Gombei Bento

Food is 4 stars but the price is good so I give it a five stars... the owners are always nice and polite... It is my regular take out place now !!

I visited Gombei Bento for the first time in two years and noticed the vibe was off. At first I couldn't put my finger on it but quickly realized the place was getting run down and disheveled. The place was dirty and when I went to use the restroom, it was not clean.

I ordered and ate there but the food quality and care was gone. I then learned the previous owner sold the place or handed it off to a new set of folks and the new staff clearly let it go.

I wouldn't use the four star rating on here as a rating for the current establishment. Unfortunately, I will not be coming back to one of my old haunts.

tl;dr
Solid spot for lunch, quick takeout, decent sized portions for average/moderate pricing for this area.

My work team placed a takeout order for 7 people via Yelp on a Friday around noon, and it was ready for pickup by 20m later as stated. I ordered the combination lunch with chicken teriyaki, pork cutlet (katsu), and vegetarian fried rice (see photo). While basic, the lunch was still flavorful! I was impressed with the speed of preparation and overall quality.

We get takeout from here all the time. Their agedashi tofu (fried tofu) is always on point, the food is fresh, consistently tasty and something we can eat regularly without getting sick of. They serve their teriyaki dishes with stir fried tofu and veggies (a pleasant and happy addition, albeit not authentic, my main complaint about Japanese bento usually is the lack of cooked vegetables so it's a match made in heaven for me). I've ordered my "test to see if they have fresh food" dish, saba a couple times and both times the place delivered fresh and perfectly cooked saba shioyaki.

The golden lucky cats are always the main showstopper for my toddler, and the staff are always friendly and nice. They make tofu for a lot of local stores and restaurants as well so you can also score some fresh I cooked tofu on most days.

Great fast Japanese food restaurant for lunch!
They are only open for lunch and portion sizes are HUGE. Entrees are big enough for two.

We ordered the:
Katsu Curry with Fried Rice- comes with a side salad, a small scoop of a pickled vegetables and you can choose between chicken or pork for the katsu and between white rice or fried rice for the same price.

Tips:
- They only offer to-go at this time.
- Parking is available in the rear behind the restaurant
- Order in person or over the phone because the price on grubhub/yelp is slightly higher.

Try this place next time for your lunch!

1/20/21

Gombei Bento
155 E Maude Ave
Sunnyvale, CA 94085

One thing about this pandemic is that I can order take out close to home for lunch. I am a long time patron of the Gombei in San Jose Japan town so this is my first time for Bento. I called to order the Pork Katsu Curry and it was ready when I arrived.

The green salad with the shoyu and mayo dressing was good and as I remember from the SJ place. The curry sauce on the side had potato, carrot, onion and shredded chicken; a meal in itself. The tender lean pork cutlet had a nice lightly seasoned panko crust. This is outstanding home style Japanese curry,

This was a good deal for 12 bucks, definite repeat.

I have been going to Gombei Bento since July 2011 when I relocated to Bay Area from NYC, I have been a regular customer for many years now. I typically call in as I drive home, and my orders are always ready for take out in about 5-10 minutes. The food is incredibly well priced, since most of the combinations are in the $7-9 range. Here are typical must have: Katsu Don, Soy Ramen, Katsu Curry and the Katsu Curry. The portions are pretty generous.

The service is awesome, amazing and attentive. The owner Cliff and his team are incredibly nice and friendly. They only thing I'd want them to change. They aren't open for Sunday lunch time. :)

Location:
Parking lot is shared and tight

Ambiance:
Cute little spot with free green tea! Very relaxing place to come for lunch. Indoor dining was available. Menu is on the wall and they have takeout menus at the front for us visually impaired folks

Service:
Cashier was great and confirmed our order to make sure he got it right.

Food:
I believe I went here maybe a year or two ago and it was really good! Now, it's more a 4/5. Good but not great and portions are normal.

Fish was OK, but I would recommend anything with their katsu.

If you are looking for a no bullshit quick casual Bento experience in Sunnyvale, this is where it's at. Good portion sizes and tasty food all at a great price.

Parking (3/5)
Like most people have mentioned, just a lot of street parking and technically a dedicated parking lot in the back but I missed the entrance when I first came here. It's literally like right next to the stop light and hard to see.

Restaurant (3/5):
If you are expecting something fancy, it's not. It looks to be a converted American Cafe that's now a Bento Restaurant. There's definitely this nice old-school vibe going on in that restaurant and it's hard to explain but you'll know once you are there. Ample seating in the main part of the restaurant but there's also a side part for additional seating. Business is good as people were flowing in and out all the time.

Food (5/5):
Hella easy to read menu thats located on the top-left of the cashier with pictures showing exactly what you will get and multiple combinations of whatever you like. We got the following:

#22 Katsu Curry - $10.50 = Super legit, good portion sizes, and delicious. Also included is a free side salad which was pretty tasty too.
Side order of Shrimp Tempura - $2.50 - WTF are you serious??? $2.50 for shrimp tempura!!! What an awesome deal!

Service (5/5):
Service was excellent. Cashier and waiter were super friendly and the food came out quick. Great job guys! Also appreciate them answering any questions I had about the food, what I can order, as well what they would recommend.

I'll definitely be back since this place hits all the check boxes for me for a quick Bento experience.

Pro Tip (Thanks to the Cashier for the recommendations on what is most ordered):

1.) #22 - Katsu Curry
2.) #1 - Chicken Teriyaki and Pork Cutlet
3.) #4 - Salmon Teriyaki and Karaage
4.)#9 - Gombei Chicken Teriyaki

Went for lunch with my kid on Monday afternoon. I was a bit confused on the parking situation but they have a several parking spots at the back of the building. You order your food at the cashier and they'll give you number then the waiter will bring the food to your table. The water and free green tea are self-served.

I ordered #10 Gombei Fish (Mackerel). I think it's a good start to try bits of each items on the menu. The meal consisted of grilled mackerel, a big croquette, chicken katsu, a shrimp tempura, and a tofu ball with a salad on the side. I opted for fried rice instead of steamed rice but the fried rice was too dry for my liking. The best part was the tofu ball. It was delicious!!! The croquette and mackerel were good too. However, the chicken katsu & shrimp tempura was too dry.

For the price of the meal, the portion is super generous! As other said, if you prefer quantity over quality, this is a good restaurant to try. Overall, the food is solid 3, but I give 1 more star for the big portion.