Yuzu — Restaurant in San Mateo

Japanese Comfort Eats

I last visited Yuzu almost 11 years ago when I embarked on a quest to find the best Japanese chirashi bowl in the Bay Area [extra special Chirashi at Sushi Tomi/Tomi Sushi]

Now I returned to try more of their items and perhaps even discovering a gem or two

Yuzu, related to sister restaurant Sakae in Burlingame, is a quintessential neighborhood sushi spot

Casual, small, and low-key, they serve a variety of dishes beyond their sushi and sashimi menu. The daily specials is often where their best items can be found and I was sad to see their recommended curry absent and their miso tendon beef stew sold out

But this visit I was here for the Ishiyaki Hitsumamushi or Stone Bowl Seafood Rice. It’s a finishing dish so we ordered an assortment of appetizers and sushi to tide us over

Everything was solid with the hamachi Kama and the salmon lover’s nigiri of 5 types of salmon were particularly good

The stone pot arrives last and the rice is cooked to a crispy finish and mixed with cooked fish. You enjoy a bowl of the crispy rice and then a kettle of hot and flavorful dashi rice is poured on top making the ultimate Japanese comfort food chazuke

It is a satisfying end to the meal and the key to me about Yuzu is how hot (temperature-wise) everything is served. From the sizzling and crackling rice in the stone pot to the boiling dashi broth to even the simple hot tea, this is the temperature of how food is meant to be served

After over a year of takeout, it’s a small but poignant reminder how the simple pleasures in life can still bring joy even in the face of great change

📷 Ishiyaki Hitsumamushi $30 ~ Stone Bowl Seafood Rice with Finishing Dashi Broth / Hamachi Kama $18 / Ankimo $11 / Hotaru Ika Kimizu Sauce $13 / Chef’s Choice Special Nigiri $53 / Salmon Lover’s Nigiri $24 / Tuna Bone Marrow $10

📍Yuzu Sushi and Restaurant...

The sashimi here is ok but we’ve had way better in the east bay. The dining room is super tiny, and not in a cozy way, more cramped and cluttered feeling. The price is really high like, we paid $150 (tip excluded) for two people. We got a bento box with a few pieces of sashimi and a few pieces of nigiri, a few pieces of unagi, and seaweed salad ($69), and I got a bowl of rice with 6 pieces of sashimi and shredded radish ($59). They came with miso soup, and we ordered hot tea separately. Plus one order of fried chicken bites as an appetizer that looked and tasted like store bought, pre-processed, frozen chicken nuggets. The service was slow, and I don’t mean the food, the food came out quickly, but the waitress is stifled by the tiny space. She can’t move quickly and freely and must make several trips back and forth because she can’t carry a large tray in such a tiny space. Aside from that, she also doesn’t read social queues. We had moved our plates to the edge of the table to indicate we’re done, and had the wallet out, ready to pay and leave for several minutes before she came over, but instead of bringing us the check or taking our payment, she started clearing our plates.

After three trips back and forth clearing the items from our table and getting interrupted by other guests in between, several more minutes had passed, and we had to ask her to bring the check. If they can relocate to a bigger space to enhance the atmosphere and the server’s ability to move, and train her on body language and social queues, they have potential to be really great. Currently, the experience isn’t worth the cost. I won’t be back, but I’m sure some people love it. They wouldn’t be so expensive if people weren’t...

Authentic Japanese sushi restaurant. On the pricer end compared to other sushi restaurants nearby. They offer Omakase meals too.

Wanted to try a different Japanese restaurant and came across Yuzu. I love Yuzu and was having quite a high expectation and hoping everything is drizzled with Yuzu, unfortunately, it was not so. It was still good :)

Food == Chef's Choice of Sushi Combo - 9pcs (4/5) The 9pcs of sushi came with a miso soup. The miso soup was really thick and flavorful, it came with a prawn head in it, and the smell of the prawn was prety evident too. Perhaps a little too overpowering, nevertheless, was warm and tasty.

The 9 pcs sushi had fish such as salmon, tuna, hamachi, scallop, octopus and eel. Believe this will change depending on what they bought/receive/in season. The sushi were tasting good and fresh. Was a delightful meal.

Eel & Avocado Maki (4/5) This was super yummy. One small nitpick would be the proportion of each sushi piece. They came in varied height/sizes which is .... kinda awkward for sushi. Especially with the type of pricing, i would expect more effort put into plating and ensuring they look good too.

Salmon Skin Maki (3/5) Again, the proportions were off. It was not as tasty as i was hoping it would.

Overall, nice cosy Japanese restaurant. Service is rather slow, it appears they only have 1.5 staff working the room which can take up approx 30 people per seating. The seating were tight and narrow, the staff had to squeeze in and out, which i think slows her down too.

They offer Omakase options, with varying prices $75 to $100. $100 could get you to a restaurant in the city with 1 Michelin. So...hmm think this would be a little hard to convince myself to go for...