The food here is really delicious. It's the second time I've gone here. I've gotten the Chicken Katsu Curry and it's been so flavorful. It ranges from about $16 but I'd say it's reasonable for the price and size. I really recommend this spot and will definitely continue to order other items on their menu. It's usually packed when I go just because it's really good but it's def worth the small wait. Parking wise may be hard but not impossible. Lunch time is peak time so take that with you. Yum yum! read more

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I live a bit far from here, but I catered from here as I was having an event nearby. I put in my catering order around two weeks before the event online very easily and a person from the store called to confirm how I wanted the food. I ordered some rolls, tamago sando, katsu sando, and various omusubi. On the day of pickup, the store called to let me know the order was ready for pickup around an hour before the pickup time. My friends were able to pick up without an issue, and the 50+ people at the event thoroughly enjoyed the food. Service 10/10 - Really easy to order online with fairly quick phone confirmation. Usually there is anxiety from catering orders being late, but our food was done early and communicated to us immediately. Food 10/10 - Everyone loved the food. The amount was much more than I expected as well. A bit over $500 of food (plus a few dishes from other places) was able to feed 50+ people and allow for plenty of take home leftovers. Value 10/10 - Incredibly great value for the quality and amount of food you get. I'll definitely be ordering again if I have need for catering in the area. ごちそうさまでした また来ます read more

This place is reasonably priced at $16-12 per plate. Expect a line, but it is definitely worth it. There are spots to sit outside, but no sitting area inside. I would suggest this place if you have time and are looking to pickup a tasty meal at a good price. read more

Wow. A hearty Japanese meal for around 10 dollars in the bay area? I'm sorry, what? This is the definition of a no-frills lunch spot - walk in, order from a pretty standard menu (there's other things like Katsudon, Gyudon, Teriyaki Chicken, etc), wait in line for your number to be called, and get out the door in less than 15-20 minutes. It's not gourmet food for sure, but 100% beats ordering at a place like Yayoi and paying 20$ for a disappointingly small meal. The chicken was incredibly tender, savory, and slightly sweet. The juices infused the rice with a TON of flavor. I usually have trouble finishing the rice when I eat meals like this, but I had no trouble scarfing this down. Will be back soon. read more

Sozai Corner - Oyakodon - ~10$ - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

It was a pretty bad experience I got here. I lined up for about 10-15min with my 5 years old kid and I ordered foods. I didn't realize it's cash only, so I told the cashier that I will get cash from the bank right cross the street. After waiting another 20min waiting for food to be packed, I saw someone behind me got the food first. I went in & asked and I realized that the cashier did't even put my order in without any explanation. He said I need to line up again and wait again. Seriously? I will end up waiting over 1 hour outside with my 5years old and dog waiting in the car. When I ordered, I told him I will get the cash quickly. If I had to line up again, he at least needs to give me an explanation. The cashier didn't even apologize but kept saying he didn't put my order in. No kind word or smile. They looked pretty stressed which brings another bad impression. Well.. it was already 6pm and I couldn't wait more since my kid was so hungry. This happened because of 'cash only,' which is one more bad service for their tax saving. They need to rethink about what they are doing to the customers. They also need to take care of their staffs. At this point, food quality doesn't matter. I don't feel like going back there.i read more

Our office manager ordered catering from this place (which is the catering division of Suruki), and our company really enjoyed the food! It was a "Make Your Own Rice Bowl" lunch event. There was a lot of variety (Pork Katsu, Chicken Katsu, Chicken & Beef Teriyaki, Salmon, Vegetables). I had a blast putting a little bit of each into my rice bowl. I would definitely order from here again, especially when I need catering! read more

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My favorite Japanese place in San Mateo! And I've literally dined at 90% of all restaurants in downtown San Mateo. It's a tiny corner shop, with an open kitchen. The prices are very reasonable and the portions are huge. I always get the pork katsu. read more

Great selection of Japanese grocery items and the fresh sushi and sashimi are great!!

I can't say enough about their wonderful bentos. Last month I ordered for an event and the following week my family ordered for a gathering. I don't know how they keep their prices so low. The event bento was a special order of sushi, chicken teriyaki, mayo salmon and a piece of ebi fry...with sides of hijiki and kinpira gobo. Traditional Japanese bento with very reasonable prices. They even delivered. On our family order we order half teriyaki chicken and half teriyaki steak. Both had large portions of meat and included salad, salmon mayo, kabocha and dashi maki. read more

The quantity is really good for the price. We had the ribeye teriyaki, curry tonkatsu and beef udon. They definitely don't deserve the five stars because the cashier uses the same gloves to handle all the cash (and they are cash only!) AND food. Sure, he mainly scoops things with utensils so he's not actually touching your food (maybe) BUT he touches the edges of the miso soup bowls and perhaps the other bowls and don't you sometimes drink straight from the miso bowl?? Soo gross, would you put your mouth on dollar bills or change? When I said he should change gloves, he said he'd be changing gloves all day. Uhh, yeah, you're in food service. Do you wear the same pair of gloves all day? Then what's the point? He could do it in batches, take orders for 5 customers and then take off the gloves and bag a bunch of orders. That in itself is at least enough to lose 2 stars but I definitely docked them another because the curry was very cold, the chicken pieces inside were cold too. read more

I came for the sushi, I stayed (and waited it out like a cheapskate) for the post 6pm 50% off sale markings. I'm not above slightly aged sushi at the rate of 50% of the retail price. And I have to hand it to Abby S for the tip above not being afraid to throw some elbows when old ladies try to push and shove their way to the good spicy tuna bowl. Good call, Abby! Unfortunately, I didn't get the good spicy tuna bowl... I got the 'meh' spicy tuna bowl. Not the best flavors and kind of tasted a tad discount, but the rest of the goodies I picked up were a damn good deal. The plum rice ball was perfect, Albacore Tuna sashimi was a steal at $4.75 for a half pound and at that price I didn't have to be stingy when I took it home and the cats were begging for bits. Not to be missed was the under-a-dollar peanut butter and nutella mochi. Ridic! read more

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We've been shopping here for years. The market is well stocked with a great variety of products. The prepared foods in the front of the store are always well prepared and delicious. We always pickup their signature chicken kaarage, deep fried chicken bites with a wonderful teriyaki flavor. Their salad maki is a nice tuna with mayo mixture rolled with rice and veges. Better get two orders, it's that good. Last weekend at hosted a family Birthday Party for 14 people. Our order consisted of a sushi platter, sashimi platter, chicken kaarage, chicken katsu, Tonkatsu, nishime, salt and pepper chicken wings, chicken salad, grilled saba, and hijiki. Everything was prepared to perfection. This is the second year in a row that we've ordered from Sozai Corner. If ordering for a large party I suggest looking at the website for ideas. They recommend placing your order online or hit already know how much you'll need, but if you have time go to counter inside Suruki Market and speak to Shin/Cliff. He will be able to answer any questions. Highly recommend! read more

Phone number is incorrect The correct phone number is 650-347-5777 Services is okie Curry is okie No complaints due to take out services only read more

I love buying sushi from here! :) read more

Sozai Corner - Spicy tuna rice bowl - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

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This place is a hidden gem! I would not have known about it if it weren't for Lydia! This cute Japanese market has everything you could possibly want! They also have a section full of takeout with sushi rolls, bentos, onigiris, seaweed salads and other amazing foodies! Some things I picked up here were Salmon Onigiri, Spicy Tuna Bowl and CROQUETTES! So delicious! I highly recommend you stop by here if you get a chance, prices are cheap and food is great! read more

Sozai Corner - Only $1.30! What a delicious deal! - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

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You want cheap, authentic Japanese food to go? Check this place out. Love their curry pork katsu and katsudon. This place sometimes has a long line so be patient. It's next to suruki so you can order your food , go food shopping next door and come pick up your food. There's no place to sit down as this is only a to go place. However there are benches outside and across where you can sit down and enjoy your meal. The prices are reasonable and portion wise is right for the price. They close the place though once they run out of food so come and get your grub. read more

Nested in a corner in the Suruki market, it's got a lot of lunch goodies for anybody who's looking for a quick bite. There are the more homely bentos, bigger bento boxes with multiple items, noodle bowls, sushi, and various other salads and cold dishes. The prices are reasonable, and any picky eater (providing that you eat Japanese food) would find something they might like there. Lunch time in San Mateo can be crowded. However, the 24-min parking spots are usually open. Just park at one, grab a bento and you'll be out of there in no time! read more

This page is NOT for the restaurant upstairs as many of the other reviewers seem to believe. That restaurant is called Oidon. It's a great restaurant, but it's not this one. I have no idea why the pre-prepared food section of a supermarket gets its own Yelp page (now I'm tempted to see if the deli counter in the Safeway has one too), but we were wandering back and forth through this little supermarket and Oidon for about 10 minutes trying to find this great "Sozai Corner" restaurant that the reviewers kept raving about. That said, once one of the employees actually told us that it was just the corner of the supermarket and not actually a restaurant instead of saying "it's over in that direction" we discovered that their food is quite good. read more

This place is good only when you get the 50% off discount before they close. It used to be decent at regular price but recently I notice their cooked food are getting ridiculously expensive for what you get. For example, the Guy-Don $7.95 regular price. There's barely 4oz of beef. Keep in mind there are onions and carrots from the picture so it's not all beef. read more

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For the longest time I had no idea that this part of Suruki was it's own little biz with it's own cash register. Last time I was here looking for weird Japanese beverages, looking at the prepared fish and poking at them. While doing that, I feel a shopping cart hit me in the butt. WTH? I look around and as I push the cart back, I feel resistance. I look down and behind the cart, and there is a little boy basically ass raping me with said cart just pushing as hard as he could. I move out of the way and he proceeds to assault everything in his path. So I grab some snacks and get my weird beverages and Im on my way. Im guessing this is not your typical grab and go situation but that is what happened to me at Sozai Corner. read more

Sozai Corner can handle any catering request, big or small. We threw a Hello Kitty 1st Birthday Party for our daughter and had our minds set on sushi. We had a decent number of adults, and struggled to find a caterer who would do sushi for less than a $1000 minimum. Sheesh, it's her first birthday party, not her wedding! Sozai Corner hooked it up, PHAT. The sushi was not only delicious, but it looked amazing. You're not getting a bunch of clear plastic containers of sushi from the cold case at Suruki, which is perfectly fine for lunch on the go. You're getting a professionally displayed, restaurant quality, perfectly rolled masterpiece. Christine at Sozai Corner also pretty much planned the menu for us. How am I supposed to know how many Unagi Specials one person can eat? I'm easily overwhelmed with the details and Christine's help was PRICELESS. She knows what she's doing from small parties, to 300+ person events. Professional, responsive, and reassuring to this first time mom who needed to throw the perfect Hello Kitty sushi extravaganza... Can't wait to work with Sozai Corner again on the next party! read more

get the catered sushi...it's seriously a boss. We recently used Sozai to cater our kid's first birthday party and Sozai did a tremendous job. Located inside of Suruki market, we worked with Christine to nail down the sushi order. we had about 30 adults and weren't sure how much food we would need. Christine has done tons of orders before, asked us which types of rolls/nigiri we'd like and worked her magic. The sushi is very reasonably priced and came out in great platters with soy sauce, wasabi and chopsticks all included. The fish was restaurant quality and the presentation on the platter was top notch. a huge step above costco and it was a big hit at the party. Next time you need someone to do some japanese catering, talk to Christine at Sozai. ps. they also cater hot food (we had the chicken karage and chicken teriyaki). both were good and at 7.95/lb, it was a steal. read more

sozai corner has ready to foods are alongside suruki's food on the same shelf. not sure of the relationship. didn't ask. entrees include bento boxes, some sides, mochi?, etc. sampling: grilled salmon(11.95lb) 2 pieces, 2 ish. -tender, not dry. a little juicy. read more

Come here for lunch when I'm in a rush Good chicken teriyaki Good beef teriyaki Good tempura Rice is nice and fluffy Miso soup is delicate and soothing Staff is always nice and friendly Out the door lines but quick and smooth read more

I walked around and around and around but couldn't find this place! So I ended up grabbing sushi from Suruki Market, which was average and average priced. As a last ditch effort, I went upstairs to Oidon Restaurant to ask them where Sozai was. Turns out, Sozai and Oidon are the same. They are even on the same business card. From the business card, it looks like Sozai is the catering side of the restaurant. read more

Just finishing a solo lunch in this adorable sunny place and couldn't be happier. I walked in and was greeted by a very sweet lady who immediately brought me tea and edamame. I ordered the tuna nigiri and shoyu ramen. Both were delicious! The sushi seemed very fresh and the ramen broth was deliciously complex an tasty. As others have mentioned, the spot is a little hidden. When you enter, turn left and go upstairs through the door. read more

Love this place, especially for the person who likes to find special holes in the wall it's great. Where else can you find a restaurant upstairs. It's quite reminiscent of actual sushi restaurants in Japan and I love love love it. The food was good for the price, delivered in a timely manner and satisfied my bento cravings. True it's no authentic and cheap japanese place but I come mainly for the atmosphere which it delivers. The server was very kind and gentle which is also a plus. Be wary, this place is only open for short hours during lunch. read more

Christine was great. I ordered some sushi and hot items for my daughter's 5 year old birthday party last min and she was very helpful and accommodating. She was very helpful with the items to order and quantity. At the end of the party we had just enough food. Not too much, and not too less. Just right. Everybody really enjoyed the food since the adults were expecting the usual pizza and veggie stick type of food for kids party and a lot of them asked where I got the food from. But not only the adults, the kids also loved the food. The hit was spam must I and new karaage, tamago, edamame, and inari. The adults loved everything! They made the party certainly memorable for a lot of us. Will be ordering from them for my other child's birthday party for sure! They also delivered on-time! Thank you again! read more

We've had Sozai Corner cater our daughter's birthday party every single year for the past four years. Christine, the catering manager, is fantastic. She nails it when it comes to estimating how much food you will need. Their menu is pretty extensive - there are both hot foods (ie: chicken karage) and cold foods (ie: a variety of sushi). We've ordered the following items in the past: beef teriyaki, chicken karage, salt and pepper chicken wings, chicken salad, spam musubi, and California rolls. All of these items were a big hit and we've gotten compliments every year on how good the food is. The presentation is beautiful, well packaged, and always ready on time. Thank you to Christine and her staff! read more

As long as your expectations are properly set, Sozai Corner won't disappoint. You won't get mind-numbingly amazing food here, but if want some sushi rolls, inari, or beef curry really quickly, you can't go wrong with Sozai Corner. read more

We tried donkatsu ramen and chicken teriyaki bento box on the 2nd floor. It's kind of hard to find the place. There's a very narrow stairs up to 2nd floor. We first thought it was an entrance to the kitchen. The food was pretty good. I like kindness of the server. Japanese server, very kind, and polite. read more

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Finally tried this place after walking by for years. Portions are decent size with a side of miso soup and salad. Tried the Korean BBQ chicken and short ribs. The beef was pretty good but t would pass on the chicken. Would have liked a better grill char on the chicken and the sauce was really light and a little tasteless. I would rate the chicken a little less than average. If I return will try other things on the menu but not in a rush to go back. read more

Organized, efficient, helpful, flexible, prompt, reliable service, and their food is beyond awesome! First off, I have no aspirations of being a party planner, whatsoever. I wouldn't know how much food to order for 4 people, much less 40. I usually play it safe by over-ordering then sending leftovers home with guests (keeping the good stuff for myself, of course). This is where Christine from Sozai Corner becomes invaluable. Invaluable (adjective: extremely useful; indispensable). I've had the great pleasure of working with Christine to cater three events: two work-related parties and a 2nd birthday party. She provided me with menus via email and notified me of any potential pricing changes before each scheduled event. Given my very tight budget for the work events, I didn't think catering (with delivery) would be possible. With Sozai Corner's very reasonable pricing and great portion recommendations made by Christine, however, we were able to cater to a party of ~50-60 people easily. Yes, our menu included salad, hot food (chicken teriyaki and tonkatsu, croquettes), AND sushi rolls! They were even able to cater to the kids attending our personal event...each child was provided their own bento box! Boom. Why are you still reading? Contact Christine now with your catering needs! Tell her my review convinced you and maybe we could both score some extra rolls in our next order. Boom. read more

Awesome, just figured out you can order catering through their website now! www.surukisupermarket.com/sozai-corner/

So today I decided to get a Bento box A! at my favorite teriyaki Japanese spot . but the asshole that was working in the front got mad because I was snap chatting. I guess he didn't like the camera to much! What a jerk ! I guess he doesn't understand we live in 2016 and the world evolves around social media. Don't be mad! Be happy read more

If you need any catering done, these are the folks you want doing it. After struggling to find a caterer who offered Exceptionally delicious food, and reasonable rates, I lucked out and found Sozai corner. On time, exceeded expectations and zero problems. Highly recommend! read more

Awesome! I'm sure anyone can say there are better sushi places but Sozai Corner not only has good sushi but they make it affordable and Christine really works with you! From the very first time I had reached out to her, she was able to estimate how much food I needed and definitely worked with our pricing. I had no idea how much to bring in for our office and Christine was definitely helpful in this department. I haven't been inside the supermarket/restaurant but whenever I get a chance, I'd definitely stop and have the food outside of our office catering. Thanks Christine! read more

yummy! to go only. really cheap under $6. you have to park the meter or garage. My grandpa used to bring me here. It was a treat. They're portions were huge and we would divide the bento box between me my brother and my grandpa and have it in central park. Really yummy. I always got chicken teriaki cooked to perfection over an open flame. read more

Ok selection. Not the best but not the most limited. Small store. Bento items were picked off by around 3PM. Not my favorite Japanese grocery store but it's decent. read more

For its price over quality I give a 5 stars. I ordered chicken curry rice for my lunch. The curry sauce was very flavorful and creamy, and chicken was super super tender!! It also came with Japanese pickle on top of the rice which makes it authentic Japanese style curry rice. And the portion is not bad, for just $7.95 read more

Sozai Corner - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California