Somisomi — Restaurant in San Jose

Overall: 4.4/5

We came on a Saturday night and it was packed. The line was out the door so I think it took us 40 minutes to get our soft serve. However, it was well worth it on this hot night. This Somi Somi location is so much better than the Koreatown LA location.

Upside Down Ahboong ($6.95): We got a Cookies 'n Cream & Matcha swirl with Nutella filling. When the soft serve is ready, they call your name so you can come pick your toppings. We got the biscoff crumble, matcha powder, & coconut flakes. The matcha was delicious but overpowered the cookies 'n cream which we barely tasted. The toppings went well with the soft serve and gave a nice extra crunchy texture. The taiyaki was warm, fresh, & crispy. Every combo worked for this - taiyaki & Nutella, taiyaki & soft serve, Nutella & soft serve, etc.

I tried my brother's milk & ube swirl which was also amazing. The flavors were really strong, especially the milk one. The milk soft serve kind of reminded me of the White Bunny Rabbit candy.

You honestly can't go wrong with any of the soft serve flavors. The taiyaki soft serve is also big enough to share. It was so satisfying & made our night so I know where I'll be when it's a hot day/night and I'm in need of a cool treat :) 12/01/2024:

When we arrived, there wasn't a line, so we were able to order quickly at the kiosk. They had a seasonal Biscoff flavor I wanted to try, but unfortunately, it contained lactose. I opted for a matcha-strawberry swirl in a cup ($4.50) instead.

Usually, we get an Ahboong, but we were too full this time. I think that might have affected my experience. The matcha and strawberry flavors were much more subtle than I remembered. The toppings didn't really help either--the macaron piece was hard and...

I've been to Somisomi in Livermore several times and have always enjoyed it. I decided to try this Somisomi since it just opened and I was in the San Jose area. I was not very impressed.

I ordered 1 upside down taiyaki cup and 2 taiyaki (they come in boxes of 2 or 5). I only received 1 taiyaki out of the 2 I ordered separately. I tried to tell the girl that I ordered 2, not 1, but she couldn't hear me (it was very loud in there since it was crowded and the acoustics were bad). I just gave up. So, they jipped me out of 1 of the 2 taiyaki I ordered. : (

The taiyaki that they put on my soft serve matcha was clearly overdone and quite hard. It was also not warm at all. I don't understand how that happened since they were making them fresh it seemed, but it was cold and tasted like it had been sitting around.

My taiyaki barely had any red bean paste at all in it. They always stuff it full of plenty of red bean in Livermore, so this was really disappointing.

The custard taiyaki I received was also cold and seemed like it was sitting around and not fresh. The taiyaki are always fresh and piping hot in Livermore from my experience.

The only good thing was that they gave me a lot of matcha ice cream, which was delicious, as always. It's just that the taiyaki is a huge part of the experience and I was not happy with what I received on that front.

All in all, I was pretty disappointed with this experience and will not be back to this location if they continue to serve mediocre taiyaki and not give what the...

As an ice cream lover I would highly recommend to everyone to go out and try Somisomi! The ice cream was delicious and fresh, didn't melt immediately and the presentation was stunning. The Ah-boong cones that are fish shaped are so unique and even have the option to be stuffed with filling in various flavors. This was my first time trying or even hearing of taiyaki and I'm a fan for life! These fish shaped waffle-like stuffed pastries are a different twist to the typical waffle. They are made fresh to order and you can watch the whole process! So many options for fillings as well like Nutella, Custard and Matcha (my friend who brought me said different stores offer different fillings and ice cream flavors so make sure to hit up different locations). Location was clean and staff was friendly and helpful to explain the different options (menu is pretty easy to follow as well but who doesn't like an extra explanation? ). They even offer swirls (2 ice creams paired together for double the tastes! If you haven't been yet you are missing out on an authentic Korean desert! Oh and did I mention you have the option for toppings to the ice cream? Sprinkles, coconut flakes, oreo cookies and a few others. Your cone is then topped with a macaroon or...