Top Asian Fusion Restaurant in San Mateo
Dash Japanese Tapas and Sushi
204A 2nd Ave, San Mateo, CA 94401, United States
AMAZING OMAKASE!Small, adorable, modern sushi shop nestled in between the movie theater and Pacific Catch. It was a little hard to find because its in an alley, but go towards the entrance of Century Theater and you should see it. Its a small restaurant with a couple of seats at the bar and then about 8-10 tables. If you have a large party, I recommend calling ahead.I came here with only one intention, and that was to try the omakase. Ive heard and read good things about it. They have fish shipped fresh every day from Japan which is almost too good to be true. The omakase 10 piece is $40! which is not bad, I would even say cheap because most omakase is more expensive. You can choose to get 10 piece sashimi or nigiri and the half portion is half the price. My boyfriend and I both got the 10 piece nigiri omakase. All the sashimi/sushi is prepared by one chef, George! So it takes a bit of time but you can tell that he takes his time and really dedicates himself to every piece of fish he puts on your plate. I watched him carefully as he prepared our dish since I sat right in front of the bar. I was completely mesmerized by every detail he put into each piece of sushi. When our dish came out, it was beautiful! Each piece of sushi had a different topping to compliment the fish, and majority of the fish used was the special/fresh items of the day. So if you get the omakase, you dont need to order off the fresh items of the day menu, itll probably be on your plate already (: I especially loved the blue shrimp, which was one of the special of the day, the shrimp was firm but slightly sweet and George topped it off with a creamy sauce and some pine nuts which went really well with the shrimp. Each piece is meant to be eaten without anything else so you dont need to worry about extra sauces. Both my boyfriend and I were blown away with the dish from the quality of the fish to the unique taste. I can now see why George is so revered by his many customers!The service here was good, the servers were friendly. I highly recommend this place to any sushi lovers :) Definitely get the omakase, I dont think youll be disappointed!
Bonchon San Mateo
220 S B St, San Mateo, CA 94401, United States
Since the owner was kind enough to respond to the review, I ought to write something, so I am.Ive got vague memories of going to other Bonchon locations near prior jobs, and to be honest, I cannot remember anything good or bad about them. I say this as a contrast to this location.Every visit I have made has found the San Mateo Bonchon to be very clean and orderly, the staff friendly and responsive, and the food to be delicious and very fresh.Whether during busy times or quieter hours of the day, Ive never found myself needing to request refills of water, and at least once (if not more) during the meal, someone stops by to check in. Normally, thats what you see at fancier sit-down places, so having that here just feels extra luxurious.As stated above, the food has always been extremely fresh. Yes, that means youve gotta wait a second to get your food, but Id argue that its not just worth it, but infinitely preferable to having it be instant but having sat under a warming light for who-knows-how-long.All this to say that if you are walking about in downtown San Mate, and get a whiff of fried chicken, there are other options, but this is the best of them, in my humble opinion.
Seapot
1952 S El Camino Real, San Mateo, CA 94403, United States
Customer Service - 0 StarsVariety/Selections - 3 StarsBroth/ Sauce - 2 StarsI was in the area tired and hungry. I looked for suggestions for something different, and found Seapot. Hotpot with conveyor belt! I figured, I'll try it, and if it's good, I can convince the family to try it.Customer Service:You walk in, put your name, number in party, and phone number. Some people put their phone numbers, some didn't. I did not because I had every intention of standing just 8 feet away. Sure enough, I could clearly hear the hostess call the names. She only had to use the phone once when the guests were outside. Then she called 3 parties that came after me. I walked up, and asked if it would be much longer. She said no. She called 3 more parties. That was 6 people that she called that came after me! I went up, and pointed it out. She said she called my name but my number wasn't on it so she couldn't call my cell. I pointed out that I was just standing there, and she never called my name. She kept insisting she did. I asked her how much longer, she said “just a second.” One minute later, she sat my lone self in a 6-table setting. The couple called next was seated in an 8-people setting.I placed my order of Diet Coke, Herbal Broth, and Rib Eye. 15 minutes later when the three tables around me got their meat but my rib eye never showed up, I asked the server. She said it was coming. Five minutes later when everybody around me got their 2nd/3rd helping of protein, I asked again. They got me the beef but it wasn't the rib eye. I got one more beef order, and I never saw the server again. I really wanted more drinks.When I got my check, it was for $21. I put $25 cash with every intention of the $4 tip even if the service was really lacking. I usually tip more but the service and the food did not call for more than 18% tip. However, I never even got the change back! They made the assumption that the change was theirs to keep without even asking! Yes, that was the plan but I hate that they never bothered asking!Conveyor Belt:Small plates of seafood, vegetables, noodles, fresh fruits and other stuff go around for you to pick and cook. Some selections disappear fast never to be seen again.Sauce/Broth:The broth was pretty bland. You have to be creative when you make your own sauce. The “hot” chili was not hot. I think it's because there aren't really any hot oil.VibeSome people seemed to really enjoy it. Maybe a bunch of people called out, and they're short staffed. I don't know if I would go out of my way to come here and try again.
East Side Banh Mi
5 S Ellsworth Ave, San Mateo, CA 94401, United States
We ordered delivery of chicken and vegan banh mi. Both were horrible. The chicken had no flavor. Only flavor was from the pickled carrots but not enough. The eggplant in the vegan sandwich stuck out so badly on the tongue.The wait for a great banh mi place in San Mateo continues.
Noshery
5 S Ellsworth Ave, San Mateo, CA 94401, United States
So to be honest I kinda rather give this place a 2.8. Now keep in mind it's actually 9 different restaurants in one. As far as the overall building. The seating sucks. The napkins are very waxy and non absorbent. The humus we ordered was very watery and the chicken was rather dry. I also ordered the banh mi hot dog. It may have had carrots and peppers, but didn't really come across as a banh mi. The polish dog itself was delicious. Although the bun was just not large enough and fell apart half way through my meal. The tots were also good, but the container they came in was just way to small. The top got all smooshed in. And because the small container the spicy Mayo never got to the lower tots. And since the tots themselves were not seasoned it left me with 2/3s of them bland and not worth the calories. If they served them in the master container as the hot dog the Mayo would have been better spread out. Honestly even if they fix those issues I'll probably never come back. It's just not good enough for the prices they are charging
Umami Express
66 21st Ave, San Mateo, CA 94403, United States
Husband loves this place, gave it a try. Ordered for pickup. Which is a warehouse with food lockers, a scary and dirty waiting room for delivery drivers and a computer system to log your order. I tried to type my name as it asked, couldn't find my order. Tried to call the number provided got a voice mail. The “attendant” at the desk had a sign that said “we're not here but will be back” I waited 8 minutes, no assistance until the attendant walks by me to put food in a locker and asked if I needed help. When I said yes, he informed me, in a very sarcastic tone, my food was in locker 11.I got my food. It was mediocre at best.
San Mateo Onigilly
670 E 3rd Ave, San Mateo, CA 94401, United States
My first time here and I always wanted to try it. I finally had the opportunity and it was great! It's located in a tiny lot, surrounded by 7-11 and zen noodle (which is great too, if you want to try them). There was plenty of parking when we went. The restaurant was clean, they had a lot of seating and I thought it was pretty spacious inside for their size. The restaurant has bar stools, a few seats outside, and tables inside. There is a large menu above and 2 tablets to place your order. The employees were busy making food. We took a while to order because there were so many good options. We finally ordered two flavors of onigilly, to try: one miso nasu which is fried eggplant with miso sesame and green onion, and hijiki which is braised seaweed, carrot, tofu and edamame. I got a salad bowl with mixed greens, seaweed, red cabbage, shredded carrot, edamame, and onion. It includes three proteins: I chose unagi, krab salad and spicy miso beef. My sister ordered a poke bowl: ahi tuna, mixed greens, seaweed, krab salad, cucumber, corn, shredded carrot and red cabbage. We both chose the sesame dressing, however, we didn't use it. There was so much flavor in our bowls already that it really didn't need it. Everything was delicious and so flavorful. Definitely worth it and I can't wait to come back and try other items.
Blue Whale Poke Bar and Grill
70 Hillsdale Shopping Center, San Mateo, CA 94403, United States
Their Korean food is FRAUD. I ordered $16 short rib bowl and this was what I got. The portion is tiny and it looked NOTHING like the picture they show. I had to go back and asked if they gave me the wrong bowl but they said it was right. Then I asked why it did not look like the picture on the menu. A lady who claimed to be the manager came out of the kitchen, and said she was Korean, and I did not know how authentic Korean food looked like. It really upset me because - 1) I have been to tons of Korean restaurants owned by Korean speaking people, and I have visited Korea myself, and I never had short rib bowl like this. They all look like whats on their menu. 2) If she thought the picture on the menu was not right, why would not she change it. Imagine if you go to McDonald, pointing at the picture and order a big Mac, and they give you a tiny hot dog? Yea they are both beef. 3) Her attitude was terrible and disrespectful.I am giving one star for the poor taste of food, small portion, false advertising, and bad attitude. I would never come back again. You will be better off getting Panda Express next door.
Rin-Tei
104 S El Camino Real, San Mateo, CA 94401, United States
Love this restaurant. They serve really good fusion food (southeast Asian / Japanese), in a modern clean and elegant setting. Shocked that there aren’t lines out the door for this place. One of my favorites in San Mateo.
Urban Momo
254 S B St, San Mateo, CA 94401, United States
An unassuming place along the main stretch in San Mateo with a ton of restaurants, we walked in because Indo Chinese food sounded interesting. The service is minimal but not unfriendly so dont expect too much in that aspect.The menu is pretty good with explanations so you dont need to sit there and Google every single item if youre as unfamiliar with Nepalese food as I am. I was most excited to try the momos but we ordered a bunch of things to share!Mixed Bhuteko Bhat: Nepali fried rice with egg, vegetable and chicken. This was so good!!! There was wok hei, that fragrance you get in stir fried items that has had enough heat applied. I was stunned that I had to go to a Nepalese place to get that but it was so good. The chicken wasnt too dry, and I have no complaints about the frozen vegetables used in this. We polished off the whole plate.Lamb Choila: this is like lamb skewers that are then stir fried in a sauce, then served with crispy naan crumbs and crunchy soybeans. The lamb was pretty gamey so I wasnt a huge fan but the use of texture in the dish was very interesting.Chicken Momos: these were delicious and stuffed full of meat! The chicken filling was very well spiced and seasoned and went great with the two sauces they provided (one was chilli and one was a cumin tasting sauce). The dumplings were also very juicy and came very hot.Gobi Manchurian: I love this usually, but this had a goopier sauce than I would normally like and the batter was very thick. The flavor of the sauce was pretty good, nicely sour, sweet and a tiny bit spicy. The cauliflower was nice and soft but I wish the batter was crisper.My favorite items were the bhuteko bhat and momos, Id return just for those two items. They were doing a brisk takeout business and l can see why!