Ukai Japanese Bistro

Sushi is extremely fresh and very delicious; the portions - especially the lunch menu ones- are ENORMOUS! And very reasonably priced; you get soup and a side salad all for under 20 bucks plus a mountain of whatever dish you order. The sashimi is pricier, but I think for the quality it’s worth it. The only downside is that sometimes the service can be a little slow when they’re very busy.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 4

I just ate at this place- very overpriced. I had the chicken teriyaki and a dragon roll. I will say it was really underwhelming. The portions are huge, but the food just doesn’t hit home. Kind of bland and the miso soup came lukewarm. The ambience is nice. The service was just OK. I won’t be going back.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 2

Great sushi quality and amazing service!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Food pretty average and was expecting more considering the rating (4.6 at the time).
Gyoza were decent but sauce was mostly just soy sauce that was overly salty.
Spicy Tuna turned out to just be a giant 'meatball' of spicy tuna (I was expecting more like a spicy tuna roll)
Chicken katsu was nice, but Ton Kotsu was very dry.
Nigiri were rather small and tasted pretty fishy, etc...

Overall everything was pretty average hence the 3 stars rating.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 4

Favorite sushi spot in our area - been coming here a few years. We love the food, service, everyone is kind. Great restaurant!

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Good food. Fast, great service. Spacious seating. Lots of parking. Solid.

First time I tried Ukai, I was in my third trimester so ordered cooked rolls only, which I don't love in general but it got the job done with satiating the craving. Shrimp tempura roll was stacked and good. Did not like the Lion King roll--too sweet and way too saucy for me.

Came back and got a few tekka and sake maki rolls and loved the freshness of the fish. Good ratio of fish to rice as well. Other sides that we really enjoyed were the chicken karaage, seaweed salad, and miso soup. We tried the spicy karaage and while it was tasty, we preferred the regular. They make the meat so juicy and flavorful! My husband likes their rainbow rolls, nigiri, and uni. I also really like the sweet dressing that's used on the side salad.

Last but not least, they have onikoroshi sake! (Demon Slayer) So sweet and smooth.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 5

Great place, delicious food, wonderful service, low prices.
We go there at least once a month.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

This was our go-to place but maybe new owners recently? Will give them time to get back into the groove of 4 star everything

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 2

Not bad for a lunch.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 3

Recommended dishes: Miso Soup, Chicken Teriyaki, Fish, Tuna, Roll

I was eager with anticipation to try the food here as I had heard glowing reviews from family and friends. We were similarly hoping to try the food here as my father hoped to celebrate my fiancé's birthday here in a few weeks.

As someone who is currently employed in the food industry as a server with over 20 years of experience, I realize how customers can often be unfair of their assessments of certain scenarios in the restaurant business.

We arrived after the dinner rush, but not too close to closing as I admit I hate diners that stroll in the door 15-20 minutes before close. There was a scattering of tables, which were obviously done eating as their tables sat littered with dishes--usually a good indicator of poor service when staff cannot pre-bus tables. No new customers arrived for on site dining or any to go orders were picked once we were seated.

The menu had an abundance of selection. The server quickly arrived and we ordered edamame, miso soup, a bowl of rice, and chicken karaage to start, while we further reviewed the menu.

I requested that the edamame, soup, and rice come as soon as possible as my daughter was hungry. I also know from previously working at 2 Japanese restaurants that these are items that basically ready on demand. The miso sits idly all day in a warmer at serving temperature. An abundance of steamed rice sits in rice cookers ready to serve. The edamame are typically frozen and dropped into boiling water until thawed, which is 2 minutes tops process--a procedure i had performed thousands of times in the past myself.

We waited 20-25 minutes before the arrival of the soup and edamame were delivered. The side of rice never came--even after I requested it a 2nd time when the soup and edamame arrived.

Most Japanese restaurants have their own unique selection of specialty rolls, Ukai was no different. My fiancé and I selected 2 rolls, which we have never seen as an option at other restaurants. We put in a second order, which started with these 2 specialty rolls.

All of our food arrived, minus the 2 rolls. As we were eating our other food and anxiously awaiting our 2 rolls, the server abruptly announces the kitchen is closed and dropped the bill. The time is 8:45. Closing time is 9.

As a server, I can tell you this is the worst etiquette possible. You never drop a tab when customers are eating and especially when they are waiting on food to be delivered. Additionally, just as the bar, last call should be announced prior to closing the kitchen to allow for additional orders if not dessert, which we intended on ordering.

When the tab was dropped, I inquired about the 2 missing rolls, which illicited the response, "They are coming." 15 minutes pass by, the server returns to announce, "There are no more orders with sushi."

I explained again we had 2 more rolls that were missing. He asked which ones and I reiterated the rolls by name and that they were ordered first in our second order. He nodded and orally comfirmed that he remembered. He said, "Sushi closed" and then walked away without even an apology.

As I have explained, I work as a server. There are days when I have made mistakes, but I always apologize and remedy my errors. In this instance, even knowing my kitchen would hate me, I would have made the kitchen make the order.

Needless to say, we will not be returning for my fiancé's birthday or for that matter, Ever in the future!

I have advised those that have referred me of the experience and some have shared their own recent horror stories. APPARENTLY, Ukai is under new management. Others i have spoken to have apologized and admitted to drastically different recent experiences under the latest management and they too have vowed not to return.

For consistent quality Japanese

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 1

Horrible. Do NOT go here. Staff is incredibly rude, I'm pretty sure she was a Japanese server. She was very rude and did not help at all. Food was mediocre. If you're looking for quality sushi, there are much better options nearby.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Very satisfied with this establishment. Can't wait to go back with my coworkers.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 4

As soon as I walked in the male waiter told me to sit at a booth that was already occupied. The booth that I sat in had grease marks very visible on the seats. Food ordered was combo sashimi, Hwe Dup Bob, shrimp tempura, and Tiger roll AND the korean soju. The sashimi was not fresh so I tasted the fishy taste on tuna and yellow tale that I normally do not taste at any Japanese places. The HWE DUP BOB was ok with plenty of spicy red pepper sauce. Shrimp tempura was just ummm, the Tiger roll had a weird taste that I could not figure out but anyway I did not enjoy the roll. The miso soup was plane as well. This was my first time visiting this place and most likely the last. The waitress service was ? great though.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 1

Service: 4

We always get the chef's kick. It's different every time and fantastic every time. Best sushi spot in San Ramon.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Found this small Japanese restaurant while looking for some places to eat after playing pool nearby. The menu is quite extensive and I definitely would like to come back and try other things, but tonight was just about sushi. I had the Chirashi bowl which was certainly plentiful with a great variety of fish. It was well worth the price and I would certainly get it again. And a couple of orders of nigiri of unagi and uni. The uni was above average. I certainly have had better but I wasn’t unhappy about it. Overall I will definitely come back again to try more.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 4

Recommended dishes: Miso Soup, Chirashi