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Hotaru Japanese Restaurant
Categories: Restaurants Japanese Restaurants Sushi Bars Japanese, Sushi Bars [Edit]
33 E 3rd AveSan Mateo, CA 94401
(650) 343-1152
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 11:30 am - 2 pm
Mon-Thu, Sun 5:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Fri-Sat 5:30 pm - 10 pm
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
700 reviews for Hotaru Japanese Restaurant
Review Highlights
"My boyfriend always gets the bento box."
(in 76 reviews)
"The geisha roll is fun and tasty choice too."
(in 33 reviews)
"Loved the broth, loved the udon."
(in 171 reviews)
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699 reviews in English
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Review from Alli D.
Burlingame, CA
2/6/2012 1 Check-in Here
Yumm!
I came here on a sunday night, and all the tables were taken. The wait was about 15 minutes so it wasn't too bad.
We ordered:
Hamachi: SOO GOOD! I love hamachi and i'm usually not too picky, but this is the best i've ever had. The fish was butter. For $5.00 for two pieces, it's definitely worth it.
Beef udon: probably my least favorite, even though it was my entree. The broth lacked flavor, and they don't put napa cabbage in it, which i love. I like that they put egg in it though.
Croquette: delicious, comes with a small salad on the side.
Deep fried tofu: full of flavor, and tender. Such a good appetizer on a rainy cold day.
Curry with pork cutlet: "tasty", quoted from the boyfriend. -____-
The prices are reasonable and we left with lunch for tomorrow! Everyone working there is extremely nice, and our waiter was awesome.
Will be back for sure! -
Review from Andrew M.
2/2/2012 1 Check-in Here
Is the cash in your pockets weighing you down so much that you would like to overpay for curry that can easily be recreated at home? Would you like to experience surprisingly packed and tasty sushi rolls? Do you enjoy incessant, trite banter every time your server wanders near the table? Are you looking for a restaurant that finally offers unlimited rice refills to sufficiently finish curry with? If you are an Asian girl, do you finish your meal in hopes that the gangly, clingy server will chase you down as you are exiting to present you with his digits?
If you answered yes to any combination of these questions, Hotaru is the place to be! -
Review from jennifer l.
Menlo Park, CA
1/29/2012
I love Hotaru! I always get the Sushi A which includes 7 different pieces of sushi:
- Maguro
- Ebi
- Sake
- Shiro Maguro
- Tamago
- Kani Salad
- Kappa Roll
I'm drooling right now as I write this review. The fish here is always fresh and the Kani Salad is delicious! Of course, this sushi plate is not enough to get you full so you may need to order more appetizers or sushi rolls. For an appetizer I recommend the Croquette. Mmm! I also recommend getting the combination dinner boxes that come with miso soup and salad.
Overall a great place to take someone on a date. Note: you may find yourself waiting in line, but it shouldn't be over 10 minutes. I have yet to try this place for lunch since everyone mentions their lunch specials. -
Review from Vanessa S.
Burlingame, CA
2/9/2012
I wish I could give zero stars.
Upon entering the restaurant, which (by the way) is old and outdated-looking, we were ushered to our table. And by that, I mean a woman walked us to the back of the restaurant and pointed to a table without looking at us, and kept walking. We weren't even sure if she was gesturing to us.
Next, we were handed menus with a list of items, most of which had Japanese denotations instead of breaking down the actual components. Great- what the hell is in a sea princess roll? Most things had white-out over the descriptions- even more help.
We couldn't tell if the type of roll we wanted was on the menu (reference previously stated white-out comment), so I asked our waiter to see if the sushi chef had any recommendations with a white fish, cucumber, avocado, and ponzu sauce.
Now here's where things really go downhill: all of the sudden the waiter brings our items ordered, and randomly brings a custom roll made by the sushi chef. We asked what was in it, to which he offered no help (again) "Umm...I'll tell you after you try it". Being very adventurous (I enjoy tripe, and have tried jellyfish before), I took a bite of the roll. Immediately, I could tell we would not eat the rest of it. After some coaxing, our waiter told us the main ingredient was fish liver. The sushi chef refused the return of the roll, and we were charged $16 for a roll we did not even eat.
Other highlights:
-cold soba was overcooked, and the sauce was bland
-shrimp tempura roll had thick, sticky tempura batter- no thank you
-paid $3 for less than 1/4 C of seaweed salad
Have never had worse service, or sushi for that matter. Will not be back. -
Review from Felicia K.
Irvine, CA
1/26/2012
Oh Hotaru. idk where to start with this place.. I worked here for about a year 4 years ago... till this day, i MISS this place so much!!
If you're lookin for fancyass japanese food... this place ain't for u. This place is the epitome for homestyle japanese cookin. Comforting homecooked japanese meals.
Udon... broth is light and just right, their curry is made with special ingredients. SO good. The Gyoza is the owner's, Yoshimi-san's own recipe. http://BOMB.com. The chicken karage is so good, perfectly spiced... couldnt find another that tasted the same. Prices are VERY well priced, portions are huge, and trust me... ain't nothing dirty going on in the kitchen or the workers. You will find a meal that will suit u perfectly cuz there's many diff variations to choose from. Everything is fresh and sanitary.
No, its not the best japanese food ever, but my 5 stars is for hotaru feeding me every single day for a year, and I have never felt sick, nor have i ever gotten sick of the food. That says a lot no? The food doesn't make u feel like crap, and everything is made with pride.
yeah, service can be a bit slow... been guilty of it, but people needa understand that some rolls needa get baked, and everything is made FRESH, so unless u want ur shiz halfassed or halfcooked, shush and stop complaining :) -
Review from Diane B.
Moss Beach, CA
1/4/2012
I've been here many times over the years. It's a great lunch option, and quite authentic. Today I decided to order the regular version of Chirashi sushi. It includes miso soup and green tea for $14 or so. It was a very decent portion. Heavy on the tomago, I thought. Other than that quite generous with the fishies, and the rice included some tasty little pickled brown bits (don't know what they are), small strips of nori, and was very tasty, if slightlly sweet for my tastes.
While the fish was all fresh and both octopus (which I'm not a huge fan of) and squid (which I love) were included where I don't usually see them, I thought the knife work was not just right for me. The Salmon, and two kinds of tuna were in very thick chunks. There were two pieces of each. I would have prefered the same amount, but divided into three slices for maximum enjoyment.
I think I would have done better to order something more traditional, not sushi. I always appreciate that so many of the tables include family groups or groups of coworkers all looking totally comfortable.
Food: 32/40
svc: 17/20
atm/intang: 16/20
value: 1720
82 = B -
Review from Ring S.
San Francisco, CA
1/15/2012
We came here on a Sunday night at 6PM and waited about 20 minutes. The food came out very quickly. We ordered the dinner combo with plain udon, 8 pieces of sushi, katsu curry, and tsunami (spicy scallop) roll.
The katsu curry was pretty good....better than the ones from the other Japanese restaurants in the area. The portions were generous and you get unlimited white rice refills. The tsunami roll came with a crab salad and topped with raw scallop, thin slice of lemon, and spicy sauce. The lemon gave the roll a nice, surprising twist.
Dinner was around $40 for the dinner combo, roll, and katsu curry. Overall, Hotaru is a solid Japanese restaurant in downtown San Mateo. -
Review from Athena L.
We wanted sushi, Yelp showed the way! In San Mateo, this cute little restaurant has plenty to offer. The two of us walked in and got seated right away (7:30 on a Sunday night).
They offer many things from udon to nigiri to bento boxes as well as many other things I haven't tried yet. We ordered a Chirashi Deluxe and a.. Sushi platter.. that was around $25. I forgot if there was a name for it.. but it had Salmon, Tuna, Unagi, Shrimp, Cucumber and some sort of roll.. that you can exchange for from a list.
The Chirashi deluxe was $19, whereas the regular chirashi was $14. The difference was that the deluxe had unagi and uni and some extra slices of the eggy things.
Everything was good. It wasn't the freshest fish I've ever had, but it wasn't bad at all. All the fish were cut into really thick chunks though. But when I'm done shopping and starving, a chunk of fish is exactly what I need!
So everything came out to be about $60 for the two of us and we were stuffed.
The staff were attentive throughout the entire dinner, refilling tea when needed., no complains here!!! -
Review from Kristen C.
San Francisco, CA
I'm not sure what's been happening, did the management change?? I use to come here at least once a week when I worked/lived in Foster City, but service has really gone downhill. The other night i came in to eat and my udon came on a tray that had someones eaten shrimp tempura tail (http://www.yelp.com/bi...). The side bowl for my udon noodles was already really yellow (can't really tell in the picture). When I brought it to the attention of our waiter she just acted as if it was completely normal and used my napkin to remove the shrimp tail. Disgusting. She could have at least offered to bring me a new tray!
I'm not sure if its because the new staff aren't fluent in English, but when we asked to substitute the shrimp tempura in my friend's bento box for veggie since he's allergic to shrimp she flat out said NO. We had to explain it to her 2 more times before she realized he was allergic to shrimp. And we all know veggies cost less than shrimp so who wouldn't be willing to substitute it for all veggies??
The last straw was when another waitress tried to take away our soy sauce dishes while we were still using them. Either they were in some sort of trance that night, but it seemed like they were doing everything opposite of how the restaurant normally functions.
This is so sad to me since this was one of my go to places in San Mateo. Where is the usually owner that was there 24/7 and kept things running smoothly?
COME BACK PLEASE !!!!Listed in: my SAN MATEO favs :)
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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9/15/2010
I'd say on average I come here about once every other week for lunch. Their best deals are the… Read more »
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Review from Venicio P.
Millbrae, CA
1/27/2012
San Mateo is filled with a lot of Japanese restaurants. Between 2nd - 4th avenue, theres a million of them. But Hotaru really is the best bang for your buck. I've been coming here for years. Where do you see a japanese restaurant that has a line already waiting to eat 10min before they open! Its ZAGAT rated for being best value Japanese restaurant. Of you don't know what ZAGAT is, it's an independent reviewer magazine. Kinda like Michellin stars for fancy restaurant.
There are really 3 menus here. One is the sushi menu. Another is the combinations, and entrees menu. And finally the third is the specials which are posted on the wall. Order from the wall! It's the best bang for your buck.
From the menu on the wall, the bento is always a popular item. Then there's the popular Udon. soup. There's really a million combinations here. But for me there is one combination that I just salivate over. Mmmmm. Combination number 7! Thats the salmon kama (fish cheek) with tofu seaweed salad miso soup and rice. If you go there a lot on busy nights, you probably don't see combo number 7 on the wall and it's because it takes a bit if a whole to make since its shipped from Japanese sea heaven and also because they might be out of the salmon Kama. Ask for it anyway!
About the quality of the fish. I happen to know an insider information about their fish and I know sushi sams and Hotaru order from the same supplier (good quality btw) but sushi sams charges more.. ;)
To sum it up. Hotaru is a popular place for quick eats in the afternoon with their lower priced lunch menu. But it's an even more popular dinner spot. There's a private room upstairs that they open up for big parties or if they're just really busy. I suggest trying the combos that are on the wall. They're on the wall for a reason. ;) It's been popular for years! lol -
Review from Mike D.
Burlingame, CA
1/27/2012
my favorite japanese resto in san mateo! Nicely priced, and consistent excellent quality with their hamachi and uni sushi! YUM!
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Review from Sammy C.
11/21/2011 5 Check-ins Here
I used to love this place, I come here almost every time I pass by San Mateo.
However, this time didn't impress me. Their grilled food is too salty and some overcooked. My boyfriend had their egg/pork over rice (forgot the name for it) was too watery as well.
Service was slow and the waitress often forgot what we needed; I might not come back here again. -
Review from Cat C.
11/3/2011 1 Check-in Here
Bf & I went many months ago here after I've been on hiatus from Hotaru for a handful of years with my family (no real reason tho).
The place is kinda small & sometimes there's a wait, but their donburi is delish!! Prices aren't cheap but are fair & the sushi is fresh & plentiful. I ordered the katsu donburi & even had leftovers for the next day. Our Spider Roll was huge & pleasing to the taste buds.
Be sure to check out the daily specials on the white board! Downtown San Mateo has a plethora of Japanese restaurants, but it's easy to see why Hotaru is one of those that has a wait & keeps customers coming back. -
Review from Norman S.
11/11/2011
Went for lunch with colleagues on a Friday and it was relatively packed. Fortunately, an ex-colleague joining us was there ahead of us and had his name on the wait list. We were seated upstairs which turned out well since it was quieter than downstairs.
Service was attentive and efficient as we got our orders taken not long after we were seated. Waters and tea came soon after. within about 10 minutes of ordering, our food started arriving. I had the curry with pork cutlet and rice. This is my first time having Japanese curry and it tasted somewhat like a very mild version of your regular Indian curry. The pork cutlet was nicely done. Crispy outside and juicy inside. 4 stars for the food.
Prices are reasonable considering the portions so no complains there either. Just don't expect your $5 lunch here.
This is my first time here and will be back when the opportunity arises to try the other items on the menu. -
Review from Linda W.
San Mateo, CA
1/19/2012
This is our favorite restaurant for a casual dining. I think their food is pretty authentic. Sushi is fresh. They have different combination meals to choose and portions are hugh. I would recommend curry don and chirashi sushi. Or you can try their udon/soba combo. Price is very reasonable. Definitely recommend it
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Review from Deannie W.
Los Angeles, CA
11/29/2011
This is my favorite restaurants in peninsula bay area! I always go there whenever I go back home. Food is cheap, but the quality is excellent.
I always order the deluxe chirashi bowl, which comes with uni, and other assorted sashimi.
Their geisha roll, volcano roll are also very delicious.
Lunch specials are also good prices! Love it.
If you are planning to go on a weekend night time, make sure to go early! It's going to be a long wait otherwise -
Review from Erica L.
Daly City, CA
11/29/2011 1 Check-in Here
Rolls are pretty good here.
Just didnt like the service. Very unattentive. -
Review from Joy K.
San Mateo, CA
1/15/2012
Love this place, great service, great food! They have really good deals on combo meals, I always get #4, which comes with soba or udon, and an assortment of nigiri. Seriously, so good!!!!
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Review from Lis B.
11/8/2011
Serving sushi and homestyle food (teriyaki, udon, tempura), this place is about average all the way across the board. It's not a dive, and it's not upscale - kind of halfway between the two.
The food was absolutely fine. I've had better and I've had worse. Tempura is just so-so, while teriyaki and udon are a bit better. Sushi is decently cut, but not perfect.
There are booths - try to snare one of those because it's a bit more private - and there are tables. The whole place is quite small. Avoid the upstairs, if possible.
I agree with the other reviews which state that the service is chaotic and at times, abrasive, especially the managers. There was one poor girl working there who we kept asking questions of, who was genuinely trying to be helpful, but the rest were just kind of dashing here and there without regard for the customers. -
Review from brian c.
San Francisco, CA
1/3/2012
Chicken Katsu w/ Beef Curry w/ rice and a Samurai Roll please...!?!?
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Review from Sarah C.
San Mateo, CA
1/4/2012
If you want to eat at a fancy, overpriced Japanese restaurant, then this not the place for you. If you want great food, friendly service and reasonable prices, then Hotaru iswhere you want to be. We have been eating here for many years. We always walk away satisfied and happy. The Bento Boxes, Udon Special, rolls, and sushi are always delicious.
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Review from Eeway H.
Stanford, CA
10/31/2011
Hotaru is the place I go when I'm craving the worthwhile bento. I've found that the sashimi here isn't as well worked. However, everything else is superb.
There's always a huge line so the best thing to do is write your name down and head over for a before dinner snack at Sweet Breams! :)
The atmosphere is quite friendly. Nice dinner for the nights where you just need the "warm fuzzy" feeling. -
Review from Shinny L.
9/1/2011
I have this feeling that I wrote a review for this place already...hrm.
Anyway, I first came to Hotaru about 6 years ago. What is wonderful about this place is that the taste, quality, and amount of food served seems to have remained consistently good. This place has really withstood the test of time.
The sushi here is supposed to be delicious, as my friends who get the sashimi attest. The hamachi kama is also delicious and fresh.
However, every time I come here I can't resist the chicken katsu curry, which inevitably I get each time.
They have a good beef curry, which (as I explained to my dining companion this past week) is not "cheat curry," or curry that likely came out of a box. There are real, substantial chunks of beef in the curry, and the curry itself is flavorful and strong, and not overly salty. The red ginger that accompany japanese curry are also not your average Jginger - just enough spice to add flavor without overwhelming the rest of the dish.
Final wonderful thing - they have a brown rice option for their bentos, which meant I didn't get a crazy white carb crash/food coma despite eating a hearty portion of this hearty meal. -
Review from B R.
Portland, OR
12/30/2011 1 Check-in Here
Authentic Japanese!!
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Review from Edda O.
San Jose, CA
10/13/2011
I was not very impressed with the restaurant as a whole. Service was ok, but almost a tad abrasive and chaotic. We were seated on the upper floor where there is only 3 tables and servers were only there to drop off food/bill. A couple times customers were sent upstairs to tables that was still occupied.
Food was mediocre at best... I thought the prices were reasonable for the quality of food. I did notice that most tables had bento boxes - their combination dinners are great values - priced well, good portions with a lot of different variations so there is something for everyone.
.We ordered:
Chirashi Deluxe - The sake, hamachi and maguro were ok. Not the freshest but taste fine. I was indifferent to the tobiko, tako or squid. The sea urchin was actually quite bad; a lot slimier and tasted a tad off.
Curry rice w pork cutlet - OK. Pork little tough but seasoned well and tasted good with the curry sauce. The curry was thick, salty w barely any heat. The little chunks of meat were nice and tender, with soft carrots and potatoes.
Tsunami roll - . The scallops on top were nice and fresh. It was generously filled with imitation crab salad
Hotaru Roll - The eel tempura was almost non existent. Pretty much like the tsunami roll but w a overpowering sweet unagi sauce.
Beef tongue - tough n chewy
Gyoza - Not bad but not great.
Croquette - OK but a little dense -
Review from Jerry C.
8/7/2011
You got to love the San Mateo culinary scene sometimes. Even though not as plentiful of choices as San Francisco nor as diverse as San Jose or Cupertino, they do one thing really really well..and that my friends, is authentic Japanese food. Not terribly expensive either, unlike my friends in Pacifica. Heard all about this place from many Yelpers so decided to give it a whirl. Yes, had to wait, but only about 20 minutes, and mind you, this was on a friday night, where many bellies are in search of good food after a long week's work.
Had their Hotaru combination, and the pork cutlet was okay, but the broiled mackarel was quite good. The croquette was also nicely fried. We also tried the veggie tempura, and that stuff was better than sex while also playing a video game. Yeah..i said it.
Wife tried the chirashi, and even though i felt it was on the smaller side..what can i say... the cuts of sashimi were fresh and buttery. Will def. come back..total bill came to under 45 bucks, tax and tip included. Just be prepared for the loud, and sometimes obnoxious crowd. to the back of our table sat a group of six Hongkies, talking so loud in cantonese i thought i was watching a bad HK gangster flick. Their ringleader, this chubbie dude with a pig face, spoke so loudly I could have sworn he had a microphone implanted in his ass.
And to our left two super tech geeks were talking or seducing each other with enthusiastic spiel about the latest phone or computer technology i wanted to turn them and say, "oh just kiss already and check out each other's hard drives!"
Geez...and AFTER the tech geeks lovebirds left, in lumbered not one, but TWO rhinos and sat down at the table. One was so big it needed two seats to sit down properly. My wife and saw the writing was indeed on the proverbial wall, and decided to get out of there before those two decided they could not wait for the waitress and eat us instead.
ahh good times. -
Review from Pauline Y.
Santa Cruz, CA
10/16/2011
I would not come back to this restaurant if I have sushi crave...
I went to this place a few months ago and ordered sushi combo,
the quality wasn't as good as I thought (which it's overrated on yelp)
though the taste is okay but the sushi was not attractive at all which I lost my appetite (rice and stuffings were falling apart)...
service wasn't that great, I had to wait for 10 minutes till I get my tea refilled, yes it's a small place so I do not understand why they took long to get to the tables...
in short, overrated restaurant, i would not go back... -
Review from Randy F.
Updated - 7/14/2011 5 photos
After a return visit to Hotaru, I'm definitely singing their praises again. Their value, especially during the lunch hour, and for the quality they provide are simply outstanding.
I'm not sure there is any other Japanese restaurant on the Peninsula that can beat Hotaru and that also serves solid Japanese fare.
While the nearby Sushi Sam's offers more exotic fare and variety and also has higher quality cuts, the prices reflect that. Same goes for places like Sakae and even perennial value leaders like Sushi Tomi and Akane.
My lunch combo today was a good case in point. Seafood donburi combo ($9.95). It included:
A donburi with thin, but quality, cuts of salmon, white fish, tuna, hamachi, and scallop. They even sprinkled a few pieces of their top notch, and probably one of their pricier items, ikura. The rice was not a simple scoop of white rice, but included shredded egg, minced mushroom and Japanese pickled bits.
A choice of soba (hot or cold), udon, or cooked spinach is offered as the second item. The hot soba that I chose came in an enormous bowl and included two slices of Japanese fish cake and some nicely diced green onions. It wasn't fancy, but the portions of the two could have easily been enough for two.
I've seen places charge 2-2.5x the price for just a similar chirashi and that doesn't include the udon or soba, which I've seen places in the South Bay charge $15-20 for.
The nigiri prices here are similarly very reasonable, although their selection is somewhat lacking (or they run out). The cuts however were very generous and I was quite happy with their quality, especially given the price point.
One notable standout is their ikura (salmon roe). It's excellent and they occasionally sprinkle it in their chirashi and donburi. As a standalone nigiri order, it's among their pricier items at $6/pair. But the marinade is excellent and the salmon roe are large and delicious.
Hotaru is a very solid Japanese restaurant and it's no surprise that they are very busy given their excellent value. I saw senior citizens, students, and many more fill the place until closing time at 2:30 pm. Tomi Sushi and Akane can occasionally compete with their lunch specials, but Hotaru is the leader for value for the time being.
Hotaru accepts credit cards, including American Express.Listed in: AmEx Outcasts!, Long Live Sushi! (and You!), Chirashi Chronicles
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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4/21/2011
Chirashi Chronicles #9
I had modest expectations of Hotaru as I know there are several other Japanese… Read more »
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Review from G K.
San Francisco, CA
7/27/2011
Love this little Japanese gem. My parents really love it too, they now live farther away, but anytime they're in the area, HOTARU is the place to go.
Their tonkatsu is very well flavored and never tastes too oily. Their lunch specials with cold soba noodles is always delicious and refreshing too. Rolls and sashimi are tasty too - a good, comfy Japanese restaurant! -
Review from Crystal K.
Los Angeles, CA
11/22/2011 1 Check-in Here
I don't think this place is great but it isn't bad. Everything was just average in terms of the quality of food, service and prices. They have all the typical Japanese dishes such as teriyaki, sushi, udon, etc. I've ordered everything from their teriyaki chicken to udon, sushi rolls, tempura, curry, etc. and nothing stands out. Just another place to feed the stomach.
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Review from Derrick H.
South San Francisco, CA
Updated - 6/9/2011 2 photos
One order that can easily be missed is the "Hotaru". At the very top of the menu, you'll see it hidden with the other plates.
Hotaru comes with Pork Cutlet, Croquette and your choice of Chicken Teriyaki or Broiled Fish. For only $11.75, this meal is such a steal!
Pork Cutlet - Succulent, Crispy, Tasty. Three words that describe the pork cutlet you'd get in Japan!
Croquette - If you never had it before, it's like a deep fried mash potato. So yummy, especially with the katsu sauce.
Broiled Fish - I love mackerel! Not the least bit fishy, even though it's such a fatty fish! Tastes so good, it's hard to believe this fish is healthy for you!
Definitely try this order!! You won't be disappointed. Though your wallet might be hurt, you're stomach will thank you!1 Previous Review: Show all »
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5/20/2009
The food here is pretty consistent. The prices are alittle high, but you got to expect it since it… Read more »
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Review from jessica t.
South San Francisco, CA
11/28/2011
I really like this place. Cheap, good quality sushi, and friendly staff. Whenever I come here, my sister or whoever I come with shares a agatashi tofu and I always get their chirashi or tempura udon. The tempura udon is bland but I really like it. I still need to try their sukiyaki since im a big fan of sukiyaki!
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Review from Minako A.
San Jose, CA
12/2/2011
Great bento box. Salmon was nicely cooked, not too dry. Sashimi is very fresh. Also great service. The staff saw that I finished my rice and still had a lot of food left so gave me extra rice on the house.
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Review from D T.
Burlingame, CA
8/30/2011
This place definitely used to be better.
I've been coming here for years, and they've recently raised the prices of their specials (by quite a bit!)
I just came here late last night (~9pm) with my sister and were shocked by how many people were still eating and coming in to eat. We usually come here for lunch with a group of people (not recommended, even though they have upstairs seating) We ordered a rainbow roll, vegetable udon, and a bento box special (deep fried shrimp and teriyaki chicken).
Rainbow roll: Yum! It might be because I was hungriess, but I enjoyed this very much. I always like the variety of fish they offered on rainbow rolls: salmon, tuna, hamachi, etc. but this one had shrimip (ehhh). The fish was pretty fresh, and they were sliced into reasonably sized pieces.
Vegetable udon: nothing special. Just a large bowl of hot noodles--something I was craving for. Definitely not the chewy udon you can find elsewhere, but after eating the rainbow roll, it satisfied my cravings.
Bento box (dinner special): nothing special. Really.
All together, dinner was $36 (+tax&tip). -
Review from Kaori M.
Mountain View, CA
11/25/2011
Best sushi.
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Review from Jessica C.
Mountain View, CA
10/11/2011
Came here on Sunday with my friend. We were craving Japanese food, but all the ones we looked up were closed!! Thank goodness Hotaru was open! She ordered the Beef Teriyaki (rare) and it was cooked to perfection. Seared on the outside, red on the inside. I ordered the Unagi Don, where I got three fillets of eel! I'm used to only two! Eel to rice ratio was spot on. Food was delicious, and service was good. Will definitely be back!
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Review from Sean O.
San Mateo, CA
5/27/2011
I'll keep this short, everything else you need to know is covered in the 600+ other reivews. Food is decent, but the real gem at this place is the service. Quick service for a dine-in meal or take out - Great people.
Prices are also very fair. If I want sushi (AND I WANT IT NOW), this is where I'll go. -
Review from Kathy C.
Burlingame, CA
8/4/2011 1 Check-in Here
Lots of food for really cheap, but quality is not so great
Soba/ Udon= huge portions, but bland
Chicken teriyaki = only okay (can be dry sometimes)
Sashimi = pretty good but is obviously more expensive, and for those prices I would rather spend a few more dollars and go down to Sushi Sams.
Tempura = better than everything else! But still just okay.
Overall, I would only come here if I'm craving lots of Japanese food and I want it in my tummy NOW! -
Review from Melanie B.
Santa Clara, CA
The waitress we had needed an attitude adjustment. When we first entered the restaurant, we noticed it was packed. So, we were next in line. Of course, we forgot to sign in on the clipboard. When a table freed up, we went ahead and just grabbed it. The waitress checked the clipboard and gave us a hard time that we didn't have our name on it. The other customers chimed in and said we were 1st. Since then, she already left a sour taste in our mouths.
We ordered the rainbow row, croquettes, chirashi (regular size) and two uni. I really liked the chirashi. I had better uni. The croquettes were pretty good as well. -
Review from j m.
San Mateo, CA
10/23/2011
Good place to eat dinner if you get here early. Otherwise, you'll wait for a while. A little confusing when you get in. They have menu specials all over the walls that you don't know which one is which. Service is okay and the sushi is not so bad.
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