Our favorite place for sushi! Friendly staff, reasonable prices, and the best food. Every item is delicious, from the simple California roll to the fancy sashimi.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Green Tea Tiramisu, Spider Roll, California Rolls, Omakase
mh :D
10/10 great sushi, fun atmosphere, if you get the Omakase your in for treat. All the servers are kind and you get to interact with fun people.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Steven Wang
We spend $150 per person, tax and tip included. The quality of the dishes is worth the price tag.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fish
Richard H
Located in busy downtown San Mateo, this is an outstanding Japanese restaurant! Traditional preparation and high quality seafood. Be sure to try call in for a reservation, as this place is very popular. In fact, we had a 5:00 pm reservation and learned that the fresh oysters were already sold out(fortunately, they spared one order for us). Highly recommend their 8 piece sushi omakase. Loved their agadeshi tofu: fried tofu in warm broth. Their chawan mushi is another great starter, steam egg with chicken, fish cake.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mehrnoosh Kh
Favorites: Spider Roll, Spicy tuna RollIt is a cozy Japanese restaurant. Everything we tried was delicious.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Spider Roll, Roll, Fish, Tuna
George Kokai
It's busy, get here before the doors open. But I also heard that they might now be taking reservations...so you might want to check that out. Other than that, I highly recommend the Toro. Exceptional!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Karaage, Hand Roll, Fish, Tuna
Sean Lowenthal
Best sushi in the bay!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
steven wong
Very delicious foods. Always super busy. Get an appointment by calling
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Fish
Mahdad Nassiri
Come for the sushi and excellent service.Kid-friendliness: There were 6 kids in our party, 2 to 14,they ate well and had a good time.
Decades long fan of Sushi Sam’s. Had omakase after a long hiatus due to Covid and their change in hours. Omakase is still good - had their uni and the fattiest toro! during this time of year, I felt like I was missing my summer red copper salmon. Love their dessert add-on. All options were excellent - almond tofu, strawberry mousse, cream cheesecake with fig. Best dish was a new one - the Mackerel Tataki, where they skinned it raw and paired it with special ginger and wasabi, and the remaining bone was then deep fried and brought back to the table. Easily the best dish of the evening. Thank you for impressing in new ways tonight!
I went to Sushi Sam's with a few friends for dinner on a weekday. From what I've heard, you have to call them and make a reservation ahead of time. They don't have an online reservation system. The place was busy when we went there.My friend and I tried their omakase and also ordered some other dishes separately. Their omakase price is not mentioned on the menu, so you'll have to check the prices with the staff when you are there. The omakase includes 8 pieces of nigiri and a homemade dessert (you get to pick your desseet). If you have any allergies, then you can tell the staff, and they can substitute that for a different nigiri option for your omakase.Our omakase was $70 per person for 8 pieces of nigiri and a dessert. Each piece of nigiri came with a thick cut of fresh fish. Our omakase included1. Rosy seabass2. Wild yellow tail3. Bonito4. Smoked Spanish mackerel5. Bluefin tuna6. Black cod7. Mackerel pike8. Uni9. Chestnut cream roll cake (season dessert)Every nigiri in the omakase was delicious, and I was pleasantly surprised by the dessert. I'm not a big chestnut fan, but this dessert was really good. The flavor of the chestnut wasn't overpowering, and the cake was light.I also tried their unagi, albacore, and hamachi nigiri. Albacore and hamachi nigiri were extra salty. A5 wagyu nigiri was good, but it came with a thin slice of wagyu beef. The chili dog (spicy tuna) was pretty good as well. Overall, it's a great sushi restaurant to try in the Bay area if you haven't already.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
anthony ramos
A San Mateo classic sushi place. If you're planning on going on a weekend, please get an in-person reservation in advance. Tried the Omakase which includes a dessert of choice. Really great variety and fresh imported fish!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jaqui Walters
Amazing sushi! One of the best around. Truly unique flavors and combinations.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jason Qiu
Sushi was amazing, got the omakase set and the toro, uni, and salmon was outstanding. 8 pieces + dessert. There was a looong wait (30 min) between the first half and second half of pieces of the omakase. Dessert was really good. Got the green tea tiramisu and the goat cheese and fig cheesecake. There is a garage for parking (paybyphone)
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Green Tea Tiramisu
williamsM29HU
We’e heard about this place and were pleased to have the opportunity to visit. I understand that Sam isn’t there anymore but we had a great experience, nonetheless. We each ordered the omakase and a few other nigiri from the day’s specials. I also ordered the chicken karaage and the miso soup with clams. The omakase was mostly from the specials menu and included the day’s maguro and butterfish. These were melt-in-your-mouth delicious quality. The miso soup was perfectly flavored. We added a beer each as well. Oh, we tried the almond tofu desert which is not to be missed! The hojicha tiramisu was also delicous and my son loved the custard pudding. The server was attentive and very knowledgeable about the fish. We loved our time there!
Our favorite place for sushi! Friendly staff, reasonable prices, and the best food. Every item is delicious, from the simple California roll to the fancy sashimi.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Green Tea Tiramisu, Spider Roll, California Rolls, Omakase
10/10 great sushi, fun atmosphere, if you get the Omakase your in for treat. All the servers are kind and you get to interact with fun people.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
We spend $150 per person, tax and tip included. The quality of the dishes is worth the price tag.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fish
Located in busy downtown San Mateo, this is an outstanding Japanese restaurant! Traditional preparation and high quality seafood. Be sure to try call in for a reservation, as this place is very popular. In fact, we had a 5:00 pm reservation and learned that the fresh oysters were already sold out(fortunately, they spared one order for us). Highly recommend their 8 piece sushi omakase. Loved their agadeshi tofu: fried tofu in warm broth. Their chawan mushi is another great starter, steam egg with chicken, fish cake.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Favorites: Spider Roll, Spicy tuna RollIt is a cozy Japanese restaurant. Everything we tried was delicious.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Spider Roll, Roll, Fish, Tuna
It's busy, get here before the doors open. But I also heard that they might now be taking reservations...so you might want to check that out. Other than that, I highly recommend the Toro. Exceptional!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Karaage, Hand Roll, Fish, Tuna
Best sushi in the bay!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Very delicious foods. Always super busy. Get an appointment by calling
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Fish
Come for the sushi and excellent service.Kid-friendliness: There were 6 kids in our party, 2 to 14,they ate well and had a good time.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spider Roll, Roll, Assorted Sushi B, Combination Sashimi, Tuna
Decades long fan of Sushi Sam’s. Had omakase after a long hiatus due to Covid and their change in hours. Omakase is still good - had their uni and the fattiest toro! during this time of year, I felt like I was missing my summer red copper salmon. Love their dessert add-on. All options were excellent - almond tofu, strawberry mousse, cream cheesecake with fig. Best dish was a new one - the Mackerel Tataki, where they skinned it raw and paired it with special ginger and wasabi, and the remaining bone was then deep fried and brought back to the table. Easily the best dish of the evening. Thank you for impressing in new ways tonight!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 4
Restaurantji Recommends
I went to Sushi Sam's with a few friends for dinner on a weekday. From what I've heard, you have to call them and make a reservation ahead of time. They don't have an online reservation system. The place was busy when we went there.My friend and I tried their omakase and also ordered some other dishes separately. Their omakase price is not mentioned on the menu, so you'll have to check the prices with the staff when you are there. The omakase includes 8 pieces of nigiri and a homemade dessert (you get to pick your desseet). If you have any allergies, then you can tell the staff, and they can substitute that for a different nigiri option for your omakase.Our omakase was $70 per person for 8 pieces of nigiri and a dessert. Each piece of nigiri came with a thick cut of fresh fish. Our omakase included1. Rosy seabass2. Wild yellow tail3. Bonito4. Smoked Spanish mackerel5. Bluefin tuna6. Black cod7. Mackerel pike8. Uni9. Chestnut cream roll cake (season dessert)Every nigiri in the omakase was delicious, and I was pleasantly surprised by the dessert. I'm not a big chestnut fan, but this dessert was really good. The flavor of the chestnut wasn't overpowering, and the cake was light.I also tried their unagi, albacore, and hamachi nigiri. Albacore and hamachi nigiri were extra salty. A5 wagyu nigiri was good, but it came with a thin slice of wagyu beef. The chili dog (spicy tuna) was pretty good as well. Overall, it's a great sushi restaurant to try in the Bay area if you haven't already.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
A San Mateo classic sushi place. If you're planning on going on a weekend, please get an in-person reservation in advance. Tried the Omakase which includes a dessert of choice. Really great variety and fresh imported fish!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amazing sushi! One of the best around. Truly unique flavors and combinations.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sushi was amazing, got the omakase set and the toro, uni, and salmon was outstanding. 8 pieces + dessert. There was a looong wait (30 min) between the first half and second half of pieces of the omakase. Dessert was really good. Got the green tea tiramisu and the goat cheese and fig cheesecake. There is a garage for parking (paybyphone)
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Green Tea Tiramisu
We’e heard about this place and were pleased to have the opportunity to visit. I understand that Sam isn’t there anymore but we had a great experience, nonetheless. We each ordered the omakase and a few other nigiri from the day’s specials. I also ordered the chicken karaage and the miso soup with clams. The omakase was mostly from the specials menu and included the day’s maguro and butterfish. These were melt-in-your-mouth delicious quality. The miso soup was perfectly flavored. We added a beer each as well. Oh, we tried the almond tofu desert which is not to be missed! The hojicha tiramisu was also delicous and my son loved the custard pudding. The server was attentive and very knowledgeable about the fish. We loved our time there!