Sushi Club
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: No
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Good for: Dinner
54 reviews
Santa Clara, CA
"*UPDATE: (2/3/2008) Re-wrote this slightly as I ate here more and have more info! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I…" read more »
29 Reviews for Sushi Club
Review:
"They have cheap Katsu Curry."
Translation:
"This establishment serves one of the best non-seafood-based Japanese dishes out there. As it is a meal that, like most chicken dishes, has a very flat and short quality vs. price graph, the optimal eating arrangement is to get it as cheap as possible. Therefore, I highly recommend that in the event that you're looking for a generously large, quality meal for $10, you should endeavor to transport yourself to this tiny, veritable Japanese restaurant in the middle of business-park nowhere at the earliest possible opportunity."
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Dinner reviews
First off, our sushi is always good and they've had the best salmon teriyaki I've had in ages. Each time I order it, the fish is so tender, juicy and flavorful.
Akihiro O. is spot on for the review... Mr Kimura and his small team does a great job. And the only thing I worry about is that if you go, there's no room for me! LOL But since Yelp is supposed to be spreading good karma. ;-) There might be 25 seats in the whole place, so you might want to see if they can take a reservation or be prepared to walk around the block, especially on a Fri/Sat night.
The service may be slow, depending if the Poisson distribution rears its ugly head (not in your favor), but its worth the wait.
Bonus is that the pricing is very reasonable and the quality has always been good.
The location is in a weird location,but there's not much in that area, so it's a good and hidden secret.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (5)
Funny (2)
Cool (5)
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: Almost perfect chirashi. Had virtually all the raw types of fish that I like, excepting for the missing ones listed below. The fish was pretty fresh, with multiple slices of each fish. It was definitely filling and at just $13.00, it didn't hurt my pocketbook either!
Cons: Missing amaebi, ikura, seaweed salad, daikon and marinated mushrooms. The rice was a bit salty.
Update: Gotta dock at least one star for unbelievably BAD SERVICE. Went back to this restaurant for lunch on my birthday with a group of 10 friends. We made a reservation for 11:30 am since they don't take reservations between 12 - 1 pm. Evidently that implied reservations made before 12 noon had to be done by 12 noon.
The hostess was simply rude. We were mostly all there by 11:40 am. We promptly ordered and then it was in their court to get the food out so that we could get on our way. Keep in mind, we were the only customers at this point and most of us ordered RAW food!
12 noon rolls around and then 12:10 pm..only the cooked bentos are out. On multiple occasions, she would come by our table *explicitly* complaining to various people at our table about how she said no reservations during 12 - 1 (yes, we knew that..that's why the reservation was at 11:30 am) and how we were still there at 12 noon, implying that we were taking away valuable customers by occupying such a big part of her restaurant.
It's not like we weren't ordering anything. If she wanted us out earlier, she should have made our food FASTER. We all mostly ordered raw food and it took over 30 minutes for that to come and SHE was complaining about us taking so long.
Even when 12 noon rolled around, its wasn't as if she had to turn away customers because of us. Many who came from 12 - 1 were getting take out, or could find seating elsewhere in the restaurant or even outside (and it was a gorgeous day!!!).
Towards the end, she was being simply outright rude. A friend went to ask her for a take out box. Before she even asked for the box, the hostess said 'No, no more'. (I'm NOT kidding).
My husband got me a birthday cake. Initially the hostess was like, you can't serve it here. You can blow out the candles but then you have to pack up the cake and go elsewhere. So while we were settling the check, we were trying to improvise on ways to get all the utensils and plates to eat this cake else where, considering options like getting forks and cups from the next door Subway and Jamba Juice. As my husband goes to retrieve the cake box, the hostess is like...well its past 12 - 1, so you can eat it here, but does not offer to provide plates or utensils, so we ask for take out boxes, use those as plates, and eat with our old chopsticks. As a peace offering, I offer her a PRIME piece of birthday cake, and she outright rejects it.
If the chirashi here wasn't so close to perfect (both in variety in fish and in price), I would NEVER come here again and this place would get ZERO stars. This is how PISSED I am. I suppose the fact that I still give it three stars says something about the food, but definitely don't expect good service and don't bother making a reservation for a big group here.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Cool (1)
Super small and random location with good, authentic Japanese food and a personable staff. We went here for the first time last night for dinner. Thanks Scott L. for giving us the idea to try it.
Highlights:
- Cute family traditional Japanese place: they gave you those warm hand towels and everything ;-) Very neighboorhoody as well with lots of regulars. We were the only ones there at 6:45pm so I was a little scared of what that meant, but by 7:15-7:30 the place filled up.
- Service: really like the little lady--she was like a spunky but nurturing mom figure. It's like you were visiting one of your Japanese friend's at home and having their mom's cooking. She joked about the hub not eating sushi saying "how horrible" while shaking her head and then when she brought the gyoza she pointed out "meat inside" for him--just cute. After dinner she says "everyone full?" and rubbed her tummy. Reminded me of my grandma a bit (although she was Chinese).
- Sushi: Good, tasty, fresh. I liked how the fish were big pieces that wrapped all along the sides of a small portion of rice. You're here for fish and not the rice after all.
- Cooked rolls: Excellent! I'm new to the raw stuff so ordered some of my stand-bys for comfort. The unagi nigiri and the tempura rolls were very fresh (as opposed to that dry it's been left around for a while and didn't have good ingredients to start out with taste) and probably one of the best I've had.
- Gyozas: got them for the non-seafood eating hub and was really impressed. Petite steamed little ones that melted in your mouth: you could really tell they were homemade vs. frozen.
- Miso baked eggplant: We wanted to try something different as opposed to my usual agedashi tofu (which the lady says is "safe"), so we went for this. Large piece of eggplant topped with black miso. Tasty and different. I posted of picture of it for you to see.
- Location: very random strip mall that's mostly closed at night but within walking distance from our place
Lowlights (my flip side to highlights):
- Was kind of unappetizing smelling Subway sandwiches all through the dinner--it's next door
- Aji/mackerel sushi: was a bit scaley and too fishy for my liking but I don't think that's cause of the restaurant and just my palate. My mom liked it fine and we wanted to try something different.
- Chicken karaage: after reading the reviews of chicken teriyaki, I warned the hub against it and he tried this. I thought it was just ok and he found it a bit fatty.
I'll definitely go back since it's so close. I love the cozy homey environment, that little lady, and the sushi.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (3)
Funny (2)
Cool (3)
It is a small family restaurant that seems to cater to the local clientele (local residents, business). Food quality is great for what you pay.
I had a sushi plate composed mostly of nigiri: thick slices of fish on very tiny pieces of sushi rice. Fish is fresh (or at least, taste like fresh) and well cut. Hamachi was cut with the "red" part on (I know some people are put off by that and prefer the uniform whiter piece), the piece was very thick and tasty. Ebi (shrimp) nigiri is not the overcooked variety, a deal breakers. I think it is slighted steamed, giving it an "almost" raw quality. Loved it.
Just for comparison, the Hamachi nigiri costs about $4.50, the same I paid at my usual restaurant close to work (Redwood City), but Sushi Club piece has 50% more of fish and 30% less rice. Maguro and Sake costs about $4.00
My wife also ordered a bento with chicken teri and cal rolls. They were pretty good, although I always think that chicken teri is chicken teri and vice versa.
I saw the food at the other tables. They looked good. May try that the next time.
My only quibble is that, because of the little rice that comes in the sushi - which is actually a plus - I didn't feel completely full after the meal, so maybe I should have ordered an extra bowl of rice. Other than that, we felt it was a decent place with a good price.
I never would have known this place existed if it wasn't for Yelp. There were varying reviews - and being lover of sushi, I wanted to find out for myself.
The strip mall that Sushi Club is located is in an industrial section of Mary Avenue near the intersection of Mary and Maude Avenues. During the evening hours the area is pretty desolate. I was surprised to find other businesses - aside from the Sushi Club - open despite most companies taking time off during this time of year.
The restaurant is small, cozy and intimate. Definitely a family environment - no dramatic lighting or partitions. We were greeted by a little Japanese woman, who I guessed was the wife of the sushi chef and co-owner. A place was cleared for us at the sushi bar (which only accommodated 4 people.).
I ordered a variety of nigiri and maki sushi and seaweed salad. My b/f had the teriyaki salmon dinner which came with rice, soup, salad and 3 pieces of California roll - a deal at $8!
The sushi was wonderfully fresh. S. commented that the salmon was cooked to perfection and the best teriyaki salmon he's had in a long time.
Unfortunately, my b/f bit into a piece of the negitoro - and a bone was still in the fish. Thankfully, that was the only oops.
Service was a bit slow - but then again, aside from us being there, there were two large parties and one server. The server was so very nice - I felt like I was talking to my mom when I asked her to refill our teacups.
I can tell, this is a place you can settle down and be comfortable. No pretentiousness here - just go, sit down, and have a good meal.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (3)
Cool (1)
Seating just 24 customers, I feel like I am doing myself a disservice by agreeing with the general consensus, but I must. Despite the strange name, there is no doubt this is one of the great little secrets of Sunnyvale.
The place really is run by 3 people, from the looks of it. Sushi chef, host, and kitchen cook. Service can be slow, but you wouldn't have guessed it from the looks of the chef. He is blazingly fast and fun to watch. Having ordered our dinner, I watched the chef prepare roll after roll in quick progression. Impressive.
Even more impressive is the clientele -- at least half are Japanese businessmen. Now, this place isn't one of those destinations to show off to out-of-towners, not expensive by any means, so I took this as a worthy indicator of quality.
When the food arrived, it confirmed my suspicions. The california roll was excellent. Creamy, plump, flavorful. The chicken kara-age was crunchy. The rice was cooked right.
For the price of $8.50, I got miso soup, salad, rice, chicken, and 3 pieces of California roll. This is simply unheard of for dinner at a Japanese restaurant in the bay area -- or anywhere. And it was good, too.
Given the limited seating and low prices, I don't know how they stay in business, but let's hope they do. I'll do my part to make sure they stick around.
This place has some potential, but it wasn't quite up to the reviews I saw but I'll give it another shot later on. After some vacillating about where to eat (East Bay or South Bay), I found myself at 6pm without a firm reservation for sushi or Japanese in general. After looking around Yelp, I came across Sushi Club. I had no idea that this place existed. I literally used to go to that strip mall all the time to get Jamba Juice or Subway, and Sushi Club was just three doors down. I've stopped here quite a bit as a final rest stop on long bike rides, and again I never saw it.
The place is unassuming, and with a name like Sushi Club it doesn't lend credence to quality Japanese. We arrived just before 7pm and were a little disheartened to find it mostly populated with non-Asians. Don't put racist thoughts in your head, what I mean is that if natives of the cuisine go there, it's probably authentic and probably good. There seems to be two older Japanese men at the bar talking to the chef and an old Japanese couple in the corner.
The husband is the chef and the wife is the waitress. The waitress is so cute, she's smiley and friendly and seems to know most of the people that come to eat. We ordered a nekitoro and spicy tuna roll along with fried chicken wings, asparagus bacon, sea eel tempura, and beef and radish. The beef wasn't very tender, so that was probably the worst part of the meal. The rolls were slightly above average. The chicken and asparagus bacon were excellent, and the tempura was OK.
We also ordered eggplant, but they had forgotten about it. The waitress never really wrote down our order as we ordered, so it wasn't surprising that she forgot. That's OK because we were full with what we ordered. We finished the meal with a green tea ice cream, and I think they threw in some sweet red bean for free.
It was a solid 3, but I was encouraged by the friendly staff and the abundance of regulars on a Saturday night. I will have to try this place again.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
This is my regular hangout. A place for family-style Japanese meals. Their tempura is the best in Bay Area. The waitress, Taiko-san, is a mom to their regular clientele. Expect friendliness, not sophisticated services. The owner/chef, Mr. Kimura, was a long-time head chef for Seto restaurant in Sunnyvale.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
while the teriyaki chicken isn't the greatest I've had, the price can't be beat and the dinner + a sushi roll happily fills up 2 people. The staff is super nice too.
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
I just got back from eating the spicy tuna, philly roll, and california roll. I love this place. Never too crowded, the owners are so sweet, and the sushi is the bomb! Me and my girl can pig out for only $12 each. Can't beat that with a bat.
The only way I'd improve this restaurant is putting pictures on the menu for those who are not so well versed in the realm of sushi.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Cool (3)
This place is fantastic! Unless you're looking for Teriyaki chicken-- if that's the case go to a chain restaurant. The chef here is truly Japanese and specializes in real Japanese food. The fish is the freshest and the food is delicious-- give it a try!
All I have to say is that my tuna roll was made with CANNED tuna salad. I will never go back. I would have done only one star, but the staff is friendly.
Good quality sashimi in a cozy little restaurant located next to Jamba Juice, a liquor store, and Round Table Pizza.
This authentic Japanese run establishment is known mostly for it's fish, not for Americanized Japanese dishes like chicken teriyaki. So please, don't order that when you're here. Try the Chirashi - an assortment of fresh sashimi over sushi rice (flavored with rice vinegar) or any of their other raw fish dishes.
The restaurant can get crowded easily since it's so small, but the owners try their best to accommodate everyone. One day they almost turned us away because there were so many folks and only three people working, but I convinced them that we would order raw and be willing to wait. The lady who works here is very sweet, but I can see how she can get overwhelmed.
So come here, order some lovely specials and sit back to listen to Japanese businessmen chop it up in their native tongue while you wait.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (3)
Funny (1)
Cool (2)
I got fried mashed shrimp stuffed shitake and an eel/avocado roll. I wasn't impressed. Based on the other reviews, I must be crazy.
I'm silly, I ordered the day's lunch special when I came here, cause it seemed too good to pass up. I mean, tempura + teriyaki + california rolls + miso soup + rice for $8? Yum!
Or not. Well, everything was fantastic except the teriyaki [should've listened to Alison ] which was...eh, not so great. I ordered sake [salmon] and that was fresh, but not alot of rice were placed under it. I noticed because I like my rice, kthx.
I also noticed why restaurants price things at ' .99 ' now. Cause that sake was 4 bucks. I would've been happier with $3.99 for some reason haha.
I wouldn't go there when it's hot-- they didn't have a fan or air conditioning. My friend and I were sweating bullets halfway through our meal. :x But all in all, it's a good place to eat sushi. 4/5!
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Funny (1)
Cool (1)
This is my favorite little mom-n-pop restaurant---its owned and run by an incredibly sweet, slightly eccentric old japanese couple. Bare-bones, one room-setting, only seats about 15-20 people, so getting a table is truly luck of the draw (the only drawback).
But being so small, the atmosphere is intimate, like you're in a house in a little Tokyo suburb and you're about to eat hot, fresh, home-made dishes that grandma used to make.
I call to order...
Stop with the teriyaki chicken! The California rolls! Even rest a bit on the sushi!
Because when you are at Sushi Club, you can experience a whole other side of Japanese cuisine if you just close your eyes and take that first big leap into the unknown. Get the appetizers! They are all small, traditional--"homey" dishes....like Mom's meatloaf, or bbq wings, or tomato soup. Except now, its succulent garlic beef in ponzu dressing, topped with grated daikon; its fresh clams in miso soup; its leeks and egg dropped into a bowl of warm, salty-sweet broth. Even the old stand-by, chicken kara-age (equivalent to chicken fingers?) is ten times taster then your soggy, ol' california roll.
So get out Yelpers and feast upon the glory of Sushi Club!
I work right by this place and I've always passed by it because the name sort of threw me off. Yesterday, I decided to give it a try because the line in Subway was way to long. I got the lunch special to-go. Good price, 8 bucks! You get chicken, rice, salad, 3 California rolls, this tuna deep fried thing (not sure what its called but it was good), tempura and miso soup. The chicken was a little different but it tasted alright, not the best. The sushi rolls that it came with were delicious though, I love how the rice was done, it had just the perfect taste and texture. The next time I decide to go, I'll just stick to their authentic sushi rolls instead.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Funny (1)
I know the chef here, as I've gone there so many times with former colleagues. He enjoys interacting with people, and gives him motivation to make good dishes.
Trust me, get to know him and his wife doing the head waitress. You will get casual, heart-warming service.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Funny (1)
Cool (1)
A very small and authentic Japanese restaurant. Good sushi and bento box type lunch specials and very friendly staff!
Don't be turned off ny the name like many of my co-workers have been ("Sushi Club? Oh yeah, *that's* really Japanese.") and definitely drop by. If this isn't the real deal, it is darn close. Lunch seems to be about 60% Japanese but I have only seen a few Westerners in the restaurant at dinner.
Everything is very fresh and reasonably inexpensive. The box lunches contain a food coma-inducing amount of food for $8-9. And green tea is always free (as it should be).
If the restaurant is busy, service can be kind of slow since there only seem to be 3 people working here (2 in the kitchen). Everyone is very friendly, though, and the chef once came out to see how his green tea ice cream with adzuki bean paste compared to the ice cream mochi we were inquiring about.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Funny (1)
3.5 stars...
Their nigiri was quite fresh, Our first visit consisted of yellow tail w/ onion , spicy tuna, chicken karaage (comes w/ california roll) -- [Home made, yummy and not too oily], and boiled cod w/ sake -- [one of the best I've had so far... buttery and moist!].
If it wasn't for the reviews on Yelp... I don't think I would have visited this restaurant... the name itself gave me the impression that it's not authentic... but lo and behold.. the ppl (cant tell if they're a couple) that runs the place are from Japan... very friendly folks =)
Overall, I would definitely come back again to try their hamachi kama.. their prices here are cheaper than other Japanese restaurants in the area.. portions are small though... but at least the quality is there..
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Cool (1)
cute, tiny place. dont get their teriyaki type stuff as other people mentioned. they have good sushi though. everythings nice and fresh. big slabs of sashimi. you can see them grill your salmon skin through the window if you sit at the bar. pretty good prices too. might want to think about taking things to go though!
This place, hands down, is the best as far as Japanese food is concerned. The fish is always fresh and the sushi chef Satcho always makes sure it is. The appetizers are tremendously wonderful; this is the menu that is typically written in Japanese on the white board, but there is an English written menu for those who cannot read nor speak Japanese, like myself. There are often a lot of native people from Japan who come to this restaurant which says a lot. They wouldn't eat here if it wasn't authentic and good. It's not cheap to eat here, but it's worth the money!
I've only been here once for lunch so far, but it is surprisingly good considering the location (in an out-of-the-way little strip mall).
I had the sushi lunch special, which cost $9 and consists of three nigiri (one maguro, one ebi and one unagi) and three hosomaki (a tekkamaki, one with avocado and spicy tuna, and one with maguro and creamcheese), each cut into 6 pieces. They were pretty small, but the maguro was fairly fresh. Someone else got the bento lunch special which consists of chicken teriyaki and several things I don't remember. The teriyaki only had a light amount of sauce on it which I like, since it becomes extremely sweet when there's so much sauce that the meal is swimming in it.
It's a very small place with maybe 5 or 6 tables. As I recall the prices seem reasonable, but not cheap (most lunch items are around $8). There's a large thermos of green tea that you can serve yourself.
If you're in the neigborhood, it is worth visiting.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Two Japanese friends of ours took us to this hole-in-the-wall sushi-ya. From what I can tell, the clientele consists of a lot of Japanese, speaking Japanese, so that's always a good first impression.
Sushi selections are mainly nigiri, with very little americanized sushi rolls. The sushi and sashimi are all great and fresh. Prices are inexpensive.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
It is a small restaurant, but u will be surprised by their high-quality & fresh food.
Excellent services!!! Traditional Japanese dishes. Shasimi is very fresh, the yellow tail is so yummy, totally different than the normal one. I LOVE their sushi.... it is very delightful. please dont forget to ask their today's special. they will surprise u!
A+A+A+A+A+A+A+A+A+A+A+A+A+A+A+A+A+A+A+A+A+A+A+A+A+
Restaurant you dont wanna miss out!!!
What a neat find!!! I live close by and have seen this place numerous times, but it always seemed empty (since I saw it in the evenings). Then I saw the Yelper's reviews and decided to go in for lunch.
Extremely fresh sushi in a hole-in-the-wall place. The lady who takes your order is so sweet and polite. Having read the reviews, we stayed away from anything other than fish. We asked for unagi roll, spider roll, spicy tuna roll and salmon nigiri. Each piece better than the one before. Definitely satisified my sushi craving. We were trying the soft shell crab for the first time and absolutely loved it. Good value for money place.
Minus 1 star for the seating inside. It was a hot day, made worse by the stifling heat inside. If only they could some how improve the ventilation.
I just tried this restaurant for dinner; it is a tiny place in a tiny strip mall, but it has a very pleasant atmosphere and the food is great!
I ordered their 7 piece nigiri dinner with 6 CA roll, for $14. The california roll was made with real crab meat. The nigiri comes with lots of fish and tiny mounds of rice. It even comes with some sweet egg as a decoration/dessert. I feel like I got a great deal!
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Cool (1)
People Who Viewed This Also Viewed...
Related Lists
-
Best Places to Stuff Your…
Looking for something good? This is where I go to… -
I think I'm turning…
Top Japanese restaurants I like in the area, in… -
Hidden Restaurant…
These are generally the hole-in-the-wall places… -
Best Value Japanese…
List to be developed, please let me know your…
Hot and New
- New Kapadokia
65 reviews
Redwood City, CA
- Morocco's
21 reviews
San Jose, CA
- Slider's Burgers
66 reviews
San Jose, CA
- Frozo's Frozen Yogurt
164 reviews
Santa Clara, CA
- Vicky's Restaurant
25 reviews
San Jose, CA
