Sen Dai Sushi
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner, Lunch
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
55 reviews
San Jose, CA
"cheap, affordable, tasty AUTHENTIC sushi on the go. i've been going to this place for......as long as i could remember. and it is THEEEE…" read more »
145 Reviews for Sen Dai Sushi
I love love love Sen Dai Sushi!!! The prices are affordable and the food is friggin delish! =) I met Kiana, the owner i think, several weeks ago and every time I come in, she welcomes me with a friendly, "you're back, huh?" haha! She's a sweetheart and I feel so taken care of when I'm there. I love the saba! So yummy!!!!
Sen Dai Sushi has been on my bookmark list for a long time, so I was glad to finally be able to try it out today with my coworker. This Korean-owned restaurant is located in a pretty random strip mall, so it's easy to miss unless you are familiar with the area. You will find Korean dishes like Kalbi and Spicy Pork offered in their bentos.
We ordered the following:
- Storm Bringer and Spicy Tuna Roll- Both rolls were pretty good. The fish is fresh and the portions are big. All of the rolls offered range from $8-$10.50. They have a pretty diverse selection.
- Saba Shioyaki Bento- my coworker ordered this and I tried a bite. The saba was ok, but tasted a bit fishy. The portion was small.
- Tonkatsu Curry- the curry was good and portion was big, but I don't like how they used packaged frozen veggies in the curry. Peas, carrots, corn, and beans seemed weird for Japanese curry.
The food was average. Prices and service are pretty standard too. The rolls were above average, but I'm not sure I would come back here specifically for the rolls. I would give Sen Dai a 3.25 stars for now.
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I absolutely love this place, and I consider myself picky when it comes to sushi. It's definitely the best sushi place I've tried in the san jose area. (Yes, I've tried all the popular ones!) As other posters have noted, it is kind of dark, but I just find that means the place is a little more quaint and intimate. I think the service is great.
I usually go for rolls and nigiri - my faves include the Blondie Bombshell, the Orgasmic, and the SenDai rolls. Fave nigiri is hamachi hands down. Their fish is always sooo fresh, you can really tell the difference in quality from other places. And yet the prices are so reasonable.
The only reason I'm giving this place 4 stars is because my friend claims he gets sick everytime he eats here. But I never do!!!!!
Is this place for vampires? its dark as hell in there. they need to just take off the rice paper on the windows and let some light in. Its a bit too crowded in there, the seating is like if you go to a pho restaurant and u have all these tables put together and the only thing that is seperating the tables are a napkin holder, with chopsticks and soysauce holder.
But, I have to admit the price of sushi is pretty affordable. And the fish is pretty fresh! So I would def. go back maybe when its not so busy. And im not sure if the servers are always the same, but they arent that friendly? Maybe i went on the wrong day, but the waitress said are you ready to order, me and my gf both said yes and they walked away and took the order at another table. hahaha
It is pretty dark in there... But the staff was really nice and I really liked the sushi. Got a happy blossom roll (salmon-covered ca roll) and a tampura roll. We were seated pretty quickly even though it was pretty packed during the lunch hour rush. I'd recommend it! :)
Ha, the yelp Queen beat me to it. I and another friend was actually invited by Earlene C. to have dinner there. Very last minute and not a bad choice from Yelp.
I really enjoyed the sushi though I don't remember much of what we ordered it was all good in the mouth. Decent prices for sushi.
Location, easy to find.
This spot used to be called Tokyo Bay (I don't know what happened) and going back to this spot brought back so many memories when I was younger. My family and I used to eat at this spot when it was Tokyo Bay once a week.
Anyway, I ordered the Toyota, which was $9. It was fresh and the salmon cuts on top of the roll were thick so that was a plus! I would normally see thin slices but not this one.
Price range for their specialty sushi rolls is $9-11.
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I never knew this place was even here and I drive down N. Abel probably at least once a day. I got there after a quick workout around 7 and there were no open seats. They wanted us to share a 4 seater table with another couple.. awkward? We waited for about 15 minutes and finally got a booth. The atmosphere is alittle weird. For some reason they dont believe in sunlight. The windows are boarded up giving you this impression that you are eating underground in a subway some where. The fish was fresh, the rolls were big and the pricing was average.
My favorite sushi roll has to be the lion king roll from sushi zen in San Jose. I decided to go with the "baked salmon roll" here because it had the same exact ingredients as my beloved lion king roll. The salmon was smoked, leaving this salty pakaged smoked salmon taste lingering in your mouth. Why would anyone use smoked salmon in sushi? Thats a culinary NO. If it wasn't for that blunder, I would of gave it 4 stars.
2 stars for the venue (I suggest you order to go)
3 stars for the food
1 star for the service
"Hi, can I order?"
"Yes.." (walks away)
It was a haphazard dinner. Some friends and I decided that Milpitas was a central location to have dinner on a Friday night and thanks to YELP, we are lead to this awesome little sushi joint!
Located in a super mini plaza, who woulda thought this place existed.
We really enjoyed this place. Warm and attentive staff, delicious rolls without the overpowering sauces!
We had the...
-Storm Bringer
-Blondie
-Booty Call
-Las Vegas
It was all a delicious party in my mouth!
Coworkers and I just got back from lunch at Sen Dai. We got the Las Vegas, Milpitas, Dragon and Secret. They are all good.
The Las Vegas and Milpitas has 4 pieces. The Dragon and Secret had 6. Everything was really good. Good cuts of fish and it was fresh and tasty. The Secret is supposed to be one of their most popular, but I think it had a little too much mayonnaise for my taste. The Las Vegas was my favorite.
The prices aren't bad either for the portions. The most expensive roll we ordered was $9. They have they're "They love us on yelp" sticker out front.
The place is really small. It has 3 small tatami areas, 2 booths, 6 tables that are places next to each other so really making it 3 long tables and seating at the counter.
Wait to be seated (though we didn't wait today at around noon) and they come hand you menus and drop off water. We didn't get any tea though I saw other people getting them. We had to flag down a waitress to order but the food came out pretty quickly. They don't wait till everything is ready and just bring you what is.
They have a lot of rolls to choose from and also offer bento boxes, donburi and some Korean dishes.
I will definitely be back!
UPDATE: Stopped by to get some takeout for dinner. Got the Wrap and Unagi rolls. I was in and out with my food in less than 13 minutes. This is including the 5 minutes it took for me to decide what I wanted. Fast service and the sushi was good! Big portions. I'm already planning my next meal there.
Note: some of their rolls are too big and requires you to take a couple bites to finish them. Which in turn makes them fall apart. But still good!
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With as many reviews as this restaurant currently has, I'm not sure that I can add much anything of substance to the great Sen Dai debate. However, on my introduction to Sen Dai the other night, not only was I presented with some of the best sushi I've had the pleasure of encountering...but I became a devoted fan of unfiltered Sake. This place definitely lives up to the hype of being one of the best sushi places in the South Bay!
My go-to sushi spot should be feeling pretty lucky about now that Sen Dai is all the way up in Milpitas...
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MMmmmM! Sen Dai has pretty tasty sushi. I've ventured here twice within the last two weeks. The sushi was tasty, but unfortunately the maki rolls are kind of small. I would recommend booty call and the secret. I'm pretty sure all the rolls are good though! It's a really small joint, but the service is awesome. I came here on a week night with my cousins and the service was great! Good thing too because I was hungry. We barely had to wait for our sushi. Before I even said, "I'm hungry where's my food!!" (like I usual do) our delicious rolls where dancing their merry way out. This is a cute little place I'd come back for sure. :)
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I came here a while ago. Maybe 4 months ago so I don't remember exactly what I ordered. But I do remember that I wasn't very impressed with what we got. I mean the food is cheap. The bento boxes were like 8-9 bucks but they're worth 8-9 bucks. I went there with my old roommates, so 3 dudes and two girls. The guys could probably eat two bento boxes each. I know they left there hungry. The sushi was nothing special. I think I could get that same type and quality sushi at a number of other restaurants.
For those giving this place 4-5 stars, what is all the hype about?!
So, this weekend i had the chance to go here, which definitely is "out there". The location is really out in da boonie land and i think most people got lost and had a hard time finding it.(maybe thats why none of my friends in milpitas knew about it).
Well, first off, exterior looks kind of old. It seems like they could do a lot better, and update the lanterns out there. they looked kind of dusty and, well i doubt they even lit up or worked anymore.
I went with a bunch of friends for a b-day party and I although we got a reservation, i don't really know why because we all had to sit at tables adjacent to one another. Oh wellz. Small restaurant, and really busy! They weren't kidding when they said this place gets packed towards 6.
The food is decent! that's the bottom line. I haven't seen anything really new except for the names. I mean, you can call a california roll, super milpitas roll, but it'll still be a california roll. I guess, although the silly names were fun to read, every roll kinda had the same ingredients and I don't think the taste would be any different either.
Now as a graphic designer, I'd like to offer to HELP with the menu. I mean, the text in the menu is a little pixelated. You probably used a low-res image, so there's your first problem. Secondly, most sushi restaurants i've visited have pictures. No pictures equated to less appetizing descriptions, UNLESS you have the skillz of my pal Tony B., who can help you with writing so delectable descriptions to help bring in da business.
My other qualm is that almost instantly i knew it was Korean-owned(not that there's anything wrong with that), through the inclusion of Kal-bi and bul-gogi bento boxes. That was a little wierd.
Service was terrific, the nice waitresses were humorous and kept refilling my water, which was good.
I just didn't appreciate the other patrons. All them teeny boppers comin in with their ghetto-ness was a little irritating. I even saw a guy next to us reach out his arm toward our table, to hold his camera out and take a picture of himself! How lame! Just ask someone to take a picture of yourself, geez.
Anyway, the crowd is not the restaurant's fault.
Great tasting restaurant with reasonable prices. My agedashi tofu could have used more tofu's but overall, easy experience and recommended.
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YUM! YUM! YUM! YUM! YUM! YUM! YUM! YUM! YUM! YUM! YUM! YUM!
i took my boyfriend here because its his birthday tomorrow and he loved it. Usually he's really cheap and doesnt like to spend a lot on food (Especially sushi) but he wasnt complaining one bit at Sen Dai.
We came in today around 12pm and surprisingly, we didnt have to wait and we sat down at one of the little booths, which are a little hard to get in. We were greeted quickly and had tea. After some debating, we decided to get the 10 piece sashimi combo, the booty call, dragon roll, and the baked salmon roll (we forgot what it was called). We chatted for a bit and before we knew it, our sashimi and rolls came. yummmmmmmmmy. The fish was fresh and came in thick, meaty slices. The rolls were HUGE and sooo sooo soooo tasty.
Our bill came out to be 40 bucks. I would rather come here to eat than sushi house up in alameda. This place is a little small so im sure if we came during peak times, there would be quite a wait.
I've lived in Milpitas all my life and never knew about this gem until last October! Usually I'd give a little face over the price of sushi, but here, it's very affordable and oh so yummy! The only downside is the place is extremely small as everyone has mentioned. However, the wait and the food you get is definitely worth it! I've probably tried more than 8 or 9 things off their sushi menu, and haven't found something that I haven't liked! Oh, and their sashimi tastes, looks, and is fresh!
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I've been here 3 times and service has always been super fast and friendly.
the rolls have been consistently good and tasty. Usually I find that sushi rolls all taste the same but sen dai's rolls each have their own distinct flavor. My personal favorite is the Storm Bringer, but there was one other roll on my first visit that was yummy as well. I'm not a big fan of the Secret roll (baked salmon one) but the green onions sprinkled on top of it gave it an interesting flavor. the nigiri is great ---
I knocked off one star because I had their salmon teriyaki bento box during my last visit and it wasn't good at all - the sauce was soooo watery and the salmon was dry - the same goes for my friend's chicken teryaki bento box as well..... i like tokyo sushi's bento box a LOT better - their sauce is thicker and tastier.
if you like rolls, go to sendai for an abundance of sushi that will please your palate as well as your wallet!
I am NOT a fan of sushi.
So coming here, I already had my bias against sushi as the previous times i tried eating it, i almost barfed out the raw fish and vegetables over my levi's at Todai.
Anyways, my sister finds this place and we decide to make it a family dinner and bring our momma with us. It's located in this tiny little shopping strip behind Kraigen auto parts. I'm saying to myself, "this place already looks like a sh-t hole." Boy was I wrong, the place was a bit small, and it was crowded, we had to wait 15 mins, but it was worth the wait. The crowd there was upbeat, and the restaurant overall had a very clean, quaint, Japanese look.
Our waitress was very cute and friendly. Anyways, I didn't know what to order so my sis helped me out. We ordered sashimi, and i think something called "heaven buggajuggaidk idk idk". Sh-t was GOOD! It melted in my mouth, and their ingredients were fresh. I didn't wanna throw up this time, I wanted to keep on chewing. It was delicious! Any btw, they have some funny names on their menu like "Orgasmic" and my favorite "BOOTY CALL" lulz.
Overall it was a great experience, and our waitress even said to me "If it's too raw, we can always cook it more" Awww, thanks you lil pinch of japanese shuga!
5/5 stars because they changed my perspective about sushi.
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Who would have thought you could eat such good food in a small little strip? I believe this place was next to a small liquor store and hair salon. Once we stepped inside, I felt taken back to some of the smaller and nice sushi places I went to when I lived in Hawaii. This place was CUTE! And there was already a family sat down as soon as the place opened for dinner.
The vegetarian boxes were delish and went perfectly with the bottomless green tea we were ordering. We even sat down at one of those Japanese style tables where it felt like we were sitting down on the floor (but the floor went deeper in under the table so you could put your feet down).
I love finding good eats, especially in Milpitas!
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After going to Sen Dai for the first time, I foresaw a lot of my money being spent here. And... I've been right so far since I've gone back before even having enough time to write a review for my first visit.
Basically, I love Sen Dai. It's definitely my new favorite place to get sushi. Their rolls are bigger, cheaper, and yummier (?) than any other place in the South Bay. The place is in the middle of nowhere, but very cute once inside. Definitely recommend this place!!
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Ummmm.. so I'm a regular here. I've been coming about once a week for the past couple of years, eating in or ordering out and Joon always seems to know my orders by heart. Sen Dai is definitely one of the better places for sushi in the area.. it's actually the only place I go for sushi now. Although some of their rolls taste very similar, everything is fresh and yummy. The service is quick and the staff is extremely friendly. It's small and can get crowded at times, but it just makes for a more intimate experience every time. I bring all of my friends here who are "picky" like me when it comes to sushi, and nobody has been dissatisfied.
Decided to come here for dinner due to great reviews from fellow Yelpers.
I must admit, this one totally in the booneys, next to a Kragen that went out of business...
Ordered a bento box, Calbi w/ Soup, Salad, and Rice for $7.75. For $2 more, I added Tempura! I also got a spicy tuna hand roll, $4.75.
The miso soup was okay. The Calbi was very fatty...at least for some pieces, but there were at least 8 pieces. The tempura was very good as well. There was a little too much salad dressing on the salad though...
The spicy tuna hand roll was really good. There were big chunks of spicy tuna inside! :)
Total was $18.50 after tax and tip. :)
We got our food fast but maybe it was because we walked in close to closing time. Service was still great. Staff was very friendly. Scallop niguri was excellent but a little too much mayo sauce (or whatever it is) but that didn't stop me from ordering more. Other niguri was good(maguro and yellowtail) but I expected it to be a little more fresh. Rolls we ordered were a bit too oversized (Milpitas roll) and fell apart before it hit my mouth. Bummer.
Overall, this place took me by surprise. I had always passed by and thought it was seedy looking from the outside. When we walked in, it was pretty packed and looked like a lot of regulars were finishing up their dinner. I wouldn't rate the food as excellent but a decent choice if you don't want to drive too far for Japanese (assuming you live in Milpitas). My boyfriend is pretty picky about his sushi and says he wouldn't come back. I might stop by again for a quick bite during my lunch hour.
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This is it. I can't even remember my most favorite sushi spot after my first visit here. If you want cheap, large, and tasty sushi / rolls, Sen Dai is the place to be. Their prices don't change so basically, you can pay lunch prices during dinner time. Every time I've gone here, I always get the Secret and Milpitas Rolls - consistently made and have never failed me. Their fish is always fresh, might I add. Their Agedashi Tofu is good too!
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In my opinion, the perfect chirashi would contain the following ingredients:
*multiple slices of sake, hamachi, saba, hotate, maguro, unagi, amaebi, tamago, white tuna
*ikura (salmon roe)
*slices of sweeten braised shiitake mushroom
*pickled radish or daikon
*seaweed salad (optional)
This restaurant's chirashi had the following pros and cons, relative to my notion of the perfect chirashi:
Pros: The fish is fresh and the cuts are generous. They had sake, maguro, white tuna, hamachi,and shrimp. Decent price for the amount you get ($13.50)
Cons: Not much variety in the fish: No saba, hotate, ikura, tamago, unagi, seaweed salad, marinated mushrooms or pickled daikon.
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People Love Us On Yelp Sticker: YES!
Right when I entered the door, it seemed that the staff here at Sen Dai already knew who I was. I played it cool as the waitress approached me and asked how many (in my party). I told her that it was just me and she happily made way for me on this busy evening. I dined alone here after work because the inspiring ROTD from a fellow Yelper. Plus I was in the mood for sushi. So...let's put this establishment to the test, shall we?
Due to its limited 39 seating capacity, I took the best seat in the house - the very front at the sushi bar. I was greeted at the bar and presented the menu right away. I started to analyze their set up and prep process on their dishes. I was pleased to see that the cuts on the raw fish were nearly " thick. This is going to be good as I continued to observe them prep. I didn't mean to put pressure on the sushi cognoscenti (Jason), but he asked, "Is this your first time here?" I told him yes and he asked, "How did you here about us?" I told him that a friend had dined here recently and recommended the sushi. At that moment, it was on. The Yelp Test now begins. Start the time clock and break out the best culinary creation. You got five stars on the line!
Cherry Blossom
The hefty cuts of the raw tuna are the main ingredient for this Sendai Special. Topped with tobiko, the taste test was delicious. The salmon was finely cut to ensure that it did not overtake the tuna. The avocado was delicately tucked inside the rice and layered nicely to ensure a spontaneous taste. I was impressed with this roll and highly recommend it if you're looking forward to a heavy seafood meal.
Storm Bringer
This deserves my grand recommendation because of the presentation of the soft shelled crab inside the roll. Deep fried and prepared in a crunchy tempura texture, the crab was tender and brought in that added crisp to this Sendai Special. With the added attention of the colorful toppings of avocado, salmon, yellowtail, and unagi, this made list for most flavorful. Overall, it was very satisfying and delicious - making me want to order another one.
Notes for the next visit:
Milpitas - This was probably one of the biggest presentations that merge from the bar. I had to ask the name of the dish and mark it on my take home menu.
Mizuno - Another dish that looked absolutely amazing. I was tempted to take a roll before the waitress arrived.
Miso Soup - I was offered soup and completely thought it was included. When the bill arrived, they charged me $1.50 for the cup of soup. Not worth it. I was surprised because they already had a $6.00 tip coming to them. So keep in mind that miso soup is not included.
Seating: This can be tricky. They have three intimate booths to the right that keep you enclosed by giving you the feet first impression. You'll see what I mean when you visit. General seating takes up most of the restaurant, however the best seat in the house is at the bar. Is always interesting to watch the beauty of Japan's secret delicacies created right before your eyes.
Four stars for now. Two for the sushi rolls. One star for being close to home. And one for reasonably being under $10.00 a roll.
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Went here by myself... felt kind of weird eating alone. But the waitress made it felt like I was eating with her. All that food I could not finish. I really like the ORGAMIC ROLL yeah it was a party in my mouth and i think i had 2 orgasm while it was in there. The rolls were huge my bill came out to be 30 bucks by the end of the day.
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I can't believe this place has been here all this time and I didn't even know it. I guess in a small town you can still be surprised!
The staff is so friendly that I thought they were there dining right with us and joining in our good times. My friends and I had 5 rolls, 2 appetizers, 2 salads, mussles, a bento box, mochi ice cream and beers to share and the bill came out to only $80!
We had the Orgasmic, Milpitas, Dragon, Daniel and Soft shell crab rolls that were just deliciously big and rolled in mouth-watering japaneseness. We were so filled we didn't even finish it all. All that was left on the battlefield of the Sushi Massacre 2008 were just the nubs and stubbies of each maki. Puahahahah!
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I love this place, I went here one night with a girlfriend of mine, she actually took me there.. Jenn and I were feeling brave (dont get me wrong, i could hold my own with liquor) but for some reason we thought it would be a great idea to each get a large bottle of sake. So we did. Little did we know that..it was way more than we thought hahaha. We ordered a generous amount of food and the price of it all was roughly 40 bucks.. NOT bad at all. We endulged in "the booty call", "orgasmic rolls" and i forgot the other ones.. I loved the ?miso? soup.. it was fantabulous.. in fact this place was so good, when taken on a date..i chose to go here hahaha. im a huge fan and plan on going back many more times.
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They've got some great rolls and the prices on their bento boxes are really good (under $8! even for dinner!) We've had at least half of the rolls, some cooked, almost all very good!
One of the few places that seems to understand how to cook the beef "medium rare!"
Note: The sushi bar is quite small and "no boats." So most likely you'll be at the tables.
Service is always good, the decor is improved...but as it gets really busy on Friday and Saturday nights I'd strongly recommend calling for a reservation. A lot of takeout orders are usually filled. Easily the best value for the money while preparing really good food! It's no wonder its so crowded. A lot of the customers are 20-35, which is always a great signal that the owners "get it!"
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Service was alright for a busy night, but food was great and the price was just right! My girlfriend and I will come again soon!
I give this place 3 stars because of the small capacity intake, but the food is good and cheap . I don't reccommend the Tonkatsu its really dry. The portions are just right and for dessert you can't pass up the green tea tempura ice cream! i give that one 5 stars!
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Yum. This place seriously epitomizes "best bang for the buck." The sushi is great, and you can get any of the maki choices battered in tempura and fried. The Spicy Crunch is absolutely delish fried! The bento boxes are satisfying, and the tempura ice cream is the perfect finish to your meal, if you can get it.
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I came here looking to stuff my face with FISTS FULL OF SUSHI... only to find that the sushi served here was about the size of MY OWN FIST... I had never heard of a JUMBO sized roll - comparable to a burrito - until today. I had no idea that was what I ordered until my boyfriend and I recieved all 7 of our rolls, including soup and salad. We were overwhelmed, hungry with our eyes AND stomachs.
The varieties of raw fish were perfect. Large, fresh portions that leave no hint that it once came from the dirty sea. Spicy tuna rolls that aren't dinky in size. Baked rolls that taste so buttery, you'd think an Amish person churned the good stuff for its preparation [Hopyard roll]. The service is impeccable and attentive, without the pretentious facade many sushi restaurants hide behind. Trust me, you will need no more than eye contact and a smile to get what you need here. Your rolls will come out efficiently, even when the place is packed.
A great, cozy place to take your date that won't break the bank with ridiculously priced rolls or scare her away with ghetto surroundings. There are tatami style benches with faux roofing over your head to make the night more memorable with some humble eye-candy.
Love at first sight? You betcha'. Even better with rolls named "Orgasm", "Booty Call", and "Las Vegas"... sounds like a party I want every part of, and how could you NOT want to try it?
After we had our fill, we had to tap out. The rolls had conquered us, after ordering 7 rolls between the two of us without knowing just how much Sen Dai packed into each one of them. We ordered three more rolls to go, and some green tea tempura ice cream for dessert and our bill came out to $60 some dollars... We left with fat bellies and smiles on our faces.
Thank you, yelp - for helping us find our new static sushi restaurant to replace our old favorite on the first try.
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I had seen this place a million times, and had heard that it was maybe ok at best. Then I heard about a Yelp event being held there, and when I checked it out on Yelp I saw that it was a favorite sushi spot. My girlfriend and I live in Milpitas, but we had been driving to Campbell whenever we wanted sushi, as it was the closest place we had found that gave us the quality we wanted. So finding out that this place just down the street was supposed to be great was supposed to be a miracle!
When we walked in, the decor and atmosphere was warm and lively. There were only a couple seats open at the bar, which we took without hesitation. We were able to place our orders quickly, although I am not sure if that was due to good service or the fact they were getting ready to close. I am willing to chalk it up to good service based on the reviews of everyone else. We even got our food relatively quickly considering how busy the place was.
The food is where I was disappointed. I admit that we tried a couple rolls that were different from things we had had before, but that's supposed to be the fun part about a new restaurant! We got some sort of spicy roll, complete with jalapenos instead of cucumbers inside, which I just didnt find very tasty. Reasonably spicy, but not much sushi flavor to it (maybe that should have been expected?) We also got what I believe was the Milpitas roll, which was much too big. You couldnt possibly fit it in your mouth, and it was cut pretty thin so there was no hope of it staying together after u took an incomplete bite. It just fell apart. The nigiri was good, including the scallops, but the scallops were a little heavy on the sauce (which could be easily scraped off, so no real complaints there). We also ordered a hot sake, which we do at every sushi place we go to, and I liked their stuff. It was a little fruitier and sweeter than I'm used to, but not in a bad way.
The sushi is the true test of any sushi restaurant, and that's just where I felt it came up short. The nigiri was good, but not any better than nigiri you can get at any average-to-above-average sushi restaurant, and I was very disappointed in the rolls. Presentation was lackluster as well. Service and atmosphere were nice, but they weren't able to save Sen Dai for me. Looks like I'll have to keep driving to Campbell.
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I went here with my best friend the other day after realizing we both had a crazy craving for sushi. Unfortunately the time that we rolled up over there, the joint was closed. I know most sushi restaurants on el camino are closed between the hours of 3 and 5, but man, this is Milpitas... stay open all day!
Anyway, we decided to go run some errands, tricked a lady into thinking the car we were in was her car, got some pearl drinks at Lee's Sandwiches and rolled back up at 5pm on the dot. We thought we'd be the first guests for dinner, but a family beat us to it! Crazy.
Food was good. They have bento boxes for Vegetarians... even Gyoza for vegetarians! I love this place... and they hook it up with the tea, too. Decor was updated and clean and prices were very reasonable. You will definitely see me here on a regular basis!
As we left the joint, there were like 4 cop cars cloggin up the parking lot... didn't know that part of town was thaaaat ghetto.
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I decided to come here after finding it listed as one of the local hot spots on Yelp and was pleased with my choice! The food was fast, tasty, and very affordable relative to other fancy sushi places.
The restaurant is very small with limited seating but I could tell it was popular because there were people constantly waiting on a Thursday night. Luckily, the turnover is pretty quick so the wait never seemed too long. The interior is cozy with hints of Japanese styled decor.
We ordered the Oyster Fry as an appetizer since I saw it mentioned in a couple reviews and it was a very satisfying choice. The oysters were lightly breaded and fried and came with a sweet and slightly sour dipping sauce. I appreciated that they were very lightly battered so you could enjoy the meaty oyster itself. My only complaint was that the oysters were served in the middle of our meal, but that probably lent to their ability to turnover customers quickly.
We also had the Phoenix, Storm Bringer, and the Secret rolls. They were all delicious, well prepared, and I was impressed with the knife work for the toppings on the Storm Bringer. I felt like the rolls were pretty well proportioned; they weren't so gigantic and covered with rice that you were overwhelmed, but each piece was still a tasty mouthful (or two!).
The service was fast and the servers were friendly and helpful. However, what really was great was the bill, which was very reasonable considering the amount of food we had. I enjoyed my dinner at Sen Dai and would come here again for some flavorful, fast, and financially friendly sushi!
I feel a bit guilty about not being as impressed as everyone else with Sen Dai. The sashimi here always taste a little stale to me.
That being said, this is still the best sushi you can get in town. And, it's all very affordable. They have a lot of interesting rolls. My favorites are the Secret and Storm Bringer. Also, bento boxes are relatively cheap and filling. And hot tea is frreeee.
This place as been a local favorite of mine, definitely my favorite sushi place. If there's ever a day that this place should disappoint me, it has not come yet. I'm usually not the type of person to experiment with my taste buds, I normally have to familiarize myself with an option on the menu but at Sen Dai I don't have that problem. Being a vegetarian that only eats seafood, Sen Dai is definitely a blessing to me. The menu is quite pricey, but than again all sushi menus are, the only bad thing I have to comment on is they should be closer to my house!
I first looked up this place looking for something to grub on sunday night and as most japanese places are closed on sunday nights and if they are open they tend to close up fairly early. The ambiance was great as they had tables and they also had the hut looking tables where you can fold your knees or sit indian style. the lighting was a bit on the dim end but its great for a date or if you're with someone thats not so easy on the eyes or if you're the one thats isnt so easy on the eyes.
Okay on to the food, the food was great and tasty. I had sashimi and a dragon roll and she had the tempura dinner. the sashimi cuts were okay in size but they were fresh and the rolls were great and tasty with fresh avocados. The tempura was light and crispy. The tea came consistent with refills.
Since my first time here I have been returning for lunch since its close by work and their lunch prices are great. i have tried their Kalbi Bento and their Bulgogi Bento and they