50 Best Japanese Restaurants near Albany

“This is me and my husbands absolute favorite sushi spot in all of the bay! The fish is so fresh and the rolls are so creative and delicious! I only have a picture of empty plates because we are too excited whrn it comes. The people there are also so friendly and welcoming. We love it here!! I would give them 10 stars if i could“

“Great food and quick service! A must try place if you’re in the area!“

“Great lady who gave me her charger since I was stuck there in Albany area with a dead phone and in need of getting an UBER. So I went in, asked for charger and ordered their chicken+Beef Teriyaki lunch box. And it was delicious. Got my phone charged too. Happy customer here. Will eat there again if in the area.“

“I went to KEN for my birthday and it was absolutely phenomenal. The fish was delicious; so many new flavors and combinations; the chef was superb - talented and entertaining, with great attention to detail. The service was impeccable. I cannot say enough good things!“

“What a treat! Highly recommend“

“Best Japanese Curry in town !“

“Really just a phenomenal spot. Took a gamble the first time after a load out on the way to the airport; could really sit here and eat sushi all day. Very nice waiter/host that I remember both times - everyone was so welcoming. Local tofu appetizer was excellent. Every piece of fish I wanted more of especially the sea trout; exceptionally fresh and also well cut / not too large of a piece especially with the sashimi. Can’t wait to be back in the area so i can visit again“

“Every item we ordered was magical. Absolutely loved all their small tapas style dishes, scallops, yam, pork belly, chicken, beef. Scallop and sweet shrimp (ebi) handrolls were great. Fine dessert choice as well. Get there early as there was quickly a line out the door with 20-30 minute waits throughout the night after we arrived.“

“Best authentic Japanese restaurant in town.“

“awesome a must try, this is a hidden gem“

“Fresh ingredients, friendly staff, and delicious food and veggie options!“

“The best omakase and multi-course dinner I’ve ever had. We came to celebrate our anniversary here and a great time. The atmosphere was perfect and the food/fish were literally hands down the best I’ve ever had. If you want high quality omakase where every bite is the perfect blend and diversity of textures and flavors you must go here.“

“If you want the freshest fish downtown has to offer.... go to Sanraku“

“Quality is key with any meal. Roger-San is all about quality. Sit at the bar if you can!“

“Excellent Japanese cuisine, service and staff are wonderful and helpful“

“Healthy, fresh meal. Filling, yet light. Felt kind of a splurge just for a casual lunch, so maybe come here with more dedicated time.

I finished the nabe just by myself. I got the pork one, and thought the meat was good quality. I wouldn’t say portions are big here. The flavors are also very light, even with the sauces. The mushrooms were not satisfying and we tasted more of the breading in each bite rather than the mushroom itself.

Our waiter was pleasant. Overall, the price of the meal was a bit higher than I expected for what we got (like $50pp). I feel like hot pot restaurants are cheaper and would offer ayce.“

“Amazing, amazing, amazing!!! Perfection. The attention to detail and the warm service was great from the jump. The entire 17 course meal and sake pairing was one of the best meals that we've ever had. I don't say this lightly, it was flawless.“

“I don’t mean to exaggerate, but when it comes to both the food and the service, exaggeration almost feels necessary. Chris was phenomenal, and the food exceeded anything I could have imagined. This place is truly unexpected in the best way—just trust the experience. There really aren’t enough words to describe how amazing it is.“

“Went for our wedding anniversary. The service was great. They took the time to introduce the menu items and explain the chef’s special for today. We got to try fish or parts of fish that we have never heard of before. Overall very good experience.“

“Probably the best meal I’ve ever had, super fun, exciting, every bite was perfect. Intimate and fast process“

“Eating is a kind of happiness, taste is a kind of interest“

“Watermelon 🍉 Roll; no rice, refreshingly good Fried seafood chips appetizer; I wanted it as a meal it’s a different yum 😋 Ice cream sandwich wow!“

“I absolutely adore Lydia and Joe—they’re so warm and welcoming, always fun to chat with, and their food is DELISH 😍 I can’t get enough of the chicken curry and udon soup (add dumplings + all the toppings). Astonished that you can still have a full lunch near FiDi for $7, and it’s what I crave over any of my other favorites where lunch will run you $18++. Flavor per dollar cannot be beat anywhere else in SF.“

“one of my favorite places in the country to eat. whenever I'm in the Bay area, in here“

“Omg! The Ribs are amazing!“

“The food smacks and the music they play always slaps.“

“I cannot say I had a bad experience. Everything was my favorite“

“Exceptional service. Delicious, artfully presented omakase at a reasonable price point.“

“friendly service and tasty food“

“The ingredients, the flavors, they're all top-notch.“

“We celebrated the Mother's Day here. Limited seating and only seating per night. I and my husband were so surprised by the very tasteful decoration of the restaurant, fantastic service and out of the world food. It is even better than the one in Toyko which we made reservation months ahead. The portion is just perfect for us. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone. You have to try it to know what I meant.“

“Blown away! Sitting at the chef’s bar was an outstanding experience. The chef made recommendations; he is a true artist of his craft - what a delight to watch. The nigiri/sushi is classic with no frills, relying completely on the quality of the fish and the expertise of the chef. What a local gem!“

“Emma ,Julio and staff great!“

“service and quality are top notch“

“I’ve been coming here for years now and just now decided to write a review. The sushi is amazing, I’ve made my way down the list and tried all the rolls but my favorite ones are the Shiki, Samurai and the Double Sake. They are super fresh and so delicious. They’re always as delicious as the last time. Also, service is super nice, they recognize me at this point and are always happy to see me come in again. My favorite sushi spot in Oakland hands down. Also for a great price!! Don’t sleep on Sushi Park!!“

“I have been meaning to write this review for years. Apologies for Jimmy and Ron for not writing it sooner.

First, I have to write about the people because they are the reason I love and will always love Kibatsu. Then, I'll write about my favorite dishes and the food.

The People:
I have been going to Kibatsu since 2014 so 12 years now. Before Kibastu, they were Sugoi Sushi in the Mission. I discovered them because they did catering for University of San Francisco. My college roommate and I befriended the young sushi chefs that came to the university, hung out with them once the sushi bar had officially closed and they encouraged us to come visit their Sugoi Sushi location.

Eventually we did and it became our Friday or Saturday night routine. Sometimes, we would splurge and go during the week (which for us as college students was a lot). But we loved them. Calvin, Ronald, (so sorry, I am totally blanking on the third guy's name but I see his face in my mind!) and Jimmy. The first three were the sushi chefs and Jimmy was the waiter - he always made room for us and always saved us our favorite booth in the front of the restaurant, closest to the windows. He remembered our classes and asked us how school was going. He always treated us to on the house mochi ice cream after each dinner. We would spend hours and hours there, camping out and chatting or doing our homework in the mood-lit, rustic, tastefully interior-decorated intimate setting, amid the hubbub of conversations and people enjoying the sushi. I remember Sugoi and those times really fondly - it was our safe space, our home away from home (dorm). Other times, we'd bring our friends. I can't even count how many people I and my roommate recommended this place to or brought there.

Then after we graduated, in 2018, they moved to the Haight and invited me to their opening night omakase which was a gift to everyone they invited. How sweet, thoughtful and amazing is that? Between Sugoi and Kibatsu, my partner and I met and Jimmy always remembers my partner and his two boys and asks about them when they're not with me. The boys love it here because of the large portions and how nice everyone is.

On my birthday this year, I decided I wanted to spend it at Kibatsu and Jimmy (who is now a sushi chef!!) and company went out and got me a birthday cake and brought it out before the rest of the dessert as a surprise. I almost cried. This is why I love Kibatsu and those who work there.

The Food:
The starter we always go for is the tataki dish which is albacore with delicious fried onion. The gyoza is always also a great way to go. We always get the omakase which is a true omakase with the different small plates, sashimi and nigiri. I love the salmon and umimasu nigiri as well as the negi salmon. Something special that Kibatsu does is they always surprise you with little gifts from the sushi chefs. For this past new year's they surprised us with a whole tray of steak and jumbo shrimp - a gift on the house. Their kindness never ceases to surprise us!

So there are some of our top favorites food wise and why Kibatsu has a special place in my heart. I hope you go and I hope you love it as much as I do. They work really hard, are so extremely kind and deserve the best.“

“Good fresh comfort food, warm friendly family business“

“Really delicious and fresh fish here. Staff is attentive and helpful. We went relatively early and there was no wait. The timing of the food worked well too. If there is any hesitancy it's just that the cost adds up quickly (about $50- per person) with two cocktails and two sparkling waters and no dessert.“

“Great place. Friendly staff. Beautiful fish selections and daily specials. Limited open time, but absolutely worth going to.

I had the chirashi, rice beer, and panacotta - good relaxing night.

Reccomended!“

“Came here for a dinner and tuna cutting and it was amazing. I didn't expect the tuna to be so large!

Good:
- Super cool explanation of how everything works and the chef adds some fun humor into it which makes it even more entertaining than the cutting already is.
- The buffet we had was so good, I loved the crepe cake dessert and grapes too, and there was shrimp, tuna, chicken, everything you could imagine
- The tuna was soooo fresh
- The staff were so kind and helpful!
- There was also a sake pairing and wine pairing which elevated the experience

Bad:
- Can be pricey!

Overall this was such a premium experience and so glad we got to experience it!“

“ALWAYS a fantastic and tasty dinner. ☺️“

“Nigiri combo is excellent! I can’t wait to try the sashimi combo next. I came just before they were closing for lunch and people were steadily coming either to pick up or eat-in up until their closing time. It seemed they were regular customers who are keeping this place a secret and happy to say, I am on it already. Can’t wait to go back.“

“This place should have a line out the door every day. Incredible value. Excellent service. Delicious food. Warm and friendly staff. They greeted all their regulars by name like old friends. I can't wait to become a regular myself. I can't recommend enough. Coming back as often as I can.“

“It has a very interesting menu, I really enjoy the food.“

“All the food looks amazing! Unfortunately, a most of the fishes on the nigiri was kind of tasteless so it's hard to distinguish between the pieces. I didn't like the fish eggs because it was slightly fishy - this might be my personal palette though. The eel with avocado and cucumbers was really tasty.
Note, I suggest looking at what you're purchasing because the fish pieces might slightly differ in size. And for the price your paying, you probably want the bigger pieces like how I would.“

“Akiko's at the Avery is my favorite spot in SF. Not just sushi. Favorite overall. I cannot wait to see what else Chef Ray and the team have been cooking up for us. I have a feeling a new location will be full of some deliciousness coming our way .... It's high end. It's quite space. It's perfect for a date night as well as business lunch. No other place in SF compares to Akiko's at the Avery...“

“We had a wonderful meal at Cafe Okawari before the Giants game. It’s a great location that’s 1.5 blocks from the ballpark, and very close to the Caltrain station. The restaurant was full when we got there, but the food still came out soon after we ordered.

We had chicken katsu curry, korokke curry, and a menchi (fried ground chicken) sando. The chicken katsu was among the best I’ve ever had, super juicy inside and crunchy outside. One of the greatest quick bites I’ve had in recent memory.“

“This was a surprise dinner my friend invited me on. The hand rolls are so fresh and delicious. I had 5 amazing rolls that come out one at a time for freshness m. The server was super sweat and helped me pick out what I wanted. The menu does also have set options, but I decided to do individual rolls. I definitely recommend stopping by if you’re in the Oakland area.“

“Every roll was fresh, beautifully presented, and full of flavor. The staff were welcoming and attentive.
In the end they offered me plum wine but I asked for ice cream and they accommodated.
I’ll definitely be coming back!“

“Jo's awesome. We had a great experience. Highly recommended for birthdays or just being together 👯‍♀️💯👍“