Top Japanese Restaurant in Los Gatos
Kamakura Japanese Restaurant
135 N Santa Cruz Ave, Los Gatos, CA 95030, United States
Small Japanese restaurant in Los Gatos. There’s outdoor seating. Too hot outside when I was there in the daytime so I sat inside. The sashimi pieces are particularly large compared to other Japanese restaurants. Food quality is a bit above average. Prices are not bad. Like the casual ambiance. Service is decent.
Yokohama
336 N Santa Cruz Ave, Los Gatos, CA 95030, United States
Lovely little Japanese restaurant, the people and the food are great!
SUSHIE
1458 Pollard Rd, Los Gatos, CA 95032, United States
This is a solid four star Japanese restaurant. Truly a hole in the wall spot at the corner of a small strip mall on Pollard Road near La Rinconada Country Club, this eatery is owned and run by a cute Japanese couple, Tony and Sue.The restaurant only has six tables, which I expect may fill up quickly during the dinner hours, but my first visit to the establishment today was for lunch, around 1:00 PM or so. Other than myself, there was only one other dining party.I ordered the lunch bento box: three items with chicken teriyaki, shrimp tempura, and California roll (6 pieces). Additionally, I ordered a side of the Hibachi Chicken Rice, an order of Salmon nigiri, an order of Sea Bass nigiri, and an order of the Crab nigiri.Overall, the quality of the food, the flavor, and the presentation were all decent. Flavor-wise, nothing really stood out, which is why I couldnt give this place five stars. The presentation of the food was very standard for a Japanese restaurant, although I agree with some other reviewers that the overall look of the rolls leave something to be desired.What makes this place shine is the quality of their fish. Each different nigiri I ordered stood out to me. The flavor was perfect for each fish and it all tasted very fresh. Since sushi is in the name of the restaurant itself, it makes sense that the sushi here is spectacular. It is clear that Tony, the sushi chef (and owner), takes a lot of pride and care in the preparation and presentation of the nigiri. This was the first time I had ever had the pleasure of trying sea bass (susuki) nigiri and the firm texture of the fish surprised me. Honestly, I cannot name a single other Japanese restaurant in the Bay Area that serves sea bass nigiri.When the owners noticed that this was my first time at the restaurant, Tony the sushi chef sent over a complementary sample of his O Toro nigiri. Normally, this would be insanely expensive (O Toro is typically the single, most expensive sashimi / nigiri item on a menu). The O Toro was really fresh and easily the best tasting o toro Ive had. I like a lot of different fish, but Ive never really been a big fan of o toro.The Hibachi Chicken Rice, which I ordered purely out of morbid curiosity, since Ive never had hibachi chicken rice anywhere outside of Benihanas, turned out to be better than expected. Tonys take on hibachi chicken rice is very interesting. His use of green bell peppers adds a unique flavor and texture profile that I found to be very satisfying.Although I appear to be swooning over this establishment, I do have two knocks against this place. First, I would not recommend ordering their tempura items; especially the shrimp tempura. The batter is very thick and heavy and I felt like I was eating a corn dog rather than tempura. Also, for the quantity and quality of the food, this place is pretty pricey. But, that said, Ive had plenty of Japanese food that cost more and tasted significantly worse.I would eat here again, but next time, Ill stick to the sushi, nigiri, and sashimi.
Sushirrito
681 Blossom Hill Rd, Los Gatos, CA 95032, United States
Amazing to have all these great restaurants in one location. So far I haven't been able to tell any difference from the standalone restaurants.
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Local Kitchens
681 Blossom Hill Rd, Los Gatos, CA 95032, United States
Update: I was extremely irritated when I received the boiler plate response to a review submitted on another platform asking me to reach out to them after I had already directly submitted my feedback on their own platform and have an account. It added insult to injury. However, Ive updated my feedback rating to reflect my appreciation that they did indeed go out of their way to make things right as stated here. While Im not likely to return anytime soon, the fact they truely appear to care about their customers experience has left an impression.What a collosal waste of money. $40 for burnt up chicken jerky on a bone advertised as rotisserie, a crunchy equally dried out pulled chicken sandwich that was still dry even with slaw and mayo, and fries that were actually the highlight of the whole meal. How sad is that!!! They forgot to include the honey habanero sauce I requested and included onions when I requested none as well. Fail. Been to other locations and similar items have been good, but this location was HORRIBLE. Do NOT recommend getting Proposition Chicken here. We will not be back.
Manresa
320 Village Ln, Los Gatos, CA 95030, United States
Ive eaten at Manresa a number of times, and love it, but my kids have not. So took my son Josh and his GF Aran for their 25th birthdays, along with my Sweetie Teresa (her 2nd time) on Feb 12th. We all had the tasting menu with the wine pairing, which came to a total (with bubbly and still water, one G&T, and 3 coffees to about $2700 including a $500 tip, which sounds steep but was SO worth it!Started with 2 Amuse Bouches: a petit fours of red pepper gellee with black olive madeline, and an incredible multi-seed granola crisp filled with goat cheese. This was followed by two small plates: iced geoduck clam with kolrabi and turnip, and an exquisite sunchoke royale, with roast chicken jelly and Ossetra cavier. My only small critique of these 4 starters, all of which were both beautiful & delicious, was that they probably would have been even more heavenly if accompanied by champagne. This alcohol-deprivation was soon rectified, however.The next course was a delicious abalone chowder with poblano chile mouse (sp?), paired beautifully with a 2017 Alzinger Gruener Veitliner Smaragd - Steinertal (a somewhat grassy, superb Austrian white.The salad course was a complete knock-out (see photos) - with crunch, savoriness, just wonderful, paired with the same Austrian white.The next course was fabulous, a Romanesco, Dungeness crab concontion with koji butter, which we all gleefully sopped up with the sourdough (one of three never-ending Manresa-baked bread choices), paired with a superb 2013 Comtesse Bernard de Cherisey Meursault Genelotte.This was followed by Kinmedai and squid with grilled onion jus, paired well witha 2017 La Marca di San Michele, Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi CapoVolto (a grape Ive never heard of - delicious!). This squid course, while delicious and satisfying, was probably the most one note flavor palate of any of the courses due to the grilled onion jus.The 1st meat course was another knock-out: roast veal sweetbreads with coffee potato & black garlic, paired beautifully with a 2009 Michael Gros, Vosne-Romanee Clos des Reas.The final meat course was the far and away the meatiest fowl course Ive ever had, and pushed all of my beef buttons. It was a roasted (rare) squab breast and a confit squab leg & thigh in an incredible foie gras sauce Albefera, paired with a lovely Syrah, the 2013 Clusel-Roch, Cote-Rotie Les Grande Places.By this point we were all satieted and a bit tipsy, but had room for most of the 3 dessert courses, paired with a wonderful old Port, a 1962 Muse Wines, Banyuls Pietri-Geraud.The 1st was Kafir lime with pistachio & squash, combining sweet & savory notes with the citrus of the kefir lime. The 2nd was a amazing tower of roasted pear hidden below a chocolate crisp with fennel, followed by strawberry petit fours with chocolate madeleines, tying into the 1st amuse bouche.Coffee was excellent, as expected, and happy we all Lyfted there and home. Meal began at 5:30, and ended at 10:15 with a dessert doggy bag, plus a couple handfulls of their butter carmels and individual clear boxes of their homemade granola for breakfast the next day.If youve never eaten at this local 3 Michelin starred gem, you owe it to yourself to try it for a special occasion. The ambiance, the decor, the service, the presentation, and especially the food, with amazingly contrasting colors, textures, and temperatures within a single dish, are all fantastic and worthy of 3 Michelin stars. To my mind, Manresa is botb closer and better than the French Laundry.
Sidecar Modern Tavern
25 E Main St, Los Gatos, CA 95030, United States
As a lifelong Los Gatos native and business owner whos been through both the good and bad (2008-2010) times... I wanted to call attention to two of our favorite restaurants in town.My wife and I have been going to Sidecar since before the pandemic. Weve never had anything but an amazing time... great atmosphere, awesome food and ridiculously good drinks! In addition, their Sunday brunch is one of our absolute favorites in town. We even went so far as to have our post wedding party after Testarossa there and it was the highlight of the night!More recently, weve started doing dinners at their sister restaurant Epernay about once a week. Closest thing to the menu at Nicks (which we sadly lost during the pandemic). They have, arguably, the best filet in town and Im pretty sure its under $50. Not to mention, the best steamed mussels and French onion soup on earth and a killer selection of wine. We tried their brunch last Sunday and the omelette was epic, as were the four pear Bellinis ;)I mention these two spots purely because I remember how few places there were in town to enjoy when Los Gatos struggled through that 2008-2010 period and also during Covid. I mentioned Nicks earlier because frankly, it was a punch to the gut to see them go. While I certainly have no crystal ball, we both live in town and seeing a lot of places not as busy as usual, I wanted to throw out a gentle reminder to support those few places we rely on to enjoy our time out with family and friends. These two just happen to be our favorite and wanted to share that with the rest of you who may, or may not yet had the opportunity to try.
Golden Triangle Cuisine
217 N Santa Cruz Ave Suite A, Los Gatos, CA 95030, United States
This little gem is one of the best kept secrets in Los Gatos. While most people think of Golden Triangle as only a Thai restaurant, their extensive menu is heavily influenced by cuisine from throughout Southeast Asia and beyond.Their food presentations are certainly unique. Order the avocado shrimps salad and you’ll be surprised when five small tulip glasses arrive at your table accompanied by Mexican tortilla chips. We like the appetizer plate of fresh sesame rolls (aka spring rolls) topped with grilled shrimp and served with Vietnamese vinaigrette. It’s also available with smoked salmon and Thai peanut sauce. We also like their Japanese style Yakisoba noodles, sautéed in a spicy (adjusted to your taste) garlic-basil-chili sauce with chicken.This may be the only downtown Los Gatos restaurant that doesn’t have a liquor license, so bring your own wine or beer and you won’t pay a corkage fee.Golden Triangle Cuisine is open for both lunch and dinner. The dining room and patio are small but they’ve added extra tables in a temporary “parklet” outside. Service is prompt and friendly, and the servers are all dressed in charming traditional attire.