I ordered a custom tray for a large group celebration and we were pleased with the quality and novelty. The fish were fresh, the rice was seasoned, and the garnishes were interesting. The owner was communicative via text and E-mail. Pick up was from a ghost kitchen. Menu was difficult to find online, but here is the link: https://twodotsco.typeform.com/to/eUm9sISf?typeform-source=linktr.ee The tray was beautifully decorated. At $6.25 per piece of sushi, the price was similar to nice sushi restaurants. I probably would not order from here frequently, but only as a special treat. read more

The Backhouse - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

The Backhouse was first on my radar two years ago on Valentine's Day when my husband surprised me with one of their beautifully curated omakase boxes for a cozy night in with sake. Everything was really good and thoughtfully prepared, and it made for such a fun and elevated at-home date night. This past week for my mom's 60th birthday, I decided their party platter would be perfect for celebrating. They were very responsive and easy to coordinate with, which made planning simple. You do have to pick up from a ghost kitchen in San Mateo, but the process was efficient and smooth. The platter itself was beautiful and the quality was just as good as we remembered. Fresh, flavorful, and nicely presented. Definitely a great option for special occasions or when you want something a little elevated at home. read more

The Backhouse - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

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Ordered the mixed box and jewel box. My friend and I both agreed we liked the jewel box more. The mixed box had a different topping for every piece of nigiri which was fun to try but hard to share between two people. My first bite of the jewel box there was a huge piece of Toro muscle I had to spit it out. Kind of put me off the rest of the box. They also don't give anywhere near enough wasabi for two boxes we had to ask for more. Fun to try but total for two boxes was $175. A very pricey lunch read more

The Backhouse - Jewel box - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

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Ordered a deluxe platter and DIY hand roll set for Mother's Day and everyone loved it. The soy sauce pipettes were cute and useful. We had 5 guests and the platter+set was enough for each person. There are 11 pieces per person (group of 5) for the platter. Except for the cut roll which came as 4 pieces. They are quite accommodating for a busy holiday, I highly recommend. It was so nice to have an omakase night at home. Much more relaxing and cozy. If I ever go to the city, I'll probably stop by and pick up a set before heading home. read more

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Take out omakase? Craaazy This worked in our favor because of scheduling and most omakase has a start time of 5pm and we had tight itinerary. So we ordered omakase sets online and we picked it up. Right off the bat we noticed that the box was small and of course the nigiri itself were small. It pretty and presentable but a larger man would need two sets. I also dont know how long it was sitting out but you can tell it was sitting out- not the freshest but again its takeout. There wasn't any out of the ordinary flavors or combination or memorable bites. I think I did like the mackerel. Next time, I'd probably get the trio one or the box with my favorite cuz instead of the chef's omakase. I think it was okay- nice grab and go for a picnic or tight schedule. Support a local. read more

The fish here is super fresh and delicious! I thought it was a restaurant but it's just a pickup kitchen. No one was at the desk when I got there but I texted the provided phone number and they brought my order right out. Quick and easy, great service! read more

The Backhouse - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

It's a good spot to try once, but I wouldn't recommend it because of the price and the lack of ingredients. The food was still amazing, but just felt ripped off a little bit. read more

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Quality of sushi is incredible. The ordering process is a little awkward, but definitely worth it.

So worth it. My husband and I were planning to spend Thanksgiving say at home so we had to figure out what we were going to eat when I saw Backhouse's IG about getting the orders in quickly for Thanksgiving. I mean, if there's any better time to try them it'd be the present time and seeing their instagram story felt like a sign so off I went to order. The order form was easy enough - you add to cart how many orders of what you want, your info, and then pick up and location and that's it. After payment, it was just waiting for Ju-I to send a confirmation email. Pick up was easy - they're located in the San Mateo food hall and there's parking out front although it can get busy with DoorDash drivers so I suggest parking off El Camino Real and taking a walk over instead. Within minutes after texting their number I had my order in hand and it was time to head home to eat. The fish was fresh and presentation was on point. My husband and I shared everything and there was no complaints from either of us. While this may be pricier than getting a platter at Suruki Supermarket, it is a nice treat once in a while for yourself and hey - you deserve it. read more

The Backhouse - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

The bay has no shortage of sushi restaurants, San Mateo least of all. Against this competitive backdrop, The Backhouse still claims a spot at the top. Jui's selection of garnishes and sauces are simply a level above others making this sort of modern style sushi - so delicious and, importantly, unique. And on top of excellent and highly consistent flavor, the business maintains its genuine local charm. Useful info: - Responsive to Instagram DMs - IG story has alternate pickup locations a few times per week - Parking usually isn't too hard if you're coming to the San Mateo location If you're looking at the order form and are concerned about getting your money's worth, just go for it. You won't be disappointed. read more

the presentation is beautiful just a little disappointed in the actual taste of it. i felt the fish was lacking in flavor not sure if the rice or fish needed more flavor but something was lacking. got the mixed box for single serving. this place is a ghost kitchen so you go into the building and ring the doorbell for backhaus or u can ask the person at the desk. a little pricy for what it is but i think its worth the try once to see if its for you. read more

The Backhouse - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

Hands down, the besti sushi. Fresh, delicious, creative. Ordered a platter for our wedding anniversary and it was the perfect way to celebrate! read more

The Backhouse - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

Amazing variety of sushi boxes. Always fresh and tasty! They have drop offs at various locations which is great. read more

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I've been wanting to get takeout omakase for a while so here I am. I ordered online and got the 10 piece bento box omakase. All of the pieces look so luxurious and they were all so fresh! I also really liked the small cute soy sauce dropper that came in the box. This place gives off very mysterious vibes. The area for pick up is like a ghost kitchen. You wouldn't expect such high quality food to come out of the building but it does. You pick up the order from someone at the front desk. All in all, I highly recommend checking this place out. Try it out if you like. ;) read more

The Backhouse - 10 Piece Omakase - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

I had been eyeing this place for a really long time now and finally decided to pull the trigger today as part of our anniversary treat. I was sooo disappointed. Portions were small (social media pictures sure gave the impression otherwise), fish was so-so, and the sushi rice kept falling apart. Every single piece that we picked up had the same problem with the rice! For the amount that we paid, this was ridiculously overpriced and not worth it. Money would've been better spent at an actual omakase place and the experience and food would've been much better. read more

I love this place so much. I've had this place 3x and I usually order from them for special occasions because they really are special. The variety of fish they have and the freshness of their fish is so worth it. Jui is an amazing chef and super sweet. Pickup is fairly easy but parking may be a bit tough in the area. I'll always consider this place for special occasions to bring to share with friends and family. The tuna is my favorite! read more

The Backhouse - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

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My fiancé surprised me with this for Valentine's day and I couldn't be happier! He ordered the omakase box & the tuna box and both were impeccable. The flavors were so unique, the fish was so fresh, and the presentation!! Literally gorgeous. Pick Up: They have pickup locations in San Francisco, San Mateo, and Hayward. The SF location is in the Sunset district! They were on time & super easy to find. Pickup was seamless :) Tuna Box: There were so many new flavor combinations in this box that I haven't tried before and that work so well. For example, truffle and parmesan on tuna!? Both parm & tuna have such strong flavors and I was worried it wouldn't mesh well together but it was so delicious. One of my favorite pieces! One of the pieces had this pate on it, it was perfectly salty and creamy. The otoro piece - SO BUTTERY. Literally tastes like the quality of tuna I had in Japan. Omakase Box: I loved the variety in this box!! It was my first time having raw mini octopus and it had the perfect chew to it. I loved the uni w/ ikura piece, the uni was so fresh and creamy and the ikura burst with flavor. Both boxes come with freshly grated wasabi and a cute soy sauce bottle. The pieces honestly didn't even need soy sauce because they had so much flavor. We'll definitely order from here again! read more

The Backhouse - Tuna box & Omakase box - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

Ordered a sushi platter with 40 sushi for $250 which comes out to $6.25 per piece of sushi or more pricy than sushi at most sit in restaurants. Some of the fish was also less than fresh (the uni especially). So overall I think this place is very overpriced. read more

Food: This omakase box was a dream! The uni was creamy and fresh. The sweet shrimp was my favorite. This box was $75. You must pre order ahead via the link. Service: Pick up was seamless. Before you arrive, Backhouse will send straight forward instructions on pick up. I believe the man running the pick up table was not a direct employee of Backhouse but the overall food mall. He was kind and very quick to grab additional soy sauce and napkins upon request. Ambiance: The pick up was in a "food mall." It is really moreso of a ghost kitchen. I would not consider this a food hall or mall. There are no seats to stay and eat on site. It is very rustic and you would not expect the food quality from the look of the building. read more

The Backhouse - Omakase box - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

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Came across Backhouse San Mateo's IG a few months ago and finally treated myself to their salmon trio and bluefin box. The ordering process was seamless and I was able to pay using Apple Pay. Ju-I sent emails regarding the pickup process and it went smoothly. Now for the omakase sets... you can see how much time and effort went into the presentation. The salmon trio box is king salmon with different toppings with a side of uni, ikura and pickles. I enjoyed the flavors of each piece with their respective toppings. The pieces with truffle were my favorite. The bluefin tuna box has 10 pieces of nigiri, 5 of which were o-toro (aka fatty and buttery) and I believe the other 5 were chu-toro. It also came with 2 pieces of toro taku maki topped with ikura. My favorite pieces were the chu-toro topped with uni. It was SO SO buttery and it melted in my mouth. Overall I enjoyed both boxes and felt like it was better than some restaurants that do omakase. If I'm craving omakase and feel like dining at home, I would definitely order from this place again. Thank you Ju-I for this unique, smooth omakase experience. read more

The Backhouse - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

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Treated myself to omakase after a long week of work. Pick up was a little confusing and I was also late, but someone finally showed up at the pickup area and I was so happy to get my set! Highly recommend the bluefin tuna set. This was the first time I got omakase to go. I was trying to savor it and I ate it in 3 minutes. I guess that's why they serve it slowly at a restaurant! read more

The Backhouse - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

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Came for the pop up dinner and it was a real treat! A small and personal space that feels immaculate and curated. A personal experience -- two hours that was engagingly interactive and fun The fish was amazing! Some unique takes to make each piece of fish interesting-little touches of flair that keep the omakase experience fresh, fun, and light. I liked this much more than the more traditional sterile style. Fish assortments included tunas and salmon, but then progressed into more diverse selection of oily fish, lean fish, seasonal fish, and decadent wagyu/caviar/truffle. Side-by-side presentations of aged Santa Barbara uni against Hokkaido uni. So we can finally settle the debate :) read more

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4.5 Ordered via website form a day prior and picked up at the San Mateo food hall on Friday afternoon. I got the salmon trio, 1 Omakase and 1 Bara box. Parking around the food hall was a bit challenging but the food was tasty. Fresh and flavorful (well seasoned). The items are packaged well and would be great for catering for bigger groups as well. Overall, good sushi and excellent communication via email. read more

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This is a ghost kitchen so it's pick up only and no dine in However it's made fresh to a reserved time for your pickup We got some as a stay at home anniversary dinner and were so impressed The sushi is delicate and flavorful with nice notes of smoke. Fatty tuna and tender salmon. I'm not sure what the wasabi like condiment was but it was good and not the paste thing you usually get at a restaurant Also amazing umami in the little vials of soy sauce provided Parking to do the pick up Can be hard read more

The Backhouse - Half tuna half salmon - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

Finally got to try a bara chirashi box tonight and was totally blown away. I'd seen them on social media but as always, am skeptical of the hype. But oh, this was sooo good. Her boxes are unique both in the assortment of fish (firefly squid, uni, etc) and in the flavors she added (truffle shavings, the wasabi sauce, and the seasoned rice). I can't wait to try the omakase box next and if I'm lucky, maybe a sit down dinner. Ordering was pretty easy. Fill out a form a couple days in advance and schedule a time for pickup. Arrive at the appointed time and you're good to go. Parking nearby wasn't too bad. read more

The Backhouse - Bara chirashi box - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

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SO GOOD. I found them on IG and it looked mouthwatering from the photos. I knew I had to try it out and was not disappointed at all! Highly recommend. The fish is super fresh and the flavors are on point. It is a bit pricey but worth the splurge if you're looking to treat yourself! I ordered through IG then you pickup at the ghost kitchen in San Mateo. Parking is easy and so is pickup! read more

The Backhouse - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

This is the first thing my wife wanted to eat after having our child. Takeout sushi that is of good quality, creative ingredients, and great value is hard to come by in general. Backhouse checks off all the boxes and more. They are super responsive with orders and have accommodated even last minute orders when I'm already on the way to San Mateo and suddenly crave sushi. We really like their handroll kits cause its just so much food! Their nigiri boxes are great too. Pro-tips(s) order this and picnic at hillsdale mall's food court so you can eat it right away. You can even take it into the Cinepolis as a movie meal because I mean sushi and a movie? how great is that! read more

Writing this post as a customer who did a pick up order. I was off social media and was tempted to log back on, wanting to see their schedule but luckily there is an email to reach out to and Ju-I got back to me diligently. While she mentioned my pick-up location (Hayward) may be over a month away, I was pleasantly surprised when she messaged me within another week or two that they had openings and in quickly put my order in and paid! I'm fortunate the location was close by too! Oh my goshhhhhh the sushi is amazingly fresh and I wanted to savor every bite. Customer service and food itself were superb and I plan to order from them again! Would love to visit the location sometime as well. read more

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Cute packaging, very good quality fish, beautiful presentation. Omakase box comes with 10 nigiris for $75, which is a pretty solid deal. Pick up from a ghost kitchen - parking might be challenging, but they had it ready during the pick up window. One feedback I would give is the rice separated a lot from the fish, couldn't tell if it was supposed to be sushi rice or brown rice or some other rice with some sauce - it was grainier and harder than the typical omakase nigiri rice, and honestly the temp of the rice was quite cool even 1 hour after pick up. Nevertheless, really enjoyed the meal and might try something else next time. read more

The Backhouse - Omakase 2x - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

It is kind of pricy but I really enjoyed the cute packaging and flavorful sushi. It's a takeout place with the online ordering system that is well organized and efficient. read more

Decent takeout sushi with easy ordering. They give you a few options and my friend and I got the salmon and mixed options and you can pick a time to pick up. Keep in mind it was Friday and we picked up at 12pm and it gets pretty busy that we had to double park to pick up. Since there is no where to eat inside we took it to my house to eat. I made miso soup and it was the perfect amount with the soup. Pretty good and priced well. Loved the packaging. read more

The Backhouse - Sushi packaging - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

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Food, terrible. Booked and waited 2 weeks. What a disappointment. Just go to any other sushi place at this price range in the Bay Area. It will be much better than this. read more

It was a bit tricky to figure out the ordering process but once I got the hang of it, it was ok. I used the link through IG to select the items to be ordered and then picked the location and time for the pickup. Once the order is confirmed, they will email with more details. Pickup location for San Mateo is at the Food mall/ghost kitchen at 66 East 21st Ave. We ended up ordering the omakase and the bara chirashi. The items were ok for the price. Nothing really stood out though. I think the bara chirashi was actually better than the omakase since it was more of a deconstructed version of the omakase. I think some folks mentioned that it was real wasabi but that wasabi can actually be purchased in the frozen section of Suruki's if anyone is interested. It comes in a small packet there. Next time, we will probably order the bara chirashi again if we are in the mood for takeout sushi. read more

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We have ordered from them before but I just ordered this week and we really wanted this for our marriage anniversary. I will never get over how personable they are and how great the food is. You can really tell there is time and effort and they are very prompt about timing whether it's pickup or delivery. They really accommodate for their customers. They really made our anniversary special read more

The Backhouse - salmon trio and bluefin tuna bento box - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

Was surprised with an early mother's day dinner. The crew wasn't sure how good this would be since it's technically a ghost kitchen and we don't have much experience with them... Anyone else just naturally think ghost kitchens aren't very good even with little to no experience with them? Why is that? Anyways, we were impressed. We got a platter of nigiris and hand rolls. The hand rolls came deconstructed and were fun to put together, although I wished there was a tad more rice. Mainly since it's deconstructed, it's harder to separate the rice and spread it, so you just naturally use more. As for the nigiris, only one we didn't care for was the one with cheese grated on top. I should've written this review earlier when I remembered what it was, but the cheese was too overpowering for the fish. Otherwise, everything was great! read more

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What an amazing Omakase meal thanks to my sister. She got @thebackhousesm to come to her house to prepare and serve this amazing dinner for our family. It's probably one of the best meals I've ever had. We got to try fishes I never knew existed, appreciate fishes that I don't usually (like mackerel) and the Chawanmushi was the best!!! It was a seafood Chawanmushi version topped with inners and a generous amount of uni - so rich in flavor and texture. Thank you Backhouse for the amazing food. I highly recommend this place! read more

The Backhouse - a series of photos of a variety of sushi - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

Tried their omakase a few months ago and it was delicious! It was somewhat pricey, but also still better than what we would've paid at a restaurant for the quality that we got. It was easy to order through the IG link, pickup location is a little random in San Mateo, good to know there are other pickup options around the bay in case we want this in South Bay too. People seem to love the bara chirashi so I'd love to try that next time! read more

If you're looking for AMAZING sushi platter or sushi box, then look no further! Every piece was a work of art and was easily the best takeout meal I've ever had! We recently went over to a friend's house for dinner and took a sushi platter along with a few of their sushi bentos (the omakase and chirashi) to share! Reporting back that it was a huge hit!!! Even the two small kiddos LOVED it and ate adult portions (and wanted more!). Truly redefined takeout sushi for me! Thought you could only get this quality when dining in for omakase! They operate out of San Mateo but they have pick up options in SF, San Jose and Hayward! Pre-orders required! I've also had their omakase experience and it was truly PHENOMENAL. . read more

1st star: ordering process easy and straightforward on website: https://linktr.ee/thebackhousesm 2nd star: email correspondence also great 3rd star: platter presentation great 4th star: quality, taste, proportion rice to fish, 5th star: our anniversary w dining at home w the omikase (starter) read more

The Backhouse - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

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Female owned sushi business - hell yeah! O R D E R E D - Omakase Box - Chirashi Box V E R D I C T Everything is FRESH! You can tell from the presentation of everything that Jul-i puts so much effort into making everything not only look perfect, but taste great also! Her creations are perfect for date night, GNOs, family functions, work parties, and gifts. Each omakase box comes with a side of her housemade wasabi [my favorite], ginger and some soy sauce. She makes the ordering process so easy. You can go directly to her website to place your order for pick up OR order right at the kiosk machine at the San Mateo Food Mall. She's not open on Wednesdays but every day of the week she is open. She's also super responsive, if you have a question about any of her creations, you can message her and she's there to explain everything super clear. Speaking of which, now I need to place another order to drown my sorrows from tonight's playoff game, nothing delicious sushi can't fix. read more

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