Minato Japanese Restaurant in San Jose

The steamer baskets are super! Also great nabe options, especially on stormy days. Service is friendly and fast. Dishes served in correct order. The agedashi is tasty. The staff checks often if anything else is wanted. The plain rice 🍚 is good!

The food at this place is excellent, offering generous portions for a fair price. The taste is delightful, and the service is commendable. However, the seating area may be a bit tight for large groups, and it seems like they could use more staff. Nonetheless, the existing staff is courteous and polite. While the ambiance may not be the most appealing, the food quality and pricing make it a worthwhile choice.

The food here is great, big plate portions and very fair for the price. Taste is good and service is good too. I feel that there is not sufficient room for big groups and also there is enough people to serve, but they are kind and polite.The place is not the pretties but food is great and also is price.

This was my first visit to Minato, but others in my group had been there many times, and I can see why. Minato is a small, family-owned/operated business with an extremely hospitable staff. During our dinner, we felt very well attended to, as the staff would make sure to stop by on occasion to make sure we had everything we needed. I think the potstickers were some of the best I’ve ever had anywhere. The dinner “boxes” have a big variety of food that you can customize. The tempura entree was like a piece of art, not to mention delicious (see photo). And when I needed to take some of it to go, they automatically offered a small container for the sauce. I might be mentioning small details, but I appreciate the staff and their efforts, because it’s hard to find places and people that are so attentive to those details these days. Any time I’m in San Jose with an opportunity to dine, I am DEFINITELY going to recommend and visit Minato!

Suggested as one of the best sushi in the area on Yelp and by a suggestion from the hotel we stayed at in the area.We ordered sushi apps as the staff suggested it. plus tempura plates, eggplant, and gyoza steamed.For my main course, I had the world famous (not) Ribs. Lets start with the staff.Staff was AMAZING! Kelly was one of the best servers in a long time.the food was good and fresh, the ribs were just ok. I have had much better. the apps were excellent!Atmosphere was to be desired. needed a clean up and fix up as there were piles of stuff in corner tables.photos of different food on the table we ordered everything from tempura meals to udon meals. Katsu seemed to be a big hit. but what made this place get 4 stars was the service.

My husband and I ate dinner here about a year ago, during vacation. We were walking around exploring J-town that evening, but most stores had closed so we came here to eat. It was homey and charming with nice staff. I think I had a dinner combo bento plate, with Plum wine. Everything was delicious and I dream of going back some day to eat the most delicious Japanese food of my life.

Really excellent service paired with quality food. Loved it here. The sushi rolls were tender & flavorful, with the perfect amount of rice and you could tell they were fresh. The chicken katsu was served hot and was cooked perfectly. We will be back for sure!

First of all, the hospitality is excellent, and they back it up with very tasty and affordable food. I ordered the dinner special combo (priced slightly less than twenty bucks) and am fully satisfied. But I really gotta mention the level of great service we received this evening…it was top notch. Clear communication from the moment we arrived, crazy polite and nice, very attentive and overall superb attitudes. We’ve dined here several times, and appreciate the Bourdian sighting, and we’ll be back, but tonight’s visit and level of care was a good reminder that this place deserves a big bravo! Highly recommended.

The minato and hamachi rolls were amazing! fresh fish and seasoned rice, best paired with a cold beer!

There are 3 questions I heard asked: a)When you enter for lunch between 11:15-13:15, “did you to sign in? (name and party size) b) Did you pay the parking meter? (I don’t think there was any significance with a table of police eating nearby( c) Is there anything else we can get for you right away? The answer to this third question is typically “no” because you have received your food and are having a conversation with you party. That said I have to say the service was prompt and efficient. The decor was interesting (kabuki masks and wal l of toys with ticket numbers requested). Also the colorful bowls placed on the neighbor tables by the manager/owner (candy bowl? Special treat for regulars?) kept me guessing and I saw the smiles that appeared with the bowls. It was fun to watch. Value for money = 5 stars. Ambience = 4 Service = 4. Quality and flavor of food = 3.