To be fair, this place is not for vegetarians. I wake in not knowing the type of cuisine this place was. The california roll and avacado roll, were not good (to be pilite!)
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 4
Corgi Bb
I ordered take out for miso soup and salmon sashimi. The sashimi was great, I would order again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
hsin-fei tu
The food is not bad, especially the yakitori. They have a couple vegetarian options, however, the skewers come with the meat and not in a separate plate. We have to order again to make sure it’s not touching meat. They also have vegan roll. The meat ones are on the expansive side but taste may not meet the expectation.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Justin Huang
This place is better than Amakara. Even though there were two servers, there was no one to greet us when we entered. Has nice bathrooms.Lion King Roll is better than Mao Signature Roll. The chicken karaage has a lot of chicken which was nice, but the breading wasn't as crispy as I would have liked. Want to try sashimi plate sometime.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Prasheela Patel
Flavorful vegan and gluten free menu options, attentive
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Phillip Rice
Amazing Japanese
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Bill L.
So-so ... Miso soup weak Unagi don rice too sweet Yakitori beef too tough Appetizer came out last But donkatsu good And chirashi sashimi plentiful Needs improvement to match Sato Sushi or Amakara
Neha H.
This place is a hidden gem in Dublin/pleasanton area. The food is always good and they have a lot of options, including yakitori! I've tried their meat combo grill, sashimi, yakitori, summer roll, and chicken karaage. Nothing here disappoints! On top of that the service is great, we can an hour before close and the waitress was still so accommodating. Highly recommend!
Hyun Ryu
The sashimi is fresh but over priced in this place. The service was bad. I had to raise my hand to call the waiter a few times.Also, they put very little , real tiny wasabi on $40.00 chirash bowl . So I asked more wasabi, then they charged extra on my bill without informed me. I should take a picture of how much wasabi that they put on the Chirash. I complained to the manager and he didn't fix the bill. He proceeded to pay with my credit card. That was so ridiculous. ( Hello~ the reason that I talked to you was ..to solve the problem.) I was very disappointed and I won't return again. Don't trust all good reviews. Read negative reviews that were written recently before you go to this place.FOODS are not the same as pictures posted perivious in the reviews.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
Hyun R.
The sashimi is fresh but over priced in this place. The service was bad. I had to raise my hand to call the waiter a few times. Also, they put very little , real tiny wasabi on $40.00 chirash bowl . So I asked more wasabi, then they charged extra on my bill without informed me. I should take a picture of how much wasabi that they put on the Chirash. I complained to the manager and he didn't fix the bill. He proceeded to pay with my credit card. That was so ridiculous. ( Hello~ the reason that I talked to you was ..to solve the problem.) I was very disappointed and I won't return again. Don't trust all good reviews. Read negative reviews that were written recently before you go to this place. FOODS are not the same as pictures posted perivious in the reviews.
Mao Izakaya & Sushi is in a quieter plaza off to the side. There was plenty of shared parking in this lot when I arrived. I made a to go order ahead of time, so the food would be ready by the time I arrived - they were not too busy/nearly empty when I arrived, but my order was not ready yet. I ordered 1 order of sake maki and 1 order of sake nigiri - it was about $17. The sake maki came with 8 pieces instead of the usual 6 and the rolls were a bit bigger than other sushi restaurants I had been to. The salmon tasted decent, nothing to rave about, but no major complaints either.
Peter Du
The ramen and pasta was really not good quality for the price. :(
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 2
Alexzandria Gomez
Really great- sashimi super fresh and far better than the other popular sushi restaurants in the area.Their signature dish is a steamed beef and vegetable mix which was accompanied with dipping sauces.Came with our three kids and they loved it as well.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Cheryl M.
First time dining at Mao Izakaya & Sushi. Casual, relaxed spot with a variety of menu items that includes Korean options (bulgogi and spicy pork) along with the usual sashimi, sushi rolls, noodles, yakitori, and house specialties. ** Review for the lunch bento only ** Ordered the chicken teriyaki which was lightly brushed with teriyaki sauce and grilled - perfectly cooked and flavorful. The bento gives the choice of 2 items so I chose spicy tuna roll and shrimp and vegetable tempura (+$3 added). Spicy tuna was simple but their tempura was light, crispy and not oily! Perfectly done. Reasonably priced at $15 for the lunch bento with additional cost for tempura. Service was friendly and attentive with no issue. Plenty of items on the menu for another visit like the chicken karaage and sushi rolls. I did notice their rolls are priced on the higher side but will give it a try and provide an update. Plenty of shared lot parking with other businesses.
Augusto T.
On second thought, not really quite as good. Service was spotty and infrequent. Orders were missed and never placed nor delivered. Food was unfortunately also disappointing. The chicken skewers were dry. The other skewers were better on the flavor side, but served lukewarm. The sushi rice was the biggest offender. It was both mushy on the outside and hard on the inside. Way too old and cold. Unseasoned and bland. Unfortunately it falls out of my recommended list.
To be fair, this place is not for vegetarians. I wake in not knowing the type of cuisine this place was. The california roll and avacado roll, were not good (to be pilite!)
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 4
I ordered take out for miso soup and salmon sashimi. The sashimi was great, I would order again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food is not bad, especially the yakitori. They have a couple vegetarian options, however, the skewers come with the meat and not in a separate plate. We have to order again to make sure it’s not touching meat. They also have vegan roll. The meat ones are on the expansive side but taste may not meet the expectation.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
This place is better than Amakara. Even though there were two servers, there was no one to greet us when we entered. Has nice bathrooms.Lion King Roll is better than Mao Signature Roll. The chicken karaage has a lot of chicken which was nice, but the breading wasn't as crispy as I would have liked. Want to try sashimi plate sometime.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Flavorful vegan and gluten free menu options, attentive
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amazing Japanese
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
So-so ... Miso soup weak Unagi don rice too sweet Yakitori beef too tough Appetizer came out last But donkatsu good And chirashi sashimi plentiful Needs improvement to match Sato Sushi or Amakara
This place is a hidden gem in Dublin/pleasanton area. The food is always good and they have a lot of options, including yakitori! I've tried their meat combo grill, sashimi, yakitori, summer roll, and chicken karaage. Nothing here disappoints! On top of that the service is great, we can an hour before close and the waitress was still so accommodating. Highly recommend!
The sashimi is fresh but over priced in this place. The service was bad. I had to raise my hand to call the waiter a few times.Also, they put very little , real tiny wasabi on $40.00 chirash bowl . So I asked more wasabi, then they charged extra on my bill without informed me. I should take a picture of how much wasabi that they put on the Chirash. I complained to the manager and he didn't fix the bill. He proceeded to pay with my credit card. That was so ridiculous. ( Hello~ the reason that I talked to you was ..to solve the problem.) I was very disappointed and I won't return again. Don't trust all good reviews. Read negative reviews that were written recently before you go to this place.FOODS are not the same as pictures posted perivious in the reviews.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
The sashimi is fresh but over priced in this place. The service was bad. I had to raise my hand to call the waiter a few times. Also, they put very little , real tiny wasabi on $40.00 chirash bowl . So I asked more wasabi, then they charged extra on my bill without informed me. I should take a picture of how much wasabi that they put on the Chirash. I complained to the manager and he didn't fix the bill. He proceeded to pay with my credit card. That was so ridiculous. ( Hello~ the reason that I talked to you was ..to solve the problem.) I was very disappointed and I won't return again. Don't trust all good reviews. Read negative reviews that were written recently before you go to this place. FOODS are not the same as pictures posted perivious in the reviews.
Restaurantji Recommends
Mao Izakaya & Sushi is in a quieter plaza off to the side. There was plenty of shared parking in this lot when I arrived. I made a to go order ahead of time, so the food would be ready by the time I arrived - they were not too busy/nearly empty when I arrived, but my order was not ready yet. I ordered 1 order of sake maki and 1 order of sake nigiri - it was about $17. The sake maki came with 8 pieces instead of the usual 6 and the rolls were a bit bigger than other sushi restaurants I had been to. The salmon tasted decent, nothing to rave about, but no major complaints either.
The ramen and pasta was really not good quality for the price. :(
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 2
Really great- sashimi super fresh and far better than the other popular sushi restaurants in the area.Their signature dish is a steamed beef and vegetable mix which was accompanied with dipping sauces.Came with our three kids and they loved it as well.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
First time dining at Mao Izakaya & Sushi. Casual, relaxed spot with a variety of menu items that includes Korean options (bulgogi and spicy pork) along with the usual sashimi, sushi rolls, noodles, yakitori, and house specialties. ** Review for the lunch bento only ** Ordered the chicken teriyaki which was lightly brushed with teriyaki sauce and grilled - perfectly cooked and flavorful. The bento gives the choice of 2 items so I chose spicy tuna roll and shrimp and vegetable tempura (+$3 added). Spicy tuna was simple but their tempura was light, crispy and not oily! Perfectly done. Reasonably priced at $15 for the lunch bento with additional cost for tempura. Service was friendly and attentive with no issue. Plenty of items on the menu for another visit like the chicken karaage and sushi rolls. I did notice their rolls are priced on the higher side but will give it a try and provide an update. Plenty of shared lot parking with other businesses.
On second thought, not really quite as good. Service was spotty and infrequent. Orders were missed and never placed nor delivered. Food was unfortunately also disappointing. The chicken skewers were dry. The other skewers were better on the flavor side, but served lukewarm. The sushi rice was the biggest offender. It was both mushy on the outside and hard on the inside. Way too old and cold. Unseasoned and bland. Unfortunately it falls out of my recommended list.