Very good, excellent service. The board special was delicious. Portions were generous. Will go back

Yes, even better than I remembered. The menu is brief but everything is great. It was a packed house so arrive on the early side. Tables turn quickly. Watch for specials on the back wall. A well staffed kitchen keeps the food coming read more

Gombei - Tuna sashimi side was so fresh - Japanese Near Me - San Jose, California

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Used to eat here every week couple years ago, and tried them again twice after COVID. Not the same Gombei anymore. Food is not fresh with mold, and the grilled cod is ice cold inside. Asked the service and he actually asked me: do you want me to warm it up for you? Well, this is my first time eating cold grilled fish and also will be my last time eating here. Farewell Gombei. read more

Delicious Japanese family style meals located in SJ JTown. Portion slightly small but food are freshly made read more

Gombei - Japanese Near Me - San Jose, California

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First time eating lunch at this well-known Japanese restaurant. Order combination lunch: Chicken teriyaki and pork cutlet. It looks like bento box combo. Chicken teriyaki is well cooked, pork cutlet is deep fried. The orientation is a little bit under my expectation. The portion is good for one person. Service is average. I consider this place as Happi House fast food restaurant. read more

Gombei - Chicken Teriyaki & Pork Cutlet - Japanese Near Me - San Jose, California

No time to go out for lunch and had to eat in the office. Gombei offers great lunch choices. I had the Cod Kama with stuff fried tofu. Lunch was great and looking to try other menu options. read more

Gombei - Cod Kama - Japanese Near Me - San Jose, California

There was a short wait, but the Unagi Don I got was worth the wait and more! The eel was so soft, and paired perfectly with the rice and sauce. It came with a salad, miso soup, AND great service! The employees were so nice and made sure that our water cups were never empty. read more

Gombei - Unagi don | IG: @kn_chowdown - Japanese Near Me - San Jose, California

Such a cozy and warm spot to have a meal alone or catch up with friends! I love getting their tuna, katsu or chicken teriyaki. The katsu has a thin and crispy exterior but the inside of the meat is really juicy! It always feels like I'm having a well balanced meal with warm soup, rice, and veggies! The waiters are always so kind and I always leave feeling so satisfied. read more

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Affordable combination orders. Many choices to choose from and very yummy. Service was fast and many people inside the restaurant. I can tell people love it here. This was a very comfortable restaurant and everyone seemed satisfied. read more

My two tips for this place as they have clearly posted on the podium upon entering is: 1. CASH ONLY 2. You will only be seated when your entire party is present. They are quite strict on these two rules so make sure you're aware of them beforehand. And now you know them! The Japanese food here was comforting and 70% authentic as quoted from a friend who was visiting from Japan. I opted for the combination hot pot, which was generous in its portions. The broth itself was mildly flavored but it does come with a side of ponzu sauce. You can choose to dip your food in there or pour it directly into the broth if you're feeling lazy. read more

My first meal at San Jose is at here. I ordered their seasonal menu written on a whiteboard, beef yakiniku and grilled mackerel. My gf ordered their shrimp ponko curry. I'm so surprised by the food quality here. Their food is clean, authentic and tasteful! With the price of everything in New York skyrocketing, the price here is so reasonable that brings tears in my eyes. The food portion is big, and they have two sorts of salad and soup comes with the food. In Manhattan I would definitely pay more $$$ for them. After this delicious meal, Im the happiest kid in the world now :) read more

Gombei - Japanese Near Me - San Jose, California

During COVID, Gombei is offering the convenience of paying via credit card. Please help keep these small businesses in San Jose Japantown around for many years to come.. read more

Enjoyed dining here for lunch. The food was good, decent portions and the service was just fine. Will be back to try more things.

I know a place is good if they can do agedashi tofu perfectly. I'm happy to say Gombei does it exceptionally well. Perfectly crisp thin crust with soft inner core. And the broth is delicious in itself. Combine them and you get heaven. read more

Gombei - Fried Tofu - Japanese Near Me - San Jose, California

Japantown CLASSIC! Always check the specials on the back wall, before the menu. Service, always quick and solid. Food = Delicious, per usual. read more

$$$ CASH ONLY $$$ I've been here numerous times during lunch! Seems to be one of the Japanese restaurants in this area that open after 2PM. You want to pay attention to the whiteboard in the back of the restaurant that has their daily specials. I've tried numerous menu items including the teriyaki chicken you can order from their normal menu, and everything has always been great ! It's great eating here because they have a variety of dishes such as broiled fish, sashimi, udon, curry, etc. Katsu and other fried things have always been crunchy! Salad always crisp and fresh. Ask for the salad dressing on the side if you don't like much dressing on your salads. One of my favorite things about eating at Japanese restaurants like Gombei is that you get different sides in your meal such as salad, miso soup, pickles, or other things that balance out your meal. I wouldn't recommend getting the sashimi in the daily special because it's not that fresh, LOL or maybe I just went later in the day and they ran out of the more fresh fish ? ... Seating can be kind of cramped, but the wait has never been too long. Metered parking out in the front and some free street parking around on the residential sides of this area. Service is fast, friendly employees, and always an enjoyable meal :) read more

Gombei - Chicken Katsu Donburi (Dinner) -- with miso soup & side of potato salad and eggplant - Japanese Near Me - San Jose, California

We came just before lunch service was ending and I ordered shrimp and chicken teriyaki plate. Rice was cold and not fresh. Chicken teriyaki was not tasty. I would not go there again. I had been to Gombei years ago and thought it was amongst the best Japanese restaurants in SJ. Disappointing. read more

Yes, I have been coming here for the last 25 years n never regret coming here. The food is well done n taste good!! Parking is tight here. Sometimes is difficult to find parking. read more

After hearing the news that the Homestead location closed we decided to try out this location & it definitely hit the spot! Per COVID-19 policy, it was takeout only. There was a bit of a language barrier & they accidentally switched our soup with salad but it's no big deal. The ladies I saw working were the sweetest ever & I applaud them for working so hard during this pandemic. The food was delicious and I will definitely be back. read more

Quality Japanese lunch at a not-so-terrifying price! The service was attentive and fast and the menu is quite diverse. I got the chicken teriyaki and deep fried shrimp combo. The shrimp was not what I was expecting -- not much shrimp flavor bled through the think breading. The teriyaki was pretty good, I liked that the fire flavor came through! The lunches come with miso and rice, both of which were great, nothing to complain. Be sure to check out the daily specials on the whiteboard! read more

Gombei - Japanese Near Me - San Jose, California

I LOVE this spot, super home-y.... food is really hits the spot. I used to go here often during lunch time & nothing makes me happier than their Chicken Udon! read more

Gombei was one of our favorite restaurants. My husband and I visited three times in recent months. Today's lunch was surprisingly disappointing. The waitress was very sweet. However my grilled salmon was hard (from frozen apparently), my nimono was undercooked, and my husband's beef yakiniku was not tasty. I am not sure what happened today and we may not come back for a while. read more

Gombei - Japanese Near Me - San Jose, California

Such a cute and cozy little restaurant. Everyone is so nice and provides top notch service. It's a tad pricey, but the food is very tasty and portions fill you up. They don't do soup to go, which is weird. Everything I've ordered has been delicious! read more

Delicious in the heart of JapanTown. Be ready for large portions!! Everyone working was great too!

YUM. Absolutely solid! So good. I came at 7 on a Thursday night. No wait, but the place was quite full. Excellent service. Quick, fast, professional. The food was out in a jiffy! And it was absolutely delicious. Decently priced, excellent prepared with great flavor, and decent portion. If you're looking for XXL portions, this is not your place. This is a standard healthy but hearty amount of food that will leave you satisfied but not feeling glutinous. And again, delicious. I had the salmon teriyaki and pork cutlet, highly recommend. The ambiance was nice, not loud, still busy, but no semblance of a "hectic" feel- it was calm and just lovely. Honestly, such a gem of a place. Give it a try! read more

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Gombei serves up a home cooking style of Japanese food. You won't find a bunch of sushi rolls here. Instead you will find Came here on Saturday for lunch with my family and there was not much of wait so we were seated immediately. This restaurant is pretty small so seating does get a little cramped. The menu is pretty simple, you have all your combination bentos, some dons, and some udon. I ordered the shrimp udon which came with a good amount of shrimp and some egg. The broth was pretty good as well. Overall it was a very clean and light dish. Next time i'm back, I definitely want to try out their dons! read more

Gombei - Shrimp udon - Japanese Near Me - San Jose, California

Gombei has a piece of my heart! A cozy, traditional restaurant in Japantown that makes you feel like you're at home. My favorite thing to get here is their udon! Unfortunately my favorite udon was the kitsune (tofu) and it's unfortunately been discontinued according to a server due to a change of management. New management, if you're reading this please bring it back!! However, their bento dishes are also just as delicious. The ladies working are the absolute sweetest as well. Definitely give this place a try! read more

Gombei - Japanese Near Me - San Jose, California

My friends and I happened to be in the area looking for a dinner spot, and decided to check this place out since it's one of my friend's favorite spots. We came on Memorial Day and the restaurant was luckily open. Since it was a holiday most of the stores in Japantown were closed and the area was relatively quiet. This made parking really easy though! The restaurant was decently busy when we arrived around 6pm. But there were still a couple of open tables so we got seated right away. My friend recommended ordering off of the white board in the back since it's their special of the day. She also told me that the fried stuffed tofu is really good. I decided to order the special with Hamachi Kama and Fried Stuffed Tofu. The portions size of this place is pretty big, so even though most combos you order will range from $15-$20, the portion can be split to two. In my case I could only eat half the food and had to take the rest to go. The food was pretty good! Reminded me a home cooked Japanese meal. Both the fish and the tofu were good, although I did find the tofu a bit on the saltier side. The tofu is great with rice though! I also really enjoyed the friendly staffs at the restaurant. They came to check up on us and fill out waters throughout our time there. They also even offered to split our bills to make it easier for us to pay. Very thoughtful! Overall I had a good experience and would come back again! read more

Gombei - Hamachi Kama and Fried Stuffed Tofu Combo - Japanese Near Me - San Jose, California

Gombei is a neighborhood restaurant with fresh tofu as specialty and all ingredients are fresh. Love the pickled cucumber side dish comes with daily set lunch. We are returning customers! read more

美味しかった　ですね！Very delicious! Authentic Japanese restaurant just as you would find in Tokyo or Kyoto. Attentive service and tasty entrees complete the wonderful experience. read more

Wow, a prime example of what can happen after a change in ownership. We have been dining at Gombei since it opened in the early 80's. It's always been a highlight for us with fantastic Japanese cuisine. After the change in ownership we have been a couple of times. The food is not terrible but it's mediocre at best. At this point, there are far better Japanese restaurants than Gombei. Probably will not bother to go our of our way again. I think the plethora of positive reviews are influenced by the past. read more

We were almost too late for lunch on a Saturday and almost wished we didn't make it. Both my sister and I had the chicken teriyaki and pork katsu combo lunch with sides of curry. The pork cutlet was good and not greasy. The curry was delicious and we used it as our dipping sauce for the katsu. The curry was mild and tasty. I didn't care for the chicken teriyaki because the sauce did not taste homemade. The chicken also didn't taste as if it had been marinated so the charred taste seemed to predominantly take over. The lunch menu did not include much variety and we would have liked to order from the dinner menu. There really wasn't much ambience and it was very simple and plain. Because they had closed for lunch we felt rushed and really couldn't enjoy our food. read more

a classic spot in japantown! they serve bento boxes that have great portion sizes and tasty options. the space feels homey and lively. it gets busy during lunch hour so plan your trip accordingly. read more

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Service was super quick for dinner. We called ahead to make sure there was availability and they sat us immediately, The space is small so I would recommend others do the same if they're not interested in waiting. I ordered the Gombei dinner special, I had the croquette and chicken teriyaki with a pork cutlet. Everything was delicious and served hot. They had possibly the best green tea I've had in a while. read more

A very casual mom and pop shop in San Jose's Japantown that is the closest thing you'll get to traditional Japanese fast food. Seriously, it's very much "you come, you eat, you leave". Don't take that for a bad thing though, it's part of the attraction for most people. After all, the package deal is that you get quick service and very little wait time. Most of this has to do with the fact that the place is really small and Gombei is REALLY popular. Seriously, this place has been around for over 20 years and still retain most of the same dishes. My parents came here almost ritualistically for years since before I was even BORN. Specifically, they've been coming here since 22 to 23 years ago and the place was well established even then. Back to the point, this place is SMALL. Tables are mostly 4-people tables, some 2-seaters, and counter spaces. REALLY don't suggest parties larger than four coming here, there really just isn't the space. There is no waiting list to sign up on, just wait in the line/outside the door. The place is too small to really wait inside. Instead, one of the staff will come out and search for specific parties that'll fit with what is currently open, so it's not always first come first serve. IMPORTANT: You're whole party must be present before being seated. When I went with my family, we got seated before the three parties ahead of us in line because we were all there and their parties weren't. Also, CASH. They ONLY TAKE CASH. Flavor wise, really authentic while heavily Westernized for the most part. Or, as my mother describes it "they have authentic flavor while using Western methods". This place EMPHASIZES on their cheap, simple but filling meals, the quick service, and how fast they can get your food in front of you. It's good, strong, hardy and nostalgic. At the same time, because of Japanese cuisine, the food isn't especially heavy (so you'll be able to eat more). For example, the miso soup has bits of potato in it to add starchiness and make it thicker, something I've only ever seen a Japanese friend's mom do. Their tofu for their famous stuffed tofu actually comes from somewhat famous San Jose Tofu place next door (my family gets tofu there whenever we pass by the area). Oh, for tempura lovers, be aware that the tempura has a panko coating, not a tempura batter coating. Those menus they give you have more dishes that cater to/are familiar to Western tastes. The blackboard in the back lists dishes that have a more ethnic flavor. The kama is excellent, and my brother wished he'd gotten that instead of his combo. Chicken and beef were cooked well. Though again, fast food place, most of the meet is pretty thin. Overall, decent place. Admittedly Gombei doesn't leave as much of an impression in my mind as it does to my parents, but I get the feeling that one of the restaurant's main draws is the nostalgic factor in its food, ambiance, and feel. I simply don't have anything to feel nostalgic about. Would drop by again for a super casual lunch or dinner though. They're great with consistently providing you with a satisfying and filling meal, and you'll honestly have a hard time beating their prices. read more

Tried for first time. No Sushi. Got beef teriyaki and fried tofu combo - came with rice, salad and soup (tofu and potato in a bean paste soup). Good flavor. Salad with dressing. The fried tofu was the agedashi tofu with sauce fish flakes and green onion. 4 stars Fried shrimp udon: 4 stars. Broth was a bit salty. However the noodle tasted fresh and delicious. Fried 3 shrimp, onion rings and fake crab bar on the side. Wished they had some sushi rolls. read more

The food is nice and portions are quite generous. The waiter put down my order wrong and gave me some attitude when I asked to correct it, which made me feel bad and want to take off a star, but you know waiters are human too. read more

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Very good japanese home food. Very cheap too! I tried the gombei combo that comes with miso soup, salad, curry croquette, fried shrimp, fried imitation crab, rice, and chicken teriyaki. All for $10! Cash only so remember to bring cash. It does get very busy, but from what i saw, their rotation was very fast so you wont have to wait too long. Parking sucks though! There is only street parking and it's hard to find spots. The meters only take coins. No cards. Other than that, definitely recommend this place! read more

Scrumptious and affordable food First, they try to sit you down only when your entire party is there. Second, they have a no food waste policy, so if you don't want soup or rice, let them know. They will ask if you want half or full rice, meaning half a bowl or full bowl. Service was fast and the food was delicious. At first I wanted only half rice but when the food came, i had to order another half bowl. Even the sauce for the nimono was so good, I just put it into the rice and used as dashi. The poki was fresh and flavorful. The mackerel was oily and not salty. Even the tea smells good. The prices for the bentos are mostly under $20 and they give you plenty of food. With inflation and all, I think this is a very good meal at this price. Therefore, keep in mind they want you in-and-out there fast, so I don't think they appreciate you staying there and talking to your friends forever. They are not rude, they just want to sit more people and serve another table. They do have a line always and they do clean your table immediately once you're done with your plate. Still, I will be back because all I want is good affordable food. read more

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I always walked around this place when I was younger yet never thought of trying it. I decided to give this place a try during my lunch break a few months ago. I have been coming back consistently ever since. Traditional and well kept restaurant located in a semi-quiet area. They have some of the best Japanese food in San Jose as they offer a variety of dishes, combinations, and specials. I usually order the beef yakiniku or the oyakodon but I'm sure every other item on the menu is just as good or even better. All meals come with rice, salad, and miso soup. Everything is freshly made and the prices are also affordable. Gombei has great attentive service and they take care of their patrons. I will keep coming back to support this restaurant. read more

Gombei - Japanese Near Me - San Jose, California

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