Joy Sushi — Restaurant in Mountain View

A friend posted a praise of Joy Sushi a month ago. Two days ago, I had the opportunity to check them out.

Just a week earlier I thought Ariake Sushi Boat was small. In comparison, Joy Sushi is tiny. Like Ariake, Joy is stacked in a strip mall, but a much smaller one where traffic is also much smaller. Unlike Ariake, Joy uses some very fine and unique Japanese style decors, mixed with modern lighting and a wall of Polaroid selfies. In contrast, its sushi bar is nondescript. Seating is also rather tight.

My daughter liked their creative display roll called "cherry blossom", but she ordered herself a two-piece bento box for $15, so I ended up picking Cherry Blossom for $12. The roll tastes fine but not outstanding; it is first most a display piece. For her bento box, she picked salmon sashimi and nigiri sushi. (3 pieces each) The box (dinner) also come with tempura pieces that are outstanding. It also includes a side salad that isn't sweet like many Japanese places offer. In case one roll wasn't enough, I also ordered a sunomono kani ($8) - crab meat and cucumber. Kunomono uses a sweet vinegar sauce that we dislike. We also ordered miso soup for $1.50 each which is quite tasty.

At 6pm, there were only a handful of customers, although that made the place feel half full. Our server came quite quickly. Unlike in most Japanese places, she did not speak Chinese in the back, but a Far East tongue that my daughter thought was Korean, although it could as well be Japanese. Food came reasonably fast, too. By the time we left, the place was packed.

Overall, this place is more expensive than Ariake at dinner, although entrées have a lunch price that is much lower. The dinner portion is very generous. (According to menu descriptions, lunch orders can...

Cute, delicious, and A MUST TRY. Joy Sushi a cute Japanese joint nestled in Mountain View was an amazing spot to eat.

The service from Joy Sushi was exceptional with the servers bringing a familial vibe in the restaurant. One of the servers even helped me learn how to use my chopsticks. Overall great service. The ambiance was great as well, though there wasn’t LOADS of seating. The interior was very nice with lots of decorations and on the inside you could see a lot of the action happening which was cool.

The food itself was GREAT. I got the Unagi Donburi which was an eel dish. The dish came with a bomb unagi sauce that tasted a little like a zesty thicker teriyaki which complemented the fattiness of the eel amazingly. The dish was the perfect portion for me to finish in the restaraunt and be full. The dish also interestingly came with some orange savory fish roe that popped. The eel was SO tasty. It was a little fatty and very tender with no overfishy taste emanating. It was overall an amazing dish that came with lots of rice. The dessert was a little less appetizing. We got strawberry and mango mochi which was ok. It tasted like one of the Trader Joe’s mochi, but the presentation was beautiful and the price wasn’t exorbitant.

Overall Joy Sushi is a must try it provides plenty of good sushi and other entrees like my unagi donburi if sushi isn’t your thing. If you are ever in Mountain View make sure to come to Joy Sushi to enjoy the delicious food, familial service, great interior, and...

Although the sushi itself hasn't gotten worse (although it hasn't gotten better either, and there's still a lot of fried options) the number of things included in your order has reduced significantly over time. Where before an order of two of the expensive rolls still included soup and salad, this ended quickly. Then the chicken katsu curry no longer came with katsu sauce. And now the sushi combo no longer comes with soup and salad either.

Meanwhile the average price of an order has gone up. Where six years ago it was still below $20, it is now over $40, despite the items that went missing.

I also am worried about the amount of plastic waste when I order take out here. I know it looks pretty in the boxes, but I feel cardboard may be more sustainable.

As for the items on the menu: most of the rolls and sushi are very tasty, although the baked salmon is a bit disappointing. The udon a bit watery, but the various katsu, curry and donburi dishes are very good. There are two kinds of salads, one is tastier than the other. The miso soup is great.

The outside seating is a welcome option and this time the salad did come even though it was crossed out on the menu. The Katy sauce was still...