Top Japanese Restaurant in Napa
Kenzo
1339 Pearl St, Napa, CA 94559, United States
The best Japanese restaurant in Napa Valley.Brilliant service from friendly staff.Although not yet awarded a Michelin star, its only a matter of time.This is Michelin star Japanese Kaiseiki. Fine dining and its not cheap, $225/person for a set menu but you will definitely enjoy every bite as it is not only colourful, but also very delicious with combinations of different flavours in one bite. Very well thought mix of flavours and texture.A real treat !
Morimoto Asia Napa
790 Main St, Napa, CA 94559, United States
This whole dinner experience was not great. We were seated quickly, which was nice, but it was not very busy. We ordered food and it came fairly quickly. But it was served without any serving utensils (like fried rice). Then the crepe was cut in half when we had a party of three. The server Carlo(s?) was not very attentive - I think he checked in once. The food was mediocre at best; definitely not worth the price. The crepe smelled like fish despite there not being any fish in it; not an enjoyable aroma. The manager never came over. In fact all he did was loiter around the host stand. Oh and the bathroom wasn't clean - the urinal had 2-3 feet of liquid (pee?) on the floor in front of it. The manager came into the bathroom directly behind me to check it (?) but didn't clean it up. The manager tried to stop us as we were leaving. How odd for a not busy night. In my opinion, this place doesn't live up to the hype nor does it live up to the cost.I need to update this. The manager came over literally as we were putting out coats on (not sure why he waited that long). We explained what happened and all he did was tell us that hopefully it'll be better “next time”… Like, hello! There isn't going to be a next time! Why would we come back and spend all this money on what's likely to be another terrible experience?! Totally clueless and just cemented the idea that we never want to go back there and won't recommend it to anyone - locals or visitors.I'd like to add that they replied very quickly to this review asking for me to contact them, but I did and have not heard a peep back. Seems like it's all for show and they don't actually care. Again, another reason not to go!
Eikos Fish Market
610 1st St #3, Napa, CA 94559, United States
As a local who frequents the downtown restaurant and goes to Oxbow regardless of the parking kabuki dance and the crowds during peaks times, here are my pros and cons.Cons:1. Locals DiscountTuesday Locals Discount -- For the locals who support you when tourist numbers are low (and high) deserve more than the less fresh leftovers on Tuesdays at a discount. It says were valued only to the extent that youll sell us your leftovers at a discount.How about a %15 discount Monday - Friday and %10 discount on weekends if you really appreciate us.ORNothing at all instead of the Tuesday insult.2. The rolls in the grab n go case are shamefully overpriced. Either lower the price and continue to sell embarrassing low quality rolls, orMake superb rolls and keep the price the same or very slightly higher.Pros:1) Poke Bowls are very good2) Sashimie Poke (in case) by the weight is excellent. Hands down better than Osprey; however, to be fair, Osprey is not an Asian food venue but a seafood market.
Morimoto Napa
610 Main St, Napa, CA 94559, United States
Morimotos is large, and mostly concrete, and large and if you walk through it like I did, packed with people presumably celebrating their freedom to eat out again on a Saturday, youll think huh, this place is packed, and also really large. The exposed concrete is part of his design aesthetic for his 15 restaurants around the world.Seated by wait-staff who looked very overwhelmed (you did great by the way!), Morimotos proceeded to bore me completely, with a brief break during the miso soup for something that was almost interesting. Nothing was bad, it just wasnt special at all, and yet the place was packed. And also pricey. It was getting sushi from your local 5-seat place, except with a 75% price markup and 5000% more seats.Were they all bored? Did all the throngs of loud people (concrete has great acoustics) have different food than I did? Have they not eaten at any one of the 75 Japanese restaurants the Michelin guide thinks is worth noticing in California (none of which are this one)? Maybe theyd just been drinking all day?I grew up watching Morimoto win Iron Chef, and I should have remembered that hes a celebrity chef. A TV chef. He has 15 restaurants and a large corporate crew to deliver sushi to the hundreds of people who come to eat Morimotos food now that we can eat inside again.The thing is, hes not back there cooking. This is, almost by definition, a cover band of the band you really wanted to see, and it tasted like a cover band. Except because its an official cover-band, you paid the full ticket price.Also almost every piece of nigiri had so much wasabi smeared on it under the fish that my girl actually gagged. Something tells me the food was done in great haste.TLDR; Not bad, not good, expensive, and youre paying for a name and a really mediocre setting where youre a cog in Morimotos fish slicing empire.
Eikos Sushi
1300 1st St #385, Napa, CA 94559, United States
This downtown Napa sushi joint had all the warning signs of it being a sub-par Japanese restaurant bolstered by location, atmosphere and a great bar scene. These are the places you typically get below-average sushi for a ridiculous price, just because they are served in fancy plates.Fortunately, this wasnt the case of Eikos. The food, despite the swanky setting, was well prepared, thoughtful, and didnt veer too much into the fusion territory. Yes, sometimes it feels like the rolls are a bit sauce-heavy, which is never a good sign. But our family genuinely enjoyed the overall experience, especially the kids menu being deliciously classic-kids menu done Japanese style.Obviously we sat outdoors due to COVID and the corridor between the restaurant and the pathway to the back can be a bit windy. But a small price to pay to eat some decently great sushi at a reasonable price in downtown Napa.
HAL YAMASHITA Napa
in Napa Valley Distillery, 2485 Stockton St, Napa, CA 94559, United States
Was hoping to keep this place a secret and all to myself. An absolute gem in Napa. The best authentically Japanese food Ive had since traveling across Japan. Not to mention way better then the other Japanese restaurants in town.
Top other services in Napa:
Whole Spice
610 1st St #13, Napa, CA 94559, United States
I visited on foot after riding the wine train.There are many spices, but there are so many mixed spices! I wish there was a store like this in Japan!My favorite is zhug spice.Since I dont speak much English, I chose it based on the scent, and it was a great choice. When I looked it up later, I found out that it was a Yemeni spice mix, but its delicious with any meat or vegetables. This is a restaurant I definitely want to visit if I ever go to Napa again.
Napa Valley Gondola
Downtown Dock, 700 Main St, Napa, CA 94559, United States
A clean and beautiful city with many high-end restaurants and pubs in the area. The restaurants have Chinese, French, Japanese, Spanish and other catering cultures from different countries. Arriving at 3pm is the best option. Play until dusk, the night view of the city is the most beautiful scenery.
TORC
1140 Main St, Napa, CA 94559, United States
Torc leads diners through a crowd-pleasing menu of local fare, well-made and served with care. Most diners will be very happy with a night at Torc.Decor; environmentThe chair legs vibrate somewhat on the hardwood floor when moving; it contributes to the louder atmosphere. The high ceiling has no sound dampening, although it isnt flat.Visually, there are several textures, and a few pleasant medium format photos creating some appeal. The kitchen is open and vibrant. The lighting is pleasant and warm.Menu design; contentMenu was well-phrased and effectively communicated; dishes themselves were a bit trendy, with how much black truffle and iberico ham were featured. The menu appears to be relatively static, which raises my expectations for plating and flavor.Would have liked to see a more expanded mocktail menu, although my judgment in this is tempered by the restaurants location in wine country serving a clientele likely primarily interested in wine.The three column format of the menu reads a bit strangely (left aligned on the right and left, center aligned in the center), but its fine.Staff; serviceStaff was very effective and knowledgable. They quickly determined which dishes could and could not be prepared without meat, which cheeses were pasteurized, and also what components were used to make ingredients listed on the menu. E.g. our staff knew that the veloute included chicken stock and duck liver. Napkins and other table settings were changed in a timely and thoughtful manner. Staff also executed well on their duty to guide guests (the menu is a la carte) to choosing complementary dishes across courses in their meal.The staff do not offer to refill the bottle of water they bring to the table. This was the same for all of the tables dining tonight. I am not sure why, but with how consistent the service was otherwise, it seems intentional, and I dont see this as a negative (but you might). I am sure they would have refilled it, had we requested it.Taste; platingThe small dishes from the left of the menu (almonds, pakora, iberico) were plated pleasantly, although very plainly. In particular the almond plating could have been improved beyond the finger bowl of bar nuts aesthetic.The larger dishes were plated more lovingly, and across all of the food the flavor was superb, although one of the dishes was just shy of great, in that its flavor lacked contrast: it had a fairly uniform flavor throughout, which was very pleasant, but I would have expected more contrast.I wont labor over specific dishes; you will like how it tastes, unless you are tightly clutching very exotic, or exceptionally refined expectations.Table salt and pepper is provided. I personally feel that s&p on the table shows guests too much deference from the chef. Guests should be cared for to the utmost, but imo chef should not exhibit their art next to a bucket of paint. I personally think it shows a lack of conviction, but I am a bit strict.I would highly recommend this experience to a typical diner. I would lightly recommend it to a diner whose taste is somewhat refined, and I would be unlikely to recommend it to diners of exceptionally refined taste. The price could be ~5-7% higher.
The Waterfront Seafood Grill
720 Main St, Napa, CA 94559, United States
We went with high expectations as we have heard rave reviews from friends and family. Our experience however was not up to the standers of what it cost to eat there. We started with some cocktails. The Strawberry lemonade was just bad. We asked to have it remade and the bartender personally came to the table and explained he used less triple sec and more cranberry juice. For one the ingredients on the menu do not even list those ingredients. He explained why he used them but to me that makes no sense. If your going to list ingredients list them all. We then ordered appetizers. We ordered the calamari and shrimp cocktail. Calamari was excellent but the shrimp cocktail was not. The sauce was uneven in flavor. In the beginning it was OK but as you got to the bottom it was extremely bitter and overpowering. I ordered the lobster bisque which had great flavor but was on the thin side. We also order the clam chowder. It was good but they brought the oyster crackers out in a plastic bag on a saucer. That is something I would expect to see at a Red Lobster not at this restaurant. I had the swordfish and was happy when I took my first bite. It was very good. Light and flacky cooked to perfection. We also had 2 seafood platter and a steak. Those also were very good. I had heard great things about their noodles so we ordered some. They were not good at all. Lacked any flavor and was as if the lid came off the pepper shaker as it was mostly red pepper flakes. I could not taste anything else thru the heat. My friends had dessert and said it was just ok. All in all for the price it is not worth it to me.