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Mon-Sat. 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Mon-Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Sun. 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
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I have been here 2x so far for lunch and I am a fan.
- Saba shioyaki is great, cooked perfectly and a pretty decent size portion.
- Miso soup is good, with a good amount of tofu, not too salty
- Agedashi tofu is cooked perfectly with a light batter, good amount of daiko and scallions
- lunch is cheap
- coworkers liked their teriyaki chicken and salmon
- service is excellent. We got an order to go, and they had it ready when they gave us the check.
- I cannot comment on their sushi, maybe will try next time.
Good portions for the price.
I had the ahi poke appetizer and the udon with the shrimp and egg because I was sick. The appetizer was pretty good and it had all different kinds of fish in it. The udon was decent but it was a little bit on the salty side.
I don't think I would drive to Milpitas just for Sen Dai, but I would definitely come back if I was already in the area.
4 on prices and service, 3ish for taste
The sushi here isn't too shabby. I would definitely come back sometime. Their prices are very pleasing to the wallet and the service is very quick! Whenever I came across sen dai on yelp I always somehow imagined it to be big. The place is tucked away somewhere in milpitas and is a fairly...actually very small restaurant. I went with a friend on a random day during the week at around 7-8 and there was a little wait. Their hawaiian poki salad is really good though compared to all the ones I've tried at different places. The rolls though are so-so.
Very good portions, excellent service. Our food was brought to us promptly. The only problem with the place I have to say is the seating. It is very small inside. And it fills up quickly. If your deciding on eating at this place I suggest to arrive right wehn it opens or and hour before it closes.
went to this sushi place by my house. price is decent. love the rolls especially the Spicy crab crunch. the place is small and looks decorative.
All I can say is... WOW!
Ok, I've been living back in the bay area for 2.5 years now and I was just about to give up all hope on ever finding an awesome, let alone decent, sushi place. Then I came here. I don't remember leaving a sushi joint with such a big smile on my face for at least a few years now... Probably since Matsu in Huntington Beach (btw, Matsu's boats are amazing!). Anyway, I highly highly recommend! The Albacore and Hamachi are "like butta!" The Sake is divine and I highly recommend the "Las Vegas" roll.
The bf really enjoyed his Spicy BBQ Chicken as well! All flavor, no fat. Wonderful!
Yum! Drool! :) Can't wait to go back!
I'm no sushi snob, but this place is pretty good. I've only eaten sushi rolls so far, but I have not been disappointed yet (compared to other places I've eaten sushi). Not expensive, and service is fast and friendly. If I had to complain about anything, it would be that the place is small and doesn't seat a lot of people.
This tiny place serve good sushi. Reasonable prices. Should try the Uni sushi. So damn good. I would come back if I go to Milpitas some time =)
What happened?
I'm not sure what happened to this place, but the taste is just not there anymore. I don't see the usual waitresses anymore.
The portions still remained the same, but the taste... It's all about what taste good. I haven't probably gone here for about 2 or 3 months. I didn't know a restaurant can go down hill that fast.
I heard rumors that the owner was taking a percentage of the tips like he was running a strip joint. But this is a restaurant; the waiters, waitresses, chefs, and bust boys depends on the tips in the restaurant industry.
You didn't get the same hello right when you walk through the door. It was only one person that said hello.
I love to see changes in some things, just not in good restaurants!
I go here a lot. Once I discovered this place, I couldn't stop going. This place has large portions… Read more »
The sushi here is good. The fish is fresh and their specialty rolls are interesting. I'm not giving them quite as high rating as the other people here because nothing I had really caught my attention or was simply amazing as most like to put it. So there goes one star for that.
The service is ok because they're attentive and always asking if you need anything else. However, my friend and I felt RUSHED during our meal. It was a Wednesday night and not all the tables were occupied, but it was as if they were preparing for a sudden rush? They basically tried to clear off our table as I had my chopsticks in one hand and roll on my individual plate. I was so irritated that I had to tell the girl to back off. Then once we were finished with the rolls, we wanted to order ice cream and another guy tried to give us our check? REALLY SEN DAI?? That's why another star must be taken off. If not for the rushed service this place might have gotten a better rating, unfortunately this place is not ideal to have a nice relaxing dinner where you can catch up with friends.
OMG how did they manage to achieve 4 star rating!?
I was excited to visit after seeing some good review on Yelp but to my disappointment - the worst salmon teriyaki bento I ever had. 2 pieces of super dry salmon served with teriyaki source on the side!! The salmon looks precooked in water and put on a grill to get it mark, no marinate on the fish, nothing.
We also had the chicken udon which was ok. 2 stars for that.
And yes, we are rushed as they get busy like other reviewers.
I used to go here once in a while (their food is so-so) but I have not been back for over a year since my last dining experience here was so bad.
The waitress/hostess was soooooo rude. There were 3 of us and we only got 2 individual small plates. When the rolls came out, I asked her for another one. Instead of giving it to me nicely, she came and kind-of threw the plate on our table and walked away. My boyfriend and I just looked at each other with a "wtf is wrong with her" expressions on our faces. Maybe she had a bad day or whatever but that's no way to treat a customer.
The first time I ate here, I was soooooo unimpressed.. not only that, but I got extremely sick from one of their rolls (a baked roll topped w/ salmon).. the salmon DEFINITELY had some funk to it & I ended up feeling extremely nauseous..
However, the boyfriend & I gave them another chance.. the Milpitas Roll pulled us back. Seriously. Just that one roll out of the 4-5 we ordered that night rescued Sen Dai from our black list.
Since it's more difficult to travel up to my favorite spot, Noriega Teriyaki House in San Francisco, this place is our local to-go spot for tasty Japanese cuisine! Here's a list of our recommendations:
ALBACORE TATAKI - Good portion of slightly seared albacore (even though most times they do NOT cut it correctly.. sometimes it looks like they butchered the poor fish LOL) on top of a bed of raw onions, ponzu sauce, topped with a bit of daikon, green onions, & sometimes garlic puree. It's a very good starting dish IMO. Be sure not to let the fish sit in the ponzu sauce for too long though.. it collects too much of the saltiness & makes it inedible (happened once; learned our lesson)
SHORT RIBS BENTO - Or short ribs anything, actually. I love short ribs! This entree is served with the teriyaki sauce on the side (which is absolutely amazing, btw) & I love the fact that the meat is marinaded as well so not all the flavor is coming from the sauce. The salad that comes with it is average, a good crunch between bites I suppose.. & the rice is nothing special either; although I do wish they put it in a bowl or a dipped dish or something for easy eating. It's difficult to eat rice off a flat surface with chopsticks!
MILPITAS ROLL - the star of the show. Keep in mind, this roll is HUGE for $6.50; it comes in 4 or 5 huge pieces. It's stuffed with spicy crab meat (imitation, but still yummy), huge pieces of smoked salmon, and avocado; topped with crunchy tempura flakes (the boyfriend's favorite part), unagi sauce, & wasabi cream sauce. We have to order two of this each time cause there's no way my boyfriend & I would share this one. It's just not going to happen LOL!
TEMPURA ICE CREAM - If you leave this place without ordering this awesome dessert, well, SHAME ON YOU! I've ordered tempura ice cream everywhere that it's available & by far, Sen Dai makes one of the best tempura ice creams around. For those of you who are unfamiliar, this is basically deep fried ice cream but the center remains frozen. It's green tea ice cream (though other places make other flavors as well) wrapped with cake (pound cake I believe?) then deep fried & served in a bowl. The thin & crispy cake crust is our favorite part because it's just PERFECT! We also taste a hint of maple or some sort of other syrup but.. I don't know that's just us.
Overall, I love the food here; nothing much to say about the service though because it fluctuates like crazy.. most of the girls are on top of their game & the guy who comes over to refill our beverages is always consistent.
Also, the wait may be long since it's a tiny restaurant.. try going after/before the lunch/dinner rush.
The sushi, I must admit, is a tad bit better than some other places, but it's nothing amazing. The restaurant is small and crowded. VERY crowded- with a never ending stream of people stopping by. With that said, I was constantly feeling rushed throughout my entire meal. The host practically hovered over us and gave us our check without even asking if we wanted anything else. W, it's all good. At least now I know I can eat a bowl of miso soup, one large roll, several niguri, and edamame all within 15 minutes.
Btw, hostess, when a customer says bye to you even after you've been snotty and impatient, it's nice to say bye in return.
This place seems to be a pretty popular spot. I'm not about to rain on anybody's parade, but I think this place is alriiiiight.
I've tried this place twice within a two week period, both for dinner. It's quite small, maybe enough to fit 25-30 patrons? They work extremely fast in getting you in and out of the place, without any pressure.
I guess you can call it affordable as long as you pay attention to the prices. I can't remember the math, but 2 sushi rolls, a miso soup, 1 hot tea, and edamame...totalled to $40. Kinda pricey in my standards. The rolls were good, but the bill just baffled me.
Next time I will follow my dinner mate's order: a bento box for $6.50. Chicken teriyaki was aplenty! I believe it came with miso soup, salad, and I forget what else. Good deal.
Alot of my friends seems to really enjoy this place, and I'd give this joint a 3.75 The service is pretty good.
This is definitely not one of those places you would take a big impromtu party to unless you get everyone to come in at the same time.
I went here with my bf after seeing 4 stars on Yelp. We were both utterly disappointed with our food and experience at Sen Dai.
This place is really small so all the tables are really close. I ordered the sake sashimi (my fav) and the fish quality was horrible. I didn't even want to eat it. My bf had a roll, it looked appetizing but again, the fish quality was below average. I'm a soup person but I couldn't finish their miso soup. Their plum wine was too thick. Don't get the softshell crab...it was FLAT, smushed, you get the idea. It was like eating fried crab shell, no meat, no substance.
On top of bad food quality, the service was HORRIBLE. They rushed us throughout the entire meal. Our bill came before our dessert and they didn't even clear our table before they gave us our dessert!
I'm actually very intrigued as to how this place has 4 stars. Their food and service do not reflect even 1 star.
This place is horrible! It does not deserve the 4 1/2 stars from Yelp. I normally trust Yelp, but I think I know why they got so many stars, High School students! These kids don't know what is good sushi vs bad sushi. Cherry Sushi is so much better and about the same price and service is a lot better.
This place is small and there is always a ridiculous line and wait.
The rolls were ok, the only thing nice i have to say is that presentation is good, only reason they got 2 stars. The sashimi is horrible! the meat could barely hold it's own shape.
Before we even got our dessert, they gave us the check! Once we paid, we had to wait over 15 minutes to get our green tea ice cream.
I hope this place finds some better servers like the ones before. The guys last night didn't know how to seat tables. Group of six in a table for 4? They don't communicate to the customer letting them know how long it might take. We ended up leaving and going to Yuki sushi in Santa Clara.
GOOD LUCK Sen Dai!
The week is never complete without dinner or lunch at Sen Dai. Someone in my family goes at least… Read more »
The Orgasmic roll is the best roll I've ever had! The rolls here come in large portions and a single order will suffice as a meal. I know I was craving for more when I was done, but now I'm feeling really full from my lunch at Sen Dai.
We also ordered the baked mussels, which I've had before and it did not disappoint. Whatever it is they use in the sauce is so creamy and flavorful...it will make you want to slurp up all the juices and oil.
Better than average.
I've been eating food from here for the past 3+ years. I finally decided to dine in (vs take-out). It only became better after that visit.
Pluses (in order of importance):
Fresh fish
Fairly priced
Clean establishment
Unique rolls (one had jalapeno peppers and macadamia nuts)
Minuses (in order of importance):
Tightly packed tables (not a big guy, but wasn't easy to thread through to my table).
Not very attentive (only 2 servers for the whole place)
Overall, I will continue to eat at this establishment regularly. I will definitely try to eat there more often, as their warm rolls taste infinitely better eaten fresh.
P.S. If there is a wait, be prepared to wait outside - the place is packed with tables all the way to the front door.
Very good sush for milpitas. Good rolls, esp. the spicy scallop hand roll.
Lightening fast service,
delicious sushi,
and amazing prices!
This place looks small, but you will never wait long to get a seat. It's a cozy little place in a ghetto little part of Milpitas. I'd like to call this my little secret sushi spot.
Booty call, Orgasmic roll, Yum roll; It's a yummy orgasm with a booty call.
Every roll will be so delightful and the prices will be even more delighting.
This place may sound perfect, but the only cock block is how they don't allow you to split the bill. Annoying hassle when your group of friends only have cards.
I wouldn't even give this place a star! The customer service is horrible and the food doesn't taste fresh.
My boyfriend and I love Sushi and this place was a disgrace to us.
Went there once and WILL NEVER GO BACK!
Not to kill one of the better restaurants in my hometown, but sorry it's all hype!
I have to admit that Sen Dai has unique rolls, but its not that great. Also, living in Milpitas, my friends have noticed that the price has raised about $1-2 more than when we were first introduced to it. Keep in mind that this place is good for BENTO and ROLLS. If you're lucky, you'll get some good sashimi there.
Go here if you want a good laugh and enjoy some unique rolls.
Sendai is one of my favorite places to get take out and eat-in. After coming here for more than 2 years, they know our names.
Every time we walk in, the owner and other workers greet us immediately and we are seated right away (the best time to come here for dinner is between 5:30 and 6 pm, after that Sendai gets packed). We order our usual bento boxes (salad, orange slices, pickled cucumber and carrots, rice, and whatever meat you order with its sauce), an order of Daniel (shrimp tempura, cucumber, with cream cheese sushi), beer, and plum wine. We get served with miso soup and hot tea before getting the main dish. It's so delicious. We've order other sushi and other main dishes and so far, everything is delicious.
When you're on your way out the door, someone always says, "Thank you, bye!" For us it's "see you later!" Hell yeah you'll see me later.
Love it!
p.s.
I'm such a Sendai fan, I bought one of their t-shirts (cat laying down, full from eating fish). I wear it to sleep so I can dream about my bento box and plum wine, mmm...
it's not a 5 star restaurant so don't expect amazing fresh fish.
It's a thrifty japanese restaurant that has great deals for the amount that they give you. The rolls are really huge and quite unique. My favorite roll out of the 5 we ordered is the booty call. I love the macadamia nuts! Otherwise, most rolls just remind me of a little of every fish topped with tobiko and some type of mayo.
I've been to Sen Dai 3 times, and finally decided "Meh...never again". I've come to this realization after having their chirashi served with spicy sauce. They have a fancy name for this; can't remember what - sounds like Korean. Thought the spicy sauce would be mixed in, which was what intrigued me to order it - something different. Turned out it was served on the side.
You would expect dry style type of steam rice from Chinese restaurants, but you certainly wouldn't expect it from a chirashi! But that is the kind of rice that Sen Dai serves. The fish was alright, cut in small pieces, not overly fresh. They also mixed lettuce in the chirashi, and there seemed to be more lettuce than (dry) rice.
Parking is also not easy. There are limited spaces, and most of them are either reserved for the other stores or compact spaces. I wouldn't risk getting dings on my car for mediocre food.
I'm SO greatful to my cousin for taking me here, and introducing this place just 2 minutes away from me I hadn't even known about!#$%^&*! And I'm equally greatful that one of my friends suggested to come here for dinner the other night.
I was in dire need of good sushi. Sighhh.
Sen Dai is one of two of THE BEST Sushi places in town.
*Seating is quick, even on busy days.
*"The Milpitas" is THE best tasting original dish of a restaurant. It is a smoked salmon sushi with avacado, spicy crab, and shredded tempura. Yummm.
*Their California rolls are TDF. Just heaven.
*Fried Veggie Tempura was mouth watering.
*Salad was fresh and crisp.
*Edamame was perfectly steamed, couldn't stop reaching for one.
*Water refills were abundant.
*Service was fast and ultra friendly (even when crowded which is even better).
Only negative? The rowdy liquor store next door can get quite scary at night when obnoxious drunk drivers speed into parking lot, park roughly in front of liquor store, and start cursing from here to eternity as loud as they possibly can, and yeah.. ;-/
Otherwise, it's also great that Sen Dai has no tiny little gnats flying around this restaurant and landing in your water :D
I will be coming here often. Well, maybe not for a late dinner. Otherwise, I do love it!
Yum, yum, yum! My coworker here took me here to grab some lunch. I would say this place is one of the best sushi places close to our work (rivermark area). The low seating to the side is pretty cool but might be difficult to get into if you are wearing a skirt. Service very average, lots of distracted young people working so can't expect the very best. If they could provide a bit more attentive service, it might bump this place to 4 stars.
We ended up getting a total of 5 rolls and an order of fried salmon something...(salmon kama...I'm not sure. He ordered it!) and it came out to a little over $50. Not somewhere I would go for lunch everyday but nice to treat yourself to some sushi sometimes.
I ordered the Chicken Teriyaki bento box ($6.50) which comes with miso soup, salad, and rice. The bento box wasn't anything special.
The staff were nice and kept patrolling around the tables to see if anybody needed anything.
The booths were something. I felt like I was stepping into a roller coaster ride seat because there was a mini wall next to the table. In a sense, it was a real booth because I was "stuck" inside. The super thin cushions didn't help at all which made it a bit uncomfortable. And maybe it was just me but I had a hard time stepping out of the booth since I had to raise my legs up over the mini wall while trying to avoid hitting the table with my knees.
The parking lot was small and I was lucky to find one parking space open. Make sure you don't park in the donut parking spaces which was kind of in front of the donut store. They might get mad at you.
Still gotta try the sushi here...
If you know what to order, you'll enjoy the sushi as much as I do. But if you don't know what to order, you'll probably think this place is just another sushi restaurant.
I always order the spicy tuna, 10 piece sashimi of salmon & tuna, 2 orders of tobiko, 2 orders of unagi, and a random plate of whatever I'm in the mood for!
As for dessert, this place gets 4 stars because of their green tea tempura! It's like a million calories, but it's soooo good! It's so worth it to get fat when you're having a green tea tempura! Yummy for my tummy! :)
The food was like any other average sushi restuarants. It's a nice quiet, private laid back type of place. The staff were nice and sweet. The meal was very enjoyable because I got to see people that I haven't seen in a long time! Great conversations and company always make a hearty meal. :)
If I could give zero stars I would. This is the most NON-family friendly place I have ever been to. We went to this place because of the reviews on Yelp. We were refused service because my 1 year old son was asleep in his stroller. Nothing was mentioned when we first came in and the first waitress told us to wait 10 mins then later a 2nd waitress told us they didn't allow strollers. My son is asleep what did they expect me to do lay him down on the table? Secondly, it's not like I had a big stroller - it was just a compact fold one - it took up less space than a highchair or a regular chair. How do they accommodate people in wheelchairs or patrons who are not of modest size? I think that they were just rude and being insensitive. I will never patronize this restaurant again.
We left immediately after my husband stated that it was a stupid policy. Needless to say after transferring my son into his carseat, he woke up, but there was NO way in hell that would give our business to such a ruthless establishment, that would not let our son nap in his stroller while my husband and I ate. We had a delicious dinner at Sushi Kai. The food was delectable and the service FANTASTIC. The waitress even brought my son miso soup with tons of tofu - we didn't even ask. If you have kids, don't go to Sen Dai Sushi.
Why are the pieces here so huge!? I placed an order for one spider roll which consisted of 4 pieces. FOUR HUGE PIECES. The sushi piece was the size of my palm, no lie or exaggeration! Jeebus! ($7)
The food was mediocre. Nothing special or tasty. The miso soup ($1.50) was warm not hot. That too was just mediocre. The spider roll had way too much avocado and crab meat. It did fill me up though. I was stuffed by the end of the meal.
I wasn't too impressed with their service or food. Although, the service was pretty fast and they did come around once or twice to check up on us and refill our water. Overall, it was an okay experience and the food was okay as well.
The fish is really fresh and everything is very tasty. We ordered about 4 different roles, some sashimi, and an appetizer, and every single thing we ordered was very good. The prices are reasonable too. The only downside of this resturant is it is very small, and does not really have a waiting area for when you have to wait for an open table.
Lived in Milpitas almost all my life and had no idea this restaurant existed until about a year ago. It's in a small strip mall and the parking is limited if it's a crowded night. The place is pretty small as well and can get packed.
I usually have the bento box here with chicken teriyaki and tempura and the portion is usually enormous. It's definitely worth your money, and my friends always enjoy the sushi.
It's one of those places that'll hit the spot if you're feeling like Japanese and you don't want to go somewhere fancy.
This place is fairly difficult to locate because it is inside a small pizza next to a liquor store with no roadside sign at all.
Food: There is not a huge selection of sushi but they have a lot of rolls selections. You can choose between "Maki" (smaller rolls, $3-7) or "rolls" (larger rolls, $9-12). Both of these selections are nicely made and, just like many others have pointed out, good portions. If you are a Japanese food perfectionist, you will notice that the slices of fish are not very well cut and not top grade - but they are good bang for the bucks.
Bento - $7-10 and those will fill you up. period.
Sake - never tried any alcohol due to the limited selections. Actually, there is no selection at all. Just sake.
Appetizer - not exactly a rich selection of appetizer. the price/portion ratio of these appetizer is horrific.
Wasabi - again, for those of you that cares.... they can definite put some work in the Wasabi. The tiny bit of wasabi they provide taste like a diluted version.
Service - great. You would not expect a tiny store like this with about 10-15 tables to have at least 5 staffs ready to serve at any point. They are polite (although they don't speak Japanese).
Four Stars for the great services, good value but mediocre taste/style.
hahaha My original review was removed because it was flagged regarding something I wrote. I can only make assumptions and make adjustments.
Anyway, prompt service, large rolls.
And a secret apparently.
Sushi was pretty damn good. Fried oysters should be eaten as soon as delivered! Otherwise, 10 minutes later, they're dry and no good. Would definitely come again, despite having to wait 15-20 minutes due to a small, packed place.
I don't know what happened to this place but somehow things here got a lot worse. I haven't been here in awhile but I was craving sushi. Waited what seemed like hours for our table. But I was looking forward to some good sushi....was very disappointed. The sushi didn't seem fresh as before, tasted really dry. The chicken bento box? Once again chicken was dry. The service...well was absent. Not friendly at all and like what other people said, they really seem to rush you. I don't freaking care if other people are waiting! I had to wait too! For god sake let me enjoy my dinner! I really didn't want to leave a tip but it is common courtesy. So here's my $2 and use it to improve your staff's courtesy.
By far the only good sushi place in Milpitas. Love their rainbow roll. It seems that their sushi is… Read more »
Milpitas, CA
Category: Japanese
Milpitas, CA
Category: Japanese
Milpitas, CA
Category: Japanese
Milpitas, CA
Category: Sushi Bars
Milpitas, CA
Category: Japanese
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