Top Asian Fusion Restaurant in San Jose
Straits Restaurant
333 Santana Row #1100, San Jose, CA 95128, United States
A friend who I havent seen in about a year and a half and whom I used to work with was in town and we decided to revisit a regular venue we used to haunt with our friend group back in the day. We decided it was a good place to come sit, talk and order casually. To a large degree it still is, however it isnt the same as it used to be. I believe its still an Asian fusion restaurant of sorts mixed with a sort of nightclub feel. This is even more evident when you see how the waitresses and hosts are dressed. All are wearing shape defining clothes, with some more daring Im attire than others. If you want a moderately upscale dining experience with a bit of female eyecandy. This might just be the place for you. However, it may be that Im getting older, or maybe that Im just becoming an old dad, but the waitresses seem to be getting younger and younger every time I visit this place. So much so that I find the attire to be more daring than necessary. But hey what do I know ? This is a restaurant right? So lets talk about the food.One of the things we came for in the past was the oyster bar. We ordered a set but were disappointed to know they did not have kumamotos. I found the quality of the oysters tonight to be inconsistent. Some tasted very fresh where others tasted a bit on the fishy seafood side. It came with a choice of three different toppings but none of them were horseradish or Tabasco sauce. On top of that the whole restaurant was out of Tabasco sauce. That seems to me to be a crime that should never be allowed to happen in a place that serves fresh oysters. Its a staple for oysters. If you run out, send someone out to the grocery store and grab a bunch of bottles. Its hard for me to imagine that we were the only ones who would find this to be unforgivable or it must be that no one else is ordering fresh oysters from the bar.Everything else we had was perfectly fine. We had garlic noodles with chicken which was pretty good but wasnt outstanding. It was a bit better than what you would expect to get from a Chinese fast food. The beef tartar was good as well. Served with a raw egg in the center and what appeared to be fancy potato chips. On the scale of other beef tartars that Ive had, it was below average in taste above average in presentation. The best, dish we had tonight was a beef dish that was nested in a shrimp chip bowl. Nice presentation, and the taste was satisfying.We topped the night off with some dessert. They had some new dessert items and indicated that their dessert menu is new because of this and we ordered their new items. Im not a dessert person, I dont typically care for cake, but when I do, I prefer carrot cake, so thats what I got. Presentation was interesting. It appeared to be a smaller portion, round, coated with a cream cheese topping, with small chunks of pineapple nested in the center of the round. I would say it tasted more like pineapple cake than carrot cake, but it was definitely a carrot cake. The unfortunate part of dessert was we tried to order coffee with our cakes, but for whatever reason straits does not serve coffee. As in, they just dont have coffee at this place and its not something that you can offer there in and day. They said there was coffee in a mixed drink that they could serve for us if we wanted, but we were good to go with enough alcohol to that point having had wine and beer previously in our meal.Straits visually is a relatively upscale atmosphere, generally dark in lighting. In some spots the restaurant, the walk space is very tight so youll find yourself squeezing between other patrons tables to get out of the way of passing traffic. Business still appears to be good, even though this restaurant has been around for a while, and if youre looking for a degree of elegance without going full fine dining, youll come out of this experience satisfied. Nothing is terrible, nothing is amazing.
Elements Restaurant
6471-10 Almaden Expy, San Jose, CA 95120, United States
I had the pleasure of dining at Elements, the Euro Asian restaurant, and it was an absolute delight! The appetizers were a tantalizing introduction to the culinary journey that awaited me. Each bite was a harmonious fusion of European and Asian flavors, leaving me eager for what was to come. However, the star of the show was undoubtedly the rack of lamb. Its no exaggeration when I say it was the best Ive ever had. Cooked to perfection, the lamb was tender, succulent, and packed with flavor that lingered on my taste buds. The skillful blending of ingredients truly showcased the restaurants commitment to culinary excellence.Equally impressive was the service. The staffs attentiveness and knowledge of the menu made the experience even more enjoyable. Their passion for providing an exceptional dining experience was evident in every interaction. From start to finish, the evening was a symphony of flavors and impeccable service that left a lasting impression. Elements has truly mastered the art of creating a remarkable dining experience, and Im already looking forward to my next visit to savor more of their exquisite dishes.
Red Pepper Express Restaurant
1657 McKee Rd St#60, San Jose, CA 95116, United States
At first, I was gonna give this place a 1 star rating but ended up having a delightful overall experience. After picking up meds next door at Walgreens, I was hungry so decided to give it a try. “Indo-Asian” cuisine sounded interesting. I walked in and the place was empty even though it was close to noon. The lights were dimly lit and no one was around so I wasn't sure if it was even open. I said “hello” to see if anyone from the back would hear me and some guy came out looking at me all confused too. I asked if they were open and if I could sit down but he didn't understand what I was saying. I sat down anyway. A few minutes later, a scruffy man came out to take my order. He looked like he just woke up, talked really fast, and was a bit grimy looking. I started to regret my decision to eat there. After waiting maybe 25 mins for my food, I'd have to say that it was really flavorful and worth the wait. This pushed them up 2-3 more stars. As I was eating, I watched some teenager walk in to ask for a job. Turns out the grimy waiter was the owner of the place. After a brief conversation, the owner told the kid he could come in the next morning and gave him a job. Witnessing this act of kindness bumped it up another star. After the kid left, the owner came over to sit down and chat with me. We had a lovely conversation about Nepal, how he got into cooking, and he showed me pictures of his beautiful children. This bumped them up another star.My experience here served as a reminder to not be so quick to judge. Kindness goes a long way! Nice little hidden gem on the Eastside, def worth trying!
VN Grill
1085 E Brokaw Rd #20, San Jose, CA 95131, United States
Great speedy service and attendance. The waiters and waitresses were quick to clean up and notify us a table was ready. Literally so quick I couldnt pick up the phone call notification and they were already looking for us.Before we order, our waitress informed us clearly and thoroughly about the different dishes and warning about the hot plate. Immediately after she left to Fletch us cups of water, another waitress already gave us water and the first one came back. It happened so quickly and well timed.And roughly a few minutes later (literally) the beef Curry and garlic beef were served. Again, warning about the plate given by the server and another waitress.Overall the services were fast but not rushed or chaotic. It might sounded like it was unorganized but it was just observant waiters and waitresses being so quick on their feet and noticing what the customers need. They all talked calmly and all the tables and bottles were clean. The teriyaki and garlic shoyu bottles and pepper grinder were not dusty nor sticky to the touch.The dishes we ordered were delicious and definitely my taste. The butter on top seemed to have mixed in seasoning and garlic (I tried the butter before it melt, thats what it tasted like to me). The beef were juicy and flavorful. The curry was just Japanese curry. I cant taste the difference between their curry and other Japanese curry.
Inchins Bamboo Garden
55 River Oaks Pl #70, San Jose, CA 95134, United States
We had a horrible experience at this River Oaks Pl location today. We checked the corporate website for the hours and saw that Happy Hour was until 7pm, so we were planning on getting to the restaurant between 6:30pm-6:45pm. We got there before 6:30pm and ordered a few dishes. Then we wanted to order one more item just after 6:30pm and we were told Happy Hour is over. When first ordering, the waitress didnt tell us that Happy Hour was about to end in whatever minutes. When we alerted the staff to the company website Happy Hour time, the staff told us that Google shows Happy Hour is through 6:30pm. Shouldnt the company website be accurate or at least honored? Then we asked to speak with a manager, and we were told the manager is off. Then the staff said a manager is on the way. We sat around and waited an additional 15 or so minutes before finally paying and asking again to speak with a manager. We were told to wait more because the manager was on the way. We dont understand why and how a restaurant is operating without a supervisor or manager on site? The staff said they dont have the authority to discount 25% on one dish - maybe $3-4 in total. The price didnt even matter by the end. The fact that no one took accountability, there were no apologies and no one present with any authority...it was a ridiculous experience.
The Nest Asian Bistro
312 S Third St, San Jose, CA 95112, United States
Found this spot when my friend had a craving for chicken wings but we werent in the mood for Korean nor American wings. I felt like we stumbled upon a small Vietnamese hole-in-the-wall business! It seems like a great place for college students.The cashier was an auntie who was overly eager to get our order. She had an accent and I could tell it was a bit hard for the people after us to understand her. She was patient with us though although she forgot one of our sides which I had to go in and ask for (it was just white rice but it took her 3 minutes to make; I think it was microwaved).We got the...8 wings, 4 lemon pepper and 4 spicy butter: These wings were small and the cashier knew that so she gave us two extra wings to make up for it. I appreciated that! The breading was perfectly crispy and not greasy. I was able to get sambal hot sauce from the bottles by the register to dip the meat in since it was a little dry.I was surprised about the lemon pepper because I thought it was going to be lemon juice and black pepper, whereas it turned out to be lemon pepper dry seasoning. It was still tasty though.Im not sure what the spicy butter seasoning was, but it had a slight kick. My mom thinks theres fish sauce in the seasoning from the smell. All in all I enjoyed the wings and was impressed by how many flavors there were.2 spicy pork bao tacos: We got the spicy pork because our original meat preference wasnt available. The spicy pork was actually spicy and flavorful. It went well with the thickness of the bao. The brightness and crunchiness of the vegetables balanced everything out.Garlic noodles with steak: This was a bit heavy and oily but it was good on flavor. It wasnt overly salty. I think it was a nice carb that went along with our wings. The steak tasted good too. Garlic noodles and wings, a great combo!Id want to come back and try more wings!
Sweet Mango
1040 Willow St, San Jose, CA 95125, United States
This is one of my favorite local restaurants, and I am a regular now. The staff is very friendly and accommodating to dietary needs (I am mostly vegetarian, and they make the tea leaf salad without the fish sauce for me). The owner clearly loves her work and takes the time to get to know her customers and their preferences.The food here is very good and reasonably priced. Its hard to pick out something special because I like most everything Ive had here, but I think the tea leaf salad is one of my favorites. Ive never seen it at any other restaurant, and it combines tastes and textures to make something unique and refreshing.By the way, looking over the reviews on this site, I see that the older reviews (more than a couple of years ago) appear to be written about the Thai restaurant that used to occupy the same building: Siam Square. Siam Square closed its doors a few years back, and Sweet Mango opened shortly thereafter. The ownership and management is completely different, so those older reviews arent really relevant.
Elyse
151 S Second St, San Jose, CA 95113, United States
Truly deserves five stars! Let me start by saying how amazing the staff was.. they were sweet, friendly and made us feel welcome.We got seated right away and our server came and told us about when the kitchen closes etc so we could get our order in in time. We got the shrimp ceviche, mushroom Tartlette, the Sea bass with bok choy and couple of cocktails. The strawberry mule and the Mezcal drink (cant remember the name) were amazing! I can tell that the bar tender really knew what he was doing with the right amount of concentration of every ingredient! How amazing!We didnt order too much food, only because we wanted to save some room for dessert and so glad we did. We got the Belgian Tiramisu.. oh boy! What deliciousness and I loved that it had a nice twist compared to regular Italian tiramisu which also I love deeply. Overall we had a great time here. Food, ambience, drinks and service were top notch!One of my recommendation for everyone coming here would be please reserve some extra time for parking. There are a few lots near by but its a small walk so keep some time for that. Highly recommend Yelpers to come check it out!
Sizzle Spot
740 Story Rd #1, San Jose, CA 95122, United States
Came here on a Friday night for dinner and there was no wait. I kind of high high expectations when I heard this was an asian fusion restaurant, but there wasnt anything too special about this place. Its like a combination of Pepper Lunch + Boiling Point..but with traditional Vietnamese dishes. I ordered the Sizzle Spicy Noodle Pot, which is essentially a BBH (bun bo hue) in a hot pot where they put noodles on the side which i thought was totally unnecessary. If I wanted BBH, Id just go to the shop next door. Putting a traditional beef noodle soup in a hot pot form is not what I would consider asian fusion.
Asian Box
1078 E Brokaw Rd, San Jose, CA 95131, United States
First things I liked:They food was good. Would be ready to get a quick lunch to go.Things I dont like:Id only ever get to go here. Its loud and the seating isnt great.Ive been here twice the first time I think every single employee can over to ask how I was doing. Which I found to be very disruptive. I know they are new, but I was there to eat not teach them how to make customers happy.Also they didnt have some of the items. I went for lunch at 11am and they had already run out.The second time I went I had a coupon for a free box. They gave me the cheapest box free. Since I ordered a kids box this was not good. It halved the value of the coupon. It seems a cheap thing to do.Secondly this time I went with a group of people. One friend couldnt eat their food because of her diet. So she had to get something from somewhere else. We all started eating and she joined us, and they said she couldnt eat there. There was no sign posted or anything. They claimed it was because they are gluten free, but so is my friend. She eats no grain at all... Having a policy of no outside food is fine, but to claim a reason that doesnt make sense with the situation wasnt very considerate. We left and just carried out open food and ate outside. I think they could have handled this better.I doubt that Ill return here since both times Ive been bothered by things the staff has done. There are better options right there.