We had the pleasure of visiting on a Sunday while the owner was working. He had the best recommendations, the food was excellent along with the service from him and other staff members working that night. We were lucky and went on a more quiet night, so we had the restaurant to ourselves at one point. Other times I've visited, it was very packed. Place is on the smaller side, so if you're attempting to go on a busy night, expect some wait time. read more

iSushi - Uncle Rock (Front) Hugito's Explosion (Back) - Sushi Bars Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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Service was great. All the staff were attentive and sweet. The space is a little smaller but enough sitting. They also have outside seating. Came here with the hubby and kiddos. In total we had the bento box and chicken ramen. Had the teriyaki chicken bento box. Chicken was moist and good size portion with rice a sushi roll and salad. The ramen was eh.. but the stars here are the uni and the tempura portobello mushrooms. Uni was fresh with good flavor. The mushroom was different. We had other sushi and sashimi. They were all fresh, great flavor and good cut. Will be coming back! read more

iSushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Castro Valley, California

Isushi is the place you go when you just want a predictable, Americanized sushi place. They have all the Americanized rolls you want-- california, dragon, Philadelphia. The ingredients taste good, and they make a nice miso. It's an intimate, casual atmosphere with friendly staff. Parking is easy, food comes fast. This is no Michelin star omakase restaurant, but it's an easy place to go to reliably get good sushi rolls that aren't sold at Safeway. read more

It's not great. Just fine. I had a tuna and avocado roll that fell apart. And a spider roll that had way too much sauce. Friendly and efficient service but I really can't recommend. read more

Love the food. Good service. Intimate, cozy, friendly, not too noisy. We go often. Xxxxxxxxx read more

LOOK AT MULTIPLE REVIEWS SAYING OLD FISH as well: I ordered to go on 7/9/25. The super white Tuna handroll $12.95 was ROTTEN!! It was yellow like on the edges and foul fishy nasty, and I ate 1 slice of the fish & couldn't get that foul flavor out of my mouth! This is unacceptable that a sushi chef CANNOT TELL IF THE FISH THEY ARE SERVING IS ROTTEN. To make matters worse, I left a message right away. Heard nothing, then called again left another message. 3 days later, they called. I asked for my money back, and she said NO! WOW UNBELIEVABLE! Overpriced rotten sushi 1 roll & 1 hand roll was $34 crazy Go to ANGRY FISH ALWAYS FRESH, ALWAYS NICE & they guarantee freshness read more

iSushi - SUPER WHITE? More like SUPER YELLOW ROTTEN! - Sushi Bars Near Me - Castro Valley, California

Our always order: Surf & Turf - must love pepper Temperature Fi - a little kick 888 Coals - semi-sweet roll w/ 10% spice Love this place. This is one of my favorite places; I'm lucky it's local. Worth a little drive tho. The little dishes are a splurge, but are a wonderful unique flavor experience. It's that good. Great staff. FYI: parking is occasionally a little rough. read more

iSushi - Temporary COVID hours as of June 2020 - Sushi Bars Near Me - Castro Valley, California

Food was amazing, & service was amazing. Lovely lady greeted us and was very very attentive throughout our visit. They have highchairs available for little ones. 007 roll 10/10 A-1 roll 10/10 Dragon roll 8/10 Spicy edamame 7/10 Gyoza 10/10 read more

iSushi - 007 roll on top A-1 roll on bottom - Sushi Bars Near Me - Castro Valley, California

I love the sushi at this little spot in the village. Here are my favs: 1) Salmon Fantasy 2) Mike and Lisa 3) Lauren and Lindsey 4) Jada They also some make standard rolls and have a good selection of sake. They also have a TV so you can catch the local game. This place is a little on the expensive side so we typically enjoy it for a special occasion. Looking forward to the next celebration! read more

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Wow. How have I never tried this place?! This is the same owner as Prive in Burlingame, which had amazing food, music, and a great spot for night life. The owner, Stanley, is amazing and is clearly a veteran in the industry! The sashimi at iSushi is 10/10 quality. I am so impressed. The fish was cut perfectly, portions were great, and pieces melt in your mouth. Prices are reasonable for the amount, quality, and presentation. The service was great! Super attentive and gave details on how we can best enjoy our meal. Will certainly be back to try the Omakase tasting menu specifically. I've heard amazing things about the Josh, tempura portobello, and salmon toro! And man, talk about an impressive food and sake menu! read more

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My family and I used to come here a few years ago when there were less sushi spots in town, the food was good and the service was normal. However we recently visited again and I was disappointed at how our visit went. We sat down right at 5pm opening and were greeted by the staff right away and sat down, the waitress was attentive but clumsy... and unfortunately it seemed like she was recommending items on the menu for everyone at the table even though we did not ask for that. It went from attentive to overwhelming and a bit too much. She confused my family and they ended up ordering things they did not want, she ignored what we would say we wanted and recommend different more expensive dishes. It ended up just being a not great experience and the food was not worth it. Unfortunately they get out-done in the freshness and overall taste by the newer sushi places around as well. read more

Hubby and I are regulars at iSushi in Castro Valley, we typically go for lunch and order from their creative sushi rolls menu. The fish is always fresh and delicious! We also like their Shrimp & Veg tempura and the Ramen Katsu. They have a fairly extensive menu including quite a few cooked seafood items if you aren't in the mood for sushi. The restaurant is small so I advise calling first if you are going for dinner. We have tried a number of sushi places in Castro, Hayward, Dublin and Pleasanton, we find iSushi's menu to have some of the most creative, high quality rolls around. read more

Service continues to be slow and I so want it not to be. Food came out temperature appropriate but not everyone for their Food Together which is something I do not tolerate. We came to eat together not have to wait ten minutes between three of us. Everyone is very nice. Food is flavorful, a bit on the expensive side but I live in CV and there is not a lot of talent as far restaurants go so it is what it is. Been coming here since it opened back in the day. Miss seeing the owner Stanley there. Give it a go, food is good and rolls are awesome. Service needs help hope things change around In that arena. read more

iSushi - Lobster Ramen. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Castro Valley, California

This bitch who answers the phone needs to realize that customer service is a golden key for any business, be careful how you talk with customers when you have no patience. Zero star for hiring stupid , impatient, and unprofessional staff. Not Recommended read more

Chanced upon this place looking for dinner with a friend visiting from out of state--- so glad we tried the place! GREAT food! GREAT staff and service. Their tempura is sooo yummy and not greasy. We had to order another one of the items we got because it was simply delish! read more

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iSushi is located in the Castro Village Shopping Center. Parking is a bit difficult here, especially on weekends and weeknights. Their hours on Yelp/online is wrong - they close at 9 PM on weekdays (certain days), but they still take to go orders up to the time they close, which is nice. The waitress was friendly and my to go order was ready to go by the time I arrived. I ordered 2 orders of sake maki. It was about $27, which is a bit more expensive than my last visit, so I assumed that the rolls would be bigger than last time. What I got were 2 tiny rolls that had a bit of a weird aftertaste to it. Overall, I thought it was decent being one of the only sushi spots opened in the area at the time, but I would not come here again. read more

We got the 007 roll, salmon fantasy and Kobe beef. Our fav is 007 and salmon fantasy. For dessert we got I Sneaky and mango cheese cake. The waiter is great. Super nice and fast :). read more

This used to be one of my favorite places to eat, but the last time I went i was very disappointed with the service ~ My partner and I were the only ones in the restaurant, placed our order and then a family came in ~ The family orders and they began to get their food before us, I asked the waitress what was going on and she apologized. It was unacceptable and the food wasn't even great this time. I've decided to take a break from eating there for a while. I wish them the best !! read more

Quick lunch Salmon Bento, Miso soup was great, Salmon was perfect. Unagi Bento is nicely done with Crisp Tofu. Service was fast, efficient. Worth repeating read more

The food was great! The server and chef were friendly and helped with recommendations on some of their items! My husband who is not a fan of sushi, Loved everything we ordered! read more

Late afternoon lunch at Castro Valley Village. An old colleague informed me of this sushi restaurant some time ago. It's time to try it. Walking in, I found a seat at the sushi bar. After a while, a server provided a menu. The menu was quite extensive and a bit on the pricey side. I'm looking for a light meal. By process of elimination, I had ordered the chicken katsu and salmon roll bento. The crispy katsu over a bed of rice and tonkatsu sauce was good. The server was cordial but not very inviting. I would consider returning g to try their sushi and sashimi. read more

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Their menu selection is superb, they're consistent with quality. If you're looking for sushi that's creative and flavorful, isushi is great. They're pricey but worth it! read more

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Came in for a Bday get-together so we kinda splurged. We all tried one of their 'tasting menus' which they have several levels, depending on how many courses you wanna go through. We chose the 8-course meal for $120 per person. First off, this isn't really my type of resto to do this type of tasting menu. The space is really tiny and the menu is huge, with a huge emphasis on 'fusion'. So technically this isn't really a Japanese restaurant, but you are able to get some Japanese style food here. I think this space is better suited for just a regular meal, something like casual sushi or bento meal. To me, the price tag that we paid, just didn't match the overall experience one would come to expect from this level of dining. For example the tables are so packed together that when dropping off our courses, they couldn't reach certain corners. We also used regular paper napkins, which isn't a big deal at all, but most meals $100+ per person, you just often get much more of a refined experience. None of us complained or even talked about it, just an observation that hit me whilst I was brainstorming for this review. Started off with a monster bottle of sake, probably one of the largest sized bottles of sake I've ever seen. Seemed like magnum status in terms of bottle size. I didn't take notes nor took pics of this so I can't add much here. Except that it was a very decent version. The Food Ride: We actually started with their Tempura'd Portobello Mushrooms ($15/4.5*) This was not part of the tasting menu, we just wanted to try it. Perfectly light and crisp batter, where you could totally see through it. Super meaty mushrooms were so satisfying and juicy and only made better with a slight dip in one of their 3 sauces. Anytime I come back here, I will always start with these. Toro Tartare (4.5*) Very creative dish/bite and how they take fusion and make it theirs. Tuna tartare pretty basic and suffice, super soft but with a few strands of sinew. Topped with a little masago and atop a base of a tempura fried basil leaf. So great textures and flavors that you just don't see anywhere else. Hamachi Carpaccio (4*) Pretty basic but good quality fish. A light ponzu sauce and a slice of fresh jalapeno. The cool thing was the owner/our host directed us to eat each slice a little differently. One was as is, another with a sip of sake before eating a slice. And the final was with a drop of soy sauce and a sip of sake. It did get better with each bite and was a great lesson in the physiology of taste. Oyster Trio (4*) These were the tiny variety but forgot to ask what type. 2 raw with garnishings and one grilled. The grilled was actually the most impressive as it had texture and the grilling made the oyster more intense. The one with a small piece of uni and a quails yolk, of course just hits. Fried Scallop (4*) One tempura fried scallop with fried asparagus. Basically a mixed tempura fry. Very decent. Sunomono Salad (4.5*) Very unique sunomono salad. It's seaweed and cucs marinated in a very balanced sweet vinaigrette. The kicker is it laid in a base of tiny cubes of raw fish, so this was quite substantial. Another example when fusion wins here. Tataki Trio (4*) 3 different fishes, all belly cuts. Salmon, Hamachi and Blue Fin all torched on the exterior. Not a torch fan, but I did appreciate the effort. Each fish was garnished with its own accent, from dots of green onion, lemon slice, even shred of basil. So each bite being unique and different. Miso Roasted Black Cod (4*) Very nicely marinated and roasted with that sweet miso combo. The Gindara wasn't as smooth and buttery as I come to expect from this fish, but it was still decent. Lots of garnishes from squirts of sauce to even halved cherry tomato. A little too busy for me. Mango Cheesecake (3.5*) Just a regular cheesecake with little bits of mango throughout the bites. Not bad but not brow raising. Still had some frozen texture to it too. Served with a sauce with a wasabi background but definitely sweet. Very interesting but didn't really do anything for me. Again their fusion creativity up front and center. We all had a nice time and the owner is quite passionate about his business. If in the area, I totally would use them as an option. I would just have more of a casual meal that's all. read more

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After a long day, I was hungry for a quick bite and wanted some ramen and sushi to go so we ordered the Dragon Roll and Tonkatsu Ramen. Service was friendly and the ramen was piping hot and when I got home I devoured both. We will be in this shopping center frequently so maybe give it a try dining in. read more

iSushi - Dragon roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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Service is great. Wait staff is very friendly and efficient. Food is wonderful and their sashimi portions are huge compared to other places. I love Macekerel (Saba) and this was fresh. I know lots of people won't like it but in terms of quality it is good. Place is cozy and has a family style feel. read more

iSushi - Mackerel Sashimi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Castro Valley, California

Our go to Sushi restaurant. My husband always gets the Fire Fighter and I get the Rebeca off their Green Menu because I'm vegan. We also love the Tempura Mushrooms. read more

I like sushi in general so this was a great spot to get some! The service was quick and wasn't too long of a wait time.

We don't eat here very often, but we did tonight. My wife's bento "box" (served on a plate) was good. Portions were good and the food was good. She was happy. I ordered unagi nigiri and a spider roll. The unagi was good. But the spider roll was very short in length and short on crab. Mostly rice. Not a good value at all. Of course, the place is clean and the staff is friendly. But if I want a roll, I'm not coming here. read more

Terrible service. Mediocre food. I should have listened to the other reviews. Don't be like me. Skip iSushi. read more

Very decent sushi rolls here. Sometimes it could be a hit or miss depends what you order. So far my two favorite and absolute must order each time are: -Josh (appetizer) -A1 Tuck. This one has cream cheese in it and I love that they torch the jalapeño on top. Not spicy at all. I recently ordered the 007 as recommended by the server and didn't enjoy it as much. It was almost similar to A1 Tuck, except it has a few pieces of peanut or something in there- just my personal preference. There was another roll that I completely forgot the name and would recommend anyone to try would be the one with basil inside. It's a nice kick as you chew into the roll. I'm sure the server would be able to help with the name on this one. I've had the "omakase" chef tasting menu with my husband before Covid and I regret to say but it wasn't as enjoyable. I think they over did it on the quail egg in almost every dish. Overall, this is a nice local spot that I'd return to explore the rolls and pick the favorites to reorder over and over. read more

iSushi - 007 (left) and A1 Tuck (right) - Sushi Bars Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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Update to my original review since it has been awhile. The food here is still good, but on our latest visit, we noticed that the overall quality has dropped, and we were not nearly as impressed. Prices, yeah, they are still higher than most. read more

Probably one of the best selections of vegetarian rolls I've seen anywhere. Really creative, glad they don't let the vegetarians be disappointed! read more

This restaurant is located in a busy plaza and parking is ridiculous. Good luck finding parking! It took my friend and I more than 30 minutes circling around before finding a parking spot across the way. I had high hopes for this restaurant but was very disappointed and I honestly do not know how this place have a 4-star review. This place is really small and their prices are a bit more expensive than other places that have bigger and better sushi. The sushi was not the freshest I've had and sadly, I was underwhelmed. The quality of the sushi was just not satisfying by the hefty price tag that came with it. Customer service was also not the best. Our server only gave us one salad and one miso soup when there should be two. We kept having to ask our waiter to refill our water multiple times. The only time our waiter came quickly to our table was to pick up the bill. I will not be back anytime soon. read more

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3.5/5 My husband and I came to try this place last week and thought it was okay - it definitely benefits from being the only sushi restaurant in this plaza. I always get a little nervous when I don't see a lot of Asian people eating inside a sushi restaurant, but maybe it's just the demographic of the CV area. Our order: I got the dinner special with the unagi don ($23, comes with miso soup, salad, an orange, 4 pcs of salmon maki or other options, and the unagi over rice). My husband got the salmon fantasy ($20). Pros: - Decent sushi. the seafood tasted fresh - if you check in on yelp you get a free matcha ice cream dessert! - I thought the dinner special unagi don was worth the value - in terms of variety, the amount of unagi, and the multi-dish meal for $23, at least to try once. I don't think I would order it again. There's cheaper options too if you combine teriyaki. - The salmon fantasy roll was unique and very well plated/presentation - Easy parking in the lot, close to alot of other establishments if you're trying to do a multi-stop date and get dessert after at Always Yours for macarons - There was an issue where a lady came in and treated the staff kind of rudely (she was coming to pick up a doordash order for a friend but didn't bring any confirmation that she had purchased it...the staff tried to explain to her they can't just give food away and she was being kind of mean but I think the staff handled it well). Cons: - kind of a small space inside - probably not ideal for parties larger than 4-6. Perfect for parties of 2. - I thought the salmon fantasy roll was way overpriced. They must have raised prices recently because on our receipt the roll was $20, but on old menus on yelp it was $16. - Not a lot of quantity - in terms of how full we were, we weren't. So it was kind of a boujee meal that didn't fill us up. Caveat: my husband and I are very loyal to Angry Fish in San Leandro and I think it's the five star bar we judge all sushi restaurants against. I don't think I would intentionally come here again unless I was already in the area getting something else. However, we weren't disappointed necessarily by our experience here either. It was a little hard to get over the price for quantity. Maybe we just can't appreciate fine dining? At least give this place a try and judge for yourself. read more

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What happened here? Years ago, we did an excellent anniversary omakase dinner with Chef Stanley. So creative!Tonight, we were needing take-out and went with 3 Chirashi dinners. Menu on their website says it's $28. Picking it up, turns out it's ~$44 (including tax). Hmm. Okay, well it's iSushi, so it should be great right? Seven sad pieces, kind of 99 Ranch-ish fish quality. The tuna bled on the bed of rice. What is happening here? I could have bought this at quality at Safeway. My mistake for relying on nostalgia. read more

I wouldn't be surprised if this place changed ownership. I use to love eating here but the food and the service is significantly lacking now. The sushi use to be so good as well as their teriyaki chicken. Not anymore! The chicken was dry, the sushi disappointing and the customer service was not welcoming (the waitress acting like she would rather be elsewhere). Unfortunately, I will no longer patronize this establishment again. read more

My Jackie-bee and I had a perfect time here at iSuhsi. The workers were friendly and kind, and the food was flavorful and tasty! It was such a great date night for two exceptionally hungry guys! Here was our itinerary for the night. 1. Arrive at iSushi (in Castro Valley) 2. Eat Sushi, specifically the 007 roll, among others 3. Pay for said Sushi, and we went off on our night! Oh, my Jesus, and what a fantastic night it was. As the sushi arrived, it was more than obvious that the fish had been placed atop the rice- like a Bald Eagle would its nest. Resting perfectly. After each bite of delicious sushi, you could practically feel the flavor particles- like butterflies, land on each and every taste bud like a butterfly would to a flower. So delicious. All in all, would recommend it. read more

iSushi - Picture of Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Castro Valley, California

Food is ok but service is awful. Took us 30 minutes to order and another 30 minutes to get our food.

Underwhelming to say the least. Rolls, were small, barely held together, and overpriced for real!! Very small place, but I think they look at themselves as high end. Maybe there's not a lot of Sushi places in Castro Valley, which maybe explains the prices. The service, not good or bad, just eh!! It's located in the Castro Village Shopping Center, that's about all I got for this place!! read more

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Change of ownership. This place used to be better. I remember this place had delicious super white tuna and sushi several years ago. I was in the neighborhood and was craving super white tuna. I regretted my decision. The Miso soup was NASTY. Didn't even taste like Miso soup. I threw my away. I ordered 2 slices of super white tuna ($8). It was mediocre. Did not taste sweet or buttery or melt in your mouth like fresh super white tuna would taste like. It had no flavor, taste like Styrofoam. It was like it was frozen for months. I also ordered the Lion King roll ($16). This was the smallest Lion King I have ever seen. It was not good. The flavoring was off. Basically they took a Californian Roll and put salmon on top and then charge a lot more. Had to force myself to eat it. I also ordered chicken and rice. It came with Californian rolls. The chicken at Panda Express tastes better. The cooks are Chinese but put no love in making the chicken. Either that or they are terrible at cooking. The California Roll was bland. I ended up bringing the chiicken and rice and California Roll home to feed my dog. Turns out he didn't even want to eat them either and he normally eats everything. Attached is a photo him refusing the eat them. TAKE MY ADVICE AND DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY EATING HERE. EVEN MY DOG THINKS THE FOOD SUCKS. It is really hard to find a good sushi restaurant especially one that is owned and run by Japanese. Most of the sushi places are run by Chinese same with Asian buffets. I am a foodie and so far the only sushi restaurant I like is Sushi House in Alameda. It is not the greatest but I don't leave as disappointed or have the urge to throw up like this place. My bill came up to almost $50. Such a waste of money. Sushi from Milpitas buffet taste better. Btw, Milpitas buffet is the only buffet I recommend. They constantly bring out fresh food and I don't get food poisoned like other buffets. The services is good and the price is cheap for the amount of quality food you get. read more

iSushi - California rolls were small. Had no flavor. One of the worst California rolls I have tasted. The Lion King was nasty and over priced. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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