Hoshi
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 11:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
Mon-Sat 5:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. - Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: No
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
54 reviews
Santa Clara, CA
"*UPDATE: (2/3/2008) Re-wrote this slightly as I ate here more and have more info! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I…" read more »
89 Reviews for Hoshi
i went for dinner with a friend of mine about a week ago, and ordered many of the small dishes (tapas-like) that were posted on the walls. one of my favorites is a beef braised in ketchup sauce. although there were only two pieces, but the beef was so tender that it was all worth the price. there were also many kinds of tempura (the shiso that is part of the dish was so good), and just different types of delicacies. staff was very friendly too of course. definitely going back (perhaps even this week)! reservations recommended.
Very good food, very authentic, very s-l-o-w service *__*
The food here is excellent! As soon as you walk into the store, it feels like one of those little restaurants in Japan. I have lived in this area for years and had always passed by this place. Never thought it will be authentic or good judging from the appearance outside.
The walls are covered with slips of Japanese calligraphy (menu). The place is small with few tables and a sushi bar area. Food here are really good, no complaints! Service can be a bit slooow~ they brought my friend's Nabeyaki Udon first, my sushi didn't come until like 20 minutes later. Left me drooling and starving as I stare at my friend eating his noodle. My friend liked his Udon very much. My sushi was great! Portion and size are good, very fresh. They also offer good selection of sake here, hot and cold. A little sushi, a little sake.. oh heaven!
The table next to us ordered a bunch of small dishes, all looked really good!
Definitely recommend making reservation, and probably make it 30 minutes earlier, so you won't be too hungry by the time you actually get the food.
I've been to Hoshi three times now for dinner. It defies classification and definitely skirts the border of value-for-money... it's not super cheap yet it's not super high-end either. But, it's definitely unique and I have every intention of going back again.
I always make sure someone gets the Otsumami Omakase, 5 dishes for $40:
1. 9 pieces of sashimi, including tuna toro and octopus
2. Beautiful entree: Last night it was this broth served inside a seashell, sitting on what looked like sand (salt?), and the whole thing was set aflame. Tasted ok and there wasn't very much, but the presentation was awesome! Another time I came this was substituted with what looks like an egg, but was really a custard with surprise ingredients embedded inside.
3. A cute circular tofu, which people always mistaken for a potato. Very tasty with soy sauce and comes with radish on the side.
4. Fish: One time it was stewed fish heads. Another time it was this amazing deep-fried flounder (which unfortunately reminds me of Little Mermaid... oh well).
5. Cream Anmitsu: Vanilla ice cream and red bean paste floating inside what looks like a fruit cup with canned peaches, cherries, and sweet geletin.
Like Toro Eater wrote, doing the Otsumami Omakase is a great way to get acquainted with what Hoshi offers. It can be kind of sad receiving a strange dish after plopping down $40, but I think it's worth it. After I've experienced the omakase, I have no reservations ordering random stuff off the longer menu (translated from the paper on the walls). Though Hoshi is eclectic, I know I won't get devastated since I have a good feel now for the various dishes.
As for sushi, I've gotten:
- The sashimi (6 pieces per order for ~$12 ) is the best I've gotten anywhere. I've tried both the yellowtail and maguro. They're all large solid pieces and cut and presented perfectly. You don't feel gyped in terms of quality or quantity.
- Omakase sushi, 8 sushi and egg for $22: Just a solid collection of nigiri. Various types of tuna toro, a shrimp one, and a bunch I didn't recognize. Doesn't distinguish itself among all the great sushi places we have in the area, but it's solid.
Nice little touches:
- The place definitely has the family-run restaurant feel. You know it's a family running the place with different family members helping out with different parts of the restaurant. It's definitely laid-back so you don't feel bad just coming as you are, like you would going to dinner at home.
- I love how the garnish is fresh and edible... none of those plastic green leaves that're standard for some silly reason. These are real leaves. Little carrot flowers garnish other dishes.
- Cloth napkins... woot.
- They gave my mom some flowers when we came for Mother's Day. A nice touch.
Service is hit or miss. I think it depends who your server is. One waitress I had was really hard to flag down, but with another one, I felt I was in good hands the entire time and she anticipated what I needed before even I did.
You do have to get used to the food coming at sporadic times... one person often gets their food 10 minutes before another does. Food serving is definitely not choreographed like at some other restaurants (heh). Again, just like at home.
Definitely make reservations if you plan to go Friday or Saturday night. The place is tiny and I've never seen anyone walk in successfully without a reservation.
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This is the worst meal I have had in recent history. I would have given it one star if it were not for the fact that actual real Japanese people apparently eat here and seem to enjoy themselves.
I would NOT come here if you do not know how to read Japanese -- there are specials in Japanese pasted on the walls around this place.
I also would NOT get the Chef Special here. They have 5 dishes for $40 and 7 dishes for $60....I got the $40 option and it was THE worst $40 I have ever spent in my life. I think I would preferred to flush $40 down the toilet, it was that bad.
The service is also unbearably slow here...I almost walked out, it was so bad. I have places to go, things to do, and people to meet...who has time to be waiting around an hour plus for my overpriced and subpar food???
Anyway, the five dishes were --
* 9 pieces of sashimi
* 2 pieces of katsu with some light vinegar sauce
* Cooked tuna with green onion (I think this was cooked in soy sauce)
* Fried saba (mackerel) -- this was horribly dry
* Weird dessert dish with red bean and ice cream
On a more positive note, my brother got the salmon teriyaki dinner special and the portions looked pretty good.
Still, though, it would require an act of God for me to come back to this place.
Fantastic place, the food is great!
Please consider, especially if price is no object, the ordering strategy listed in Toro Eater's (Tori E) 600th review. There are so many specials... on the walls.
David P is right on - this is a great transplant from a Japanese neighborhood. Keiko is "spot on" that this deserves much more
than five stars due to the food!
It's not just the food, it's small, intimate, funky with the 156 specials listed on the wall.
There's a nice selection of sakes, not the most in the bay area, but very nice. Can't finish your sake, no worries they can store in for their regulars - don't worry, your name is on it.
Hoshi-San, solve this and it's 5 stars all the way!
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Note #1: Hoshi-san's the bomb
Note #2: The servers (not meaning to be mean) can be somewhat clueless at the best of times. Apologies if they're relatives, but it must be said!
Note #3: Reservations are a must Fri/Sat
Note #3a: Probably only 3 stars on Fri/Sat due to service taking forever,
having to ask for things repeatedly (quite the faux pas), the ditzyness mentioned above.
Note #4: While I highly recommend Hoshi overall I would strongly urge you to consider lunch or a night other than Fri/Sat.
Note #5: If I get there when you just open... make sure that there is soap in that bathroom!
Bottom Line suggestion for Hoshi: with all due respect, your staff needs to have at least one more person and the existing staff needs to buckle down.
Have them read "Broken Windows" ... and you'll understand why some that love your food are disgruntled by the experience. The faux pas are remembered as much or more than the awesome food.
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Why bother writing anything when we already have so many (e.g., Toro E. and Ken K.'s) all-encompassing, brilliant reviews of this place?
Well...I don't know. And I really should revisit this restaurant a few more times, especially at dinner, before reviewing...but see, I don't trust my long-term memory. I just had a very satisfying lunch here and want to jot things down (as a preliminary review) before I forget the details.
--- REVIEW FOR THE LUNCH ONLY --
We had chu-toro don, buta-kimchi don and tonjiru (pork soup). The five thick slices of chutoro were excellent. The chef really knows his fish. (Duh, he's apparently from Ginza.) Buta kimchi was also very delicious. Don't be misled by the word "kimchi"; it's the Japanese-version that's sweeter and less sour. And tonjiru...a total comfort food. We went early to beat the crazy lunch crowd so I wasn't exactly hungry when we arrived, but I ended up savoring every bite and really wanted MORE.
The service gets -5 stars (long story), but the food deserves +10 stars so it's all good.
* TO BE UPDATED. We're totally going back for dinner. Omakase, it is!
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Hoshi is a very interesting choice for Japanese.
Located in a shopping center at the end of shopping center across the street from Pruneridge Golf Course, I found Hoshi to be a pleasant surprise.
The Owner/Chef told me he imports fish from Japan every day. The decor is decorated with handwritten papers on the wall.
Overall a good, pricey, dining experience. Good Sake. Good fish.
Food: 5/5
Drinks: 5/5 (Sake)
Service: 4/5
Price: $$
Interior: 3/5
Exterior: 3/5
Park: 5/5
Go Back: Yes, with friends from Japan.
Recommendation: A List
Kung Fu Hustle : chain-smoking landlady who redefined curlers as an accessory
Hoshi : boss lady of the house who needs no introduction
Answer? Kickingass and taking names.
Hey I'm just saying...To understand the connection, go see for yourself.
As far as dishes then, I didn't care for so much for the applesauce texture of the sashimi (hey, teeth are for chewing!) (and yes, check Hen A's review -- the toro was oddly far too tough and chewy), but the fried, braised and grilled selections are what I'm coming back for. Love that karage.
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This was one of my favorite places for lunch in San Jose. As far as I know, it's an izakaya place, not a sushi place. It seems like a lot of people assume it's a sushi place just because it's Japanese. For those who aren't familiar, izakaya is Japanese bar food, shared appetizers similar to tapas, best shared with at least 3 people with sake and/or beer. Anyway, I didn't get many chances to eat there before I moved unfortunately, but my favorite item for lunch was the buta kimchee. I wish could have gotten their recipe, and the lunch combo includes a lot of variety for the price. It was great. I had the chance to have izakaya there once before moving away and wasn't disappointed. There were a few times when the waitress was slow getting to our table when it was busy at night, but we weren't rushed to leave either, so from my experience the service was better than average.
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I goto this restaurant at lease once to twice a month. I like traditional japanese food and this place is just that. There are menus posted on the wall, i have absolutely no idea what it means. But sushi is a piece of art with a lotta taste. And small dishes are all fantastic.
Before we knew Beatrix Kiddo as, well, Beatrix Kiddo, she traveled far and wide to find the illustrious Hattori Hanzo, most notable swordsman in all of Japan. Hattori, however, retired from making the infamous tools which drew blood throughout the world, and went into the sushi business. Unfortunately, his otoro (super fatty tuna) was not as popular as his Hanzo swords, and the location of the restaurant was unknown to many, including Ms. Kiddo.
Hoshi Hanzo, the younger of the two brothers, also had a sushi bar that was more popular; and the young Ms. Kiddo went there searching Hattori.
She was welcomed with, "Irasshai Mase!" by all of the workers as she entered the small, yet quaint restaurant. Japanese calligraphy lined the walls throughout, displaying the diverse menu from several different regions of Japan. Hoshi's eye met with Miss Kiddo's and he appropriately asked:
"May I help you? Can I get you a drink?"
"Yes, can I get a large bottle of your Sake to start, please?" she replied
This pleased Hoshi very much because although he had a large selection of Sake at the restaurant, most of his patrons chose to order the eclectic mix of sushi and sashimi. When the first bottle came out, the gracious Ms. Kiddo offered a cup of warm sake to Hoshi. One bottle turned into two, and then three when she questioned:
"Pardon for my intrusion, Hoshi, but can I ask where you Hattori Hanzo's new sushi bar is in Japan? Yelp doesn't go international, so I've had a tough time finding it."
He paused for a moment and asked, "Why on Earth would you go there? The place is terrible, even if it is my brother's!"
"I've just got some unfinished business with one of his former students, Bill. He shot me in the face while I was pregnant," she retorted, with her face still and expressionless.
"He's in Osaka," he said simply.
And then, Ms. Kiddo left Hoshi, satisfied with the sake and the location of Hattori Hanzo.
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I bookmarked this restaurant back in August 2007, and only managed to get around to going for the first time today. I really couldn't remember why I bookmarked it, considering the average rating is 3.5 stars, but I thought I'd give it a shot anyway.
I made reservations for my friend and I, and we arrived to a half empty restaurant. It was a cute restaurant though, typical small Japanese restaurant with lots of kanji on the walls (it was written on special wispy paper and was apparently various food items). My friend and I both ordered the katsu curry, the roasted onigiri, hamachi nigiri, and tamago. Our dinner entrees came with salad. I don't know what kind of salad dressing it was, but I really didn't like it. It had a strong, overpowering, almost fish like taste. My friend liked hers though, and she finished it, and pointed out that other people were eating theirs and I should finish mine. Hehe! The hamachi was not especially fresh tasting, it wasn't cool. It was almost room temperature like. It wasn't fishy though, and was definitely meaty. The tamago was delicious (I love me tamago, anywhere, any kind). It was lightly browned and soft. Mmm. The katsu curry was fairly tasty (kind of too salty) and the meat was pretty fatty. That made it tender, but it also made me sometimes feel like I was eating something very oily. The curry sauce didn't have carrot or potato fillers, it was pure curry sauce. A nice hearty dark brown! The fried onigiri was piping hot and comforting in the way only a giant warm rice ball could be, but I think next time I'll order it with something inside to add more flavor.
I want to come back and try the small dishes menu. I was too impatient to wade through the tiny print titles.
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At first glance, this seemed like the perfect place to do omakase. The sushi fish list contained at least 50 items, there was lots of Japanese calligraphy on the walls (which I was told is the specials listing), and we were the only gaijin there.
We sit down at the bar. We notice most of the natives are sitting at tables, but I figured they probably know what they want. What I didn't notice, at first, was the general lack of sushi in front of the Japanese customers. This proved to be a crucial error.
About 10 minutes go by before we try to order sake. The ordering process consisted of trying to communicate between the waitress (owner's wife?) who barely spoke english, a teenage girl (owner's daugher?) who didn't know anything about sake, and the chef (owner?) who was too busy to really discuss anything. Since I was trying to be polite to the chef, I just ordered whatever his first recommendation was and shut up. It turned out to be a very enjoyable $40 bottle.
Another 10 minutes later the chef finally asks us what we want -- I say omakase for two. First we got a plate of delicious sashimi -- fresh, artfully prepared, and just a unique combination of tastes (toro, hirame, tako). I took this to be a good sign. However things unfolded in a totally unexpected direction when dish after dish of hot cooked food started showing up. Now, I'm okay with japanese non-sushi food, however I wouldn't go out of my way for it, and it was not at all what I was expecting when ordering.
Not wanting to offend the chef, I said nothing and we ate course after course of cooked food. It was all delicious, and afterward I was able to get a few pieces of great sushi out of the chef.
The whole experience ended up costing close to $200 before tip and including the sake for two people. If it were all sushi, I'd consider it a fair price for top-of-the-line food. However, as it was not, I felt that it was very expensive for what we got.
I don't know if I'd come back here without someone who speaks Japanese, and if I did, I would make sure the chef understood that I didn't come to his restaurant to eat cooked fish.
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Alright maybe i am trippin here, but i just really didn't enjoy my meal much. I might have ordered wrong here....
Their sushi was completely different from what i typically have. Honestly, i extremely disliked it. Their salmon was really different(seemd like they took out the fat or something). It looked more like semi-cooked salmon. i didn't enjoy it at all. Didn't like the tuna. Didn't really enjoy any of the fish. Tako/ika/tamago nothing was really good.
Grilled Smelt - I can make this much better at home.
Salted Mackeral Grilled - Too fishy tasting for me on this Mackeral. Didn't like it at all. Hard to finish for me.
Only one good memorable thing - The deep fried squid legs.
Bottom Line - We paid 80 bucks for two people. This place is packed and full of Japanese restaurants, i may have ordered wrong but i left as a very unsatisfied customer. The waitress was young, knew jack shizzle about the food and gave some horrible recommendations. I did not enjoy my experience. I will not fight for a reservation at this restaurant and let the other people duke it out. Gochi is way better.
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One of my favorite Japanese restaurants. Care is put into every menu item.
This restaurant has authentic Japanese items. There is a separate menu that lists a bunch of small dishes.
Make reservations even if you only have a party of 2. This place gets busy and they appreciate it when you reserve ahead of time. Not a place to go for a quick meal. Place your order, relax, and the good food will come. The food comes out in no particular order.
Try it, you shouldn't be disappointed.
Very cozy and dead on transplant of a traditional Japanese neighborhood pub to the bay area. Unpretentious and straight forward in its service and presentation. The chef has previously worked in the Ginza and also according to his wife and chief hostess, the caligrapher for all the specials plastered all over the wall. The wife was very warm and accommodating especially with my 3 small children squirming all over the place.
Great selection of all the traditional pub dishes including eggplant with miso or a simple grilled fish with salt. Need to ding them a skosh for having maybe too much variety. You name it, they've got it either on the extensive menu or with the 100+ signs on the walls. Feeling a bit overwhelmed, I went for the 6 course OMAKASE set with a few additions. While all the dishes were great, it seemed to be weighed too heavily towards meats/fish instead making an attempt to balance between various ingredience and styles. Lesson learned is to be clearer on what I want before going in next time.
Sake selection was also fairly extensive. The Misses and I went for two sake flights. Great opportunity to try different styles in one sitting.
As others have already mentioned, it can get very crowded, but I find that to be part of the ambience.
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Let me start off by saying that I absolutely love Japanese food, people, and culture... and in no way do I want my review to be seen as crapping all over Hoshi for other than what it truly is... horrible food...
Maybe it's busy on the weekends only? For dinner on Thursday night it was dead. Also dead, our entire meal. This is a place where like in Japan people can order a bunch of appetizers and have a drink type of place instead of being a regular restaurant. If you look at their menu, the appetizer list goes on and on and on, and the regular menu lacks in comparison, plus there are very few rolls to choose from. We ordered a lot of food and none of it tasted good. For example the agedashi tofu was bland, fried whole soft shell crab, blah, fried squid legs, also blah, individual sushi pieces were dry and tasted a day or two old. For our spider roll and the spicy tuna roll, where exactly were the main sushi ingredients? They used the worst leftover piecese of tuna to make the so called spicy tuna and our particular soft shell crab must have been a dwarf in it's lifetime. If you want rolls of rice and nothing else, you can get it at Hoshi! It was so bad that we tried to get out the main bits of "sushi" ingredients in the middle of the roll and left the rest, which sort of embarrassed our waitress. We didn't mean to offend the staff but the rolls were especially disgusting. I didn't see any particular "care" put into the food, and the taste was so completely bland that I wondered if this truly was authentic Japanese food or if in the back kitchen a microengineer was substituting as a chef for the evening. There was absolutely no redeeming qualities about this restaurant and we tried many dishes here. And I'm too disappointed to give it another go at Hoshi. After we left my honey said to me in the car, "so we just paid to have the worst food possible". But again, this is our opinion, the public will have to experience for themselves.
For great authentic Japanese cuisine, go to Gochi in Cupertino, it's delicious and you'll thank me... and now I'll go back to edit giving Gochi a full 5 stars (I took 1 star off for some of their snooty waitresses, but snooty or not their food rocks and is freeeeesh unlike Hoshi's).
Just to make sure that my tongue is working properly, I'm going to ask some of my Japanese friends to try Hoshi to see what they think of it. I'll follow up after their reviews...
You know it's a good sign when they have a Yelp sticker on the window! We went here looking for a good authentic Japanese meal and we found it. We didn't get sushi on this trip. I had the teriyaki chicken dinner. Everything was excellent and we would totally eat here again.
For me to judge how many stars a restaurant reserves, it should base on a few key criteria:
1. Food - It reserves 4 stars. The taste is quite okay.
2. Service - Only 1 stars. Service is slow and the servers seem clueless if you don't speak Japanese. It is always like that with most Japanese restaurants, especially those small ones (I noticed that most Japanese servers will talk a lot to their Japanese customers, but not so much with non-Japanese speaking customers?....a funny observation)
3. Ambiance - Only 2 stars. Small is not an issue, but it is a bit cramped. The paper notes all over the wall is a bit unpleasant, though unique.
4. Price - Only 2 stars. Though each dish's pricing seems low, but the portion is small. It is actually not cheap. You can order 4 dishes per person and still not feeling full. And the tab is over $20 per person.
I think spending $20 per person (still not full) for such a restaurant is on the high side. But I think I am being conservative already. The tab can easy go up to $40 per person if you order sake. I cannot justify spending that much for such a restaurant (no service, no good environment).
However, I would recommend people to try its lunch. The lunch is reasonably good and priced.
Happy eat!
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Wow. This place is freaking GOOD. We went there last night and arrived at around 6. The only customer in the restaurant was a lone Japanese man that seemed to be drinking away his worries at the sushi bar.
The decor of the place is interesting and it looks like a very complex maze of Japanese calligraphy posted on the walls; in reality it's the entire menu for the restaurant posted up on the walls--interesting and beautiful.
For the two of us, we ordered Tororo salad and Otsumami Omakase. The Tororo was interesting. It came out in a large bowl with a white paste on top of the salad greens. The white paste was the grated yam and had an interesting consistency--almost nato-esque. Still yummy, though.
The Otsumami Omakase is a chef's choice of (in our case 4) dishes. Apparently this is a super Japanese thing to do and it changes for the seasons. The chef's choices for us for the day were a plate of plate of sashimi with 6 pieces total; a yummy stew-like thing with daikon, on the bottom and two pieces of tuna on top; tempura; and this warm egg custard thing. Everything was freaking good and tasted super fresh.
Service was a little spotty sometimes, but they got super busy around 6:30 so it was understandable that they didn't get around to filling up my cup of tea until I asked them.
The place is super tiny as Yelpers have indicated, but adds to the ambiance and allure of this place. This is the real deal folks. The entire staff is Japanese, and now I can understand why the drunken man at the sushi bar was still there, and had asked for yet another BOTTLE of sake, it was the perfect place to enjoy the company of real Japanese people with great food to boot.
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It's tricky to try to decide how many stars Hoshi deserve. I guess it all depends on what you order. We ordered the chef special dishes (appetizer size) twice but I was not impressed by them. The steamed fish dish is always too salty and taste the same (meat too tough too). The sashimi dish is usually the best but it's tiny. Aside from the chef's specials, the only thing that I remember it being really good was the Scallop Tempura that other yelpers recommended. Their sushi and sashimi are usually very fresh and delicious. However, portions tend to be on the small side. The Hamachi Kama was really good tonight when we had it, and it was SUPER HUGE portion. Very crispy on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside. However, we did order tons of food and sake and beer tonight. The other time, the Hamachi Kama was small, meatless, and dried up when we went in a party of two only. I always suspect you get better treament if you're Japanese. Then of course, you get better treatment if you have a big party who spent A LOT of $$$ in drinks and food. Like every other yelper said, the service is extremely slow and there's a very big chance that you will receive wrong items due to language barrier. You have to really know how to get the attention of the waitress to survive. If you assume this is a place where you can just sit there and get served, you might end up leaving hungry and angry. Also, don't think you can get in without a reservation. The waitress would usually laugh at you if you go in and tell her you did not have a reservation! I think they are pretty pricey considered the kind of service you get and the fact that you can hardly communicate with them enough to get what you really want. However, you can be sure that they're pretty authentic compared to a lot of other local Japanese places.
Not quite four stars, but more than three. I think 3.6... or 3.7.
I went there last month for a bday dinner and we ordered the 6 dish otsumami omakase and the omakase sushi. The sushi was good, but the otsumami omakase wasn't worth the $50. Maybe because I prefer raw fish to cooked, but I just wasn't impressed/blown away by any of the dishes. We also ordered a couple of side dishes from the kitchen and again, I wasn't too amazed. They were good, but not great. It probably would have been better if we had just gone all out with sushi for the $50 since the omakase sushi was fresh and tasty.
Atmosphere/service: It's a small place and it can get pretty loud. The service also suffered from the packed restaurant with limited aisle space. Not good for groups over 4 people.
The have chu-hi with fresh squeezed juice (you squeeze the grapefruit yourself), which was great.
It would probably get more stars next time if we order more sushi and go on a less busy night.
Oh. Delicious. If you are not very familiar with Japanese food, be sure you know what you're getting into. If you are willing to be adventurous, this is a really fun place.
We had a selection of small dishes and some sake. There is a sake tasting with three glasses ($9), which is a fun way to try figure out what you might like to try a glass or bottle of. Glasses are around the $10 mark and bottles are $40 to $135. I was never much of a sake drinker but recently, whew! I REALLY like that stuff! Those bottles look huge but once you start drinking it, it just disappears.
Favorite dish of the night was the hamachi kama, which was just melt-in-your-mouth good. The sushi was good, but you can get good sushi lots of places. As long as you are here, you may as well try something different.
See Toro E.'s review for really good suggestions about the menu.
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In general, I almost always order sushi and sashimi and not so much of any cooked dishes when I go to a Japanese restaurant. Not to mention, the first Izakaya I went to (Tanto), I wasn't quite impressed, maybe I didn't know what to order. So I was unsure of going to another Izakaya type restaurant but I was feeling adventurous and wanted to give it another try.
Since it was a spontaneous decision to go to Hoshi, I didn't make a reservation. Luckily, it was close to where I live and only needed to wait for 15 mins. While waiting and observing the decor and the dishes the patrons ordered, the Japensese writings on the wall are indeed a bit intimidating.
After browsing serveral minutes of the menu with a never-ending-list of items, I got a little dizzy and while the other still undecisive, I pulled out my "cheat" sheet, tatah! yes, a cheat sheet I created after browsing Toro E's photos and jogged down the name of the dishes that I think I'd like to try...just in case. Boy, was my date impressed!
These were the dishes we tried: 1) Hamachi Kama 2) buta no kakuni, 3) Sazae Tsuboyaki 4) stewed fish head 5) Katsu Curry and 6) Grilled Octopus beaks. The Hamchi Kama was the best dish followed by Sazae Tsuboyaki. The Buta No Kakuni was a bit dry perhaps the pork was too lean. They didn't have the stewed fish head and replaced with a slice of fish braised in some sweet soy sauce. I was disappointed and the fish was overcooked. The Katsu curry is a bit on the spicy side and the pork cutlet was buried in a whole lot of curry sauce. The portion of the octopus beaks was very small.
Overall each dish was around $10.00 except the Hamachi kama was the most expensive at $16.00. Was I satisfied? Not really. It's a bit pricy for Japanese tapas and the dishes didn't WOW me except the two dishes I mentioned above.
Service was poor. The young waitress didn't tell me they didn't have the stewed fish head and presented me with an option which I didn't like. When I inquired about some other dishes and she didn't seem to know much.
All 3 stars are for the two dishes I like.
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This place truly means ira-shai in Japanese. ( which means welcome)
I was in a serious mood for some authentic Japanese food. Initially i was looking for a sushi-ya restaurant, but found a place on yelp of course, that had a mixture of izaka-ya and sushi. Excited at first, pulling up to a small humble looking place right next to Kumon, a Japanese tutoring franchise i was hesitant to get my hopes high.
We walk in and the transformation from Santa Clara to a tucked away jewel with 6 tables in japan begins.
We sit down on the sushi bar hoshi San and only hoshi San greets us.
Immediately a waitress that had her life sucked out of her took our drink orders. Then the wait for 15 mins before a return to take your order happens. Oddly though for the first time the wait was a like an anticipation to a show, not having any affect. Finally i order the omakase for one, one salmon nigiri, and ama ebi nigiri ( sweet shrimp).
Slowly our food came and it was so great.
First came the assortment of sashimi, marguro (tuna) hamachi ( yellow tail) and tai ( snapper). now i wasn't expecting great quality rather a variety of Japanese food from home cooking to restaurant style sushi, but the quality of the fish was really nice.
Second came a grilled aji ( not sure which type of mackerel it was ) but it was so moist.
Next was the salmon and the ama ebi, it was nice but my attention was now captured with more of the cooked dishes. So hoshi San gave me grilled toro that was so flaky.
As about an hour proceeded the sushi omakases turned into a izakaya tasting. I asked hoshi san to for some additional items and he decided to incorporate them in the actual omakase which i thought was brilliant.
So next came a pork dish, my favorite, buta no kakuni. This was so tender and sweet. Then tempura assortment. They also do a homemade tofu which is a must try. Chawanmushi, which is a egg custard like item was nice and simple tasting.
By the end we were in no rush to leave the place. It felt as if we were over my aunt's place in japan , (if i had one).
Overall a very nice place to go for a mixture of Japanese cooking as well as sushi. Very authentic and comfortable to dine at due to the staff being the family.
Be prepared though because the menu may be overwhelming if Japanese food is not your forte. I recommend that you ask the sushi chef ( hoshi San) if you are clueless. He is very friendly and speaks English fairly well.
Can't wait to go back to try other exciting items.
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It's Yelpma (Yelp Karma).
I gave a certain Yelper some bad recommendations and the next day, I get a bad one from Yelp. Serves me right. I know not to mess with these things. Don't worry Yelp, I can't stay mad at you.
I decided to try the "most bookmarked" place in the South Bay.
Now this place is authentic, don't get me wrong. But the last time authenticity met bad food we got Red Lobster.
Get my point? Probably not.
Let's continue.
I ordered the fatty tuna, a spicy tuna roll, and a spider roll. All were done quite well and didn't have the typical "whitey" additions like spicy mayonnaise or some weird derivative of ranch sauce.
They just lacked the one thing i consider relatively important when eating....flavor.
My lovely dinner companion ordered the pork teriyaki which looked tasty. Upon further inspection, turns out the pork was about 1/4 gristle and fatty bits.
When wrapped in a burrito, 1/4 gristle and fatty bits are to die for, but when presented this way, not so good.
At the end of the meal, as if expecting us to be disappointed, they asked three times if everything was ok. I of course, wanting to better myself and ALWAYS tell the truth looked at the waitress, and said...
"It was perfect."
So I don't know where this leaves me. I'll probably come back to give them a shot because I feel that they have the talent to hit a home run. I just wont order the teriyaki and will probably shy away from the fatty tuna.
UNLESS!! I order the fatty gristly teriyaki to go, grab a bean and cheese burrito from across the street, and make a Super Deluxe Hoshi-Rito!!!
Looks like my Friday night is spoken for. Sweet.
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Once again, thank you YELP for helping me find a great new place! I finally got the chance to go to Hoshi tonight. Hoshi is in a small shopping plaza at the end corner. The interior is very unique and tiny. There's about 4 tables with one large group table, and a bar seating section. This place is definitely very unique and the people who work here all speak Japanese, which is awesome because it makes me more confident that I will be getting some genuine, traditional Japanese food.
While my boyfriend and I were here, we had the Agedashi Tofu (one of my favorite appetizers), Rock n Roll, Spicy Tuna Roll, Ebi Tempura Roll, and the Chicken Teryaki Entree Plate.
Their menu is huge. They have a very wide selection of plates and best of all, sake and beer!
OOOOOH LET ME TELL YOU, the sushi here is sooooo @*$(&*$( delicious!!! ahhhhhh melt in my mouth, fresh, yummy yummy Unagi/Tuna/Shrimp delicious. I was definitely impressed. And the Sushi Chef here takes time to make your sushi rolls into a masterpiece. The sushi rolls come out so gorgeous and well put together that you don't want to eat it.
Also, the Agedashi is very yummy and unlike other places, Hoshi gives you HUGE pieces of fried tofu. Chicken Teryaki is also very delicious and the sides that come with it (Miso, Side Salad, Rice) are excellent too.
Most of all, everything is hot and fresh. The only reason why I gave it 4 stars is because it seems like they use a lot of MSG here. My boyfriend and I both had very dry mouths as we left the restaurant.
However, this will definitely be my top choice for Sushi in the South Bay. I don't care if I have a dry mouth. The reaction I get from their sushi here is MmmmMmm... i almost felt like i died and gone to sushi heaven .
OH YEAH, IMPORTANT NOTE: They take CASH ONLY at lunch time, and VISA/MASTERCARD only at dinner... with $15 per person minimum.
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My 600th review goes to Hoshi.
(No time to read? See my 63 pics.)
Hoshi is one of my favorite Japanese restaurants in the Bay Area, when I consider their authenticity, food, selection, price, and most of all, their cheerful atmosphere. It is a place where a bunch of strangers, including the chef, can eat, drink, chat and laugh together. The one-hour drive from SF prohibits me from calling it my outright frequently-dined restaurant, although I am beginning to not mind the 45-mile drive. As you could tell from my Yelp profile, I have been to many Japanese places in SF, yet I often crave for food at Hoshi.
For a while, I didn't know about this two-year-old restaurant until Ken K (http://ksquared.yelp.com/) gave me the heads up. Located at the end of a strip mall next to Albertsons, you wouldn't go there unless you hear about it from friends or Yelp.
You may want to read my review before you head there. Why? First timer maybe overwhelmed by their large menu selections.
TIPS FOR YOUR 1ST VISIT:
Grasshopper, don't open the menu. Ignore the writings on the walls. Focus. Just ask for $50 Otsumami Omakase (6 dishes). Don't be confused by "Otsumami", which usually means peanuts or dried squid. Here, it means small dishes that work well with Sake. An order shared by 2 people is perfect. Ask for a bowl of rice if you so choose. If you are still hungry after the 6-courses, end with a roll of sushi or a simple rice/noodle dish. I've ordered Omakase several times with very few repeated items, so I know the course is seasonal.
An example of the 6-course Otsumami Omakase
1. Assortment of sashimi
2. Small Aji no nambanzuke (marinated fish)
3. Fried Shita hirame (fried fish)
4. Chawan-mushi (egg custard)
5. Simmered fish head
6. Grilled red snapper
A sample bill for your 1st visit:
$50 6-course Otsumami Omakase
$12 Futomaki Roll
$20 Sake
$21 Tip & taxes
----------------
$94 Dinner for two
TIPS FOR YOUR 2ND VISIT:
Grasshopper, you are still not ready to open the menu. There are two ways to enjoy Hoshi - cooked dishes and sushi. You should now try his sushi, which is traditional Edo style.
A sample bill for your 2nd visit:
$20 Omakase Sushi
$15 Nigiri Moriawase
$25 Rokuten Mori (6 types of sashimi)
$14 Tip & taxes
----------------
$74 Dinner for two
TIPS FOR YOUR 3RD VISIT:
Now you are ready to make decisions. Still, don't open the menu book. Ask for the translated menu, a laminated double sided sheet translating hand-written items on the walls. Pick several things you like from this. Make sure you ask the waitress what is written on the white board near the entrance and near the bathroom. These are the key items to get!
FOOD:
As of July 2007, they had 156 items on the walls (see pic). Some are seasonal items. You get the best of two worlds: sushi and cooked Japanese dishes. Hoshi-san was trained through apprenticeship in Japan, so it's a treat to have his sushi.
Chef/owner Katsuharu Hoshi's Resume:
Hinode Sushi in Ginza (http://www.hinode.com/)
Family Kyokan
Marumasa in Tabata
(Info from BaySpo 7/6/07)
Ranking of my favorite items (non-sushi items):
Small Aji no nambanzuke
Fried Shita hirame
Kama nikomi (Simmered fish head) (various fish)
Grilled fish of the day (shioyaki) (various fish)
Toro teriyaki
Kusaya (smelly fish)
Tempura (scallops wrapped in nori-seaweed)
Mixed mushroom tempura
Vinegared Mekabu salad
Egg plant - Nasu no age bi deashi
Tonbi (octopus beaks)
Butano-kakuni (Stewed pork)
DRINKS: Here, not only do they have an extensive selection of sake, but it is fresh and kept at the correct storage temperature. If you cannot finish a bottle, they will keep it under your name for future visit.
As of July 2007, they had
23 choices of sake
10 choices of shochu
Sapporo (draft)
Asahi (bottle)
Echigo Beer (bottle)
SEATS: For large groups, they have a large table toward the back. About 9 Tables and 9 Counter seats
SERVICE: Mrs. Hoshi, Reina, and Kiyoka would be more than happy to assist you with your orders. I have to admit that service does suffer a bit during the busy peak hours, especially on Fri and Sat. Most customers don't care, because they are busy enjoying sake and talking among themselves.
WHEN TO GO:
I beg that you try Hoshi Mon-Thur to fully appreciate the experience. Fri and Sat gets really busy. Closed on Sundays.
COMPARISONS:
Kappa: Much more expensive than Hoshi. No sushi at Kappa.
Kyoya: Best sushi. Cooked dishes are not so interesting.
Yumeya: Yumeya is cheaper. Dishes are not as interesting as Hoshi. Sushi is not as good as Hoshi.
Kaygetsu: Go here for Kaiseki, which is much more expensive than Hoshi, but offers better decor and each dish is more complex and involved.
Koo: A good SF alternative to Hoshi, although slightly more expensive.
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the sushi here was okay. nothing special about this place. maybe we just didn't get a lot of food or something. i got a row with eel and avocado and cucumber, a sashimi roll, and cucumber roll.
Yum! Just went here with Chris E. and it was pretty darned good. Homey styled Japanese food, kind of like Gochi which is also a yum choice if not eaten every week like some of my friends like to do.
The sushi choices were fresh and the sashimi delicious. The wasabi was so fresh that it was sweet. Which actually made me kind of like the wasabi which I usually hate. The chicken karage was good, as well as the kimchi pork dish we had. The chef went a little artsy with the mayo, but it was cute.
Great friendly service. A nice place to go to for din.
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Don't see why this one of the most book marked place... good but nothing that wows, slightly above average. I'll have to go back and try more stuff, but 3 stars for now, until I taste something amazing.
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I've since been back a few more times. Service is slow, and deserved the 3 stars. Food is reasonably priced. I haven't really tasted anything that wows from the raw bar. Ramen is surprisingly good here, and that alone is bumping it up .5 star... the dishes on the wall are probably good too, but too bad I don't read Japanese and ordering random things would be annoying, so go for the chef's choice dinner then discover what you might like, since it's probably different each time.
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We were looking for a restaurant we hadn't yet experienced and checked out what our friendly yelp reviewers had to recommend. Hoshi was not only in the area, but I couldn't believe I couldn't quite place where it must be located. I guess all the cool white papers (actually the menu in Japanese) on the wall and windows made this place not register in my mind.
Well, I have to admit I also asked my Japanese co-worker what she thought of this place. She said this was one of her favorite places to go and eat!
I ordered some unagi (excellent!), salmon sashimi (interesting - not sure if I'd get it again even though I love it. Something about the cut is unique and unlike other places), ramen (yum!) and a sake tasting.
Holy moly - you get a lot of sake!
Definitely check this place out. Well worth it!
So a friend of mine is visiting this week from New Jersey. Originally, along with another bigger group of people, we were supposed to be in Japan this week, but plans fell through, and it ended up being that 2 people were going to make it afterall, and we decided to postpone our trip, but my friend still had time off, and decided to hang out in the area.
After reading many favorable reviews of Hoshi on Yelp, I truly tried to enjoy my time here, but really couldn't.
Part of the reason is because we were late. We had reservations, but traffic was horrendous on a Friday night, and everyone was running late. We were 25 minutes late, and I had called them ahead of time to let them know that we were sitting in traffic, and trying our best to get there as soon as possible, but they told me that they would hold the table as long as they could, but could not make any guarantees. Fair enough, I thought... we are late, and there shouldn't be any excuse for that, and they were gracious enough to hold the table for us, so I wasn't expecting there to be a table ready for us.
When we arrived, there was a table that was vacant, I told them my name, and one woman was confused whether that was our table or not. She asked a younger waitress who seemed to be in a very crabby mood, and was