I almost never write Yelp reviews, but I had to this time. I came to Rantei for my friend's…read morebirthday, and everything was amazing. Alan, Christine, and Henry gave us outstanding service--they were friendly, attentive, and made our celebration even more special. The food was absolutely delicious, and the sashimi was some of the freshest I've ever had. I've been to a lot of sushi places, and Rantei honestly beats many of them. Definitely one of the best sushi experiences I've had. We'll be back!

The food was really great!!! Service was good, but food came out a little slow. It was busy though…read more The restaurant has great decorations and lighting. Very Japanese style.

I came here one weekend afternoon for lunch right when they opened. It definitely gets busy and…read morethere's a wait if you come later. This restaurant has lots of variety and items to try. Anywho, we ordered a variety of items to try: new stamina don, clam chowder croquette, kani chirashi bento, and a salmon kama bento. Regarding the food: New stamina don came with slice beef, sliced beef tongue, braised pork, poached egg, and kimchi over rice. The sliced beef was cooked to rare, and the braised pork was very tender. The rice also came with the poached egg, kewpie mayo and a lemon, mixing it all together with the rice made it have a nice creamy flavor. Clam chowder croquette was something I have never heard of before, so I definitely wanted to try it. This was delicious, would definitely get it again. A fried crispy croquette with clam chowder in it but also some mashed potatoes and tonkotsu sauce on top. Kani chirashi bento had snow crab, fish roe over rice, rolled egg omelette, sashimi, fried boneless chicken, and edamame, blistered tomatoes and shisito peppers with pickles. The sashimi came with 4 pieces, 2 tuna and 2 salmon. the tuna was a little fishy but the soy sauce helped. The salmon was actually pretty good - good fattiness. The fried chicken was fine, a few pieces were dry. Overall this bento was good. Salmon Kama bento is salmon collar over rice, fried boneless chicken, takoyaki and edamame, blistered tomatoes and shisito peppers with pickles. The salmon collar needed some salt in my opinion. For the food overall, it was a little bit under seasoned for me but for portion, price and quality are good.

I was really excited to try this place, as I've been looking for a good Izakaya and the glowing…read morereviews definitely enticed us to visit. Unfortunately, I was let down pretty quickly. I'll admit it might have just been the specific dishes we ordered, but the food overall missed the mark. On a positive note, the service was incredibly fast and the staff was very nice! However, the food left a lot to be desired. We got the wagyu beef plate, and the meat was unfortunately chewy and heavily over-salted. We also ordered the seared salmon ikura bowl, which wasn't anything special and really lacked flavor. The bowl was quite dry, and I kept wishing it came with some sort of sauce to tie everything together. Even the shishito peppers were surprisingly bland. While I appreciate the great service, the food just didn't live up to the hype for me.

Blue Pagoda has become one of our favorite sushi spots, and after several visits, it's definitely…read moreearned a well-deserved 5-star review! My husband and I have experienced both the 13-course Kamikaze omakase at the sushi bar and regular table dining, and every visit has been consistently excellent. If you're looking for an interactive dining experience, I highly recommend sitting at the sushi bar. Watching the chefs prepare each course makes the meal even more enjoyable. One thing we really appreciate is how easy it is to make a reservation. The staff is always welcoming, attentive, and happy to offer recommendations based on your preferences. They genuinely make you feel taken care of from the moment you arrive. The 13-course Kamikaze menu is an incredible value for the quality you're getting. Even better, they rotate the menu every month, which keeps every visit exciting. It's refreshing to return to a restaurant knowing you'll get to try new creations instead of the exact same meal each time. Every piece of fish we've had has been exceptionally fresh, beautifully presented, and full of flavor. The restaurant itself is absolutely gorgeous. You can tell they put a lot of thought into the design and atmosphere. The modern aesthetic creates an inviting space that feels upscale while still being comfortable. They also offer a fantastic cocktail menu along with an impressive selection of sake. My husband and I enjoy trying different sakes, and while quality sake isn't inexpensive, the selection here is well worth it. Parking is generally easy, though it can get a little busier since it's located near a popular supermarket. Even so, we've never found it to be much of an issue. Blue Pagoda is truly a hidden gem in North San Jose. Between the consistently fresh sushi, rotating omakase menu, beautiful ambiance, excellent service, and great drink selection, it's a place we always look forward to returning to. We can't wait for our next visit!

Came here with my fiance for his birthday and we opted to sit at the bar! We made reservations…read moreprior and I would definitely recommend doing this instead of a walk-in. The staff was very friendly and attentive to your needs. Parking was relatively easy since it has a lot but can get busy since there are other businesses around. The restaurant is modern and has a nice wine cellar in the front displaying some of their nicer bottles. Chefs were amazing and was able to tailor the amount of wasabi if you ask and didn't mind the change which is a plus ! Quality of the fish was great ! The sauces were made well- my favorite was the yuzu kosho! My fiance loved the speed of the omakase- for me it was a little too fast. We loved every piece that came, we even ordered extras off the a la carte menu (10/10 for this lol). We definitely will be coming back to this place! Chef tole us that they rotate their menu every 8th of the month so be on the look out on instagram !

Had a great experience here! The ramen was delicious--rich, flavorful broth, perfectly cooked…read morenoodles, and fresh toppings. What really made the visit stand out was our server, Nick. He was friendly, attentive, and made sure we had everything we needed without being overbearing. His great attitude and excellent service made the meal even more enjoyable. I'll definitely be coming back, and I hope to have Nick as my server again. Highly recommend!

Love the food here. Everything is great. Also the price wasn't too expensive…read more The place can be crowded during dinner time so might have short wait.

I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed the food and service here. It definitely exceeded my…read moreexpectations for a "mall restaurant"! The gyoza were nicely crisped on the bottom with a delicate wrapping. Edamame was warm and tasty. Miso soup was about the best I've had. Tonkatsu and shrimp tempura made a great dinner. Servers were friendly, delivered our food quickly, and promptly provided drink refills. The decor was nice and the seating was comfortable. I would definitely visit again!

It's a nice sushi place continently located inside the oakridge mall . We went there after movie…read moreand the wait wasn't t long . They have seatings inside and outside ( although outside is just outside the actual restaurant but still inside the mall ) . I was surprised to see the extremely reasonable rates . I thought it might be costlier but it wasn't . The taste was awesome and the staff was nice. We took a sushi platter , volcano rolls , chicken tempura and sake . Lookin forward to visit this place again

Good grief, I thought I did a review already, but clearly I did not! This is now a few months late,…read morebut I still remember a lot! We discovered Gombei while in San Jose for a conference and wanted legit Japanese, not things near the hotel. And very glad we found this small restaurant. And it's as authentic as you'd expect. Family owned, the staff was friendly and helpful, and clearly popular with local people...everyone in there were regulars that knew the owners! Food was delicious and fresh, simple and very much like comfort food. I got their special, with grilled mackerel & salmon. Very tasty, though the salmon was more well done than I liked. My husband had the katsu curry which was delicious. The gyoza was also great and nicely pan fried. We loved the family atmosphere, and how comfortable it felt. Restaurant is cheery and bright, but cozy. Will come again when I'm in the San Jose area! Thank you for the comfort food experience!

As someone who's visited Tokyo not too long ago, Gombei definitely satisfied the Japanese comfort…read morefood craving. Paid street parking is fairly easy to find, and there was thankfully not a long wait on weekend afternoons. I stopped by for a teriyaki chicken and tempura plate, which also came with salad, rice, miso soup, and potato croquettes. I started the meal with the miso soup, which was indeed fairly salty. The teriyaki chicken and rice though - ooh this slapped! The potato croquettes were also fluffy and delicious, although it was a tad difficult to eat since it was fairly large. (Half thickness sized portions would be preferred if possible.) The shrimp and imitation crab tempura were a good break form the chicken, and they were both tasty. For a full Japanese experience, the dining room here is indeed a little on the tighter side, which really fits the theme. Service was efficient, though note that there's a small surcharge with credit card. 8/10, would come again!

Great rolls and attentive staff. Not very busy when we went…read moreon Sunday for lunch. Our favorite is the Victoria secret roll.

Loved this place! The sushi was fresh, the staff was super friendly, the ambiance was cozy, and…read moreeverything tasted amazing. Definitely coming back!

Wow this place left me speechless, we arrived at 2:20 pm and had no idea they closed at 2:30 for…read moretheir break between lunch and dinner !!! It didn't matter because they sat us and John was amazing he was very polite and quickly offered us water and menus I had the flaming roll and the lunch teriyaki chicken plate with miso and honey had the Goku and mango crunchy roll !!! Wow let me tell you it came out perfect it was fresh it was delicious it was everything I was hoping for!! The venue was extremely clean , it was quiet and it was a nice temperature (it was warm outside) 10 outta ten definitely recommend Thank you John and team for an amazing experience

I came here after seeing it recommended on Yelp and am happy to say that it lived up to…read moreexpectations! I tried the funky rice-less Green Secret Roll (cucumber wrapped with salmon, tuna, imitation crab) which was fresh and yummy, the Mango Crunch Roll (like a spicy tuna with a piece of fresh mango with avocado and salmon) - also so good, and the combo tempura (2 shrimp + assorted veggies -- the good assortment with pumpkin and broccoli, not just onion lol). I also had the salmon belly nigiri which was a two piece dish. The salmon was seared to perfection and deliciously rich. Ambiance is on the casual side. Saw lots of families with kids, groups of teens, and older couples around for a Sunday night dinner. Tables are spread out so it doesn't feel too crowded. We'll definitely be back!