing worked well. Recommended
natto maki - whoops this was an inside out roll (ura-hosomaki). Not a whole lotta natto inside. Would have preferred proper hosomaki.
ume-kyu - a proper hosomaki, brown rice, with sour plum paste and cucumber. A nice dessert closer.
Bottom line, if you think Whole Foods pre-made brown rice sushi is bull$$$$hit, then owe it to yourself to try Homma's. Think of it as way better, made to order, and keep that Tokyo style sushi snobbery to yourself (or to Yelp), have an open mind, and you'll enjoy it.
Hole in the wall... "Deli-like feel" is an understatement. Ambiance is equivalent to that of my garage that hasn't been cleaned out in the last 20 years.
We waited 45 minutes to get our first plate- and by that time my stomach had already started to eat itself. I was conjuring up my plan of action if I was not served my food ASAP.
Regulating scenario #1: leap on top of the sushi counter and burst into a rage like a she-hulk, raid their fridge, throw some plates on the floor and scream like a monkey.
Regulating scenario #2: leap on OVER the sushi counter in a similar fashion as scenario #1, push the sushi master over and start making my own sushi myself and put a chunk of pickled ginger in my mouth because that shit is the bomb.
Regulating scenario #3: A combination of scenario #1 and #2, and then I'd run out the door with the cash register and shout, "fuck you, bitches!"
Luckily it wasn't imperative that I conduct such scenarios because by the time I was about to execute scenario #1, our food came out.
We overheard some Stanford students having an intense debate on whether or not chocolate is considered a "candy" because it's derived from the cocoa bean.... some weird shit like that. I wasn't eaves dropping too hard because I was delirious and starving. Who has that kind of debate, though? About chocolate? Seriously?!?
The rolls aren't so bad here... they're healthy but the wait really made my nerves twitch.
This place reminds me of the sushi version of Chos down the street. Hole in the wall, not much seating, basic decor, plastic chairs.
Gimme sushi!!!!!! :)
I wasn't sure what to expect b/c brown rice I usually have is somewhat dry and grainy, but after eating here for lunch, I was definitely pleasantly surprised. The rice is so moist that it doesn't even taste like you're eating brown rice. If I was blindfolded I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference.
I ordered two spicy tuna rolls (note: the rolls are pretty small here, so if you usually order one, maybe think about two) and an order of hamachi. everything was very tasty! The rest of my coworkers ordered other rolls which they seemed to enjoy and I think the consensus was that the brown rice salad was the best thing! The dressing was very light and it was very very tasty!
This place is also very cheap!!!! $4 for a 6 piece california roll??? $3 for hamachi nigiri?!?!? $1.50 for a large miso soup, $0.50 for green tea!!!!!
Totally worth it. I am definitely coming back.
You're kidding me right? how does this place have such high reviews? The sushi is alright but nothing special. We waited almost 45 minuets to get our sushi and there wasn't anyone else in the restaurant (if you can even call it that considering we sat outside on plastic chairs.) Waste of money.
My favorite hole-in-the-wall in Palo Alto. I don't even know how I discovered this place initially (this was in my pre-Yelp days, children) but it's my favorite find of all college. Including the boyfriend. Yup.
Order the unagi-don, enjoy the plastic chairs & tables, Christmas lights, and smile like you've got a secret that nobody else knows!
There's only a handful of places that I know where you can get brown rice sushi: Whole Foods, Pacific Catch in SF, the Davis Co-op...the selection is so limited. It's sad. So when I heard about this place, I hella had to go!
From the previous reviews, I knew going in not to expect anything amazing (environment wise). I seriously felt like I was eating in somebody's garage. But I'd say what they lacked in ambiance, they made up with affordable sushi that tasted pretty good!
The chirashi and the una-avo roll were my favorites. For the chirashi, it's not what you are typically served. The fish slices are much smaller but so is the price ($12.00) and served on a plate instead of a bowl. And who doesn't love unagi and avocado...we got two of them but we should have ordered more! Their menu is pretty basic so you won't find hundreds of crazy rolls here. They just concentrate on doing the simple ones well.
So why not 5 stars then? The rice was not perfect. It was kind of loose and getting into my soy sauce dish and I think they used too much rice vinegar. It got a little too tangy/sour towards the last few bites. The service was also slow but I didn't expect to be in and outta there when it was only one sushi chef. Lastly...please no more Styrofoam!
I would go back if I lived closer but for now, I'm going to concentrate on looking for brown rice sushi in the city.
Absolutely amazing!
I would recommend ordering to-go because it takes far too long to wait.
The sushi is delicious and Homma is a great guy!
I believe they have some pre-made sushi available for lunch.
Prices are pretty good for sushi - Maguro nigiri is YUMMY!
I was looking for a good sushi restaurant in Palo Alto. I found Homma's on yelp. Sushi with brown rice? WTF? Gotta check it out. Brown rice is so good and healthy! Cant go wrong.
I called in and ordered to go.
I ordered the Futomatki, which was 8 big pieces. It had a good crunch to it but I could taste the small piece of raw salmon in it. The raw salmon was NOT fresh.
Then I had the combo #2 which consist of 4 nigri and 3 California roll. The California roll was good. It was tiny but tasty. I took one bite of the Tuna nigri and almost threw up! I spit it out, and was disgusted. It was the nastiest fish I've ever eaten. Tasted like the fish was 1 week old and was in the sewer for another. Just writing about it now makes me gag. Yuck!
I also ordered the Tekka (tuna roll). I was so disgusted that I did not even try it.
All together 3 items cost me $26. Not bad but I threw everything away. It was like I had a $20 $5 & $1 dollar bill and just threw it in the garbage can. What a waste of money.
I'm very surprised that I'm not giving this place 5 stars for what it is.
The only place I can find brown rice sushi is at Whole Foods. But those come prepackaged and are colder than room temperature rice. It's not as tasty as this place!
However, the rice tasted a litlte funky to me. I felt the brown rice flavor was a bit overwhelming and took away from this fish. Either that or the fish wasn't as flavorful. Yes, I know I'm eating brown rice sushi and therefore will taste the brown riceness. But it was a bit salty and made me wonder if they added salt to it or if that was the natural rice flavor.
Aside from that, service was friendly. The place is dinky compared to most sushi places. It's endearing and wholesome, except the plastic patio chairs.
Here's the thing. We got there around 7:30pm on a Saturday night and were told that the wait was going to be 45 minutes because Homma had many to-go orders and some orders ahead of us. We got our food around 8:45pm! Yes, I really did sit there for over an hour for brown rice sushi. We were starving! But I was adamant about staying since we took so long to find it. No way was I going back to Santa Clara for Cherry Sushi with white rice!! Then it all came really fast, one plate after another. I really wish Homma could have made us one simple plate to help sustain us.
So aside from the wait, I would recommend coming here and giving it a try. Who knows? You might like brown rice sushi if you've never had it before, and it is healthier. I also suggest ordering ahead and picking it up to-go, seems a lot of people were doing that and avoiding the long wait.
Futomaki roll is delicious! The other rolls were average. Don't except crazy Dragon style rolls or anything.
Cheap, healthy, fresh sushi. The brown rice makes all the difference. I miss this place. It looks like a hole in the wall (and it is) because they really focus on the quality of the food. The wait is SUPER long but the food is worth it. Una Avo roll and California roll all the way.
Five stars (which is super rare for me) because it's quality food for amazing prices AND a nice staff. But I'd probably deduct half a star for the wait and uncomfortable chairs.
Since I've started to get used to Brown Rice now, this Hole-in-the-wall, Cafeteria Style place has average Sushi. The rolls were small for me though. I ordered to go, and the Cashier gave me my Miso Soup right away while I was waiting in a Styrofoam cup..kinda odd to me. Doesn't seem like they have Bento Boxes though. Sux. I was hoping for some specialty rolls here. There's only like 3 tables in the place.
I paid 8 bucks for a few pieces of rolls and Nigiri. Was still hungry so I got Pizza also LOL. MMM nice combination.
Cash only also.
Every time I come back from a business trip, I call Homma's Brown Rice Sushi and order an Una Avo roll and a brown rice salad. Both are divine. I slip under their spell and all is right with the world even if I had been delayed three hours at O'Hare. Bless this place.
Here is the trick:
Only Homma makes the food so it can take awhile if you order at the counter. (Hence I call ahead.) I also recommend getting it to go since it is nicer to to eat in your candle-lit dining room with a glass of wine than in Homma's florescent lit place. Get the salad dressing (fantastic!) on the side so your salad will be crisp when you get it home. No, this is not the place you would go for atmosphere.
It is, however, magically good.
Yay! I finally found good and inexpensive sushi in Palo Alto. This place is a true hole in the wall - definitely not a dinner place, but if you just want to grab a quick tasty lunch with a friend it's perfect.
I had the eel nigiri and a sushi sampler - fresh and tasty. The wait can be a little annoying as they only have one sushi chef, but it's worth it.
Boyfriend and I had pondered the other day whether any places served brown rice sushi...little did we know there was a brown rice sushi restaurant in his hometown!
We really enjoyed the food here - the fish is really fresh, and there is a great variety of different rolls/nigiri here. I'm pretty sure there is something for everyone to enjoy!! I like how the rolls that they have aren't the kind that have tempura pieces/that are drenched in sauce.
The only qualms...as other people have mentioned....is that this really feels like a cafeteria...like a hospital cafeteria or something. There is pretty much no ambiance/decor. They have water jugs near the cash register for you to refill your water yourself. There is no waiter service...you pay when you order, they bring you your food, and that's pretty much it. Also, the time for the food to come out can be kind of slow, as it took around 20-30 minutes for our order to finally arrive. I think I would prefer to order takeout from here. There are only three tables, with a total maximum seating in the restaurant of about 8-10 people.
But aside from that, I am digging the brown rice sushi! Yay whole grains! Yummy yum yum yum.
Palo Alto, CA
Category: Sushi Bars
Menlo Park, CA
Category: Japanese
Palo Alto, CA
Category: Sushi Bars
Palo Alto, CA
Category: Japanese
Menlo Park, CA
Category: Japanese
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