Osake Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Santa Rosa

Food: Martini Shrimp - 6 pieces served in a martini glass - $10 Shrimp was definitely frozen and was reminiscent of Walnut Prawns but not in the same sauce. The sauce was more like the salad dressing commonly used in Japanese restaurants.

Negi Hama Roll - 8 pieces; yellowtail, lemon slides, green onion (maki roll) - $11 Fish was mushy and did not taste fresh, and the sushi rice had a very dull color (unsure why that is).

Chirash Don - assorted sashimi over bed of sushi rice - $31.50 When the dish first came out, I realized this place wasn't serious. It came in a very small box, and the sashimi pieces were small. For a $31 dollar price point is insane. The quality of the sashimi was also not fresh, again, the yellowtail was mushy (I didn't finish the 1 piece). Ahi tuna (3 x 1 inch pieces) were dull in color and again didn't taste or look fresh. Salmon pieces were close to see-through and not fresh. I had a bite of the tamago piece it had an old refrigerator taste as in it's been sitting long enough to absorb the taste.

Crispy Chicken (al la carte) with side of rice - $19.50 + $3 (rice) The chicken was battered like orange chicken and also tasted similar. I felt that the chicken was chopped into small pieces and battered instead of larger pieces. The chicken was served over a bed of lettuce. Underwhelming and to me overpriced, especially with no rice included.

All in all, I did not enjoy my experience at all and a lot of items are overpriced for what it is and how they tasted. Not fresh and for the chirashi, small portion. Will not...

First time here and we wanted it to be good. After moving here recently, we we're looking forward to the meal based on reviews.

On the positive side, the service was good. We were seated promptly even though we did not have a reservation. Our waitress was attentive and adusted our meal choices and tab when the rolls fell short of expectations. The wine list was better than I'd seen at other Japanese resturants. The Maguro was very fresh and tasty and the Miso soup was good.

The rest of the meal was disappointing. The specialty rolls arrived with flattened and gooey rice and bland fillings, making me think the rolls may have been made in advance and left sitting for a long time. The waitress removed this item from our bill after finding it largely untouched. I will say that the maguro was very good and the best dish of our meal. My husband's bento box missed all the nuances of traditional Japanese techniques we were expecting, like hot crispy tempura with cruncy texture and well-seasoned beef, cooked on high heat and served promptly. Instead the tempura was limp and lukewarm. The beef was lacking flavor and served room temperature. I will say that he finished the meal despite his complaints. So I guess it was passable for...

This place has a really sterling reputation with a Zagat rating. This was my first time dining here. Although the food was very good, I don't think it warrants 5 stars. The ambiance is fairly muted an appealing sparseness... low key and muted. I ordered the Tempura B. These were the high point of my meal. I also had the Lemon Chicken and was kind of disappointed. The chicken itself was a flat, breaded chicken cutlet, with an average, lemon, cornstarch thickened sauce. It was just, "run of the mill", at best. Also, like nearly every restaurant in this entire viticulture crazy area, the wine list is pretty extensive and the bar offers a ton of mixed drinks. I know that I'll be eating here in the not too distant future, so I'm hoping that different entrees bring dishes that I...