Sushi Ichimoto — Restaurant in Hayward

Very tasty, BUT definitely NOT "authentic." I have 2 serious complaints that would make any discerning Japanese customer throw their chopsticks down and march angrily out the door...

#1- There was a bone in my sushi. A fatal error that almost made me chip a tooth. Any "authentic" sushi chef worth his salt would commit HARAKIRI 腹切り over this. Also, the cuts of fish were WAY too thick.

#2- The service staff fell far short of the 癒し系なおもてなし IYASHIKEINA OMOTENASHI that one would DEMAND at any "authentic" Japanese owned and operated establishment.

And herein lay the problem... As far as I could tell all of the staff were Chinese, and as a consequence they were "fast and sloppy" in their food preparation, transactional in their service approach, and the loud Chinese being spoken by the staff made this restaurant far from "authentic" in my Japanese-educated opinion.

HOWEVER, the food was tasty. It ran a thin line between "authentic" Japanese and Americanized sushi. I think most Americans would not mind "fast and sloppy," because many of us are guilty of this too, and most cannot differentiate between Japanese and Chinese service styles and language, and however too thick the slices of fish were, I think many American clientele would welcome this as "added value."

For most in Hayward, CA, USA , I think they would be above the moon with the food and service, but if they were in Tokyo, Japan, there would be no shortage of dissatisfied customers out the door and around the corner. Thus, I can say with confidence that this is FAR from "authentic" as the description line states.

FURTHERMORE, I think no matter what your country of origin is, we all know better than to have bones in our sushi meat!

In retrospect, it was good, but could be so much better at this...

This place was a hidden gem. Never judge ones character from its environment. In an armpit of a shopping area, Sushi Ichimoto is an unexpected surprise. Inside is very calm and warm with its colors and setting. At 5:30p i was the first before more and more people started to come in. The two servers we very kind and attentive. The bar chefs were a bit distracted with the games playing on the big screen, but once i was served, that only described to me as, distraction.. The sushi and sashimi combo that i got was prepared simply and beautifully but there was quite a couple redundancies in the dish. In my photo, the nigiri 1st 2nd and 4th pairings were also the sashimi choices. The Salmon i didnt mind because that is my favorite fish. The 3rd pairing (fatty tuna?) omg, that was on point! That was the only jorney i was taken on in the dish. I cannot knock on the quality on what was served. Every single piece had full flavor and had such a sizable portion. The spicy tuna rolls were twice the size of a quarter. So the portions are generous. Bathroom is clean, no falling apart, and more modern. The only gripe i have with environment, that i pushed aside to an understanding one, is the 1st table walking in. That is their togo setup with all the bags and boxes and utensils just really throws off the modern look they have. I think its still there since the start of covid and just hasnt moved for the sake of staff convenience. I think im being generous with 5☆. This restaurant definitely has potential to be really great and to get in touch with its community again. Even their facebook has lost touch as of today 11/28/2022, I mean no photo posts since 2016? One visit and i already believe in this restaurant. And i will be...

The first few times i ordered i was happy with the food but that definitely changed. I normally order take out for convenience and because its nearby. in one instance I ordered online and I get to the restaurant and my order wasn't even ready. Apparently they hadn't even begun to prepare it, they canceled and were not clear as to why. I was at the restaurant already so I waited 20 more minutes. The quality wasn't the best considering the price I'm paying. I figured maybe an off day. I order again a different day the food was ok. I honestly feel I can get better quality at the same price somewhere else. I don't mind paying high prices for sushi it's a given that it can be pricey but you pay for quality, and I don't see the quality. I have posted a review in the past but I believe it was removed not sure why.. it was not offensive or disrespectful just honest and my issue was never addressed by the owner its been close to 6 months since i posted that. this review was about their dessert.... I really enjoy cheesecake it's my favorite so if I can order sushi and cheesecake at a restaurant I'm excited! But I wasn't excited to see what I paid for. I ordered one slice to try I get home and I see the tiniest slice it was literally 2 bites at most. I paid over 6 dollars for it I believe and I was not happy. Since then I have not returned and I don't feel at this moment I can recommend this place to anyone...