Quaint, no-frills neighborhood sushi restaurant. We had a fantastic veggie roll, a sashimi plate that was so good it was gone before it was photographed, and a complementary spicy tuna appetizer. I don't ever order spicy tuna things because I hate mayo, so this was an amazing treat that I'll be looking forward to. read more

Kotobuki - Green Caterpillar Roll (veggie tempura, squash, avocado, eggplant) - amazing! - Japanese Near Me - Oakland, California

Decided to show up to this place since we were craving sushi. Service was cool, ambiance had cool music and basketball on screens. Gyoza was nice, shrimp appetizer was good. Ordered the Oakland roll that was good, the rainbow roll was quite yummy and the piedmont roll amazing. 5/5 definitely recommend read more

Kotobuki - Gyoza Appetizer - Japanese Near Me - Oakland, California

Fresh and very well made Nigiri. Was very impressed. I sat at the bar and got to chat a little bit with the sushi chef. He was such a friendly and nice guy. They are very welcoming. I ordered saki Nigiri, red snapper Nigiri, and Hamachi Nigiri with a side salad and miso soup. Can't wait to get back over there and try some of their other options.! read more

Great place for groups! There is something for everyone. Service is prompt. Staff are friendly. There are plenty of options other than sushi, including teriyaki salmon and chicken (our neighbor's favorite) and plenty of vegetarian options. Great service read more

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Came here on a warm Sunday and their HVAC was down- not ideal but they gave us a couple of free appetizers to make up for it. Good thinking too because it took a painfully long time for the food to come out. Matsu roll was pretty good- but didn't list on the menu that it had tempura which isn't my favorite. The escolar and ikura nigiri were just okay. Too much rice. The real dampener to the whole experience though is the amount of toddlers/children being loud in the place. My recommendation to the restaurant is perhaps play some music or something to drown it out. Anyways between the long wait and the annoying children I probably won't return even though the food was decent. read more

Kotobuki - Matsu Rollq - Japanese Near Me - Oakland, California

We stopped in on a friend's recommendation and were greeted with friendly service. Once we ordered we were treated to a complementary spoon size appetizer, of tangy tuna, which was delicious. I had the house hot sake and my daughter and boyfriend has Sapporo beers. Then came the best tasting miso soup and edamame before our main course. We ordered some Gyoza appetizers along with several rolls, including the Swamp roll and Spider roll, plus an order of Toro nigiri . Everything was delicious and fresh. The restaurant itself was clean and comfortable. The staff and servers were all polite and friendly. I look forward to going back and trying more items. read more

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Had dinner with my daughter here tonight. The food was delicious and the service was excellent! Thank you for a fun and tasty dinner!

Amazing service with friendly staff and fresh, delicious fish. Our family had a wonderful time, and we truly enjoyed the experience. Highly recommend this place! read more

This place is pretty good and has decent food. The restaurant is pretty quiet and very spacious. Customer service is good and the staff is friendly! Came here with some family for dinner and we definitely enjoyed ourselves. The tempura is nice and crunchy! Each dish was full of flavor and was pretty good. The tempura roll was good, but was lacking a bit of flavor. The bento combo box was a bit pricy for the flavor in my opinion. It definitely could have been a bit better. This place is a bit pricy, but still good. I'll definitely be back and try some other items. read more

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We ordered a LOT of sushi for delivery, for my birthday. Everything was fresh, the portions were generous, and the flavor was on point! There are a lot of options on the menu; we need to try some more! read more

Phenomenal food and the service was absolutely incredible. I'd come back hear simply because the fatty tuna was incredible. I look forward to having more meals here. The ambiance is very melo and great place to relax. I read more

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Kotobuki is humble and dishes up solid Japanese cuisine in the Montclair Village in Oakland. Staff is very friendly and accommodating. Two televisions show sports including college football and NBA basketball while we were there. Unfortunately the complimentary miso soup contains fish stock. A good way to order vegan if dining with someone is to do like we did share an order of edamame along with ordering a couple of veggie sushi rolls. We went with the avocado roll, cucumber roll, and marinated radish roll. Nice presentation. Enjoyed the ambiance here. Down to Earth. The vegan offerings here are extensive including a half dozen vegan sushi rolls on offer. Five specialty vegan rolls on offer. A whopping 10 vegan appetizers to choose from. We will return! read more

Kotobuki - Japanese Near Me - Oakland, California

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The sushi is exceptional here. Large pieces of fish, and very fresh. New management? New chef? Not sure, but they are doing it right... go soon! read more

I ordered takeout here and tried the following: Yasai soba: It was alright, but I found it somewhat plain (partly due to the amount of vegetables, and maybe just needed more flavors overall) yet also very dense and heavy. Veggie rolls: I thought these were pretty good, salty and savory, so glad to see they have this as a good vegetarian option since I've had mixed experience with vegetarian rolls at various sushi places. Tempura: Also pretty good, and I don't consider myself to be someone who really likes tempura. read more

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Love the different bento options. My partner and I are picky eaters and these always work for us! The food is always fresh and very tasty. Everyone here is so nice and the service is excellent. read more

Went here for our annual family holiday/ birthday dinner (all of us are born in November and December). We ordered a selection of appetizers to share, sake, and entrees. The sushi was very fresh and the rolls had generous portions. Recommended. read more

The food portion was great! The service is excellent and very friendly! The ambiance is casual. I'll be making a return. Very good experience for dinner. read more

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This might be one of our new spots in Montclair Village! To preface, when we first moved to the east bay we ordered delivery from this restaurant our first night in our new house and were a bit disappointed, so we effectively left it off our list of places to go... this was our mistake! The restaurant is no frills, but there's seating for bigger parties and partitions between tables so it feels roomy. There's a huge TV broadcasting sports events too. We happened to go on "customer appreciation night" and were thoroughly surprised by the amount of complimentary dishes they brought to our table. I was already close to full with all this free dishes! I ordered the cold soba dish and that was really good. It even comes with a full order of tempura... we ordered some other small dishes for the kids as well. Overall, we were really impressed by the food and the service; our waitress was so friendly. We'll definitely be coming back here for meals! read more

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Just came here for dinner with my mom and it was much better than I remembered. They gave us a free appetizer of ahi and avocado. I had the salmon maki and the Hawaiian roll. Mom got the cherry blossom roll, vegetarian gyoza, and seaweed salad. I tried all of those and thought they were really good. Service was friendly and the restaurant wasn't too crowded despite tonight being New Year's Eve. My guess is that I ordered wrong during my first visit of it was around when they first opened. Whatever issues might have been the case then apparently resolved. I don't live close enough to be a regular but I look forward to returning with my mom who does live nearby. read more

The sushi here is always fresh and beautifully prepared. Every roll we ordered was full of flavor and tasted amazing. The presentation was great, definitely coming back read more

Tremendous food and great service for a reasonable price. It's a nice spacious restaurant good for bigger families. read more

Amazing maguro nigiri. Enjoyed the spicy tuna amuse bouche. Excellent service. The tempura shrimp roll was so fresh and well done vs oily and over fried. My husband is vegetarian and he loved the futomaki and the veggie caterpillar roll. It is rare to find so many veggie options at a sushi spot. Next time I will order more nigiri. If you care about food and less about the scene, go here. Peaceful and very enjoyable experience. We will be back! read more

Excellent food and presentation in this Japanese restaurant, if you want your curry a bit "hotter" they will spice it up for you. Waitress was efficient if not effusive, and the other staff were very friendly. A very good choice to eat in a pleasant location, parking may be a bit difficult but that's not their fault. read more

I ordered takeout, chicken teriyaki donburi and oyako don for my wife. Portions were excellent. It was tasty. My only negative was their MENU prices linked here, from the restaurant website, are outdated. WARNING, the restaurant does not keep the pdf with menu and prices updated, so confirm if you are placing a takeout order. Maybe, they don't know how to update the pdf. It is a Mom and Pop operation and maybe they need help from their children? Anyway, I noticed the updated menu appears as photos in their gallery, but that is not where customers will go to look. read more

Ordered a spicy scallop handroll, salmon nigiri, tuna nigiri, and some miso soup. Pro --Lightening quick prep and delivery --Miso was delicious --Sushi was satisfactory --Responsive staff (the time I picked up my own order; I was acknowledged immediately as I walked through the door) Con --Handroll description on Caviar did not indicate there was green onions in the handroll, which I cannot eat read more

Very good sushi in a very kid friendly place! They will cut the sushi small for them and also give out little treats :) We love this place. read more

my favorite local sushi restaurant!! i go so much they recognize me but for the PRICE you cannot beat the quality. i love the piedmont roll and highly recommend! what keeps me coming back is the miso soup which is the best i've had at any sushi restaurant! the fish is fresh and the staff are nice. i love this place read more

Kotobuki - spicy tuna roll, piedmont roll and Negi Hama Maki - Japanese Near Me - Oakland, California

Excellent service. Great sushi. They customized my roll for me and even went an extra step further to ask if I wanted it cut into 6 or 8 pieces and if I wanted fish eggs on top. I love my rolls bite sized and no fish eggs so it was perfect. I also got chicken karaage with was good too. I am very happy that I found a perfect sushi place nearby. read more

We had the best experience here last evening. The service was top notch and the food was tasty. It was our first visit but we will be back. read more

Kotobuki - Japanese Near Me - Oakland, California

Came for a late Friday dinner and the new menu is speaking they now have a new owner. Ordered the sushi combo A. This has been going for a while and is there a reason sushi chefs now prefer only giving 2 drops of sushi vinegar to their sushi? Or, the newly trained people were told the public hates the sour taste now? From Tokyo Fish Market running by Japanese to the majority of regular sushi restaurants, no one gives enough vinegar to the sushi. The vinegar accompany the fish so my nigiris are a disaster. I made my own nigiri at home when time permits (sushi grade scallop and ikura are kept in my freezer all the time thanks to the modern refrigeration/transportation). It's not easy to make good sushi rice but surprisingly the sushi vinegar from Kikoman and Mizkan are very good. Depends on the fish, I alter it with the same brand of rice vinegar for extra sourness. Anyways, the sushi we are eating is not what it is few hundred years ago. I just didn't expect vinegar is the first to let go during my time. read more

I love this place the fish is so fresh! I always order salmon, escolar, and tuna belly. The service is stellar the staff is so friendly and nice. They often provide a free soup or appetizer while you're waiting to order. There are many sake options available. This place is great for date night, family outings, or even business meetings! Will be back monthly. read more

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Amazing food, some of the best sushi I've had. The crazy roll seemed to tell a story and was so unique and beautifully plated. Donburi beef is tender and bursting with flavor. Service is stellar and very accommodating. This is our new sushi spot. read more

Kotobuki - Rock & Roll - Japanese Near Me - Oakland, California

When I arrived the restaurant was almost empty but somehow it took almost an hour for my roll to arrive. To their credit, they took it off the bill but still...an hour? Really? read more

Kotobuki is our go-to restaurant near home for comfort Japanese food and their food is always fresh and tasty! Well since the shelter-in-place, we needed some comfort food so for Mother's Day, hubby ordered enough to feed an army! We had two orders of agedashi, three item combo tempura/salmon teriyaki/sashimi dinners, yakisoba, unagi handroll, chirashi! The combo dinners were delish, and we loved the agedashi and I devoured my unagi handroll! The yakisoba was ok and so was the chirashi. We had enough leftovers for lunch the next day! Thank you Kotobuki for being open during the shelter in place! We miss eating at your restaurant! read more

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Kotobuki is nestled in the Montclair village. Parking is easily found on this side of the village after 7pm. The ambiance is casual with prompt and friendly service. This is mine and my partners go-to restaurants! We order from here often but our most typical order consists of the following: Rainbow roll: Perfect rice to fish ratio. The rice is not too sweet not too salty - it is seasoned just right. The fish is fresh and light. Rating: 10 out of 10 49er roll: The salmon is perfectly cut and the lemon pieces add a nice tang to the salmon. Rating 10 out of 10 Teriyaki Chicken Donburi bowl: A well presented donburi bowl with a delicate teriyaki sauce, with juicy charbroiled chicken. We love this bowl because it has a great amount of sauce and the chicken is tender and juicy. Rating 10 out of 10 Salmon Teriyaki Donburi bowl: Nicely seared salmon with a warm teriyaki sauce. The quality of the fish is amazing and the crisp they give the salmon is more than perfect. Rating 10 out of 10 Absolutely recommend this small business! read more

Went in November, fantastic today 180° turn. Waitress was inattentive, screwed up my order. Chairs and floor were greasy, food was not fresh. Extreme disappointing experience, never again. read more

We have been going to Kotobuki for the last eight years. This place is not only delicious, but all staff goes above and beyond to take care of everyone. Outstanding service! Delicious food! We are always looking forward to going. Recommending it to all our friends! Please stop by and support this wonderful business! read more

I'll give them a high four star review. I haven't eaten inside the restaurant in a long time to really judge but it is very clean and the servers are attentive to your needs. Although I like the TV in the restaurant, I really don't like having a TV in the restaurant... The prices are fair considering where you are and they are very prompt for my to go orders. They have a lot of unique roles or you can suggest what you want. No complaints and seems to be quality fish. read more

Kotobuki - To go menu page one June 2022 - Japanese Near Me - Oakland, California

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I really love this place. I've been twice now and I will definitely be back. The staff is so friendly and the sushi is really fresh and delicious. My husband and I also got a couple of dishes on the house, which was fabulous and really lovely! read more

Kotobuki - Tako yakl, nigiri combo, 49er roll, crazy roll, and cherry blossom roll! - Japanese Near Me - Oakland, California

Really good take out sushi tonight. Ten single piece nigiri had a wide range and no misses. Good value.