20 Best Sushi Bars in Alameda

“Tried Utzhutzu for the first time this past weekend for significant birthday, with a party of 2. There were a total of 7 of us seated at once for the 5:30pm seating. See pics for specific menu for that night. Price: $145 per person (includes tea, but does not include other drinks, other add on nigiris, does not include tax/tip). Whole experience is about 2 hours. Pros: - Really good sushi chef, a lot of variety of fish, and really good quality of fish of every piece. I believe it was 20 courses total, with 14 different nigiris. One of them was a choice between an uni nigiri or a chu toro handroll. - Really upstanding service, the 2 waiters were really on top of cleaning our plates, keeping waters and teas filled (our cups were never empty), and checking in with how we were feeling. - My favorite fish was the brown sugar-cured saba (mackerel?) and the wagyu beef nigiri with garlic chip, and the chu toro handroll. Delicious. - The green tea they served was REALLY good, and I like that you don't have to pay extra for it. -I like the intimate setting, that it only seats 7-8 at a time at the counter. I'm VERY glad our seating time only had 7 people, because I imagine it would be very cramped with 8. (I also felt bad that the chef had to keep reaching around the barriers to serve the fish). - I liked the variety of nigiri! Had the classics like amaebi, otoro, wagyu, red snapper, etc. All the flavors were pretty solid. - Decent bang for your buck - I would say the price is pretty typical of East Bay/Bay Area, and there were a lot of courses and we didn't leave hungry. - I like that 20% tip isn't automatically mandated/included so you can tip what you feel is adequate. Cons: - everything was a little more soy sauce heavy/forward than I prefer. I tend to not like when a the soy sauce is dripping off the nigiri, because then it makes it hard to eat it the "classic" way with your hands (ended up having to resort to chopsticks). I also feel like there's too much soy sauce if there's a lot of sauce left on the presentation plate after you grab it. - While the fish was very solid and the flavors were good, there I didn't consider it super unique or phenomenal. - While the space is intimate, it was not very ergonomic or very easy to find. There's no signage (which may be intentional maybe? speakeasy style?) so you really have to look for the address number. 2 steep staircases, a small waiting area, and bathrooms that are far down a narrow hallway if you have to go mid-meal. The counter stools were also kind of hard to get out of since the sitting space was quite cramped (depending who you're seated next to). Not a huge "con" but just a thought/feedback. - I felt like the chef didn't explain as much about the fish, where it came from, or introduce himself / his training very much (which was totally fine - but it made it more of a regular fine dining course meal than an omakase experience). - Nigiri portions felt a little small - but I guess it was made up for with the number of courses It overall was a lovely experience and the service really was impeccable - but the taste and experience didn't have me clamoring and eagerly awaiting my next time to come. However it was a really lovely way to celebrate my birthday, and the birthday candle in the dessert was a nice touch.“

“This place should be packed! I hope you give this place a try today because the food is high quality and full of flavor. I wasn't sure about this place at first because they don't have a lot of reviews and weren't really busy, but you can tell by the photos the food is good—that's what finally made my wife decide to check it out and we're really glad we did! We went last night with another family and we liked it so much that we came back tonight to try their other dishes. There are many restaurants in Alameda with mediocre food that are crowded, but this place should be overflowing with customers and I want to draw some attention to this gem. This is a wonderful restaurant with delicious food, so please give it a try!PS. They no longer serve sushi and are focused on Lao food and Southeast Asian food, which luckily for us is fantastic!“

“Tempura, so crispy. Miso cod, sake toro. I also would like to to recommend the different tastings like the nigiri tasting, the sashimi tasting and also the salmon tasting. They also have raw oysters presented in Japanese style, so good.“

“Very good meal, service was great, I'll definitely be back.“

“First time here and probably last time too. I hella liked how the inside was decorated reminded me of a restaurant in Japan. Kinda disappointed though. I hella love sushi. But the sushi selection was small. Nothing caught my eye. The only thing I did enjoy with my meal was the ikura. The waitress’s don’t even check up on you to see how your doing. We we’re seated all the way in the back. I asked for more water and it never came. And for those 2 reasons I won’t come back.“

“Hashi Gawa was such an amazing find! We were in the area and I was craving sushi so I just yelped places near by. I'm so happy we chose to come here because everything was fantastic. We came around 6:30pm on a Friday and it was already pretty packed. We were a party of two and waited roughly an hour before we got seated. The server was very fast and brought the specials on the board to us so we could take a look. They had a lot of things on the menu that I wanted to try but we stuck mostly to nigiris because we wanted to test out the fish quality. We ordered an assortment of nigiris, one roll, one sashimi, and two hand rolls to try. My favorites were the Zuke Sake Nigiri, Walu Nigiri, Walu Sashimi, Spicy Scallop Handroll, and (Not pictured) Double Toro Roll!! The fattiness of the Zuke Sake Nigiri was so yummy, I loved the marinated soy that was on top. The Walu was phenomenal, I really enjoyed the walu/escolar because it's so buttery smooth. The Spicy Scallop Handroll was fresh, creamy, and the seaweed had a nice crunch! I can't believed I forgot to take a picture of the double toro roll, this was crazy good. I loved the mango inside the roll and how it was topped with a shiso leaf. It cut the fattiness of the roll very well. I'm devastated that I live so far from Hashi Gawa because this was truly such an amazing find. The service was great and everything came out super fast. The sushi was glorious, I wish I tried more things!!! I will definitely be coming back to try other stuff if I am ever in the area.“

“I had a few things from this menu and for the price the food was very good. Very affordable! The cucumber salad was a bit off as it was sweet pickles with sesame seeds but other than that the food was amazing. The service was great the waitress so so kind and the staff as well. Took well to tips would definitely be back. The dining room is comfortable casual you could dress up to come here but isn't necessary amazing space as well must try for affordable sushi!“

“The restaurant only for the reason of speaking another language within it the employees take Gonchi out of you is Can by the hair also they steal your belongings we made a case for the police“

“Friendly people, good food, generous portions, great service! Nothing better than to return to a favorite dining spot and have them not only remember you but also remember your "usual"! Beyond Pleased!“

“I had a few things from this menu and for the price the food was very good. Very affordable! The cucumber salad was a bit off as it was sweet pickles with sesame seeds but other than that the food was amazing. The service was great the waitress so so kind and the staff as well. Took well to tips would definitely be back. The dining room is comfortable casual you could dress up to come here but isn't necessary amazing space as well must try for affordable sushi!“

“best egg rolls and gyoza! I wish we could find teriyaki this good in WA“

“This is our go to take-out sushi joint. Our house favorites are: Inari California roll Avocado cucumber maki Spicy crunch krab maki Y2K roll (shrimp, krab, cucumber, avo) Beluga roll Double Hamachi Bento #5 Shrimp tempura Side of tobiko Super friendly staff. Awesome take-out sushi. There is a parking lot which can be busy, but I've always managed to find a spot, and often you can find parking on Buena Vista. It's in a market place with lots of other great vendors. If you're dining in, inside there are tables near SIPS global teas and Barons, and also a counter by Feel Good Bakery. There are tables outside along Buena Vista, and also a patio area outside the main entrance near the parking lot. I think the low rating is strange. The food is fresh and yummy, like I said it's our go-to take-out sushi spot. It's not Utzutzu, or Kiss Seafood (formerly in SF now closed, so sad, best sushi I've ever eaten in my life), or any other super high-end sushi restaurant, and it's not pretending to be. For take-away sushi or even casual dine in the quality is very good.“

“Ok, let me start by saying the food here is amazing. I've been twice, and both times I got the Special Keisen Don and I was really impressed by the selection of fish and seafood. Everything was so fresh and included yummy specialty items such as hotate, ikura, nishin, fatty tuna, etc. The food is so good that I believe this place deserves better service. The second time I went, there was only one front of house staff who briefly greeted, served us, and seemed to also be preparing the food as well as bussing tables. We ordered our food from a QR code on the table, and it was a bit confusing because all of the orders from the table are combined together on one check. I believe there should be an option for separate checks. It's nice to have the option to order though QR, but honestly nothing really beats old fashioned good service, and this place could really blow up if the service was as good as the food is. I'll be returning for the the food though as long as the quality remains consistent.“

“Food is very tasty and creative. Good combination between Thai and Japanese style. Service was super nice.“

“Local sushi restaurant on Bay Farm Island run by a Japanese chef (rare these days). We've both dined here and ordered to-go from here quite a few times for sushi cravings, a quick dinner, etc. Recommendations: - Salmon Salad: coming in two sizes (small and large), this salad is mixed with olive oil and topped with raw salmon and tobiko. Definitely not a typical salad, but is tasty (I order without the Parmesan) - 49ers roll: unliked other restaurants, Angel Fish adds tobiko to their 49ers roll, which is a fun touch. This is typically one of my go-to orders - Oshinko: we order this with green onion for an added flare of flavor - Tamago: not my favorite tamago, but it does the job - Tempura: their vegetable tempura is good (especially the sweet potato) Miscellaneous: - Parking is shared with other shops in the plaza - Bathroom is tucked in the back“

“Came here for my birthday dinner (12/13/23) and was not disappointed. I hadn't yet been to this new location and had only been to their original spot down on Park St., so I was excited to check out their new place.Definitely a significantly larger space with way more room and higher ceilings (though I do really enjoy the hole-in-the-wall vibes of the original spot). Better for groups (and we were a group of five this night). Our waitress was very nice and the food came out pretty fast. There was some minor confusion/a mixup over a dish my dad ordered, which they rectified immediately without issue.I got my usual, the spicy miso gyoza ramen, and it was so delicious. I also got a couple pieces of nigiri that were very fresh. We hadn't been to Yojimbo for a few years, so we were all pretty impressed by how generous they are with their portions and especially for the price. We're all so used to getting little food for our money in the Bay Area these days that we were happily surprised by how full we all were at the end of the meal. Just the amount of teriyaki chicken my brother got in his bento was shocking.Now I know that I can go to either Yojimbo location and get a great meal. Will definitely keep supporting both.“

“The scallops are delicious. If you order a spicy California Roll they just put a dot of some kind of hot sauce on the top of each one instead if mixing the spices with the crab.“

“nice variety of food which was amazing. definitely going back“

“An Alameda beach must eat imho. Very large and tasty portions. Sat right away which is great because they usually have a 30min + wait. Had a bento box with Hamachi Sashimi, Teri Salmon and mixed tempura. Also had unagi and soft shell crab hand rolls. Always a great experience“

“great food and very friendly cook latino , he was so professional and make me feel welcome nando“