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Tue-Fri. 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Tue-Fri. 5:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Sat-Sun. 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
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I went here a few times after my friend introduced me to this place. The drive is pretty far from San Jose, but the food is well worth it. I love the salmon tartar! I usually order the roasted garlic edanmame and the shaken beef. The food presentation was also creative.
They also have great service and especially during Valentines Day. I would recommend coming here when you are in this area.
I really, really, REALLY wanted to enjoy a nice dining experience at this place but I left feeling so dissapointed. Came here around 7pm on a Sat. night. The place was about half full, there was no hostess so it took the waitress 10 mins. just to come over and seat us.
After we sat down we were served water and no one, NO ONE came by for over 20 mins. Finally I had to ask the girl that sat us for someone to come by. Our waiter arrived, very stressed out and very scattered. We placed our drink and dinner order. Five mins. later our calamari came out, five mins. after that the salmon tartare arrived. Calamari was decent, way over battered and very oily tasting - dipping sauce was the saving grace. The tartare was delicious, rich but very, very good. Finally our drinks arrived - a full 15 mins. after our food had !!! Having waited tables for 5 years I know that if my customers are not happy, the first thing to bring is their drink ! Or wait, maybe that is just common sense...
Our eggplant arrived shortly after but we were missing our rice. The server said it would come right up but we sat there for 10 MORE MINS. and still no rice. I finally gave up and politely begged the busboy who brought it out right away. The eggplant was delicious, I will give them that.
Obviously this waiter was new since I would see him clearing plates off a table that had already left while were were still waiting for our drinks. Then I also saw the other waitress doing this !?!? WTF ?!?!
Overall, the food was pretty good. The service was FLAT OUT, HANDS DOWN THE WORST I've received in at least the past year. I usually won't tip less than 10% because I think that's too harsh. Needless to say - I had no qualms about leaving 5% and even that was way too generous.
Not too busy on a Wednesday night; was seated immediately.
Carolyn, our server was very friendly and took our order upon seating. We ordered the following with comments:
(1) Sizzling Rice Miso Soup ($3) - It's like brown rice krispies dumped in your miso soup. Don't get me wrong, it was good and tasty, but rather unusual.
(2) Kona Coffee Glazed Ribs ($10) - The ribs were good, but slightly on the dry side. Not super tender, falling off the bone like I would have liked. The dark sauce was also a tad salty and thick.
(3) Char Sui Alaska Black Cod ($18) - Large portion (I can appreciate that), but after the third bite, I was over it. Again, too salty for my taste buds. But different and creative.
(4) Roasted Garlic Chow Mein ($11) - Where are the garlic chunks? Tomato bits instead? Unusual and again SALTY. Dude, is salt the main theme here? The noodle was way too greasy as well. Not a fan.
(5) Roll of the Day ($12) - I had no idea what was in our roll, it had mango something and it tasted decent.
Overall, not bad, but not great.
I wish they stopped holding the salt shaker over the food and focus on the taste balance. Fusion concept worked well and I liked their creativity, but not a fan of salty foods.
I really like Red Crane, when I think of a nice dinner close to home, this is the place I think about.
Roasted Garlic Edamame - ORDER IT!! This stuff is so addictive, one order may not be enough.
Salmon Tartar - Another addictive addition to our table, basically I don't want to share this one with anyone else.
Kona Coffee Glazed Ribs - Melt in your mouth beef
Drunken Black Tiger Prawns - nicely garlicky and served with eggplant
Roasted Garlic Chow Mein - mmm, garlicky!
Dark Chocolate Lava Cake - DELICIOUS!! The balsamic added a wonderful dimension to the sweetness!
Panno Cotta Sampler - it's okay, but probably my least favorite thing from this list. I adore panna cotta, but this isn't really panna cotta, but it's similar enough that they gave it the name, I guess
Don't let the nondescript strip mall location fool you. The Red Crane is a fantastic hidden treasure in the South Bay.
It's a small, cozy little restaurant with high attention to detail and great service. This is one of the only "asian fusion" places I would recommend to another asian person. Hey, i'm just sayin...
The food here is elegantly plated, a pleasant surprise based on affordable pricing and said location. I really liked the chicken adobo with musubi, pork belly, and caramelized onions. I tried some of the shortrib also, which had a yummy glaze on it. For dessert (we actually went during Yelp Eats! Week and ordered the Yelp menu) we had balsamic ice cream with chocolate molten cake. The balsamic ice cream was tart but creamy, which cut the richness of the cake.
Definitely come here if you like hawaiian food or pacific rim cuisine. Lots of influences can be found here. Try the shave ice, I've never had it...but it's huge and looks fluffy! It's no waiola's, but I hear it's almost as good.
Overall, a satisfying and intimate dinner worth remembering. And giving 4 stars on Yelp!
i cannot believe this restaurant has a average 4 star rating with almost 300 reviews.
ARE YOU KIDDING???
either they bribed people on yelp to give it 5 stars, got all their friends to write it, or created bogus accounts.
another possibility is that people like paying for nice looking food that doesn't taste that great.
THIS IS A $$$ (3 dollar sign place). just a note for those of you who don't know what that means...$31-50/person.
THESE WERE THE DISHES ORDERED:
orange dragon roll -- shrimp tempura sushi with salmon sashimi and avocado on top
hamasabi roll -- hamachi sashimi...forget the rest of the description
honey mustard braised shortribs
panecotta dessert sampler -- passionfruit, lychee, mango
orange dragon roll -- decent, nothing special
hamasabi roll -- surprisingly flavorless (rice on sushi wasn't good
sushi rice. not enough vinegar and sugar)
honey mustard braised shortribs -- good, but too much fat. i've had
good shortribs at a lot of places so it doesn't really impress..
panna cotta sampler -- mango jello at dimsum places is MUCH
BETTER than this.
service wasn't bad...just average.
food was below average.
prices were too high.
we were highly disappointed. after the meal, we thought we should've gone to gombei and had DELICIOUS FOOD at 1/3 the price.
the people who love this place must not be rating the food. they must be impressed that there is a place with PRETTY dishes.
good concept, poor execution.
GET YOUR TASTEBUDS CHECKED. SERIOUSLY.
** note1: browsing people who gave red crane 5 stars other reviews...i'll have to say that i wouldn't trust someone who gave red crane 5 and gochi 4. really...
** note2: my friend came here a year ago...she said that the panna cotta was different (it was really good before). i browsed through the pics and saw what she meant. they must have changed chefs also...
I have to say I almost gave this place a 2 star review... and I am really struggling with 3... why? Everything about this place was hit or miss:
1. Service: The wait staff was very friendly and knowlagable, but at one point my friend waited 45 minuites for a new beer... I know you are thinking 45 min... how could be still be there.. because the service was painfully SLOW.
At this price point I expect much better service. Dishes should arrive at the same time. This is not a place in China town where I am spending $7 for lunch and do not mind if my meal comes out 15 min before everyone else.
We had a table of 8. We all ordered individually. Some people got their first course after about 20 min... others got it 15 min after that... some of us did not get it until others were eating their main course.
Dessert... 3 meals came with dessert... one of the desserts came out before the rest of us got the dessert menu. Then a second dessert was delivered as the rest of us ordered dessert. The final dessert was delivered with the check. This dessert was ordered with the main meal.
If that was not enough my wife and I orders the snow peas... we were told immediately they were out of snow peas... so we ordered the Chinese mixed vegetables. We were told AFTER we completed our meal... they were out of the mixed vegetables.. and would we like something else... WHO runs out of MIXED vegetables???? They only offer 3 vegetable options... and they were out of 2 AND you tell me AFTER you served my meal? That is just unacceptable.
2. Food Quality:
Once again.. hit or miss. The Braised Hamachi Kama... very good.... The Char Siu Marinated Alaskan Black Cod...excellent....
Now for the mixed: The Honey-Mustard and Miso Glazed Boneless Short ribs.. One on the table was perfect the other was very chewy and hard to eat. The Panna Cotta Sampler.. blah...
Now for the BAD: Hamachi Sashimi The Red Crane Style.. to start it was warm.. I was not sure if they meant to serve it this way.. OR if they let it set out too long in the back, but it tasted like bad fish. At first I thought it was just me, but later my friend that ordered it said it was the worse he ever had. It looked like it was going to be incredible, but it was not.
It is a shame because I really liked some of the dishes and would come back just for them... but not I just noticed this place has been open since the fall of 07! My experience made me think it had been open for a week.
Sorry.. after writing the review I have to drop to 2 stars.
Came with the wife for our anniversary, they even asked for the occasion which give it a personal touch. Location is great, quiet and out of the way good parking and decor was very nice, couldnt tell from the outside but its nice.
Food matched the decor, the boneless short ribs were the best i've had and the sushi rolls were unique. Service was pretty fast as well.
Overall a very nice dining experience will def come back for more!
Not impressed.
I want to write more but I waited too long between going there and now. All I remember is over-sauced dishes and that the seabass can only be compared to xa xiu or char siu pork. I believe that's their signature dish so I'll comment on it since I can't remember any remarkably tasty or disgusting flavors about the remaining dinner I ate.
I do remember trying really hard to like it since a good friend recommended it...like spending $100 no-alcohol hard.
I liked their garlic noodles. The chewy consistency was perfect but the noodles were on the oily side. Most of their food was a little too salty but the appetizer we got which was the black cod skewers was delicious. I would definitely order the skewers again. The sashimi I got could have been colder, it tasted almost room temperature which caught me off guard.
Overall, I would go back for the black cod skewers, garlic noodles and the wonderful service. Our waitress was really friendly and very attentive with two camels as customers, filling our cups when they were only half empty. Thanks! :)
My comments definitely echo what others are saying about this place:
- Food is good, though overpriced considering the strip mall location and limited ambiance. The first dish we ordered, a Chinese chicken salad (I believe), was the most flavorful.
- Service? PAINFULLY slow, yet friendly (and apologetic, a trait I appreciate in service but also find tacky) at the odd times someone was nearby. However, they did logically course the five dishes we ordered, and each arrived in a sequential fashion -- but still, long gaps between each dish's arrival.
- Ambiance was meh. Although I won't discount a restaurant immediately for a strip mall location, the interior certainly didn't lend to enhancing our dining experience. No music playing (at least none that could be heard), so I could hear the conversation of the the table behind us better than I could hear my own dining companions. Also, there was a plasma TV screen right above our table which cyclically projected bright light on-and-off onto our table. Unnecessary -- I didn't come here to watch TV.
So, food was fine, so perhaps I could recommend it as a take-out option -- but having seen how long some customers were waiting simply for take-out, I'm not sure it's worth the time.
If they hired another front-of-staff person to enhance service, and worked a bit on ambiance, this place WOULD have some potential.
Another place that I just don't "get". I came here with a girlfriend on a Friday night. We waited by the host stand for a few minutes before we even got acknowledged. The place wasn't even that busy either! Finally, we got seated and given menus.
The service here is very slow. I don't know if the servers are inexperienced but our server seemed like he couldn't keep up with the few tables he had. He even forgot our rice when the food came out! I'm Asian, I need to eat my entrees with rice!
Chinese chicken salad - probably my favorite part of the meal. Although nothing amazing, it was light and refreshing. The dressing was nice and they were generous with the portions of chicken.
Crispy chicken - not a fan. I thought it was a bit too salty and nothing special. They used the same chicken that was in the salad and basically fried it and served it with different sauce.
Black cod - I insisted on ordering this because I read all the great things on yelp about it but it failed to impress me. There are many other Chinese restaurant that serve a similar dish that is just as good and much cheaper!
Garlic noodles - too salty for my taste. There was a lot of black pepper and salt, it overpowered the dish. There wasn't even much of a garlic flavor!
Maybe I came here expecting too much? But the average food paired with the slow service did not leave me with the best impression.
I would have never found The Red Crane by just looking, as it was nestled between businesses in some random strip mall. A restaurant that serves up nearly 'fine-dining' fare is definitely misplaced here. I was dragged to this restaurant by my sister, who was turned onto this place by Yelp. And to echo her words, I would say that I also was underwhelmed.
I knew nothing about this place previously, since I don't exactly live in Cupertino anymore. Once I scanned the menu, I was suddenly thankful that I had a huge breakfast earlier because I knew that the small portions weren't going to cut it, nor was I willing to spend $30+ to get full from lunch. And another--I'm never a fan of Asian fusion. But I didn't mind treating my sister though, so we split the Char Siu Alaskan Black Cod lunch entree, and the Rock n Roll.
The lunch entree came with salad and miso soup. The salad had clean, acidic flavors from the satsuma orange and tasted fresh. I just wish there was more of it--if I tried, I could have swallowed the whole thing in 3 bites. The miso soup was much too murky and salty, even though I could tell that they used fresh miso paste and not instant stuff. Now, the cod itself. Very moist, tender, and full of that char siu color. The accompanying garlic noodles wasn't so bad either. But again, my real complaint with all fine dining is the portion size. Fine, you use excellent ingredients and cooking techniques maybe. But I would rather take a bigger piece of fish than have you give me cheapy freebies of soup and salad. The waitress even neglected to bring out the rice.
The Rock n Roll (eel and avocado) was meh at best, just filler food.
Overall, I was not impressed. The plating was very pretty and the ambiance was sleek, but I just can't get past the fact that people are willing to spend like this for so little food, and not great food at that. Maybe I'll understand better when I become a Yuppie, which seems to be the restaurant demographic. Service wasn't as attentive as I would've liked, especially since there was all of 3 tables full when we were there. It's good for a working, light lunch...if your company picks up the tab.
This really is a hidden gem in Cupertino. SO unassuming, and you wouldn't even give this plaza a second glance. But I followed all the buzz and tried this place with a gf on a thursday night. It was ammmmaaazing!!!
First of all, the plating is GORGEOUS. These dishes had artistry that made me feel like I was eating at a nice restaurant in Vegas. As an appetizer we had salmon tartar - it is amazing. It was a mound of raw salmon chopped into small bits mixed with a sauce and then nicely mounded in the center of the plate. There is seaweed salad on top of that, and then some type of fried chip - i think it is a won ton skin - stacked beautifully on top of that. YUM. I think this might have even been my favorite dish.
We then shared the alaskan black cod and the pesto roll. Both delicious! The black cod (also called butterfish for hawaiians) is so tasty and buttery and tender. If you are a fan of fish then this is a must try. The pesto roll has NO rice, and is instead raw fish rolled in thinly sliced cucumber. I love rice, but for some reason this just worked. It was so refreshing and it was a great no-carb way to eat sushi. I would definitely get this again.
Can't wait to come back and bring more people!
Once you discover the red crane you will thank me over and over again. The Crane is famous with Cupertino residents for their contemporary Asian cuisine artistry by Chef Royce Mori, and paring of wines by Sommelier Mike Masunaga. We like the roasted garlic Edamame sauteed shallots and sweet soy sauce, and the garlic soy glazed New York steak, fries, roasted artichoke hearts and crispy shallots. The servings are mostly small plates (tapas) and I recommend you order several to enjoy the variety of creative dishes with the recommended wines, Masunaga nails it.
Great looking menu, excellent plating, but tastes/textures didn't live up to the hype and the service was a bit lacking.
Called in and made reservations after salivating over the menu. Dreams of japanese fusion delicacies akin to other Japanese tapas restaurants in the area set a high bar for the place to match. Staff was a bit inattentive for the price of the restaurant being hard to flag down and get attention. We were kind of miffed how long it took for them to take our order and bring us the check near the end. Half the time it felt like our waitress was stairing into space while we waited for a little attention in the restaurant while it remained half empty.
Food highlights:
Roasted Garlic Edamame: Normally a finger food, this ended up being about as messy as eating a plate of hot wings. Normally when eating edamame I just pop out the beans from the middle, but the process of eating it here was a bit more challenging due to the stickiness of the garlic sauce that's coating the outside of the edamame. You either pop the beans out and miss the sauce, or suck on the whole thing in your mouth.
Kobe Beef w/ Steak Fries, Roasted Artichoke Hearts and Crispy Shallots. While it was pretty tender and soft, it didn't really have as much flavor as other kobe's that I've had or cooked myself. It really should only require a little bit of salt and butter to really give a good cut of steak some nice flavor but the dish just came out bland. Maybe a touch of sea salt or something to kick up the flavor a bit without losing the beef flavor?
Wifey ate Hamachi Sashimi which didn't really win her over either. I'm guessing she prefers just the straight cuts from her fav sushi restaurants.
At first walking in we were thinking of doing dessert too, but after everything at this point we just decided to call it a night. The food was just too pricey and not all that great.
It was a pretty slow thursday night dinner around 6pm. The service was really friendly and the wait for the food was rather fast. But we had to wait a while for the check. It didn't look as nice and fancy as i thought it would. Just a normal looking restaurant. you don't even need to dress up really.
D-Pesto Roll $12- i like the cucumber wrapped sushi, but didn't like the pesto flavor
Lemongrass & Thai Chile Crispy Calamari $9- just right amount of crisp and the sauce was sweet!
Kona Coffee Glazed Ribs $10- yum really soft and moist meat
Drunken Black Tiger Prawns $14- soggy shrimps
Shaved Ice Martini $7- this was the highlight of our meal! We're glad we got this after the meal. The red bean paste with the vanilla ice cream in the middle was awesome! This dessert is a must get!
Cost came out to be around $52. Not bad, we thought it would be around $80.
I was quite surprised by the Red Crane. The service was pretty good, the prices are kinda ehhh, but the food was mostly excellent.
The Garlic Edmame was so good, that we ended up using the leftover sauce as a garnish for the rest of our food. The Hamasabi was also an excellent choice, as I'm not normally a wasabi fan, but the mayo provided a good counter.
However, I wasn't a fan of the special roll, which was a veggie-ish roll with scallop and bacon on top. Scallops and bacon together are just fantastic, but as components on a sushi roll? Dunno about that. Also, the maguro carpaccio was a definite miss, probably not worth its price at $22.
Overall though, I would come back. Not a bad place, a hidden find among the offerings here on De Anza.
I love love love this place! If you go there you must try the roasted garlic edamame, pesto roll, and the red crane salad. I have been here many times and I have tried so many things but I absolutely love these three!
I was there today and they have a lunch special that has a great price! I had the teriyaki salmon and it was good. I wasn't surprised because everything I have tried there is tasty!
You can say I'm a big fan and they get a Whooohooo from me!
The Red Crane is a fantastic LUNCH spot. I can't recommend it more highly -- their food is fresh (five stars! amazing!). The lunch specials are interesting, demure, and at the same time comforting and reasonably priced. Ask anyone and they'll tell you that particular four-way is a hard maneuver to master. My lunch came replete with an orange tatsuma salad (crisp, mildly sweet and tart), a savory miso soup, a dollop of perfect sticky rice, and a cilantro and soy piece of cod that was out-of-this-world.
Our meal was great. It was the perfect, quick work-week lunch. Our server was polite and expedient, without rushing us. We sat eating, chatting, and sipping green tea and then went about the day with the idea of returning to the Red Crane soon.
True enough, we came back the following week for dinner. At the door I hesitated and studied the menu. The dinner prices were roughly double that of the lunch menu. Then, I looked around the restaurant and noticed the flat screen tvs and somewhat akward ambient music. Dinner is a slower meal than lunch and atmosphere is a key factor in its success. We could have chosen a table with a window view overlooking the Home Depot parking lot. And nothing beats the soft, warm glow of those orange neon lights, right? Meh. Minus one star.
We were not about to drop roughly $50 a head on a dinner that came with an excellent view of the Home Depot. So, I turned to my dining companion and suggested a burrito instead. He accepted. So, a $5 dollar burrito and a bottle of XXs turned out to be an excellent stand-in that evening. Will I be back to the Red Crane? For lunch? A resounding hell-yeah. For dinner? Nope.
So... I can be sort of a snob. I had not been warned that the restaurant was in a strip mall/plaza setting, so I was a little wary. BUT don't let that fool you. The interior is much nicer than the exterior would lead you to believe and the service is, if not the most experienced-seeming wait staff in the world, very friendly and attentive. Plus, this place is a hidden treasure of absolutely fantastic food.
Everyone at the table raved about the Red Crane salad (I don't eat bacon, so I didn't have any) and the Orange Dragon Roll was great! I did not try the beef dish that came to our table (I know, not eating red meat really makes a girl miss out on some good food), but the chow mein was fantastically peppery -- I love strong flavors -- and the black cod was delightful. But now is when you have to pay attention because the basil eggplant is a mother-effing revelation. FACT.
The shave ice (pomegranate and blood orange) was also great, as it comes with a frozen whipped cream and a small bunch of red beans in the middle. (YES non-Koreans/Japanese folk, red beans *are* a dessert food!)
If you're planning an event, it doesn't hurt to email the restaurant. One of the co-owners (Royce) contacted me back right away and was very helpful with options (family style, wine pairing, etc.) and offered a couple of different menus. (FYI, the family-style option came with a little less salad/rolls than we'd expected, but it made sense once the insane amount of food came around for the main course.)
Decent food TERRIBLE SERICE.
This is one of those establishments where it is not a big name yet and they need to give you exceptional service for you to overlook other shortcomings. Unfortunately, they pretend to be snobby (and charge like it) then I will rate you like one.
Number one, DON'T HAVE COLLEGE KIDS BE WAITERS.
We walked into a half empty place and waited about 10 minutes to even get acknowledged, and then another 25-35 minutes to get seated. It really felt like they expected us to walk out. Completely unacceptable.
Fortunately for them, my date really really wanted to try it so we waited.
Food was mediocre. Had the alaskan cod, some sushi, and calamari. I was already sour from the poor service so I had nothing good to say about it.
The overall experience we had does not justify the prices they charge which was about 15-25 per dish (they are small portions). If it even matters, they forgot my date's drink, and charged an extra bowl of rice.
A good start with the food, but I don't recommend this place until they get their act together. I had a poor experience, I say go spend your money else where.
A hidden GEM in Cupertino! You wouldn't think that there would be such a chic restaurant with excellent food when you pull up into Bollinger Plaza -- this place would totally be poppin if it had a more ideal location... although I do like how it's hidden. Cupertino's best kept secret!
On to the food...
-Sake sashimi: EXCELLENT. Very fresh.
-D-Pesto roll (Maguro, Hamachi, Sake Cucumber Roll with Japanese Pesto): Very different, but the flavors worked very well. Presentation was so pretty!
-Orange Dragon (Shrimp Tempura, Salmon, Avocado and Tomato Salsa): YUMYUMYUM. I liked the balance of the crunch of the tempura and the creaminess of the salmon & avocado.
-Kona coffee glazed ribs: Definitely fell off the bone, as other reviewers claimed. I don't eat pork, but I had to try this because of all the reviews! Loved the sauce -- soooo tasty!
-Garlic soy glazed new york steak: Mediocre -- I'd upgrade to the kobe beef for $10 more.
-Panna cotta sampler (passion fruit, lychee, mango): SO GOOOOD! I couldn't stop thinking about it and every time I saw a picture of it, my mouth watered. I can't decide which flavor is best -- they're all so yummy in their own way. Glad I didn't pass on this to go get Chinese dessert at Cupertino Square, haha.
The school I teach at is only minutes away but too bad I can't afford to eat here everyday for lunch, haha. But I'll definitely be back for another special meal :)
This place was awesome.
Being a vegetarian, there were a couple of options on the menu but the chef was awesome enough to whip up some items for me that were not on the menu.
Start off with the Garlic Edamame which was really good. Had the vegetable roll with the garlic aioli which was fantastic. The chef made a vegetarian pizza with 3 kinds of mushrooms for us as well as a special cha shu seered tofu (kinda like the alaskan cod) which was really good.
To top it off, we ended dessert with the shaved ice which reminded me of some of the awesome shaved ice I've had in Oahu and just the right style you can't get here on the mainland.
We also had a kinako ice cream which was delicious. Kinako is a japanese soybean powder, that kinda reminds you of the taste of peanut butter. It brings back childhood memories of eating manju (japanese sweet rice cake with red bean paste) with kinako on the outside.
I'd def come back again and suggest it to my friends. The meat dishes were also really good (according to the rest of my family, who are meat eaters) which they really liked the kona glazed ribs and the kobe beef.
Also, the staff was really nice and complements to the chef!
In the East, the noble crane represents grace and goddess-like elegance. The symbol of longevity and wisdom, the exalted bird is revered in both dance and poetry.
In the West, the color red represents wicked bad-assitude. The temperament of power, love and Cabernet, fiery passion erupts when one roundhouse kicks one's foes to the ground, drawing forth fluids of a similar hue.
While I've never been to the restaurant itself, I've attended several catered events and I can honestly say the staff and cuisine exude all manner of character and poise. Last weekend, chef/owner Royce Mori and the Red Crane staff donated their time and resources to support a LIVESTRONG benefit against cancer. Character and poise. And of course, as many of us know, they catered the fantastic Yelp Elite Event at the Computer History Museum. Great service and wonderfully friendly people.
Regarding their food, The Red Crane offers dishes both refined and delectable. Most notable are the salmon tartare served on crispy wonton crisps, steamed buns filled with shredded pork and scallions, and their assortment of flavorful sushi rolls. I can still taste it now...
When East meets West, you get something like The Red Crane - A kung-fu chop to your taste buds a la Bruce Lee but not Chuck Norris...
Never Chuck Norris.
I was hoping this would be a new hotspot for me, but alas...the Red Crane did not impress. Service was great, nice decor and ambience, albeit a bit out of place being located in an old strip mall. But the food is what was lacking.
We ordered a variety of rolls, including the D Pesto, and the halibut roll. D Pesto, creative? yes. presentation? multi-dimensional, very nice. taste? very one-dimensonal. You only taste tangyness.
The halibut roll, was bland. you couldnt taste the freshness of the fish, rice was bland as well.
Calamari with a green pureed sauce, calamari was crisp, sauce was fine. You cant go wrong with anything deepfried.
Kona coffee ribs? Huge dissapointment. Overly sweet, syrupy sauce. Did it fall off the bone? sure. But flavor, was what I described as sugarmuck.
The only thing that salvaged this meal, was a $7 dessert. The Hawaiian Shaved ice did not disappoint! It was perfect. Huge martini glass filled with loads of shaved ice (with your choice of 3 flavors). We ended up choosing what I call, the perfect trio- blood orange, passion fruit, and guava. Burrow your way through light fluffy flavored ice to get to the scoop of vanilla ice cream with a sidekick of azuki- redbean.
I would definitely come back to enjoy some dessert, but as for the food? Pass. We ended up spending $60 on lunch for two, and walked away unsatisfied.
It's semi-fancy. But I wore a t-shirt. This is just one of the many dichotomies of the Red Crane. It's a very nice restaurant, located in a strip mall across the street from Home Depot.
But on to the food! I love the presentation of all the dishes. The service was also good. The creativity of the traditional Japanese fair is also impressive. The crispy miso soup is one example that is a simple, but amazing twist. So yes, if this was in the city, it'd probably be a three and a half to four stars, but it's not. It's in SOUTHBAY. I think people forget that sometimes. Like it or not, the reviews are partly based on location.
AHhhh...just went again and the table cloths are on and no more paper napkins! BRAVO!!!!!!!!!
Food was decent but the decor so cheap that I couldn't stop focusing on that. My husband ordered the… Read more »
I liked this place a lot.
Kind of a strange place to find a fancy restaurant. I wasn't convinced until I took my first bite
One of those restaurants where you go to taste and not to fill up.
Small portions, but you will enjoy every bite!
You have to try their Char Siu Marinated Alaskan Black Cod. Everything was above average, but this one stood out and I want two of them for my birthday.
Red Crane is just okay. After reading reviews on yelp and looking at their menu I decided to give this place a try last night. Ambience is nothing special, standard restaurant with standard decor. We ordered the Salmon tartare, crispy alaskan black cod skewers, drunken black tiger prawns, shaking beef, garlic noodles and Shiro Maguro Tataki. Salmon tartare and shaking beef was pretty good but everything else was pretty standard. The black cod skewers were really really greasy. The drunken black tiger prawns were greasy too and just ok (not bad but not good). The shiro maguro tataki was bland. The garlic noodles tasted like salt and soy sauce.
Im not a picky eater but I came here thinking it was different from many other asian restaurants around town and it was not. Value these days are important and I don't mind paying more if its something unique and delicious which this place was not.
I would rate this place 2.5 but since one of the servers was cute, i'll bump it up to a 3.
I never really cared for Asian fusion, but after dining here during a cocktail party, I am now a fan...thanks to Chef Royce. I came here after a long day of mayhem. So it was nice to decompress and enjoy delectable creations in a pleasant and relaxing atmosphere.
Our dishes included:
Lemongrass and Thai Chile Crispy Calamari - The spicy cilantro sauce made this dish unforgettable.
Roasted Garlic Edamame - Sweet soy sauce with the taste of garlic was a perfect combination with edamame.
Crispy Alaskan Black Cod Skewers - Wonderful and fluffy
Hamasabi Roll - Looked so nice, I didn't want to ruin the presentation!
Kona Coffee Glazed Ribs - Did fall off the bone!
Roasted Garlic Chowmein - With basil and garlic....need I say more?
Salmon Tartare - Goodness on a crispy wonton. A definite favorite!
Shaved Ice Martini - Halo-halo with a twist! I had the pomegranate and blood orange flavors on a gynormous ice mountain.
Thanks Beth and Noelle for introducing me to this exquisite restaurant! I can't wait to go back!
I was pretty disappointed when I came here the other night with some girls!
There was no wait at all even though I made reservations. The place was pretty empty. Servers and host were really nice.
Here's what we ordered:
SASHIMI SAMPLER
Maguro, Hamachi, Sake, Hotate and Shiro Maguro (15 pieces) - $45
I thought the sashimi quality is pretty good but for the price and the cuts, I think it was a little too expensive for what it is! Sushi o Sushi gives you better pieces and for a fraction of the price!
HAMASABI ROLL
Hamachi Belly, Cucumber, Wasabi Aioli and Micro Cilantro - $14
The rolls came out nicely in it's presentation. The amount of rolls were great too. But when it came to taste, it was bland. The rice was too wet and I couldn't taste anything spectacular about the rolls.
MISO SALMON ROLL
Salmon Belly, Cucumber, Katsuo Flakes and Spicy Miso Sauce - $14
Our waitress recommended this to us and I was really disappointed. It didn't have that spice that she said it had. Also, next to the other roll, they both tasted the same. It was bland as well
SALMON TARTARE
Shallots, Pickled Cucumbers, Wakame Seaweed Salad and Wonton Crisps - $9
This was pretty good but I think it would have been much better if it was tuna. It did have a little too much sauce in it for my taste. But it was better than the rolls for sure.
DRUNKEN BLACK TIGER PRAWNS
Fried Whole and Tossed in a Spicy Garlic Sauce and served with Dashi Braised Eggplant - $14
This dish is excellent minus the eggplant. Usually I like eggplant but the ones in this dish was terrible! The shrimp though was nicely done! Very flavorful!
PANNA COTTA SAMPLER
Lychee, Passion Fruit and Mango - $8
I thought this was the best dish of the night! The panna cotta were great! The passion Fruit I could skip next time though. I would probably ask for another mango! But it was really tasty!
Our dinner was more of a snack for three people and it totaled $114 without tip. A little too pricey for what it is in my opinion.
Next time I'm just going back to sushi o sushi!
This is place should pretty much be categorized as spendy (aka $$$ on yelp). Don't expect hearty portions either, because this is one of those high quality small portion fancy smancy restaurants. With all that said, this place is quite a hidden gem in Cupertino.
The dishes are very creative (obviously, since it is an Asian fusion restaurant), which makes me want to try as many of the dishes as possible. Very unique dishes that you can't find anywhere else. The three of us had the D-pesto roll, Dragon roll, spider roll, shaking beef, and the Alaskan black cod (which they are known for). The fish is very fresh and the beef was very tender. The quality is high and the service is very friendly.
The Red Crane. "Contemporary Asian Cuisine".
Came here for the lunch special; got a miso soup, Red Crane Salad, garlic chow mein, Char Siu marinated Alaskan Black Cod and a bowl of rice.
Red Crane Salad is their house salad w/ baby spinach, red onions, topped w/ crumbled bacon, a miso vinaigrette and garnished w/ cherry tomatoes. It was a salad focused on its aesthetics and served its purpose well as an appetizer.
Miso soup was a bit on the salty side. Other than that, pretty standard. I would preferred a less salty soup that would serve more as a palate cleanser.
Char Siu Cod was excellent. Cooked perfectly. Being originally from the Northeast, I'm use to Atlantic Cod being fried up for Fish 'n Chips. This piece of fish tasted different, so I googled to see if there was a difference between Pacific Cod and Atlantic Cod; apparently it's more commonly known as "Sablefish" and considered a delicacy in many countries (via wiki). I'm a food snob when it comes to seafood and I'm super picky about how well the fish is cooked. since it's so delicate to begin with. Overall I'm bittersweet about the dish though since it tasted so good but I think the fish would be delicious by itself with minimal seasonings.
Garlic chow mein was pretty standard. It's stir fried noodles for those of you who don't speak Mandarin. After an overload of garlic last weekend at the Gilroy Garlic Festival, it didn't seem excessively garlicy to my palate. I ended up noticing the mushroom flavor a lot more. Slightly greasy, but that's how all chow mein's are.
Service was pretty good overall.
Overall I'm torn between 3 and 4 stars. It's 4 star quality, but it's slightly spendy since you can get equal or greater quality lunches for a fraction of the price (think around 17-18 bucks after tip). The utility to price ratio is on the low side so I'd probably go back occasionally but not have it in a regular rotation. I'll probably try it for dinner though to try out their different dishes.
I have been to the Red Crane many times and they have always done a great job. The food is amazing and the service is attentive. I'm tired of the cheap Yelper's who are looking for a free meal. It appears that someone has to beat you over the head to loosen your wallet. Well continue to write reviews on Del Taco and stay away from real food. Royce and Darren at The Red Crane are very creative and spend a lot of time with their menu. I have had private party's here and they can create a menu beyond your imagination. Kobe beef and lobster with a Napa Valley Silver Oak, their Miso Black Cod with the Buena Vista Chardonnay and the Dark Chocolate Lava Cake with the Sauterne are some of the regular menu items (except the Lobster, but it was great). The new line of sake's were just added mostly junmai ginjo. If you want a junmai daigingo you have to ask, and if you want something special and they like you well YMMV. In conclusion if your willing to spend a few dollars and want ot have a nice dinner, this is the place to go. If your too cheap, stay home, warm up your pizza and write a review on Round Table.
So the second time around I tried the Asian Crispy Chicken, which was made of stringy thigh meat. Needless to say I wasn't impressed. This place is going down to 3 stars. Go have the edamame, though.
This place is great for lunch! It's not very crowded, the wait staff is attentive, and if you tell… Read more »
Bordering 2.5, but I'll round up
...
I heard about this place from the BF's brother last year but didn't get a chance to try it until now. Our overall experience wasn't bad but it wasn't great either. I really wanted to like you Red Crane!
Check out Natalie's review for more details! =D
Overall: interesting location, ok decor
Service: very good, nice waitress, decent timing
Food: small portions, not as good as it looked, best thing was dessert. Hmm, if panna cotta is your best thing and you are a sushi place...
We tried several items... still hungry after...and it was expensive.
Would I return? Probably not. Back to El Camino we go!
Come for the lunch specials, you get soup, salad and garlic noodles with your entree of choice. The cod is amazinggg.....melts in your mouth and hands down the most flavorful cod I've ever had.
Service was excellent as well. Co-worker and I had a busy day and wanted to be in and out in 30 min, yet still desperately needed our Red Crane fix. We called ahead and they made it happen, we were in and out in 30 minutes. Nothing saves the day like some char siu cod!
I like this place and it is in my own backyard - the menu changes but the popular or anchor dishes stay, some of my favs:
Salmon Tartare = Shallots, Pickled Cucumbers, Wakame Seaweed Salad and Wonton Crisps $9
D-Pesto Roll = Maguro, Hamachi, Sake Cucumber Roll with Japanese Pesto $12
Sashimi Sampler = Maguro, Hamachi, Sake, Hotate and Shiro Maguro (15 pieces) $45
5 weeks in Italy would spoil a girl - and easing back to 'regular life', the first restaurant i had to try was Red Crane. Note that this restaurant came with near impossibly high expectations - my friends who moved to Milan reminisce nostalgically about all the meals they've had there.
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Wed night i met with my buddy and my Jewish pseudo godmother who's a regular here. Dinner was fantastic, we took our time, and even stay until the restaurant closed (Royce was awesome, he came to say hello, and is the nicest, most modest chef/owner i've ever met)
the food was so good i came back for lunch the rest of the week! So let me fairly say that i've tasted a good portion of the menu items.... Lunch is a FAN-TABULOUS deal for 12$ you get soup, choice of 3 salads, a main dish - lunch portion, but definitely enough food - side of garlic chowmein, and if you like, a bowl of white rice.
On with the food:
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Shiromi Roll (Chopped and Seared White Tuna with Roasted Garlic Aioli)
:: this roll tasted so fresh and not heavy even with the roasted garlic aioli. i love garlic so this absolutely rocks and plays nicely to the fresh clean taste of the white tuna ::
The Red Crane Salad
:: slightly salty for me because of the bacon but my friend loved it also because of the bacon, a solid salad ::
Chinese Chicken Salad
:: very yummy and light, the mandarin oranges makes this chinese chicken salad uniquely refreshing ::
Satsuma Orange salad
:: my favorite salad of the ones tried, the creamy vinagrette is perfectly balanced, and not overly heavy ::
Char Siu Marinated Alaskan Black Cod
:: the flavor of char siu really works well with the cod - which i think is typically a forgettable fish otherwise. i love that the outside of the fish piece is slightly charred and gives the smokey crispy flavor of char siu, but once you bite into it, instead of pork texture bouncing back, you get a soft, simple cod flavor that's gentle... just a tad too sweet, but this was once of my favorite dishes ::
Five-Spice Roasted Duck Breast
:: this was good but the flavors were more subtled because we had side of garlic noodles... i think having this with white rice would increase the appreciation for the layers of flavor. definitely cooked well ::
Shaking Beef
:: a solid contender, but i've had another version at other restaurants that does a good job of this too. maybe because the lunch portion is smaller, my beef came out more cooked than i liked - i typically prefer medium rare - decent, but i would try something other than this next time ::
Garlic Soy Glazed New York Steak
:: i really liked this steak dish, and the roasted artichoke heart was an awesome complement to the steak. very decent steak ::
Roasted Garlic Chowmein
:: another favorite amongst everyone i've dragged here - beware not good if you plan to go on a date that day, because it is SUPER garlicky, but i love this dish. a teensy bit too sweet, but i'd order this again and again in a heart beat. the best news is that during weekday lunch, they serve a side portion of this chowmein with your lunch entree!!! ::
Sauteed Romaine Hearts
:: simple but hearty (no bad pun intended), this is a nice side to go with some of the heavier complex flavors of other dishes. will order again! ::
Dark Chocolate Lava Cake
:: this takes 20 minutes, so if you want this, make sure to order with your food so the kitchen can time it for you! this is one of the richest chocolate lava cakes i've had - the chocolate they use here is decadent and rich (like i like my men) - and this is definitely a dessert to share. the balsamic ice cream is definitely thoughtfully served with it to cut some of the heaviness of the chocolate lava cake. if chocolate is your weakness, i'm pretty certain this would give your heart a healthy glowing rush. ::
Shaved Ice Martini
:: this thing is HUGE! it's bigger than the size of my head!!! and i love it! all the waiters and waitresses know the list of like a 100 - ok closer to like 30 - flavors and you get to choose 3. i've had shaved ice but never hawaiian style - just in the asian bubble tea places - but hawaiian shaved ice is light - no big chunks of ice lodging in your teeth! it's literally like thin ice flakes... yum.
of all the flavors tried (orange, mango, pomegranate, strawberry, blood orange and vanilla) i liked the orange and the vanilla best. when you get to the middle there's a scoop of vanilla ice cream and red bean that awaits you and gives you a nice contrast to the ice you've been shoveling into your mouth... ::
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I hesitate to give Red Crane 5 stars - not because they don't deserve it, but because 5 stars means perfection. there are some items i would personally improve, but darn it Red Crane, you come pretty close to being perfect.
5 Stars it is, and i've heard good things about your Kona coffee ribs, which is definitely on my list to try next time we meet!
Cupertino, CA
Category: Sushi Bars
Cupertino, CA
Category: Japanese
Cupertino, CA
Category: Japanese
Cupertino, CA
Category: Japanese
Cupertino, CA
Category: Chinese
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