Nijiya Market San Mateo Store — Attraction in San Mateo

This little grocery has become a staple for me since I started a new job in Foster City.

While it isn't very big (there's one single double sided freezer, and maybe 8 aisles in total), the selection and quality of products and groceries is quite good. There's a good choice of meats and vegetables, as well as everyday items like cleaning supplies and cosmetics.

However, where I think this store shines is in their prepared foods section. There's a refrigerator in the back that contains a variety of pre-prepared meals that is perfect for a quick lunch, at a very reasonable price. There are usually a variety of bento boxes, sandwiches, and fried foods, 3-4 types of onigiri rice balls, and sushi sets.

The food is always well-prepared, consistent, and tasty. The quantity is perfect for lunch - fills you up, but doesn't weigh you down. I usually pick up one of the rice balls for an evening snack after the gym, and then the tempura bento or a sushi set for lunch.

Highly recommend this place if you need to pick up a...

Just found out about this Nijiya recently and decided to go check it out. I liked that the store is neat, clean, and well stocked. Also, parking was easy to find.

The vegetable and fruit selection looked pretty good. Some vegetables were more fresh than others. The meat and seafood were somewhat disappointing. Although the beef products looked good, the chickens looked very sad. Most of the fish products didn't look very fresh.

The dry food and snack aisles were easy to shop at. I really liked the variety of Japanese snacks available. I also tried some bento boxes, which totally failed my expectations. The curry tasted like instant ones. The sliced salmon on the assorted chirashi had bones in it. In addition, the sushi rice was very mushy. I would say the bents here are the worst I have seen in the Bay Area.

To sum it up, if you need ingredients for cooking Japanese dishes, this is a good go-to place. For other non-Asian grocery items, it's probably better (quality and price wise) to get them...

Great Japanese market! We like to pick up sushi lunch boxes and onigiri here, and recently ordered sushi party platters for Father's Day that were excellent and very reasonably priced for the quality and quantity! The party platter menu is on the website and they recommend ordering at least a day ahead of time. It included a variety of sushi including many that our kids liked (inari sushi, California rolls, smoked salmon and avocado), and the fish is very fresh.

I haven't had a chance to slowly browse the store but they seem to have a little bit of every Japanese grocery essential you would want, from produce to beverages (including sake and wine), prepared foods, dry goods, and drugstore and kitchen items.

During Covid-19 they have had a well-marked line outside with 6 ft spacing and are wiping down baskets and carts. Short wait to get into the store because they limit the number of customers. I...