Reviews for Kaori Sushi and Sake Bar in San Mateo, CA

Came here pretty close to opening and it was quiet and pretty empty. Food thought is really good. Got only sushi and have no... complaints. I did get the plum wine and I really like it. I don't like tasting alcohol so this is some nice juice! Servicethough is the best, they came by often making sure we were doing well. Read more

Oh man this place is great the lady that serves you she's so sweet and kind that guy that's making this stuff everything is... fresh if you're like me you like fresh sushi baked or not go here I found this place by accident but I'm glad I found it reallyreally good five stars if you get more I would give it more I always get the base scallops the roll and a teriyaki salmon andThe Lion King excellent Read more

Walked in just before 8p (restaurant closes at 8:30p). No one was in the FOH. Sushi chef tells a woman in front of us to hold on... a moment. He goes to the back and a young man comes out and the woman explains that she is by herself and that we (me and oneother person) were separate from her. He tells all three of us, oh well we close at 8:30p so this will be last call. She let himtake her to a table. We turned around and left and went to Sapporo Rock and Roll down the street where all of thefood—especially the sushi—is excellent and the people are warm and friendly. …I guess I feel like if you want to stopserving at 8p, maybe you should close at 8p. I worked FOH, BOH, and management in restaurants for over 8 years. I get it thatpeople want to go home, but I’ve also worked restaurants through the ‘08 recession and know now that prepared food is aluxury and learned to be grateful for all the business that came our way when it came, even if it was at the end of the night.We work in the hospital now and sometimes we can’t get to a restaurant until 8 or 8:30. It’s very annoying that so manyrestaurants here close before 9p and intolerable to be hurried before we even have a table. If you are open, we are going to tryto come. Read more

Excellent place - fresh sushi and sashimi, good sake, and very friendly staff!

Arrived on a weekday around noon for lunch. There was no wait. The music was a bit loud but they accommodated which was... great. We ordered the lunch sets. Appetizers came with a small bowl of salad and a thin orange wedge with miso soup. IOrdered the Saba with mixed tempura set. To my surprise the sets come with more side salad! ???? There is a generous portion ofsalad with the same dressing. Consists of romaine lettuce, shredded carrots and a small slice of turnip and tomato. The grilledSaba (Mackerel) portion was well grilled. I only ate half but I tend to hv a small appetite. Comes with a side dipping saucewith ground daikon. The grilled Saba was already well seasoned so I recommend enjoying it as is with drizzled lemon juice. Ithas a strong oily fishy taste so if you’re not used to eating this type of fish you might want to skip it. However it’sworth trying if never have they do it pretty well here Mix tempura includes half a mushroom, 1 eggplant, 2 slices of pumpkin, 1mini broccoli ???? and 1 shrimp. The batter was good fried well and not too oily. It also comes with a tempura dippingsauce. I must say the rice portion was super little. Literally like 3 bites. Which is great if you’re on a low carbdiet. Service was attentive considering lunch times there were probably 3 wait staff running around. We got our teas refilledand they came by our table asking if everything was ok. Would come back again. Food, ambience, service and for the price aroundthe area was all good. TIPS Pay with CASH????. You get an extra 5%OFF your bill! Read more

Great quality jo-nigiri (9 piece sushi) and chirashi has unagi (eel), spicy tuna, scallop, tuna, salmon and hamachi... (yellowtail). Grilled ika (squid) was really nice too. Mixed tempura was meh. Service was prompt and very friendly. Reasonableprices, good value all considered. This is now my Japanese go-to restaurant in San Mateo - better than anything near downtown3rd & B St. Read more

Good sushi but service is a bit slower inspire of 3 Sushi chefs due to only 2 servers. They work so hard like a chicken with... head cut off Poor servers. Read more

Place looked clean. Parking easy @ mid day. Nice bathroom. Sushi ok, but not great. Nothing fancy. Requested dipping sauce, and... waitress had a hard time understanding request. Water smelled like fish. Read more