Ordered hot pot and got napkin. Very disappointed! Over priced, salty fish and meat, but never expected napkin!!!!!!!
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 2
Yoon Lee
Leichi is truly a hidden gem in the neighborhood — serving delicate, authentic Japanese dishes with a warm and welcoming touch. We arrived right at 5pm for dinner and were seated immediately, which was a great start to a lovely meal.
We tried a few dishes, and here’s my list — from the ones I loved most to the ones that left a lighter impression.
🎏 Snapper Head – Absolutely amazing! The fish was rich, tender, and perfectly cooked — the kind of dish you don’t want to end.
🥢 Seiro Soba – The house-made noodles were outstanding. Perfectly cooked, with a smooth texture and subtle balance of flavors — exactly what good soba should be.
🍤 Assorted Tempura – Light, crispy, and never greasy. Each ingredient kept its natural texture and moisture, making it one of the best tempura platters I’ve had. Perfect with a cold beer!
🥗 Potato Salad – Healthier and lighter than the mayo-heavy versions I expected, but still flavorful with a great chunky texture.
🍆 Nasu Dengaku (Grilled Eggplant with Miso) – I don’t usually like eggplant, but this one changed my mind. Perfectly grilled, with a delicious miso sauce that tied everything together.
🍲 Chawan Mushi – Silky and comforting, though not as memorable as the other dishes — still a nice way to finish the meal.
Overall, it felt like dining at a high-end izakaya, yet the prices were very reasonable for the quality. I left full, happy, and already planning my next visit.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Leo Li
Beautiful food. Would order everything on the menu if I can😝
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Hitoshi Watanabe (Kevin)
The udon and tempura were absolutely delicious! I went there for lunch and it was a bit crowded, but if you go early, you can get a seat right away. They also serve soba, so if you’re craving authentic Japanese udon and soba, this is the place to go! It turns into an izakaya at night, so I’d love to come back and try that next time!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
W D
Food tasted fine, service was good. Both me & my partner got headache a few hours after. My partner is also having food poisoning symptoms like dizziness and vomiting.
Michael Lin
Authentic Japanese food with great chawan mushi with crab sauce that I could eat all night long.
Sake flight was very worth a try.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
David Huey
Leichi is a hidden gem in a Santa Clara strip mall that feels way more refined than it looks from the outside. The cozy space is perfect for a date night or a small group, with easy parking and the option to reserve ahead. The staff is friendly and the service efficient. Standouts are the house-made specialties—the ginger ale, silky pudding-like tofu, and refreshing cold-dipping soba. Don’t miss the comforting salmon ochazuke, perfectly crisp tempura, scallop with uni, fresh mini chirashi, and the hojicha panna cotta to finish. Everything here is a win.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
James Park
Authentic Jappon foods. Recommend it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Stefan Manea
It was a little disappointing. They do not make much effort to enhance the taste of an ingredient. For example, if you order salmon roe, that's all you get, raw salmon roe and that's it. I've had it in other places with some toast and butter, for example, but not here. Also, nothing comes with a side. You get exactly what it says on the menu and nothing else. The beef tongue, for example, was just that, nothing to accompany it. Same for the grilled black cod. There is no way you will remember this place for a dish as everything is just bland. You cannot say that the scallops were special, or the eel, or the uni etc. because they are just plain, served raw, nothing special. The specialty of they day, when I was there, was a small bowl with very little rice, 4 scallops, some salmon roe and some uni. It was good, but not that special. At the end, after I paid, I was rushed to leave as the waiter told me that the next reservation is waiting to be seated and they need to clear the table. Overall, I think it's over hyped. I tried it once because of the reviews, but I will not come back.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
Dave Cheung
This is one of my favorite places for Japanese food, tapas style. Their menu is great, and their food rivals Japan. Highly recommend if you want special Japanese food (other than sushi, ramen, and Bento boxes.
TOP 5 restaurant in the bay area. High quality food, very tasty. Make sure to have a reservation though, as they have limited space.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
吳隆暉
The food is okay but the portion is way too small, also the service was terrible.
I ordered a Hokkaidon, which is only an extremely small bowl of raw seafood and rice. But it took them more than 30 minutes to serve, and I had to keep reminding the servers until they finally took my order seriously.
At the end, it took us another 20 minutes to have the check and to get the hell out of there.
10 minutes of eating, 90 minutes of waiting. Terrible experience. Won’t visit again.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 1
Athena Pappa
I love this little spot. Best accidental find ever.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jeff Lin
Great food and service but I’m also noticing black strings in my takeout as other people have pointed out
Xinyuan Niu
Phone is not responsive at all… super disappointed
Ordered hot pot and got napkin. Very disappointed! Over priced, salty fish and meat, but never expected napkin!!!!!!!
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 2
Leichi is truly a hidden gem in the neighborhood — serving delicate, authentic Japanese dishes with a warm and welcoming touch. We arrived right at 5pm for dinner and were seated immediately, which was a great start to a lovely meal.
We tried a few dishes, and here’s my list — from the ones I loved most to the ones that left a lighter impression.
🎏 Snapper Head – Absolutely amazing! The fish was rich, tender, and perfectly cooked — the kind of dish you don’t want to end.
🥢 Seiro Soba – The house-made noodles were outstanding. Perfectly cooked, with a smooth texture and subtle balance of flavors — exactly what good soba should be.
🍤 Assorted Tempura – Light, crispy, and never greasy. Each ingredient kept its natural texture and moisture, making it one of the best tempura platters I’ve had. Perfect with a cold beer!
🥗 Potato Salad – Healthier and lighter than the mayo-heavy versions I expected, but still flavorful with a great chunky texture.
🍆 Nasu Dengaku (Grilled Eggplant with Miso) – I don’t usually like eggplant, but this one changed my mind. Perfectly grilled, with a delicious miso sauce that tied everything together.
🍲 Chawan Mushi – Silky and comforting, though not as memorable as the other dishes — still a nice way to finish the meal.
Overall, it felt like dining at a high-end izakaya, yet the prices were very reasonable for the quality. I left full, happy, and already planning my next visit.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Beautiful food. Would order everything on the menu if I can😝
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The udon and tempura were absolutely delicious!
I went there for lunch and it was a bit crowded, but if you go early, you can get a seat right away.
They also serve soba, so if you’re craving authentic Japanese udon and soba, this is the place to go!
It turns into an izakaya at night, so I’d love to come back and try that next time!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Food tasted fine, service was good. Both me & my partner got headache a few hours after. My partner is also having food poisoning symptoms like dizziness and vomiting.
Authentic Japanese food with great chawan mushi with crab sauce that I could eat all night long.
Sake flight was very worth a try.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Leichi is a hidden gem in a Santa Clara strip mall that feels way more refined than it looks from the outside. The cozy space is perfect for a date night or a small group, with easy parking and the option to reserve ahead. The staff is friendly and the service efficient. Standouts are the house-made specialties—the ginger ale, silky pudding-like tofu, and refreshing cold-dipping soba. Don’t miss the comforting salmon ochazuke, perfectly crisp tempura, scallop with uni, fresh mini chirashi, and the hojicha panna cotta to finish. Everything here is a win.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Authentic Jappon foods. Recommend it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
It was a little disappointing. They do not make much effort to enhance the taste of an ingredient. For example, if you order salmon roe, that's all you get, raw salmon roe and that's it. I've had it in other places with some toast and butter, for example, but not here.
Also, nothing comes with a side. You get exactly what it says on the menu and nothing else. The beef tongue, for example, was just that, nothing to accompany it. Same for the grilled black cod.
There is no way you will remember this place for a dish as everything is just bland. You cannot say that the scallops were special, or the eel, or the uni etc. because they are just plain, served raw, nothing special.
The specialty of they day, when I was there, was a small bowl with very little rice, 4 scallops, some salmon roe and some uni. It was good, but not that special.
At the end, after I paid, I was rushed to leave as the waiter told me that the next reservation is waiting to be seated and they need to clear the table.
Overall, I think it's over hyped. I tried it once because of the reviews, but I will not come back.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
This is one of my favorite places for Japanese food, tapas style. Their menu is great, and their food rivals Japan.
Highly recommend if you want special Japanese food (other than sushi, ramen, and Bento boxes.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
TOP 5 restaurant in the bay area. High quality food, very tasty. Make sure to have a reservation though, as they have limited space.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food is okay but the portion is way too small, also the service was terrible.
I ordered a Hokkaidon, which is only an extremely small bowl of raw seafood and rice. But it took them more than 30 minutes to serve, and I had to keep reminding the servers until they finally took my order seriously.
At the end, it took us another 20 minutes to have the check and to get the hell out of there.
10 minutes of eating, 90 minutes of waiting. Terrible experience. Won’t visit again.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 1
I love this little spot. Best accidental find ever.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great food and service but I’m also noticing black strings in my takeout as other people have pointed out
Phone is not responsive at all… super disappointed
Loading...