Kaita — Restaurant in San Jose

Best Japanese food in San Jose and probably the entire Bay Area. I have been eating here for more than 15 years. Family run, consistently the best quality food. No silly gimmicks (no boats, nothing served on fire), just the best food around, prepared simply and expertly. The sushi is outstanding. One of their best dishes is the Negitoro Don. You don't see this everywhere, and no one does it better than Kaita. The Uni is always fresh and delicious. Uni is kind of "an acquired" taste. But if you like Uni, it's worth going here just for that. The Ikura here is different and much better than from other sushi places, somehow more fresh, less salty, really outstanding for Nigiri or Ikura Don. All the Nigiri is here and fantastic. Fresh salmon (Sake) and yellowtail (Hamachi) never disappoint. The fried chicken (Karaage) is always perfect. Often they have broiled salmon Kama available which I prefer over the more common Hamachi Kama. Perfect with rice. Ask for it if you don't see it on the menu. The daily specials are always great. If you're fortunate enough to see "Beef Don" on the white board, definitely get that. I don't know how they make it so delicious. Also Yakiniku Beef is super-good. Marbled just enough to keep the marinated meat tender and juicy. If you know and appreciate Japanese food, you must try Kaita. They also serve Natto with a side of rice and Natto maki. If you know what it is, YOU KNOW what it is. If you don't know what it is,...

My friend raved about this restaurant and brought me there claiming it is “homestyle” Japanese food. Not sure what to expect but it sure look and tasted like a home cook meal, except dun expect chef-style or standard. We came to this restaurant after 7:30pm and were seated immediately. Both myself and the server saw a little small insect moving on the table and he smashed it with his finger nonchalantly. I ordered the grilled mackerel but was told it was sold out so I picked the usual grilled squid, which isn’t the best if I compare it to all the other grilled squid I’ve had. It was served with a lemon wedge and tasted quite bland and was rather dry compared to the other Japanese restaurants. The fried oysters tasted normal, nothing outstanding. The rice ball is a nice size with a good amount of fillings of Mentai, but rice somehow felt and tasted a little bit dry and the Mentai was a little too salty. My friend ordered the ginger pork bento set. I had a taste of a piece of pork and it tasted fine but nothing out of the ordinary. All the servers were very nice and friendly. This place looks like a family owned operation and only takes cash payment. The setting to me is “rustic Japanese”. I personally won’t return but I know my friend will and had been returning to this restaurant...

I live close to Japantown and I am always happy to support a local business. This restaurant did not even meet general expectations. We called in to place an order for pickup at 7:30 pm and was told that it will not be ready for pickup till 8:30 pm. (All we ordered was a chicken teriyaki meal and a nigiri combo).

When I arrived, there were only 2 tables and it seemed very quiet. Picked up the meal and it felt extremely light but thought nothing of it till I got home. At this point I noticed the sushi roll was not properly rolled and the fish looked dry and old. In addition, the sides were missing, utensils, and soy sauce. I called to get clarification and the gentlemen responded with "it does not come with pickup orders" and he did not know how to respond.

So you are telling me that your own business' website with a PDF of your dinner menu is not correctly representing the items that I will be receiving because "I placed an order for pickup instead of dining in." This should have been notated on their menu and communicated. So we waited for an hour to get 2 meals that was minuscule and looked like it was popped into a microwave. Will never order from this...