Sumika in Los Altos

We arrived a little before 5:30pm on Sunday. There was already a line at the door but we were seated pretty quickly. Everything we ordered tasted amazing. The Yakitori chicken thigh and Wagyu beef are a must try! They were so juicy and tender. The Oyako don is what we came here for and it did not disappoint. Highly recommended! The egg in tamago with eel was so soft that it melted in your mouth, better than any tamago dish I had before.BUT be aware of the waiting time for food. The entire dinner took one and half hour. We spent one hour waiting for the food to arrive, 20+ minutes for each dish. Despite how good the food tastes, the wait made the overall experience pretty bad. I hope the restaurant improve on this in the future.

Service 5/10. I really don’t like it when the server doesn’t know about the menu. And my question wasn’t really obscure. All I wanted to know was what cut of meat was used for the American wagyu skewer. There’s a big difference between say the ribeye cap and the top sirloin. And the server didn’t know what it was. He went to the kitchen and came back to tell me that no one knew what it was. Sus.American wagyu skewer 7/10. The sauce was actually delicious. But it could’ve been a lil more tender. Kiss of charcoal, verified.Rice bowl 6/10. The mucilaginous texture was off putting. And the seasoning was not mixed well. Perhaps I should’ve mixed it up first before eating it.Overall, considering the price ($27), I’d say not worth it.—— @eddythefoodcritic

Been a long time since I last visitedService is still really goodFood seems not as goodSkin was not dry enough; beef was not moist enough; eggplant a little too oily — but maybe this is not as original as it once wasQuiet enough for walk-in on Wednesday; last call at 8pm — really?!

We went here for dinner to try some Japanese style grilled skewers. When we got there at 6:15pm the place wasnt busy but as our meal progressed they did have a line. Anyways, we had the chicken karage which was crispy, moist, and very flavorful. The portion was also good for the price. Just be aware that the price for the skewers are for 1 meat skewers. Behind a glass window you could see them grilling the skewers and each one came out nicely. Overall it was a good meal and would go back for more.

Best make reservations in advance as its usually full. The service is excellent and friendly without too much interruption. The food is excellent and brought me back to those years in Japan many a yakito places. The yakitori selection is traditional with several appetizers that are excellent. We started with Agedashi Tofu, kabocha (Japanese pumpkin), Dashi Maki Tamago (egg) all with a classic flavor that had ecellent umami. The Yakitori skews were all excellent and we tried to sample as many as possible. The sake choices were excellent and poured in the traditional glass with beautiful lacquered Masu and of course Mori koboshi or mokkiri for short. I recommend the daiginjo of course. We were too full for dessert and next time I would like to try the salad appetizer which comes piled high like a 5 story pagoda.

Authentic and delicious Japanese food on the pricier side. We ordered the karage and salmon bento box as well as the American wagyu for appetizer. Unfortunately the salad in the fried chicken box had a dressing that had sesame in it which I happen to have a severe allergy to. The waiters and chef were very apologetic and respectful about the situation and even offered us free ice cream and a discount on the bill. I appreciate how thoughtful and patient they were with us.

Update 11/2023We made a reservation for lunch so not much wait. And we had a salmon fry bento 🍱 and a wagyu steak lunch set, they’re delicious!We came for skewers but they don’t offer them for lunch. The rice was good. But if you are going for skewers, I suggest you to make a reservation in advance for dinner since there is usually a super long wait.

You can smell the charcoal when you walk into this place! The yakitori was really good! The seasoning was perfect to bring out the flavour of the ingredients! The meat was very tender as well. The tamago was good too, with a running inside.The wait for the yakitori is a bit long and the food was pricey.

Came here without reservations around 6:30pm on a Tuesday. While we were able to be seated for our party of 3 quickly, we waited a long time for our server to come by to take our order. Once they took our order, only half the food came out from the kitchen and there were people seated next to us that arrived after us but had food arrive earlier. After asking the server to repeat the order, we had to re-order the other half of our items a second time.The appetizers and some of the main entrees are a really good value with delicious foods at reasonable prices. The yakitori grill items were quite expensive and is not really a good value for money although some were better than others. Would recommend the pieces of meat with cheese and sauces since they were juicer and more moist.Some of the highlights of the meal include the tamagoyaki omelette, braised pork, short rib.The dessert was probably the low light and wasn’t very good. The matcha panna cotta was ok but the caramel cheesecake was extremely disappointing. Frozen pieces of cheesecake with a burnt caramel taste that still had some of the butane torch taste on it.

Food is good but the service is horrible. We made a reservation and arrived on time. Two waiters were standing right by the door, discussing something over iPad. They saw us standing and waiting, made eye contact, and went right back into their discussion. 5 mins later, one of the guy finally lead us in the restaurant. Our food came 35 mins after we ordered. Really think there’s potential as the food is good but sadly the whole experience is very unpleasant.