Shiki Bistro — Restaurant in San Carlos

I ordered dinner from here through DoorDash last night and tried to leave a review on DoorDash, but they don’t seem to be putting it up. This was the worst sushi I’ve ever had and I got really sick ( violent stomach aches and vomiting). The sushi rolls, seaweed salad, nigiri and hand roll looked and smelled like old fish and like it had been sitting out for awhile (I should have been suspicious that it was delivered within 15 minutes after ordering on a Saturday evening). It all just seemed like very poor quality and not fresh, NOT what you want when ordering sushi especially. Even the shrimp nigiri was horrible and a rip off- they literally sliced the very top of the shrimp and placed on a bed of old smelling rice (see pic). The seaweed salad looked and tasted like it was from out of a can and was like soup with all the syrup-like sauce on it. The snow dragon roll just tasted like fake crab and mayonnaise. And the tuna hand roll was just as bad. Just for reference I do not have any food allergies and I am a regular sushi eater. I was excited to try this place out after reading some good reviews and it being my first sushi in California and man was I disappointed and sick. Save yourself the risk please and order elsewhere! I’m a nurse and just wanted to warn others.

Side note: no chopsticks or soy sauce were given and there was not an option to add to the...

One would think that during off-peak hours between lunch and dinner, with almost no customers in the restaurant, that there would be little wait and little difficulty acquiring service. This would be a mistake.

Shiki attempts to create a cyberpunk aesthetic with its hexagonal chopsticks, its off-kilter bowls, and its glass-and-tile design. Certainly they succeed inasmuch as after ordering a simple tuna-and-cucumber roll (which caused the waitress to gawp with incomprehension), we didn't receive our meal until 2049.

I rather liked the tea. Would've been nice to have more than one cup, but alas, since the waitstaff were all ninja, I never saw anyone to refill it.

Their goma tuna tataki was quite tasty and seared to just the right level of texture, which is probably why it was featured on three different menu items - focus on what you do well. Compared to the tuna rolls...

The vegetable gyoza was squishy. Kind of like edamame, except you're eating the bean pod as well.

If you're looking for a cheap Japanese-style luncheon, well, this place isn't it. If you just want a quick roll, uh, also not it. If you want to hang out in a trendy joint in a faux leather jacket with a contemporary punk hairstyle, this is probably the place to do...

We were in the mood for sushi so thought we would give this place a try for lunch. Reading online that the hours were noon-10PM (on Saturdays), we arrived at 2PM to find the "OPEN" sign turned off, and the door locked (not just stuck, but noticeably latched in place). However, the hours posted on the door confirmed that the restaurant should have been open. As we looked inside, we could see a couple of employees (no guests) walking in the back of the restaurant, so I decided to call in and just confirm. The woman who answered confirmed the hours, and that they were indeed open. When I explained our situation and that we were outside, she had the audacity to tell me repeatedly, and with increasing aggression, that the door was NOT locked. I was so shocked by her tone and willingness to argue without even checking, as we stood there outside, that we ended up going to The Refuge down the street where food & service were wonderful. As we walked back up the street, we saw that eventually the "OPEN" sign had been turned on, and finally had a couple of people sitting inside, so I guess they figured it out eventually. It is a shame that it had to come at the expense...