Owada — Restaurant in San Carlos

YIKES! Used to go to Ozuma regularly since I was a little kid. Was so happy when a new place took over their spot and hoped Owada would be just as good. Not even close! I ordered them on doordash (normally not an issue). Got a bento with tempura and terriyaki beef and then a rainbow roll (both for my partner and I to split) first thing we noticed was the sushi was put on top of the hot food (food safety 101 dont put raw sushi on top of hot food. Lukewarm fish is not safe to eat. Right there food poisoning can happen so quickly). Next the mayo inside the rainbow rolls was sour and had gone bad. Strike 2. Nwxt, the terriyaki beef was severely undercooked, almost raw and it was all fatty/dtringy pieces. Strike three. The tempura was mushy, bland and the sauces from the terriyaki leaked all over it (it was in a plastic box in separate compartments. This could only have happened if it was all just haphazardly thrown in there). The last blow which was just ridiculous and shows that whoever their chef is, has no clue how to actually COOK was the rice. How do you mess up rice that bad?! It was severely overcooked and a big ball of mush! I can excuse using instant miso soup (cuz most people wont notice but people who grew eating the stuff will notice based on the tofu), i can excuse the salad being just lettuce and store bought dressing (again easy to soot and easy to pardin its not something to really focus on). But when a sushi chef messes up rice then you failed as a restaurant. Holy cow you cant be that bad! The foods that werent even the restaurant's products but were served as sides, the fact those were better than all the stuff the chef made themself! Id be embarrassed if I were the owner and Id really think about making changes so the business doesnt flop before its...

A decent local sushi joint. I believe it was renovated from a previous sushi restaurant. The price is reasonable and the food is average to above-average. This isn't your date night, something special sushi place. This is your "I feel like some Japanese but don't want to make it an event" type of place.

My 3 stars on the food may feel harsh but let me explain. Each dish we had was made like a "textbook" example. It has all the right ingredients but they all taste the same - same sauce, same ingredients, same cooking method, etc. Also there are some combinations in rolls that simply don't make sense... American slice cheese and lettuce with fried unagi? I have never in my life had a sushi roll that has fresh lettuce in it. Love the experimentation mindset but it simply doesn't jive.

The restaurant is clean and renovated. It feels good to be in here. It's just that the food is quite far off from "Japanese" or sushis to be frank which was the disappointment. It imitates from a recipe perspective. It is far from the actual meaning of the...

When Ozuma left, they said they gave the new owners all their recipes and that everything would be the same; no way, the quality of food here has gone way way down. Also the service is very poor, even if you are the only customers there. I used to eat at Ozuma once a week but I wont' be going back to Owada ever again - too bad they didn't save the original recipes and follow them! Time to find a new sushi place. I still grieve the loss of Ozuma, and yet another excellent San Carlos restaurant replaced by a mediocre imposter. NOT GOOD...