Everything here is pretty delicious! One of my favorite Japanese restaurants in the area. From sashimi, sushi rolls to bento all taste good! Make sure to make reservations before you go, otherwise, go early when they just open!
(5)
Julia C.
Thank you Jack, this was an excellent lunch call :) Excellent choice slices of sashimi on a bed of sushi rice and a mix of seaweed and greens salad. Definitely a healthy lunch. I liked that the menu had interesting choices but wasn't overwhelming. Prices are decent, and service is nice, so I am sure to come back.
(5)
Uri K.
simple place with great food.
(4)
A I.
It's a small place in a shopping strip and I nearly missed the place. But once I sat down and start checking out the menu, we had to order so much since they have a lot of interesting and yummy looking sushi. They have so many chef special! We had "Zig Zag roll" Rainbow roll, Aburi salmon tofu roll, maguro poke, etc. It was only 4 of us, but we had so much! They were all yummy. They were pretty busy, but our food came really fast and they were fresh.
(5)
Stanley C.
Pretty good Japanese restaurant/ izakaya. The sushi is good and the o chazuke is great. The appetizers are delicious as well. Prices are a little expensive and it can get crowded nightly. Make reservations.
(4)
J l.
It is good everything good
(4)
Royce P.
This place is really really good. Reasonably priced, service is sufficient. Zig Zag roll, takoyaki, and volcano is where it's at! So good!
(4)
M W.
One of the best Japanese restaurants in South Bay. Food is authentic and fresh. Price is appropriate. Servers are friendly, professional, and attentive. Order turn around is awesomely fast. Great ambiance. The partitions create a great sense of privacy for the customers.
(5)
Claudia S.
Came once and was turned away because we didn't have a reservation, so made one the second time and it was worth it. Good sushi, or maybe it seemed good because it felt special. I remember one of the rolls had a special sauce that was really good.
(4)
L L.
I was excited to try this restaurant based on the great reviews. However, overall experience was disappointing. We were able to get reservations on a Friday night 30 minutes prior to our arrival. As soon as we sat down, we had 3 different waiters ask if we were ready. Given the extensive menu, we asked for a few more minutes each time. When we were ready to order, none of the waiters could be flagged down. (We noted that the table next to us had the identical experience). We ordered: 1) Mixed tempura: average, standard tempura 2) Futo Maki: each piece was unusually large and difficult to eat. 3) Oyako Don: rubbery chicken chunks 4) fried chicken thigh in garlic sauce 5) nasu agedashi (fried eggplant with onion, radish, bonito flakes) The last two orders did not come until we were completely done with our meals. I had to ask the waiter twice if they had forgotten about the orders. I think they went to place the order when I asked the first time. After more waiting, they brought the last two dishes out but I wish they had forgotten. I didn't eat any of the chicken thighs. My husband had diarrhea the next morning. I had only one piece of the eggplant. The skin of the eggplant was really tough and not pleasant to chew. We packed it to go but threw all of it out. Service: The waiters were all running around like chickens with their heads cut off. The restaurant is rather small and it's difficult to enjoy the meal when the waiters seem so flustered and harried. Summary: Very average, un-Japanese like large portions with inattentive service. Will not be returning.
(2)
Karen L.
SO GOOD! It doesn't look like much from the outside but inside, the place is clean and cozy. Made reservations on a Sunday night and although there were some open tables around 7pm, glad we did it bc the place is small and filled up fast! Food was awesome! We got a couple of special rolls, poke and okonomiyaki and everything was delish! large portions with hearty sized specialty rolls. Service was great and staff was friendly! my fiance had fun ordering our food in japanese ;) Definitely going back!!
(5)
JD L.
Don't get it and don't like it. Stick with Gochi, En or Tanto.
(1)
Takako S.
A friend of mine and I went here at 7pm on Wednesday. We ordered Oolong High, Dikon (Radish) Salad, Pork Gobo Roll (Burdock rolled in Thin Sliced Pork), Fried Mozzarella Cheese w/ Green Perilla, & Assorted Sashimi. They were all so good! We ended our dinner with Souffle Cheese Cake and Tofu Tiramisu, and we were satisfied!!! They have this nice screen hanging from the ceiling for privacy from other tables. The place was very clean and comfortable. The servers seemed to be very kind and pleasant. I would have rated five stars, but four today so they have a room to impress me even more next time! I would like to try the sushi bar next time :-)
(4)
Tiffany T.
Good Japanese tapas and sushi, a bit American fusion. Izakaya restaurant in the ghetto plaza where walgreen is located. The sign says "TAPAS AND SUSHI in big letters and GOKAKU in tiny tiny letters". I felt like that along already takes off half a star on the rating. But the restaurant has an old intimate feel to it. Their tables and chairs seemed old which were odd since it's a brand new restaurant. However, i like how each table is separated by blinds and whatnot. We made a reservation for 2 on a tuesday night at 6pm when they open. Although the restaurant was empty but seemed like most tables were already reserved. The waiters were nice and prompt. We ordered: --Taro chips with special sauce: the sauce was good and the chips were blend. Overall this dish was nothing special and def not worth $5. --Sashimi Combination: tuna, salmon, and hamachi. 3 fat pieces of each kind. Presentation was beautiful and the quality of the fishes was really good. $22 for the plate seemed like a normal price. --zigza roll: soft shell crab with special tofu skin wrap. this was really delicious with chef's special sauce. (this restaurant had all sorts of amazing sauces--which made it ultra americanized). --Hamachi steak: the hamachi was cooked really well. the fish was not dry and it was full of flavor. i loved the garlic sauce and the garnishes. It came with 5-6 small pieces of hamachi. -Grilled duck steak: i love duck and this dish did not disappoint me! The slices of duck were thing and tender. Again, the sauce they cooked the duck with was delicious. It also came with mashed potato with corn. Some green veggies and mushroom. Our bill came out to be around $65, pretty standard for Izakaya food. I'm glad this place openned and can't wait for the gokaku grill which is opening next to Verde on Steven's Creek. Fanned!
(4)
Hank W.
Yellowtail sushi is delicious here. Great service. The donburis are also very tasty. Fairly priced.
(4)
Audrey H.
Very disappointing. Dragon roll was an explosion of confused flavors and unfresh fishiness. Chicken karaage fried in reused oil. Eggplant in miso swimming in sticky sweet unyumminess. I fail to see why this place got so many good reviews. Highly mediocre. Thoroughly unenjoyable. Why can't Cupertino have even one decent Asian restaurant?
(2)
Vicke T.
Although Gokaku is not as good as tanto or gochi or saizo, everyone should give this place a try. They have great food and the price is not bad at all. One thing that i like from this place is their tapas portion is much bigger than any restaurant i've ever been. So that night me and friend ordered: 1. seafood nachos 2. sashimi salad 3. secret shrimp 4.hamburg steak 5. volcano sushi All the food we ordered taste amazing, except for the hamburg steak. I like the sashimi sushi the most because they put big chunk of sashimi. The seafood nacho was a pretty interesting dish, who ever thought to put sashimi on top of nacho?And the highlight of the meal was the secret shrimp, that's the bomb!!By the time our volcano sushi came, we already full, so we had it for to go. If you have the chance to try this place, you better pay in cash cause they give you discount.
(4)
Cindy L.
So we have been frequenting this place almost every weekend for 2 months. Two thumbs up for the yummy food and excellent service. Why one star? Today we were there having lunch with a friend. Everything was going smoothly until my 9-month-old needed a 'desperate' diaper change. Since there is no changing station in the restroom, we decided to change at a booth at a corner. And then the cashier lady ( she might be the manager or owner) approached us and told us not to change there since other people need to use that booth (they were closed at that time so there was only another table of customers in the restaurant). She offered no help and just asked us to leave the booth. And no apologies from her either. So we ended up changing the diaper in the trunk of the car under 85 degree heat. This bad experience has totally offset all the good things that I have to say about Gokaku. It's definitely not a baby friendly place. Not going back.
(1)
Chan T.
I would come here again. I had many different plates here from the sushi, sashimi, beef tongue, duck, etc. I loved everything about it. My favorite was the sushi rolls. I got whatever was on the top 10 menu list. like the hawaiian poke was yummi and the zig zag roll was different, but i would defiantly have it again!
(5)
paula m.
Food was good, but they asked our party of four to leave since they had a family waiting after we'd barely been there for an hour. Lame.
(3)
Takeshi S.
Went to Gokaku last night with a couple of friends. Good atmosphere, about 1/2 of the patrons were Japanese. I didn't like the 2 person tables right on the wall on the right, just ahead and to the right of the entrance. But we were in a 4 person table, surrounded by a partition. The food is pretty good. And the sushi seems decent, though we only had rolls (rainbow and spider). We also had their Gokaku special Chicken Salad (nothing really special about it), Ebi-Mayo (the shrimp was pretty good), Tsukune (too much sauce for me), the Mochi-cheese spring roll (OK), and the carbonara style udon with mentiako. Now this was super duper good! and the reason I give it a 4 star.
(4)
Hitoshi I.
I went to this place with my friend for first time tonight and it was funtastic!!!! If you like sushi but want to try something thats unordinary I highly recommend this place!! The chief makes rolls that you have never tried before and he does excellent job of adding great taste to it by having special sauce for each roll so that its more interesting and tasty!!! i recommend Zig Zag $9.25 (soft shell crab, avocado, tobiko, scallion rolled in soy wrap in chef's original ziggy sauce) cutomer service is really good too, with very attentive stuff always there to serve you with a smile! just be sure to make reservation or go there early so that you would have a seat. It gets really crowded there since its many people's favorite!
(5)
John H.
By far one of the most unique and mega-awesome flavor sushi places I've ever been to. I went here for a friends reunion dinner and we had quite the experience. Not only is the staff friendly, but they make helpful suggestions with how much you should order. Our waiter insisted we only get 2 of these volcano rolls instead of 3 and boy he was right. We were so full after we ate all the food. We had this zig zag roll which I highly recommend. It was amazingly delicious as well as the unique volcano roll, which is sushi piled with deliciousness. I'm not sure exactly what's in it, but I can definitely say do NOT get this without at least having 2-3 people in the table. We also had various rolls and other dishes along with sake and beer. It was a wonderful experience with friends that I haven't seen in a while along with friendly staff, I regret not having my birthday here this year, but there's always next year! I highly suggest this place. The only tiny problem is the wait for a large group of people, but honestly the wait is more than worth it.
(5)
Bernard W.
Zig Zag Roll is amazing!!! They have a wide selection of rolls with premium quality fish. Any reviews seen below 4 stars are simply false because the person ordered the 100 dollar sake or simply because they expect a table thats big enough to seat 7-8 people while not hogging up room in the restaurant. I would come here again and those people who gave this place below 4 stars are people with no taste.
(5)
Sunny C.
Incredible! Great traditional japanese izakaya place. The special ami ebi nigiri blew us away. Some of the other items were a little more americanized but still very good. Volcano roll was very interested, lots of sauce (read HIGH calories), good tuna salad.
(4)
Ellin C.
A hidden gem buried in the tin tin plaza. Traditional tapas and sushi are part of the fare here. We liked the Kim chee udon and fried mochi roll which was delicious. It is exquisite to bite into one hot off the fryer with mochi oozing out. Good fresh nigiri in their sushi combinations. The only dish we thought was not great, was the tofu okonomiyaki which felt like you were eating and omelette with tofu pieces in the bottom. We finished our dinner off with a tofu tiramisu which was divine. It was light and refreshing. Great restaurant ! And it was a good sign that the place was packed with Japanese speakers all night.
(4)
Mike J.
This place is seriously as good as it gets. This place is kinda a hidden gem. You would drive right by and never give it a second look. I have been here three times now and everything they have is SO GREAT. The fish is very fresh. They have a wide variety of rolls,plates, and tapas to choose from. All the chef specials are great, and anything with the chefs, "SPECIAL SAUCE" is AMAZBALLS. They take great pride in not only the presentation of their food but also the taste. A must go for a cheap alternative to those pricey sushi joints. There service can kinda suck sometimes but when the food comes to your table you will see why i gave it 5 stars.
(5)
Carol L.
Wasn't expecting much from this place based on some reviews, but I was really happy with my dinner. There is something here for everyone. You certainly won't leave feeling hungry, as portions are very generous. As other yelpers said, service is fantastic. Food comes out fast, too. Pictures on the menu grab your attention, and every dish is indeed picture-ready: bring your cameras, food photogs. My guy and I ordered 5 dishes: croquette, sashimi salad, super roll, ika jaga butter yaki, and buta kakuni and hanjuku tamago. Total bill, including tax and tip = ~ $70. You could cut down on your costs if you don't order as much and order dishes that are less (for example, we splurged on the sushi - $19.95). We were stuffed and brought home a few leftovers. 1) Croquette: Nothing unique about the dish itself, but I have a croquette weakness and our croquettes held up all that is good about this classic. Mashed potato inside was smooth. Contents also included some carrot pieces - I really liked these to switch up the texture. The breaded exterior was delish. 2) Sashimi salad: Lots and lots of sashimi. It was the usual types: maguro, salmon, the soft fish that is whiteish / greyish / with slight pink (I admit my egregious lack of sashimi knowledge), and I think another fish. Good size pieces that you can really bite into, and the ratio of sashimi to greens, including red / yellow bell pepper slivers, was 9:1. All this was wrapped with long cucumber slices into a circle shape and paired with three of the chef's secret sauces and a taro chip. 3) Super Roll: Not sure what was inside - various cooked fish. On top lay assorted sashimi, cooked shrimp, and tobiko of different colors (red, yellow, green, and black). One order = 8 pieces. More secret sauces spread on the side of the plate. I liked the purple berry one and the yellow one (maybe mango?) because I was craving some sweetness for balance. Comes with a banana chip. I felt the cream sauce was a bit much for me, and I also thought there was a tad too much rice, but I may have just been full. The rice could also be harder. 4) Ika Jaga Butter Yaki: Didn't look exactly like the picture, but the dish tasted better than what I would have thought based on the photo. There were tentacle pieces with suction cups, as well as non-suction cup pieces of ika. Good texture for both ika and potatoes. The butter gave a good savory flavor to bring out the natural flavor of the ingredients. 5) Buta kakuni and hanjuku tamago: Overall OK. This was unique, but I'm not into yolk-y textures, like the viscous sauce over the pork. The meat is the fatty type and not for the faint of hearts, only for those who can stomach such lipids. Yolk in the half boiled egg is not as yolk-y as you might expect given the yolk-y texture of the sauce. Personally, I wouldn't recommend ordering the sashimi salad and the chef's sushi roll, as we were sashimi'd out by the end of the meal. It might work if you have more people in your party. I'd just rather order a different roll or dish. I'm really bummed that other people didn't have a good experience here. Mine was great, from the tasty food, to the classy yet relaxed ambiance (loved the calm jazz music) and the personal service. Definitely going back to Gokaku and telling others!
(4)
Sherry F.
Although it's a little bit expensive, but the food is great! I especially like the carbonera kimchi udon!! It's by far the best Japanese? Dish I've tested in my life!!
(4)
Angelo I.
The most pretentious "fusion" food I've ever had. Over-priced. Servers are as rude as the food. Go try it once if you have $100 to burn and want to come out hungry.
(1)
Rob C.
nice picture book. came to try a few things. hamachi with chili oil, jalapenos, scallion and ponzu sauce classic combo, but only problem here was that they drenched the fish, also the jalapeno slice too large and not much heat. had the sake yaki onigiri -- crisp outside, topping not inside, little salty. no toro, so got hotate, toro sake, aburi sake. the hotate was soft, but slight aftertaste, salmon belly fine, but rice a bit off. kinda drier, would like a better ratio and vinegar amount got sake kama since hamachi kama was out this was prepared perfectly and tasted great. didn't get the takoyaki since they said they didn't make their own from scratch.
(3)
Narg R.
Good sushi, fair price and nice people.
(4)
Gina C.
One of my favorite Japanese tapas place, along with Gochi and Dan's. Very flavorful food. Reasonably priced. There are lots of Japanese customers so I'm assuming it's quite authentic.
(5)
Chris C.
Their food is delicious! I especially like the Yaki Udon and their fried pancake appetizer. One issue I have is that their menu is difficult to order from if you can't read Japanese...but after coming a few times you'll figure out what's good.
(4)
Bill M.
Started with the uni. It was from Santa Barbara very fresh, sweet and tasty. Kids had the salmon teriyaki , mashed potatoes and crab croquets. My wife and I shared the appetizer and dinner omakase. We had black cod, two orders of uni, poki too. Also had the sake sampler, all good for $15. The chef must like sake, or at least have similar tastes to me. Had a draft beer too. In the end kinda pricey, but everything was good. The appetizer omakase was really good. I'm not a fan of rolls, so I was not as impressed by the dinner omakase. The nigiri was good. I will have to go back a see if the uni was a fluke.
(4)
Annie L.
this small sushi tapas restaurant is amazing. would definitely go back again for the chirashi bowl. the sushi is so fresh and love love love the presentation!
(5)
Myra C.
mediocre at best. after sitting behind the sushi bar counter for an hour and a half, i've concluded the chef uses a maximum of 3 sauces...his home made blend that's pre-made and stored in plastic bags, unagi sauce, and mayo. Total lack of flavor profile in remakes of classic and fusion dishes, while the rest of the dishes looked better than they tasted. I think my favorite part of the meal was the grilled squid and potatoes with butter...and even then, it was the potatoes soaked in butter that highlighted the dish. .: sashimi combo: typical trio of tuna, salmon, and yellow tail. in an attempt to make it fancy and modern, its topped with colored/flavored tobiko that actually takes away from the purity of the fish--in some ways, it almost felt like the tobiko was there to compensate for quality of the fish :( .: aigamo steak- dry overcooked duck, lumpy excuse of "mashed potatoes" with under seasoned sauce, and a skimpy few bits of baby bok choy and mushrooms. .: chef's roll. i was hoping for a glorified lion king roll but what i got was a hot mess....and yes, it tasted as unappetizing as it looked. .: ika jaga butter yaki (grilled squid and potatoes with butter)...i'd take garlic fries over this any day. the squid was rubbery and a battle to eat in itself. on that note, its got some pretty cool interior decorations and has a sheik design and general feel to the whole restaurant....now if only the food could par. until then, save yourself the hefty tab and find good eats elsewhere.
(2)
A K.
Yuuuuuuck. Ordered 5 things and ended up with a 70 bill. Not cool because I wish I could turn back time and not eat some of the things I ordered. Taro chips were bland and came with a really nasty heavy sauce. If I wanted mayonnaise, I would have stayed home and just dipped things in a jar of mayo Tuna maguro was good, but not a lot of tuna -- mostly cucumbers. Uni and roe were ok. Seared yaki was disgusting. Imitation crab drenched in heavy sauce and cheese. If i could turn my insides out and scrub them with a brillo pad, i would. They should take this abomination off the menu.
(2)
Clarence W.
The quality of food is better than most and the price is also better than most! The customer service is very nice and you feel greeted with sincerity. A triple win in my book!
(5)
J J.
I went here 3 times in total, and here's my rating: First Time: 3 starts This was when Gokaku first opened. We ordered Salmon in rice and tea, which was waaaaayyy too salty, so I had to pour hot tea in to make it less salty. The waiters also seemed new. I decided to give this place a second chance (see below), and it turns out that they have improved a lot! Second Time: 5 stars The main reason is probably because the manager was here. When we walked in, the manager asked if we had a reservation. We didn't, so he led us to the seats at the sushi bar. Then, he introduced the menu and gave us suggestions for what to order. The food was delicious, and I would recommend "zig zag." The servers were a little bit busy, but the sushi chef took great care of us because we sat in front of him :) At the end, we ordered black sesame ice cream, and the manager gave us green tea ice cream as a service. Both were delicious! Third Time: 1.5 stars Decided to come here again because of my awsome experience. We wanted to order something without seafood or fish since someone in our party can't eat seafood. Therefore, we ordered "Futomaki" because on the menu it said that Futomaki has egg and vegetables. Later, when Futomaki came, it had both tuna and salmon sashimi in it. We were awed, since the menu did not say that it had sashimi in it. I like Futomaki, but not sashimi, so I gave the sashimi in the Futomaki to 1 person and I ate the rest of the sushi. LATER THAT NIGHT.... the person who ate all of the sashimi in the futomaki (which is only a tiny bit compared to sashimi sushi) had diaherra all night and vomited in the morning. I think their sashimi was not fresh, because that person was the only one who ate the sashimi. Everyone else was fine because they did not eat the sashimi. Summary: Service is good and waiters are friendly and food is delicious depending on what you order, BUT WATCH OUT TO SEE IF THE SASHIMI IS FRESH OR NOT OR ELSE YOUR MIGHT SUFFER THE CONSEQUENSES OF FOOD POISONING!!
(3)
Mag R.
Great service, the fish was very fresh, we had 3 different appetizers.The Boom was very delicious, new taste and texture. We will come back here for sure.
(5)
Kate T.
We came for dinner and had kimuchi mentai carbonara udon, ikura rice ball, deep fried baby octopus, cod shirako karaage, seaweed salad, and sampler B sake. We spent about $50. The kimuchi mentai carbonara udon was too rich and had not much mentai flavor. It came in a stone bowl but the bowl was not heated, so udon got cold and disgusting as cream, cheese and egg got cold. The seaweed salad was a store-bought stuff and I didn't care less. I was extremely disappointed with the baby octopus and cod shirako. They were overcooked and tasted like a chinese dish. Although our servers were friendly, I would not come back to this restaurant.
(2)
Joe L.
Pretty good and beautifully presented food. The sushi is fresh and they have a long list of creative tapa dishes. They also offer monthly mini kaiseki ryÅri ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ka… ) for $50 per person (requires reservation) on a chosen Wednesday night. According to the boss, the restaurant closes on Monday, and their supply comes in on Tuesday. So Wednesday is the ideal day for the chef's creativity based on the freshest ingredients at hand. The mini kaiseki is a set dinner with 4 main courses plus dessert. The menu is unknown, it is all up to the chef. The dinner also includes two shots of shochu of your choice (Japanese liquor made from wheat, rice, or taro etc.) Shochu for the lady is all she can drink. Given that the shochu is listed at $7 to $8 a shot, the dinner is supposed to be a good deal if you are a drinker. For non-drinkers, they don't offer discount if you choose not to drink the shochu. Obviously, it is a discrimination against non-drinking man. The mini kaiseki is nothing like the full kaiseki we had in Japan before. What we had in Japan was a feast with 20+ small dishes served slowly over several hours. Gokaku's kaiseki is okay by itself if you don't compare it with the real deal.
(4)
jay o.
Gokaku isnt your typical Japanese restaurant and as other people has mentioned its not your typical Sashimi and Chicken Teriyaki place. The theme is more like an izakaya, a socially engaging drinking bar with great tapas. I was talking to one of the girls who worked there and she told us that the items on the tapas menu all are health conscious. I'm a huge fried foods fan and their selection of fried foods were very tasty and light unlike the heavy-in-batter-dripping-in-oil style that I've experienced at other places before. The first time I went there, I ordered their corn flake fried chicken and it was one of the best things I've ever had! The other tapas plates were all equally delicious. The presentation and the preparation of their sashimi and rolls were definitely top notch. Since tapas are small plates, I would definitely suggest going down there with a group of foodies to kick back, order some drinks and try out a variety of options.
(5)
Jeff Y.
I'd give this place 4.5 stars. I wanted to try the Sukiyaki Style Hot Stone Rice, but the Buta Kakuni Don won out. The pork was really tender, and it comes with a very nicely cooked soft boiled egg that left me very happy. I also got some spicy tuna rolls that were excellent. Next time I go back I'll definitely try out the Sukiyaki Style Hot Stone Rice. The service was very nice and friendly, although they spoke a little quietly so I couldn't exactly hear what the daily special was. My friend ordered it anyway, and it looked tasty. The other only thing that kept them from getting 5 stars was that our food came out slowly, and in a strange order. I got my miso soup a few minutes after my Buta Kakuni Don!
(4)
David X.
Pretty good, but not the best. Fish was very fresh but some of the stuff that came with it did not do it justice. It's still some of the best sushi I've had in Cupertino (probably second best in the south bay I've had). Service kind of sucked. We came on a Sunday evening at around 8:45, so it wasn't crowded. They were very fast at first, but then they basically forgot about us until I caught one persons' eye for the check. Nobody even came by to refill our tea during the entire course of our meal. They were also reluctant to bring us extra ginger (it only came *after* our entire meal was finished!). We love ginger and the stuff at this restaurant was very good, so this was especially disappointing. Gokaku loses two stars for their service. Here's what we ordered: 1. Salmon sashimi - Excellent! The fish was very fresh and very tasty. They served it with three kinds of eggs (roe) -- Normal, green colored eggs that tasted like they were spiced with wasabi, and yellow eggs that tasted like they were spiced with citrus. Rainbow roll - Again, the fish was fresh and very good. The roll itself was packed just right, and was pretty large. The filling, however, was kind of average -- Artificial crab with cream (mayo?). Not very inspired. Spicy salmon - Not spicy at all, a huge disappointment. It tasted like the goop used to fill the rainbow roll. The food *looked* good, so props to them on presentation. It looked rather fancy, actually. The final damage came out to something like $42. Not bad for two large dishes and a small one. Conclusion: Great sashimi, rolls are sorta of average.
(3)
Bonnie n.
really wanted to like this place, but just thought that it was just ok. i will try it again and hopefully order stuff that is yummier. my friend got the spicy rainbow carpaccio and the grilled squid he really enjoyed both of them. i got the buta kakuni(?) the stewed pork dish with egg, the eggs were cooked to perfection, the pork was good super fatty (but they warned us of this) the grilled rice ball was over grilled (tasted burnt) the cream crab potato croquette thing was a huge let down... the shrimp tempura roll was good but nothing special. i liked that it was open late (until 11 on a friday night) the service was pretty good, but we were there right before closing so my tea went empty at the end and we needed more napkins but the servers didn't come back until we asked for the check.
(3)
Fred H.
Food is great here. I would definitely recommend this place.
(4)
mc t.
Authentic Japanese Izakaya serving "comfort" food. Busy most of them time with Japanese 'salarymen.' Good food but portion is a bit on the BIG side, which is atypical for a Izakaya. Nice friendly service and very reasonable prices.
(4)
Nhi L.
If I could put 0 stars, I would. First off, we wrote our name for a table of 4. It was busy so we asked how long the wait would be because 3 names were ahead of us, and they replied 20 mins. Oh okay then, we thought of walking around towards the Walgreens that was close by. By the time we arrived back, they had crossed out our name. We asked them what had happened and the girl replied that because we were not there when they called our names, we had to be at the end of the list which was behind 4 more names. We didn't understand why we had to wait so long since we already waited and asked if we could be seated after the next name because it seemed fair. She called her manager and he explained that if he put our names next, other people would wait longer but if he put our name last, then we would wait the same amount of time. Um hello? How does that even make sense? Those people JUST putted their names on the list as we were busy arguing with the other server. But he was adamant about his decision so we said fine whatever. We agreed on no tip. - Our friend had to go up and get his own plate after we asked 3 times we needed an extra plate. - Food was decent. The okonamiyaki was small and drenched in salty sauce. Would not buy again. - They chased us down to get their tip even though a friend was generous enough to leave them $5. The total was around 90$ for 5 people. We didn't get the service we liked so why should we leave tip? I gave them $2 after a server went outside and demanded tip fm me. The other friends said no. The server asked, with an attitude, "Are you not paying tip? Why? Was there something wrong with the service?" They replied they were unhappy with the service so she stormed back inside. - Overall, would not go there again. Can find better places with better service.
(1)
Amy B.
We went there for a birthday celebration because of all the great reviews on yelp. We wanted so much to like the restaurant, but... First of all, the tofu tiramisu was not longer on the menu because the chef left. BTW, the sushi chef is also new. We ordered: Katsu Don - ok, I had better Spider Roll - the soft shell crab is unidentifiable. It tasted and looked like a small shrimp in heavy batter. Very disappointing. Tofu salad - mild but decent Hamachi Kama - ok Pork in some kind of brown sauce and served with hot boiled egg - terrible. The sauce was blend. Pork is 95% fat. We also ordered several other tapas but none worth writing home about. Since they no longer serve the tofu tiramisu, we ordered the black sesame pudding. It was blend and tasted like something from a package.
(2)
R W.
We've been to this place 15 times in 3 months. The food is great. A bit pricey but you are getting quality. After all the other bad restaurants that have come and go since Ogi-San, this is a welcome relief for a strip mall in search of a soul. They only have Tan Tan and Sogo Bakery next to a Walgreen's. Let's start with the raw stuff Chirashi - amazing cuts of fish. They have been really generous. The salmon had 1 to 2 cm marbled stripes of fat and meat. The cut was thick and tasty with just enough rice. The rice on the sushi was amazing - A+ Japanese quality sushi rice with just a hint of vinegar and some bonito. The only other place for Chirashi would be Kitsho - a 5 star on my list. Went with some sashimi and once again, great cuts of fish and home made Tamago. Pet peeve, store bought, yellow food colored, limp tamago that fake japanese (korean, taiwanese, mainland chinese,) restaurants often use. We tried all the Tapas on the menu. I still think Gochi is better, but really liked the: Pork Goba Top Angus Beef Okonomiyaki Carbonera Udon Crab Karage Agedashi Tofu What could have been better: The Chicken Corn Skewers - a bit mushy on the inisde Salad - just didn't click with me - more personal preference Needless to say, this is a welcome addition to the great number of Japanese owned and operated restaurants in the area.
(4)
Yuko S.
We walked in with no reservations on a Thursday night around 7pm. There was only 2 other parties in the restaurant. That should have been a sign. It was our first time here. We ordered ahi poki, sukiyaki in a hot pot, yaki udon hot pot, chicken nankotsu, geso kara, buta kakuni with egg, and hamachi kama. The total came to $80+ with tip. Sorry to say but everything we ordered was terrible and we were very disappointed. Flavor on everything was off. We won't be back. Save your money and go to Gochi or Tanto instead.
(1)
J P.
Great service, Japanese speaking staff, the closest genuine Japanese food you'll find in silicon valley! Definitely going back soon. Wouldn't rate the food 5 stars, but it's still good
(5)
Joanna F.
Worth to try. A lot of selection and different type of food. From tapa, sushi and dessert
(3)
K D.
I took my family to Gokaku for dinner to celebrate my mom's birthday recently. We ordered a variety of dishes for 7 of us (firecracker rolls, spicy carpaccio, super rolls, buta kakuni, duck steaks, beef BBQ, sashimi combo, and a few more). We were very hungry! Everything came out perfect. The sashimi were very fresh and tasty. I don't normally eat duck meat but I have to admit the duck steaks at Gokaku were yummy, very tender. My boyfriend and I love the spicy carpaccio! We ended the night with ice cream. The green tea ice cream with mochi was awesome! The waiters were very attentive and things were brought out at the right time. We were all full by the time we left the restaurant. The bill came out a lot less than I thought it would be considering we ordered a lot of food with sake and desserts. I highly recommend this restaurant. I would absolutely come back here again.
(5)
Olivia H.
They don't take reservations here.
(1)
L E.
I have been here twice now. The first time I went with a group of friends and it was a pleasant experience, good food, good company, decent service, but slightly on the expensive side. I decided to take my spouse there since he likes to try new places. The sushi was fresh and delicious, we had the dragon roll. His dinner came. And mine was forgotten. They served him his entree and completely forgot about my order. I finally flagged someone down and about 25 minutes later (after being reassured 3x that it was coming) I was finally served. By that time, he had already finished his dinner so got to watch me eat mine. We decided to pass on desert. It will be a LONG time before he will go there again. Food is good if they don't forget to serve it to you.
(3)
Reginald V.
I love this place! I love the neighborhood shopping center, with its easy access and parking, and great shops including Tin Tin supermarket. Gokaku is brand new, and has that "crisp shiny' look. The staff is very pleasant and helpful, explaining their dishes and options. Service was fast, the food quite elegant and tasty for the reasonable price. Their sushi looked great and was priced right, but since this our my first time, we tried only a variety of tapas and salads. And one of thier desert selections, which was delish! Seemed to have a good selection of beer and sake, but I didn't check it out fully. They must - I have seen a decent crowd here on several evenings. I LOVED the non-intrusive relaxing jazz playing in the background. I will be back soon to try the sushi and other menu items I missed this time.
(5)
Tiffany T.
I've been so busy that I can't remember the last time I ate out for lunch. Anyway, I was running errands in the strip mall (Tin Tin market and Walgreens), and thought I'd stop by for lunch. As it turns out, the place was dark. They're closed for lunch until April 13th! The menu was posted on the window though, and everything looked/sounded delish. I curse the photographer who made the food look so good. Japanese tapas and sushi, yum! I'll be back another day, hopefully I'll get something to eat next time!
(3)
V L.
We had a nice server who explained the menu since it was our first time. Pretty nice ambiance. A bit pricey.
(4)
Steve K.
This place is fairly new and was deserted on Wednesday night, but, the food was great :-)
(4)
Eva L.
If you want Japanese tapas, and don't fee like waiting for one hour, this is a good place to come. Most of the dishes are pretty good, some dishes are traditional, some are not. Many dishes come with a thick creamy sauce, which is too rich to have a lot. The volcano sushi is too rich with the creamy sauce, not my favorite. Other dishes are pretty good.
(4)
Carrie M.
First visit (of many we are already eagerly anticipating in the future) tonight and we are already planning to go back. Since we had heard the portions are large, we reluctantly decided to order only two items for the two of us (our usual assumption at a sushi place is three items per every two people) . The okonomiyaki was deeeelicious I know other yelpers have been disappointed, but I can't imagine anyone not being happy with this dish. Perhaps a new chef or different recipe being used? It was served sizzling hot on an iron platter and the heat was making the tissue-paper-thin garnish of some slivery topping shimmer and wave so the whole dish appeared to be alive. It was really tasty, and a generous portion for a reasonable price. Be sure to distribute the attractive pile of shaved pink ginger strips evenly over the dish before digging in, or one person will end up with all the ginger and a somewhat fire-y mouth! Our second dish was a Dragon Roll -- by far the largest I have been served at any local restaurant, and that was because the strips of unagi atop the roll were so thick and scrumptious. I was afraid that due to their size they would be tough or fatty, but that was not at all the case. The whole roll had a really good balance of flavor with very large tempura shrimp inside and just the right touch of heat in the sauce. We are eager to return and sample some of the amazing-looking things we saw on other nearby tables. I think we will start by eating our way through all of the items marked "chef's special". Next time the Zig Zag roll and some Secret Shrimp, for sure!
(5)
Donna Y.
Came here last night for a late dinner and thought to try it out since its pretty new. We came pretty late and hour before they closed but they was very nice to us and very accommodating. We order a few dishes and overall it was not bad. Alex love the Natto with raw fish. I had some and thought it was okay in terms of the natto something to get use to eating. I had the croquettes which was quite good. We had the Yellow tail Garlic Steak which remind me of like a teriyaki fish. It was more on the sweeter side. We also ordered the grilled rice ball which was just okay to me even thought I ordered the Tuna and Mayo. Plus we end up ordering the Grilled Mackerel too which was very good too. We also ordered the Japanese Pancake which was one of there better dishes. I asked them if they can make it without shrimp and just pork and they can. It was one of the key point of why we like this place. Overall food was not bad but the service was great. Our waitress was very nice and always checked up on us. She made sure we didn't have shellfish in our food too and took time to explain everything. Nice place for dinner and just relaxing with a nice glass of sake. Will be back.
(4)
Linda H.
I am really not a big fan of writing reviews. I wrote a review for two reasons, either I really LIKE the foods, which make me thinking about it day and night, or I really HATE it, which make me full of frustration. Therefore, I only make 1 star or 5 stars reviews. I have been here for many times now since it was opened more than 8 months ago. I first went there due to friends' recommendation. I have to say that the food was good 8 months ago but lack of varieties. But after 8 months, I saw a lot of improvement in the food quality, variety and taste! Hence, now it naturally becomes my favorite restaurant for both lunch and dinner. Here are my pros and cons of the restaurant. Pros: 1. A large variety of both authentic and modern Japanese food. For those who would like to try something special, their chefs (both kitchen and sushi chefs) are happy to accommodate something special just for you! I have never had this privileges in other Japanese restaurants since most (if not all) of them are pretty rigid! 2. Large selection of vegetarian options. Since my husband is a vegetarian, we always have difficulty finding a good Japanese restaurant since I am a die-hard fan of raw fish! Gokaku is amazing since the chef is super creative in making my husband superb vegetarian food that he loves. 3. Good value lunch special. For the price you paid, I think their lunch special is just amazing. I have to even pack some food to take away due to the generosity of the portion.... 4. Friendly environment and services. The owner is a super friendly person. I have been to tons of Japanese restaurants and most owner behaves like a "boss" or the "superior". But Gokaku's owner really listening to their customer's voice. He always loves to listen to suggestions and comments from customers to improve his food and service. Really appreciate his effort! Cons: 1. Location is not the most strategic one. However, for good food, I really not mind traveling for some distance or else, I can just go to the nearby McDonalds...:) 2. It is definitely not the cheapest Japanese restaurant in town. However, I do think for the quality of the food, it does worth every penny. I guess if I am looking for the low-cost Japanese food, I can just go to Todai (but you know, it sucks!). 3. Reservation is always needed especially in the weekend since it could be pretty crowded. Since it is not located in a shopping mall, it could be pretty boring to wait outside if you don't have an iPhone to kill your time.... In general, I highly recommend the restaurant if you are looking for a good leverage between price, food variety and quality as well as service! Definitely a must for vegetarian who would like to enjoy Japanese food.
(5)
Bo Y.
For the appetizer, since I like spicy food, I had Boom, the spicy crab mix and avocado in seasoned tofu skin, it tastes delicious! The Takoyaki is also nice, hot with octopus inside. The Sashimi combination is really fresh and tender. My favorite roll is the Zig Zag, very creative and tasty. Also the service is good, the waitresses are friendly and nice. Overall, it is a very good Japanese restaurant! I would like to go again.
(5)
N. I.
We are Japanese. If you are looking for real Japanese food, this is not the place. Giant sushi rolls ignited in flames, baked sushi rolls, and nigiri sushi topped with so much fish that you need a steak knife to eat it are no more Japanese than Lemon Chicken is Chinese. The owner is Japanese. This we hinged our hopes on to find a real Japanese restaurant in the bay area. Ok, so we should not have expected quality sushi from a Japanese Tapas place, because it's hard to do a great job on both. Maybe the salads fall into the same dilemma. The cucumber pasta salad was a HUGE disappointment. Drowning in a mayonnaise sauce and soggy from top to bottom, the sashimi pieces could not be identified because everything was coated. The flavor was literally nauseating and I tried to wash away the flavor. We tried to stay positive and had several other dishes, but everything was overly flavored and salty. The tempura was soggy and greasy. Even the tea had that faint flavor of old water. I guess this place is just following the path of all of the Korean owners of Japanese restaurants!
(1)
C I.
After reading Yelp reviews, sounded good so we tried for lunch. First indication that something good might be here was the parking lot around noon was jammed. Parking is limited to the small strip mall and not sure if you could park on the streets. Went inside and it was jammed, on a Tuesday. Hostess said 10 minutes and we were thinking, hmmm, looks like 40 to us. Got seated in 10! I ordered the special which a sample plate of it was sitting in front of the hostess area. 5 plates (1 rice, 1 soup, 1 seaweed salad, and 2 interesting entrees) Very good and filling and only $9.50?? My friend had the tempura udon and she said it was excellent, especially the broth. Lot of tatami rooms and most tables were the sunken type, forget the name of these. Service was quick and efficient. Will return to try the other items on the menu. Dinner might be a whole different story $.
(4)
Kathy N.
I was so shocked that this restaurant turned my family and I away, they were having a "kaiseki" set dinner for $75 per person and were only going with reservations. We got there when they opened, there was no one there and when I drove by around 7:30 their parking lot was still empty. Lunch is cash only, for the expensive prices how is someone supposed to pay cash. Plus a set meal for $75 plus sake or beer that's $100 person in this economy that's crazy. This place is located in a strip mall that looks like it needs to be torn down since all the shops are closed down they have no business turning down paying customers. Don't go.
(1)
chaos T.
gokaku is one of my recent favorites. it's reasonably priced and delicious. the service is a little slow, but there's only one waitress for the restaurant during lunch and two during dinner - even though they were very nice. i would go just for the carbonara style mentaiko udon... it's a creative and a delicious bowl of creamy bacon & kimchi udon goodness.
(4)
Lori F.
We were visiting San Jose from Los Angeles where we have some amazing Japanese restaurants however I've never seen food prepared as beautifully as it was at Gokaku. Everything was like a piece of art and absolutely delicious. We had to omikase and I was so relieved that the chef asked us what types of things we like and don't like. Omikase is usually scary to me as I don't like certain things however he really listened and prepared an amazing assortment. Some of my favorites included some sort of hamachi roll with shiso leave that resulted in a fresh clean flavor, spicy tuna tartare nachos, hamachi sushi and unagi (light sauce so it was tasty but not drowning in sweetness). All of the rolls were creatively prepared with triflavor and tricolor masago. Before dinner we had drinks and snacked on taro chips with a creative dip prepared by the server that was full of flavor. They have a huge array of Soju and for a cocktail they bring fresh orange or grapefruit to the table to squeeze into the Soju....just like in Japan. We tried several types of Soju and I recommend the Tonino (spelling?) made from sweet potato. It has a refreshing taste and perfect compliment to great sushi. Definitely plan to return on our next trip!
(5)
Eddie A.
The menu is traditional, but the food is served in style. Love the Chirashi Sushi. It is the best that I had in the Bay Area. My kids are welcomed and the restaurant manager is excellent with great personality.
(5)
Patricia F.
sushi/sashimi is still nice and fresh. the rest of the dishes have too much mayo.
(4)
Jonathan J.
The food here is pretty good, and the service isn't as bad as other reviewers make it seem. After reading some of those horrendous descriptions of the service here, some of us decided to time these guys. After ordering, our food came in about 7 minutes (all 7 dishes that we'd ordered at the time)! I dunno, maybe 7 minutes for 7 dishes might seem like a bit too long for some people, but I thought this number was pretty damn good. Besides this, though, I'd say the service was pretty good, considering there were only 2 people waiting tables for the entire restaurant. We had to flag a guy down to take our order, and he took about a minute after acknowledging us before he came, but during this time, he was helping others, not texting or messing around. Some of us also did see the bottoms of our cups of tea/water, but these were always filled after a while. Onto the food. There's a huge selection here and almost everything here is really good. I'm usually not a fan of rolls, because most sushi places have the same repertoire (i.e. philly roll, godzilla, lion king, etc), and a few "specialty" rolls, which end up being more or less the same as the specialty rolls at other restaurants. However, the rolls some of the other members of my party ordered were surprisingly good. We also ordered a couple things from their "top 10" menu, and these were all good. In addition, we ordered the maguro poke. I've been let down by the poke at tons of restaurants lately, many of which serve maybe two spoonfuls of poke as sort of a sauce for dipping nacho-like chips. The pictures of this dish (i.e. on yelp and their online menu) already show that their interpretation of the dish is more of what I think of as traditional poke, but this dish also tasted surprisingly amazing. Anyway, my recommendations: stick with their top 10 menu if you want to play it safe, but don't be afraid to order other dishes, and don't be afraid to dine in. I guess ymmv, but I thought their service was pretty great.
(5)
Donald W.
Although I have a rule of never returning to a business where I had a bad experience, my mother wanted to try this place again. We went early on a Saturday evening, and it was like a different place. There were several servers available at all times and the service was actually good. The food was good too, especially the okonomiyaki without meat.
(4)
Stephanie Y.
I don't eat a lot of Japanese food since I'm from Sacramento, and most "Japanese" restaurants are owned by...non-Japanese people. I was visiting my boyfriend, and craved Japanese food, so he consulted his "Yelp friends" and came up with this place! We came by around 9pm on a Friday night, and at first I was a little terrified since Gokaku's sign was blinky, the restaurant's windows were blacked out, and there were few cars outside. Outside seemed a little sketch, but once we got inside, it was pretty homey and clean, VERY MOM AND POP! I've never tried takoyaki and okonomiyaki before, so those were my two MUST ORDERS. I was so pleasantly surprised! Since it was my first time eating those two dishes, and I really have nothing to compare to, I can't say how authentic it was. But I can say the two were quite delicious!! My boyfriend likes to try unconventional items, so we also ordered fried chicken cartilage and fried duck gizzards. Also pleasantly surprised! Both crunchy and interesting in flavor. But we did realize at the end of the meal that we may have ordered too many fried dishes. I literally ROLLED out of the restaurant after our meal feeling like a takoyaki ball. Should have gotten something non-fried to balance it out. Next time, I guess............. We were surrounded by Japanese speaking diners, so I can only assume this place is pretty authentic and well loved within the Cupertino Japanese community. Good food and polite service - I would recommend it, and come back again!
(4)
Katherine L.
The dragon roll was the most creative dragon roll I've ever had!! sashimi salad was beautiful and tasty. :) Katsu don was ok. Service was a bit slow since they were busy, but the waiters were really nice! Price was a bit on the pricy side.
(4)
Andrew C.
I came here with friends and got the lunch special. It was good. I had a salmon dish, some sashimi, salad, rice, and some chicken katsu type dish. Salmon: It was really good. Not too dry and over cooked. Flavoring was good too. It felt a tiny teeny bit on the oily side but now I'm just being nit picky. Sashimi: Only a few pieces but they were good although they were cut a little bit thick. Salad: Standard salad but I liked their dressing a lot. (Although I don't quite recall exactly what type of dressing was used... LOL. It was yummy though!) Rice: rice. Chicken Katsu: It was really good. Not oily at all despite being a fried food. Plus they had this really yummy sauce on it that was REALLY good. I enjoyed it. ---tl;dr--- +Good Portion Size for Lunch Special +Taste is the good. (insert thumb up)
(5)
Mark N.
An amazing meal for my anniversary... We came on a Tuesday night.. It was not that crowded when we got there.. However, when we left the line was out the door. The dishes we had was braised pork in miso sauce. Shrimp and mushrooms in a miso sauce.. A noodle dish... Scallops in tomato sauce... It was all very good and the presentation was marvelous... One of my new favorite restaurants in Cupertino!
(5)
Jen L.
A good mix of traditional Japanese homestyle dishes and fusiony tapas: - Oyako don (chicken, eggs, cooked onions, mushrooms, and sauce over rice) - 5 stars - Tender chicken, well-seasoned egg mixture, chewy rice. Tastes even better as leftovers the next day; everything tastes more marinated. Giant portion; enough to split between three people if you order appetizers. - Chef's roll (tempura-fried roll with salmon, tuna, yellowtail, flying fish roe, and avocado) - 4 stars - I don't think any sushi roll can't be improved by tempura frying it and adding avocado. All the fish is cooked and tender. I'm also a fan of the spicy sauce that comes with this roll; they'll give you extra if you ask for some. - Yaki onigiri (toasted rice balls) - 3 stars - The toasted rice was great: perfectly seasoned with soy sauce and delightfully crisp. I would have preferred a higher toasted to sticky rice ratio. We got two varieties: tuna mayo and salmon. We expected the fish would be inside the onigiris, but they were actually toppings, which made it difficult to eat. Also, both varieties tasted pretty much the same. - I've heard good things about their okonomiyaki. Overall, a filling lunch in a comfortable environment; doesn't get overcrowded on weekends, and service is fast. I'm coming back for all my Japanese comfort food cravings.
(4)
Michelle H.
Food is excellent, I ordered the sashimi salad and agedashi tofu, both were good. My friends' orders were also great. Their sashimi and sushi are very fresh. One down side is that the service is sllllllllloooooooowwwwww! Took us forever to get the food and check.
(4)
Jennifer C.
They're closer to a 4.5.... My uber wonderful friend treated me to this lovely place for my birthday. and YES what a treat!!! Based on what she told me, she said this place gets packed so we should get there when it opens. We got there at 515p (it opens at 530p) and there were people already itching to get in. To me, that was a great sign. We got in and were promptly seated. From the outside, it doesn't look like much but the interior was nicely decorated... dark wood.. neutral wall colors. The whole thing was just nice to be in. The wait staff was super attentive. They were just on the ball from start to finish! If the water glass looked a little low, they were right there to fill it back up! In short, it was great service. Now! On to food! We started with: Boom - tofu skin filed with what looks like avocado, crab and some kind of creamy/spicy sauce mixture. Tasty... not enough kick for the name though. Hamachi Carpaccio- SUPER fresh... the hamachi pretty much melts in your mouth! The yuzu they served it with makes a great dressing for salad too. It was so refreshing and just overall wonderful. finished with Mentaiko kimchi udon- this was definitely interesting. I expected a bit more heat cause it's got kimchi but the creamy sauce killed it I think. It was an interesting mixture of texture and flavors. I'd get it again but I kind of wish it was served as a smaller appetizer as opposed to an entree. By itself it's a bit rich for me. Special roll- oooh NO clue what was inside but I could taste... garlic chips, maybe avocado, crab maybe... topped with 3 different colored tobiko, cocktail shrimp ( I think) salmon and I think hamachi. VERY tasty and it's a HUGE roll. We also grabbed: Uni - I love uni but I can't have it anymore. From what my friend said, it was uber fresh and just lovely. *sigh* I miss Uni. Amaebi - OOOOOH soooo good! Just the right texture and flavor! Ika- This was not my favorite but it wasn't bad. It's better than other places but not the best. With all we got, we had tons of left overs and walked out the door spending just under 100 including a glass of sake. What I loved was that one of the wait staff asked if we've been there before. We both said no so he kindly grabbed a sample menu of their popular dishes and went through the whole thing explaining whats the most popular. It wasn't necessary but definitely an added bonus. I will definitely come back again. There are so many items on the menu that just look way too good. I think I'll have to come back with a larger group though.
(4)
Marcy A.
I love this place though it's always so busy and a bit noisy. Their display technique of foods is very nice and beautiful. Always impressive. And the tastes are so nice as well, a real Japanese!
(5)
Shannon C.
Delicious mix of fusion food and authentic Japanese dishes too. Great, extensive menu - something for everyone, whether that's salad, sushi, noodles, rice bowls, or grilled meats and seafood. Zig zag roll was delicious - crunchy and creamy and oh soooooo good. Tempura was light and udon was chewy - perfect. Seafood nachos are good but not worth the hype or price. No complaints about the service from us - they were prompt and smiley and patiently let me practice my Japanese with them!
(5)
Beverly Y.
I came here with my family on a Friday night - we had a reservation but it was clear when we walked in that we didn't need one, since the place was empty at around 6:30 pm. Since I was craving something light, I ended up ordering the sashimi salad. All in all, the sashimi salad was a bit disappointing. When the dish first came out I was super excited because the plating was so nice (as you'll see in the pictures). Unfortunately, the sashimi wasn't so good - the fish didn't taste very fresh and the texture wasn't the melt-in-your-mouth kind that's one of my standards for "great" sashimi. In fact, you could actually feel your teeth going through the sashimi, which I don't think is supposed to happen. I will say that the mixed greens, tomatoes, and particularly the seaweed salad were all very good though. However, because this dish was "sashimi" salad, I'll have to rate the dish, on the whole, as subpar. Overall, I probably wouldn't come back. The sashimi (which is what I go to Japanese restaurants for) was disappointing, and the service and ambience weren't great either - at least not enough to make up for what the food lacked.
(2)
Ashley Y.
Not too impressed by this place. Prices are pretty high for the quality of food that you get (in my opinion). Came in at 6pm with a reservation on a Friday night, but it was pretty much empty when we got there so I don't think we really needed one. I was super excited to see ankimo (monkfish liver) on their menu! So I got that, and the chirashi. Service here is super slow. Took at least 20+ minutes to get our food. When the monkfish liver came out, I was extremely disappointed. The serving size is very small, and they chopped the liver into cubes. I've never seen it served like that before, so already I was a bit skeptical. It didn't taste very good either. Wasn't fresh, and the texture was nowhere near the buttery goodness that I feel like ankimo should have. When the chirashi came out, my hopes were slightly lifted after seeing how wonderfully it was plated. At $26, it's definitely on the pricier side for a restaurant like this, and I wasn't impressed. The fish didn't seem fresh, much like the ankimo....and I only liked the tuna. I was surprised that it came with uni, but the uni didn't taste fresh either. Besides the plating of the chirashi, the dish was only okay at best. Overall, I think there are better options for Japanese tapas and sushi around here. Gochi is 100x better than this place, although it is slightly more expensive. I probably won't be coming back, although I might return just to try their creamy udon.
(2)
Cindy J.
I wish I could give a zero star on Yelp - if so, this would have been a zero star. This has been the worst dining experience we have ever had. We don't usually care about service much if the food is excellent. But in this case, both were bad. FOOD: We ordered four dishes in total - Taro chips, Kakuni, Duck steak, and Gokaku rolls. All of them were their signature dishes. The food did arrived quickly. The first two were alright - Not impressive but OK. Then came the Duck steak and Gokaku rolls. It's like what one of the previous customers said: "When the food arrived it looked beautiful, but tasted like hell." Indeed. The duck was so salty that I finished almost the entire cup of ice water to just consume a couple of slices. The Gokaku rolls, topped with sashimi, were not fresh tasting. They tasted like something that have been refrigerated for a few days without any cover. SERVICE: We tried our best to eat the two dishes mentioned above - but eventually gave up and decided to tell the waitress that these two dishes were quite off. She asked another person to come - who may or may not have been the owner of the restaurant. This person immediately became visually upset at me once I started talking about the rolls were not very fresh. She denied it, claiming that no one else had complained so I must be wrong. That was rude, so I just asked for the bill. She came back with the bill, but then suggested that if I hadn't gotten so upset, she would have 'done something for me'. Where did that come from? I paid the bill and asked for a pen. She asked me why. I explained that I would like to leave my unfinished feedback on the back of the bill. 'No, I listened to all of your feedback. If you want to continue to make a scene, I will call the police!' No thanks, and I'm never coming back!
It's the best Japanese restaurant in Silicon Valley. I ordered calpico( a type of yogurt soda), Uni pon and Chirashi. They have the best Uni I ever had. It doesn't have the ocean flavor. And it's so creamy. I totally loved it! It's crowded, so the service is a little bit slow.
(5)
Alex P.
I love this place. Very fresh sashimi. Friendly staff. Good environment. If you're in the area and you're craving for authentic Japanese; try this place out. You won't regret it.
(5)
Ames A.
OMG, duck steak with mash potatoes (~15$) is AMAZING! friends tell me its too salty, but its perfect for me! Fish is cooked well and always fresh, sushi rice is perfectly cooked, a little sour a little sweet, perfectly tender. A new favorite.... I wish I could keep it to myself because it gets busy sometimes but its just so good it feels like a crime keeping it a secret... Anyhow, plaza gets busy, there is a second parking lot in the back.. when you get out of the parking lot on Bolinger Rd make a right when facing the street then immediate right into the back of the plaza.. most people don't know so they just circle the parking lot..
(5)
Kevin J.
I came here with my family for dinner. I've been here the past two years a couple of times, and I will say that the quality seems to decrease each time but I still consider it one of the top sushi spots in Cupertino. The Food - We ordered a couple of their specialities that were recommended: 1. Seafood Nachos: Quite an innovative concept. First time I've seen seen this done before and pretty nicely executed. There are fried nacho chips on the bottom, seafood, and then topped with some seaweed salad on the top. 2. Zig Zag Roll: One of their most highly recommended rolls. We've ordered this every time we come to Gokaku and aren't disappointed. The outside is wrapped not with seaweed, but rather some type of green material. I've never actually asked them what it is, but quite an interesting twist to traditional seaweed. 3. Maguro Poke: This is a really cool seafood salad which actually reminds me of poke salads you can get in Hawaii. There are large chunks of tuna interspersed with seaweed salad, other dark greens and wrapped with two long pieces of sliced cucumber. A great presentation and nice blending of flavors of sesame oil and vinegar. 4. Tropical Crunch Roll: Albacore in the middle and salmon on the outside with mango sauces. Smooth roll with interesting textures within the roll. 5. Carbonara Style Mentaiko Kimchi Udon: Hot stone udon with pork, kimchi and cod roe. Different from some f the heavier Japanese udons that I've had and also a touch of spice as well. Really thick and creamy soup that I quite enjoyed. Service: A couple of complaints about the service. I think part of it might be due to the fact they're understaffed. It was nearly impossible to get any waiter or waitress's attention when we wanted to pay the bill or do order. Overall, I'd still recommend a visit as they have authentic Japanese cuisine. At the price point though, I would have expected slightly better service.
(4)
Jessica L.
Must try items: Volcano - I was pleasantly surprised, but make sure you love spicy. This has sriracha in it, which I hate, but still enjoyed this dish. It is literally like a giant volcano. Never had anything like this before. Average items: Kamo Nanban Udon - Udon with seared duck. Nothing special. Seafood Nachos - Smooshed spicy tuna on 4 fried wonton chips, thought it was overpriced and flavors were not unique. Don't try items: Carbonara Style Mentaiko Kimchi Udon - Apparently this is one of their "most popular dishes", but can I just say that the "broth" is basically CURDLED heavy cream? It was wayyy too thick. This may be good for a large party if you just want a taste, but I would not recommend ordering this by yourself.
(3)
Thien B.
Secret Shrimp: Amazing Grilled Beef Tongue: Very Good Hamachi Garlic Steak: Amazing Salmon and Hamachi Sashimi: Amazing (very fatty) Black sesame ice cream with red bean: Good Good effective service
(5)
Buffy M.
Met some friends for dinner here the other night. It was empty when we got there, but the place definitely filled up. We ordered a variety of items, tataki, duck, hand rolls, hamachi kama. Everything was good. There's wasn't any "oh my gosh this is amazing" moments, but it was all very good. A little on the pricey side, but for good food, I am okay with that.
(3)
Sandy Y.
My friend and I decided on coming here last minute, and I am so glad we did. This place is located in the plaza where tin tin market was, a place I used to frequent often with my mom when I was young. So when I was trying to get to the restaurant, I actually drove by this plaza because I didn't think it was in there! After I finally found it, I was so surprised that it was there! I had been to this plaza a million times and never even noticed it! We ordered the appetizer, kani cream croquette.. and it was very unique! It is basically fried mashed potatoes with crab and crab cream! It's also listed under the popular items on the menu. Upon reading this, the potato- lover inside of me was sold. These definitely did not disappoint! We also shared a plate of salmon sashimi, which was good.. as sashimi usually is. I'm not very good at telling sashimi quality... so.. to me it was good? haha ;P And there were a lot of pieces too! Definitely a good amount for two people to share. We also shared another plate, which was recommended to us by the waitress.. DUCK STEAK! AND oh my goodness.. it was absolutely divine. The meat slices had just the perfect amount of fat, so tender, so delicious.. just melted in your mouth.... droool *__* oh yeah, and it was served with mashed potatoes (YES). The meat pieces were just marinating in this unique sweet ish sauce.. that was just delicious. I definitely recommend this dish if you couldn't tell already. And it's good for sharing too! Lots of pieces of duck steak. OH YEAH,... and one of the best parts? (in my opinion).. everything here is presented SO BEAUTIFULLY. They really take the time to combine food with art here, serving their food on long artistic plates and really adding little details to take their food to the next level. Don't judge the place by the outside!! I definitely want to come back here and try more of their things.. perhaps the sushi and other tapas.
(4)
Vanessa L.
Went on a weeknight after work and there was no wait. We got there right when it opened and got seated right away. We started off with a couple of appetizers - both were delicious and well presented: - Iidako Kara-Age (fried baby octopus) - Agedashi Tofu For entrees we got: - Sashimi combo - Chirashi Sushi Both the sashimi and sushi were really fresh and melted in your mouth like butter. Would definitely come back to this place.
(4)
Kai Y.
At first I was a bit skeptical about going to this place because there was no one in the restaurant when we got there. I'm so happy we didn't leave! The food was good and the staff was very nice. We tried the volcano and it was HUGE. I love the salmon roll underneath the pile of crunchy tempura flakes! Just the right amount of crunch. Their taro chips are good but can be better. I think it would be better if it was served warm. It wasn't bad at all. I would go back to try their other dishes!
(4)
Stephen C.
One of the better tasting sushi I've had in San Jose. I don't know too many places that offer such a robust and fresh menu. Pros: sashimi was super fresh and extremely soft. I was impressed by the searing action done on the salmon. The sukiyaki rice was pretty than expected. Is it me or does it remind anyone of a Bi Bim Bap bowl? The decor was cool. I liked the "blinds" style divider to separate (lunch and dinner parties). Cons: the only con to this place and I am reluctant to say this is the service. I don't know if they are under staffed, hired a new guy, or just plain bad. Granted, we did come during a lunch rush around 12pm however we waited 35 mins for our first dish to come out and it was the main entree. They skipped our first 2 appetizer. 60mins after seating our appetizer comes out. It was extremely difficult waving down a waiter or waitress to get some water. Took 2 hours for everything to come out. Overall: the service was not on par in terms of timeliness. HOWEVER this is a testament to how good the food is. Will be returning. Recommended. Kinda pricey.
(4)
Susann M.
Had lunch with my family weekday. The lunch special is out of this world. You can get 3 big Mackerel fish fillets with rice, salad, and potatoes salad with miso soup for $10. But the best one are the hot stone menu. I had kimchee Cabonero and beef sukiyaki. Not your typical sukiyaki. The flavor here is pretty heavy on salt and sugar. If you don't like too much flavor; please tell them to put less salt & sugar. Sashimi Combination is only $25 for 25 pieces of raw salmon, tuna, halibut. I love Hawiian poki tuna salad. 6 big lunch entrees, 4 Appertizer, 1 salad, and 1 dessert came out $150. That's not bad for japanese tapas. When I go other tapas spot it's easily $250 and up. The most was $400 I had ever witness.
(5)
Pauly C.
This place is delicious! Not quite sure why they only have 3.5 star. Everything we had was an explosion of flavor in our mouths. Salmon lover roll was great. Texture was very pleasurable. Seafood nacho was flavorful and smooth. The kakuni is a must order. The pork was cooked just right. After eating the pork and egg I slurped up all the sauce. The tori momo was great when paired when a bowl of rice, very flavorful and if you like garlic flavor, this was great. Service is good, they were very nice. Sorry no pic, I ate it all too fast.
(5)
Selina S.
Came here upon the recommendation of a friend, and not going to lie, I was a little disappointed by the quality of the sushi here. The place: The restaurant was quite hidden in a rather "abandoned-looking" plaza. The restaurant was pretty dim and had an overall "lethargic" feel to the atmosphere... :( Not sure if it was because it was raining on the day we went, but the place definitely didn't help lighten up the mood. The eats: Before we got our food, my friend (a Cupertino native) claimed this was one of the best sushi joints in Cupertino, so between the two of us, we ordered two rolls: soy paper roll and lion king. I think i was more intrigued by the idea of the roll than the roll itself, because I thought the dish was only so-so. :\ We thought ordering the lion king was a pretty safe option, considering that it's a very popular/generic dish. When the dish arrived, it honestly looked so unappetizing that neither of us wanted to touch it... California roll topped with limpy, half-baked pieces of salmon was definitely not the Lion King we were expecting. The service: Apparently, this place changed management recently so that's why many of their older menu items were not available anymore. But in all honesty, I was not impressed and even slightly annoyed by the service at this restaurant. My friend used to frequent this restaurant, so when he complained about the declining quality of the rolls here, he brought up the fact that it used to be much better. The waitress was clearly not too happy when she heard it, but she was apologetic to our faces. However, when she went to the back and told his complaint to her manager, her manager (along with her and another waiter) started pointing fingers and giving us nasty looks (uh, excuse me lady, you're not being discrete, i can SEE you talking about us!! -_-!) Overall, very poor service, will not return in the future.
(1)
Paul P.
Warning- don't go here with an expectation of timely service. It was horrendous today. And I remember the last time we had issues as well. Sat down at 11:55am and it is now 12:47pm; still waiting to get the "lunch special" after they initially brought the wrong special out after waiting :30 for that. Okay, mistakes happen, that would be tolerable but we had wave down the servers multiple times just to get their attention. In fact, if the server had just bothered to ask if we were interested in taking the sushi special we would have. They did make up for it in the end and hopefully will get better.
(2)
Joyce L.
Good place for Japanese foods. The Uni is my favorite. ZigZag roll is just so so, I will pass. The butaniku is tasty. Lion King roll is good but just doesn't taste like normal one. Again, highly recommend for the Uni nigiri! Lose one star because of the service. The lady makes me annoying, and I asked for a spoon in the very beginning of the dinner but never got it. Almost nobody serviced.
(4)
Teresa D.
Overall atmosphere was good. Place was clean and cozy. Crowded seating but there's separation. Food was surprisingly good in terms of their cooked items. Sashimi was acceptable and fresh but not top grade. Service was great.
(4)
Tina N.
Goooooookaku! Doesn't that sound like a street fighter move? Hehe. I know I'm a dork. My 400th review! I'm going to make this real good and sweet. Maybe not short though! Ordered: - Seafood Nachos $7.95 - Boom $7.95 - Salmon Lover $15.95 - Carbonara Style Mentaiko Kimchi Udon $12.95 Tina's Tricks and Ticks - Total for this deliciousness was $48.72 - I would recommend to be on the safe side to put a reservation, I'm sure they do open table, I don't remember - Place is incognito! I barely found out about this place a couple months ago on yelp. - Small parking lot, but enough to park on this plaza - Seafood nachos crunchy fried goodness with spicy tuna and seaweed salad, a must get - Boom was tasty with the spicy crab mixed with the avocado inside the fried tofu skins - Salmon heaven with the salmon roll: outside is the seared salmon with salmon roe and skin. Inside is the spicy salmon with avocado. - I see why carbonara udon is popular! It's a hot stone with stir fried udon that includes pork, kimchi, and cod roe in this very heavy creamy sauce - My third time here and I usually always order the takoyaki but my friend doesn't really like it... And she's Japanese. I, on the other hand, loveeeee it! Not many restaurants carry the octopus balls. - Definitely a gem in this city and close by home Japanese tapas like Gochi. :)
(4)
Kelly T.
I'm trying to get all my bookmarks checked off and I finally got to fill myself with wonderful Japanese tapas. After much review of the photos and menu on Yelp (MANY hours of studying), I decided on trying the Volcano Roll, Pork Belly w Egg, Sashimi Combo, Seafood Pancake and the Hamachi Garlic Steak. I'm a roll girl so obviously my favorite dish was the Volcano Roll and it was so large it could easily be an meal on its own. I also very much enjoyed the Pork Belly dish; this is a must try for every newcomer. Service was friendly and efficient and they had a decent sake list as well. Can't wait to go back and try some more dishes!
(5)
Jeffrey P.
Love the food here, but the sushi bar is GONE! I don't know whether the chef is hiding in the kitchen or is on vacation but the sushi bar appears to now be turning into a drinks bar. Service very slow (and occasionally wrong). But the food was still delicious!
(3)
Alex N.
I come here quite a bit and thoroughly enjoy my visit each time. The servers are super nice and patient and the food comes quickly. The sizes for each food item are definitely on the larger side so you feel you get your money's worth. Many of the rolls do come with quite a bit of sauce already so no need to dip them in soy sauce and wasabi. Something I like about this place is they don't just have sushi rolls so you can get fish filet, steak pieces, rice, soup dishes, etc.
(4)
Yunzhu C.
Quiet restaurant with good service. Just I didn't order the right food for me. I don't like fried things and raw tuna, but we ordered volcano roll; I don't like creamy stuff, but we ordered that creamy udon. Only japanese seafood pancake is something I feel like eating tonight, but I am like korean seafood pancake better. Anyway will try this place again with different food.
(3)
Jacqueline N.
This is more of a 3.5 rating The 2nd time I went here, it was relatively empty, maybe only about 2-3 other tables, so they had plenty open. My friend and I got seated at a teeny table for two. I would totally understand if it were busier, but why not seat us at a larger table? I asked to move, to a larger one since I knew their plates take up a lot of room. Here's a few things we ordered The volcano roll: Holy shit this was huge, no wonder it's $15-$20. It's literally a giant plate with a mound of sushi with tons of toppings. Great to try if you're with a larger party Carbonara Udon: This was pretty unique, it was a cream based udon with meat and veggies. It comes in a heated pot on wood base with tongs. If you're looking for something out of the ordinary I'd suggest this. I really wish it had uni or cod roe in it though. Takoyaki: Lightly fried, super creamy inside with a piece of octopus. The sauce they used was good as well. Plated nicely on a skinny white ceramic. Hamachi garlic steak: This was flavorful, especially with the crispy element for texture. However there weren't many pieces of protein. Overall this is a nice place to try Japanese tapas, it's not the most unique, but still tastey
(4)
Linh N.
Carbonara Udon was amazing... came here to eat a couple of days after I got my wisdom teeth extracted. Still found it a bit difficult to eat solid food so I to-go'd half of my udon. When I came home I found a men's hair in it. :( Not sure if I'll be coming back...
(2)
Tony S.
Excuse me if my review sounds sloppy. I just woke up from a major food coma I got from eating here. Their dishes hit the spot so good it knocked the f@*k outta me for a while. They had a whole variety of dishes to choose from - authentic sushi, juicy steaks to Asian fusion, all of them had bad-ass flavors and the best part was that they were priced just right. DUDE, IKA JAGA BUTTERRR IS DANGEROUSLY GOOD. Dining at this joint will make the whole party leaving happy. Just make sure you assign a DD cuz you ain't leaving without a coma.
(5)
Lian M.
What the **** why's the service so horrible?? I've been here 5 times or so and it gets worse each time! Today I went with a friend, arrived at 12PM. We ordered the Chef's roll and Lion King roll. Chef's Roll came out after half an hour, Lion king roll came out after AN HOUR. The employees kept saying sorry and gave us complimentary edamame but that doesn't make up for the damn long wait. By the time we left, it was just us and another table eating at the restaurant. Go here if you have 2 hours to kill. Also, no checking up if we need more water or tea.
(2)
Michael W.
Busy and not friendly if you don't have a reservations. We had a reservation for 10 and we arrived and had 11. The guy just about had a fit and said they didn't have anyone chairs. And the place was half empty at the time. We were there right when they opened at 6pm. He went to talk to someone and they reluctantly found a chair. Maybe they're not friendly if you're not a Japanese national. All that being said the food was ok but not great. All the food came and the we had 3 rolls the came 20 minutes after the rest of the food.
(2)
Tom L.
The food here is gross... like watching two fat guidos making out on the Jersey Shore... yeah it's really that bad. I had high hopes for Gokaku. Driving up to its location in a random strip mall in Cupertino I felt like I was stumbling upon a gem. Little did I realize I was about to walk into the worst meal I've had in months. I've been trying to eat healthier, so I ordered the tekka don ($18.95). Thankfully I came here with one of my best friends, because our food took about 45 minutes to come to our table so we had plenty of time to catch up, do our taxes, and take a nap before it was time to eat. When the food arrived it looked beautiful, but tasted like hell. The cuts of tuna were absolutely butchered. Apparently the sushi chef decided to try out his butter knife that day. Worst of all, the sashimi was lukewarm. There is something extremely off putting about the taste of warm sushi. Your brain instantly tells you that you are making a grave mistake, it's like reaching down to grab something that fell into the garbage disposal ... even when it's off your brain is telling you this is a very, very bad call. I normally don't care about service. As long as the food is good, I can forgive inattentive or impolite staff. But when the food tastes like garbage and the service sucks? That's when you know you've found something special, the most overrated sushi restaurant in the South Bay. Congrats Gokaku, your certificate of fail is in the mail, feel free to post it on the wall.
(1)
Kristin C.
Not bad, but I slightly prefer the selection and variety at Gochi and Dan for Izakaya. I would come back though to try more dishes on the menu. Gokaku has more of a modern twist to their dishes and some of them are quite creative, especially in term of presentation. We tried the Maguro Poke, Zig Zag Roll, Croquette and Aigamo Duck Steak which were all pretty good. I love duck so this was probably my favorite. I wasn't the biggest fan of the Zig Zag Roll. I am a big fan of fried soft shell crab, but it was smothered in too much sauce for my liking.
(4)
Ted W.
I'm not giving this one-star rating lightly. The food here is actually not bad, but my experience today at this establishment made me not want to come here again. Long story short, I waited almost 45 minutes for my lunch order, and the restaurant didn't even have that many people in it. The wait staff was also less than helpful when I asked how long it would take (this was at the 30 minute mark).
(1)
Frank L.
I thought Gochi was the SPOT for japanese fusion tapas in cupertino... WRONG! Gokaku is FRIGGIN LEGIT Recommendations: Aigamo Steak (Duck): Flavorful and very tender...I had it at Gochi as well and found it just decent...after i had it here i just knew THIS IS HOW ITS DONE... Buta Kanuni & Hanjuku Tamago(Japanese Style Braised Pork & half boiled egg) : JUST GET IT Hamachi Garlic Steak (Grilled Hamachi): DO IT Cucumber Salad thingy...: id hit it again Seafood Nachos: good but BETTER TAPAS IN THE SEA On a serious note...sashimi was alrite...rolls were alrite as well...nuthin super mega extraordinary...i think my least fav one was the Seared Yaki Roll...My suggestion if u come here is to stick wit the tapas and get less o the traditional japanese stuff...
(4)
Ai L.
So when I asked my sister what's new in town, she mentioned this Japanese restaurant. We like to check out the various Japanese tapa places in the neighborhood. OH DANG, FUN STUFF! even my niece (2yr old) likes it. Zigzag roll + rainbow roll + hokke + nikusoba+shabu shabu salad super full for 2 adults + 1 2year-old The zigzag roll was a cooked sushi roll with soy wrap, which i never had before. I thought it was interesting to try, but I don't think I will order it again. however, the table next to us seemed to love it. Rainbow roll, the sashimi was fresh, but i won't say it was out of the ordinary. We wanna try super roll next time. (apparently super roll has the same filling as zigzag roll but coated with sashimi instead of soy wrap). the grilled mackerel was DELICIOUS! cooked just right, and not toooooo salty. even my niece loved it! she kept on asking for more. The shabu shabu salad was delicious too. i don't think I had a bad shabu shabu salad yet in the south bay at these Japanese tapa restaurants. the dressing they use is just yummy! my niece loved the nikusoba too. it actually has some mushroom and seaweed in the soup too. I had a little bit of her food. definitely recommend it! can't wait to go back and try the other dishes!!! the only thing is that, it's small and not a lot of servers. service could be kinda slow at times. but it's okay, i'll wait for the yum yum food.
(4)
Ruby M.
It's a small place. There's definitely not a lot of room for personal space. We sat at a table for 2 with a divider right next to another table of two. The divider doesn't help with privacy or creating a personal space if that's what they were trying to do. Service was OK. I had to ask to order drinks and food. They didn't seem to like to approach you to ask if you need anything or want anything. But once you get their attention, it's really quick. Food was GOOD. Fresh produce (salad), sashimi was good, seafood pancake was delicious. If they had a better layout of the place and a cleaner restroom, I'd definitely give it another star.
(3)
S N.
We went on a Tuesday night, after hearing high recommendations from a couple of different folks. We arrived at 6pm right when it opened. Other reviews say try to get there right when it opens because it could get crowded, we didn't have that problem. When we were seated another party of 8 people had just arrived. The waitress seemed friendly enough, she asked if we wanted any drinks, we asked for water and tea. We'd looked at the menu while in the car so we had an idea of what to get when we arrived. The drinks came soon enough but she brought us one cup of water and one cup of tea...there were 2 of us. I don't know, but i thought it would make sense to bring each diner water at least. We placed our order, volcano roll ($13.95), zig zag roll ($9.95), age somen ankake (fried noodle $11) and spider roll ($9.95). The folks that had recommended this place said it was good, but did not make specific recommendations. Maybe our mistake was in ordering mostly rolls. The zig zag was first to arrive, and we asked for a second glass of water. We ate the zig zag roll, pretty basic, nothing special. No water. Then the volcano roll arrived, it was this giant plate of sauce, fried crunchy bits, and buried deep below was the roll. The hot sauce that surrounded the plate seriously tasted like the hot sauce from Taco Bell. If you don't believe me, go try it. In addition to the hot sauce is this mayo sauce that drenched the plate. My dining companion took a huge scoop, and began to eat. She paused and pulled a long thread of what looked and felt like a piece from a steel wool sponge. This stopped our dinner. We signaled for the waitress, she took the piece of steel wool and went to investigate. After a few minutes she came back and explained that it may have been from the kitchen, and said we would not be charged for the dish. Still no water. The noodles came, they were a bit heavy with black pepper, and for $11 I would expect more that TWO shrimp in the whole dish. Geez...come on! The finally the spider roll, nothing worth writing about. Finally I stopped the other wait staff and asked for 2 glasses of water. Water, finally. After we paid and got up to leave, I noticed the wait staff refilling the glasses of water and tea at the only other table in the place. Summary: - Wait staff seems friendly, but not very attentive. - One dish had steel wool in it, but we were not charged for it. - The rest of the food was fine, but was nothing outstanding. - Volcano roll hot sauce tastes like Taco Bell hot sauce.
(2)
Kattz M.
Service: This place is highly disorganized starting from the wait list down to where we got seated. We were literally ignored for 30 mins. and handed us the menu not until after 30 mins. (For a two top.) The servers are like headless chickens don't know which table to go first. Food: Takoyaki ---best appetizer I've had. Sashimi salad---I've had better. Tempura udon---very good, portion is just right. Rainbow roll was very good. Chef roll was good. Kani creme croquette---forgettable. Okonomiyake pancake tasted very good. Hamachi garlic steak---very, very good. Gindara Miso Zuke sauce was good but a lot of fish bones. Unagi don was good. Mochi green tea ice cream---good. Overall, food is decent. The only thing that we won't come back anytime soon is the lousy service (this wasn't our first time.) Once the server or the food runner drops the food to our table, we are left on our own. No refills of water and hot tea. Difficult for us to flag down the servers when the floor is busy. Sigh.
(2)
Jennie C.
Ordered the takoyaki, zig zag, unagi donburi, ika jaga butter yaki, salmon yagi onigiri, and four slices of sake (salmon) nigiri. The takoyaki was delicious, and I enjoyed the unagi donburi. I felt the salmon yagi onigiri could have a little more flavor (the one at Tanto is much better). The ika jaga butter yaki was cooked nicely and the ika wasn't tough. I didn't enjoy the zigzag as much as I felt the flavors were covered by the excessive amount of mayo. Also, the rice was a little too sticky for my liking. This place is super popular but I feel like the food quality has room to improve; also, as it seems everyone else is a huge fan...maybe consistency? Service was great and people were attentive - reservations were quick and painless to make.
(3)
Brian L.
good food but bad service . come closing time we were rudely pushed out by the "manager" George because it was closing time. So fellow yelpers beware of the sub par service here .
(2)
Michael W.
The restaurant is run by real Japanese people, which is nice. That means I get to practice my Japanese. It's located in a quiet strip mall in the middle of residential Cupertino. I got the Carbonara Udon, Seafood Nachos, and the Duck Steak. Seafood Nachos are good but they are definitely meant to be shared. 4 is too much for one person. I think 1-2 is the perfect amount. Duck Steak was great! It was juicy and flavorful. Comes with mashed potatoes, mushrooms, and 2 chips. Carbonara Udon is very tasty as well. I couldn't actually finish this because the portion was pretty large. Very friendly service and prompt to refill tea and respond to other needs. Overally, quite good with a nice atmosphere, but portions are too generous to be considered tapas!
(4)
Annie S.
YUM!!!! I really enjoyed my rolls here. They were packed so well (I don't have to be scared about my piece slipping into the soy sauce / wasabi), and they tasted delicious. My boyfriend and I got 3 rolls and shared them, and we were both very satisfied and full afterwards! One of the cons of this restaurant is the wait. I noticed some tables around us getting impatient... so I suggest you come here if you're not starving and not limited on time!
(4)
Peter W.
Not only was my server a creepy looking dude, the sushi here is bad. Despite giving somewhat large rolls (TGI sized) it's quite costly. I tried the volcano, which is a glorified spicy tuna roll with a crap ton of panko crumbs tossed on top and formed into a volcano like peak. It was awkward to fish out the sushi pieces, the idea of the volcano roll looks quite disgusting and unappealing. Furthermore this glorified spicy tuna roll cost 20 dollars ($15 worth of panko crumbs?). The "spicy" sauce they used on many of the spicy rolls that we got taste like Tapatio--WTF?????. Although I can't speak for the tapas and other cooked foods though, but it's unlikely that I'll be going back. There are plenty more alternatives that come to mind. So much for trying something new. I'll stick with Tanto, Sumiya for tapas and Yuki for sushi.
(2)
Anna M.
Had bookmarked this place awhile ago and finally found the time to swing by. I had high expectations for this place considering the great reviews and all the "thumbs up" on the menu. When I first walked in with my love, we were not greeted right away nor were we acknowledged. Stood for a good 2 minutes or so before someone came with 2 menus to seat us. Sucks because they weren't even THAT busy. Took awhile to figure out what we wanted since the menu was never ending... a was bit much. What we ordered: Aigamo Steak (duck steak with mashed potato) - $12.95 the duck was very tough and dry.. the only good part about this dish was the mashed potatoes. Secret Shrimp (deep fried shrimp tossed in chef's creamy ponzu sauce) - $6.95 I don't really understand the hype about this. Yes, the sauce is good... but the batter of the shrimp is not even crunchy AT ALL... deep fried should always have a good crunch and some texture to it.. this was a complete fail. KaraAge (fried chicken) - $5.95 popcorn chicken.. can't really go wrong with that. It was so bland I had to keep dipping it in the sauce of the secret shrimp. Didn't really order much because nothing stood out to us... that was a first. In all I was pretty let down by this place. It wasn't bad, but definitely not a meal to remember. I felt sick afterwards too :(
(2)
Lily V.
The place is small and traditional looking. The fish is real fresh. The rolls are delicious. The customer service is very prompt and nice, but they are very strict about changing their rolls. I wanted to add cucumbers into my Alaska roll, and he had to go talk to the chef for a good five minutes. I would totally recommend it and come back.
(4)
Angela W.
Holy crap, we got an unreal amount of food for 3 people. maguro poke nasi dengaku carbonara kimchi udon zigzag roll volcano roll duck steak salmon rice ball This amounted to about $90, and how we finished most of it, I have no idea, but I certainly had issues rolling around afterward.... I actually thought everything was quite satisfying, despite reading mixed reviews. The rice ball was nothing to write home about, but the maguro poke came with a lot of tuna, was well seasoned, fresh, and tasty. Nasi dengaku was ok, a little on the sweet side. The carbonara kimchi udon - sounds so weird- but tasted so good! And normally I'm a little averse to udon since it's so thick and chewy. But it's a great creamy texture, and not too overwhelmingly rich. One of my favorites for the night. Zigzag roll - I love soft shell crab so it was good, but I would say ease up a little on the mayo (actually chefs special sauce, but whatever). Volcano roll = INTENSE. be prepared if you are going to get this. It is a lot of food and it has a funny spicy sauce over the top that we are convinced is the taco bell fire sauce from down the street. Duck steak - so good - but I'm also biased and pretty much love anything involving duck. My main complaint here is that as an izakaya style restaurant, they really need to make portions smaller and cheaper, so you can try more things without stuffing yourself and spending a fortune. All in all, a pretty good meal.
(4)
Sophie Y.
I came here with a friend on a weekday (no wait!) and when we got seated, the waiter handed up menus and a "picture book" which I was really excited about. It didn't have pictures of everything on the menu but it did have pictures of a lot of the popular items. Unfortunately, that made deciding on our food really difficult because everything looked really good! We ended up getting the takoyaki to share. It came with 6 takoyaki, which were pretty good. It was a bit less fried than other takoyaki I have tried but it was still crispy on the outside and really soft on the inside. Yum :) I also got the Titanic roll, which was pretty massive. It was tempura shrimp and crab stuff in the roll, topped with hamachi/salmon/tuna, roe, and seaweed salad. The fish here was really fresh and the pieces of fish that they top the sushi rolls with are larger and thicker than most other sushi places. It was a lot of food, I ended up just eating the fish off the last few pieces of my roll because I was too full to finish the rest of it. The roll was kind of salty though, I drank a lot of water throughout the meal. This place is pretty quiet.. I was eating here with a friend and I felt like everybody in the restaurant could hear us talking because it was so quiet! Plus side was that it wasn't crowded at all so we sat at our table and talked for while after we had finished eating. I think the prices here are a bit higher than other places, but it's worth it! Good fish and pretty good portion sizes too :)
(4)
Albert W.
First order Octopus karrage - 3.5* Sweet shrimp ( ran out) Spicy scallop sushi - 4* Tuna and avocado roll -3.5* Second order Agedashi tofu - 4.5* Original gokaku cocktail ( ran out special ingredient) Overall, sushi was good. Rice has the right firmness and they don't fall apart when the sushi was picked up. The two items that ran out was a bit disappointing. One being their signature cocktail and a common fresh raw sweet shrimp. The deep fried dishes are good as well but would like to have sauce on the karrage.
(3)
Evangeline W.
Great place and always a surprise! I've been here twice and am definitely a fan: 1.Carbonara Style Mentaiko & Kimchi Udon (stir fried udon marinated with kimchi, cream & cod roe) 2.Maguro Poki (hawaiian style tuna, scallion, onion,tomato & seaweed salad) 3. Super Roll (soft shell crab,tobiko, scallion rolled in soy wrap in chef's original ziggy sauce and topped with assorted fish 4. Volcano (spicy tuna & tempura jalapeno topped with fresh salmon, avocado, crab mix, tobiko, crunch tempura flakes & scallion in chef's original spicy sauce) My friend and I were delightfully surprised by the Volcano. We were expecting a big. spicy roll, but this huge plate comes with rolls hidden underneath tempura flakes! A+ for presentation and color! Service was friendly and fast. I would suggest getting reservations. We came here on a Saturday night and luckily we came right at 6PM and were able to be seated right away since there were only 2 of us. However, the line formed immediately after us.
(4)
Max P.
Pretty nice place A bit out of the way though All the food is pretty high quality I had a great time here Great for a weeknight dinner
(4)
Alice L.
The BBD roll is fantastic - I get it everytime. Instead of seaweed, a green soy wrap is used and deep fried so that it almost tastes like a slightly sweet donut. It doesn't hurt that it comes with scrumptious scallops either. All the rolls I've tried were tastefully conceived; it's just that this one is more unique. The appetizers are not worth it to me. The secret shrimp, seafood nachos, takoyaki, and okonomiyaki were disappointments but they tasted fresh albeit bland and served in miniscule portions. The Buta Kakuni was tender but flavorless, but then again I'm not a fan of braised pork since it has so much fat in chunks and at this point in the meal, I was already feeling like I ate too much grease. The Duck steak was amazing. The sauce was so savory that I was even able to eat the mushrooms that it came with even though I usually despise those mushrooms with a passion. The mashed potatoes were chunky and it came with crispy bits of fried stuff. It tasted like an Asian fusion dish but extremely well executed. The service was prompt and they refilled our waters religiously. We experienced a mild confusion in the beginning when two waitresses both tried to take our orders, with one listing their specials for more than 5 minutes when we were starving.
(4)
Jennifer W.
He knows that I love Japanese food and especially I love Japanese tapas. It's a small restaurant and I have to say the food was pretty darn good! We had the udon noodles in carbonara style mentaiko-kimchi udon was damn amazing! Who would have thought? LOL! The chef's choice appetizer-sashimi in a cucumber wrapped bowl had fruit dressing too (it was okay). We also had the kani cream croquette-yummy! Pictures will be posted later. Thanks hun! You're the best!
(4)
Chris L.
This place is on Bollinger and Blaney where the old school Tin Tin Supermarket used to be (the only Chinese supermarket before Marina and 99 ranch popped up!). It's on the side with all the little shops next to the drycleaners. I called 20 minutes before we were supposed to get there and they were able to reserve a spot. The inside is a bit stuffy and dark with separators between the tables (like at Korean bars). It gives it more of a Asian tapas restaurant feel than just having the area open. The only problem is flagging a person down between the separators and curtains and what not. The waiter was gracious but had a heavy Japanese accent, which made the experience more authentic. He recommended the sushi nachos (the fish that goes into the onigiri is on a large white corn paper thin nacho - four nachos for $7.95 ($2 per nacho!)), duck steak with mashed potatoes (tender and well-cooked, was a little too oily - $14.50 for about eight small pieces) and Zigzag roll that had soft shell crab in a green soy wrap (too much white rice stuffed in there - $9.95 for a huge roll of rice). The flavors are not delicate here, but I can see why kids up to mid-twenties people like to eat here. Service was good, but they forgot our toro nigiri so minus one star for that and minus one star for the food.
(3)
Vivian L.
I wouldn't recommend ordering sushi rolls here at Gokaku. They were honestly way too big and a bit overwhelming. The Firecracker was seriously SPICY due to the jalepenos on top. The Titanic Roll was good, never tried a roll with the combination of spicy tuna and seaweed salad. But there was seriously so much stuff on the sushi roll that it made my apetite slim down. I also ordered the Chefs Roll which I didn't enjoy, but I usually never like baked sushi rolls... As the rolls were a bit disappointing, the Chirashi was good (had a cool presentation)...or I would rather say bitter sweet. The sashimi portion was great, but the rice tasted so off...the rice wasn't overly unpleasant but wasn't really enjoyable either.. I looked over to the other table and their food looked AMAZING. I should have went with my gut instinct to lean towards the Tapas side of Gokaku and not the sushi. I dont know why but I'm just not drawn to this place so I will probably not visit again anytime soon. But when I do, I will focus on the tapas and maybe my review for Gokaku will bump up to four stars...
(3)
Kioko O.
I went back today for dinner with a friend. They still have 8% off if you pay by cash. No hassle this time around. Great! I ordered that Carbonara Style Mentaiko-Kimchi Udon (stir fried udon with kimchi and cod roe in creamy sauce; $10.95) once again! Yumm! Also great was the Tofu Salad (organic mixed green salad topped with tofu; $5.50) and Kani Cream Croquet (fried mashed potatoes and crab roll with crab cream; $7.50). I didn't get to order the rolls but they look great (looking from other tables). I will try them when I return there next time.
(4)
Phuong T.
Gokaku is located in a small, Asian plaza. Parking is not ample, but it's not tough to find, either. The restaurant itself is small, size feels similar to Orenchi's. We had a reservation here and were seated promptly. Service in general was good. Since it was our first time there, we wanted to try a ton of things and started ordering 1 of everything from the "most popular items" menu. Thank god our server suggested we order less because 10 items for 4 people was probably overdoing it, lol. The food was pretty great. Fish is pretty fresh. I enjoyed most of their dishes in the popular items menu, especially the zig zag roll. The firecracker roll is great for spice lovers. Pass on the croquette. My only other advice is to avoid trying to order everything on the popular items menu as your meal will get too heavy without some veggies or greens in there. :P
(4)
Eva G.
Really unimpressed. Food was mediocre and service was friendly but slow and inattentive. Waited half an hour for a tea refill, and to get the check. Also, the kitchen smells greasy and the smell penetrates the restaurant, my clothes and hair smelled like a deep fryer after I left! Also my stomach hurt after I left and still does.
(1)
John J.
I LOVE IT!! I had the Chef's Roll, the Super Roll, and the iidako (baby octopus) for appetizer. Gokaku is authentic Japanese food that you can share. Ordering off the top ten menu is recommended. The Chef's Roll and the Super Roll are a harmony of flavors and textures dancing on the palette. The Super Roll is really big and is topped with different color tobiko. Not only was the presentation awesome, it was om nom nom delicious. If I could eat this every week, I would be super happy.
I made a reservation at 6:30pm on Sunday for 6 people. The person who took my call messed up time and set it up at 7:30pm. When we arrived and told them I made a reservation at 6:30pm, two servers there kept on repeating "I didn't take your call" in a very defensive manner. They said they would make a table for us but didn't do anything after that. Eventually, the store manager came and he asked us to wait until the other party finished their dinner and started to ask the other party when they would finish their dinner. We decided to leave when we heard this. Anyone can make a mistake but sincere apology with the gesture of taking responsibility can ease the situation. I was extremely annoyed by their irresponsible behavior by saying "I am not the one who took your call" and "Let me make your table" when there is no table available at all. Unless you can happily tolerate annoying service with irresponsible behavior, avoid this restaurant.
(1)
Samantha P.
I eat a whole lot of sushi, and I gotta say this is probably my favorite place thus far ! Sashimi is fresh, rolls are innovative and wholesome. Zig Zag roll, Chef's Roll are cooked rolls which I don't usually like but these were AMAZEBALLS. Super Roll was really super because it was like a cooked roll with fresh-ass sashimi on top. UGH so good. Went here 2 weekends in a row. Ordered Takoyaki first time, it was okay, shared with boyfriend, so it got a bit boring after a while. Sashimi combo is pretty bank. I think 23 bucks ? Dont remember but it FILLED ME UP. So fresh too. So thumbs up. The hole in the wallet doesn't burn as much. Thinking about coming here again today... except I dont know what the boyfriend would say.. LOL yommyyy :) Edited on Jan 15: been here a handful more of times over the years and I would have to say the service got worse and the sashimi salad does not look the way it does in the picture haha. I would still come back but no longer my most favorite
(4)
Louisa L.
Gokaku did not disappoint me =) Came here at around 7pm on a thursday night with two other friends and got seated right away. Nice atmosphere and setting. You can hear a lot of people speaking japanese so i guess it meant something =P I was pretty overwhelmed with the menu. They have a huge selection on both raw and cooked food. It's a little bit more than a normal izakaya. We didn't order any rolls but we got the chef recommended assorted nigiri sushi (TokuJoNigiri) and it's very fresh and nice! I love how the sashimi on top is thick and huge whereas the rice at the bottom is small. I also like their Kimagure Okonomiyaki! It's one of my favorite dishes of the night. I like how they made it crispy on the outside~ We have also ordered the seaweed salad and kurobuta shogayaki (sauteed berkshire pork with ginger and vegetable) and fried chicken cartilage. The pork is a little too salty towards the bottom of the dish, but overall it tastes pretty good. The portion of chicken cartilage is a bit small. We ended our dinner with black sesame ice cream. Overall it's a nice dinner~ Even thou it's a bit far for me, but I will come back to try out other stuff on the menu!
(4)
Dmitriy V.
This restaurant turned out to be one of the best finds in the bay area! Not only is it right in my neighborhood but also quite possibly has the best selection of sushi / tapas & more authentic Japanese dishes in the bay area. Do not be fooled by the simplistic exterior as the ambience and the service are exceptional! Have now been here 6-7 times and this is one of the few places where I could blindly order Chef's Choice or Daily special and be positively surprised every time. The presentation of the food, while a minor thing is also quite good and the sushi comes with sauces & dried bananas.
(5)
Mark S.
Started off with Takoyaki, it was awesome. Then ordered a Buta Kakuni Don it was very tasty, meat very tender and great flavor.
(4)
Priscilla O.
I've come here a couple times with my family. Recently I came here with a party of 9 (we ordered 2 or 3 of EACH dish)...and the service & food was still great. Get ready for the long list of things we ordered... Seafood Nachos - simple, spicy tuna on a fried wonton Takoyaki - octopus dumpling, this was delicious! Sashimi Salad - the dressing is perfect Rainbow Carpaccio - sauce was super tangy yet light. one of my fav dishes of the night Maguro Poke - similar to sashimi salad, just tuna chunks Chef's Special Roll - fried roll, w. variety of raw fish inside, not bad Carbonara Style Mentaiko-Kimchi Udon - i feel their udon is too rich, but i know a lot of people rave about this dish Tori-Nankotsu Karaage - i dont recommend this one. just fried cartilage Plum Ochazuke - perfect to have among all the rich flavorful food, one of my favs Buta Kakuni - soft, fatty, & comes with a perfect egg Aigamo Steak - duck was cooked to perfection & sauce was killer Gyutan Shioyaki - super tender & flavorful, loved it Okonomiyaki - small portion, tasty but not amazing HIGHLY RECOMMEND: takoyaki, sashimi salad, rainbow carpaccio, plum ochazuke, buta kakuni, aigamo steak, & gyutan shioyaki. The servers were extremely accommodating to our huge party even though the place was really small & quaint. If you want to get seated immediately make a reservation. We went on a Sunday evening & the restaurant was pretty packed, but there didn't seem to be a line.
(4)
Nathan L.
The size of this place is good and bad. Besides needing to wait a bit, it's surprisingly cozy and every item you order is served at the same time (instead of having to wait until everyone gets their order before eating) which makes it very convenient. We've ordered the chicken broth udon, volcano roll, chef's choice of nigiri, and hamachi/salmon carpaccio. All were delicious but I think what really stands out is their nigiri. Beautifully plated and a great fish to rice ratio, this dish is well worth it. The volcano roll is also GIANT and sprayed with a chili sauce that's not too spicy but a bit too overwhelming in my opinion. If you brush the sauce to the side (to use for dippping) or just ask to not put as much on, the roll is actually quite delicious and unique. It's a great place to take a date and chat over a cup of hot tea after your meal. Parking is also plentiful so that's one thing you don't have to worry about.
(4)
July H.
The sushi are mostly fried sushi. Uni was not fresh. The best dish was the black cod. Everything else is mediocre. We also got the black sesame ice cream which is ok. If you like cooked Japanese food, then this is a good place. Otherwise, pass. Service was good and friendly. Prices are quite expensive.
(3)
Greg L.
An awesome place for Japanese tapas, Gokaku delivers on all fronts. Walked in at 6pm on a Sunday, and were seated immediately as a party of three. It got crowded pretty quickly, so next time I'll make a reservation just to be safe. After being seated, one of the chefs (maybe?) took the time to offer some recommendations, explaining the most popular dishes on the menu. I thought this was pretty cool, definitely bonus points in the service department. Almost everything we ordered was pretty damn good, with a few standout dishes that I would definitely get again: Aigamo (Duck) Steak ($13.95): Probably the best dish of the meal. The slices of duck were tender and tasty, and was accompanied by a side of delicious "mashed" potatoes. The dish overall had a ton of flavor, and I honestly believe you could put this dish on a an upscale restaurant's menu for +$20 and it would still be worth it. If you have a larger group, order two of these because these will be go quickly. Maguro Poke ($13.95): Generous morsels of tuna were mixed in with a tasty salad that included seaweed. Presentation was impressive, and the three sauces on the plate had a nice sweet/fruity flavor. Zig Zag Roll ($9.95): Followed the recommendation of the chef and other Yelpers, and was not disappointed. Unique from other rolls I've had, the soft shell crab mixed with the sauce creates a creamy/crunchy sensation in your mouth. Gyutan (Beef Tongue) Miso ($13.95): One of the best beef tongue dishes I've had. If you are at all squeamish about eating tongue, this is the dish that might convert you into a believer. The thick chunks of tongue were super tender, almost melt in your mouth. The amount of tongue isn't super large, but it comes with a portion of grilled vegetables. Iidako (Octopus) Kara-Age ($7.50): Really liked the batter on this dish. Nothing super fancy, but very well executed fried octopus. Chewier than squid, just FYI. Negima Nabe (Tuna, Tofu, and Vegetable Soup) ($11.95): Ordered this as filler to contrast the bold flavors of the other dishes. Solid, tasty broth with a pronounced pepper flavor. Got about 5-6 small bowl servings from the pot. Probably would try something else next time, but it was still tasty. The service was very friendly, and water/tea was refilled at a good pace. The Zig Zag Roll and Poke came out in only a few minutes, which was pretty amazing. Just as an FYI, if you order certain dishes like the Duck Steak and Beef Tongue Miso, it might take a while to make it to your table. They warned us about this delay when we initially ordered, so that was nice of them. The menu is pretty extensive, and there are a lot of dishes I will want to try out. Will be here again, for sure.
(5)
LeeLee C.
3.5 star. Crowded restaurant due to its popularity, but very efficient seating management and good service. We ordered spicy octopus, which was the best among other things. Super fresh, delicious and good flavor. Secret Shrimp was OK, big prawns, but the flavor's not that intriguing. The Fish Taco was the most disappointing dish since it completely lacked the flavor. We also ordered a soba with duck breast, which came with very generous amount of duck breasts and they were cooked perfectly tender! We also ordered Volcano, which is some rolls at the bottom and topped with lots of crispy frittos and sauces (some sauce from the Secret Shrimp and some very hot Vietnamese chili sauce). Probably because Volcano came the last when we were half full, I didn't find it so good and it was way too spicy for me. Overall, I do think their menu has some creative items. Combined with good service, this place deserves a visit.
(3)
Kevin N.
Came here for dinner in a party of 3 on a weeknight around 8. Didn't have a reservation and got seated right away. We ordered: Maguro Poki (Sashimi Salad): Favorite dish here. Comes nicely presented, wrapped in two pieces of cucumber. Well-dressed greens with a generous amount of fresh sashimi. Volcano Roll: 6 rolls wrapped in baked salmon hidden under a giant mound of hot sauce, imitation crab meat, and tempura flakes. The rolls themselves were good. After we were finished digging at the gigantic mound, we were left with a huge plate of hot sauce and tempura flakes. Seemed like a huge waste of food, so we decided to just ask the waiter for kicks if anyone actually finishes this beast of a dish. She said usually people do...I guess we were just newbs at eating. Super Roll: Giant roll shoved with pretty much everything you can think of that belongs in sushi. Awesome. Seafood Okonomiyaki: Pretty tasty. Not my favorite though. Buta Kakuni: Quite delicious but not worth it for the small portion that they give you. Around 6 pieces of pork and 2 egg halves. Overall, a good dining experience. I'll be back to try some more of their tapas.
(4)
Ling H.
4.5 stars for my 500th Review! I've been to a couple Japanese tapas place and this is definitely one of my favorites! It's been on my mind (more than it should be) that I need to come back. Soon. Star players: - Salmon Sashimi: If you love salmon, you will LOVE this! SO effin buttery goodness in your mouth I'm actually salivating as I type. I wantwantwant more of this goodness! At first, I was a little shocked at the price of this dish, but once I took that first bite, ALL reasoning went out of my head. I wanted ANOTHER dish! Yes.That.Good. - Secret Shrimp: I have to admit. I am typically not a shrimp person, but my friend said we had to get it per the reviews. Ok. I'm game. Bring it on shrimp. I hope you have something to show me and blow me away. And I ate my words. Ohmygoodness. The SAUCE. It was heavenly and sinful at the same time! How is that possible?!! Let me tell you, it definitely had a Ranch flavor to it. I swear. And mayonaise. It was so creamy and delicious. I know the way I'm describing it does NOT do this dish justice! We all dipped other items into this delicious sauce. Even if you refuse to eat shrimp because you don't care for it or you're allergic to shrimp or it's against your religion, get it anyways. Just.For.The.Sauce. Everything else was pretty good. - Takoyaki: Also great flavors and the outside had a great crunch and this dish came out piping hot! Thank you waiter for pointing it out so we didn't burn our tongue off! - Tuna sashimi salad: I prefer salmon to tuna so I'm a little biased on this dish. The tuna was a little tougher compared to salmon, but when is it not? I liked the fact that they threw wakame in the salad, although the "dressing" they used was not too memorable. The presentation though was very pretty. - Volcano roll: The picture and description made it to be more than it really was. I was just an oversized crunch roll. I think after all the grilled stuff, this was a little overkill as it was our last dish. All in all, a great place for dinner. Make reservations. Drink some sake.
(5)
Bernard C.
Gokaku is my FAVORITE Japanese restaurant. It's located in a run down strip mall, but don't let that phase you. Their menu is incredibly innovative with one of the FASTEST sushi chef's on the planet. Try to grab a seat at the bar to watch the master. - Zigzag Roll. I believe this is the chef's original creation w/ soft shell crab and mayo in a soy wrapper. The crunchiness and flavor is indescribable. It's like heaven on earth. Don't run it by using soy sauce. I'd come here just for this dish. - Sushi. The portions are incredibly generous. BEST DEAL IN TOWN. My favorites are the sake (salmon) and hotate (scallops). It's like a two for one special with every bite. You can seemingly cut the fish in half and make another nigiri. Props to the chef for not skimping on the portions. If you like sushi, Gokaku is a MUST TRY. They have very interesting dishes and generous portion sizes. Don't miss out on this gem!
(5)
Tien N.
The pancake + takoyaki are amazing! Service is not the best though. Don't expect great customer service when you're here. However, the food makes up for it.
(4)
Nadia L.
So we came here at the recommendation of a friend who has questionable taste, but I was actually really surprised when I really enjoyed the meal. Based in a pretty dead plaza at night, this is probably the only reason why people come to this plaza at night. We had a variety of food including the tuna hot pot, sashimi salad (with huge chunks of fresh fish), 2 different rolls all packed with delicious goodness and others. I loved the selection the menu offered, a good mix of rolls, whiteboard daily specials and cooked food. The place is not that big and can get pretty packed so I suggest getting there a little earlier or you may end up waiting for a while. Looking forward to trying other things on the menu.
(4)
Allison Y.
thorougly disappointed. gochi's line was long even for a weekday lunch so we came here instead. we ordered the fried octopus for an appetizer which was the best part of the meal. great texture, fresh octopus, and tasty batter. however, the quality of the salmon in the salmon & ikura don was just not up to bar and it costs more than tomi sushi. and tomi sushi has the BEST sashimi in the bay area. like why would you do that? we also got the kimchi carbonara udon served in a stone pot. very messy and fatty and not very tasty. also the service was horrible
(2)
Marc K.
OK, I admit I'm not a huge Japanese food fan, but I don't see what all the hype is about. We ordered about 4 or 5 different items (mostly rolls) and all I can say is "sauce sauce sauce." They were overwhelmingly flavored like the sauce and you couldn't even taste the subtle flavors of the fish in the rolls. Their food is heavy and leaves you wanting something light. I wouldn't return.
(2)
Edward W.
Recommended by a close friend, we decided to drive 30 minutes from Fremont to try out this place. Located in a deserted plaza, Gokaku definitely blew me out of the water with its tasty dishes. The Omakase Appetizer (sushi) is not actually 3 different appetizers. My version of this appetizer was 4 pieces of high quality sushi, albeit not worth the $20. The rice was wrapped in fresh tuna and topped with three different colors of tobiko that were a bit too salty. Rainbow carpaccio has some serious fresh fish; salmon, tuna, and yellowtail dipped in some sweet sauce. The dish comes with 3 slices for each type of fish. The sweet sauce makes the sashimi taste interesting, but you can tell the fish is fresh. The zig zag roll is something worth coming back for. Soft shell crab, avocado, tobiko, scallion, all wrapped in a soy wrap, creating the most intense sushi bite ever. Obviously I can't get full off these small portion dishes so I had to go with a rice dish, the buta kimchi don. Recommended by my fellow yelpers, I decided to give it a shot, and I was not disappointed. Fatty slices of pork, kimchi flavored rice, and a healthy portion size ended the lunch on a satisfied note. Service here was top-notch as the waiter was very descriptive in his recommendations and constantly checked up on us. Always nice to have great service complimented with tasty food.
(4)
Desmond T.
I came here a few times with my girlfriend's family. Expect small portions because it's tapas, but the food here is really good! We ordered a ton of food, but I'm only going to list the ones that I liked. ----------------------------- Seafood nachos: 4 pieces of spicy nacho w/ spicy tuna. Very refreshing! Takoyaki: octopus dumpling. So flavorful, so good Rainbow Carpaccio: variety of sashimi [tuna, salmon, and hamachi] with a very tangy and refreshing sauce. Maguro Poke: a very refreshing tuna salad Carbonara style Mentaiko Kimchi Udon: very very flavorful and a bit too rich. Buta Kakuni Don: very tender, fatty pieces of pork with half boiled egg. The egg was perfect Aigamo Steak: very flavorful duck with amazing sauce Gyutan Shioyaki: very tender, flavorful beef tongue ------------------------------ I definitely appreciated the service. They always came by to clean up the plates and refill our water/tea. They are very friendly too! It's probably wise to make a reservation to be on the safe side. This is pricey too, so be prepared!
(4)
Navi M.
I came here during lunch, the service is absolutely horrible. There were not many people but I had to wait for 20 minutes just to order my food. 20 more minutes to get my food. The server put the food halfway onto the table and ran away to the next table, if I had not caught the plate, it would have fallen to the ground. The food is good but not worth the wait & the bad service.
(1)
Simon C.
Came here on a Thursday night with 3 friends. Ordered 5 dishes. Pretty decent I guess. 1. Shishamo - cant really go wrong with this one, taste good, especially with beer! 2. Nankotsu Kara-age - this is the fried chicken cartilage, most japanese restaurants I go to only have fried chicken meat, I like cartilage a lot better especially its texture. But the cartilage I have this time is kind of small in size, I would say probably the smallest I have ever had. They fried it pretty well just wish it is a bit bigger 3. Volcano - this is kind of unique, a HUGE dish with some stir fry roll, with fish, avocado, rice everything mixed together. It's kind of like fried rice, it's a bit spicy and there was lot of mayo. Not my favorite but it did fill up my stomach a lot 4. Pork shogayaki - I think this was best one out of the 7 dishes. Very good onion smell, the sauce is not too salty, and the portion fits 4 people 5. Chef's roll - my friends like it a lot but to me it was just a regular roll; not so much taste to it but also because of this, I could taste the fish inside (yellowtail and tuna?) personally I don't like rolls with too much sauce in it, I feel im just eating rice with sauce So yea, oh and one of my friend and I ordered 3 beers each, it was $5.5 for a glass, I feel it is kind of pricey compare with other Japanese restaurants. Overall I would say this is a decent sushi / roll / Japanese small dish restaurant; they got some interesting dish but I'm soso with them. But it's good for a try.
(3)
Anna S.
Good for dinner. The website is always up to date and there is a special monthly menu. Free scoop of ice cream on the birth of your anniversary. The Favs: Buta Kakuni and Hanjuku Tamago (japanese style braised tender pork) is yummy if you like them fatty meats. It's not the unbearably type of fatty, hence the TENDER. Zig zag roll is by far my favorite roll here. Don't ask what's in it unless you're allergic to something...am I peaking your curiosity? AHAHA. Just eat it, because it's the sauce that makes it so wondrous. Sashimi salad is presented well and is actually loaded with a good amount of sashimi. It might remind you of the poke salad, but the quality is def better--better be. The Depends: Negima Nabe (vegetable, tofu, and tuna hotpot) is soothing if you want something to balance out all the friedness & heaviness. Hamachi carpaccio is good, but the sauce can be overwhelming as cool/crisp as it might seem. It's a fruity vinaigrette type of dousement = the dousing of food. Volcano looks really appealing right? WELL, yes..but only for sharing and if you have a few bites. Green tea cheesecake and black sesame ice cream feeds ONE maybe 1.5 No Thanks: Chef's roll if you like tempura crust and cooked fish in yo' sushhh. Okonomiyaki is decent, but the ones at the outdoor japanese festivals beat this--those taste more authentic. Carbonara Style MentaikoKimchi Udo (stir fried udon with kimchi and cod roe in creamy sauce) is almost cheesy creamy. Honestly, nothing special and not going to order again. Sunazuri and Gobo Kara-age (duck gizzard and burdock) is not my favorite, I might as well eat some fried calamari. Aigamo Duck Steak is frankly better at Gochi.
(4)
Marshall C.
I'm a bit disappointed with Gokaku, I've heard a lot of good things about it. People discovered this place after Tintin closed, at which point it became one of the very few reasons to visit the plaza. On the outside, it looks a bit rundown; the inside's a little nicer but it's cramped and some of the tables are wobbly. Servers are positive and willing to help, but it felt like they were waiting on too many people at once, there were only two waiters for about twelve tables and they felt somewhat rushed. The Food: Yakiniku-Pretty good! Definitively better than what you'd get from Yoshida or from Mifune and it was a reasonable portion for the price. Generous amounts of sauce and the ratio of beef/onion to rice was just right. Spider Roll-Not quite what I was expecting. There are only five pieces, but they're huge! It held together well, but that's because the rice was overpacked and dense. Couldn't taste some of the subtler ingredients like the avocado because the seaweed overpowered them. Titanic Roll- It's pretty much the same as a firecracker roll at other restaurants. The shrimp tempura in the middle was well fried and the different sauces were interesting, but that's all. Not much to say, it's an average roll for an above average price. Chicken Karaage- The breading didn't stick to the chicken, it was more of a fried shell than a layer. On the plus side, the chicken's moist and it's served with some mayo that works surprisingly well! Without it, the chicken is somewhat bland and one-dimensional. Jo-Nigiri- In the case of Gokaku and many other Japanese restaurants, "chef's choice" simply means "the cheapest we have." At $20-some dollars for 8 pieces of nigiri, you're better off ordering what you actually like as individual pieces. You'll get pretty much the same amount of food for the same price, but you'll get to eat what you actually like. What's more, the wasabi dabs are oversized, I got teary eyed at least four times. The sashimi itself wasn't fresh; it didn't smell bad, but it didn't have that nice ocean smell to it either. None of the pieces other than the ikura had any flavor, felt like I was just eating them for the texture. Okonomiyaki- It was my first time eating okonomiyaki, so I can't really compare it to anything else, but I liked it! Only had a couple bites, but the sauces on top did a good job of counterbalancing the savoriness of the pancake. Was a bit too heavy, felt like something you'd get tired of after a couple bites. If you're not willing to drive far to fix that craving for Japanese, Gokaku does a pretty good job and for a fair price. If you're craving sushi/sashimi, however, you're really better off driving the extra ten minutes or so to Ocean Blue or Tomisushi: prices are the same if not cheaper and the quality difference is definitely noticeable.
(3)
Merle T.
Today was my first and probably last visit to Gokaku. Overall the experience was disappointing. The service started well when we came into the restaurant, but after we got our food they totally forgot about us. Our tea was not refilled. We waited a long time after finishing for the bill to arrive. When we tried to flag down our waiter, she took care of another table, and then did not turn her attention to us. She obviously was not monitoring our table. The food was also subpar. I got a pork cutlet and egg dish. It was not very appetizing. It came in a big bowl, and it was a gooey, congealed mess. Not to be repeated. My partner had a better experience, but still nothing spectacular. I like Japanese food, but I will keep looking.
(2)
Erica S.
I brought my mom here for dinner. For both of us, it was our first time having dinner here for so we kind of had high expectations. On a Saturday, it was really crowded that we had no choice but to sit at the bar. Even if you're a party of 2, they highly recommend that you make reservations. Now we know! The sushi chef was friendly, but the poor guy was really swamped. He didn't have time for a breather as he was on his own. We started off with the popular Seafood Nachos, which was basically spicy tuna on a fried wonton chip with some special spicy sauce. It was pretty good. Different take on Japanese food so I wasn't sure if my mom would like it, but she did. We also ordered Gyutan (grilled beef tongue), but it was taking over 30 minutes that I was starting to get a little irritated especially since I was hungry. Then the sushi chef gave us taro chips with special spicy sauce on the house. That was nice of him. While waiting for the Gyutan, I ordered the Ika Jaga Butter Yaki, which was grilled squid with pesto sauce and french fry wedges. It was really good, especially when it came out hot. The Gyutan was a little disappointing. The slices were super thin compared to other places and it came out lukewarm. The best for last was the Deluxe Sashimi Combo for $45. If you want more than 3 types of sashimi, this is the only choice along with the Chef Omasake Sashimi Combo. When we first got the plate, it didn't seem like much sashimi, but then we realized that the slices of sashimi were generous portions that it was worth it. It also includes uni and I'm not a fan of uni, but I had a slice and it was definitely the freshest I've tasted. See photo attached. My mom and I very much enjoyed that. Hope to go back again to try some other stuff.
(4)
Lily N.
Words cannot express how insanely delicious the food is. My boyfriend and I love sushi and we absolutely love this place! We were sat as soon as we came in. We were waited on by 4 or 5 different waiters and waitresses. It was like we were royalty. We order 7 different dishes because everything looked so good and we wanted to try them all. One of the waitress asked us if we were sure we wanted to order that much food for two people and we just told her we'd take the left overs home. The food was so insanely good that we kept eating even after we were full. We finished all 7 dishes. We ended up with a $130 bill and we tipped them a good amount on top of that because the service was exquisite! The food is a little pricy but it was completely worth it. This is like no other sushi you find in the bay. It's like a party in your mouth!!! You've got to try it at least once.
(5)
Cathy G.
Came here with my family, party of 9, to celebrate my brother's promotion. Our reservations were at 6pm. We ordered tons of food and sake. At 7:45pm, they kicked us out for their next party.
(1)
Kathy D.
Since Orenchi was going to be a 1hr+ wait, we decided to venture out and found Gokaku! I called in to make reservations on our way there and it was no problem for a party of 2. I believe it was the owner who greeted us and even explained to us the menu and their specials. It was nice to see him take the time out since he knew it was our first time! They have several menus including their specials, which was overwhelming. They have alot of selections and they all looked so good!! Ordered: 1. Yaki Udon with chicken- Originally, it comes with pork but since my counterpart isn't a fan of pork, we were able to replace it with chicken. This was a thick noodle broth, which I really enjoyed. It's the less creamier one out of the two udons on their top specials. Next time I should try the one with kimchi! It comes in a big wooden box. way to go on presentation! 2. Chef's Roll- It comes in a big portion. Really good and flavorful. 3. Chicken Karaage- so tender and moist. I really enjoyed it and it probably sits second on my list of chicken karaage! It comes with a side of spiced mayo~! 4. Black Sesame Ice Cream- I decided to order this since it is one of their popular choices. Pretty good! I liked their complimentary hot green tea to cleanse your body afterwards. The service and staff were very friendly and I can't wait to go back to try out their other dishes soon! One funny thing at the front entrance is their sign.. "No diaper changes" ahaha!
(4)
Flora C.
Tapas not sushi
(3)
Alice C.
I can see this place as being a better tapas place than sushi place. Well, tapas and rolls. We did visit on a Sunday night so maybe the fish quality is better a different day of the week. They have a huge selection of food here, ranging from old school Izakata-style dishes, sushi rolls and sashimi, to udon, hot pots and doburis. Kind of a catch-all for different kinds of Japanese food lovers out there. We got the zigzag roll which was mentioned so much on Yelp. It is a very interesting sushi roll with crunchy bits and a kick ass sauce, wrapped in soy paper, but if you're looking for anything with fish? Not this one. I did like it a lot though, and one serving is plenty, perhaps a bit too much, for two to share if you want to try a wide range of stuff. They do have a fish version of this called the Super Roll, but the original zigzag roll is so ginormous I'm not sure how you can fit that in a normal person's mouth without it falling apart 10 ways. I also really liked the seafood nachos. It's spicy tuna with tobiko and some fruit-based sauces on top of crispy chips. Delicious. Their fancy sushi was average (due to fish not being extremely fresh, which might be due to the day of the week I visited, as mentioned above), and I wasn't a fan of their fried eggplant at all. All-in-all, this is a nice place to dine with a couple of friends over sake and shochu. Oh, yeah, they have a pretty big sake/shochu list comparing to some other places in the south bay. They also have flavored shochu (sours, etc) for those who are looking for something sweeter.
(4)
Shin T.
Waiter didn't even get our reservation. Not a real Japanese restaurant...bathroom is dirty, the hallway is stocked with trash. Impossible in Japan. Food is so so, nothing wows me and the horumon teppanyaki is graciously oily. Never go again.
(1)
Jennifer K.
Never did I know that Gokaku is located in the same little plaza that Tin Tin Market used to be in. Weird! Had dinner here with the boyfriend last week and it was an interesting experience. The interior is much, much nicer than the exterior would suggest. It's pretty small overall but it's decorated very nicely! The menu boasts a large variety of different appetizers, sushi/sashimi, rolls, grilled fish, bowls/noodles, etc. We opted for the: - Kani cream croquette (just okay) - Rainbow carpaccio (a blend of tuna, salmon, and yellowtail sashimi in a light sauce- my favorite!) - Volcano roll (this literally looks like a mess... was good at first but then I realized half of the stuff is tempura flakes and sauce) - Caterpillar roll (was HUGE, a little difficult to eat as the pieces were cut in different sizes) Besides the carpaccio, I thought everything was just alright. Nothing really wow'ed me in any way. I would probably suggest staying away from the rolls and focusing more on the tapas. I took a peek at the neighboring table's tapa dishes, and they looked amazing... I feel like this place has a lot of potential, but it didn't surprise me in the way that I wanted it to. *Sigh* perhaps it's partially my fault for picking out the "meh" items from the large menu, so I'll definitely give Gokaku another chance sometime in the near future.
(3)
Seiko U.
I went to eat at this restaurant last night, and I had a great time! I'm Japanese but the food here really tasted like eating in Japan. They have a lot of choice of sake here too. On the weekends, it gets busy but on the weekday I didn't even have to make an appointment to sit down. I ate Carbonara udon and Duck Steak, and both were really good. I also had the Salmon Tartar from the Gokaku Special, and it tasted awesome!! I will definetly come back here again!
(5)
Lena S.
I keep forgetting to write a review for this place. Oh well better late than not at all. I've been here twice with my friends and both times have been amazing. Which is saying a lot cause majority of the restaurants that I tend to go to doesn't seem to stay consistent with their food. Also, both times I've gone there, we always tend to order way to much food but what can I say it's all delicious. Personally, I would have to say the one must have item there would have to be the zigzag roll. It's very flavorful and vegan friendly. I know that sounds very odd but it's true trust me. I'm not a big fan of vegan food but this roll will make your toes curl. The waiters are very attentive, although they do seem pretty overwhelmed my customers. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, even though there is a very long wait to get seated. I would say that it is worth the wait.
(5)
Nan Z.
This is buy far my most favourite Japanese restaurant in South Bay area. they have good service and people are nice. the Sashimi combination and Dragon roll are my favourites, and if you are hungry and want something cheap they have good BBQ rice bowl and noodles.
(4)
Brandon C.
I went there to grab a lunch. Ordered one of the SUSHI ROLLS, which actually tasted quite nice. However, the BBQ Beef lunch plate ($10) was absolutely disgusting. The plate had little bits of beef, mushrooms, and onions thrown onto a plate. There were even more onions and mushrooms than there were beef. The sauce was gross and watery, and the beef was completely over-seasoned. The other absurd thing was that the salad was on the same plate, so your salad would be soggy because it was drenched in the watery bbq sauce along with it's own chunky, weird textured sauce. Absolutely hideous. They also threw a ball of "mashed potato" (don't know what it's really called), but it was too sweet and somehow it tasted frozen. If you wanna eat here, order the rolls, don't get the lunch specials.
(2)
Jenny J.
I've been here twice and still don't understand how they have 4 stars. They serve a lot of those jumbo rolls smothered in tempura bits and mayo, if that's your kind of thing. Some places do it well, like Sushi House in Alameda, but this place does not. I also tried a salmon don and was appalled at how gross it looked. I expected it to look neat and layered like a chirashi bowl but they put sushi rice at the bottom, then mixed up lettuce, random pieces of flavorless salmon, pickled ginger, seaweed salad and dumped it on top. Everything was so sour and the salmon was stringy and not at all buttery like it's supposed to be. Meh.
(2)
Avocado Donbur I.
The food was very authentic and there were many Japanese customers. But... all the servers were Mexicans. Not that there's anything wrong with Mexican servers, but I found it strange as most of the real Japanese restaurants in the south bay have Japanese servers. Then again, it doesn't matter. The food was GREAT!
(4)
T L.
I wouldn't mind if you never visited Gokaku because that means a shorter wait for me :) However, I really like this place and I think it needs some yelp lovin. First of all, this is FUSION izakaya (like Gochi). You'll find some inventive, flavorful dishes on the menu and plenty of their secretive (and additive) sauce. I find that prices are FAIR, fish is FRESH and service has been, overall, GOOD. When it's busy, you'll have to wave a server down but what do you expect? I'm never in a rush anyway. I like to enjoy every minute of my dinner. The most we ever paid for a dinner was $75, including tip. Each time, my boyfriend had to unbuckle his belt. Yea, it's that fulfilling and at a pretty reasonable price, compared to other izakaya restaurants. We've been back 3 times in the span of 2 weeks. We ordered: - Ankimo: one of my favorite, favorite dishes to order, ever. The description makes it sound a little gross but trust me, this is really good! Also, Gokaku doesn't serve the ankimo from the tube, like most other restaurants. It looks like it was straight from the fish! Chilled and tasted good. I'd probably ask for a little bit more ponzu though. - Fried Baby Octopus: yelp.com/biz_photos/ZeEH… Yummy but a little chewy and doesn't help that I have braces now. I would have eaten more if half of it didn't get stuck in my braces but whatever, I tried my best. NO Japanese mayo, just a slice of lemon for you to sprinkle on top and enjoy. It was pretty damn tasty! - Secret Shrimp: Holy bajeebus, my boyfriend went CRAZY over this delectable, decadent dish. The secret sauce was thick and heavy all over the fried shrimp. The shrimps are HUGE. The fried coating was also really thick and a little hard. We kept the sauce at our table and ended up dipping everything in it. The owner must be a part time crack dealer because he definitely added a little in the sauce. - Garlic Hamachi Steak yelp.com/biz_photos/ZeEH… : I was completely shocked my boyfriend ordered this. But when we tried it, it was FANTASTIC. Fusion flavors all over and it was DELICIOUS. Little mound of fried goodness, PERFECTLY crisped, light and airy. Wonderful flavors, a great fusion dish! Sauce is heavy but I thought it was a good complement to the hamachi steak. - Cucumber Pasta Style Salad yelp.com/biz_photos/ZeEH… : HOLYYYYYY crap, this dish was the size of a small basketball. I kept seeing this large mound of green stuff being served to tables. Did not know that this was it. IT WAS HUGE! It was also VERY inventive! Cucumber sliced into long pieces of "spaghetti", served with CHUNKS of sashimi and tossed in a white delicious sauce and wakame. So delicious but it came out last so we had to take most of it home...which we finished almost immediately! - Boom: This was 1 big fried flavor explosion in my mouth. A lot of ingredients to this dish but it all tasted the same. I wouldn't order this again but it was spicy, which I love. - Natto: Anything with natto is a MUST. It is an acquired taste and smells funky but trust me, its so delicious! - Duck Steak yelp.com/biz_photos/ZeEH… : wow, very good. I first had duck steak from a Japanese restaurant in Hawaii and it was fantastic there. It was pretty good at Gokaku too, I loved it! The duck meat was tender and the sauce was delicious!! - Duck Ramen: very light in flavors but I really liked that. The duck meat was a little hard to chew since it cooked in the hot broth. I'd order it again, maybe ask for the duck meat on the side. - Corquette: think hashbrowns. Yummy :) - Beef Tataki yelp.com/biz_photos/ZeEH… : Most restaurants use fatty pieces of beef and this place was no different. It's just a little chewy which absolutely sucks for someone with braces! :( I love niku tataki though but I'd skip this dish if you can't chew. - Tiramisu dessert: reminded me of Italy :') I liked it but I had no room for it! If you like fusion izakaya, I think Gokaku kicks major ass. Remember that there is 1 lone sushi chef (maybe 2) who makes all sushi dishes himself. Checklist: - reservations - empty stomach and open mind - no diarrhea-ing babies (if so, don't use the booth as your personal bathroom! that's straight up GROSS) - ankimo + natto for adventurous eaters - cucumber salad + duck steak for safe eaters AWWWW YEA!
(4)
Roger L.
Came here because my parents saw the rating on yelp and insisted we try it. It's located in a strip mall and it's windows are all covered up. The menu was big and food was pretty good, but the service was unorganized. I had to ask about my meal after everyone had almost finished their dinner. My katsu don didn't come out until after everyone was done. The table next to us had to ask about their ice cream as well. Typically these items shouldn't take as long as they did.. Just make sure to ask about your food if you find yourself sitting around watching other people eat. My parents weren't too impressed either
(2)
Angelica C.
THANK YOU YELP!...for pointing my famished self in the direction of quality food that is open a little later than your standard restaurant!! +Sashimi Salad (LIGHT dressing next time) +Teriyaki Beef +Lotus Root All very good!! I will definitely be returning to try some rolls and the sushi nachos (I love fusion food) The restaurant is clean, quaint and the service was on point. Small miscommunications with the language barrier, but honestly the server was so sweet and attentive it wasn't a big deal at all! Try this place if you haven't!
(5)
Jenny H.
I came here for lunch with a friend after seeing the decent reviews on yelp. I'm sorry, but the people who gave Gokaku a 5 star review should really go try Gochi or Tanto's tapas. I have to admit, the decor is pretty nice, but the food was just barely edible. I'm not sure if I happened to come on an off day, but I don't want to come back to find out. We ordered a braised pork appetizer, which also tasted okay, but was very unappealing. My friend ordered the Tempura Udon ($9.25), and it looked rather bland. The dish isn't tempura served in udon, but instead it's tempura served on rice with a place bowl of udon on the side. He didn't complain about the noodles, but he doesn't usually have much of an opinion about his food. I ordered the daily lunch special ($10.95), which had chicken karage, sashimi, salmon, salad, seaweed, and rice. The sashimi did not taste fresh, and I was actually scared to keep eating it. The seaweed had some strange alcohol like smell to it, so I didn't want to eat that either. At the end of the meal I had a lot of leftovers, but I didn't want to bring it home because it was just that bad. I usually don't like wasting food, but I think I would have thrown it away anyways if I brought it home.
(2)
Chris E.
Excellent and authentic Japanese cuisine. Whether you're here to eat dinner with a family or have a couple of casual drinks with some side dishes, I would recommend this place. Only setback was that our waiters took some time with our requests and kept forgetting to refill our glasses of water. My friend ordered a Volcano roll, and beware, this thing is massive--literally a traditional Volcano Roll basked and dumped with fried chards and spicy sauce. He eats pretty heftily but he could barely finish half the plate. I ordered the okonomiyaki, which was delicious and tasted like a traditional okonomiyaki though was about half the size to that of what I expected. Takoyaki tasted like Osaka takoyaki. I've been here before and the donburi's (bowls) are pretty solid if you want something cheap (around $10-$15) and comprehensive (rice, some veggies, and meat/fish). I studied in Japan for about six months, and I'm a big fan of places like these that try to preserve that unique Japanese flavor with an added kick of innovation (if one so desires).
(4)
Melly L.
Came here for lunch. Sushi bar closed on Tuesdays = WACK!!! Small but quaint place. Didn't see tapas on the menu? Har har har! Got the tonkatsu and friend got the hamburger some ish? Salad was aiteeeee.....dressing could be better. Tonkatsu was a bit dry and eeehhhhhh. Hamburger was good though. Flavorful. Overall it's meeehhhh.
(2)
Evelyn R.
I just left this place super disappointed. This restaurant has the absolute worse customer service I have EVER experienced. As I entered the place a lady approached me nicely and told me to take a seat where ever I wanted. I sat on a 4 seat table and then a hispanic waiter said upfront that they expect to be busy and that I had to either sit at the sushi bar or in a 2 seater table. I told him there was plenty of room to sit anywhere since the place was literally empty and he said "well that's all I have right now, you can't sit there" and then rolled his eyes. So....of course we left. Since we always order 5-6 dishes we obviously wouldn't fit in a 2 seater table....but the rude attitude????? Uncalled for. The rolling of the eyes and rude tone of voice....uncalled for.
(1)
Dess J.
First of all thank you Martin for being such a champ and spending so much and giving them an unworthy tip. Now to the rating. I agree with some of the Yelpers here about the service. It is very disorganize. The guy who helped us, I asked for a refill on my tea and he totally forgot about us. We had four to five waiters coming and and out to help us which is weird. Most of them were really young and the place is just too small. However the food is okay, two stars because it was my friend's birthday and I got to see an old friend as well. Would I come back? Probably not, its too far, sushi is okay and the service needs improvement. Now if they are more organize maybe i'll come back. I just love sushi and my sister might enjoy this place if I mention it to her.
(2)
Manodeep S.
Amazing Rolls - Good Service!!!
(4)
Joon P.
One of the best sushi I've ever had. The eggplant diah is awsome as well. I will be going back there soon.
(5)
Jenny L.
This izakaya tries hard with a variety of tapas, but it fails to execute anything well. The beef tongue was tender, but deconstructed in terms of flavor with the vegetables and sauce. The special crispy seafood noodle is soggy and watery without much flavor. The okonomiyaki was disappointing in terms of flavor. The spider rolls are healthy with the soy wrappers, but more about rice and crunch than taste. The pork belly is tender, but it's drowned in a starch-based sauce with mustard on the side. The hamachi garlic steak wasn't as tender and rich as it should be. The squid is cooked well with a light seasoning, but it's not tender to rave out. I'd rather go to Gochi. Service is fast and friendly. However, it can take awhile to get water or utensils. Parking is ample in the lot. Remember to make reservations to avoid the lines.
(3)
Joyce J.
I like this place better than Gochi. It reminds me of Tanto before the food there became inconsistent. The food here is more down to earth. Upon eating, the waitress gave me and friends the regularly menu, the special menu for the week, the top ten menu, and the beverage menu. There were really quite a bit of selections. We tried several of the top ten items. The beef tongue was decent but a little burnt. The maguro poke was flavorful and I was a fan of the place decorating the place with cucumber. The Zig Zag roll was delicious. I love the green soy paper around the roll and you can actually see the crab meat. My favorite dish of the night was the Buta Kakuni and Hanjuku Tamago - the egg was amazing. The mustard really brought out the flavor of the pork. We also got to try the new green tea cheese cake. The dessert came with a scoop of ice cream (green tea or sesame). The texture of the cheesecake was quite smooth. The green tea ice cream was good also. I can't wait to come back and try more items on the menu.
(4)
Rochelle T.
My boyfriend and I frequent Gokaku - overall, we love the food here. The Maguro Poke salad is delicious - the dressing is delicious, its a great start to a meal! We typically order the agedashi too - both the eggplant one and tofu - LOVE the dish, the eggplant is cooked really well. It gets a little soggy but if you eat right away, it has a really nice texture and of course the flavor of the broth/sauce is perfect! This last time we ordered the hamachi carpacio - it was delicious! Although I would agree with other reviewers, the cuts are all wrong, but freshness and flavor were spot on! We have had a few other tasty dishes. I am not a fan of the rolls, but I think rolls have gotten out of control with the crazy toppings - sashimi should be celebrated as it is, not drenched in toppings. I will say their rolls are HUGE - I saw a comparison to TGI - I would argue you get a larger portion at Gokaku (slightly more expensive).
(4)
Winnie T.
So good. The six way roll was delicious and extremely flavorful. Their salads are really fresh too. Also ordered the panther roll and I didn't like the spicy sauce it came with but it was still good!
(5)
Christine K.
ok
(3)
Selina C.
Really disappointed after I read so many good reviews. Got the "Chef's Omakase Sashimi" which looked NOTHING like the pictures! It had six types of sashimi around even older cut up small bits of sashimi. They tried to douse the oldest sashimi with sesame oil, yuck! $50 for the quality made it unacceptable. Takoyaki - The octopus balls were too starchy, it was almost gluey. Please pass on this dish Kakuni (Braised pork) - This was probably the worst Japanese style braised pork I've had. They clearly used the cheapest ugliest cuts, and filled the serving bowl with a corn starchy concoction. Taro balls - Also served suspended in a soupy corn starch mix of mushrooms. Sesame ice cream - About the only thing they got right, except that it was probably not even made in house. Service and parking were good, I wish the food they served was more palatable.
(2)
Albert P.
Twice been here, both very good experiences. This place is that cool place tucked away in a corner , only to have a cool and stylish vibe to the interior. Unagi-don and Yakiniku-don are good and filling. Tapa entrees are delicious! Order the Godzilla roll, and you will feel like Godzilla himself blew into your mouth!
(5)
Jean K.
After two days of hiking and living off freeze dried food, my boyfriend and I decided to go eat something yummy. He chose Gokaku. As many people mentioned, it's in a small strip mall with plenty of parking. I don't think I would have ever discovered this place without the word of mouth. First impression wise, it was just okay. Our server was really sweet, and actually explained and went over all of the popular items and some of the ones he personally liked. We ordered 4 dishes; the omonomiyaki and zig zag roll was my favorite. I forget the name, but the grilled rice ball was just okay. It's really small and reservation based, but I'd definitely come again!
(4)
Jean L.
Grrreat food. The restaurant doesn't look much from the outside but the interior actually is quite nice. Highly recommended: Sukiyaki Style Hot Stone Rice: Compared to Korean style hot stone, this one is more delicate and tasty. The rice does not stick to the hot pot. The amount of beef is very generous. Pork Shogayaki: Again, tasty and good portion. Sashimi salad: Good presentation, wrapped around by strips of cucumber wall. A little expansive though for the small portion. Duck Steak: A rare dish that not offered by any Japanese restaurant. Not cheap, but you won't regret it. Yummy! Others: Shushi: Spider roll and rainbow roll are good but nothing extraordinary. This restaurant fills up quickly during lunch hours. Either come early or make a reservation in advance.
(5)
tony l.
If you enjoy tapas style japanese food, I would highly recommend checking Gokaku out. Parking is usually abundant, but the restaurant is pretty small and generally packed on weekend nights. The service I have received is extremely attentive (One of the waiters we often get is Omar who really knows his stuff). Food-wise, my personal favorite is the Volcano Roll which is HUGE. If you want a spicy roll, try the Firecracker roll. We also usually get the secret shrimp (and a bowl of rice for all that delicious sauce).
(5)
Chris C.
This place really is a competitor for Gochi. I came here in a group of 5 with a reservation (definitely needed. The place got packed quick). We had: Maguro Poke Grilled Hamachi Sashimi Salad (Spicy) Beef Tongue Chicken Karaage Beef Tatake Rainbow Roll Agedashi Tofu Under $30 a person with a pitcher of Sapporo and I also had a Yuzu juice (awesome). The food was spectacular. Exactly what I expected from a Gochi competitor and while their menu doesn't seem quite as extensive as Gochi, everything we ordered was really good. The service was really, really friendly and accommodating. My ONLY complaint was that they told us some of the dishes would take longer to cook due to them being at capacity. It took over 30 minutes for us to get our Beef Tongue, Beef Tatake and Chicken Karaage. By the time we got it we had already finished everything else, ordered the pitcher of beer, and finished that. The food was really good and the service did notify us beforehand that some dishes would take longer but I don't understand why fried tofu would take 30-40 minutes less than fried chicken or a beef dish that by definition is cooked for a very short time. If the food wasn't stellar and the service wasn't so courteous, I would definitely dock more than the one I already took away. I'll be back though.
(4)
Cindy T.
Yes, the portions are big and they spend a few more seconds on presentation, but the fish is definitely lacking in the quality and freshness department. And to me, that is one of the most important parts of a Japanese restaurant - freshness. Also had the chicken karaage and it tasted more like the fried chicken from Tapioca Express. Even though it comes on a fancy plate, presentation and portions never trump the food.
(2)
Squishy B.
Reasonably priced for high quality sushi (large pieces of fish, fresh, great selection!). The menu is diverse and authentically Japanese. Service is excellent, but the food is really the star of the show! LOVE IT. The restaurant isn't very compelling from the outside, but what a surprise it is on the inside. The Shanghai Dumpling restaurant across the parking lot is more snazzy, better lit, and has more energy - but that's only good for a quick bite. If you want to treat yourself to Gochi quality food at a lower cost, come here! (BTW, Gochi is also awesome, just be prepared to spend $$$).
(5)
Yann M.
This is a really good place!! order Beef Teriyaki!! it is not on the menu!!! but they do special order!!! volcano is the one i never miss!!!!
(5)
Steven A.
2013 Update: It's been 2 1/3 years since my last review of Gokaku. With our three older kids out at camp we had another opportunity to take our "baby" back for a date night. Friday night, same friendly service. We were early enough to get a table without a reservation (still recommended, if only for the sense of security and superiority you'll have when they seat you at a "reserved" table)-. Our now-2.5-year-old wasn't a fan of any of the delicious dishes we had: Maguro Poke: flavorful nuggets of tuna interspersed with tomato chunks and lettuce. Smears of raspberry(?) sauce on the plate let us customize each bite. Duck Steak: a small but full plate with several slices of duck on top of mashed potatoes with braised baby bok choy and mushrooms and a standard but yummy gravy. Chirashi Sushi came as a cucumber slices "bowl" surrounding a disk of rice, tonight included uni which was a bit of a surprise... it's definitely an acquired taste--I acquired about half of it. Chef's roll: I was in a fried roll frame of mind tonight so we went for this tempura-style Chef's roll which did not disappoint. It's not the cheapest place in the world, but if our budget and schedule are flexible enough, this is our go-to restaurant for a quick Japanese meal.
(4)
Winglo A.
Came here for dinner on the 20th at 7 PM. The place was almost full, but we (party of three) did not have to wait. All the fishes were very fresh. We had Maguro Poki, Chirashi Sushi, Sushi Combination and one more grill fish, which I forgot the name. The sushi portion were large compared to other sushi restaurants. Their service was right on and the wait staffs were very helpful. This is my new ATF in Japanese restaurants in Cupertino. There prices were a bit on the high side, but the freshness makes up for it. Can't wait till next time. I'll try some more fresh fish. Hope it is just as good. I cannot see how the other reviews gave it less then 3 stars?
(5)
Omar L.
"Wow you're name is Omar? Awesome" Best conversation when I booked a reservation here. Service was very very friendly. Our server was also Omar, and was super friendly, made good recommendations. This is definitely a very good random find for me. Well it's been on my bookmarks for ages and I have not gotten around to trying this place. I'm really glad I did. Food (What we ordered): 1.)Seafood nachos is a must, very good stuff and tuna seemed fresh (and they did not skimp and it came out very fast). 2.) Chef's Roll: This was ok, I forgot to read that it was all cooked, a bit dissapointed. The original sauce has a little kick in it and kind of tasted like Taco bell Sauce :-p 3.) Kani Cream Croquette: This was just good, its a croquette but you can taste the sea food. 4.) Buta Kakuni: This was disappointing. The meat was very tender and the Soft Boiled Egg was really good too, the ginger sauce was overwhelming and could not taste much else. 5.) Beef Tongue was really good, this was a surprised. meat was extremely tender Boring Stuff: Parking: Large lot outside Directions: Do not use Apple's Map...it tried to get me to drive through a brick wall Reservations: Definitely make one. It wasn't packed when I first got there, but there were people waiting when I left.
(4)
Jessica W.
My new favorite place to eat! You HAVE to try the Gokaku roll and the Warriors roll! The spicy dragon is an awesome take on the dragon roll but with seared tuna on top. The hamachi garlic steak is so flavorful with fun textures of crispy potatoes and garlic chips. The tempura ice cream is AMAZING!!
(5)
Tiffany N.
This place is really great for a catch up dinner with your friends. For sushi lovers, the sushi here is really fresh and I like their portions. Definitely try the sashimi salad! The dressing is perfect with it and the pieces of sashimi are generous. I like that they have tapas as well so if you're not sure what you're in the mood for or you and your friends are craving different things, you can get hot food as well as sushi. For those of you who love pretty foods, everything I've ever ordered was plated beautifully--ASIANS WHO TAKE PICTURES OF THEIR FOOD AND POST IT ON INSTAGRAM, YOU'D LOVE THIS PLACE. lol The service is great. Their menu has a lot of items listed in their Japanese names, and the servers are great with interpreting you when you're trying to order and if you ask, they'll pronounce it back for you too (for those of you who are curious about pronounciations). Everytime I've been here, they've always been very welcoming right as you come in the door and they're always attentive--my tea cup was never empty. Recommendation: Sashimi Salad. YUM!
You know... I'm actually kind of disappointed. Maybe it's due to the hyped-ness of the reviews and such, but the food wasn't as awesomely exploding as I had hoped it would be. Seafood nachos: meh. It's an innovative idea, but nothing stood out to me. It was really seafood on a nacho. Cabonara udon: upon recommendation from the waitress, we ordered this. I actually really liked this EXCEPT I wish it came a little more saucier in that the udon got really dry and there wasn't enough flavor to coat the udon. Duck steak: actually this was pretty good- soft, tender, juicy.... would come to eat again. =Overall, this place is good but I honestly wouldn't come here again. In my opinion, there are better and cheaper places for sushi. As for Japanese food, well... it didn't blow me out of the water so my rating is just A-OK.
(3)
Victoria J.
I had the Sushi Lunch Jo-Nigiri. The sushi quality was very good, but it was sort of haggardly cut. My salmon nigiri was HUGE, like 3 oz of fish, very odd for a nigiri. The salad dressing was a tasty creamy sesame dressing and I liked the miso soup. I didn't find the service rude like some people have said and everyone was nice and although they aren't super attentive, you can certainly get their attention if you need something. I thought it was a bit expensive for only 8 pieces of Nigiri at $20, but I could tell it was good quality food.
(3)
Agustinus T.
Dropped in on Sat evening and saw a number of empty tables. The waitress told us most of them are reserved but fortunately there was empty one for 3 of us. Teppanyaki Hamburger Steak : when my friend picked hamburger steak.. I thought.. ok doesn't sound that great but let's try it. It's quite deliciously soft and the sauce was really good. Buta Kakuni & Hanjuku Tamago : pork belly + eggs! two of my favorite food.. it's as good as it sounds but not better which I was hoping it would. One of the chicken dishes.. forgot which one but it was good.
(4)
John-Michael C.
GO HERE! Here's a friend recommendation that finally steered me right! the offerings are solid despite the cramped space. I wouldnt mind waiting for a table or even the sushi counter. The hot pots, sashimi.. and never mind the guy behind the counter using a flame thrower on the sushi rolls to keep you entertained! Definitely a go to spot if you're in the area.. hell if you're not in the area go check it out anyways. And a couple bottles of sake always makes things great! ;D
(4)
Cindy K.
Food was decent. I had the Okonomiyaki. The last time I had this was in Japan. The only major issue I had with this dish was that there was less than half that came on the plate. My friend got the lunch special that day which was fish and eggplant, chicken karage and sashimi. Sounded great but it turned out it was just okay. Chicken karage was normal. The fish and eggplant was disappointing. It was a large steamed sardine without the head and like two bits of eggplant. When I asked my friend how he liked it the response I got was, "That chicken better be good!" Enough said.
(3)
Steven C.
Probably another case of myself doing it wrong. Stick with the traditional Japanese tapas items or anything that's cooked, skip the fish stuff since this place is a tapas place first, sushi second. The good: Okonomiyaki - Can't really screw this one up, tastes like what you can expect from other Japanese tapas places although a tad bit heavy on the sauce and smaller in portion than the traditional circle style. Volcano Roll - Not typically standard at a tapas place, but the picture showed a giant mound that resembled a volcano so it was hard not to order. This thing takes up a whole frigging large plate and was more spicy than expected. Good stuff, beats all the past Volcano rolls I've had by far. The aite: Beef tongue - Was expecting something a bit more chewy and grilled like what you can find at Honda-Ya or other authentic Japanese tapas places, this one was braised and a bit too dry to enjoy. The sauce helped with the taste a lot though but nothing noteworthy. The meh: Omakase Three Appetizers - Not very impressed for something that's named chef's choice, it's pretty much chopped up sashimi in three separate portions and the fish tasted way too icy. Fish that isn't fresh is always a guaranteed sadface. Hamachi Sashimi - The pieces were well cut and large too but unfortunately icy tasting as well, what a bummer. Will have to try more of the standard tapas items next time around like takoyaki, onigiri, etc in order to get a better impression. Service is okay, decor is simple. The space itself is small-ish so don't expect anything fancy, although the garnish begs to differ. Pro tip: Keep it simple with small plates which are hard to screw up. Better value & experience too since most people try to sample a bit of everything when your out for tapas.
(3)
Cynn H.
I seriously adore this place. Service is great, the menu is extensive but everything is still done well. There are so many good things to eat here...where do i start? Somehow we often find ourselves here for late night dinners (around 8 or 9pm) since they stay open a little later than most places. There is a row of seating to the left of the restaurant (when you walk in) and they have little bamboo curtains that afford a date some extra privacy =) Things we've gotten: Volcano Roll (Good, but is wayyyy too much for just two people to eat. Order if you have 4+ people...because it's RICH.) Secret Shrimp, this is like a straight shot into food coma world. 4 battered crispy big shrimp swimming in an ocean of fancy ponzu infused mayo. YUM. Buta Kakuni Don, hands down my favorite here. Big soft fatty pieces of indulgent pork over rice, with a ramen style softboiled egg and some ginger/mustard. Comfort food to the max. This dish almost made me cry. Carbonara Style Mentaiko and Kimchi Udon, lightly creamy, just tangy enough from the kimchi, and perfectly cooked udon. Big enough to share. Black sesame ice cream, need I say more?!! And too many other things we've tried that I just cant remember. But everything is good =) Oh and, service is super friendly and they remembered us after just one trip =)
(5)
Cat H.
This is an awesome tapas place! Some other reviewers complained about the service, but I feel like the servers were pretty nice to us. They were very diligent with refilling our tea and were very friendly as well. We ordered the sashimi combination and each fish had their own flavored roe! If I am correct, they were wasabi and yuzu flavored. It was very unique! The sashimi was also fresh and cut thickly. In addition, we ordered the Maguro Poke, Kimagure Okonomiyaki, and ZigZag roll. Each of them were very flavorful! I will be coming back again.
(5)
MOna S.
This sushi place has such amazingly delicious and fanciful sushi that we always spend a small fortune getting all of our favorites! The presentation of the food is exquisite. We feel like we're enjoying a top-notch foodie restaurant. I don't order the classic Japanese selections but rather the Gokaku favorites.
(5)
Erin J.
WOW, what a disappointment. I decided to come here based on the pretty good yelp reviews. However, I unfortunately do not agree with most of you on Gokaku. I came here for lunch. I decided to order the Ten Don (tempura rice bowl). It came with some miso soup which we started with. The miso soup was quite good, and I was thinking, okay this is a really good start. And then my Ten Don arrived. I couldn't believe how horrible it was! The tempura has cooked in a batter that included GINGER of all ingredients and the sauce that was poured over the rice bowl also had a bunch of GINGER in it. What the.....!!! Who cooks tempura with ginger? It was so GINGERY, that I couldn't even eat it. When I proceeded to tell the waitress my problem with the dish, she had the NERVE to argue with me that that is how ten don is cooked in Japan. UM EXCUSE ME? I AM Japanese, and I've been to Japan several times, and never in my life have I had tempura that was coated all over with ginger. Yes it is true that you sometimes put some ginger in the dashi (sauce) for tempura, but it is usually a small amount, not a whole BOWL FULL of GINGER. In any case, after some arguing, they decided to cook it again for me in the proper way without any ginger. My other disappointment with this dish is that it only came with 1 prawn, and the rest with veggies. Pretty overpriced for $10. I almost laughed because the menu says you can order a vegetarian version of the ten don, but the regular version is pretty vegetarian anyway. Food - 1 star Service - 0 stars.
(1)
David K.
Took my best friend here for a late birthday dinner! Making reservations is a good idea because I heard this place gets pretty packed! Sashimi salad was legit cause you get a lot of fresh sashimi over a bed of greens! I ordered that pancake dish because I never tried it before but I didnt really like it haha im not saying it wasnt good here but maybe I just didnt like it in general. Seafood nachos were pretty tasty, but my favorite was the duck steak! You definitely have to order that! OH YEAH we did some sake bombs as well!
(4)
Benjamin L.
The hot stone items were good...try the sukiyaki style hot stone rice and kimchi udon.
(4)
Pauline L.
This place is truly a hole-in-the-wall gem and has quickly become my favorite izakaya restaurant. All of the dishes that my husband and I have tried here are executed well, high in quality and flavor, and a nice breather from the ubiquitous sushi/ramen joints all over the South Bay. It's a small, simple restaurant with wonderful service. Our first time here, the server produced us with two menus: the standard menu and the Chef's top choices menu. Nearly everything is made by the sole Japanese chef hammering out 5 dishes simultaneously in the back counter, blow-torch included. Not only does the food taste amazing, but the presentation is lovely. I forget that I'm eating in a strip mall restaurant sometimes. Our stand-out favorites that we always order: Fish Nachos - spicy tuna with a hot and semi-sweet sauce served with tortilla chips. Perfect appetizer. If you have a large group, you may want two of these boys. Zig Zag roll - soft shell crab roll in a slightly creamy sauce wrapped with lettuce. Crunchy, hearty, and satisfying. Other dishes that I liked: Okonomiyaki - savory and sweet seafood pancake Maguro Poki - amazing fresh sushi wrapped in cucumber Braised pork and soft boiled egg - unctuous and rich Firecracker (spicy tuna) - seared tuna with seaweed and chili peppers on top of a roll drenched in a sweet, spicy sauce (vinegary hint of tabasco). Tasty, but not for the faint of heart. Gindara Miso Zuke (black cod) - buttery, grilled cod wrapped in a banana leaf. A new favorite for me! And what's an izakaya without some sake or soju drinks? Some simple refreshments to enjoy with my rich array of entrees: Grapefruit sour with soju and Calpico with soju (like drinking delicious yogurt... could be dangerous).
(5)
Cicie W.
this places doesn't deserve much praise at all, it's just another so so Japanese restaurant. We came here for lunch after seeing glaring reviews. The restaurants has maybe 15 tables, and only two waiters and one sushi chef. I waited 40 minutes for my food, which is not acceptable for lunch time. the waiters weren't very nice, but I can understand since they were just running back and forth b/t the kitchen and the customers. There's nothing special, but the ordinary stuff on the menu. I got a rainbow roll, which was just alright, not as pretty as I would expected and paid $17 for it. I don't know why they call it tapa. Won't be back.
(1)
Mia W.
Sushi is every bit as good as reviews say. Thankfully, a winter Tues night didn't require reservations. The place is cozy so don't be surprised if you need to wait (as other Yelpers said to expect). Tofu salad was very generous. Presentation of the lettuce in dressing was a bit sloppy and soggy. Flavouring of the tofu was pretty good. Fresh ingredients. Godzilla roll was americanized sushi. Gobs of orange mayo, sweet gooey soy, topped with seaweed that presented very confusing flavours. the menu said there was supposed to be tempura hamachi? in the roll.....I couldn't taste anything other than sweet mayonnaise. The $25 nigiri was very good. Very large portions of fish. Didn't seem like the freshest fish I've tasted (wasn't gleaming) but texture indicated it was still good. Huge pieces of tuna, atlantic non fatty salmon, yellow tail, sweet prawn, uni, and crunchy deep fried shrimp head. It was very good "ordinary sushi" and worth trying. Omar, the server, is really attentive and nice, and seems to know his sushi. It's not Gochi and it's not Sawa. But it's not priced like either of those places either. I'd go back, just not for the rolls.
(4)
Carrina D.
I came here with my family for lunch, and I can't believe that this place has been so close to where I live the entire time and I never noticed it! The food was definitely really yummy as far as Japanese food goes, and we went at around 11 so it was pretty empty. Service wise, our server was really nice and smiley, and the food came quickly. We ordered: 1) The secret shrimp, which came with a really yummy mayo sauce. To be honest, I don't think I enjoyed this as much as I could've because I just had another roll with the same sauce and I was kind of getting sick of it. 2) The zigzag roll.... don't judge it by its size. It's REALLY filling... I usually eat a lot more (volume wise) than the zig zag roll but I was full instantly after eating around 3 pieces? Even though the roll itself is not huge by any means. Anyways this was really delicious but it's the same sauce as the secret shrimp, so don't get these two together. 3) The buta kakuni don. I followed another reviewer's recommendation on this and to be honest, I couldn't really enjoy this because I HATE fat on my meat. I think this dish was specifically a fatty meat dish so I guess I made a wrong choice. Still, everything was so fresh and I really enjoyed the gravy sauce that came with it! I actually would really recommend this dish. I think I would've enjoyed this one the most if the meat were different. 4) The black sesame ice cream is delicious! Enough said. Anyways I definitely recommend this place! Their food is amazing even during lunch (the dinner menu is supposedly more diverse) and the prices are really good. Looking at the other reviews, I would say that coming early is probably a good idea. I personally had no problems with the service/speed in which the food came out, but it looks like service is an issue when the place starts getting crowded.
(4)
Charlton Y.
The rolls are a little pricier than other places but they also have that extra flair of creativity. If you are wondering what to order, its quite simple to look around and see that everyone has ordered that giant tower called the Volcano Roll. Yes, thats the one you are wondering 'what the heck is that mountain?!' However, as cool looking as it is, i dont think its really thattt great. its just piled high with tempura crispy bits and an entire bottles worth of sauce. Thus, creativity a plus, but actual taste and price bring it down to being A-OK. Ambience is nice too, seems like it could be a date place (the location is in a dead lot though)
(3)
Tina C.
I wanted to give this place a try since it got such good reviews...but NO! HORRIBLE CHOICE! My personal pet peeve is that the rice at a sushi place HAS to be good...but they gave us clumpy LEFTOVER rice from the day before... totally unacceptable and I will NEVER COME HERE AGAIN. We ordered: -sushi roll lunch: salmon roll, New York roll, and unagi avocado roll It tasted fine, but the sushi rolls were cut very unevenly so all the sushi pieces were not the same size. It came out less than 5 minutes after we ordered, which was great but everything else took MUCH longer. I was finished with my sushi rolls before everyone else got their food (it was my birthday so I got to do whatever I want for a day :) -tempura don with mini udon the mini udon came 15 minutes earlier than the tempura don...?! What?! The udon was not very good (hagotai ga nai...) and the broth tasted like it was instant the tempura was the best thing we had, they were fried to perfection EXCEPT it came 20 minutes later than everything else. OLD RICE = :( -tonkatsu plate Forgettable, the portion was big but the pork cutlets were tiny and thin (they gave 3 pieces of pork cutlets). I want a juicy big cut of tonkatsu if I order it in a restaurant so this was a NO. They were very ordinary. The tonkatsu sauce was overly sweet and tasted bad, I would rather just have a store bought tonkatsu sauce. The potato salad was worse than what I make. Usually there's some veggies or fruit in Japanese potato salad, but this was just a clump of mushy potatoes. OLD RICE = :( -dragon roll WAY TO OVER SAUCED and salty. Again the shrimp tempura was great but all you can taste was the sauce. The chef poured so much over the roll it was the only thing you could taste. Service was pretty bad, our tea cups and water glasses were empty and no one filled them. We had to flag people down to get some service. To be fair, they were busy but it took a few tries before we can get a waiter to pay for our meal. I really wanted to like this place since it was only a 5 min walk from my house...but alas, I would just go somewhere else (like Hoshi or Tomi sushi) next time.
(1)
Hardev G.
Update: came back a third time and the miso glazed beef tongue is AMAZING ! (5 stars for that dish alone) Wonderful, whole in the wall Japanese restaurant. Very popular with a modern twist on Japanese and somewhat Korean dishes. Becoming one of my favorite places. Kimchi Hot Pot is awesome on a rainy, cold day. Fish quality is very good. And they have takoyaki...... ;-)
(5)
Christina L.
My favorite Japanese joint in the South Bay. Seriously love this place (so sorry En). Gokaku has the perfectly balanced blend of traditional with foreign inspired... basically the food still tasted traditional but looks rather foreign. Their exterior is a bit deceiving, by the way. You would NEVER guess what's inside. I've been her a few times for both business and pleasure and they surprise EVERY TIME... yes, still. This is one place I very actively attempt to try something new each visit, and it's not because the last dish didn't please. On the contrary, it's because each dish is even more impressive than the last. Their duck dish is extremely flavorful and perfectly seasoned - a definitely twist on traditional (I guess this may be one dish that isn't quite traditional, but I don't care). Their sashimi donburis are extremely beautiful and taste just as fresh. Taro chips and their kimchi mentai carbornara udon is also a must try. I wouldn't say it's the cheapest tapas place on the block, you could go all out, and a dinner for two would cost you maybe about $80 ish with drinks and the appetizer works. Or you can go simple with a single appetizer and two entrees probably closer to $50. Anyway, this place is 10000% recommended.
(5)
Yah H.
Came here with a buddy to check out the place. Price is actually not that expensive, a place where I probably go with a group of friend to grub a drink or two and some food. A different scenery for a change instead of going to TGIF or where ever you usually go all the time. If you like Japanese food from place such as GoChi, Sumiya, or Red Crane and haven't try out this place yet, you should, really. Only reason I give it 4 star instead of 5 is cause I don't like the cheap bamboo fence thing that is being place between tables. I would come back for sure.
(4)
Craig K.
This place gets pretty busy, even on a Tuesday night. Apparently they had $2.75 on Asahi and Sapporo beers, not bad at all. The sashimi dish was delishious, no strong fishy flavor which is how sashimi should be. The fish just melts in your mouth, with the little crackles and pops of roe. The green tea cheesecake and black sesameaice cream were pretty delicious and complimented one another well. Service was good, evwn when busy. Will definitely come back. BE WARNED, BE PREPARED TO SPEND MONEY
(4)
Jordan H.
Place is tiny and a bit cramped but the food was good. Felt like portions were a bit small but they're tapas so that's normal. Everything was pretty tasty and service was okay but occasionally a bit overwhelmed.
(4)
Truc N.
Love this place!! Great service! Very friendly and attentive staff. Octopus balls - YUMMS Sashimi Salad - GOOD! Cucumber Chef Salad - YUMMS Salmon Sashimi - YUMMS Volcano Roll - So big! It's ok. I wouldn't get it again. Secret Shrimp - YUMMS I can't wait to come back!!!! Closed Mondays. Make a reservation.
(5)
Kim N.
There's a new Izakaya player in town. In fact they're not that far from Gochi which is my favorite izakaya in the bay area. Now they're not on the same level but they're still young and have potential. In fact they have a lot of dishes that you don't see at many of the other Izakayas around. It's always nice to have variety right? We were seated immediately and perused their solid selection of sake. Got a bottle of Hakkaisan to start off the night. We then got a large amount of dishes as follows: -Hamachi Kama -Nato -Grilled squid -Soy grilled beef -Tripe stew with tofu -Teka Maki -Soba/Tempura -Mozzarella/tofu/mentai -Okonomiyaki omelete Everything was pretty tasty, though the kitchen seemed slammed at times and we got our dishes in erratic spurts. I had also ordered a roasted/chopped aji mackerel dish which never showed and they were super apologetic about it. They also have a full sushi bar and bento style entrees but we concentrated on the izakaya side mostly. I'd definitely like to try more of the izakaya dishes and the sushi. Service is friendly but as I said, under heavy load it's noticeable. Definitely worth a few trips though to see the breadth of the offerings.
(4)
Carol K.
Thoroughly enjoyed my meal. Will definitely return. Only gripe is that I wish they had more fresh fish rolls without mayo sauce. Half the menu is fried this and that.
(4)
Patrick L.
Definitely a new favorite. A replacement of Tommy Sushi.
(5)
Esther S.
A little biased since i'm not too big on Japanese food. But that day I even felt like some raw fish! (very rarely do I eat this) Me and boy came on a Saturday evening- place is very nice, casual with a touch of elegance but not too fancy. Everything is very clean and tidy- waitresses are plentiful and very friendly. A large menu to choose from and the presentation is very nice! Prices are pretty good considering in Japanese food. Everything tasted pretty good and we left super full with some leftovers as well. Saw some promotions for set course dinners and a ladies night with unlimited sake hmmmm =D
(4)
Andrew T.
I figure I'm not very popular on Yelp, so it's safe for me to review this place. If I were popular I might think twice about it, because I'd want fewer people to know about this diamond in the rough. What looks like a hole in the wall from the outside turned out to be a nice, modern-looking restaurant. That was a pleasant surprise. Then we took one look at the tables around us with plates full of large rolls and we instantly knew we found something special. We ordered the Seafood Nachos to start, and then shared a Zig Zag Roll (Soft shell crab with soy wrap), Super Roll (Chef Special which had Salmon, Tuna, and Yellowtail with flavored Tobiko) and the mother of all rolls, the Volcano Roll (too much awesome to name). The rolls were a bit more expensive than I had come to expect, but for good reason. They were all extremely delicious and we came away very full and satisfied. The waitresses were also very nice and efficient. Overall I had a really great time, and plan on going back again very soon.
(4)
Caroline S.
Yum! The sushi here is divine. They have some very filling specialty rolls with sashimi layered on top and some fried goodness, too. Then, drizzled with chef's special sauce. I also have had soba and udon noodles here. The broth was light and yummy and the noodles were not soggy. The place is a bit hidden, so I hope they do well with more positive yelp reviews. They are located in a small shopping center where there's a Walgreens on the corner. If you are a Cupertino native, TinTin market was located in the shopping center before it closed down.
(4)
ChingYing K.
This is my first visit. The Sashimi salad is pretty good. It's very fresh and tasty. I ordered Superroll which is good as well. However, the appetizers aren't that good. I will come back for next time though.
(4)
Tiny K.
I liked everything that I tried and will come back for more! It does look a bit strange in a Chinese strip mall with a Walgreens, but then again, it reminds me of Los Angeles minus the valet parking.
(5)
Laura T.
I would say that the Price Range here is more $$$. It's pricier than most sushi restaurants. Only had a few dishes here, but the hamachi sashimi was good. I also enjoyed the black sesame ice cream for dessert.
(3)
May B.
Come hungry as they serve generous portions. Fish is fresh and one order of their sashimi feels like I ate two orders :) I was surprised to find this restaurant, located in a residential zone but trusted my foodie buddy to steer me in the right direction ;) It does get busy and I would not recommend coming with a huge people as the restaurant is on the smaller side. Attentive wait staff and prompt service. I would go back again...
(4)
Andrew Y.
Came here on a Sunday night around 8:30PM and it was pretty empty. Staff was very friendly, and service was excellent. Overall, it went like this: Service - 5 stars Hamachi Nigiri - Very fresh, nice cut. 4 stars Uni - Fresh and tasty, comes wrapped in shiso. 4 stars Hamburg steak - Delicious! very juicy and most, served with egg on top. 5 stars Tekka Maki - You really can't screw this up. 3 stars Yaki Onigiri - This was just ok for me. Salmon was a bit sparse and came on top of the rice instead of inside. 3 stars Deluxe CA roll: Supposedly uses fresh real crab. The crab was real, but was unfortunately also really unfresh. This was bad order. In fact, I couldn't even finish it. 1 star. Hamchi Garlic Steak - That has a very appetizing ring to it doesn't it? unfortunately this dish was not good. It came it dry little chunks. Disappointing. 1 star Egg Plant - We got the one without the cheese, and it was just ok, 3 stars Overall, we had a decent dining experience, but there are other izakayas out there that we'd go to first over this one. dont get me wrong, it's not bad a worth a try. i was particularly impressed with the freshness of their sashimi, which i would gladly recommend. in all, 3.5 star is a fair rating, which is about where these guys are rated at the time of this review. portions, btw, are on the smaller side. so order up.
(3)
Shanna N.
Another great dining experience thanks to my fellow yelpers! GREAT LATE NIGHT DINING! Recommend getting the Sashimi Salad - absolutely amazing! Lotus Root IMO... was cut too thin. I didn't even taste anything but fried.. Can't wait to come back and try more dishes they have a lot of interesting looking dishes!
(4)
jj l.
Nigiri is super fresh and good portion. All the rolls we tried are very tasty. The flavors are multi-dimension and make you want to eat one after another to figure out the ingredients. Some servers are very attentive while others are so so... I highly recommend.
(4)
Heidi M.
Too hot to think about much today. A cute little hidden restaurant in the heart of Cupertino. You are always greeted in a pleasant and polite manner and the menu is suitable for anyone's appetite. A personal favorite of mine - weekly, as I enjoy the staff and my Zigzag roll with a delicious sake - Suigei.
(5)
Julie W.
We've been wanting to come here after getting rave reviews from our daughter (and yelpers). last Friday, hubby surprised me by having a celebration here with my children and friends. We had reservation for 6pm; arrived 5 minutes early and was told to wait outside. The place is small and simple. Service was efficient and good for the most part. Daughter did a good job ordering for a total of 10 people including two non-raw fish guys. We had multiple orders of seafood nachos, white tuna salad, assorted sashimi, pork belly w/ poached egg, spicy udon, tempura, fried oysters, an order each of unagi don and tonkazi for the two picky guys. Everything was done well, we were impressed with the quality of the ingredients and flavors; the fusion spin added freshness and interesting twists to the tastes and presentation, portion sizes were decent. I liked all the raw dishes, pork belly was melting in your mouth but a bit too fatty, I did like the soft boiled eggs a lot. I'm not a fan of fried food, the fried oysters were good, the rice dishes were decent as well. Price was quite reasonable for less then $30 pp including tax and tip. Will come back to try the lunch specials and other dishes.
(4)
Max D.
As a long time resident of the bay area I go all over looking for the best Japanese food here. Even though this place is top notch it's not my favorite. I'm writing this review weeks after I went so I don't quite remember what I ordered but it was only ok compared to other places where I spend the same amount of money. However the presentation of the dish was exquisite, much like a five star restaurant. The service was also fantastic, because there was such a large party coming in, they moved me to two different tables which I didn't mind much because they were pretty nice about it. Because they made me move they apologized and got my date and I free dessert! Overall food 3.5 stars for the food/price, 5.0 for the service, 5.0 for the presentation of the dishes. Presentation isn't much to some people but it is too me. My food must look good for me to enjoy it correctly.
(4)
Christine L.
Sighh I really wanted to give this place a 5 :( After discovering this place after finding that tintin closed, I've been here at least once a week. This place is DELICIOUS. TIP: a lot of their dishes have a lot of subtle spices where you don't feel that the food is spicy in the first few bites but after a while it's like a spice party in your mouth! Make sure to order cold water first because the hot tea doesn't exactly help with the whole spice factor. Also, a lot of their dishes all have the same cream sauces so don't order too many dishes with cream sauces in them or else it'll all start tasting the same. I always order: Kimchi Mentaiko Udon: Hands down the best thing here. Share with someone though, the portion size is huge! Chefs roll: I didn't try any sushi after my first time here because I didn't like the zig zag roll at all... that being said, the Chefs roll is AMAZING. I don't like sashimi but the fish in this roll is mostly cooked (partially cooked partially raw) It's delicious. On the spicy side though. I alternate between appetizers: Boom: I used to always order this but now it's gotten a bit salty. Secret shrimp: The first time I got it, the breading on the shrimp was already soggy, however, I wanted to give this dish a second chance and it never disappointed after the first time :) Taro Chips: A MUST. This is sooo good. Sometimes there's too much salt on some part of the chip and not enough on other parts though. And I wish they would give us more sauce for the chips. Other things that I've ordered are Oden soup: The dashi broth was amazing. And I usually hate dashi broth. Blue Fin Tuna Coller (Cheek): Holy Cow this tuna cheek was HUGE. Delicious. I was so lucky that I got the last order of this. It's a special so they don't have it every week :( Rainbow Roll: Skip this. My mom really likes sashimi so I told her that I would order it and she could eat the sashimi while I eat the california roll portion. The taste of the california roll was just weird. Duck Udon: I personally don't like duck but my friend who ordered this said that it was delicious. Berkshire Pork and egg: It's good but the one at tanto is better. Now I'm sure you're all wondering why I rated this place 4 stars instead of 5 if I love it so much. I usually order to go on the weekdays because I don't have time to go out and eat and today, when I ordered to go, instead of the berkshire pork and egg, they gave me sausage. I didn't bother to check if they gave me the correct food or not because they've never gotten my order wrong before. On the bright side, the sausage was pretty good! But the boom was WAY too salty this time and they put too much sauce on the chefs roll. It was like soy sauce gone wrong. Even after this incident I will still always go to Gokaku because I know how good their food usually is. But they have to remember that to go food needs some love too!
(4)
Minako S.
Good Japanese tapas place. Must-have: - crab cream croquette: soooooo yummmy. verry creammmyy with a nice crispy crust. my fave =) - takoyaki: great flavor. great texture. could use more squid bits tho. Good to try: - Nigiri: decently fresh. if you like seared salmon, ask for it =) - grilled cod: tender, but nothing special. - carbonara pasta: a little salty and heavy for me, but has good flavor otherwise. - seafood nacho: altho not the best. still decently yummy. - volcano roll: looks like a crazy huge roll, but mostly it's one roll with a lot of tempura flakes thrown onto the plate. if you like the crunchy roll, definitely get it! Overall: food: good service: sometimes a little slow price: normal atmosphere: casual
(4)
Diana C.
i was debating between 3.5 and 4 stars, but the Secret Shrimps pushed it to 4 :) a couple dishes that i would definitely order again: Secret Shrimps (so good. it's not like tempura shrimp. much crunchier. sauce was not bad. maybe mayo and soy sauce mix of some sort?!) Sashimi Salad (lots and lots of fishes. they are not tiny pieces. like 2/3 length of your fingers. i am not exaggerating. not a lot of veggies. such great deal) I'm likely to go back to this place just for these two dishes. the other things we ordered was alright; not likely to order again - grilled hamachi in garlic sauce - pork and half boiled eggs - (braised?!) beef tongue (this one requires an acquired taste) - black sesame ice cream with a side of red beans i added some comments when i posted photos...
(4)
Carrie-C N.
I am so happy that Gochi was full and we had to make alternate reservations at Gokaku. We ordered about five dishes, but after the Volcano roll came out, we had to cancel two of the five dishes. The portion sizes were HUGE. It was also very delicious. Apart of me wished that I had more tummy space so I could've tried the other dishes. This will be a stop in the future for some wholesome and homey Japanese tapas. I am so very happy I found you, Gokaku!!!
(5)
Richard C.
I love the food. It's got variety, authenticity and great taste. I've been here twice and ordered different tapas and sushi; everything is unique and yum yum. Can't wait to get back again.
(5)
Karen T.
Been craving for a spot that can break me out of my familiarity with En in Santa Clara... and what do you know, there's a place that is literally down the street from where I live! Located in the old Tin Tin plaza [good riddance, smelly supermarket!]- this place doesn't look like much on the outside, but you totally couldn't tell with the amount of people lining up before their open time at 5.30 pm. Seriously, though. This place gives an entirely new definition to 'ambiance lighting'. Someone had the audacity to peek in before the place was officially open... and the inside was super nondescript and kind of plain in fluorescent lighting. But turn down the lights and BAM- you've got an entirely new beast there. Coupled with their penchant for the way their food is presented (and their great service) this place is definitely an excellent up and coming eatery. Their menu is extensive, and as many people have said- if it's your first time here, someone will go over the most popular items in the menu for you. Nice of them to do so, but given that I can barely wrap my head around the gamut of choices- it was a little too speedy for me to comprehend. No matter though! There are pictures next to a lot of their dishes, so if all else fails, you can certainly eenie miney mo yourself to a great meal. We ordered: VOLCANO (a special roll that piled on tempura sushi, with a ton of crab meat, and fresh salmon sashimi... if you're a fan of specialty rolls, this one's for you), AIGAMO STEAK (sliced seared duck with mashed potatoes- the sauce was really rich, but the duck was amazing!!), and the CARBONARA UDON. All three dishes were top notch, but in retrospect, I kind of wish we didn't choose all dishes with really rich sauces... but hindsight is 20/20. Next time, will definitely expand my food adventure and try out other things from their menu. One quip, though, the place is kind of small- so the tables could barely fit all the various plates... and we only ordered 3 dishes. The music was also a touch too loud to carry a regular conversation. Other than that, though, I would definitely love to come back here!
(4)
Joanna Q.
Awesome food, but service could definitely use some improvement. I've been her numerous times and each time it's pretty much the same - servers take a while with requests and rarely checks on our table unless we waved them down for something. That said, the food is yummy! They have an extensive menu so if you're not particularly in the mood for sushi there are other options. My go-to items are the Aburi Trio special (salmon, yellowtail, and scallop nigiri - all seared) and the carbonara udon. The restaurant is small and located in a plaza and so it might hard to see the sign from the main street.
(4)
Randy F.
Chirashi Chronicles #23 I had actually been to Gokaku a few times, but it seemed that every time I was able to go, their sushi bar was closed. They actually have a great selection of Japanese cooked dishes that are reminiscent of Gochi though perhaps not quite the diversity of dishes served there. I finally was able to return to try their sushi selection and, boy, was I glad I did. I had seen photos of their toku-jo nigiri and chirashi and couldn't decide between the two. In the end, since I'm such a Chirashi fan, I opted for that and I can't be happier. I got the mini udon add-on ($3) and it was a nice start. Flavorful, piping hot, and the perfect compliment to cold sushi. The chirashi bowl arrived next and I was stunned at the presentation. A very large oversized white plate is decorated with sauces and in the middle is a ~5 inch bowl of chirashi. The "bowl" is actually made out of cucumber and filled with sushi rice and then topped with very generous cuts of salmon, hamachi, tuna, ikura, and wonderful uni. The best part was that there were 3 pieces of uni and a generous helping of multi-colored tobiko and ikura. Easily the most creative chirashi I've ever had but up there in terms of quality too. Overall, I couldn't be more pleased with the fish quality here. I liked this place with the cooked dishes, but their sushi bar puts it over the top. Gokaku accepts credit card, but not American Express.
(4)
Derek L.
$14 ($15 plus tax) for a rainbow roll and they had the audacity to use imitation crab meat?! You're kidding me right?! And I thought this was supposed to be an authentic Japanese restaurant...Unacceptable! And to think they have some rolls that are upwards of $20! Do they contain imitation crab meat as well? I'm scared to find out.
(1)
Ashley L.
Took a roommate here for his birthday. Got seated pretty quickly (maybe because it was a Monday night). Items ordered: Sashimi Combination - This dish came with 3 different types of sashimi - salmon, tuna, and yellowtail. The freshness of this dish was okay. I had better sashimi else where. Volcano Roll - When this roll first came out, we were all surprised. The roll was buried under a pile of tempura flakes. You will have to dig in to get to the roll. Overall this roll was pretty good. Ika-Jaga Butter Yaki- My favorite dish. Squid and potatoes... well its more like squid and french fries. The sauce that came with this dish made it so much better. Yums! Seafood Nacho - This was okay... nothing really special. Just spicy tuna on a chip. Over priced for 4 piece if you ask me. Renkon Chip - thinly cut lotus root fries. Doesn't really taste like anything, but that sauce it came with was pretty good. The group also ordered the the firecracker roll, but by that time, I was too full to try a piece. Overall, the food was decent. Will come back here to try other dishes.
(3)
Derek S.
Came by for dinner the other night. As a walk-in, seating was tight for a table although we were able to squeeze in at the sushi bar. Reservations are recommended. Service by the non-Japanese male staff can be short and curt. Try to flag down the Asian female waitresses for better service... Hits: - Miso soup was decent. - Seafood Nachos is a must try w/ spicy tuna over a fried wonton wrapper. - Maguro Poki was decent but the size has gone downhill over the years...they also removed the fried taro chip too... - Buta Kakuni was decent though it was pretty fatty, super tender though Okay: - Secret Shrimp was okay. The batter was too thick... ~$25/head after tax and tip
(4)
Kris K.
I've been here a few times now and enjoyed each one. The times I have been there the sushi was high quality and fresh. Like a breath of fresh air compared to what Yuki Sushi has been churning out. They have a nice variety on the menu so you don't have to eat raw fish if you don't want to. The alma ebi is definitely one to try since you get the fried shrimp heads served along side. The only thing I've had so far that I didn't like was the Boom appetizer. My work associate/friend is a huge fan of the beef soup. I've tried it and it is good but not my favorite. It's not cheap but they do have good food and a lot of variety.
(4)
Kriti R.
I swear this place is consistently good EVERY TIME! LOVED the Dragon Roll and the Caterpillar Roll this time :] Got the secret shrimp again and of course... I dipped all my rolls in that yummy ponzu sauce again! The waiter came by and took the leftover sauce away when I wasn't looking... I had picked up my sushi roll to dip it in the sauce and when it realized it wasn't there, the roll went SPLAT onto the table. It was hysterical! Silly guy... you can't remove the sauce from the table!!
(5)
Xavier Y.
Dishes (from kitchen) are good. e.g.Shabu Pork Salad, Duck Steak, Gobo Fries. Fresh Toro! but cut in wrong direction........ What is wrong with the Sushi Chef!
(3)
Lawrence C.
Very good sashimi, very fresh and good presentation. The environment is nice and cozzy. The mall is very small but with a lot of reataurant. Its a good Japaneae restaurant overall. I ordered zig zag roll, sashimi combination.........
(4)
Cynthia C.
Made reservations for 8:15 and we were still waiting at 8:40. Had friends visiting Friday night from the East Bay after a long week of work... we just weren't in the mood to wait any longer and left to eat dumplings. The staff kept telling us that the tables were leaving soon and 25 minutes later we were still waiting, while the tables still looked like they were no where ready to leave. That's just bad service. Period.
(1)
Serena L.
We are quite regulars at this Japanese tapas restaurant. Service is usually very good. One ofy favorite dish is the carbonara mentaiko buta kimchee udon. It is very creamy with spicy pork kimchee. If you have extra sauce leftover, try it on a bowl of rice. My brother's favorite here is the chirashi which is beautifully presented wrapped in a ring of cucumber strips and topped with a taro chip. The sashimi fish is very fresh. My friends also like to come here for their lunch special which features different dishes daily and very reasonably priced.
(4)
Hiroshi K.
I've been here a dozen or more times but this is my first review. I probably want to keep this place a secret because it's such a hidden gem! It's a little place in the back of the former Tin Tin Plaza. Wait staff are very friendly and attentive. The food is excellent. We almost always start with Seafood Nacho's which is spicy tuna on a crisp with wakame and a sauce!! Very good. Then, we usually get a salad; last night we had the daikon salad, which was excellent! They also have sashimi salad and a shabu shabu salad, also great! Then, we had four rolls; Gokaku, Rainbow, Lion King, and Firecracker roll; all excellent! Then, we had a special otoro nigiri and blue fin tuna sashimi!! Both, to die for!! Finally, a bowl of green tea ice cream!! They also have an excellent sake list; we had a bottle of Dassai 50!! A fantastic meal!
(5)
Michael C.
The service was okay. The food was really good. My dad loved his Saba shiyoyaki and my mom liked her salmon teriyaki. However, the zig zag was a disappointment. Despite all the other reviews praising it, it just tasted like fried something inside too much rice.
(3)
Sonya K.
Gokaku is another friendly Japanese restaurant that my family likes to visit. We came here for dinner tonight and ordered the following: 1. Sashimi salad -- lots of sashimi chunks, cherry tomatoes, wakame (seaweed), salad and yummy dressing all tossed together and plated inside cucumber walls. 2. toku-jo-nigiri -- 8 pieces of chef's choice sashimi: tuna, albacore, yellowtail, salmon, uni (sea urchin), ikura (salmon roe), scallop, and another whitefish I think. The scallop was really yummy! They have generous portions and all the sashimi was very fresh. 3. Rainbow roll -- pretty standard 4. Zig Zag Roll -- one of their special, chef recommended rolls. pretty good, unique 5. Takoyaki -- 6 octopus dumpling balls 6. Carbonara Style Mentaiko-Kimchi Udon -- my dad enjoyed it a lot, but it wasn't that appealing to me. I don't really enjoy the creaminess of this dish, although it is different and a special dish that you don't really see anywhere else. The food here is tasty, the sashimi is all fresh. There is plenty of parking in their private lot. The waiters and waitresses are all very friendly and they have good service. The restaurant itself is quaint, I saw that other parties that were larger knew to call ahead for table reservations. They also do take-out orders. We came right when they opened at 5:30pm and were seated right away. I'd recommend Gokaku.
(4)
Sin-Yaw W.
Really? Yelpers. This is the first time yelp failed on me. If you are serious about Japanese foods, don't come. If you want something quick and simple, it is fine. We have a party of six and reserved a table. There were only two servers that we can see and we need to fight to get their attention: like walking up, standing in front, and say, "could you bring sesame ice cream to that table when you have a chance?" Seriously!?!? The Volcano sushi has an interesting look, but the seasoning was way off balance. The hot sauces were simply poured on top and did not blend into the dish. Guess digging out the meat from underneath a pile of simulated lava was fun. The most disappointing dish as the soft shell crab, one of my favorite and Gokaku totally ruined it. They battered on thick and over-fried it. There was no trace of crab flavor left. To be fair, the udon, caterpillar sushi, tempura, and croquette were pretty good.
(2)
Glenn L.
I went to Gokaku for dinner with friends on a Sunday night and found a small busy restaurant! There were three groups ahead of us and we waited about 20 minutes to be seated. Not bad at all, since we didn't call for reservations, and they were pretty busy during their dinner service. WHAT WE FEASTED ON: - Maguro poke - We loved this poke dish! The fish was fresh, and it was nicely presented! One of those dishes, that you almost don't want to eat cause it "looks nice". - Volcano rolls - This dish was very overwhelming! It's spicy tuna, tempura jalapeno with fresh salmon, crab mix, and avocado covered with crunchy tempura flakes and their spicy sauce! - Zig zag roll - This was just okay... I couldn't really taste the soft shell crab... but the soy wrap makes this roll stand out from the rest! - Salmon tofu rolls - It's tofu topped with salmon with their special sauce! I thought this roll was really good, but my friends didn't really like the "cheesy" taste to it. I definitely liked the presentation of this roll! - BBD roll - yummy rolls with scallops! - Carbonara udon - This has gotta be my favorite! It was delicious and I recommend it if you like udon! The sauce was good! I'd have to give this place 4/5 stars because of the generous amount of food for the price! The service was alright... There were a couple of rolls that were a miss to me, but overall we had a really good dining experience here. I wanna go back and have some of the udon again!
(4)
Jess C.
Fresh, but expensive sashimi. Note: I do not think they serve sushi on Tuesdays. Buta kakuni (pork belly over rice) is tasty, but very fatty. Also, it's not very unique and I drove pretty far just to try this place. Service is friendly.
(3)
Samuel Y.
I've come here twice and each time I've sat at the bar. I've probably ordered similar things but I'll state what I've tried here most recent time: Sashimi salad $12.95 Takoyaki (6 pieces) $5.75 Chef's roll $13.95 Zig Zag $9.50 Buta Kakuni and hanjuku tamago $9.50 I thought the sashimi salad was actually pretty delicious as it was a nice presentation with plenty of sashimi to go with the seaweed and other mixed veggies. Takoyaki was nicely plated and delicious with the mayo/sauces. Chef's roll was filling and the spicy kick available was nice. Zig zag isn't the most visually appealing as it lacks vibrant color most sushi rolls have, but the components are ones I like and the entire roll was tasty. The braised pork and half boiled eggs were a bit disappointing to me. It comes in a boatload of gravy and though the dish itself is alright, I can easily request this dish to be replicated by my mother(she cooks wonderfully) and she'd probably make it better. Came here as a group of 3, looking for a decent priced sit down restaurant in Cupertino that served Japanese so we decided to come here. The staff here are friendly and fairly attentive. Overall it was a satisfying meal and I could see myself coming back some time.
(4)
Christine C.
So so much want to give this place a 5 star, only drop one star because of the Unagi Don, which was really below average. The fish was very fatty and this is the first time I have had unagi with that much bones in them. These are not soft eatable bones. For $16.95, it is NOT worth it. Ok, lets start my sushi review (5 Star). OMG! This is going to be my favorite sushi restaurant!! I love Hamachi and Salmon, and their Hamachi and Salmon Nigiri melts in your mouth! First, you have to order the nigiri to get the best cut, hence, nigiri are usually pricier than your other combo price sashimi. I tried Tomi in Mtn View, even their Nigiri wasn't the best cut but carry the same price, that was disappointing. Been to Niiji in Mtn View, they were ok, just not thrilled to be in a Japanese restaurant owned by Chinese. The restaurant is very small and popular, so if you don't have reservation or get there early, you are going to have to wait. The best part is, the sushi chef is authentic Japanese :) So glad for YELP! Thank you, thank you! I finally found a sushi place that meets my standard.
(4)
Aimee D.
Sushi rolls have too much rice that it over power the flavor. Chef special was okay.. (very generous on size of fish). I love the Takoyaki.. the best I have tasted. If I do come back for sure it will be because of those squid balls.
(3)
Jim P.
So I created my first Yelp List about one of my favorite meals...Chirashi Sushi. Gokaku was my first meal dedicated to starting this list and boy have they set the bar high! The Chirashi was beautiful, I mean artistically beautiful. The sushi rice was wrapped at the edges with long thin slices of cucumber; the ends held in place with wasabi, ginger and sweet grape tomatoes. To jazz up the plate Eye Candy the chef used 3 infusions to make colorful stripes (Dill, Plum and I'm guessing Chili). The variety of fish was very nice with the 3 big standouts being the Ebi which was huge (Cocktail Prawn Huge) with a wonderful sweetness and firm texture, the Uni which was very fresh with all the flavors of the ocean without that left over YUCK taste you get when it is not fresh and last but certainly not least the Hotate coated in fresh fish roe (the little sweet ones) was over the top fresh! Another cool chef tweak was how he cut the Hirame and Sake into long single filets instead of 2 or 3 smaller pieces and wrapped them around the rice. Lastly I would be amiss not to mention the Wasabi Fish Roe which was awesome! Also had the cold Sake Sampler A that included Kokuryu "Junmai Ginjo", Akitabare "Koshiki Junzukuri" and Masumi "Okuden Kantsukuri". All 3 sakes were tasty and went well with the meal. The Kokuryu Ginjo was my favorite as it has a little more bite. So to close; Quality /Quantity to Price ratio was good. Overall freshness of the meal was good. Meal presentation was great and the atmosphere was cool with some perfect Downbeat playing in the background. Gokaku is my first Chirashi List review and wins for MOST ARTISTIC Presentation. Cheers!
(4)
Christina C.
Come early for lunch and dinner, this place gets packed. Its not very big. Make reservations during prime time as well. Buta Kakuni - ginger braised pork. very tasty and delicious. heavy on the ginger taste. You can get the rice bowl for lunch or the entree (sans rice) for dinner. Carbonara style Mentaiko-Kimchi Udon - this was pretty tasty. Creamy, kimchi-filled udon. Wished there was more udon because its so tasty. They have okonomiyaki! that is non-seafood! When it came out, it didn't look anything like the photos which was disappointing. It was just ok, didn't taste any beef/pork/chicken in it at all- just veggies. Service is hit or miss. Definitely a huge miss during dinner when there was only 2 other tables :(
(4)
Tyler K.
Good, possibly great food but poor inattentive service that was slower than molasses. Was hoping for a better experience.
(2)
Katrina T.
OH EM GEE This place is SO GOOD! I knew this place was going to be good, but didn't realize it was going to be THIS good. So good I had to yelp it right away! This place is literally a block away from my house and how I didn't discover it sooner, ceases to amaze me. My boss even recommended this restaurant to me and ever since that suggestion, I had been dying to try! Came here without reservations (I do suggest making them because it gets REALLY packed!) luckily, we came right before the crowd! It was already starting to get crowded, but as we were seated there was a wait outside the door. The menu options are ALL mouthwatering. Couldn't decide what to get! But went with the: Volcano Roll - MASSIVE. It was so big I couldn't even find the sushi roll underneath. I loved that it was drenched in tempura crunch stuff and sauce drizzled all over it. It was sort of too spicy though! The raw sushi in it was super duper fresh. I like it when it kind of is "slither-y". Weird I know. yelp.com/biz_photos/goka… Caterpillar Roll - The green avocado was so vibrant in color and there were big pieces of unagi. YUM. yelp.com/biz_photos/goka… Spider Roll - The plainest of all of our rolls. STILL Delish though! yelp.com/biz_photos/goka… Godzilla Roll - Super saucy. Super spicy too. yelp.com/biz_photos/goka… Basically all their rolls are BIG. They are plated with good presentation and the food honestly tastes as good as it looks. Great portions at a great price point. This restaurant seems like it could get classy. NEW FAVE SUSHI RESTAURANT!!! btw looks kinda janky on the outside, but trust me the moment you walk in, it is a big turnaround.
(5)
Kat H.
Love the takoyaki here. One of our favorite places to go for dinner!
(5)
Sharon H.
Small, casual, quiet place in the old Tin Tin marketplace plaza. I highly recommend the Sukiyaki Hot Stone beef rice. The dish is absolutely huge- I ate it for about three days. The beef is tender/delicious, perfectly sauced, with some mixed vegetables. I got the Godzilla roll and was a bit dissapointed. I'm normally even someone who likes mildly tempura-ed, crazy rolls, but this was just way too heavy and over-sauced-- I couldn't eat more than two.
(4)
Elaine L.
Came here last night for dinner with my parents. I've never stopped by Gokaku because it kind of looks like a "hole in the wall" but the saying "never judge a book by its cover" has never been more true for this little restaurant. The restaurant itself is very small inside, and they specialize in serving Japanese-style tapas dishes and sushi rolls. Here's a breakdown of what we ordered: Ika Maruyaki ($7.95) - Soy-seasoned grilled whole squid. Ohmygawd this was so good! The squid was seasoned and grilled perfectly. It wasn't rubbery or tough to chew at all, and it came with a dollop of a yummy mayonnaise-infused dip to pair with the tender pieces of squid. Such a simple dish but so well done! Highly recommend! Kamo (Duck) Udon/Soba ($12.95) - Noodle soup with Seared Duck Breast This was such a light and refreshing dish. Again, very simple but packed with so much flavor. The broth is just mind-blowingly damn good! You get to choose whether you want soba or udon noodles in your soup - I prefer the soba personally. They are very generous with the duck breast, which were wonderfully seared as well. This is one of their most popular dishes and I can definitely understand why. Salmon Ikura Don ($19.95) - Salmon sashimi & salmon roe over rice Nothing too special here - basically just pieces of salmon and bits of salmon roe over sushi rice. The sashimi was very fresh and tasty, but I do feel that this dish was slightly overpriced. I feel like you can get this same exact dish somewhere else for the same quality at a lower price. Service here was friendly and professional. I'd definitely come here again - I really want to try the Carbonara style Mentaiko Kimchi Udon next time!
(5)
Norman S.
Izakaya is catching on in the Bay Area so it was time to try Gokaku. Like typically good Japanese restaurants, waiting is the name of the game if you have no reservations and arrive at 7pm for dinner. Call ahead, reserve a table and all is good. The menu here is extensive and range from appetizers, to sushis, to soups, salads, and of course, Japanese style tapas. Regardless of variety, a few items stood out and were ordered and devoured: Shabu salad: thinly sliced boiled pork mixed in with lettuce. Well prepared salad but nothing spectacular. Seafood nachos: Japanese style nachos, surprisingly spicy tuna sitting on top of crunchy tortilla chips. Very good but be warned about the heat levels. Grilled braised chicken thighs in garlic sauce: Super flavorful marinated grilled chicken thighs. Garlic sauce adds additional dimension to the already intensely flavored chicken. Easily the best dish of the night. Rice ball served with in a broth with salmon. Fresh salmon complements the rice and boiling broth all served a steel pot at your table. So good to savor during the cold weather. Overall, hight quality food, great selection with reasonable prices. Will be back to try the other items on the extensive menu.
(4)
Christine C.
I love sushi and like to try different restaurants, but I now know to just stick with the sushi restaurants I already like. There must be a review typo because someone said the Chirashi was $14.95, but it's actually $24.95 (I didn't order it; there are too many sushi joints for Chirashi under $20). The Seafood Nacho ($7.50) came in big chunks of spicy tuna on 4 pieces of chips. It was okay. The only thing decent was their Zig Zag Roll ($9.95), which was uniquely rolled in green soy wrap. But sorry, it isn't enough to make me want to come back. What really got to me was the Chef's Roll ($13.95). The description said the roll has tuna, yellowtail and salmon. Usually when those 3 fishes are involved, it's raw fish (even some of the photos on Yelp make the sushi look like sashimi). On the contrary, they do "tempura style" which means it's all cooked, and it tasted so fishy. PLEASE EXPLAIN THIS BETTER, MAYBE IN CAPS OR BOLD. I was so dissatisfied that I went down the street to eat a second lunch at Gyu-Kaku.
(2)
Lily L.
The staff was super nice and friendly. I took a long time deciding what to eat and they checked on me and offered suggestions. As it got busier, they still checked on me and refilled my tea cup several times. Good service! I tried only 3 items: House Salad, Fried Baby Octopus and the Dragon Roll. The salad was blah. The lettuce tasted like tough romaine lettuce (the old outer leaves) and the dressing was rather bland for a miso dressing. The octopus was delicious. It was perfectly crispy and lightly battered. It didn't need it but it might have been nice to have some sort of sauce on the side. The Dragon roll was very unappealing to look at but tasted fairly good. I'm not a big fan of the spicy sauce but the tempura, eel and tuna were good. I think the flavors were unique and I applaud them for that. I probably wouldn't get the Dragon roll again but I would like to come back and try other rolls. $26.45 for the three items, which was just enough for me for lunch. They have a warning on the menu that prices may change without notice and they did just that (the salad was marked $1.50 but they charged $2). Not a deal breaker but not sure what else has gone up.
(3)
Jenn W.
Our party of 6 ordered everything family style - the dishes were really inconsistent. The volcano roll was covered in sauces and fried tempura batter, while the croquettes had minimal style plating and saucing. It was just kind of annoying to not know what to expect. The soft shell crab appetizer/salad/thing was probably the worst thing we had - it was deep fried with breadcrumb batter instead of the usual way (like a spider roll) so all the crab flavor was lost. The duck udon was probably the best thing we had that night. If you do end up coming here, I'd recommend ordering the simplest types of dishes, they tended to be tastier (I guess because less complex and less they can mess up...). Black sesame ice cream was not bad, but took a few bites to actually taste the flavor.
(2)
Stacey L.
If you're craving sashimi, Gokaku is not the place to come to, unless you're looking to hurt your wallet a bit. No doubt their sashimi is great quality, but definitely pricy. On that note, some of my favorite dishes that are delicious and portioned decently are the following: Zig Zag Roll: Crunchy from the soft shell crab, and tasty with their homemade sauce. It's wrapped in a soy wrapper. I almost always get it when I go here. Duck breast: SO good and flavorful. This is probably my favorite thing to get here, but it always depends on if my fellow diner(s) are in a duck mood or not. (tip: the duck udon comes with a generous portion of duck beat for $12.50, but it's not the same flavor as the duck dish) Crispy nacho and sashimi salad are also among other items I enjoy there. Everything on the menu is good to be honest, these are just the highlights. I would highly recommend calling ahead for a reservation if it's prime dining hours. If you don't, you can always chance it with the bar seating.
(5)
Holly L.
The sushi here is pretty good! Its totally hidden in a shopping center that you wouldn't know it was there unless you were looking for it. The place is kinda small, I can see how this place could easily get busy on a Friday, Saturday night. But lucky us we came on a Wednesday so we got sat down right away. Super cute place, my hubby and I were having a little date night and we wanted a new sushi place and this was a nice change. We got the chef's recommended sushi, and looking at other pics for this plate, he will change it up. Which it cool with us! And that is a MUST GET very fresh, yummy, and only $19 and you get like 10 pieces!! And we also had Udon, Carbonara. That wasn't my favorite. It was good first bowl then I got sick of how thick and the bacon in it? BUT hey if thats what you love, then I'm sure you'll like theirs. And then we got the Firecracker Roll..very good too!
(4)
Maureen C.
This has been in my bookmarks for awhile, so I was really excited when I got a chance to go. It's in the plaza that used to house the TinTin Chinese Supermarket, and it's pretty small so I was really surprised by the varied menu. I feel like there's something here that everyone could like. I went with four other friends and we each ordered two dishes to share family-style and the final bill came out to be $25-30 per person, which was pretty worth it. The wait time wasn't too horrible, maybe 30 minutes for our party of five, but when you're already hanging out with friends a wait isn't so bad. Not really a place I'd frequent on a regular basis because of the price, but it's got a great atmosphere for a fun dinner with some friends and the food really is absolutely delicious.
(4)
Elaine N.
Amazing Japanese tapas I have ever been to. Excellent mouth watering food and friendly service. I ordered: 1) Ankimo- broiled liver of the sea toad, taste like delicious foie gras. 2) Takoyaki- japanese traditional dumpling with octopus in their yummy sauce. 3) Secret Shrimp-deep fried shrimp tossed in chef's creamy ponzu sauce. 4) Zig Zag- tasty sushi soft shell crab rolled in soy wrap. 5) Volcano- huge portion of firing spicy tuna, fresh salmon, crunch tempura flakes, tempura jalapeno. This portion could feed up to 4 people! 6) Okonomiyaki- good seafood pancake, too bad its a small portion compared to other places. 7)Aigamo Steak (Duck Steak)- the BEST duck steak compared to Gochi. So tender and moist. Everything thing about this dish is AMAZING! 8) Soba- simple cold noodle, yet appetizing. Finally, my food buddy pick a good restaurant for once. This place will be my favorite Japanese restaurant. I love this place so much I came back here twice within a week. Definitely will recommend this place to my fellow friends and yelper! =0)
(5)
skykid H.
Friday dinner. Food was great but service was a bit slow.
(4)
J K.
Gokaku is like a hidden treasure in Cupertino! One of my favorite Japanese restaurants in the area. A couple of my favorite dishes on the menu are the zig zag roll, pork shabu shabu salad, and the takoyaki. The zig zag roll has such a different yet delicious taste that always has me coming back! Also, the takoyaki is super crispy just how I like it! Most of the entrees with a thumbs up on the menu are all pretty good. They're mostly small dishes so you can share since some dishes are a bit pricey. If I had to pick one thing I didn't like about Gokaku it would be that our server was a bit weird. When we first walked in he had this look on his face like we just walked into his bedroom I almost felt bad for coming in. He also brought our pork shabu shabu salad without the pork and took it back without saying a word I was so weirded out. Also when I asked for the extra mayo for my takoyaki he responded like 5 seconds later even though he was looking right at me. He wasn't necessarily rude but I can't say I was pleased with his service. Otherwise the service from other servers was great and I am sure I will be coming back :)
(5)
Denise L.
I'd always passed by this place in the run down strip mall (everything's gone now!) and was curious to try, as I'm a fan of Japanese fusion tapas. It was smaller than I had thought, but it was only half full. Wait staff here are very friendly and fast. Everything I wanted was fried or creamy, and it seemed to be the top choices on their menu as well (love it when they put the icon for chef recommended or top choices!). Their prices are also very reasonable, and they have quite a few rolls (all fried or creamy of course). We started with the grapefruit sour, 2 shots of Japanese shoju (not to be confused with the Korean soju) tonic water, and real grapefruit juice. Literally, our waiter came with 2 grapefruit halves on top of a squeezer and graciously squeezed those bad boys into our glasses. The drink is not strong though, so was a bit dissapointed. We started off with the zig zag roll, secret shrimp, sashimi salad, and seafood nachos. The seafood nachos was good, you get 4 chips with spicy tuna on top. The secret shrimp, although fried perfectly, the creamy sauce gets overbearing, and I thought it was a bit overrated. I really liked the zig zag roll, a spider roll in soy paper, and a bit of creamy sauce. I thoroughly enjoyed it for sure, probably one of my favorites from what we ordered. The sashimi salad was delightful too, and we ordered it spicy. Lots of big chunks of sashimi, seaweed salad, salad, all wrapped in a cute cucumber bowl. It was refreshing to have something that wasn't fried or creamy. However, I did want to try the carbonara kimchee udon, and our waiter said it was not too heavy. Huge pot came out and it was a large portion for the price. It did look like it was going to be really heavy, but it was not. Lots of udon noodles, kimchi, pork belly, simmering in a creamy sauce. However, when you take the noodles out, the creamy sauce comes off, so you are not overwhelmed. I really enjoyed this dish, and would have like it even better if the noodles were not as overcooked. All in all, a great dining experience, and would definitley come back.
(4)
Alyssa N.
I've been here several times in the past and I have always been satisfied with the food and the service. I always go with a group of 3 or more and I usually make a reservation because they can get really busy especially Friday and Saturday nights. The staff is very nice and I don't ever feel rushed to order even if I'm being indecisive(which is pretty much all the time!) I'm Japanese and I know GOOD japanese food. With that said, I can be pretty picky with Japanese restaurants. But I don't think I was ever served anything I didn't want to order again! Definitely one of my favorite restaurants in Cupertino!
(5)
Jade D.
open on saturday for lunch when gochi restaurant close. another good option for japanese fusion style food. not cheap though some special dishes.
(5)
Suzanne T.
I came here for the tapas and ordered a chirashi so I didn't quite get to enjoy the tapas experience. However, the chirashi was good and beautifully wrapped with thin sliced cucumbers to resemble a bowl. The cook then topped off the plate with some sauce to produce an aesthetically pleasing presentation of his dish. The fish was fresh and plentiful, and the environment was great for the semi-casual, semi-business lunch that I was having. I would like to try this place again.
(4)
Justin S.
Gokaku is a nice little sushi tapas place located in the old Tin Tin market square. On a Saturday night, this place is very unassuming since the whole plaza is eerily dark. I cannot comment on the reservation section, as my friend and I walked in and were seated at the bar. Food: Food quality was fresh and filled with flavor (and texture, when it required it!) Zig Zag Roll: Watching the sushi chef make this was pretty interesting. It was crunchy and good. I wasn't THRILLED by it as everyone else seems to claim, so don't get your expectations up. Crispy nachos? with Tuna, seaweed and the tobiko (tiny fish eggs): Very tasty and spicy tuna. Flavor was excellent, the chips were fresh. Raw salmon sashimi salad: Another great dish that proves that the fish is fresh. Vinaigrette was tasty, I still have to find out what they use and where I can get it. Service: Bar service was good. Water refilled promptly, no complaints. My compliments to the chef. This was ONE guy working alone on a Saturday night to serve the entire restaurant. Watching him work was pretty fascinating, and the quality of food he pumped out with precision and accuracy is to be applauded for. Thinking of making this my go to Japanese place.
(5)
D Y.
Okonomiyaki - ok takoyaki-ok secret shrimp - wasn't that good kani cream- good oyako don - never had such a watery don dish shiitaki maki - good. we thought we'd come to try as many small plates as possible. we were disappointed. and totally disappointed with the watery oyako don.
(2)
Jay S.
We have been going here for a couple years, but then twice got sick from the sushi recently. We've therefore dropped this place entirely off our list, regretfully, since their rolls are good, albeit a bit expensive. Plan on a wait as well during weekend nights.
(2)
Jenny L.
I couldn't write a review after one visit, so I came twice before deciding that this place is a solid 3 stars. Tapas style food, but I prefer Gochi more. There's usually a wait here. Not sure if they accept reservations. I did enjoy the Zig Zag roll. I still can't figure out what that green stuff on the wrapper is though. What makes it green?! Takoyaki is pretty good, too. My friend said the sashimi he got was just okay. Service could have been a bit quicker, but overall decent meal.
(3)
Edison T.
You know how most sushi places just make up the most random names for their rolls? Then the dish comes out and you're just like eh, this doesn't really resemble the name at all. Well, not here. Or rather not for one particular roll but I'll get to that a little later. The place itself is very small, I got sat next to a bamboo curtain that I kept hitting my elbow against. The lunch menu and prices are a great value. Miso, salad, and very generous portions of salmon, tuna, and yellowtail sashimi for their sashimi lunch combo. I counted 12 pieces in total for less than 20 bucks. After my friend ordered her lunch combo and I followed suit, I thought maybe we should at least order one roll for both of us to share. Reviews kept mentioning volcano so I asked her if she wanted that one. That's when she asked me if I was sure for it was a very big roll. I laughed and my competitive side instantly kicked in (whenever people doubt my stomach I go Barney Stinson on them and my stomach yells out "Challenge Accepted!"). With a name like volcano I figured maybe it had red sauce flowing from it or what not to make it look like molten lava, then it came out and I instantly knew why it was named "Volcano". First off, WHAT IS THIS? A SUSHI ROLL FOR JOEY CHESTNUT? The thing was huge! And it was in the shape of a mountain, or more accurate, a volcano (oh so that's where the name came from). Covered in tempura bits and spicy mayo sauce over flowing from EEERRRRWHERE, it resembled Mt. Vesuvius with my mouth covered in tempura crumbs like ashes. I had to dig my way through with the spoon just to finally uncover the salmon roll underneath. The salmon roll was delicious and sauce was on point. I don't have a second off, but let me just say that "roll" shouldn't even be called a roll, it should be called a frickin' life sized volcano. I will now learn to be more cautious when ordering sushi rolls with names that could potentially describe exactly what I'll be getting. Gotta watch out for the 49er roll from Cha Cha Sushi, don't want Patrick Willis to show up on a plate now. Oh and here's the beast in all of its glory, yelp.com/biz_photos/goka…
(4)
Esther S.
This place had great food and great service! The 2 of us shared takoyaki, okonomiyaki, chef's roll and beef tongue. It was a lot of food especially because the chef's roll is really filling. I would recommend sharing it because it can get a little boring since it has a lot of rice as the rolls are huge. My boyfriend enjoyed the beef tongue the most and my favorite was the takoyaki. total bill came out to about $40.
(5)
Jennifer P.
hmmm i don't know what to think now. The last time I was here wasn't the best. The service is still very friendly and great,, and the cooked food was delicious, but the fish wasn't so fresh this time. We always order similar sushi and then change it up a little to meet our craving, but the hamachi just didn't taste straight from the ocean. Maybe they had an off day but it was kind of disappointing considering I gave it 5 stars previously and though I found my new sushi spot. I guess i'll give it another go to make sure. But if you meet in the middle of my 2 reviews you get 4 stars...not to shabby
(3)
Kathy L.
For my first Japanese tapas place, I really enjoyed it! My friend and I showed up with no reservations around 7pm on a Friday night, and though they estimated a 30-45 minute wait time, I'm sure they called our name within 10-15. We got a seat at the sushi bar, which is totally fine for parties of 2. They were definitely busy so our tea cups went low for a while before asking twice to be refilled, but no biggie. We shared 5 dishes -- - Boom (spicy crab mix and avocado in seasoned tofu skin) - Buta Kakuni and Hanjuku Tamago (japanese style braised tender pork and half boiled egg) - sashimi salad - agedashi tofu - Kurobuta ReiShabu Salad (chilled freshly cooked berkshire sliced pork with organic salad) My favorites were the pork salad (I could just eat those slices of pork all day -- going to try and recreate this one at home!), sashimi salad, and agedashi tofu (just cooked really well and the skin wasn't too gelatinous). The braised pork was a little too rich / overpowering for me (though it came with a soft-boiled egg that reminded me of Orenchi...yum), as was the Boom (too fried and saucey). They have a huge menu with LOTS to choose from. Would love to come back to try more, but will make sure to make reservations next time!
(4)
Nelle L.
Must try duck breast with mushrooms. Then Boom is unusually crunchy great texture thoroughly enjoyed spicy and creamy sauce. Managed 2 rolls for party of 5. Oh yes, don't forget the poke salad. Overall nice fast delectable dinner at reasonable price
(4)
Angela W.
Came back when I visited San Jose for the president's day weekend and I think I'm going to make it a requirement to come here whenever I go back to San Jose. It's such a lovely place to eat lunch or dinner :) I had the volcano roll again (couldn't resist! the first time was so great) and I was still in love with it. Next time I'll probably try their other rolls We had to wait quite a long time though because it was dinnertime and it was just very crowded for a small restaurant. However, the wait was nothing compared to how great the food was :)
(5)
Lon H.
Went here last weekend with my wife and our friends. Called for a reservation, which was a good thing, since they were very busy. We enjoyed the Ahi Poke, Nasu (eggplant) Agedashi, Okonomiyaki (pancake), The Volcano, Aburri Salmon Tofu Roll and the Chef's Roll. Everything we had was delicious and were flavored nicely. Very good service and the waitresses were very friendly and attentive. We'll have to go back to try some of the other items.
(4)
Dawn H.
I cannot offer more than 3 stars for this place. The food is ok except for the sushi and sashimi. If you are craving for the thick raw fish, go somewhere else. They have more options than just typical Japenses. The service is terrible with errorgent stuffs.
(3)
Steve S.
Will definitely be coming back. Chicken teriyaki was amazing and completely different from the usual teriyaki dishes you order from Japanese restaurants. Volcano roll was spicy, very good portions, and came wonderfully presented. Very good value for money. Played good music too (I heard some DJ Spinna or Mark Farina mixes on the speakers when I had lunch there). Really great Japanese spot in Cupertino.
Our favorite new place for sushi in the South Bay. We just went for the 2nd time and found they were just as good as the first time there. Their rolls are great, especially the Sushi Special which was Maguro, Hamachi, Tobiko, Ikura and Uni -- fantastic! Last time we had the volcano which, even though we love spicy food, was really, really hot so beware! The service is also really excellent. We hadn't been there in 2 months, but our server recognized us and even remembered which sake we had last time. Highly recommended!
(5)
Tina A.
I recently visited Gokaku for a friend's birthday. Little did I know that such a gem existed right down the street from me. The place is intimate, the menu extensive, and the food of high quality. I tried a variety of their sashimi, and a couple pieces of CA and volcano rolls. The reason I dock one star is because I was expecting the volcano roll to be lightly dusted in tempura flakes whereas it was heavily battered and deep-fried. I guess that's what I get for being picky.
(4)
Goldilocks J.
This place is great! We went to visit friends in Cupertino and had dinner here. I had made reservations and they had a great corner table waiting for us. I love that there are small plates to share. We ordered a bunch of stuff including the seafood nachos (in fact, placing a second order of them, they were so good), secret shrimp, some potato croquette thing (again, second order placed due to extreme deliciousness) and a couple of sushi rolls. Unfortunately I lost the receipt and it's been a couple weeks since we went and I just can't remember it all. Bottom line: great place that I would happily return to any time!
(4)
Matt D.
Omar knows his shit.
(5)
Ann W.
Food: 5 stars Service: 3.5 stars I really wish I could give this place a full five stars. I am - literally - one of their most die-hard customers. I go AT LEAST once a week, sometimes more, and have brought many, many (read: at least 15) new customers to their doors. Their food is divine - and I've tried most of the things on their menu. Reliably amazing go-to's are: Rainbow roll, Zig Zag roll, rare-beef special (Japanese style steak), kimchi-cream udon (cold). Their fish is consistently fresh, and dishes are creative and delicious. Negatives: Service is REALLY hit-or-miss, and this includes food consistency. Don't get me wrong, the food is consistently tasty, but the chef often accidentally leaves things out. As a very regular regular, I notice when things are different. One example is: their California rolls are very tasty, but only because the chef USUALLY adds green apple slices, which lend a tangy and sweet crunchy surprise to an otherwise predictable roll. However, on MULTIPLE occasions, the apples have been left out ... I was only told that they had run out of apples when my sister asked the server why the lunch California rolls were different from the dinner California rolls. Their lunch combo is a really good deal; you can choose 3 rolls from a list for something like $12.95 or 2 rolls for $9.95. BUT - again, consistency is an issue. Apparently, although the California roll is listed as an available choice, these "lunch" California rolls do not come with the crunchy apple bits, even though this is not specified ... what bothers me is that, come on, how much could it possible cost to put - LITERALLY - a half inch cube of apple into a roll? Ridiculous. Also, and this is a relatively minor gripe, sometimes the Rainbow roll comes with a tall taro chip ... and sometimes not. Consistency is a really big deal to me, since I'm one of those annoyingly persistent types who'll order the same thing repeatedly once I've found something I like, and will patronize the same establishment repeatedly once I've decided I like it. I consistently spend over $60 dollars here ... usually bringing another (new) customer with me, since I really do appreciate the quality of the food here. For the prices, I do with the service would be faster. It looks like they only have one sushi chef, and the place gets really packed. I will say the service really suffers when they get busy; front-of-house and back-of-house wise they are really understaffed for busy nights. I do want to mention that all three of the regular servers are very polite and very nice; they do want you to enjoy your meal, and apologize if things go wrong, but there are just not enough of them to handle the heavy flow of customers. I will keep going, but I hope they can fix these two main problems: consistency and being understaffed.
(4)
David L.
Nice little Japanese restaurant. Good sushi and traditional dishes
(4)
Harvey K.
Duck Breast is my favourite
(5)
Way L.
recommendations: -chirashi sashimi -carbonara style mentaiko-kimchi udon pork belly don not good, too much fat, so no texture, and lost flavor
(4)
J C.
This place is definately popular. We arrived at 6:00pm Friday evening and the place was 80% full. within the first 5 minutes, 3 different waitresses came by and asked for our drinks. A few minutes later, the same 3 waitresses came back to take our order "we need a few more minutes please". The hamachi shashimi and rainbow row is good. Toward the end of our meal, the waiter came up and said they messed up and forgot one of our other orders, it would take 10 minutes if we still want it. We didn't want to wait and was told the chef's roll would be faster. "Cool, we'll take the chef's roll instead". 3 minutes later, the dish we ordered came out to the next table. (was that our order? hum?). About 10 minutes later, the chef's roll came out and wasn't very good. hamachi shashimi and rainbow roll = good service = ok but a bit unorganized forgetting an order = bad
(3)
Paul P.
The alternate solution to Gochi. I like the pricing here. It's not bad. They need to go easy on the rice on their rolls. That will probably never happen. If you are one of those people who takes maybe 20 to 33% of the rice off their rolls, it's because it takes away from the core flavor but also you get too full too soon. When sushi's get ridiculously affordable for the price you pay for, it usually means more rice. I find this so stupid. It ruins the balance of the flavor of whatever it is you're about to eat to a certainty. Otherwise, it's all good. To fully maximize your dining experience here, make sure you're craving Japanese food. This is place is not better than Gochi. Gochi is not better than this place. If making a reservation was impossible at Gochi, this place is the answer to that. It delivers. You don't need to know exactly what I ate. Just read the reviewers below or above this review. Just make sure you're craving Japanese food. Not just asian. That's so stupid.
(4)
Vanessa C.
This place is a hidden gem. I would not have found this place if not for the fabulous instagram. Place is small, but cozy. The outside can deceive, but it is really nice and clean inside. I ordered the hawaiian style poke don. I was a little disappointed. To each their own, I felt like it needed a little more flavor so I added some soy sauce. It probably needed a little more green onions too. Again, to each their own. As for the service, the waitress we had would look in our direction, but she didn't pay attention to our water glasses and you would have to holler at her for a refill. It wasn't automatic like most places. Regardless of my failed experience for the food, I would still come back to try some of the sushi. I would definitely recommend this place to a friend. This place might be too small for a bunch of kids. Make sure they are well-behaved because you'll be in close proximity with others.
(4)
Lori L.
Heard so many great things on yelp, so we spent my first anniversary here. At first glance, the restaurant seems small, but they use lots of dividers and screens for privacy. I'm from the East Bay, where most Japanese restaurants are run by non-Japanese. Really appreciate the authenticity and innovation that both honors the cuisine while creating something new. We ordered the Volcano Roll, Zig Zag Roll, and Kani Cream Croquet. All were excellent in quality and portions. Nice balance of texture, flavors, and size. You can taste the freshness We kept wanting more! The experience was mostly good, except for the service. Even though we made reservations and arrived on time, we felt rushed to order. We only have a few minutes to look at their extensive menu (after being moved to a better table), when one of the waiters came over and made helpful recommendations. A few minutes after that a waitress came over to take our order. We wanted to ask for a few more minutes, but she made a comment about the restaurant being busy later (which is why we made a reservation at 6pm...). So we had to quickly make a decision and made our order. Afterwards, our food came super fast and we were able to finally relax and enjoy our night. Also, when they asked for drink, we ordered two waters (it was also hot that day) but the waitress came back much later with two cups of hot tea after we ordered. So we asked for water again, then she later came back with just one small cup of water. After clearing things up, they were great about refilling and the night went smoothly. Even after we paid, they continued to refill the waters and didn't rush us to leave. Overall, service is friendly, but they seemed frazzled and unorganized. Maybe they need another server or a more efficient system. However, their food and hospitality still makes Gokaku a great place to eat.
(4)
Clarissa L.
Food was pretty good, but service speed pretty abysmal. Our servers were very lovely people, don't get me wrong, but the time it took for our food to come! Seriously... We were told that the aburi salmon would take a while; fine. So our octopus karaage came first, and got cold while we waited for the next dish. Eventually finished the octopus (which was not bad, slightly chewy and well fried indeed. Kind of oily though.) The aburi salmon with cream cheese (a bit too much of it! Gd pairing though) and tofu came after another 20-30mins. Delicious! And we ordered the buta kakuni (stewed pork belly) with half boiled egg but after another 20-30mins it still had not arrived! I was like ok... This is really taking a while. So I asked about our order, and the waitress said they hadn't started making jt yet so would we like to order something else? So fine.. We ordered a super roll instead and asked her to rush our order. This, at least, came within a decent interval of time. And was huge! I guess it did cost $19.95... Tuna/hamachi/salmon and crab or lobster on top, as well as three different colored tobiko. Soy wrap (nice change fr nori!) with soft-shell crab and mayo (the description said avocado but really I'm not sure I tasted that..) a bit too much creaminess but very filling indeed. To crown the evening, I was trying to redeem a yelp deal but apparently they couldn't find my name on the list! So settling the bill took another 20mins or something while they tried to verify my coupon. Thankfully the guy was nice and honored it. He originally seemed to think that I'd redeemed it before or something and I'm like no.. I just tapped redeem when yr server returned me my phone.
(3)
Tak K.
I come here quite often. Since Sushi Kuni raised their lunch combo, this place has become relatively more competitive. Lunch specials like the ones that include grilled mackerel and pork cutlet are pretty good. Quantity is a lot to fill one's stomach. Seasoning is balanced as well although a little sweeter than I prefer. Potato salad is a nice side dish complimentary to miso soup and usual salad. Rice is properly cooked. While waiter/waitress service can be faster, but given how many people are seated, I understand about the situation. Their mini kaiseki on the other hand is something to be desired, from what we experienced in December Sure, it is $50 instead of $90 or $120 that other more expensive places charge. But I cannot help thinking that they wanted to serve their newest creations and test reactions of customers. Their appetizer, salmon pieces wrapped with cucumber slices and colorful sauces was beautiful to look but tasted too plain to start up appetite. The chef probably should have adjusted seasoning according to make the dish more enticing. Their last dish - buckwheat noodle with small stove to keep things hot - made me smell the fume from fuel tablet, and the whole eating experience was rather unpleasant. Other items like hassun and soup (eggplant and seafood) were mildly seasoned to continue the course with pleasure, but did not completely forget the others. So I will still come back here for good lunch and dinner, but not course menus. They will probably put more successful dishes on their menu, which would increase my chance of enjoying an eating experience.
(4)
Dave A.
I got invited for dinner to this spot by a Japanese friend and according to him this was the best sushi spot in the S bay. After trying a few of their speciality rolls I have to admit it was simply an amazing experience
(5)
t h.
Was not so impressed by the food but not sure if ordered the wrong thing. Did not like the zig zag roll. Too much sauce and did not see any avocado in the roll. Secret shrimp ok. And tempura ok but noticed the vegetables were on the skimpy side (e.g. Half of a broccoli vs whole floret).
(3)
Michael G.
This place is walking distance from my house so I can get faded and walk home! Plus it has some of the freshest, creative and tasty as hell sushi/tapas menu's around. I love the fact that they use warm rice to do the rolls. It just melts in your mouth.
(5)
The L.
If I could give no star, I would. This place should seriously consider improving their service and hiring servers with better attitude. We came to this restaurant before and thought the food was alright, though Gochi, Tanto were all better hands down. We called for reservation tonight as we wanted to avoid standing in line with 2 young kids. Over the phone, we were told they couldn't accept reservation but there was no wait. So within 15 mins, we arrived as walk-in. There was indeed only just one 4-people party ahead of us. We were told the next table would be for us but after a good 30 mins standing with 2 whiny kids, every table opening up were for "reservations" (WTF?!?! We were just told they couldn't accept reservations!) We thought perhaps we were just unlucky so we patiently waited for another 15 mins before inquiring with one of the waiters. Again, we were told a table would be available soon as several tables had paid already. 15 minutes went by, 3 other 2-people walk-in parties were seated, a 4-people walk-in party were seated at the bar, and all tables that could fit us (4-people tables, 2 table-for-2 combined, etc. ) were all setup as "reserved" for which several parties didn't arrived on-time. We would have been totally fine if the waiter or whoever answered our phone simply told the truth upfront that we would have no chance of getting seated tonight as walk-in. Or, offer us the bar before quickly seating the 4 walk-ins coming in well after us. Instead, each time we were told "Just another 5 mins. A table is freeing up." for at least 3 times. At about 7:45pm, the kids were out of control and we kept getting ignored. My husband approached one of the waiters and asked politely if we could take one of the tables since the "reserved" party clearly didn't arrive on-time. The waiter's attitude wasn't friendly nor apologetic and just said "We are very busy and I have to setup this table for another party with reservation." At that point, we were fed up and decided to just walk away. I swear to God I will never come back to this restaurant again, even if I'm not hungry and have a ton of time to waste standing in line!
(1)
Niniane W.
The california roll was good, as was the hot stone sukiyaki. I would go again! Decor is cute too.
(4)
Kenji Y.
Just delicious. First time here? After coming here several times. There are two items I cannot stop ordering. 1. Hamachi Sashimi 2. Udon (any of them). Their udon noodles are freaking delicious.
(5)
Kenneth F.
Very good food, very nice service, great value, and no wait! Came here for dinner on a weekday and got a seat immediately. The waitress asked if it was our first time and offered some recommendations as well. Enjoyed each of the items we got: - Zigzag roll - softshell crab roll wrapped in soy paper, the crab was a bit too crunchy for my preference but overall very good flavor - Kani cream croquette - a bit small for the price but jam-packed with great creamy flavor - Hamachi Garlic Steak - very flavorful dish - Buta Kakuni & Hanjuku Tamago - pork and egg dish with a great thick gravy sauce and flavorful meat - Aigamo (Duck) Steak - accompanied with mashed potatoes and mushrooms and a great sauce, my favorite dish of the night - Tempura - nothing crazy but had side of salt on top of dipping sauce. Everything was presented very nicely with great plating and was even pleasantly surprised by a nice extra from the chef. Looking forward to the Boom, Carbonara Udon, and Volcano next time I come. Keep up the good service!
(5)
Shiya L.
Very poor service. We have a party of 5 on a work lunch and our schedule was tight so we wanted to order in advance so our food can be served faster when we get there. We were told that "our type of restaurant do not offer this service". Go there if you don't expect them to offer you services other than bringing you the plate.
(1)
Anne P.
In my opinion, the perfect chirashi would contain the following ingredients: *multiple slices of sake, hamachi, saba, hotate, maguro, unagi, amaebi, tamago, white tuna *ikura (salmon roe) *slices of sweeten braised shiitake mushroom *pickled radish or daikon *seaweed salad (optional) This restaurant's chirashi had the following pros and cons, relative to my notion of the perfect chirashi: Pros: trying to thinking hard for some real 'pro's for this chirashi since this chirashi was pretty mediocre (hence the three stars), imho...it had pretty fresh fish, but the chirashi was nothing special - it came with ebi, maguro, hamachi, sake, ikura, tamago, tobiko and some white fish...oh yes..a pro -- it was reasonably priced at $14.95 Cons: no unagi, hotate, wakame, marinated shiitakes and pickled daikon... and the tamago was a bit artificial looking. Unfortunately, the wait staff that was working that day was relatively new - for our waitress, it was her first day, so the service was shoddy -- a bunch of us had to keep asking for stuff that was missing and one of my friends didn't even get something he had ordered.
(3)
Henry X.
Tappas here not as good as neighboring restaurants such as tanto or sumiya. dragon roll was sub-par, but i highly recommend the volcano rolls and zig zag rolls.
(3)
Caroline L.
Mediocre food here. Great service and friendly staff, but the food just wasn't up to par with so many other good tapa spots around this area. The deluxe california roll was supposed to be with real crab, but it tasted frozen. At this rate, I'd prefer to have artificial crab. I didn't even finish, that's how bad it was and we usually don't waste food at all. Hamachi garlic steak was dry. Eggplant was so so. Only thing I enjoyed was the Hamburg steak, juicy and moist. I'm glad we were able to get the check-in discount though! Mostly likely won't be coming back....
(3)
Michelle L.
DO NOT COME HERE FOR LUNCH. FOOD OFF OF THE DINNER MENU IS DEFINITELY BETTER QUALITY. Anyways... I came here for lunch and had a very interesting meal. Got here at 11:30 on a Tuesday for a lunch date with my mom. We were the first ones to arrive, so we were seated quickly at a table near the window. Soon after we sat down the waitress ran over to us and asked us if we spoke mandarin. Apparently there was a customer trying to order some food for take out, but she couldn't communicate what she wanted to the Japanese workers. Consequently my mom went over to the counter and helped the customer order an udon to go. Afterwards, my mom and I ordered our meal and we were served promptly. We ordered two items off of the dinner menu, and one item off of the lunch menu. White mountain sashimi: 4 stars. Albacore tuna with salad drizzled in some sort of sauce. Delicious. The flavors worked really well together, and they gave you a decent amount of fish for the cost. Zigzag: 2 stars. Eh. Maybe this just wasn't my thing, but I thought that the sauce served with the soft shell crab was too overpowering. Sushi should be light, and this definitely was not. Sashimi lunch combination: 2 stars. When they brought out the sashimi combo, I noticed that the salmon looked very fresh (and fatty!) but the tuna and hamachi both looked kind of off. I tried the salmon first, and my mom and I were both VERY pleased with it. It was cut into large pieces (as opposed to thinly sliced) and was absolutely delicious. The tuna and the hamachi were a different story. My mom tried the tuna and said that it tasted horrible, and much to my dismay, called the waitress over to tell her how she felt. Because of this, the chef came over to our table and explained that the quality of the fish is worse for their lunch menu because their prices are cheaper. Not only did he come over to explain that, but he also brought over a place of their dinner-quality sashimi for us to enjoy. The dinner quality sashimi was DEFINITELY much better and was amazing. Normally I don't like tuna, but this tuna was very fresh and tasted better than tuna at most other restaurants. Finally, after we had completed our meal, the waitress brought over two complimentary bowls of green tea and black sesame ice cream to thank my mom for translating for them at the beginning of our meal. To sum everything up, if you're coming for lunch, stick to the cooked items. If you're coming for dinner, the quality of the sashimi is top notch, and you will get a delicious, though pricier, meal. I'll probably come back to gokaku, but only for dinner.
(4)
N. M.
Pretty much THE go to sushi place around the bay. Authentic dishes, great selection of sake and amazing creativity to some traditional dishes as well. Service can be slow, but it is a small place with very limited seating and service. If you're not familiar with duck, you will have to try it, it's one of the best "melt in your mouth" dishes i've had in ages. Sashimi is always fresh and well, great price for the amount you get as well
(5)
Vitalii S.
There is a special atmosphere inherent in this small japanese restaurant. Great cucumber salad with seafood. A good place for a light meal.
(3)
Candace C.
Bottom line, I can't wait to go back and work my way through more menu items. The food is quality and the presentation is beautiful. I love the mixture of sushi bar stuff and good old Japanese home cooking. Between three people we ordered some rolls, the sukiyaki, kani cream croquette, and something else. We didn't finish it all. Minus one star because the wait for a table seems bad and the wait for food can be silly too. We made reservations and were sooo thankful to have done so. I saw many familiar faces from before I was seated still waiting as I walked out. I was surprised that the kitchen food took a lot longer than the rolls took to make. Usually kitchen food is faster to come out but our friend could have finished eating his rolls before we were served our kitchen food had he not waited for us. Just keep that in mind when ordering...
(4)
Rebecca Z.
I really love this place to get some good Japanese food. The rolls are so unconventional but delicious. I especially love the zig zag roll and the volcano roll (though the volcano is a bit strange to eat...you sort of have to dig through a pile of bread crumbs to get to the good stuff). I also really like their yakuniku don (my go to entree at a Japanese restaurant). The portions are a good size, so don't come in if you don't really feel like eating. I'd totally recommend this place and will definitely be excited to come back here again.
(4)
Huelling S.
The food is OK here but the service is terrible. We are celebrating our girl friend's birthday, there are 7 of us, in the middle of the dinner, the server have the nerve to come over and ask to move one of our table because they need the table to serve more people. We are shocked....... This is our 2nd time here with a group more than 7 or 8 and we spent a good fortune here, average more than $50 per person. The restaurant did not charge us for birthday cake the first time and we tip the waitress nicely. This time, the same server, maybe he is the manager? Come over and tell us, he needs to charge us $2 per person for cutting the cake? WHAT?? have you ever heard of that? Charging for cutting the cake?
(2)
David S.
I got the volcano. It was fresh and yummy. Prices are reasonable, so I'm happy. Good place for sushi. Not too pretentious, and down to earth.
(4)
Phuc B.
wanted to order a lot of stuff, but buddies both ordered the chirashi, so had the same and it was gooood. long ass wait though to get a table.
(4)
H I.
Food was okay while we were eating it (then a couple hrs later = food poisoning), but I could tell at the time that it was definitely not of superb quality. What bothered me was that everything (except maybe the sushi and secret shrimp) tasted like it was leftovers from lunch. If you want izakaya, Tanto and Gochi are both a lot better (you can tell the food is freshly made and no food poisoning). Tanto is still my favorite because Gochi is overpriced for the amount of food they give you and the food at Tanto edges out Gochi by a narrow margin in terms of taste. But back to Gokaku. We got: - Taro Chips (good but cold and I was expecting something straight from the fryer, not fried earlier that day) - Secret Shrimp (one of the better dishes we had) - Seared Yaki & Zig Zag rolls (Zig Zag was good, the Seared Yaki was ok but a bit fishy in taste) - note: we ordered cooked rolls since I'm currently pregnant... - Kakuni (horrible, avoid at all costs) Unfortunately, the sauce for the taro chips, secret shrimp and rolls all had the spicy mayo "chef's special sauce" and honestly, after about 4 dishes of that sauce, it gets a bit old. The kakuni was even lukewarm at some parts (this is what I mean by lunch leftovers)--the fact that it (1) tasted old (2) wasn't even heated all the way through (3) was way salty made it the worse dish I've ever had at any Japanese restaurant ever. Oh and definitely don't order it if you don't want to eat 99% fat but I personally didn't mind that part (although my husband did). Maybe I'm too hard on this place but Japanese is my favorite cuisine and I'm pretty picky when it comes to my Japanese food. Oh...and I would've given this place maybe 3 stars (but 2 stars if factoring in the kakuni = leftovers dish), but this is one of the few times (3 to be exact) in my adult life (and I eat out A LOT) where a restaurant gave me food poisoning and that's a big no-no in my book. I want to give them a 0. It's worse than serving leftovers. Let's just say I'm definitely never coming back here.
(1)
W J.
Just came here right at 6 when it opened and they said they weren't open yet, wait 5 more min. I told them my watch said 6:01, and the guy said not on his watch! I asked if we could sit down first and they said no they had a meeting. All 3 of the ppl there! Waiter, waitress and sushi chef! What attitude!
(1)
Bianca L.
I normally don't rate places where I haven't been a customer but I'm writing this because people should know, and it's not for lack of effort that I wasn't able to be a customer. I also really feel bad about rating places (especially new, upstart businesses) with a 1-star rating. My husband and I wanted to come here for date night and showed up at 8:30pm on a Tuesday night with a reservation. I had called twice, once in the morning to make the reservation (no problem) and again in the evening when we were running late and it was clear we wouldn't be making our original reservation time (8pm). When we arrived at the restaurant, it was completely empty except for one other table. This was our first signal that something was awry. Even in a Cupertino strip mall, a decent restaurant should have more than one table filled, even on a Tuesday night. I know it's suburbia, but we're not exactly people who like eating in deserted restaurants. It does not bode well for anyone. We were seated promptly by the hostess but then the waiter, after some discussion with the hostess, came by to very apologetically inform us that the sushi chef had been called away that afternoon "on urgent business" and that we could not order sushi. We were welcome to order from the rest of the menu, though. The menu was about half sushi/sashimi and half tapas. We decided to cut our losses and go elsewhere, but the incident left a bad taste in our mouths because: 1) While the sushi chef might have still been there when I made the original reservation, he was (per their info) gone by the time I called to adjust the reservation. Since I had given them the courtesy of letting them know I was running 30 min late, they should've provided the same courtesy of letting me know the sushi chef was gone. It might've saved me a trip. 2) I always feel a little apprehensive about date nights that I plan b/c I'm always anxious that we'll have a good time. Luckily our evening out was later salvaged but this did not lend to an auspicious start and did nothing to assuage my anxiety level. 3) Honestly, I know you're struggling to survive, but maybe just close down the restaurant if there's no sushi chef. One table isn't going to get you enough profit to cover the waiter, the hostess and any chefs/cooks in the back. I promise to update this if we ever decide to eat here, especially since it was recommended by friends but if you're going there you may want to call first to check that the sushi chef isn't MIA.
(1)
josh c.
Took a big group there yesterday(10 people) on a reservation. They had the table ready and waiting which was nice. Food: We ordered every one of the tapas on the back of the menu. While some were really tasty, in the future I'll stay away from the fried stuff. It was very filling. Also, as other reviewers have commented, the sushi rolls have a lot of sauce on them, so I ended up sticking to the nigiri which was really fresh. Service: Good and bad. When we first got there they were very attentive, however as the night progressed it seemed like we had to chase down the servers to get missing dishes, tea, and the check. Albeit they were busy but you think they would want our table to get other people in the restaurant.
(4)
B C.
WORST SERVICE EVER! We came here in a group of 8 on a Tuesday night. It was busy at first but it started to die down after a while. Once we ordered and the food came, the wait staff NEVER came back to our table. No asking if we're doing okay or need anything else (we did want to add some more food later on), no refilling of tea for us. We tried to wave at a staff a few times and he kept pretending that he did not see us and attend to other tables around us. Whenever we tried to catch their attention, they just turned their back really quickly. I really didn't know what we did to deserve such bad service! When we finally got to ask a waiter to refill some tea for us 20 minutes later; he said okay but never came back. At the end when we finished the food, and tried to ask for the bill (still no refill of tea), we had to wait another 45 minutes before someone came. A lot of the times they were just standing around and I swear I saw them looking our way a few times when we waved, and they still ignored us. I really wanted to just stand up and leave and see if they still don't see us. But of course we didn't, and they still got their full 18% of tips because of the number of people in our group. I really hate it when waiters/waitresses give NO SERVICE at all when they knew they would get their tips no matter what. It happens all the time, unfortunately. Anyways, food was not bad, but for that kind of treatment, we will definitely NEVER COME BACK.
(1)
Sarah Y.
I had high hopes for this place (especially as many reviews on Yelp compare it to Gochi, which is one of my favorite izakayas in the South Bay), but the food we had last night did not live up to the hype. Hamachi Garlic Steak - 2 stars - I liked the crispy onion they put on top. However, the hamachi was tough (they weren't kidding when they say it's like steak), and the sauce was way too salty. Volcano - 2 stars - This thing was massive. However, the sheer lumping together of tuna and fried tempura bits (drowned in sauce) got kind of gross after the first two bites... and we left most of this untouched. The waiter offered to box the leftovers for us, but no one wanted it... a telling sign. Buta Kakuni with Half Boiled Egg - 3.5 stars - This was the only thing I sort of liked. Despite the sauce also being a bit too salty, I liked the inclusion of the mustard on the side. Surprisingly, it works and gave the pork belly a nice little kick. The half-boiled eggs were OK, as well (although a bit too salty again). Ambiance was also a bit lackluster, and service was so-so. I think we had to flag someone down a few times. Conclusion: Someone in the kitchen must really like to use salt (or msg?) I'm not sure if we just didn't order the right things or what, but my first experience left some things to be desired.
(2)
Pei L.
Came here last night for the first time and because the reviews are pretty high, I was expecting Gokaku to be on par with Gochi. We ordered the okonomiyaki, the volcano sushi and the carbonara udon. Overall, while I liked the food, it was just okay. The menu offered lots of unique selections. Many raved about the volcano but 70% of the plate is sauce + tempura shavings... the actual sushi was yummy but i don't think it needs to be so overly dressed up to taste good. The okonomiyaki is tiny but was pretty good. I expected more meat/seafood in this Japanese pancake because I've only had the Osaka style okonomiyaki which is a lot thicker. Perhaps they were serving a different style of it? The carbonara udon was my favorite. From the yelp pictures it looked soupy but it's actually more like a pasta sauce flavored by kimchi. Will be returning to try the other cool and unique looking dishes.
(3)
J K.
Came here with friends on weekday nights. Sometimes they're very busy, sometimes not. Very good service and food! I never liked raw fish before, but their selection is fresh and delicious! If you don't see anything you like on the menu, ask the sushi chef to make something custom for you. I asked for something crunchy and spicy and it was the best roll I've ever had! This is definitely my go-to sushi place in the bay area!
(5)
Carolyn K.
My goodness, how is this restaurant still in business? Mediocre food, small portions, exorbitant prices. We ordered: Braised pork with soft boiled egg (actually a really good dish; the pork almost melted in your mouth) Salmon carpacchio ($12.95 for some very thinly sliced salmon pieces in ponzu sauce. Good, but nothing special) White mountain sashimi ($12.95 for some more thickly sliced albacore pieces with ponzu) Seafood nachos ($9.95 for 4 little nachos with some crummy seafood paste mixed with creamy sauce) Agedashi tofu ($6.95 for 4 dinky pieces of tofu) Okonomiyaki ( was the size of a small tupperware container) Maguro poki ($13.95 for a small martini glass of 5 pieces of maguro and lots and lots of garnish) Hamachi kama with garlic sauce (forgot how much it was, but it was a couple pieces of fish in teriyaki sauce) Keep in mind that these are all the appetizers/tapas, and come in the smallest portions possible. These prices would be justified had they been regular sized portions. My friend got the unagi-don and said it was the most ricey unagi-don he's ever had. Server said there were 2 large pieces of unagi... it was more like a small tail piece and another half piece of unigi in real life. How much was it? $16.95. Really. The sushi rolls really made me mad. The Godzilla roll was $10.95 and contained most thinly sliced sushi I've ever seen. We all stared at it in disbelief when it came out. Fried on the outside with some creamy spicy sauce in the middle. It was gross. The Chef's roll really took the cake. The most horrific mixture of neon green, brownish-purple, and red sauces completely covered the plate in a sort of "artistic display". Again, fried on the outside with some sashimi in the middle. It was completely tasteless and adding sauces to it barely helped. I've never had such disgusting sushi before. All together, the bill came out to be $143 (before tip) for 7 people. We went to Verde for drinks afterward, and my friends gave in and got 25 pieces of wings from Wingstop. Absolutely unacceptable. I paid around $25 to eat a couple bite-sized pieces of food. I would understand had these bites been delicious... but they were mediocre at best, and disgusting at worst. Service was nice and the manager enthusiastically explained the menu to us and gave us all $5 off coupons for our next visit. But sorry, I'm never going back again, $5 off or no.
(2)
meggie j.
Feel like I am in Japan when I go to this restaurant! It's very authentic! Fine ingredient! I am from Japan and I really approve this restaurant!
(5)
Kristy H.
everything is way too salty.
(2)
Jeff K.
Second time there last night. Food is both beautiful as well as delicious. To me this is a hole on the wall alternative to Gochi. Reason for only four stars is that some of the dishes "may" be slightly overpriced for what you get. Having said that I will be back there often. Get the Maguro poke!!
(4)
Wang W.
Very good and friendly service. Great soba noodle. Excellent sushi rolls. Worth the price.
(5)
Ai Y.
The best izakaya and kaiseki we've found in the Bay Area! We went for lunch on a Saturday and it was not crowded. The sushi chef was out due to emergency that day but it was fine since I was pregnant. We loved every single thing we ordered. Grilled hamachi steak was just perfectly seared; the topping and sauce was artistic and yummy. Lotus root chips were very unique, crisp, and tasty in its own bland way. The spicy mayo sauce was interesting. The grilled riceball (yaki onigiri) with salmon is the best I've had in the Bay Area. The fried smelt with fish eggs inside is also the best I've had in the Bay Area -- reminiscence of those I'd in a B&B in Japan -- they were perfectly crisp (instead of soggy like at other restaurants), the sauce on it, perfect. Service was superb - probably because they were quite free. The owner and the waiter were perhaps even obsequiously polite and chatty. We enjoyed it though. They are an enthusiastic bunch about their restaurant and really believe in their cuisine, and strive to make both the food and the experience a good one for customers. Always good to be at a restaurant where food is served with pride and care. We will be back many many more times!
(5)
Jason K.
The service. Holy crap on a crapsicle. We arrived at 5:59pm, the Open sign was on, and the placard with specials was out front. Door was open and we walked in. We were told they would be open in one minute (literally). So I figured I'd just stand and wait. I was told to "Get out now, and wait outside." I asked, "For one minute??" incredulously and was told yes. So we left. Horrific service. Don't bother.
(1)
avalon e.
Nice quiet location, great atmosphere, friendly and very cute wait-staff, but run-of-the-mill Japanese restaurant offering is nothing that rivals the likes of Tanto and Gochi. Almond shrimp gets a bit boring after the 1st few bites. (Consider toasting the almonds before frying maybe, or just do the shrimp bondage style with fine-shredded potato instead?) Udon carbonara was OK, but not like out of this world. Not bad, but I expect a lot more from any place that calls its offerings Japanese Tapas. ALmost inclined to give 4 stars but I want to balance out the all-too-generous reviews here.
(3)
Rosyan C.
Love it!... great place, great food. The service is always fantastic as well. The only negative thing i can say is the wait for my food was so long ...
(4)
sam s.
Found this place on yelp. Nice little restaurant and what's really awesome is their lunch special.. If you're not super hungry but hungry just order the two item shushing lunch special. Sushi tastes fresh healthy. Loved the salad and miso soup as well. Will repeat for sure.
(5)
Pat L.
Love their omakase for $30. Best deal ever for a 8 course meal. I am including their appetizer and dessert. Everything is super tasty though most everything was a tad bit sweet.
(5)
Dave T.
If your idea if Japanese food is california rolls, teriyaki chicken and other "Japanese foods" that don't exist in Japan, you will probably not like this place. Gokaku is really a kaiseki restaurant masquerading as an izakaya. Kaiseki is typically only found in expensive restaurants in Japan. Each dish looks and tastes like art. An izakaya, on the other hand is generally a social type place where you have small plate foods, drink a lot and enjoy your evening with your friends or coworkers. Gokaku's menu features a lot of izakaya favorites, but most of the menu is kaiseki. It's not on the menu, so be sure and ask about their omakase/sake pairing dinner. Oh man! Fricken awesome, complete with handmade plates that would cost $200/ea if you wanted to buy them. There are five courses, each paired with a different sake for $40 including tip. As you would do with wine from grapes, the chef has masterfully paired food items to enhance the sake flavor and sake that makes the food taste better. Since it's omakase, the chef will have specials already chosen, so just roll with it. Everything is very traditional, from various regions of Japan and tastes amazing. Our dinner featured dishes that contained squid, octopus, sashimi, duck and pork. Everything was outstanding! Their sake selection is pretty amazing, as well. They have some of the common favorites such as Hakkaisan, but most seem to be specially shipped from Japan, as I've never seen many of them here before. They also have a good selection of shouchuu (distilled liquor) made from rice, barley and sweet potato. Since the kaiseki menu was so awesome, I had to order a couple izakaya menu items just to make sure that those were good too. I ordered gindara (broiled cod) and ankimo (steamed monkfish liver,) which are two of my favorites. I've had each dish in close to 100 different restaurants over the years. The ankimo at Gokaku is in a completely different galaxy from any ankimo that I have ever eaten. It is clearly handmade in the restaurant and has the most amazing buttery flavor. Regardless of any past negative experience you have with liver of any species of critter, order their ankimo! It doesn't have any sort of liver taste. It's just 100% pure decadent awesomeness. Oh, and as luck would have it, it also goes well with sake. The gindara is equally excellent. The texture is nice and flaky and firm, yet has just enough natural oil in it to hold together. If I didn't already have reservations for Sumiya tomorrow, I'd be heading back to Gokaku again. You have to give this place a try. Well, unless you only eat American "Japanese food."
(5)
Margaret T.
I guess this place has been here for a while, but I've always overlooked it b/c it seems like the restaurants around that area are ever-changing. SO GLAD we came here for dinner. The food was DELICIOUS, and because it's tapa-style, you can get a little taste of everything. The service was also really good- you could tell they were really making an effort to be attentive to everyone. The small dishes were good, but I really enjoyed this place b/c of the sushi/fusion rolls. We got 3 rolls and all of them were pretty good. The pictures on the menu are helpful, but when you come here, pay attention to the little stars on the menu. Those are the chef recommendations. Also, check their website for special events they have going on during the week & month. Definitely coming here again!!!
(4)
Tetsu N.
Gokaku is pretty good. The restaurant looks fairly clean, there's plenty of seating, and the atmosphere is expectedly Japanese in style (low squared off chairs, tight fitting tables) though with a somewhat more refined elegance than some other restaurants of similar disposition. It's a good place for a business meal or a date night or a night drinking with friends. It's a Japanese tapas restaurant, so be warned, prices can be reasonable, but can also sky rocket easily if you're not careful so if you go in a small group, keep a watchful eye on the number and prices of tapas you order. That's advice from someone who makes that mistake every time....and cries at his empty wallet afterwards.... They serve rolls here too, and more traditional sushi, but it's the tapas that here that is really authentic. - Edamame - $3 - 3 stars. Hard to get these wrong. The little plate of beans boiled as is in salt.... - Mozarella cheese sticks - $6.50 - 3 stars. Again, what can I say here? It is what it is. - Pork flavored gobou (root) sticks - $4.25 - 4 stars. These were good. They're basically root sticks cut up similarly to french fries and cooked in pork flavored oil (fried or deep fried), served in a cup vertically. So addicting, like eating crispy fries, only better. - Salmon steak with salmon roe topping - $6.95 - 4 stars. Very good. Light appetizer, beautifully arranged, and tasty. but salty for some, but perfect when eaten with some rice. - Okonomiyaki-Tofu - $6.25 - 3 stars. Meh.....it's hard to find any good okonomiyaki place in the Bay Area. Guess it's not really popular here. This one was not impressive (not bad, just not worth ordering again for me). The easiest way to describe this is to say it's basically a pancake type meal with a bunch of stuff in it. - Ishiyaki onnkann chazuke - $7.50 - 3 stars. chazuke is basically hot water poured over white rice that has some stuff on top. Makes a bowl of rice into a watery soup. pretty popular and I used to eat variations of chazuke in college to save money. This one had a bit of crispy rice around the edges, a la korean style, but overall the chazuke was sour for me. - Cream mentaiko on carbonara style yaki-udon - $9.25 - 3 stars. mentaiko is fish eggs. This was a little spicy, but then again, I like it that way. very...ummm....fusion. Not quite as crazy as PF Chang, but still distinctly mixed western and eastern feel. - Gokaku chicken salad - $8.95 - 4 stars. Who the heck gives f stars to a salad? I do! This was very good. Light, but well flavored. complex but nothing out of place on the palate. I would say as a light starter salad, this is definitely the way to go. - Puri puri ebi-mayo - $9.50 - 3.5 stars. This is shrimp with Japanese style mayonnaise flavor. It's pretty typical Japanese tapas and has just the lightest tanginess or bite to it. Nothing strong, but fun and tasty. - Kurobuta (berkshire pork) sausages - $6.25 - 2.5 stars. You know, I'm a sucker for the right name in foods. I see "kurobuta" (berkshire) and I instantly think...oooohhhh gotta try it. But as often as not, I'm disappointed. these are just sausages. nothing really special about them. I'd pass on these next time. - tofu tiramisu - $5.50 - 3 stars. lightly flavored, lightly textured. Very god idea. I'd order this again if I had the room left after dinner. - soufflet cheesecake - $8.50 - 3 stars. you know, I expected this to be a much lighter variety of cheesecake, given the name in the title. And it was, but not as light as I had hoped. Still. Great dish, and seems like a master baker made this. It's worth eating once, dunno if I'd order it again though. Great conversational piece tho. And that's about it. All in all, I'd say this place is A-OK (And yes, that means I'd go here again)
(3)
Dorit K.
We came for dinner on Sunday evening around 6:30. The restaurant was almost full. we were seated pretty fast and were handed multiple menus. the menus are overwhelming and there are too many choices. but to narrow it down the servers helped us. We took the chef special roll (tuna, salmon, yellofin, avocado. excellent) and a veggie roll (shitake and avocado) - excellent we also took the special - grilled red snapper. this was a great disappointment. there were two tiny pieces of fish with some fried bok choi and a piece of pepper. it was 9.99. the fish was fresh but it wasn't worth it. very tiny for an appetizer to share. we also had the soba udon which was good. service can be faster. we waited for a long time till we got our rolls
(4)
Tran N.
I came to meet with a few friends for dinner. From the outside the place looks dull, but the inside is very nice. The waitress was friendly and quick to fill our drinks. We had a variety of dishes, my favorite was the beef tongue. Very tender and I would definitely recommend it. Another good dish was the duck. We also tried the Titanic sushi roll. The roll itself was humongous. For 4 people, we ordered 5 or 6 dishes and were completely stuffed by the end.
(4)
Mi-tan M.
What a waste of money. The special calbonara udon that the waitress insisted that we get was really not all that great, we only finished half of it. The grilled fish was really dry. Rice was too soft (they probably put too much water in the rice cooker) Miso soup was really salty. And the dishes were pretty expensive. We left the restaurant feeling really unsatisfied. BTW, I went few months ago and have heard that this place has gotten a new chef since then. So maybe I'll give it one more try if I'm going with company expense.
(1)
Theresa N.
Pleasantly surprised by this place. Takoyaki - I'm not usually a fan, but I thought this was good Seafood Nachos - looked better than it tasted (the only 'eh' part of the evening' Salmon Yaki Onigiri - nicely done, crispy outside and just salty enough Kamo Nanban Soba - not stingy on the duck! Ordered another roll but I can't remember the name for the life of me. I know it changed my mind about uni (hated it before, guess I never had the good stuff). Great service, plenty of parking. Tucked away in Cupertino. Will definitely be back!
(4)
Shota H.
Gokaku deserves more attentions. Zig Zag Rolls Boom Volcano Agedashi Tofu Teppanyaki Japanese Style Hamburger Steak Negima Nabe (Hot Pot) There are all pretty good. We especially liked the Zig Zag Rolls, Boom and Volcano. Everybody should give it a try. Since I grew up in Japan, I tend to be picky about the Japanese foods, but I can tell you Gokaku is one of the few places in the south bay area that have pretty good Japanese foods. Another friend of mine said he had a good time eating dinner here as well. So, you will enjoy dining here, too.
(5)
Vi E.
Came here a little before the restaurant opened for dinner, so I was able to get in without a reservation. There was also a group of two, four, and six that came without a reservation. Only the group of six had to wait because all the other tables were booked. So pretty much if you don't have a reservation and are a small group, come early; but if you have 5+ it's best to make a reservation. Most of the servers are Japanese (good sign for a Japanese restaurant lol) and quite friendly. The things we got were: -Yaki Onigiri with salmon: The salmon was a little disappointing because it was more of a decoration if anything. But the onigiri itself was crispy and delicious. -Sake Nigiri: It tasted good, but I hate to say it was a little fibrous. I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt and say that it was a fluke. Just a warning, this is one of the places that puts a hidden piece of wasabi under the salmon. -Vegetarian? Maki: The person I was with was a vegetarian, and I didn't catch the name of the roll except that it was a type of maki. It was good and really filling. -Matcha Ice Cream with red bean: It was alright, I've tasted better though. The red bean was the small kind, not the big one.
(4)
Steph N.
Came here with a group of 8 for lunch. The location isn't so nice - in a strip mall with minimal stores embedded in a residential area. The food however, does make up for the lack of visual appeal on the exterior. It's a fairly small restaurant so do make sure you make reservations for both lunch and dinner if you have a larger group. For apps we had the maguro poki appetizer with seaweed salad, agedashi tofu, tempura and the seafood nachos which was an ahi tuna tartare thing on some wonton chips - all very good. The rolls (rainbow roll, firecracker and zigzag) were also very good but a bit heavy on the rice. All in all the fish was very fresh which is my number one gauge for a good sushi restaurant. I'll be back for sure.
(4)
Louis B.
My wife and I love this place. Great service and food is excellent. I love Kamo Nanban soba in cold day. Sushi are fresh and delicious.
(5)
Donald W.
Server was not really friendly today. But I've been here before. And the food is amazing. Well balanced and crafted Japanese - really the best.
(5)
Melanie B.
3 1/2 stars for this one. My favorite is still Gochi! I love Japanese food but some of the dishes we ordered last night didn't do much for me. We started out with the Hamachi Carpaccio (Gochi executes this dish much better), Chef's rolls, Seafood Chef's Special, and Unagi rolls. Nice and cute little restaurant (just don't expect the decor to be fancy). Very low key and casual place to grab some Japanese Tapas and Sushi. I will definitely come back but still have a preference for my Gochi :)
(3)
Rishi C.
The best Japanese food I've had in the Los Altos/Cupertino/Sunnyvale area. Unique Japanese dishes. Great alcohol. Large portions. It is hard to beat. We have been twice (once with the kids). Both times we have been super impressed.
(5)
DL P.
What makes this restaurant is the sushi chef. He engages with his customers and makes inventive and savory sushi concoctions.
(4)
Steve A.
Here is the 3-1-1 Food: WOW! if you are hungry this is the place to go. The tofu salad which is served in a large stainless steel bowl is enough for 4; plenty of tofu and other vegetables with their house dressing equally distributed with every bite. We only ordered 3 rolls (the Chef's, Zig Zag & Volcano) with the first 2 rolls evenly cut and the amount of rice was equal to the amount of fish. They had a unique flavor profile and it was fresh, light and tasty. The Volcano roll was the complete opposite, this roll in actuality is buried under a mound of tempura flakes and sauces to make the platter it was served in look like a volcano with the saracha emulating lava. A bigger table and more friends are required to help consume this masterpiece. Service: The servers are constantly running around as if the kitchen was on fire but the food did come out quickly once they came to your table to take your order. Given the size and the ingredients of each of the rolls the lone sushi chef delivers on the high volume. Ambiance- Small an quaint with 1 Tatami room and 7 seats at the sushi bar. Tables for 2 lose a lot a real estate depending on what your order so your table will get full quickly if you are eating slowly.
(4)
Pamela K.
How often do I think about this place and the Zig Zag roll? A LOT. So yummy with a warm staff, casual, friendly ambiance, it's my favorite in the area. So sad, I moved away but hope to be back in a couple months to enjoy my old home away from home, visit with Tommy the chef, and devour a Zig Zag roll again with my friend Heidi M.! Maybe I will share... Maybe not.
(5)
Patty B.
Happened upon this gem of a restaurant purely by chance after stopping at the Walgreens. Had the lunch special of two rolls + salad+ miso soup. Everything was excellent! Our service was very good and the bill was $25 for two, which considering you are eating sushi, was very reasonable!
(4)
Mike C.
The fish is very fresh and specials are delicious with just the right amount of fusion. It's a great place to go for lunch, especially since it's new and doesn't get too crowded yet. The daily specials change frequently and have been tasty the last two visits.
(5)
Sabrina A.
My boyfriend treated me to a wonderful Sunday dinner. Last minute he wanted to take me out and I had remember this was bookmarked. So off we went around 6:30pm. Located in a smallish strip mall, their huge Sushi and Tapas sign was easy to spot. With a specials board outside we come on in. This little restaurant is deceptive. With the non fancy, older looking outside of the mall . . . the inside is modern, clean, nice and I loved the ambiance. With cute dark wood tables, a section parted off, recessed lighting and nice pictures about - I enjoyed the feel and would definitely recommend this as a date spot. Our waitress was great. She was extremely attentive, helpful in suggestions, nice and really added to our experience. From start to finish she was an excellent waitress. The other wait staff looked equally as pleasant as well. The food was good, arty, interesting and provided for a great experience. I will say the menu is too large, just so many options that it is difficult to choose things. Luckily, we had the help of our waitress. They provide a menu of specials, a menu just of pictures and the full menu itself. We chose: -Rainbow Roll - soft fish, well rolled, good flavor, plenty but served with pretty but odd tasting optional sauces on the side. -Uni Ngiri - was on the special board and OMG it was so fresh, flavorful and some of the best I've had in a while. Yum! -Zigzaig roll - not my favorite, apparently it's popular . . . too much mayo, good crunch but just ok. -Hamachi Steak - pretty good, lots of flavor, wish it was a tad softer though. Interesting flavor to try at the least. -Potato Croquettes - um, interesting . . rather than just potato, it was mashed potato served inside but it made it a tad too mushy. Crab sauce was pretty good and it was fun to try. Everything is beautifully served, plates, food, extras, it's art. It really adds to the fun and I loved it. Everything came out in succession and seemed quite fresh, even for a Sunday. The sake and beer selection was good. Some draft beers, plenty of sakes and I dry the Asahi on draft for $5.50. Reasonable but not cheap prices. The plates add up and for 5 dishes and 1 beer the total came to $68. So while I had a fun and lovely date, I won't be rushing back to make this my regular spot. Fun, interesting and a perfect date on a Sunday night.
(4)
Thomas C.
Japanese tapas that's pretty on par with Gochi and Tanto, but it's tucked in a very residential Cupertino neighborhood.
(4)
Therese L.
The food here is excellent. The servers are very courteous and attentive. I ordered the firecracker roll. It was full of flavors. The rice ball with salmon was also very tasty.
(4)
Sherry K.
I was there for my birthday this past weekend. It was a small informal celebration so we didn't make reservation. The server was very accommodating and although we couldn't get a table, we sat at the bar just fine. The service was great probably because we were sitting in front of the chef. We had a delicious sashimi salad, a very beautiful looking plate of super roll, tasty seafood nachos, always tasty kara-age, additive taro chips and fabulous hamachi-kama. After the chef knew it was my birthday, he offered us complimentary ice cream, which was so awesome because I was going to order the black sesame ice cream for dessert. We had been there for a few times previously with a bigger party and ordered quite a bit of stuff. There wasn't a dish I didn't like but I was most impressed with the Tori Zosui - Japanese porridge with chicken. It was flavorful and great comfort food. Excellent for the cold, windy nights. It warms you up. One can't find this on the menu at other places. Their lunch special is a good deal as well. I couldn't believe that one would get ALL THREE ITEMS written on the board placed outside the store. Usually, one choose an item out of the three. It was a big bento box with great stuff - sashimi, grilled salmon and pork chop plus few pieces of rolls, salad and rice. I am glad I just ordered their regular lunch plate which was delicious and plenty. My cousin certainly enjoyed her lunch special. Gokaku is the only "happening" store in that strip of stores. The Tin Tin supermarket closed a while back, hence the parking is not a problem, not it ever was... NOTE: Their lunch is CASH only.
(5)
Lorraine E.
This is my new favorite lunch sushi spot! It is iIn an older shopping center with plenty of parking out front. Warm and inviting inside with great service both times I visited in the past two weeks. For the lunch special only, you can get three rolls along with miso soup and a nice sized salad for $10. Hungry? Three rolls are only $14. The list you can choose from is very good. The shrimp tempura rolls are about the best I have tasted, and I am pretty sure will always be on my order. Quick service, great priced lunches and close to home. Score!
(5)
Brian L.
This place seems to attract quite a crowd. Sashimi salad--sauce overpowers sashimi Chicken momo garlic--saltier than it should be Nasu dengaku--served drowning in oil Aburi tofu sushi--contains cream cheese...!
(2)
Richard S.
I made a reservation for 4 on Saturday night, just in case they had a small crowd. Looks like they have a lot of reservations there in general. The place had a lot of families there with small children but it was not noisy. Waiters tried to refill our tea cups as much as they could but when it came up to ordering food we always had to flag them down. But they did in general provide good service. I ordered the following items there 1) cucumber pasta - cucumber shaped in sphetthi with assorted raw fish w/ mayo. This plate fed 4 people and tasted refreshing. Seems like everyone in the resturant ordered it. I loved the taste of crunchy vegetables with mayo and fish. 4 out of 5 stars 2) Omakase Appetizer - which was basically similiar to the cucumber pasta except with more fish and no strands of cucumber pasta. Again it was mixed with mayo. Nothing Special there. 3 out of 5 stars 3) Aigamo Steak - 6 thin slices of medium cooked duck in a mushroom gravy with chunky mashed potatoes. the duck was somewhat fatty but had a nice flavor. Would rate it a 3 out of 5 stars 4) ToriNankotsuKaraAg - Fried chicken cartilege, was not as tasty as the other places I've had it at (ex. Tanto) which was quite disappointing since these are usually easy items to make. 2 out of 5 stars 5) Boom Roll - Again more mayo in the roll but it had a nice spice to it. Wasn't extremely impressed. 3 out of 5 stars Overall these 4 items were able to fill us up, but I wasn't really impressed with the items on there menu. I wouldn't mind going again to this place but it wouldn't be something I would pick right off the bat. Hence I have rated it a 3 star restaurant.
(3)
David A.
Jo-Nigiri and the Zig-Zag roll were good. I would recommend Yelping pictures of the Volcano "Roll" before you order it, not what we expected and we did not enjoy it, way too much tempura and not enough fish. Katsu Don was pretty good.
(2)
Joyce L.
Fantastic rolls! The dragon and rainbow rolls are great which I never had before!
(4)
S L.
Ok I'm only rating the cooked items because I don't eat raw fish. My husband likes this place but really I would rather never go back. He said it has fresh fish, thus the 2 stars because i would have given them 1. 1. The pickled ginger was gross, not fresh on the boarder line of spoiling they don't even refrigerate it.. 2. I ordered a shrimp tempura roll with avocado, the roll came out without the avocado. I ate some of the ginger before the waitress came back. She wanted to go check with the chef because she didn't believe me! 3. THE SAME ROLL i just SENT back landed onto the table next to us after they sprinkled some tobiko on it! THAT IS JUST UNSANITARY! 4. The table that was unfortunate to get my sent back roll, had to send back two fish dishes they didn't think they were cooked all the way through, The hamachi (fish cheek which is suppose to be grilled) 5. The fried corn chicken skewers (sounds good right? ) were DISGUSTING. has some mystery meat that they called chicken, rolled in canned corn and then some how baked and then covered in teriyaki sauce to cover up the look the the freaking corn log... I won't be going back there are other sushi places that I would rather go to than this place. What really gets me is that they totally served the table next to us food i SENT back! I know this because i watched the server take it back and the whole thing go down with the sushi chef... Totally gross!
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Dinner Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : No Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Beer & Wine Only Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : No Has TV : No Dogs Allowed : No Waiter Service : Yes Caters : No
Tiffany K.
Everything here is pretty delicious! One of my favorite Japanese restaurants in the area. From sashimi, sushi rolls to bento all taste good! Make sure to make reservations before you go, otherwise, go early when they just open!
(5)Julia C.
Thank you Jack, this was an excellent lunch call :) Excellent choice slices of sashimi on a bed of sushi rice and a mix of seaweed and greens salad. Definitely a healthy lunch. I liked that the menu had interesting choices but wasn't overwhelming. Prices are decent, and service is nice, so I am sure to come back.
(5)Uri K.
simple place with great food.
(4)A I.
It's a small place in a shopping strip and I nearly missed the place. But once I sat down and start checking out the menu, we had to order so much since they have a lot of interesting and yummy looking sushi. They have so many chef special! We had "Zig Zag roll" Rainbow roll, Aburi salmon tofu roll, maguro poke, etc. It was only 4 of us, but we had so much! They were all yummy. They were pretty busy, but our food came really fast and they were fresh.
(5)Stanley C.
Pretty good Japanese restaurant/ izakaya. The sushi is good and the o chazuke is great. The appetizers are delicious as well. Prices are a little expensive and it can get crowded nightly. Make reservations.
(4)J l.
It is good everything good
(4)Royce P.
This place is really really good. Reasonably priced, service is sufficient. Zig Zag roll, takoyaki, and volcano is where it's at! So good!
(4)M W.
One of the best Japanese restaurants in South Bay. Food is authentic and fresh. Price is appropriate. Servers are friendly, professional, and attentive. Order turn around is awesomely fast. Great ambiance. The partitions create a great sense of privacy for the customers.
(5)Claudia S.
Came once and was turned away because we didn't have a reservation, so made one the second time and it was worth it. Good sushi, or maybe it seemed good because it felt special. I remember one of the rolls had a special sauce that was really good.
(4)L L.
I was excited to try this restaurant based on the great reviews. However, overall experience was disappointing. We were able to get reservations on a Friday night 30 minutes prior to our arrival. As soon as we sat down, we had 3 different waiters ask if we were ready. Given the extensive menu, we asked for a few more minutes each time. When we were ready to order, none of the waiters could be flagged down. (We noted that the table next to us had the identical experience). We ordered: 1) Mixed tempura: average, standard tempura 2) Futo Maki: each piece was unusually large and difficult to eat. 3) Oyako Don: rubbery chicken chunks 4) fried chicken thigh in garlic sauce 5) nasu agedashi (fried eggplant with onion, radish, bonito flakes) The last two orders did not come until we were completely done with our meals. I had to ask the waiter twice if they had forgotten about the orders. I think they went to place the order when I asked the first time. After more waiting, they brought the last two dishes out but I wish they had forgotten. I didn't eat any of the chicken thighs. My husband had diarrhea the next morning. I had only one piece of the eggplant. The skin of the eggplant was really tough and not pleasant to chew. We packed it to go but threw all of it out. Service: The waiters were all running around like chickens with their heads cut off. The restaurant is rather small and it's difficult to enjoy the meal when the waiters seem so flustered and harried. Summary: Very average, un-Japanese like large portions with inattentive service. Will not be returning.
(2)Karen L.
SO GOOD! It doesn't look like much from the outside but inside, the place is clean and cozy. Made reservations on a Sunday night and although there were some open tables around 7pm, glad we did it bc the place is small and filled up fast! Food was awesome! We got a couple of special rolls, poke and okonomiyaki and everything was delish! large portions with hearty sized specialty rolls. Service was great and staff was friendly! my fiance had fun ordering our food in japanese ;) Definitely going back!!
(5)JD L.
Don't get it and don't like it. Stick with Gochi, En or Tanto.
(1)Takako S.
A friend of mine and I went here at 7pm on Wednesday. We ordered Oolong High, Dikon (Radish) Salad, Pork Gobo Roll (Burdock rolled in Thin Sliced Pork), Fried Mozzarella Cheese w/ Green Perilla, & Assorted Sashimi. They were all so good! We ended our dinner with Souffle Cheese Cake and Tofu Tiramisu, and we were satisfied!!! They have this nice screen hanging from the ceiling for privacy from other tables. The place was very clean and comfortable. The servers seemed to be very kind and pleasant. I would have rated five stars, but four today so they have a room to impress me even more next time! I would like to try the sushi bar next time :-)
(4)Tiffany T.
Good Japanese tapas and sushi, a bit American fusion. Izakaya restaurant in the ghetto plaza where walgreen is located. The sign says "TAPAS AND SUSHI in big letters and GOKAKU in tiny tiny letters". I felt like that along already takes off half a star on the rating. But the restaurant has an old intimate feel to it. Their tables and chairs seemed old which were odd since it's a brand new restaurant. However, i like how each table is separated by blinds and whatnot. We made a reservation for 2 on a tuesday night at 6pm when they open. Although the restaurant was empty but seemed like most tables were already reserved. The waiters were nice and prompt. We ordered: --Taro chips with special sauce: the sauce was good and the chips were blend. Overall this dish was nothing special and def not worth $5. --Sashimi Combination: tuna, salmon, and hamachi. 3 fat pieces of each kind. Presentation was beautiful and the quality of the fishes was really good. $22 for the plate seemed like a normal price. --zigza roll: soft shell crab with special tofu skin wrap. this was really delicious with chef's special sauce. (this restaurant had all sorts of amazing sauces--which made it ultra americanized). --Hamachi steak: the hamachi was cooked really well. the fish was not dry and it was full of flavor. i loved the garlic sauce and the garnishes. It came with 5-6 small pieces of hamachi. -Grilled duck steak: i love duck and this dish did not disappoint me! The slices of duck were thing and tender. Again, the sauce they cooked the duck with was delicious. It also came with mashed potato with corn. Some green veggies and mushroom. Our bill came out to be around $65, pretty standard for Izakaya food. I'm glad this place openned and can't wait for the gokaku grill which is opening next to Verde on Steven's Creek. Fanned!
(4)Hank W.
Yellowtail sushi is delicious here. Great service. The donburis are also very tasty. Fairly priced.
(4)Audrey H.
Very disappointing. Dragon roll was an explosion of confused flavors and unfresh fishiness. Chicken karaage fried in reused oil. Eggplant in miso swimming in sticky sweet unyumminess. I fail to see why this place got so many good reviews. Highly mediocre. Thoroughly unenjoyable. Why can't Cupertino have even one decent Asian restaurant?
(2)Vicke T.
Although Gokaku is not as good as tanto or gochi or saizo, everyone should give this place a try. They have great food and the price is not bad at all. One thing that i like from this place is their tapas portion is much bigger than any restaurant i've ever been. So that night me and friend ordered: 1. seafood nachos 2. sashimi salad 3. secret shrimp 4.hamburg steak 5. volcano sushi All the food we ordered taste amazing, except for the hamburg steak. I like the sashimi sushi the most because they put big chunk of sashimi. The seafood nacho was a pretty interesting dish, who ever thought to put sashimi on top of nacho?And the highlight of the meal was the secret shrimp, that's the bomb!!By the time our volcano sushi came, we already full, so we had it for to go. If you have the chance to try this place, you better pay in cash cause they give you discount.
(4)Cindy L.
So we have been frequenting this place almost every weekend for 2 months. Two thumbs up for the yummy food and excellent service. Why one star? Today we were there having lunch with a friend. Everything was going smoothly until my 9-month-old needed a 'desperate' diaper change. Since there is no changing station in the restroom, we decided to change at a booth at a corner. And then the cashier lady ( she might be the manager or owner) approached us and told us not to change there since other people need to use that booth (they were closed at that time so there was only another table of customers in the restaurant). She offered no help and just asked us to leave the booth. And no apologies from her either. So we ended up changing the diaper in the trunk of the car under 85 degree heat. This bad experience has totally offset all the good things that I have to say about Gokaku. It's definitely not a baby friendly place. Not going back.
(1)Chan T.
I would come here again. I had many different plates here from the sushi, sashimi, beef tongue, duck, etc. I loved everything about it. My favorite was the sushi rolls. I got whatever was on the top 10 menu list. like the hawaiian poke was yummi and the zig zag roll was different, but i would defiantly have it again!
(5)paula m.
Food was good, but they asked our party of four to leave since they had a family waiting after we'd barely been there for an hour. Lame.
(3)Takeshi S.
Went to Gokaku last night with a couple of friends. Good atmosphere, about 1/2 of the patrons were Japanese. I didn't like the 2 person tables right on the wall on the right, just ahead and to the right of the entrance. But we were in a 4 person table, surrounded by a partition. The food is pretty good. And the sushi seems decent, though we only had rolls (rainbow and spider). We also had their Gokaku special Chicken Salad (nothing really special about it), Ebi-Mayo (the shrimp was pretty good), Tsukune (too much sauce for me), the Mochi-cheese spring roll (OK), and the carbonara style udon with mentiako. Now this was super duper good! and the reason I give it a 4 star.
(4)Hitoshi I.
I went to this place with my friend for first time tonight and it was funtastic!!!! If you like sushi but want to try something thats unordinary I highly recommend this place!! The chief makes rolls that you have never tried before and he does excellent job of adding great taste to it by having special sauce for each roll so that its more interesting and tasty!!! i recommend Zig Zag $9.25 (soft shell crab, avocado, tobiko, scallion rolled in soy wrap in chef's original ziggy sauce) cutomer service is really good too, with very attentive stuff always there to serve you with a smile! just be sure to make reservation or go there early so that you would have a seat. It gets really crowded there since its many people's favorite!
(5)John H.
By far one of the most unique and mega-awesome flavor sushi places I've ever been to. I went here for a friends reunion dinner and we had quite the experience. Not only is the staff friendly, but they make helpful suggestions with how much you should order. Our waiter insisted we only get 2 of these volcano rolls instead of 3 and boy he was right. We were so full after we ate all the food. We had this zig zag roll which I highly recommend. It was amazingly delicious as well as the unique volcano roll, which is sushi piled with deliciousness. I'm not sure exactly what's in it, but I can definitely say do NOT get this without at least having 2-3 people in the table. We also had various rolls and other dishes along with sake and beer. It was a wonderful experience with friends that I haven't seen in a while along with friendly staff, I regret not having my birthday here this year, but there's always next year! I highly suggest this place. The only tiny problem is the wait for a large group of people, but honestly the wait is more than worth it.
(5)Bernard W.
Zig Zag Roll is amazing!!! They have a wide selection of rolls with premium quality fish. Any reviews seen below 4 stars are simply false because the person ordered the 100 dollar sake or simply because they expect a table thats big enough to seat 7-8 people while not hogging up room in the restaurant. I would come here again and those people who gave this place below 4 stars are people with no taste.
(5)Sunny C.
Incredible! Great traditional japanese izakaya place. The special ami ebi nigiri blew us away. Some of the other items were a little more americanized but still very good. Volcano roll was very interested, lots of sauce (read HIGH calories), good tuna salad.
(4)Ellin C.
A hidden gem buried in the tin tin plaza. Traditional tapas and sushi are part of the fare here. We liked the Kim chee udon and fried mochi roll which was delicious. It is exquisite to bite into one hot off the fryer with mochi oozing out. Good fresh nigiri in their sushi combinations. The only dish we thought was not great, was the tofu okonomiyaki which felt like you were eating and omelette with tofu pieces in the bottom. We finished our dinner off with a tofu tiramisu which was divine. It was light and refreshing. Great restaurant ! And it was a good sign that the place was packed with Japanese speakers all night.
(4)Mike J.
This place is seriously as good as it gets. This place is kinda a hidden gem. You would drive right by and never give it a second look. I have been here three times now and everything they have is SO GREAT. The fish is very fresh. They have a wide variety of rolls,plates, and tapas to choose from. All the chef specials are great, and anything with the chefs, "SPECIAL SAUCE" is AMAZBALLS. They take great pride in not only the presentation of their food but also the taste. A must go for a cheap alternative to those pricey sushi joints. There service can kinda suck sometimes but when the food comes to your table you will see why i gave it 5 stars.
(5)Carol L.
Wasn't expecting much from this place based on some reviews, but I was really happy with my dinner. There is something here for everyone. You certainly won't leave feeling hungry, as portions are very generous. As other yelpers said, service is fantastic. Food comes out fast, too. Pictures on the menu grab your attention, and every dish is indeed picture-ready: bring your cameras, food photogs. My guy and I ordered 5 dishes: croquette, sashimi salad, super roll, ika jaga butter yaki, and buta kakuni and hanjuku tamago. Total bill, including tax and tip = ~ $70. You could cut down on your costs if you don't order as much and order dishes that are less (for example, we splurged on the sushi - $19.95). We were stuffed and brought home a few leftovers. 1) Croquette: Nothing unique about the dish itself, but I have a croquette weakness and our croquettes held up all that is good about this classic. Mashed potato inside was smooth. Contents also included some carrot pieces - I really liked these to switch up the texture. The breaded exterior was delish. 2) Sashimi salad: Lots and lots of sashimi. It was the usual types: maguro, salmon, the soft fish that is whiteish / greyish / with slight pink (I admit my egregious lack of sashimi knowledge), and I think another fish. Good size pieces that you can really bite into, and the ratio of sashimi to greens, including red / yellow bell pepper slivers, was 9:1. All this was wrapped with long cucumber slices into a circle shape and paired with three of the chef's secret sauces and a taro chip. 3) Super Roll: Not sure what was inside - various cooked fish. On top lay assorted sashimi, cooked shrimp, and tobiko of different colors (red, yellow, green, and black). One order = 8 pieces. More secret sauces spread on the side of the plate. I liked the purple berry one and the yellow one (maybe mango?) because I was craving some sweetness for balance. Comes with a banana chip. I felt the cream sauce was a bit much for me, and I also thought there was a tad too much rice, but I may have just been full. The rice could also be harder. 4) Ika Jaga Butter Yaki: Didn't look exactly like the picture, but the dish tasted better than what I would have thought based on the photo. There were tentacle pieces with suction cups, as well as non-suction cup pieces of ika. Good texture for both ika and potatoes. The butter gave a good savory flavor to bring out the natural flavor of the ingredients. 5) Buta kakuni and hanjuku tamago: Overall OK. This was unique, but I'm not into yolk-y textures, like the viscous sauce over the pork. The meat is the fatty type and not for the faint of hearts, only for those who can stomach such lipids. Yolk in the half boiled egg is not as yolk-y as you might expect given the yolk-y texture of the sauce. Personally, I wouldn't recommend ordering the sashimi salad and the chef's sushi roll, as we were sashimi'd out by the end of the meal. It might work if you have more people in your party. I'd just rather order a different roll or dish. I'm really bummed that other people didn't have a good experience here. Mine was great, from the tasty food, to the classy yet relaxed ambiance (loved the calm jazz music) and the personal service. Definitely going back to Gokaku and telling others!
(4)Sherry F.
Although it's a little bit expensive, but the food is great! I especially like the carbonera kimchi udon!! It's by far the best Japanese? Dish I've tested in my life!!
(4)Angelo I.
The most pretentious "fusion" food I've ever had. Over-priced. Servers are as rude as the food. Go try it once if you have $100 to burn and want to come out hungry.
(1)Rob C.
nice picture book. came to try a few things. hamachi with chili oil, jalapenos, scallion and ponzu sauce classic combo, but only problem here was that they drenched the fish, also the jalapeno slice too large and not much heat. had the sake yaki onigiri -- crisp outside, topping not inside, little salty. no toro, so got hotate, toro sake, aburi sake. the hotate was soft, but slight aftertaste, salmon belly fine, but rice a bit off. kinda drier, would like a better ratio and vinegar amount got sake kama since hamachi kama was out this was prepared perfectly and tasted great. didn't get the takoyaki since they said they didn't make their own from scratch.
(3)Narg R.
Good sushi, fair price and nice people.
(4)Gina C.
One of my favorite Japanese tapas place, along with Gochi and Dan's. Very flavorful food. Reasonably priced. There are lots of Japanese customers so I'm assuming it's quite authentic.
(5)Chris C.
Their food is delicious! I especially like the Yaki Udon and their fried pancake appetizer. One issue I have is that their menu is difficult to order from if you can't read Japanese...but after coming a few times you'll figure out what's good.
(4)Bill M.
Started with the uni. It was from Santa Barbara very fresh, sweet and tasty. Kids had the salmon teriyaki , mashed potatoes and crab croquets. My wife and I shared the appetizer and dinner omakase. We had black cod, two orders of uni, poki too. Also had the sake sampler, all good for $15. The chef must like sake, or at least have similar tastes to me. Had a draft beer too. In the end kinda pricey, but everything was good. The appetizer omakase was really good. I'm not a fan of rolls, so I was not as impressed by the dinner omakase. The nigiri was good. I will have to go back a see if the uni was a fluke.
(4)Annie L.
this small sushi tapas restaurant is amazing. would definitely go back again for the chirashi bowl. the sushi is so fresh and love love love the presentation!
(5)Myra C.
mediocre at best. after sitting behind the sushi bar counter for an hour and a half, i've concluded the chef uses a maximum of 3 sauces...his home made blend that's pre-made and stored in plastic bags, unagi sauce, and mayo. Total lack of flavor profile in remakes of classic and fusion dishes, while the rest of the dishes looked better than they tasted. I think my favorite part of the meal was the grilled squid and potatoes with butter...and even then, it was the potatoes soaked in butter that highlighted the dish. .: sashimi combo: typical trio of tuna, salmon, and yellow tail. in an attempt to make it fancy and modern, its topped with colored/flavored tobiko that actually takes away from the purity of the fish--in some ways, it almost felt like the tobiko was there to compensate for quality of the fish :( .: aigamo steak- dry overcooked duck, lumpy excuse of "mashed potatoes" with under seasoned sauce, and a skimpy few bits of baby bok choy and mushrooms. .: chef's roll. i was hoping for a glorified lion king roll but what i got was a hot mess....and yes, it tasted as unappetizing as it looked. .: ika jaga butter yaki (grilled squid and potatoes with butter)...i'd take garlic fries over this any day. the squid was rubbery and a battle to eat in itself. on that note, its got some pretty cool interior decorations and has a sheik design and general feel to the whole restaurant....now if only the food could par. until then, save yourself the hefty tab and find good eats elsewhere.
(2)A K.
Yuuuuuuck. Ordered 5 things and ended up with a 70 bill. Not cool because I wish I could turn back time and not eat some of the things I ordered. Taro chips were bland and came with a really nasty heavy sauce. If I wanted mayonnaise, I would have stayed home and just dipped things in a jar of mayo Tuna maguro was good, but not a lot of tuna -- mostly cucumbers. Uni and roe were ok. Seared yaki was disgusting. Imitation crab drenched in heavy sauce and cheese. If i could turn my insides out and scrub them with a brillo pad, i would. They should take this abomination off the menu.
(2)Clarence W.
The quality of food is better than most and the price is also better than most! The customer service is very nice and you feel greeted with sincerity. A triple win in my book!
(5)J J.
I went here 3 times in total, and here's my rating: First Time: 3 starts This was when Gokaku first opened. We ordered Salmon in rice and tea, which was waaaaayyy too salty, so I had to pour hot tea in to make it less salty. The waiters also seemed new. I decided to give this place a second chance (see below), and it turns out that they have improved a lot! Second Time: 5 stars The main reason is probably because the manager was here. When we walked in, the manager asked if we had a reservation. We didn't, so he led us to the seats at the sushi bar. Then, he introduced the menu and gave us suggestions for what to order. The food was delicious, and I would recommend "zig zag." The servers were a little bit busy, but the sushi chef took great care of us because we sat in front of him :) At the end, we ordered black sesame ice cream, and the manager gave us green tea ice cream as a service. Both were delicious! Third Time: 1.5 stars Decided to come here again because of my awsome experience. We wanted to order something without seafood or fish since someone in our party can't eat seafood. Therefore, we ordered "Futomaki" because on the menu it said that Futomaki has egg and vegetables. Later, when Futomaki came, it had both tuna and salmon sashimi in it. We were awed, since the menu did not say that it had sashimi in it. I like Futomaki, but not sashimi, so I gave the sashimi in the Futomaki to 1 person and I ate the rest of the sushi. LATER THAT NIGHT.... the person who ate all of the sashimi in the futomaki (which is only a tiny bit compared to sashimi sushi) had diaherra all night and vomited in the morning. I think their sashimi was not fresh, because that person was the only one who ate the sashimi. Everyone else was fine because they did not eat the sashimi. Summary: Service is good and waiters are friendly and food is delicious depending on what you order, BUT WATCH OUT TO SEE IF THE SASHIMI IS FRESH OR NOT OR ELSE YOUR MIGHT SUFFER THE CONSEQUENSES OF FOOD POISONING!!
(3)Mag R.
Great service, the fish was very fresh, we had 3 different appetizers.The Boom was very delicious, new taste and texture. We will come back here for sure.
(5)Kate T.
We came for dinner and had kimuchi mentai carbonara udon, ikura rice ball, deep fried baby octopus, cod shirako karaage, seaweed salad, and sampler B sake. We spent about $50. The kimuchi mentai carbonara udon was too rich and had not much mentai flavor. It came in a stone bowl but the bowl was not heated, so udon got cold and disgusting as cream, cheese and egg got cold. The seaweed salad was a store-bought stuff and I didn't care less. I was extremely disappointed with the baby octopus and cod shirako. They were overcooked and tasted like a chinese dish. Although our servers were friendly, I would not come back to this restaurant.
(2)Joe L.
Pretty good and beautifully presented food. The sushi is fresh and they have a long list of creative tapa dishes. They also offer monthly mini kaiseki ryÅri ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ka… ) for $50 per person (requires reservation) on a chosen Wednesday night. According to the boss, the restaurant closes on Monday, and their supply comes in on Tuesday. So Wednesday is the ideal day for the chef's creativity based on the freshest ingredients at hand. The mini kaiseki is a set dinner with 4 main courses plus dessert. The menu is unknown, it is all up to the chef. The dinner also includes two shots of shochu of your choice (Japanese liquor made from wheat, rice, or taro etc.) Shochu for the lady is all she can drink. Given that the shochu is listed at $7 to $8 a shot, the dinner is supposed to be a good deal if you are a drinker. For non-drinkers, they don't offer discount if you choose not to drink the shochu. Obviously, it is a discrimination against non-drinking man. The mini kaiseki is nothing like the full kaiseki we had in Japan before. What we had in Japan was a feast with 20+ small dishes served slowly over several hours. Gokaku's kaiseki is okay by itself if you don't compare it with the real deal.
(4)jay o.
Gokaku isnt your typical Japanese restaurant and as other people has mentioned its not your typical Sashimi and Chicken Teriyaki place. The theme is more like an izakaya, a socially engaging drinking bar with great tapas. I was talking to one of the girls who worked there and she told us that the items on the tapas menu all are health conscious. I'm a huge fried foods fan and their selection of fried foods were very tasty and light unlike the heavy-in-batter-dripping-in-oil style that I've experienced at other places before. The first time I went there, I ordered their corn flake fried chicken and it was one of the best things I've ever had! The other tapas plates were all equally delicious. The presentation and the preparation of their sashimi and rolls were definitely top notch. Since tapas are small plates, I would definitely suggest going down there with a group of foodies to kick back, order some drinks and try out a variety of options.
(5)Jeff Y.
I'd give this place 4.5 stars. I wanted to try the Sukiyaki Style Hot Stone Rice, but the Buta Kakuni Don won out. The pork was really tender, and it comes with a very nicely cooked soft boiled egg that left me very happy. I also got some spicy tuna rolls that were excellent. Next time I go back I'll definitely try out the Sukiyaki Style Hot Stone Rice. The service was very nice and friendly, although they spoke a little quietly so I couldn't exactly hear what the daily special was. My friend ordered it anyway, and it looked tasty. The other only thing that kept them from getting 5 stars was that our food came out slowly, and in a strange order. I got my miso soup a few minutes after my Buta Kakuni Don!
(4)David X.
Pretty good, but not the best. Fish was very fresh but some of the stuff that came with it did not do it justice. It's still some of the best sushi I've had in Cupertino (probably second best in the south bay I've had). Service kind of sucked. We came on a Sunday evening at around 8:45, so it wasn't crowded. They were very fast at first, but then they basically forgot about us until I caught one persons' eye for the check. Nobody even came by to refill our tea during the entire course of our meal. They were also reluctant to bring us extra ginger (it only came *after* our entire meal was finished!). We love ginger and the stuff at this restaurant was very good, so this was especially disappointing. Gokaku loses two stars for their service. Here's what we ordered: 1. Salmon sashimi - Excellent! The fish was very fresh and very tasty. They served it with three kinds of eggs (roe) -- Normal, green colored eggs that tasted like they were spiced with wasabi, and yellow eggs that tasted like they were spiced with citrus. Rainbow roll - Again, the fish was fresh and very good. The roll itself was packed just right, and was pretty large. The filling, however, was kind of average -- Artificial crab with cream (mayo?). Not very inspired. Spicy salmon - Not spicy at all, a huge disappointment. It tasted like the goop used to fill the rainbow roll. The food *looked* good, so props to them on presentation. It looked rather fancy, actually. The final damage came out to something like $42. Not bad for two large dishes and a small one. Conclusion: Great sashimi, rolls are sorta of average.
(3)Bonnie n.
really wanted to like this place, but just thought that it was just ok. i will try it again and hopefully order stuff that is yummier. my friend got the spicy rainbow carpaccio and the grilled squid he really enjoyed both of them. i got the buta kakuni(?) the stewed pork dish with egg, the eggs were cooked to perfection, the pork was good super fatty (but they warned us of this) the grilled rice ball was over grilled (tasted burnt) the cream crab potato croquette thing was a huge let down... the shrimp tempura roll was good but nothing special. i liked that it was open late (until 11 on a friday night) the service was pretty good, but we were there right before closing so my tea went empty at the end and we needed more napkins but the servers didn't come back until we asked for the check.
(3)Fred H.
Food is great here. I would definitely recommend this place.
(4)mc t.
Authentic Japanese Izakaya serving "comfort" food. Busy most of them time with Japanese 'salarymen.' Good food but portion is a bit on the BIG side, which is atypical for a Izakaya. Nice friendly service and very reasonable prices.
(4)Nhi L.
If I could put 0 stars, I would. First off, we wrote our name for a table of 4. It was busy so we asked how long the wait would be because 3 names were ahead of us, and they replied 20 mins. Oh okay then, we thought of walking around towards the Walgreens that was close by. By the time we arrived back, they had crossed out our name. We asked them what had happened and the girl replied that because we were not there when they called our names, we had to be at the end of the list which was behind 4 more names. We didn't understand why we had to wait so long since we already waited and asked if we could be seated after the next name because it seemed fair. She called her manager and he explained that if he put our names next, other people would wait longer but if he put our name last, then we would wait the same amount of time. Um hello? How does that even make sense? Those people JUST putted their names on the list as we were busy arguing with the other server. But he was adamant about his decision so we said fine whatever. We agreed on no tip. - Our friend had to go up and get his own plate after we asked 3 times we needed an extra plate. - Food was decent. The okonamiyaki was small and drenched in salty sauce. Would not buy again. - They chased us down to get their tip even though a friend was generous enough to leave them $5. The total was around 90$ for 5 people. We didn't get the service we liked so why should we leave tip? I gave them $2 after a server went outside and demanded tip fm me. The other friends said no. The server asked, with an attitude, "Are you not paying tip? Why? Was there something wrong with the service?" They replied they were unhappy with the service so she stormed back inside. - Overall, would not go there again. Can find better places with better service.
(1)Amy B.
We went there for a birthday celebration because of all the great reviews on yelp. We wanted so much to like the restaurant, but... First of all, the tofu tiramisu was not longer on the menu because the chef left. BTW, the sushi chef is also new. We ordered: Katsu Don - ok, I had better Spider Roll - the soft shell crab is unidentifiable. It tasted and looked like a small shrimp in heavy batter. Very disappointing. Tofu salad - mild but decent Hamachi Kama - ok Pork in some kind of brown sauce and served with hot boiled egg - terrible. The sauce was blend. Pork is 95% fat. We also ordered several other tapas but none worth writing home about. Since they no longer serve the tofu tiramisu, we ordered the black sesame pudding. It was blend and tasted like something from a package.
(2)R W.
We've been to this place 15 times in 3 months. The food is great. A bit pricey but you are getting quality. After all the other bad restaurants that have come and go since Ogi-San, this is a welcome relief for a strip mall in search of a soul. They only have Tan Tan and Sogo Bakery next to a Walgreen's. Let's start with the raw stuff Chirashi - amazing cuts of fish. They have been really generous. The salmon had 1 to 2 cm marbled stripes of fat and meat. The cut was thick and tasty with just enough rice. The rice on the sushi was amazing - A+ Japanese quality sushi rice with just a hint of vinegar and some bonito. The only other place for Chirashi would be Kitsho - a 5 star on my list. Went with some sashimi and once again, great cuts of fish and home made Tamago. Pet peeve, store bought, yellow food colored, limp tamago that fake japanese (korean, taiwanese, mainland chinese,) restaurants often use. We tried all the Tapas on the menu. I still think Gochi is better, but really liked the: Pork Goba Top Angus Beef Okonomiyaki Carbonera Udon Crab Karage Agedashi Tofu What could have been better: The Chicken Corn Skewers - a bit mushy on the inisde Salad - just didn't click with me - more personal preference Needless to say, this is a welcome addition to the great number of Japanese owned and operated restaurants in the area.
(4)Yuko S.
We walked in with no reservations on a Thursday night around 7pm. There was only 2 other parties in the restaurant. That should have been a sign. It was our first time here. We ordered ahi poki, sukiyaki in a hot pot, yaki udon hot pot, chicken nankotsu, geso kara, buta kakuni with egg, and hamachi kama. The total came to $80+ with tip. Sorry to say but everything we ordered was terrible and we were very disappointed. Flavor on everything was off. We won't be back. Save your money and go to Gochi or Tanto instead.
(1)J P.
Great service, Japanese speaking staff, the closest genuine Japanese food you'll find in silicon valley! Definitely going back soon. Wouldn't rate the food 5 stars, but it's still good
(5)Joanna F.
Worth to try. A lot of selection and different type of food. From tapa, sushi and dessert
(3)K D.
I took my family to Gokaku for dinner to celebrate my mom's birthday recently. We ordered a variety of dishes for 7 of us (firecracker rolls, spicy carpaccio, super rolls, buta kakuni, duck steaks, beef BBQ, sashimi combo, and a few more). We were very hungry! Everything came out perfect. The sashimi were very fresh and tasty. I don't normally eat duck meat but I have to admit the duck steaks at Gokaku were yummy, very tender. My boyfriend and I love the spicy carpaccio! We ended the night with ice cream. The green tea ice cream with mochi was awesome! The waiters were very attentive and things were brought out at the right time. We were all full by the time we left the restaurant. The bill came out a lot less than I thought it would be considering we ordered a lot of food with sake and desserts. I highly recommend this restaurant. I would absolutely come back here again.
(5)Olivia H.
They don't take reservations here.
(1)L E.
I have been here twice now. The first time I went with a group of friends and it was a pleasant experience, good food, good company, decent service, but slightly on the expensive side. I decided to take my spouse there since he likes to try new places. The sushi was fresh and delicious, we had the dragon roll. His dinner came. And mine was forgotten. They served him his entree and completely forgot about my order. I finally flagged someone down and about 25 minutes later (after being reassured 3x that it was coming) I was finally served. By that time, he had already finished his dinner so got to watch me eat mine. We decided to pass on desert. It will be a LONG time before he will go there again. Food is good if they don't forget to serve it to you.
(3)Reginald V.
I love this place! I love the neighborhood shopping center, with its easy access and parking, and great shops including Tin Tin supermarket. Gokaku is brand new, and has that "crisp shiny' look. The staff is very pleasant and helpful, explaining their dishes and options. Service was fast, the food quite elegant and tasty for the reasonable price. Their sushi looked great and was priced right, but since this our my first time, we tried only a variety of tapas and salads. And one of thier desert selections, which was delish! Seemed to have a good selection of beer and sake, but I didn't check it out fully. They must - I have seen a decent crowd here on several evenings. I LOVED the non-intrusive relaxing jazz playing in the background. I will be back soon to try the sushi and other menu items I missed this time.
(5)Tiffany T.
I've been so busy that I can't remember the last time I ate out for lunch. Anyway, I was running errands in the strip mall (Tin Tin market and Walgreens), and thought I'd stop by for lunch. As it turns out, the place was dark. They're closed for lunch until April 13th! The menu was posted on the window though, and everything looked/sounded delish. I curse the photographer who made the food look so good. Japanese tapas and sushi, yum! I'll be back another day, hopefully I'll get something to eat next time!
(3)V L.
We had a nice server who explained the menu since it was our first time. Pretty nice ambiance. A bit pricey.
(4)Steve K.
This place is fairly new and was deserted on Wednesday night, but, the food was great :-)
(4)Eva L.
If you want Japanese tapas, and don't fee like waiting for one hour, this is a good place to come. Most of the dishes are pretty good, some dishes are traditional, some are not. Many dishes come with a thick creamy sauce, which is too rich to have a lot. The volcano sushi is too rich with the creamy sauce, not my favorite. Other dishes are pretty good.
(4)Carrie M.
First visit (of many we are already eagerly anticipating in the future) tonight and we are already planning to go back. Since we had heard the portions are large, we reluctantly decided to order only two items for the two of us (our usual assumption at a sushi place is three items per every two people) . The okonomiyaki was deeeelicious I know other yelpers have been disappointed, but I can't imagine anyone not being happy with this dish. Perhaps a new chef or different recipe being used? It was served sizzling hot on an iron platter and the heat was making the tissue-paper-thin garnish of some slivery topping shimmer and wave so the whole dish appeared to be alive. It was really tasty, and a generous portion for a reasonable price. Be sure to distribute the attractive pile of shaved pink ginger strips evenly over the dish before digging in, or one person will end up with all the ginger and a somewhat fire-y mouth! Our second dish was a Dragon Roll -- by far the largest I have been served at any local restaurant, and that was because the strips of unagi atop the roll were so thick and scrumptious. I was afraid that due to their size they would be tough or fatty, but that was not at all the case. The whole roll had a really good balance of flavor with very large tempura shrimp inside and just the right touch of heat in the sauce. We are eager to return and sample some of the amazing-looking things we saw on other nearby tables. I think we will start by eating our way through all of the items marked "chef's special". Next time the Zig Zag roll and some Secret Shrimp, for sure!
(5)Donna Y.
Came here last night for a late dinner and thought to try it out since its pretty new. We came pretty late and hour before they closed but they was very nice to us and very accommodating. We order a few dishes and overall it was not bad. Alex love the Natto with raw fish. I had some and thought it was okay in terms of the natto something to get use to eating. I had the croquettes which was quite good. We had the Yellow tail Garlic Steak which remind me of like a teriyaki fish. It was more on the sweeter side. We also ordered the grilled rice ball which was just okay to me even thought I ordered the Tuna and Mayo. Plus we end up ordering the Grilled Mackerel too which was very good too. We also ordered the Japanese Pancake which was one of there better dishes. I asked them if they can make it without shrimp and just pork and they can. It was one of the key point of why we like this place. Overall food was not bad but the service was great. Our waitress was very nice and always checked up on us. She made sure we didn't have shellfish in our food too and took time to explain everything. Nice place for dinner and just relaxing with a nice glass of sake. Will be back.
(4)Linda H.
I am really not a big fan of writing reviews. I wrote a review for two reasons, either I really LIKE the foods, which make me thinking about it day and night, or I really HATE it, which make me full of frustration. Therefore, I only make 1 star or 5 stars reviews. I have been here for many times now since it was opened more than 8 months ago. I first went there due to friends' recommendation. I have to say that the food was good 8 months ago but lack of varieties. But after 8 months, I saw a lot of improvement in the food quality, variety and taste! Hence, now it naturally becomes my favorite restaurant for both lunch and dinner. Here are my pros and cons of the restaurant. Pros: 1. A large variety of both authentic and modern Japanese food. For those who would like to try something special, their chefs (both kitchen and sushi chefs) are happy to accommodate something special just for you! I have never had this privileges in other Japanese restaurants since most (if not all) of them are pretty rigid! 2. Large selection of vegetarian options. Since my husband is a vegetarian, we always have difficulty finding a good Japanese restaurant since I am a die-hard fan of raw fish! Gokaku is amazing since the chef is super creative in making my husband superb vegetarian food that he loves. 3. Good value lunch special. For the price you paid, I think their lunch special is just amazing. I have to even pack some food to take away due to the generosity of the portion.... 4. Friendly environment and services. The owner is a super friendly person. I have been to tons of Japanese restaurants and most owner behaves like a "boss" or the "superior". But Gokaku's owner really listening to their customer's voice. He always loves to listen to suggestions and comments from customers to improve his food and service. Really appreciate his effort! Cons: 1. Location is not the most strategic one. However, for good food, I really not mind traveling for some distance or else, I can just go to the nearby McDonalds...:) 2. It is definitely not the cheapest Japanese restaurant in town. However, I do think for the quality of the food, it does worth every penny. I guess if I am looking for the low-cost Japanese food, I can just go to Todai (but you know, it sucks!). 3. Reservation is always needed especially in the weekend since it could be pretty crowded. Since it is not located in a shopping mall, it could be pretty boring to wait outside if you don't have an iPhone to kill your time.... In general, I highly recommend the restaurant if you are looking for a good leverage between price, food variety and quality as well as service! Definitely a must for vegetarian who would like to enjoy Japanese food.
(5)Bo Y.
For the appetizer, since I like spicy food, I had Boom, the spicy crab mix and avocado in seasoned tofu skin, it tastes delicious! The Takoyaki is also nice, hot with octopus inside. The Sashimi combination is really fresh and tender. My favorite roll is the Zig Zag, very creative and tasty. Also the service is good, the waitresses are friendly and nice. Overall, it is a very good Japanese restaurant! I would like to go again.
(5)N. I.
We are Japanese. If you are looking for real Japanese food, this is not the place. Giant sushi rolls ignited in flames, baked sushi rolls, and nigiri sushi topped with so much fish that you need a steak knife to eat it are no more Japanese than Lemon Chicken is Chinese. The owner is Japanese. This we hinged our hopes on to find a real Japanese restaurant in the bay area. Ok, so we should not have expected quality sushi from a Japanese Tapas place, because it's hard to do a great job on both. Maybe the salads fall into the same dilemma. The cucumber pasta salad was a HUGE disappointment. Drowning in a mayonnaise sauce and soggy from top to bottom, the sashimi pieces could not be identified because everything was coated. The flavor was literally nauseating and I tried to wash away the flavor. We tried to stay positive and had several other dishes, but everything was overly flavored and salty. The tempura was soggy and greasy. Even the tea had that faint flavor of old water. I guess this place is just following the path of all of the Korean owners of Japanese restaurants!
(1)C I.
After reading Yelp reviews, sounded good so we tried for lunch. First indication that something good might be here was the parking lot around noon was jammed. Parking is limited to the small strip mall and not sure if you could park on the streets. Went inside and it was jammed, on a Tuesday. Hostess said 10 minutes and we were thinking, hmmm, looks like 40 to us. Got seated in 10! I ordered the special which a sample plate of it was sitting in front of the hostess area. 5 plates (1 rice, 1 soup, 1 seaweed salad, and 2 interesting entrees) Very good and filling and only $9.50?? My friend had the tempura udon and she said it was excellent, especially the broth. Lot of tatami rooms and most tables were the sunken type, forget the name of these. Service was quick and efficient. Will return to try the other items on the menu. Dinner might be a whole different story $.
(4)Kathy N.
I was so shocked that this restaurant turned my family and I away, they were having a "kaiseki" set dinner for $75 per person and were only going with reservations. We got there when they opened, there was no one there and when I drove by around 7:30 their parking lot was still empty. Lunch is cash only, for the expensive prices how is someone supposed to pay cash. Plus a set meal for $75 plus sake or beer that's $100 person in this economy that's crazy. This place is located in a strip mall that looks like it needs to be torn down since all the shops are closed down they have no business turning down paying customers. Don't go.
(1)chaos T.
gokaku is one of my recent favorites. it's reasonably priced and delicious. the service is a little slow, but there's only one waitress for the restaurant during lunch and two during dinner - even though they were very nice. i would go just for the carbonara style mentaiko udon... it's a creative and a delicious bowl of creamy bacon & kimchi udon goodness.
(4)Lori F.
We were visiting San Jose from Los Angeles where we have some amazing Japanese restaurants however I've never seen food prepared as beautifully as it was at Gokaku. Everything was like a piece of art and absolutely delicious. We had to omikase and I was so relieved that the chef asked us what types of things we like and don't like. Omikase is usually scary to me as I don't like certain things however he really listened and prepared an amazing assortment. Some of my favorites included some sort of hamachi roll with shiso leave that resulted in a fresh clean flavor, spicy tuna tartare nachos, hamachi sushi and unagi (light sauce so it was tasty but not drowning in sweetness). All of the rolls were creatively prepared with triflavor and tricolor masago. Before dinner we had drinks and snacked on taro chips with a creative dip prepared by the server that was full of flavor. They have a huge array of Soju and for a cocktail they bring fresh orange or grapefruit to the table to squeeze into the Soju....just like in Japan. We tried several types of Soju and I recommend the Tonino (spelling?) made from sweet potato. It has a refreshing taste and perfect compliment to great sushi. Definitely plan to return on our next trip!
(5)Eddie A.
The menu is traditional, but the food is served in style. Love the Chirashi Sushi. It is the best that I had in the Bay Area. My kids are welcomed and the restaurant manager is excellent with great personality.
(5)Patricia F.
sushi/sashimi is still nice and fresh. the rest of the dishes have too much mayo.
(4)Jonathan J.
The food here is pretty good, and the service isn't as bad as other reviewers make it seem. After reading some of those horrendous descriptions of the service here, some of us decided to time these guys. After ordering, our food came in about 7 minutes (all 7 dishes that we'd ordered at the time)! I dunno, maybe 7 minutes for 7 dishes might seem like a bit too long for some people, but I thought this number was pretty damn good. Besides this, though, I'd say the service was pretty good, considering there were only 2 people waiting tables for the entire restaurant. We had to flag a guy down to take our order, and he took about a minute after acknowledging us before he came, but during this time, he was helping others, not texting or messing around. Some of us also did see the bottoms of our cups of tea/water, but these were always filled after a while. Onto the food. There's a huge selection here and almost everything here is really good. I'm usually not a fan of rolls, because most sushi places have the same repertoire (i.e. philly roll, godzilla, lion king, etc), and a few "specialty" rolls, which end up being more or less the same as the specialty rolls at other restaurants. However, the rolls some of the other members of my party ordered were surprisingly good. We also ordered a couple things from their "top 10" menu, and these were all good. In addition, we ordered the maguro poke. I've been let down by the poke at tons of restaurants lately, many of which serve maybe two spoonfuls of poke as sort of a sauce for dipping nacho-like chips. The pictures of this dish (i.e. on yelp and their online menu) already show that their interpretation of the dish is more of what I think of as traditional poke, but this dish also tasted surprisingly amazing. Anyway, my recommendations: stick with their top 10 menu if you want to play it safe, but don't be afraid to order other dishes, and don't be afraid to dine in. I guess ymmv, but I thought their service was pretty great.
(5)Donald W.
Although I have a rule of never returning to a business where I had a bad experience, my mother wanted to try this place again. We went early on a Saturday evening, and it was like a different place. There were several servers available at all times and the service was actually good. The food was good too, especially the okonomiyaki without meat.
(4)Stephanie Y.
I don't eat a lot of Japanese food since I'm from Sacramento, and most "Japanese" restaurants are owned by...non-Japanese people. I was visiting my boyfriend, and craved Japanese food, so he consulted his "Yelp friends" and came up with this place! We came by around 9pm on a Friday night, and at first I was a little terrified since Gokaku's sign was blinky, the restaurant's windows were blacked out, and there were few cars outside. Outside seemed a little sketch, but once we got inside, it was pretty homey and clean, VERY MOM AND POP! I've never tried takoyaki and okonomiyaki before, so those were my two MUST ORDERS. I was so pleasantly surprised! Since it was my first time eating those two dishes, and I really have nothing to compare to, I can't say how authentic it was. But I can say the two were quite delicious!! My boyfriend likes to try unconventional items, so we also ordered fried chicken cartilage and fried duck gizzards. Also pleasantly surprised! Both crunchy and interesting in flavor. But we did realize at the end of the meal that we may have ordered too many fried dishes. I literally ROLLED out of the restaurant after our meal feeling like a takoyaki ball. Should have gotten something non-fried to balance it out. Next time, I guess............. We were surrounded by Japanese speaking diners, so I can only assume this place is pretty authentic and well loved within the Cupertino Japanese community. Good food and polite service - I would recommend it, and come back again!
(4)Katherine L.
The dragon roll was the most creative dragon roll I've ever had!! sashimi salad was beautiful and tasty. :) Katsu don was ok. Service was a bit slow since they were busy, but the waiters were really nice! Price was a bit on the pricy side.
(4)Andrew C.
I came here with friends and got the lunch special. It was good. I had a salmon dish, some sashimi, salad, rice, and some chicken katsu type dish. Salmon: It was really good. Not too dry and over cooked. Flavoring was good too. It felt a tiny teeny bit on the oily side but now I'm just being nit picky. Sashimi: Only a few pieces but they were good although they were cut a little bit thick. Salad: Standard salad but I liked their dressing a lot. (Although I don't quite recall exactly what type of dressing was used... LOL. It was yummy though!) Rice: rice. Chicken Katsu: It was really good. Not oily at all despite being a fried food. Plus they had this really yummy sauce on it that was REALLY good. I enjoyed it. ---tl;dr--- +Good Portion Size for Lunch Special +Taste is the good. (insert thumb up)
(5)Mark N.
An amazing meal for my anniversary... We came on a Tuesday night.. It was not that crowded when we got there.. However, when we left the line was out the door. The dishes we had was braised pork in miso sauce. Shrimp and mushrooms in a miso sauce.. A noodle dish... Scallops in tomato sauce... It was all very good and the presentation was marvelous... One of my new favorite restaurants in Cupertino!
(5)Jen L.
A good mix of traditional Japanese homestyle dishes and fusiony tapas: - Oyako don (chicken, eggs, cooked onions, mushrooms, and sauce over rice) - 5 stars - Tender chicken, well-seasoned egg mixture, chewy rice. Tastes even better as leftovers the next day; everything tastes more marinated. Giant portion; enough to split between three people if you order appetizers. - Chef's roll (tempura-fried roll with salmon, tuna, yellowtail, flying fish roe, and avocado) - 4 stars - I don't think any sushi roll can't be improved by tempura frying it and adding avocado. All the fish is cooked and tender. I'm also a fan of the spicy sauce that comes with this roll; they'll give you extra if you ask for some. - Yaki onigiri (toasted rice balls) - 3 stars - The toasted rice was great: perfectly seasoned with soy sauce and delightfully crisp. I would have preferred a higher toasted to sticky rice ratio. We got two varieties: tuna mayo and salmon. We expected the fish would be inside the onigiris, but they were actually toppings, which made it difficult to eat. Also, both varieties tasted pretty much the same. - I've heard good things about their okonomiyaki. Overall, a filling lunch in a comfortable environment; doesn't get overcrowded on weekends, and service is fast. I'm coming back for all my Japanese comfort food cravings.
(4)Michelle H.
Food is excellent, I ordered the sashimi salad and agedashi tofu, both were good. My friends' orders were also great. Their sashimi and sushi are very fresh. One down side is that the service is sllllllllloooooooowwwwww! Took us forever to get the food and check.
(4)Jennifer C.
They're closer to a 4.5.... My uber wonderful friend treated me to this lovely place for my birthday. and YES what a treat!!! Based on what she told me, she said this place gets packed so we should get there when it opens. We got there at 515p (it opens at 530p) and there were people already itching to get in. To me, that was a great sign. We got in and were promptly seated. From the outside, it doesn't look like much but the interior was nicely decorated... dark wood.. neutral wall colors. The whole thing was just nice to be in. The wait staff was super attentive. They were just on the ball from start to finish! If the water glass looked a little low, they were right there to fill it back up! In short, it was great service. Now! On to food! We started with: Boom - tofu skin filed with what looks like avocado, crab and some kind of creamy/spicy sauce mixture. Tasty... not enough kick for the name though. Hamachi Carpaccio- SUPER fresh... the hamachi pretty much melts in your mouth! The yuzu they served it with makes a great dressing for salad too. It was so refreshing and just overall wonderful. finished with Mentaiko kimchi udon- this was definitely interesting. I expected a bit more heat cause it's got kimchi but the creamy sauce killed it I think. It was an interesting mixture of texture and flavors. I'd get it again but I kind of wish it was served as a smaller appetizer as opposed to an entree. By itself it's a bit rich for me. Special roll- oooh NO clue what was inside but I could taste... garlic chips, maybe avocado, crab maybe... topped with 3 different colored tobiko, cocktail shrimp ( I think) salmon and I think hamachi. VERY tasty and it's a HUGE roll. We also grabbed: Uni - I love uni but I can't have it anymore. From what my friend said, it was uber fresh and just lovely. *sigh* I miss Uni. Amaebi - OOOOOH soooo good! Just the right texture and flavor! Ika- This was not my favorite but it wasn't bad. It's better than other places but not the best. With all we got, we had tons of left overs and walked out the door spending just under 100 including a glass of sake. What I loved was that one of the wait staff asked if we've been there before. We both said no so he kindly grabbed a sample menu of their popular dishes and went through the whole thing explaining whats the most popular. It wasn't necessary but definitely an added bonus. I will definitely come back again. There are so many items on the menu that just look way too good. I think I'll have to come back with a larger group though.
(4)Marcy A.
I love this place though it's always so busy and a bit noisy. Their display technique of foods is very nice and beautiful. Always impressive. And the tastes are so nice as well, a real Japanese!
(5)Shannon C.
Delicious mix of fusion food and authentic Japanese dishes too. Great, extensive menu - something for everyone, whether that's salad, sushi, noodles, rice bowls, or grilled meats and seafood. Zig zag roll was delicious - crunchy and creamy and oh soooooo good. Tempura was light and udon was chewy - perfect. Seafood nachos are good but not worth the hype or price. No complaints about the service from us - they were prompt and smiley and patiently let me practice my Japanese with them!
(5)Beverly Y.
I came here with my family on a Friday night - we had a reservation but it was clear when we walked in that we didn't need one, since the place was empty at around 6:30 pm. Since I was craving something light, I ended up ordering the sashimi salad. All in all, the sashimi salad was a bit disappointing. When the dish first came out I was super excited because the plating was so nice (as you'll see in the pictures). Unfortunately, the sashimi wasn't so good - the fish didn't taste very fresh and the texture wasn't the melt-in-your-mouth kind that's one of my standards for "great" sashimi. In fact, you could actually feel your teeth going through the sashimi, which I don't think is supposed to happen. I will say that the mixed greens, tomatoes, and particularly the seaweed salad were all very good though. However, because this dish was "sashimi" salad, I'll have to rate the dish, on the whole, as subpar. Overall, I probably wouldn't come back. The sashimi (which is what I go to Japanese restaurants for) was disappointing, and the service and ambience weren't great either - at least not enough to make up for what the food lacked.
(2)Ashley Y.
Not too impressed by this place. Prices are pretty high for the quality of food that you get (in my opinion). Came in at 6pm with a reservation on a Friday night, but it was pretty much empty when we got there so I don't think we really needed one. I was super excited to see ankimo (monkfish liver) on their menu! So I got that, and the chirashi. Service here is super slow. Took at least 20+ minutes to get our food. When the monkfish liver came out, I was extremely disappointed. The serving size is very small, and they chopped the liver into cubes. I've never seen it served like that before, so already I was a bit skeptical. It didn't taste very good either. Wasn't fresh, and the texture was nowhere near the buttery goodness that I feel like ankimo should have. When the chirashi came out, my hopes were slightly lifted after seeing how wonderfully it was plated. At $26, it's definitely on the pricier side for a restaurant like this, and I wasn't impressed. The fish didn't seem fresh, much like the ankimo....and I only liked the tuna. I was surprised that it came with uni, but the uni didn't taste fresh either. Besides the plating of the chirashi, the dish was only okay at best. Overall, I think there are better options for Japanese tapas and sushi around here. Gochi is 100x better than this place, although it is slightly more expensive. I probably won't be coming back, although I might return just to try their creamy udon.
(2)Cindy J.
I wish I could give a zero star on Yelp - if so, this would have been a zero star. This has been the worst dining experience we have ever had. We don't usually care about service much if the food is excellent. But in this case, both were bad. FOOD: We ordered four dishes in total - Taro chips, Kakuni, Duck steak, and Gokaku rolls. All of them were their signature dishes. The food did arrived quickly. The first two were alright - Not impressive but OK. Then came the Duck steak and Gokaku rolls. It's like what one of the previous customers said: "When the food arrived it looked beautiful, but tasted like hell." Indeed. The duck was so salty that I finished almost the entire cup of ice water to just consume a couple of slices. The Gokaku rolls, topped with sashimi, were not fresh tasting. They tasted like something that have been refrigerated for a few days without any cover. SERVICE: We tried our best to eat the two dishes mentioned above - but eventually gave up and decided to tell the waitress that these two dishes were quite off. She asked another person to come - who may or may not have been the owner of the restaurant. This person immediately became visually upset at me once I started talking about the rolls were not very fresh. She denied it, claiming that no one else had complained so I must be wrong. That was rude, so I just asked for the bill. She came back with the bill, but then suggested that if I hadn't gotten so upset, she would have 'done something for me'. Where did that come from? I paid the bill and asked for a pen. She asked me why. I explained that I would like to leave my unfinished feedback on the back of the bill. 'No, I listened to all of your feedback. If you want to continue to make a scene, I will call the police!' No thanks, and I'm never coming back!
(1)Michelle M.
Good food. Not so good service. FOOD: sushi was fresh and generous slices, see photos. Eel was super soft and tasty. Gyoza was burnt on the bottoms, which was too bad because the inside was good at least. I liked my salmon lion king roll. It wasn't as saucy with dressing as what most places do so if you prefer a lot of dressing then this one doesn't. Miso soup was in a pretty big bowl and had generous pieces of green leaves and tofu. SERVICE: we made a reservation at 9pm for two on a Fri night but it wasn't that busy we were seated right away without needing to necessarily tell her we had a reservation. She didn't give us any menus so we sat there doing nothing. My fiancé tried to ask a girl cleaning a table next to us for menus either she didn't hear him or ignored him. Guy came by asked if we were helped yet. Brought menus. Came by and asked if we were ready. My fiancé was trying to quickly look at the menu to decide on the spot and the server said, "Is it yes or no?" How rude! Most servers will say, "It's ok I can come back." Or "I'll give you a couple more minutes." SERVICE ON FOOD: miso soup did not come out until AFTER all our appetizers AND after main dishes came out. It should've came out first or if it was going to be delayed we should have been informed. We were about to cancel it. We asked for to go boxes, which the guy boxed up for us. We didn't ask for the check nor did he ask if we were ready for the check nor did he ask if we wanted any dessert. Lucky for him I didn't want dessert but if I had wanted dessert I would've been more irritated. A girl walked by our table three times and didn't clear empty plates. I noticed other tables went a long time with dirty empty plates in their tables. And you can see from my photo the tables aren't big so everyone could've used the extra space by having empty dishes cleared away. The girl who wasn't serving our side of the room seemed nice she at least said thank you for coming. OVERALL: food was good, but service wasn't all that. I mean I understand working as a server isn't the most glamorous position but it's what you agreed to do. Or maybe there is a lack of training or maybe servers don't get the tips so they have no incentive to be attentive. I don't know for sure but this was my experience here.
(3)Isabelle K.
It's the best Japanese restaurant in Silicon Valley. I ordered calpico( a type of yogurt soda), Uni pon and Chirashi. They have the best Uni I ever had. It doesn't have the ocean flavor. And it's so creamy. I totally loved it! It's crowded, so the service is a little bit slow.
(5)Alex P.
I love this place. Very fresh sashimi. Friendly staff. Good environment. If you're in the area and you're craving for authentic Japanese; try this place out. You won't regret it.
(5)Ames A.
OMG, duck steak with mash potatoes (~15$) is AMAZING! friends tell me its too salty, but its perfect for me! Fish is cooked well and always fresh, sushi rice is perfectly cooked, a little sour a little sweet, perfectly tender. A new favorite.... I wish I could keep it to myself because it gets busy sometimes but its just so good it feels like a crime keeping it a secret... Anyhow, plaza gets busy, there is a second parking lot in the back.. when you get out of the parking lot on Bolinger Rd make a right when facing the street then immediate right into the back of the plaza.. most people don't know so they just circle the parking lot..
(5)Kevin J.
I came here with my family for dinner. I've been here the past two years a couple of times, and I will say that the quality seems to decrease each time but I still consider it one of the top sushi spots in Cupertino. The Food - We ordered a couple of their specialities that were recommended: 1. Seafood Nachos: Quite an innovative concept. First time I've seen seen this done before and pretty nicely executed. There are fried nacho chips on the bottom, seafood, and then topped with some seaweed salad on the top. 2. Zig Zag Roll: One of their most highly recommended rolls. We've ordered this every time we come to Gokaku and aren't disappointed. The outside is wrapped not with seaweed, but rather some type of green material. I've never actually asked them what it is, but quite an interesting twist to traditional seaweed. 3. Maguro Poke: This is a really cool seafood salad which actually reminds me of poke salads you can get in Hawaii. There are large chunks of tuna interspersed with seaweed salad, other dark greens and wrapped with two long pieces of sliced cucumber. A great presentation and nice blending of flavors of sesame oil and vinegar. 4. Tropical Crunch Roll: Albacore in the middle and salmon on the outside with mango sauces. Smooth roll with interesting textures within the roll. 5. Carbonara Style Mentaiko Kimchi Udon: Hot stone udon with pork, kimchi and cod roe. Different from some f the heavier Japanese udons that I've had and also a touch of spice as well. Really thick and creamy soup that I quite enjoyed. Service: A couple of complaints about the service. I think part of it might be due to the fact they're understaffed. It was nearly impossible to get any waiter or waitress's attention when we wanted to pay the bill or do order. Overall, I'd still recommend a visit as they have authentic Japanese cuisine. At the price point though, I would have expected slightly better service.
(4)Jessica L.
Must try items: Volcano - I was pleasantly surprised, but make sure you love spicy. This has sriracha in it, which I hate, but still enjoyed this dish. It is literally like a giant volcano. Never had anything like this before. Average items: Kamo Nanban Udon - Udon with seared duck. Nothing special. Seafood Nachos - Smooshed spicy tuna on 4 fried wonton chips, thought it was overpriced and flavors were not unique. Don't try items: Carbonara Style Mentaiko Kimchi Udon - Apparently this is one of their "most popular dishes", but can I just say that the "broth" is basically CURDLED heavy cream? It was wayyy too thick. This may be good for a large party if you just want a taste, but I would not recommend ordering this by yourself.
(3)Thien B.
Secret Shrimp: Amazing Grilled Beef Tongue: Very Good Hamachi Garlic Steak: Amazing Salmon and Hamachi Sashimi: Amazing (very fatty) Black sesame ice cream with red bean: Good Good effective service
(5)Buffy M.
Met some friends for dinner here the other night. It was empty when we got there, but the place definitely filled up. We ordered a variety of items, tataki, duck, hand rolls, hamachi kama. Everything was good. There's wasn't any "oh my gosh this is amazing" moments, but it was all very good. A little on the pricey side, but for good food, I am okay with that.
(3)Sandy Y.
My friend and I decided on coming here last minute, and I am so glad we did. This place is located in the plaza where tin tin market was, a place I used to frequent often with my mom when I was young. So when I was trying to get to the restaurant, I actually drove by this plaza because I didn't think it was in there! After I finally found it, I was so surprised that it was there! I had been to this plaza a million times and never even noticed it! We ordered the appetizer, kani cream croquette.. and it was very unique! It is basically fried mashed potatoes with crab and crab cream! It's also listed under the popular items on the menu. Upon reading this, the potato- lover inside of me was sold. These definitely did not disappoint! We also shared a plate of salmon sashimi, which was good.. as sashimi usually is. I'm not very good at telling sashimi quality... so.. to me it was good? haha ;P And there were a lot of pieces too! Definitely a good amount for two people to share. We also shared another plate, which was recommended to us by the waitress.. DUCK STEAK! AND oh my goodness.. it was absolutely divine. The meat slices had just the perfect amount of fat, so tender, so delicious.. just melted in your mouth.... droool *__* oh yeah, and it was served with mashed potatoes (YES). The meat pieces were just marinating in this unique sweet ish sauce.. that was just delicious. I definitely recommend this dish if you couldn't tell already. And it's good for sharing too! Lots of pieces of duck steak. OH YEAH,... and one of the best parts? (in my opinion).. everything here is presented SO BEAUTIFULLY. They really take the time to combine food with art here, serving their food on long artistic plates and really adding little details to take their food to the next level. Don't judge the place by the outside!! I definitely want to come back here and try more of their things.. perhaps the sushi and other tapas.
(4)Vanessa L.
Went on a weeknight after work and there was no wait. We got there right when it opened and got seated right away. We started off with a couple of appetizers - both were delicious and well presented: - Iidako Kara-Age (fried baby octopus) - Agedashi Tofu For entrees we got: - Sashimi combo - Chirashi Sushi Both the sashimi and sushi were really fresh and melted in your mouth like butter. Would definitely come back to this place.
(4)Kai Y.
At first I was a bit skeptical about going to this place because there was no one in the restaurant when we got there. I'm so happy we didn't leave! The food was good and the staff was very nice. We tried the volcano and it was HUGE. I love the salmon roll underneath the pile of crunchy tempura flakes! Just the right amount of crunch. Their taro chips are good but can be better. I think it would be better if it was served warm. It wasn't bad at all. I would go back to try their other dishes!
(4)Stephen C.
One of the better tasting sushi I've had in San Jose. I don't know too many places that offer such a robust and fresh menu. Pros: sashimi was super fresh and extremely soft. I was impressed by the searing action done on the salmon. The sukiyaki rice was pretty than expected. Is it me or does it remind anyone of a Bi Bim Bap bowl? The decor was cool. I liked the "blinds" style divider to separate (lunch and dinner parties). Cons: the only con to this place and I am reluctant to say this is the service. I don't know if they are under staffed, hired a new guy, or just plain bad. Granted, we did come during a lunch rush around 12pm however we waited 35 mins for our first dish to come out and it was the main entree. They skipped our first 2 appetizer. 60mins after seating our appetizer comes out. It was extremely difficult waving down a waiter or waitress to get some water. Took 2 hours for everything to come out. Overall: the service was not on par in terms of timeliness. HOWEVER this is a testament to how good the food is. Will be returning. Recommended. Kinda pricey.
(4)Susann M.
Had lunch with my family weekday. The lunch special is out of this world. You can get 3 big Mackerel fish fillets with rice, salad, and potatoes salad with miso soup for $10. But the best one are the hot stone menu. I had kimchee Cabonero and beef sukiyaki. Not your typical sukiyaki. The flavor here is pretty heavy on salt and sugar. If you don't like too much flavor; please tell them to put less salt & sugar. Sashimi Combination is only $25 for 25 pieces of raw salmon, tuna, halibut. I love Hawiian poki tuna salad. 6 big lunch entrees, 4 Appertizer, 1 salad, and 1 dessert came out $150. That's not bad for japanese tapas. When I go other tapas spot it's easily $250 and up. The most was $400 I had ever witness.
(5)Pauly C.
This place is delicious! Not quite sure why they only have 3.5 star. Everything we had was an explosion of flavor in our mouths. Salmon lover roll was great. Texture was very pleasurable. Seafood nacho was flavorful and smooth. The kakuni is a must order. The pork was cooked just right. After eating the pork and egg I slurped up all the sauce. The tori momo was great when paired when a bowl of rice, very flavorful and if you like garlic flavor, this was great. Service is good, they were very nice. Sorry no pic, I ate it all too fast.
(5)Selina S.
Came here upon the recommendation of a friend, and not going to lie, I was a little disappointed by the quality of the sushi here. The place: The restaurant was quite hidden in a rather "abandoned-looking" plaza. The restaurant was pretty dim and had an overall "lethargic" feel to the atmosphere... :( Not sure if it was because it was raining on the day we went, but the place definitely didn't help lighten up the mood. The eats: Before we got our food, my friend (a Cupertino native) claimed this was one of the best sushi joints in Cupertino, so between the two of us, we ordered two rolls: soy paper roll and lion king. I think i was more intrigued by the idea of the roll than the roll itself, because I thought the dish was only so-so. :\ We thought ordering the lion king was a pretty safe option, considering that it's a very popular/generic dish. When the dish arrived, it honestly looked so unappetizing that neither of us wanted to touch it... California roll topped with limpy, half-baked pieces of salmon was definitely not the Lion King we were expecting. The service: Apparently, this place changed management recently so that's why many of their older menu items were not available anymore. But in all honesty, I was not impressed and even slightly annoyed by the service at this restaurant. My friend used to frequent this restaurant, so when he complained about the declining quality of the rolls here, he brought up the fact that it used to be much better. The waitress was clearly not too happy when she heard it, but she was apologetic to our faces. However, when she went to the back and told his complaint to her manager, her manager (along with her and another waiter) started pointing fingers and giving us nasty looks (uh, excuse me lady, you're not being discrete, i can SEE you talking about us!! -_-!) Overall, very poor service, will not return in the future.
(1)Paul P.
Warning- don't go here with an expectation of timely service. It was horrendous today. And I remember the last time we had issues as well. Sat down at 11:55am and it is now 12:47pm; still waiting to get the "lunch special" after they initially brought the wrong special out after waiting :30 for that. Okay, mistakes happen, that would be tolerable but we had wave down the servers multiple times just to get their attention. In fact, if the server had just bothered to ask if we were interested in taking the sushi special we would have. They did make up for it in the end and hopefully will get better.
(2)Joyce L.
Good place for Japanese foods. The Uni is my favorite. ZigZag roll is just so so, I will pass. The butaniku is tasty. Lion King roll is good but just doesn't taste like normal one. Again, highly recommend for the Uni nigiri! Lose one star because of the service. The lady makes me annoying, and I asked for a spoon in the very beginning of the dinner but never got it. Almost nobody serviced.
(4)Teresa D.
Overall atmosphere was good. Place was clean and cozy. Crowded seating but there's separation. Food was surprisingly good in terms of their cooked items. Sashimi was acceptable and fresh but not top grade. Service was great.
(4)Tina N.
Goooooookaku! Doesn't that sound like a street fighter move? Hehe. I know I'm a dork. My 400th review! I'm going to make this real good and sweet. Maybe not short though! Ordered: - Seafood Nachos $7.95 - Boom $7.95 - Salmon Lover $15.95 - Carbonara Style Mentaiko Kimchi Udon $12.95 Tina's Tricks and Ticks - Total for this deliciousness was $48.72 - I would recommend to be on the safe side to put a reservation, I'm sure they do open table, I don't remember - Place is incognito! I barely found out about this place a couple months ago on yelp. - Small parking lot, but enough to park on this plaza - Seafood nachos crunchy fried goodness with spicy tuna and seaweed salad, a must get - Boom was tasty with the spicy crab mixed with the avocado inside the fried tofu skins - Salmon heaven with the salmon roll: outside is the seared salmon with salmon roe and skin. Inside is the spicy salmon with avocado. - I see why carbonara udon is popular! It's a hot stone with stir fried udon that includes pork, kimchi, and cod roe in this very heavy creamy sauce - My third time here and I usually always order the takoyaki but my friend doesn't really like it... And she's Japanese. I, on the other hand, loveeeee it! Not many restaurants carry the octopus balls. - Definitely a gem in this city and close by home Japanese tapas like Gochi. :)
(4)Kelly T.
I'm trying to get all my bookmarks checked off and I finally got to fill myself with wonderful Japanese tapas. After much review of the photos and menu on Yelp (MANY hours of studying), I decided on trying the Volcano Roll, Pork Belly w Egg, Sashimi Combo, Seafood Pancake and the Hamachi Garlic Steak. I'm a roll girl so obviously my favorite dish was the Volcano Roll and it was so large it could easily be an meal on its own. I also very much enjoyed the Pork Belly dish; this is a must try for every newcomer. Service was friendly and efficient and they had a decent sake list as well. Can't wait to go back and try some more dishes!
(5)Jeffrey P.
Love the food here, but the sushi bar is GONE! I don't know whether the chef is hiding in the kitchen or is on vacation but the sushi bar appears to now be turning into a drinks bar. Service very slow (and occasionally wrong). But the food was still delicious!
(3)Alex N.
I come here quite a bit and thoroughly enjoy my visit each time. The servers are super nice and patient and the food comes quickly. The sizes for each food item are definitely on the larger side so you feel you get your money's worth. Many of the rolls do come with quite a bit of sauce already so no need to dip them in soy sauce and wasabi. Something I like about this place is they don't just have sushi rolls so you can get fish filet, steak pieces, rice, soup dishes, etc.
(4)Yunzhu C.
Quiet restaurant with good service. Just I didn't order the right food for me. I don't like fried things and raw tuna, but we ordered volcano roll; I don't like creamy stuff, but we ordered that creamy udon. Only japanese seafood pancake is something I feel like eating tonight, but I am like korean seafood pancake better. Anyway will try this place again with different food.
(3)Jacqueline N.
This is more of a 3.5 rating The 2nd time I went here, it was relatively empty, maybe only about 2-3 other tables, so they had plenty open. My friend and I got seated at a teeny table for two. I would totally understand if it were busier, but why not seat us at a larger table? I asked to move, to a larger one since I knew their plates take up a lot of room. Here's a few things we ordered The volcano roll: Holy shit this was huge, no wonder it's $15-$20. It's literally a giant plate with a mound of sushi with tons of toppings. Great to try if you're with a larger party Carbonara Udon: This was pretty unique, it was a cream based udon with meat and veggies. It comes in a heated pot on wood base with tongs. If you're looking for something out of the ordinary I'd suggest this. I really wish it had uni or cod roe in it though. Takoyaki: Lightly fried, super creamy inside with a piece of octopus. The sauce they used was good as well. Plated nicely on a skinny white ceramic. Hamachi garlic steak: This was flavorful, especially with the crispy element for texture. However there weren't many pieces of protein. Overall this is a nice place to try Japanese tapas, it's not the most unique, but still tastey
(4)Linh N.
Carbonara Udon was amazing... came here to eat a couple of days after I got my wisdom teeth extracted. Still found it a bit difficult to eat solid food so I to-go'd half of my udon. When I came home I found a men's hair in it. :( Not sure if I'll be coming back...
(2)Tony S.
Excuse me if my review sounds sloppy. I just woke up from a major food coma I got from eating here. Their dishes hit the spot so good it knocked the f@*k outta me for a while. They had a whole variety of dishes to choose from - authentic sushi, juicy steaks to Asian fusion, all of them had bad-ass flavors and the best part was that they were priced just right. DUDE, IKA JAGA BUTTERRR IS DANGEROUSLY GOOD. Dining at this joint will make the whole party leaving happy. Just make sure you assign a DD cuz you ain't leaving without a coma.
(5)Lian M.
What the **** why's the service so horrible?? I've been here 5 times or so and it gets worse each time! Today I went with a friend, arrived at 12PM. We ordered the Chef's roll and Lion King roll. Chef's Roll came out after half an hour, Lion king roll came out after AN HOUR. The employees kept saying sorry and gave us complimentary edamame but that doesn't make up for the damn long wait. By the time we left, it was just us and another table eating at the restaurant. Go here if you have 2 hours to kill. Also, no checking up if we need more water or tea.
(2)Michael W.
Busy and not friendly if you don't have a reservations. We had a reservation for 10 and we arrived and had 11. The guy just about had a fit and said they didn't have anyone chairs. And the place was half empty at the time. We were there right when they opened at 6pm. He went to talk to someone and they reluctantly found a chair. Maybe they're not friendly if you're not a Japanese national. All that being said the food was ok but not great. All the food came and the we had 3 rolls the came 20 minutes after the rest of the food.
(2)Tom L.
The food here is gross... like watching two fat guidos making out on the Jersey Shore... yeah it's really that bad. I had high hopes for Gokaku. Driving up to its location in a random strip mall in Cupertino I felt like I was stumbling upon a gem. Little did I realize I was about to walk into the worst meal I've had in months. I've been trying to eat healthier, so I ordered the tekka don ($18.95). Thankfully I came here with one of my best friends, because our food took about 45 minutes to come to our table so we had plenty of time to catch up, do our taxes, and take a nap before it was time to eat. When the food arrived it looked beautiful, but tasted like hell. The cuts of tuna were absolutely butchered. Apparently the sushi chef decided to try out his butter knife that day. Worst of all, the sashimi was lukewarm. There is something extremely off putting about the taste of warm sushi. Your brain instantly tells you that you are making a grave mistake, it's like reaching down to grab something that fell into the garbage disposal ... even when it's off your brain is telling you this is a very, very bad call. I normally don't care about service. As long as the food is good, I can forgive inattentive or impolite staff. But when the food tastes like garbage and the service sucks? That's when you know you've found something special, the most overrated sushi restaurant in the South Bay. Congrats Gokaku, your certificate of fail is in the mail, feel free to post it on the wall.
(1)Kristin C.
Not bad, but I slightly prefer the selection and variety at Gochi and Dan for Izakaya. I would come back though to try more dishes on the menu. Gokaku has more of a modern twist to their dishes and some of them are quite creative, especially in term of presentation. We tried the Maguro Poke, Zig Zag Roll, Croquette and Aigamo Duck Steak which were all pretty good. I love duck so this was probably my favorite. I wasn't the biggest fan of the Zig Zag Roll. I am a big fan of fried soft shell crab, but it was smothered in too much sauce for my liking.
(4)Ted W.
I'm not giving this one-star rating lightly. The food here is actually not bad, but my experience today at this establishment made me not want to come here again. Long story short, I waited almost 45 minutes for my lunch order, and the restaurant didn't even have that many people in it. The wait staff was also less than helpful when I asked how long it would take (this was at the 30 minute mark).
(1)Frank L.
I thought Gochi was the SPOT for japanese fusion tapas in cupertino... WRONG! Gokaku is FRIGGIN LEGIT Recommendations: Aigamo Steak (Duck): Flavorful and very tender...I had it at Gochi as well and found it just decent...after i had it here i just knew THIS IS HOW ITS DONE... Buta Kanuni & Hanjuku Tamago(Japanese Style Braised Pork & half boiled egg) : JUST GET IT Hamachi Garlic Steak (Grilled Hamachi): DO IT Cucumber Salad thingy...: id hit it again Seafood Nachos: good but BETTER TAPAS IN THE SEA On a serious note...sashimi was alrite...rolls were alrite as well...nuthin super mega extraordinary...i think my least fav one was the Seared Yaki Roll...My suggestion if u come here is to stick wit the tapas and get less o the traditional japanese stuff...
(4)Ai L.
So when I asked my sister what's new in town, she mentioned this Japanese restaurant. We like to check out the various Japanese tapa places in the neighborhood. OH DANG, FUN STUFF! even my niece (2yr old) likes it. Zigzag roll + rainbow roll + hokke + nikusoba+shabu shabu salad super full for 2 adults + 1 2year-old The zigzag roll was a cooked sushi roll with soy wrap, which i never had before. I thought it was interesting to try, but I don't think I will order it again. however, the table next to us seemed to love it. Rainbow roll, the sashimi was fresh, but i won't say it was out of the ordinary. We wanna try super roll next time. (apparently super roll has the same filling as zigzag roll but coated with sashimi instead of soy wrap). the grilled mackerel was DELICIOUS! cooked just right, and not toooooo salty. even my niece loved it! she kept on asking for more. The shabu shabu salad was delicious too. i don't think I had a bad shabu shabu salad yet in the south bay at these Japanese tapa restaurants. the dressing they use is just yummy! my niece loved the nikusoba too. it actually has some mushroom and seaweed in the soup too. I had a little bit of her food. definitely recommend it! can't wait to go back and try the other dishes!!! the only thing is that, it's small and not a lot of servers. service could be kinda slow at times. but it's okay, i'll wait for the yum yum food.
(4)Ruby M.
It's a small place. There's definitely not a lot of room for personal space. We sat at a table for 2 with a divider right next to another table of two. The divider doesn't help with privacy or creating a personal space if that's what they were trying to do. Service was OK. I had to ask to order drinks and food. They didn't seem to like to approach you to ask if you need anything or want anything. But once you get their attention, it's really quick. Food was GOOD. Fresh produce (salad), sashimi was good, seafood pancake was delicious. If they had a better layout of the place and a cleaner restroom, I'd definitely give it another star.
(3)S N.
We went on a Tuesday night, after hearing high recommendations from a couple of different folks. We arrived at 6pm right when it opened. Other reviews say try to get there right when it opens because it could get crowded, we didn't have that problem. When we were seated another party of 8 people had just arrived. The waitress seemed friendly enough, she asked if we wanted any drinks, we asked for water and tea. We'd looked at the menu while in the car so we had an idea of what to get when we arrived. The drinks came soon enough but she brought us one cup of water and one cup of tea...there were 2 of us. I don't know, but i thought it would make sense to bring each diner water at least. We placed our order, volcano roll ($13.95), zig zag roll ($9.95), age somen ankake (fried noodle $11) and spider roll ($9.95). The folks that had recommended this place said it was good, but did not make specific recommendations. Maybe our mistake was in ordering mostly rolls. The zig zag was first to arrive, and we asked for a second glass of water. We ate the zig zag roll, pretty basic, nothing special. No water. Then the volcano roll arrived, it was this giant plate of sauce, fried crunchy bits, and buried deep below was the roll. The hot sauce that surrounded the plate seriously tasted like the hot sauce from Taco Bell. If you don't believe me, go try it. In addition to the hot sauce is this mayo sauce that drenched the plate. My dining companion took a huge scoop, and began to eat. She paused and pulled a long thread of what looked and felt like a piece from a steel wool sponge. This stopped our dinner. We signaled for the waitress, she took the piece of steel wool and went to investigate. After a few minutes she came back and explained that it may have been from the kitchen, and said we would not be charged for the dish. Still no water. The noodles came, they were a bit heavy with black pepper, and for $11 I would expect more that TWO shrimp in the whole dish. Geez...come on! The finally the spider roll, nothing worth writing about. Finally I stopped the other wait staff and asked for 2 glasses of water. Water, finally. After we paid and got up to leave, I noticed the wait staff refilling the glasses of water and tea at the only other table in the place. Summary: - Wait staff seems friendly, but not very attentive. - One dish had steel wool in it, but we were not charged for it. - The rest of the food was fine, but was nothing outstanding. - Volcano roll hot sauce tastes like Taco Bell hot sauce.
(2)Kattz M.
Service: This place is highly disorganized starting from the wait list down to where we got seated. We were literally ignored for 30 mins. and handed us the menu not until after 30 mins. (For a two top.) The servers are like headless chickens don't know which table to go first. Food: Takoyaki ---best appetizer I've had. Sashimi salad---I've had better. Tempura udon---very good, portion is just right. Rainbow roll was very good. Chef roll was good. Kani creme croquette---forgettable. Okonomiyake pancake tasted very good. Hamachi garlic steak---very, very good. Gindara Miso Zuke sauce was good but a lot of fish bones. Unagi don was good. Mochi green tea ice cream---good. Overall, food is decent. The only thing that we won't come back anytime soon is the lousy service (this wasn't our first time.) Once the server or the food runner drops the food to our table, we are left on our own. No refills of water and hot tea. Difficult for us to flag down the servers when the floor is busy. Sigh.
(2)Jennie C.
Ordered the takoyaki, zig zag, unagi donburi, ika jaga butter yaki, salmon yagi onigiri, and four slices of sake (salmon) nigiri. The takoyaki was delicious, and I enjoyed the unagi donburi. I felt the salmon yagi onigiri could have a little more flavor (the one at Tanto is much better). The ika jaga butter yaki was cooked nicely and the ika wasn't tough. I didn't enjoy the zigzag as much as I felt the flavors were covered by the excessive amount of mayo. Also, the rice was a little too sticky for my liking. This place is super popular but I feel like the food quality has room to improve; also, as it seems everyone else is a huge fan...maybe consistency? Service was great and people were attentive - reservations were quick and painless to make.
(3)Brian L.
good food but bad service . come closing time we were rudely pushed out by the "manager" George because it was closing time. So fellow yelpers beware of the sub par service here .
(2)Michael W.
The restaurant is run by real Japanese people, which is nice. That means I get to practice my Japanese. It's located in a quiet strip mall in the middle of residential Cupertino. I got the Carbonara Udon, Seafood Nachos, and the Duck Steak. Seafood Nachos are good but they are definitely meant to be shared. 4 is too much for one person. I think 1-2 is the perfect amount. Duck Steak was great! It was juicy and flavorful. Comes with mashed potatoes, mushrooms, and 2 chips. Carbonara Udon is very tasty as well. I couldn't actually finish this because the portion was pretty large. Very friendly service and prompt to refill tea and respond to other needs. Overally, quite good with a nice atmosphere, but portions are too generous to be considered tapas!
(4)Annie S.
YUM!!!! I really enjoyed my rolls here. They were packed so well (I don't have to be scared about my piece slipping into the soy sauce / wasabi), and they tasted delicious. My boyfriend and I got 3 rolls and shared them, and we were both very satisfied and full afterwards! One of the cons of this restaurant is the wait. I noticed some tables around us getting impatient... so I suggest you come here if you're not starving and not limited on time!
(4)Peter W.
Not only was my server a creepy looking dude, the sushi here is bad. Despite giving somewhat large rolls (TGI sized) it's quite costly. I tried the volcano, which is a glorified spicy tuna roll with a crap ton of panko crumbs tossed on top and formed into a volcano like peak. It was awkward to fish out the sushi pieces, the idea of the volcano roll looks quite disgusting and unappealing. Furthermore this glorified spicy tuna roll cost 20 dollars ($15 worth of panko crumbs?). The "spicy" sauce they used on many of the spicy rolls that we got taste like Tapatio--WTF?????. Although I can't speak for the tapas and other cooked foods though, but it's unlikely that I'll be going back. There are plenty more alternatives that come to mind. So much for trying something new. I'll stick with Tanto, Sumiya for tapas and Yuki for sushi.
(2)Anna M.
Had bookmarked this place awhile ago and finally found the time to swing by. I had high expectations for this place considering the great reviews and all the "thumbs up" on the menu. When I first walked in with my love, we were not greeted right away nor were we acknowledged. Stood for a good 2 minutes or so before someone came with 2 menus to seat us. Sucks because they weren't even THAT busy. Took awhile to figure out what we wanted since the menu was never ending... a was bit much. What we ordered: Aigamo Steak (duck steak with mashed potato) - $12.95 the duck was very tough and dry.. the only good part about this dish was the mashed potatoes. Secret Shrimp (deep fried shrimp tossed in chef's creamy ponzu sauce) - $6.95 I don't really understand the hype about this. Yes, the sauce is good... but the batter of the shrimp is not even crunchy AT ALL... deep fried should always have a good crunch and some texture to it.. this was a complete fail. KaraAge (fried chicken) - $5.95 popcorn chicken.. can't really go wrong with that. It was so bland I had to keep dipping it in the sauce of the secret shrimp. Didn't really order much because nothing stood out to us... that was a first. In all I was pretty let down by this place. It wasn't bad, but definitely not a meal to remember. I felt sick afterwards too :(
(2)Lily V.
The place is small and traditional looking. The fish is real fresh. The rolls are delicious. The customer service is very prompt and nice, but they are very strict about changing their rolls. I wanted to add cucumbers into my Alaska roll, and he had to go talk to the chef for a good five minutes. I would totally recommend it and come back.
(4)Angela W.
Holy crap, we got an unreal amount of food for 3 people. maguro poke nasi dengaku carbonara kimchi udon zigzag roll volcano roll duck steak salmon rice ball This amounted to about $90, and how we finished most of it, I have no idea, but I certainly had issues rolling around afterward.... I actually thought everything was quite satisfying, despite reading mixed reviews. The rice ball was nothing to write home about, but the maguro poke came with a lot of tuna, was well seasoned, fresh, and tasty. Nasi dengaku was ok, a little on the sweet side. The carbonara kimchi udon - sounds so weird- but tasted so good! And normally I'm a little averse to udon since it's so thick and chewy. But it's a great creamy texture, and not too overwhelmingly rich. One of my favorites for the night. Zigzag roll - I love soft shell crab so it was good, but I would say ease up a little on the mayo (actually chefs special sauce, but whatever). Volcano roll = INTENSE. be prepared if you are going to get this. It is a lot of food and it has a funny spicy sauce over the top that we are convinced is the taco bell fire sauce from down the street. Duck steak - so good - but I'm also biased and pretty much love anything involving duck. My main complaint here is that as an izakaya style restaurant, they really need to make portions smaller and cheaper, so you can try more things without stuffing yourself and spending a fortune. All in all, a pretty good meal.
(4)Sophie Y.
I came here with a friend on a weekday (no wait!) and when we got seated, the waiter handed up menus and a "picture book" which I was really excited about. It didn't have pictures of everything on the menu but it did have pictures of a lot of the popular items. Unfortunately, that made deciding on our food really difficult because everything looked really good! We ended up getting the takoyaki to share. It came with 6 takoyaki, which were pretty good. It was a bit less fried than other takoyaki I have tried but it was still crispy on the outside and really soft on the inside. Yum :) I also got the Titanic roll, which was pretty massive. It was tempura shrimp and crab stuff in the roll, topped with hamachi/salmon/tuna, roe, and seaweed salad. The fish here was really fresh and the pieces of fish that they top the sushi rolls with are larger and thicker than most other sushi places. It was a lot of food, I ended up just eating the fish off the last few pieces of my roll because I was too full to finish the rest of it. The roll was kind of salty though, I drank a lot of water throughout the meal. This place is pretty quiet.. I was eating here with a friend and I felt like everybody in the restaurant could hear us talking because it was so quiet! Plus side was that it wasn't crowded at all so we sat at our table and talked for while after we had finished eating. I think the prices here are a bit higher than other places, but it's worth it! Good fish and pretty good portion sizes too :)
(4)Albert W.
First order Octopus karrage - 3.5* Sweet shrimp ( ran out) Spicy scallop sushi - 4* Tuna and avocado roll -3.5* Second order Agedashi tofu - 4.5* Original gokaku cocktail ( ran out special ingredient) Overall, sushi was good. Rice has the right firmness and they don't fall apart when the sushi was picked up. The two items that ran out was a bit disappointing. One being their signature cocktail and a common fresh raw sweet shrimp. The deep fried dishes are good as well but would like to have sauce on the karrage.
(3)Evangeline W.
Great place and always a surprise! I've been here twice and am definitely a fan: 1.Carbonara Style Mentaiko & Kimchi Udon (stir fried udon marinated with kimchi, cream & cod roe) 2.Maguro Poki (hawaiian style tuna, scallion, onion,tomato & seaweed salad) 3. Super Roll (soft shell crab,tobiko, scallion rolled in soy wrap in chef's original ziggy sauce and topped with assorted fish 4. Volcano (spicy tuna & tempura jalapeno topped with fresh salmon, avocado, crab mix, tobiko, crunch tempura flakes & scallion in chef's original spicy sauce) My friend and I were delightfully surprised by the Volcano. We were expecting a big. spicy roll, but this huge plate comes with rolls hidden underneath tempura flakes! A+ for presentation and color! Service was friendly and fast. I would suggest getting reservations. We came here on a Saturday night and luckily we came right at 6PM and were able to be seated right away since there were only 2 of us. However, the line formed immediately after us.
(4)Max P.
Pretty nice place A bit out of the way though All the food is pretty high quality I had a great time here Great for a weeknight dinner
(4)Alice L.
The BBD roll is fantastic - I get it everytime. Instead of seaweed, a green soy wrap is used and deep fried so that it almost tastes like a slightly sweet donut. It doesn't hurt that it comes with scrumptious scallops either. All the rolls I've tried were tastefully conceived; it's just that this one is more unique. The appetizers are not worth it to me. The secret shrimp, seafood nachos, takoyaki, and okonomiyaki were disappointments but they tasted fresh albeit bland and served in miniscule portions. The Buta Kakuni was tender but flavorless, but then again I'm not a fan of braised pork since it has so much fat in chunks and at this point in the meal, I was already feeling like I ate too much grease. The Duck steak was amazing. The sauce was so savory that I was even able to eat the mushrooms that it came with even though I usually despise those mushrooms with a passion. The mashed potatoes were chunky and it came with crispy bits of fried stuff. It tasted like an Asian fusion dish but extremely well executed. The service was prompt and they refilled our waters religiously. We experienced a mild confusion in the beginning when two waitresses both tried to take our orders, with one listing their specials for more than 5 minutes when we were starving.
(4)Jennifer W.
He knows that I love Japanese food and especially I love Japanese tapas. It's a small restaurant and I have to say the food was pretty darn good! We had the udon noodles in carbonara style mentaiko-kimchi udon was damn amazing! Who would have thought? LOL! The chef's choice appetizer-sashimi in a cucumber wrapped bowl had fruit dressing too (it was okay). We also had the kani cream croquette-yummy! Pictures will be posted later. Thanks hun! You're the best!
(4)Chris L.
This place is on Bollinger and Blaney where the old school Tin Tin Supermarket used to be (the only Chinese supermarket before Marina and 99 ranch popped up!). It's on the side with all the little shops next to the drycleaners. I called 20 minutes before we were supposed to get there and they were able to reserve a spot. The inside is a bit stuffy and dark with separators between the tables (like at Korean bars). It gives it more of a Asian tapas restaurant feel than just having the area open. The only problem is flagging a person down between the separators and curtains and what not. The waiter was gracious but had a heavy Japanese accent, which made the experience more authentic. He recommended the sushi nachos (the fish that goes into the onigiri is on a large white corn paper thin nacho - four nachos for $7.95 ($2 per nacho!)), duck steak with mashed potatoes (tender and well-cooked, was a little too oily - $14.50 for about eight small pieces) and Zigzag roll that had soft shell crab in a green soy wrap (too much white rice stuffed in there - $9.95 for a huge roll of rice). The flavors are not delicate here, but I can see why kids up to mid-twenties people like to eat here. Service was good, but they forgot our toro nigiri so minus one star for that and minus one star for the food.
(3)Vivian L.
I wouldn't recommend ordering sushi rolls here at Gokaku. They were honestly way too big and a bit overwhelming. The Firecracker was seriously SPICY due to the jalepenos on top. The Titanic Roll was good, never tried a roll with the combination of spicy tuna and seaweed salad. But there was seriously so much stuff on the sushi roll that it made my apetite slim down. I also ordered the Chefs Roll which I didn't enjoy, but I usually never like baked sushi rolls... As the rolls were a bit disappointing, the Chirashi was good (had a cool presentation)...or I would rather say bitter sweet. The sashimi portion was great, but the rice tasted so off...the rice wasn't overly unpleasant but wasn't really enjoyable either.. I looked over to the other table and their food looked AMAZING. I should have went with my gut instinct to lean towards the Tapas side of Gokaku and not the sushi. I dont know why but I'm just not drawn to this place so I will probably not visit again anytime soon. But when I do, I will focus on the tapas and maybe my review for Gokaku will bump up to four stars...
(3)Kioko O.
I went back today for dinner with a friend. They still have 8% off if you pay by cash. No hassle this time around. Great! I ordered that Carbonara Style Mentaiko-Kimchi Udon (stir fried udon with kimchi and cod roe in creamy sauce; $10.95) once again! Yumm! Also great was the Tofu Salad (organic mixed green salad topped with tofu; $5.50) and Kani Cream Croquet (fried mashed potatoes and crab roll with crab cream; $7.50). I didn't get to order the rolls but they look great (looking from other tables). I will try them when I return there next time.
(4)Phuong T.
Gokaku is located in a small, Asian plaza. Parking is not ample, but it's not tough to find, either. The restaurant itself is small, size feels similar to Orenchi's. We had a reservation here and were seated promptly. Service in general was good. Since it was our first time there, we wanted to try a ton of things and started ordering 1 of everything from the "most popular items" menu. Thank god our server suggested we order less because 10 items for 4 people was probably overdoing it, lol. The food was pretty great. Fish is pretty fresh. I enjoyed most of their dishes in the popular items menu, especially the zig zag roll. The firecracker roll is great for spice lovers. Pass on the croquette. My only other advice is to avoid trying to order everything on the popular items menu as your meal will get too heavy without some veggies or greens in there. :P
(4)Eva G.
Really unimpressed. Food was mediocre and service was friendly but slow and inattentive. Waited half an hour for a tea refill, and to get the check. Also, the kitchen smells greasy and the smell penetrates the restaurant, my clothes and hair smelled like a deep fryer after I left! Also my stomach hurt after I left and still does.
(1)John J.
I LOVE IT!! I had the Chef's Roll, the Super Roll, and the iidako (baby octopus) for appetizer. Gokaku is authentic Japanese food that you can share. Ordering off the top ten menu is recommended. The Chef's Roll and the Super Roll are a harmony of flavors and textures dancing on the palette. The Super Roll is really big and is topped with different color tobiko. Not only was the presentation awesome, it was om nom nom delicious. If I could eat this every week, I would be super happy.
(5)Lisa S.
Amazing food! The spare ribs were very tasty and melted in the mouth. The gratins with crab and corn was very enjoyable. The green tea brûlée was a perfect end to a great meal. Service was good - they were very busy - but the waitress kept our waters filled and checked up on us often but without intruding. The sake we had was very smooth and tasty. We will definitely be back! Side note - make reservations! We arrived at 6:45 and waited an hour.
(5)Junghae L.
I made a reservation at 6:30pm on Sunday for 6 people. The person who took my call messed up time and set it up at 7:30pm. When we arrived and told them I made a reservation at 6:30pm, two servers there kept on repeating "I didn't take your call" in a very defensive manner. They said they would make a table for us but didn't do anything after that. Eventually, the store manager came and he asked us to wait until the other party finished their dinner and started to ask the other party when they would finish their dinner. We decided to leave when we heard this. Anyone can make a mistake but sincere apology with the gesture of taking responsibility can ease the situation. I was extremely annoyed by their irresponsible behavior by saying "I am not the one who took your call" and "Let me make your table" when there is no table available at all. Unless you can happily tolerate annoying service with irresponsible behavior, avoid this restaurant.
(1)Samantha P.
I eat a whole lot of sushi, and I gotta say this is probably my favorite place thus far ! Sashimi is fresh, rolls are innovative and wholesome. Zig Zag roll, Chef's Roll are cooked rolls which I don't usually like but these were AMAZEBALLS. Super Roll was really super because it was like a cooked roll with fresh-ass sashimi on top. UGH so good. Went here 2 weekends in a row. Ordered Takoyaki first time, it was okay, shared with boyfriend, so it got a bit boring after a while. Sashimi combo is pretty bank. I think 23 bucks ? Dont remember but it FILLED ME UP. So fresh too. So thumbs up. The hole in the wallet doesn't burn as much. Thinking about coming here again today... except I dont know what the boyfriend would say.. LOL yommyyy :) Edited on Jan 15: been here a handful more of times over the years and I would have to say the service got worse and the sashimi salad does not look the way it does in the picture haha. I would still come back but no longer my most favorite
(4)Louisa L.
Gokaku did not disappoint me =) Came here at around 7pm on a thursday night with two other friends and got seated right away. Nice atmosphere and setting. You can hear a lot of people speaking japanese so i guess it meant something =P I was pretty overwhelmed with the menu. They have a huge selection on both raw and cooked food. It's a little bit more than a normal izakaya. We didn't order any rolls but we got the chef recommended assorted nigiri sushi (TokuJoNigiri) and it's very fresh and nice! I love how the sashimi on top is thick and huge whereas the rice at the bottom is small. I also like their Kimagure Okonomiyaki! It's one of my favorite dishes of the night. I like how they made it crispy on the outside~ We have also ordered the seaweed salad and kurobuta shogayaki (sauteed berkshire pork with ginger and vegetable) and fried chicken cartilage. The pork is a little too salty towards the bottom of the dish, but overall it tastes pretty good. The portion of chicken cartilage is a bit small. We ended our dinner with black sesame ice cream. Overall it's a nice dinner~ Even thou it's a bit far for me, but I will come back to try out other stuff on the menu!
(4)Dmitriy V.
This restaurant turned out to be one of the best finds in the bay area! Not only is it right in my neighborhood but also quite possibly has the best selection of sushi / tapas & more authentic Japanese dishes in the bay area. Do not be fooled by the simplistic exterior as the ambience and the service are exceptional! Have now been here 6-7 times and this is one of the few places where I could blindly order Chef's Choice or Daily special and be positively surprised every time. The presentation of the food, while a minor thing is also quite good and the sushi comes with sauces & dried bananas.
(5)Mark S.
Started off with Takoyaki, it was awesome. Then ordered a Buta Kakuni Don it was very tasty, meat very tender and great flavor.
(4)Priscilla O.
I've come here a couple times with my family. Recently I came here with a party of 9 (we ordered 2 or 3 of EACH dish)...and the service & food was still great. Get ready for the long list of things we ordered... Seafood Nachos - simple, spicy tuna on a fried wonton Takoyaki - octopus dumpling, this was delicious! Sashimi Salad - the dressing is perfect Rainbow Carpaccio - sauce was super tangy yet light. one of my fav dishes of the night Maguro Poke - similar to sashimi salad, just tuna chunks Chef's Special Roll - fried roll, w. variety of raw fish inside, not bad Carbonara Style Mentaiko-Kimchi Udon - i feel their udon is too rich, but i know a lot of people rave about this dish Tori-Nankotsu Karaage - i dont recommend this one. just fried cartilage Plum Ochazuke - perfect to have among all the rich flavorful food, one of my favs Buta Kakuni - soft, fatty, & comes with a perfect egg Aigamo Steak - duck was cooked to perfection & sauce was killer Gyutan Shioyaki - super tender & flavorful, loved it Okonomiyaki - small portion, tasty but not amazing HIGHLY RECOMMEND: takoyaki, sashimi salad, rainbow carpaccio, plum ochazuke, buta kakuni, aigamo steak, & gyutan shioyaki. The servers were extremely accommodating to our huge party even though the place was really small & quaint. If you want to get seated immediately make a reservation. We went on a Sunday evening & the restaurant was pretty packed, but there didn't seem to be a line.
(4)Nathan L.
The size of this place is good and bad. Besides needing to wait a bit, it's surprisingly cozy and every item you order is served at the same time (instead of having to wait until everyone gets their order before eating) which makes it very convenient. We've ordered the chicken broth udon, volcano roll, chef's choice of nigiri, and hamachi/salmon carpaccio. All were delicious but I think what really stands out is their nigiri. Beautifully plated and a great fish to rice ratio, this dish is well worth it. The volcano roll is also GIANT and sprayed with a chili sauce that's not too spicy but a bit too overwhelming in my opinion. If you brush the sauce to the side (to use for dippping) or just ask to not put as much on, the roll is actually quite delicious and unique. It's a great place to take a date and chat over a cup of hot tea after your meal. Parking is also plentiful so that's one thing you don't have to worry about.
(4)July H.
The sushi are mostly fried sushi. Uni was not fresh. The best dish was the black cod. Everything else is mediocre. We also got the black sesame ice cream which is ok. If you like cooked Japanese food, then this is a good place. Otherwise, pass. Service was good and friendly. Prices are quite expensive.
(3)Greg L.
An awesome place for Japanese tapas, Gokaku delivers on all fronts. Walked in at 6pm on a Sunday, and were seated immediately as a party of three. It got crowded pretty quickly, so next time I'll make a reservation just to be safe. After being seated, one of the chefs (maybe?) took the time to offer some recommendations, explaining the most popular dishes on the menu. I thought this was pretty cool, definitely bonus points in the service department. Almost everything we ordered was pretty damn good, with a few standout dishes that I would definitely get again: Aigamo (Duck) Steak ($13.95): Probably the best dish of the meal. The slices of duck were tender and tasty, and was accompanied by a side of delicious "mashed" potatoes. The dish overall had a ton of flavor, and I honestly believe you could put this dish on a an upscale restaurant's menu for +$20 and it would still be worth it. If you have a larger group, order two of these because these will be go quickly. Maguro Poke ($13.95): Generous morsels of tuna were mixed in with a tasty salad that included seaweed. Presentation was impressive, and the three sauces on the plate had a nice sweet/fruity flavor. Zig Zag Roll ($9.95): Followed the recommendation of the chef and other Yelpers, and was not disappointed. Unique from other rolls I've had, the soft shell crab mixed with the sauce creates a creamy/crunchy sensation in your mouth. Gyutan (Beef Tongue) Miso ($13.95): One of the best beef tongue dishes I've had. If you are at all squeamish about eating tongue, this is the dish that might convert you into a believer. The thick chunks of tongue were super tender, almost melt in your mouth. The amount of tongue isn't super large, but it comes with a portion of grilled vegetables. Iidako (Octopus) Kara-Age ($7.50): Really liked the batter on this dish. Nothing super fancy, but very well executed fried octopus. Chewier than squid, just FYI. Negima Nabe (Tuna, Tofu, and Vegetable Soup) ($11.95): Ordered this as filler to contrast the bold flavors of the other dishes. Solid, tasty broth with a pronounced pepper flavor. Got about 5-6 small bowl servings from the pot. Probably would try something else next time, but it was still tasty. The service was very friendly, and water/tea was refilled at a good pace. The Zig Zag Roll and Poke came out in only a few minutes, which was pretty amazing. Just as an FYI, if you order certain dishes like the Duck Steak and Beef Tongue Miso, it might take a while to make it to your table. They warned us about this delay when we initially ordered, so that was nice of them. The menu is pretty extensive, and there are a lot of dishes I will want to try out. Will be here again, for sure.
(5)LeeLee C.
3.5 star. Crowded restaurant due to its popularity, but very efficient seating management and good service. We ordered spicy octopus, which was the best among other things. Super fresh, delicious and good flavor. Secret Shrimp was OK, big prawns, but the flavor's not that intriguing. The Fish Taco was the most disappointing dish since it completely lacked the flavor. We also ordered a soba with duck breast, which came with very generous amount of duck breasts and they were cooked perfectly tender! We also ordered Volcano, which is some rolls at the bottom and topped with lots of crispy frittos and sauces (some sauce from the Secret Shrimp and some very hot Vietnamese chili sauce). Probably because Volcano came the last when we were half full, I didn't find it so good and it was way too spicy for me. Overall, I do think their menu has some creative items. Combined with good service, this place deserves a visit.
(3)Kevin N.
Came here for dinner in a party of 3 on a weeknight around 8. Didn't have a reservation and got seated right away. We ordered: Maguro Poki (Sashimi Salad): Favorite dish here. Comes nicely presented, wrapped in two pieces of cucumber. Well-dressed greens with a generous amount of fresh sashimi. Volcano Roll: 6 rolls wrapped in baked salmon hidden under a giant mound of hot sauce, imitation crab meat, and tempura flakes. The rolls themselves were good. After we were finished digging at the gigantic mound, we were left with a huge plate of hot sauce and tempura flakes. Seemed like a huge waste of food, so we decided to just ask the waiter for kicks if anyone actually finishes this beast of a dish. She said usually people do...I guess we were just newbs at eating. Super Roll: Giant roll shoved with pretty much everything you can think of that belongs in sushi. Awesome. Seafood Okonomiyaki: Pretty tasty. Not my favorite though. Buta Kakuni: Quite delicious but not worth it for the small portion that they give you. Around 6 pieces of pork and 2 egg halves. Overall, a good dining experience. I'll be back to try some more of their tapas.
(4)Ling H.
4.5 stars for my 500th Review! I've been to a couple Japanese tapas place and this is definitely one of my favorites! It's been on my mind (more than it should be) that I need to come back. Soon. Star players: - Salmon Sashimi: If you love salmon, you will LOVE this! SO effin buttery goodness in your mouth I'm actually salivating as I type. I wantwantwant more of this goodness! At first, I was a little shocked at the price of this dish, but once I took that first bite, ALL reasoning went out of my head. I wanted ANOTHER dish! Yes.That.Good. - Secret Shrimp: I have to admit. I am typically not a shrimp person, but my friend said we had to get it per the reviews. Ok. I'm game. Bring it on shrimp. I hope you have something to show me and blow me away. And I ate my words. Ohmygoodness. The SAUCE. It was heavenly and sinful at the same time! How is that possible?!! Let me tell you, it definitely had a Ranch flavor to it. I swear. And mayonaise. It was so creamy and delicious. I know the way I'm describing it does NOT do this dish justice! We all dipped other items into this delicious sauce. Even if you refuse to eat shrimp because you don't care for it or you're allergic to shrimp or it's against your religion, get it anyways. Just.For.The.Sauce. Everything else was pretty good. - Takoyaki: Also great flavors and the outside had a great crunch and this dish came out piping hot! Thank you waiter for pointing it out so we didn't burn our tongue off! - Tuna sashimi salad: I prefer salmon to tuna so I'm a little biased on this dish. The tuna was a little tougher compared to salmon, but when is it not? I liked the fact that they threw wakame in the salad, although the "dressing" they used was not too memorable. The presentation though was very pretty. - Volcano roll: The picture and description made it to be more than it really was. I was just an oversized crunch roll. I think after all the grilled stuff, this was a little overkill as it was our last dish. All in all, a great place for dinner. Make reservations. Drink some sake.
(5)Bernard C.
Gokaku is my FAVORITE Japanese restaurant. It's located in a run down strip mall, but don't let that phase you. Their menu is incredibly innovative with one of the FASTEST sushi chef's on the planet. Try to grab a seat at the bar to watch the master. - Zigzag Roll. I believe this is the chef's original creation w/ soft shell crab and mayo in a soy wrapper. The crunchiness and flavor is indescribable. It's like heaven on earth. Don't run it by using soy sauce. I'd come here just for this dish. - Sushi. The portions are incredibly generous. BEST DEAL IN TOWN. My favorites are the sake (salmon) and hotate (scallops). It's like a two for one special with every bite. You can seemingly cut the fish in half and make another nigiri. Props to the chef for not skimping on the portions. If you like sushi, Gokaku is a MUST TRY. They have very interesting dishes and generous portion sizes. Don't miss out on this gem!
(5)Tien N.
The pancake + takoyaki are amazing! Service is not the best though. Don't expect great customer service when you're here. However, the food makes up for it.
(4)Nadia L.
So we came here at the recommendation of a friend who has questionable taste, but I was actually really surprised when I really enjoyed the meal. Based in a pretty dead plaza at night, this is probably the only reason why people come to this plaza at night. We had a variety of food including the tuna hot pot, sashimi salad (with huge chunks of fresh fish), 2 different rolls all packed with delicious goodness and others. I loved the selection the menu offered, a good mix of rolls, whiteboard daily specials and cooked food. The place is not that big and can get pretty packed so I suggest getting there a little earlier or you may end up waiting for a while. Looking forward to trying other things on the menu.
(4)Allison Y.
thorougly disappointed. gochi's line was long even for a weekday lunch so we came here instead. we ordered the fried octopus for an appetizer which was the best part of the meal. great texture, fresh octopus, and tasty batter. however, the quality of the salmon in the salmon & ikura don was just not up to bar and it costs more than tomi sushi. and tomi sushi has the BEST sashimi in the bay area. like why would you do that? we also got the kimchi carbonara udon served in a stone pot. very messy and fatty and not very tasty. also the service was horrible
(2)Marc K.
OK, I admit I'm not a huge Japanese food fan, but I don't see what all the hype is about. We ordered about 4 or 5 different items (mostly rolls) and all I can say is "sauce sauce sauce." They were overwhelmingly flavored like the sauce and you couldn't even taste the subtle flavors of the fish in the rolls. Their food is heavy and leaves you wanting something light. I wouldn't return.
(2)Edward W.
Recommended by a close friend, we decided to drive 30 minutes from Fremont to try out this place. Located in a deserted plaza, Gokaku definitely blew me out of the water with its tasty dishes. The Omakase Appetizer (sushi) is not actually 3 different appetizers. My version of this appetizer was 4 pieces of high quality sushi, albeit not worth the $20. The rice was wrapped in fresh tuna and topped with three different colors of tobiko that were a bit too salty. Rainbow carpaccio has some serious fresh fish; salmon, tuna, and yellowtail dipped in some sweet sauce. The dish comes with 3 slices for each type of fish. The sweet sauce makes the sashimi taste interesting, but you can tell the fish is fresh. The zig zag roll is something worth coming back for. Soft shell crab, avocado, tobiko, scallion, all wrapped in a soy wrap, creating the most intense sushi bite ever. Obviously I can't get full off these small portion dishes so I had to go with a rice dish, the buta kimchi don. Recommended by my fellow yelpers, I decided to give it a shot, and I was not disappointed. Fatty slices of pork, kimchi flavored rice, and a healthy portion size ended the lunch on a satisfied note. Service here was top-notch as the waiter was very descriptive in his recommendations and constantly checked up on us. Always nice to have great service complimented with tasty food.
(4)Desmond T.
I came here a few times with my girlfriend's family. Expect small portions because it's tapas, but the food here is really good! We ordered a ton of food, but I'm only going to list the ones that I liked. ----------------------------- Seafood nachos: 4 pieces of spicy nacho w/ spicy tuna. Very refreshing! Takoyaki: octopus dumpling. So flavorful, so good Rainbow Carpaccio: variety of sashimi [tuna, salmon, and hamachi] with a very tangy and refreshing sauce. Maguro Poke: a very refreshing tuna salad Carbonara style Mentaiko Kimchi Udon: very very flavorful and a bit too rich. Buta Kakuni Don: very tender, fatty pieces of pork with half boiled egg. The egg was perfect Aigamo Steak: very flavorful duck with amazing sauce Gyutan Shioyaki: very tender, flavorful beef tongue ------------------------------ I definitely appreciated the service. They always came by to clean up the plates and refill our water/tea. They are very friendly too! It's probably wise to make a reservation to be on the safe side. This is pricey too, so be prepared!
(4)Navi M.
I came here during lunch, the service is absolutely horrible. There were not many people but I had to wait for 20 minutes just to order my food. 20 more minutes to get my food. The server put the food halfway onto the table and ran away to the next table, if I had not caught the plate, it would have fallen to the ground. The food is good but not worth the wait & the bad service.
(1)Simon C.
Came here on a Thursday night with 3 friends. Ordered 5 dishes. Pretty decent I guess. 1. Shishamo - cant really go wrong with this one, taste good, especially with beer! 2. Nankotsu Kara-age - this is the fried chicken cartilage, most japanese restaurants I go to only have fried chicken meat, I like cartilage a lot better especially its texture. But the cartilage I have this time is kind of small in size, I would say probably the smallest I have ever had. They fried it pretty well just wish it is a bit bigger 3. Volcano - this is kind of unique, a HUGE dish with some stir fry roll, with fish, avocado, rice everything mixed together. It's kind of like fried rice, it's a bit spicy and there was lot of mayo. Not my favorite but it did fill up my stomach a lot 4. Pork shogayaki - I think this was best one out of the 7 dishes. Very good onion smell, the sauce is not too salty, and the portion fits 4 people 5. Chef's roll - my friends like it a lot but to me it was just a regular roll; not so much taste to it but also because of this, I could taste the fish inside (yellowtail and tuna?) personally I don't like rolls with too much sauce in it, I feel im just eating rice with sauce So yea, oh and one of my friend and I ordered 3 beers each, it was $5.5 for a glass, I feel it is kind of pricey compare with other Japanese restaurants. Overall I would say this is a decent sushi / roll / Japanese small dish restaurant; they got some interesting dish but I'm soso with them. But it's good for a try.
(3)Anna S.
Good for dinner. The website is always up to date and there is a special monthly menu. Free scoop of ice cream on the birth of your anniversary. The Favs: Buta Kakuni and Hanjuku Tamago (japanese style braised tender pork) is yummy if you like them fatty meats. It's not the unbearably type of fatty, hence the TENDER. Zig zag roll is by far my favorite roll here. Don't ask what's in it unless you're allergic to something...am I peaking your curiosity? AHAHA. Just eat it, because it's the sauce that makes it so wondrous. Sashimi salad is presented well and is actually loaded with a good amount of sashimi. It might remind you of the poke salad, but the quality is def better--better be. The Depends: Negima Nabe (vegetable, tofu, and tuna hotpot) is soothing if you want something to balance out all the friedness & heaviness. Hamachi carpaccio is good, but the sauce can be overwhelming as cool/crisp as it might seem. It's a fruity vinaigrette type of dousement = the dousing of food. Volcano looks really appealing right? WELL, yes..but only for sharing and if you have a few bites. Green tea cheesecake and black sesame ice cream feeds ONE maybe 1.5 No Thanks: Chef's roll if you like tempura crust and cooked fish in yo' sushhh. Okonomiyaki is decent, but the ones at the outdoor japanese festivals beat this--those taste more authentic. Carbonara Style MentaikoKimchi Udo (stir fried udon with kimchi and cod roe in creamy sauce) is almost cheesy creamy. Honestly, nothing special and not going to order again. Sunazuri and Gobo Kara-age (duck gizzard and burdock) is not my favorite, I might as well eat some fried calamari. Aigamo Duck Steak is frankly better at Gochi.
(4)Marshall C.
I'm a bit disappointed with Gokaku, I've heard a lot of good things about it. People discovered this place after Tintin closed, at which point it became one of the very few reasons to visit the plaza. On the outside, it looks a bit rundown; the inside's a little nicer but it's cramped and some of the tables are wobbly. Servers are positive and willing to help, but it felt like they were waiting on too many people at once, there were only two waiters for about twelve tables and they felt somewhat rushed. The Food: Yakiniku-Pretty good! Definitively better than what you'd get from Yoshida or from Mifune and it was a reasonable portion for the price. Generous amounts of sauce and the ratio of beef/onion to rice was just right. Spider Roll-Not quite what I was expecting. There are only five pieces, but they're huge! It held together well, but that's because the rice was overpacked and dense. Couldn't taste some of the subtler ingredients like the avocado because the seaweed overpowered them. Titanic Roll- It's pretty much the same as a firecracker roll at other restaurants. The shrimp tempura in the middle was well fried and the different sauces were interesting, but that's all. Not much to say, it's an average roll for an above average price. Chicken Karaage- The breading didn't stick to the chicken, it was more of a fried shell than a layer. On the plus side, the chicken's moist and it's served with some mayo that works surprisingly well! Without it, the chicken is somewhat bland and one-dimensional. Jo-Nigiri- In the case of Gokaku and many other Japanese restaurants, "chef's choice" simply means "the cheapest we have." At $20-some dollars for 8 pieces of nigiri, you're better off ordering what you actually like as individual pieces. You'll get pretty much the same amount of food for the same price, but you'll get to eat what you actually like. What's more, the wasabi dabs are oversized, I got teary eyed at least four times. The sashimi itself wasn't fresh; it didn't smell bad, but it didn't have that nice ocean smell to it either. None of the pieces other than the ikura had any flavor, felt like I was just eating them for the texture. Okonomiyaki- It was my first time eating okonomiyaki, so I can't really compare it to anything else, but I liked it! Only had a couple bites, but the sauces on top did a good job of counterbalancing the savoriness of the pancake. Was a bit too heavy, felt like something you'd get tired of after a couple bites. If you're not willing to drive far to fix that craving for Japanese, Gokaku does a pretty good job and for a fair price. If you're craving sushi/sashimi, however, you're really better off driving the extra ten minutes or so to Ocean Blue or Tomisushi: prices are the same if not cheaper and the quality difference is definitely noticeable.
(3)Merle T.
Today was my first and probably last visit to Gokaku. Overall the experience was disappointing. The service started well when we came into the restaurant, but after we got our food they totally forgot about us. Our tea was not refilled. We waited a long time after finishing for the bill to arrive. When we tried to flag down our waiter, she took care of another table, and then did not turn her attention to us. She obviously was not monitoring our table. The food was also subpar. I got a pork cutlet and egg dish. It was not very appetizing. It came in a big bowl, and it was a gooey, congealed mess. Not to be repeated. My partner had a better experience, but still nothing spectacular. I like Japanese food, but I will keep looking.
(2)Erica S.
I brought my mom here for dinner. For both of us, it was our first time having dinner here for so we kind of had high expectations. On a Saturday, it was really crowded that we had no choice but to sit at the bar. Even if you're a party of 2, they highly recommend that you make reservations. Now we know! The sushi chef was friendly, but the poor guy was really swamped. He didn't have time for a breather as he was on his own. We started off with the popular Seafood Nachos, which was basically spicy tuna on a fried wonton chip with some special spicy sauce. It was pretty good. Different take on Japanese food so I wasn't sure if my mom would like it, but she did. We also ordered Gyutan (grilled beef tongue), but it was taking over 30 minutes that I was starting to get a little irritated especially since I was hungry. Then the sushi chef gave us taro chips with special spicy sauce on the house. That was nice of him. While waiting for the Gyutan, I ordered the Ika Jaga Butter Yaki, which was grilled squid with pesto sauce and french fry wedges. It was really good, especially when it came out hot. The Gyutan was a little disappointing. The slices were super thin compared to other places and it came out lukewarm. The best for last was the Deluxe Sashimi Combo for $45. If you want more than 3 types of sashimi, this is the only choice along with the Chef Omasake Sashimi Combo. When we first got the plate, it didn't seem like much sashimi, but then we realized that the slices of sashimi were generous portions that it was worth it. It also includes uni and I'm not a fan of uni, but I had a slice and it was definitely the freshest I've tasted. See photo attached. My mom and I very much enjoyed that. Hope to go back again to try some other stuff.
(4)Lily N.
Words cannot express how insanely delicious the food is. My boyfriend and I love sushi and we absolutely love this place! We were sat as soon as we came in. We were waited on by 4 or 5 different waiters and waitresses. It was like we were royalty. We order 7 different dishes because everything looked so good and we wanted to try them all. One of the waitress asked us if we were sure we wanted to order that much food for two people and we just told her we'd take the left overs home. The food was so insanely good that we kept eating even after we were full. We finished all 7 dishes. We ended up with a $130 bill and we tipped them a good amount on top of that because the service was exquisite! The food is a little pricy but it was completely worth it. This is like no other sushi you find in the bay. It's like a party in your mouth!!! You've got to try it at least once.
(5)Cathy G.
Came here with my family, party of 9, to celebrate my brother's promotion. Our reservations were at 6pm. We ordered tons of food and sake. At 7:45pm, they kicked us out for their next party.
(1)Kathy D.
Since Orenchi was going to be a 1hr+ wait, we decided to venture out and found Gokaku! I called in to make reservations on our way there and it was no problem for a party of 2. I believe it was the owner who greeted us and even explained to us the menu and their specials. It was nice to see him take the time out since he knew it was our first time! They have several menus including their specials, which was overwhelming. They have alot of selections and they all looked so good!! Ordered: 1. Yaki Udon with chicken- Originally, it comes with pork but since my counterpart isn't a fan of pork, we were able to replace it with chicken. This was a thick noodle broth, which I really enjoyed. It's the less creamier one out of the two udons on their top specials. Next time I should try the one with kimchi! It comes in a big wooden box. way to go on presentation! 2. Chef's Roll- It comes in a big portion. Really good and flavorful. 3. Chicken Karaage- so tender and moist. I really enjoyed it and it probably sits second on my list of chicken karaage! It comes with a side of spiced mayo~! 4. Black Sesame Ice Cream- I decided to order this since it is one of their popular choices. Pretty good! I liked their complimentary hot green tea to cleanse your body afterwards. The service and staff were very friendly and I can't wait to go back to try out their other dishes soon! One funny thing at the front entrance is their sign.. "No diaper changes" ahaha!
(4)Flora C.
Tapas not sushi
(3)Alice C.
I can see this place as being a better tapas place than sushi place. Well, tapas and rolls. We did visit on a Sunday night so maybe the fish quality is better a different day of the week. They have a huge selection of food here, ranging from old school Izakata-style dishes, sushi rolls and sashimi, to udon, hot pots and doburis. Kind of a catch-all for different kinds of Japanese food lovers out there. We got the zigzag roll which was mentioned so much on Yelp. It is a very interesting sushi roll with crunchy bits and a kick ass sauce, wrapped in soy paper, but if you're looking for anything with fish? Not this one. I did like it a lot though, and one serving is plenty, perhaps a bit too much, for two to share if you want to try a wide range of stuff. They do have a fish version of this called the Super Roll, but the original zigzag roll is so ginormous I'm not sure how you can fit that in a normal person's mouth without it falling apart 10 ways. I also really liked the seafood nachos. It's spicy tuna with tobiko and some fruit-based sauces on top of crispy chips. Delicious. Their fancy sushi was average (due to fish not being extremely fresh, which might be due to the day of the week I visited, as mentioned above), and I wasn't a fan of their fried eggplant at all. All-in-all, this is a nice place to dine with a couple of friends over sake and shochu. Oh, yeah, they have a pretty big sake/shochu list comparing to some other places in the south bay. They also have flavored shochu (sours, etc) for those who are looking for something sweeter.
(4)Shin T.
Waiter didn't even get our reservation. Not a real Japanese restaurant...bathroom is dirty, the hallway is stocked with trash. Impossible in Japan. Food is so so, nothing wows me and the horumon teppanyaki is graciously oily. Never go again.
(1)Jennifer K.
Never did I know that Gokaku is located in the same little plaza that Tin Tin Market used to be in. Weird! Had dinner here with the boyfriend last week and it was an interesting experience. The interior is much, much nicer than the exterior would suggest. It's pretty small overall but it's decorated very nicely! The menu boasts a large variety of different appetizers, sushi/sashimi, rolls, grilled fish, bowls/noodles, etc. We opted for the: - Kani cream croquette (just okay) - Rainbow carpaccio (a blend of tuna, salmon, and yellowtail sashimi in a light sauce- my favorite!) - Volcano roll (this literally looks like a mess... was good at first but then I realized half of the stuff is tempura flakes and sauce) - Caterpillar roll (was HUGE, a little difficult to eat as the pieces were cut in different sizes) Besides the carpaccio, I thought everything was just alright. Nothing really wow'ed me in any way. I would probably suggest staying away from the rolls and focusing more on the tapas. I took a peek at the neighboring table's tapa dishes, and they looked amazing... I feel like this place has a lot of potential, but it didn't surprise me in the way that I wanted it to. *Sigh* perhaps it's partially my fault for picking out the "meh" items from the large menu, so I'll definitely give Gokaku another chance sometime in the near future.
(3)Seiko U.
I went to eat at this restaurant last night, and I had a great time! I'm Japanese but the food here really tasted like eating in Japan. They have a lot of choice of sake here too. On the weekends, it gets busy but on the weekday I didn't even have to make an appointment to sit down. I ate Carbonara udon and Duck Steak, and both were really good. I also had the Salmon Tartar from the Gokaku Special, and it tasted awesome!! I will definetly come back here again!
(5)Lena S.
I keep forgetting to write a review for this place. Oh well better late than not at all. I've been here twice with my friends and both times have been amazing. Which is saying a lot cause majority of the restaurants that I tend to go to doesn't seem to stay consistent with their food. Also, both times I've gone there, we always tend to order way to much food but what can I say it's all delicious. Personally, I would have to say the one must have item there would have to be the zigzag roll. It's very flavorful and vegan friendly. I know that sounds very odd but it's true trust me. I'm not a big fan of vegan food but this roll will make your toes curl. The waiters are very attentive, although they do seem pretty overwhelmed my customers. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, even though there is a very long wait to get seated. I would say that it is worth the wait.
(5)Nan Z.
This is buy far my most favourite Japanese restaurant in South Bay area. they have good service and people are nice. the Sashimi combination and Dragon roll are my favourites, and if you are hungry and want something cheap they have good BBQ rice bowl and noodles.
(4)Brandon C.
I went there to grab a lunch. Ordered one of the SUSHI ROLLS, which actually tasted quite nice. However, the BBQ Beef lunch plate ($10) was absolutely disgusting. The plate had little bits of beef, mushrooms, and onions thrown onto a plate. There were even more onions and mushrooms than there were beef. The sauce was gross and watery, and the beef was completely over-seasoned. The other absurd thing was that the salad was on the same plate, so your salad would be soggy because it was drenched in the watery bbq sauce along with it's own chunky, weird textured sauce. Absolutely hideous. They also threw a ball of "mashed potato" (don't know what it's really called), but it was too sweet and somehow it tasted frozen. If you wanna eat here, order the rolls, don't get the lunch specials.
(2)Jenny J.
I've been here twice and still don't understand how they have 4 stars. They serve a lot of those jumbo rolls smothered in tempura bits and mayo, if that's your kind of thing. Some places do it well, like Sushi House in Alameda, but this place does not. I also tried a salmon don and was appalled at how gross it looked. I expected it to look neat and layered like a chirashi bowl but they put sushi rice at the bottom, then mixed up lettuce, random pieces of flavorless salmon, pickled ginger, seaweed salad and dumped it on top. Everything was so sour and the salmon was stringy and not at all buttery like it's supposed to be. Meh.
(2)Avocado Donbur I.
The food was very authentic and there were many Japanese customers. But... all the servers were Mexicans. Not that there's anything wrong with Mexican servers, but I found it strange as most of the real Japanese restaurants in the south bay have Japanese servers. Then again, it doesn't matter. The food was GREAT!
(4)T L.
I wouldn't mind if you never visited Gokaku because that means a shorter wait for me :) However, I really like this place and I think it needs some yelp lovin. First of all, this is FUSION izakaya (like Gochi). You'll find some inventive, flavorful dishes on the menu and plenty of their secretive (and additive) sauce. I find that prices are FAIR, fish is FRESH and service has been, overall, GOOD. When it's busy, you'll have to wave a server down but what do you expect? I'm never in a rush anyway. I like to enjoy every minute of my dinner. The most we ever paid for a dinner was $75, including tip. Each time, my boyfriend had to unbuckle his belt. Yea, it's that fulfilling and at a pretty reasonable price, compared to other izakaya restaurants. We've been back 3 times in the span of 2 weeks. We ordered: - Ankimo: one of my favorite, favorite dishes to order, ever. The description makes it sound a little gross but trust me, this is really good! Also, Gokaku doesn't serve the ankimo from the tube, like most other restaurants. It looks like it was straight from the fish! Chilled and tasted good. I'd probably ask for a little bit more ponzu though. - Fried Baby Octopus: yelp.com/biz_photos/ZeEH… Yummy but a little chewy and doesn't help that I have braces now. I would have eaten more if half of it didn't get stuck in my braces but whatever, I tried my best. NO Japanese mayo, just a slice of lemon for you to sprinkle on top and enjoy. It was pretty damn tasty! - Secret Shrimp: Holy bajeebus, my boyfriend went CRAZY over this delectable, decadent dish. The secret sauce was thick and heavy all over the fried shrimp. The shrimps are HUGE. The fried coating was also really thick and a little hard. We kept the sauce at our table and ended up dipping everything in it. The owner must be a part time crack dealer because he definitely added a little in the sauce. - Garlic Hamachi Steak yelp.com/biz_photos/ZeEH… : I was completely shocked my boyfriend ordered this. But when we tried it, it was FANTASTIC. Fusion flavors all over and it was DELICIOUS. Little mound of fried goodness, PERFECTLY crisped, light and airy. Wonderful flavors, a great fusion dish! Sauce is heavy but I thought it was a good complement to the hamachi steak. - Cucumber Pasta Style Salad yelp.com/biz_photos/ZeEH… : HOLYYYYYY crap, this dish was the size of a small basketball. I kept seeing this large mound of green stuff being served to tables. Did not know that this was it. IT WAS HUGE! It was also VERY inventive! Cucumber sliced into long pieces of "spaghetti", served with CHUNKS of sashimi and tossed in a white delicious sauce and wakame. So delicious but it came out last so we had to take most of it home...which we finished almost immediately! - Boom: This was 1 big fried flavor explosion in my mouth. A lot of ingredients to this dish but it all tasted the same. I wouldn't order this again but it was spicy, which I love. - Natto: Anything with natto is a MUST. It is an acquired taste and smells funky but trust me, its so delicious! - Duck Steak yelp.com/biz_photos/ZeEH… : wow, very good. I first had duck steak from a Japanese restaurant in Hawaii and it was fantastic there. It was pretty good at Gokaku too, I loved it! The duck meat was tender and the sauce was delicious!! - Duck Ramen: very light in flavors but I really liked that. The duck meat was a little hard to chew since it cooked in the hot broth. I'd order it again, maybe ask for the duck meat on the side. - Corquette: think hashbrowns. Yummy :) - Beef Tataki yelp.com/biz_photos/ZeEH… : Most restaurants use fatty pieces of beef and this place was no different. It's just a little chewy which absolutely sucks for someone with braces! :( I love niku tataki though but I'd skip this dish if you can't chew. - Tiramisu dessert: reminded me of Italy :') I liked it but I had no room for it! If you like fusion izakaya, I think Gokaku kicks major ass. Remember that there is 1 lone sushi chef (maybe 2) who makes all sushi dishes himself. Checklist: - reservations - empty stomach and open mind - no diarrhea-ing babies (if so, don't use the booth as your personal bathroom! that's straight up GROSS) - ankimo + natto for adventurous eaters - cucumber salad + duck steak for safe eaters AWWWW YEA!
(4)Roger L.
Came here because my parents saw the rating on yelp and insisted we try it. It's located in a strip mall and it's windows are all covered up. The menu was big and food was pretty good, but the service was unorganized. I had to ask about my meal after everyone had almost finished their dinner. My katsu don didn't come out until after everyone was done. The table next to us had to ask about their ice cream as well. Typically these items shouldn't take as long as they did.. Just make sure to ask about your food if you find yourself sitting around watching other people eat. My parents weren't too impressed either
(2)Angelica C.
THANK YOU YELP!...for pointing my famished self in the direction of quality food that is open a little later than your standard restaurant!! +Sashimi Salad (LIGHT dressing next time) +Teriyaki Beef +Lotus Root All very good!! I will definitely be returning to try some rolls and the sushi nachos (I love fusion food) The restaurant is clean, quaint and the service was on point. Small miscommunications with the language barrier, but honestly the server was so sweet and attentive it wasn't a big deal at all! Try this place if you haven't!
(5)Jenny H.
I came here for lunch with a friend after seeing the decent reviews on yelp. I'm sorry, but the people who gave Gokaku a 5 star review should really go try Gochi or Tanto's tapas. I have to admit, the decor is pretty nice, but the food was just barely edible. I'm not sure if I happened to come on an off day, but I don't want to come back to find out. We ordered a braised pork appetizer, which also tasted okay, but was very unappealing. My friend ordered the Tempura Udon ($9.25), and it looked rather bland. The dish isn't tempura served in udon, but instead it's tempura served on rice with a place bowl of udon on the side. He didn't complain about the noodles, but he doesn't usually have much of an opinion about his food. I ordered the daily lunch special ($10.95), which had chicken karage, sashimi, salmon, salad, seaweed, and rice. The sashimi did not taste fresh, and I was actually scared to keep eating it. The seaweed had some strange alcohol like smell to it, so I didn't want to eat that either. At the end of the meal I had a lot of leftovers, but I didn't want to bring it home because it was just that bad. I usually don't like wasting food, but I think I would have thrown it away anyways if I brought it home.
(2)Chris E.
Excellent and authentic Japanese cuisine. Whether you're here to eat dinner with a family or have a couple of casual drinks with some side dishes, I would recommend this place. Only setback was that our waiters took some time with our requests and kept forgetting to refill our glasses of water. My friend ordered a Volcano roll, and beware, this thing is massive--literally a traditional Volcano Roll basked and dumped with fried chards and spicy sauce. He eats pretty heftily but he could barely finish half the plate. I ordered the okonomiyaki, which was delicious and tasted like a traditional okonomiyaki though was about half the size to that of what I expected. Takoyaki tasted like Osaka takoyaki. I've been here before and the donburi's (bowls) are pretty solid if you want something cheap (around $10-$15) and comprehensive (rice, some veggies, and meat/fish). I studied in Japan for about six months, and I'm a big fan of places like these that try to preserve that unique Japanese flavor with an added kick of innovation (if one so desires).
(4)Melly L.
Came here for lunch. Sushi bar closed on Tuesdays = WACK!!! Small but quaint place. Didn't see tapas on the menu? Har har har! Got the tonkatsu and friend got the hamburger some ish? Salad was aiteeeee.....dressing could be better. Tonkatsu was a bit dry and eeehhhhhh. Hamburger was good though. Flavorful. Overall it's meeehhhh.
(2)Evelyn R.
I just left this place super disappointed. This restaurant has the absolute worse customer service I have EVER experienced. As I entered the place a lady approached me nicely and told me to take a seat where ever I wanted. I sat on a 4 seat table and then a hispanic waiter said upfront that they expect to be busy and that I had to either sit at the sushi bar or in a 2 seater table. I told him there was plenty of room to sit anywhere since the place was literally empty and he said "well that's all I have right now, you can't sit there" and then rolled his eyes. So....of course we left. Since we always order 5-6 dishes we obviously wouldn't fit in a 2 seater table....but the rude attitude????? Uncalled for. The rolling of the eyes and rude tone of voice....uncalled for.
(1)Dess J.
First of all thank you Martin for being such a champ and spending so much and giving them an unworthy tip. Now to the rating. I agree with some of the Yelpers here about the service. It is very disorganize. The guy who helped us, I asked for a refill on my tea and he totally forgot about us. We had four to five waiters coming and and out to help us which is weird. Most of them were really young and the place is just too small. However the food is okay, two stars because it was my friend's birthday and I got to see an old friend as well. Would I come back? Probably not, its too far, sushi is okay and the service needs improvement. Now if they are more organize maybe i'll come back. I just love sushi and my sister might enjoy this place if I mention it to her.
(2)Manodeep S.
Amazing Rolls - Good Service!!!
(4)Joon P.
One of the best sushi I've ever had. The eggplant diah is awsome as well. I will be going back there soon.
(5)Jenny L.
This izakaya tries hard with a variety of tapas, but it fails to execute anything well. The beef tongue was tender, but deconstructed in terms of flavor with the vegetables and sauce. The special crispy seafood noodle is soggy and watery without much flavor. The okonomiyaki was disappointing in terms of flavor. The spider rolls are healthy with the soy wrappers, but more about rice and crunch than taste. The pork belly is tender, but it's drowned in a starch-based sauce with mustard on the side. The hamachi garlic steak wasn't as tender and rich as it should be. The squid is cooked well with a light seasoning, but it's not tender to rave out. I'd rather go to Gochi. Service is fast and friendly. However, it can take awhile to get water or utensils. Parking is ample in the lot. Remember to make reservations to avoid the lines.
(3)Joyce J.
I like this place better than Gochi. It reminds me of Tanto before the food there became inconsistent. The food here is more down to earth. Upon eating, the waitress gave me and friends the regularly menu, the special menu for the week, the top ten menu, and the beverage menu. There were really quite a bit of selections. We tried several of the top ten items. The beef tongue was decent but a little burnt. The maguro poke was flavorful and I was a fan of the place decorating the place with cucumber. The Zig Zag roll was delicious. I love the green soy paper around the roll and you can actually see the crab meat. My favorite dish of the night was the Buta Kakuni and Hanjuku Tamago - the egg was amazing. The mustard really brought out the flavor of the pork. We also got to try the new green tea cheese cake. The dessert came with a scoop of ice cream (green tea or sesame). The texture of the cheesecake was quite smooth. The green tea ice cream was good also. I can't wait to come back and try more items on the menu.
(4)Rochelle T.
My boyfriend and I frequent Gokaku - overall, we love the food here. The Maguro Poke salad is delicious - the dressing is delicious, its a great start to a meal! We typically order the agedashi too - both the eggplant one and tofu - LOVE the dish, the eggplant is cooked really well. It gets a little soggy but if you eat right away, it has a really nice texture and of course the flavor of the broth/sauce is perfect! This last time we ordered the hamachi carpacio - it was delicious! Although I would agree with other reviewers, the cuts are all wrong, but freshness and flavor were spot on! We have had a few other tasty dishes. I am not a fan of the rolls, but I think rolls have gotten out of control with the crazy toppings - sashimi should be celebrated as it is, not drenched in toppings. I will say their rolls are HUGE - I saw a comparison to TGI - I would argue you get a larger portion at Gokaku (slightly more expensive).
(4)Winnie T.
So good. The six way roll was delicious and extremely flavorful. Their salads are really fresh too. Also ordered the panther roll and I didn't like the spicy sauce it came with but it was still good!
(5)Christine K.
ok
(3)Selina C.
Really disappointed after I read so many good reviews. Got the "Chef's Omakase Sashimi" which looked NOTHING like the pictures! It had six types of sashimi around even older cut up small bits of sashimi. They tried to douse the oldest sashimi with sesame oil, yuck! $50 for the quality made it unacceptable. Takoyaki - The octopus balls were too starchy, it was almost gluey. Please pass on this dish Kakuni (Braised pork) - This was probably the worst Japanese style braised pork I've had. They clearly used the cheapest ugliest cuts, and filled the serving bowl with a corn starchy concoction. Taro balls - Also served suspended in a soupy corn starch mix of mushrooms. Sesame ice cream - About the only thing they got right, except that it was probably not even made in house. Service and parking were good, I wish the food they served was more palatable.
(2)Albert P.
Twice been here, both very good experiences. This place is that cool place tucked away in a corner , only to have a cool and stylish vibe to the interior. Unagi-don and Yakiniku-don are good and filling. Tapa entrees are delicious! Order the Godzilla roll, and you will feel like Godzilla himself blew into your mouth!
(5)Jean K.
After two days of hiking and living off freeze dried food, my boyfriend and I decided to go eat something yummy. He chose Gokaku. As many people mentioned, it's in a small strip mall with plenty of parking. I don't think I would have ever discovered this place without the word of mouth. First impression wise, it was just okay. Our server was really sweet, and actually explained and went over all of the popular items and some of the ones he personally liked. We ordered 4 dishes; the omonomiyaki and zig zag roll was my favorite. I forget the name, but the grilled rice ball was just okay. It's really small and reservation based, but I'd definitely come again!
(4)Jean L.
Grrreat food. The restaurant doesn't look much from the outside but the interior actually is quite nice. Highly recommended: Sukiyaki Style Hot Stone Rice: Compared to Korean style hot stone, this one is more delicate and tasty. The rice does not stick to the hot pot. The amount of beef is very generous. Pork Shogayaki: Again, tasty and good portion. Sashimi salad: Good presentation, wrapped around by strips of cucumber wall. A little expansive though for the small portion. Duck Steak: A rare dish that not offered by any Japanese restaurant. Not cheap, but you won't regret it. Yummy! Others: Shushi: Spider roll and rainbow roll are good but nothing extraordinary. This restaurant fills up quickly during lunch hours. Either come early or make a reservation in advance.
(5)tony l.
If you enjoy tapas style japanese food, I would highly recommend checking Gokaku out. Parking is usually abundant, but the restaurant is pretty small and generally packed on weekend nights. The service I have received is extremely attentive (One of the waiters we often get is Omar who really knows his stuff). Food-wise, my personal favorite is the Volcano Roll which is HUGE. If you want a spicy roll, try the Firecracker roll. We also usually get the secret shrimp (and a bowl of rice for all that delicious sauce).
(5)Chris C.
This place really is a competitor for Gochi. I came here in a group of 5 with a reservation (definitely needed. The place got packed quick). We had: Maguro Poke Grilled Hamachi Sashimi Salad (Spicy) Beef Tongue Chicken Karaage Beef Tatake Rainbow Roll Agedashi Tofu Under $30 a person with a pitcher of Sapporo and I also had a Yuzu juice (awesome). The food was spectacular. Exactly what I expected from a Gochi competitor and while their menu doesn't seem quite as extensive as Gochi, everything we ordered was really good. The service was really, really friendly and accommodating. My ONLY complaint was that they told us some of the dishes would take longer to cook due to them being at capacity. It took over 30 minutes for us to get our Beef Tongue, Beef Tatake and Chicken Karaage. By the time we got it we had already finished everything else, ordered the pitcher of beer, and finished that. The food was really good and the service did notify us beforehand that some dishes would take longer but I don't understand why fried tofu would take 30-40 minutes less than fried chicken or a beef dish that by definition is cooked for a very short time. If the food wasn't stellar and the service wasn't so courteous, I would definitely dock more than the one I already took away. I'll be back though.
(4)Cindy T.
Yes, the portions are big and they spend a few more seconds on presentation, but the fish is definitely lacking in the quality and freshness department. And to me, that is one of the most important parts of a Japanese restaurant - freshness. Also had the chicken karaage and it tasted more like the fried chicken from Tapioca Express. Even though it comes on a fancy plate, presentation and portions never trump the food.
(2)Squishy B.
Reasonably priced for high quality sushi (large pieces of fish, fresh, great selection!). The menu is diverse and authentically Japanese. Service is excellent, but the food is really the star of the show! LOVE IT. The restaurant isn't very compelling from the outside, but what a surprise it is on the inside. The Shanghai Dumpling restaurant across the parking lot is more snazzy, better lit, and has more energy - but that's only good for a quick bite. If you want to treat yourself to Gochi quality food at a lower cost, come here! (BTW, Gochi is also awesome, just be prepared to spend $$$).
(5)Yann M.
This is a really good place!! order Beef Teriyaki!! it is not on the menu!!! but they do special order!!! volcano is the one i never miss!!!!
(5)Steven A.
2013 Update: It's been 2 1/3 years since my last review of Gokaku. With our three older kids out at camp we had another opportunity to take our "baby" back for a date night. Friday night, same friendly service. We were early enough to get a table without a reservation (still recommended, if only for the sense of security and superiority you'll have when they seat you at a "reserved" table)-. Our now-2.5-year-old wasn't a fan of any of the delicious dishes we had: Maguro Poke: flavorful nuggets of tuna interspersed with tomato chunks and lettuce. Smears of raspberry(?) sauce on the plate let us customize each bite. Duck Steak: a small but full plate with several slices of duck on top of mashed potatoes with braised baby bok choy and mushrooms and a standard but yummy gravy. Chirashi Sushi came as a cucumber slices "bowl" surrounding a disk of rice, tonight included uni which was a bit of a surprise... it's definitely an acquired taste--I acquired about half of it. Chef's roll: I was in a fried roll frame of mind tonight so we went for this tempura-style Chef's roll which did not disappoint. It's not the cheapest place in the world, but if our budget and schedule are flexible enough, this is our go-to restaurant for a quick Japanese meal.
(4)Winglo A.
Came here for dinner on the 20th at 7 PM. The place was almost full, but we (party of three) did not have to wait. All the fishes were very fresh. We had Maguro Poki, Chirashi Sushi, Sushi Combination and one more grill fish, which I forgot the name. The sushi portion were large compared to other sushi restaurants. Their service was right on and the wait staffs were very helpful. This is my new ATF in Japanese restaurants in Cupertino. There prices were a bit on the high side, but the freshness makes up for it. Can't wait till next time. I'll try some more fresh fish. Hope it is just as good. I cannot see how the other reviews gave it less then 3 stars?
(5)Omar L.
"Wow you're name is Omar? Awesome" Best conversation when I booked a reservation here. Service was very very friendly. Our server was also Omar, and was super friendly, made good recommendations. This is definitely a very good random find for me. Well it's been on my bookmarks for ages and I have not gotten around to trying this place. I'm really glad I did. Food (What we ordered): 1.)Seafood nachos is a must, very good stuff and tuna seemed fresh (and they did not skimp and it came out very fast). 2.) Chef's Roll: This was ok, I forgot to read that it was all cooked, a bit dissapointed. The original sauce has a little kick in it and kind of tasted like Taco bell Sauce :-p 3.) Kani Cream Croquette: This was just good, its a croquette but you can taste the sea food. 4.) Buta Kakuni: This was disappointing. The meat was very tender and the Soft Boiled Egg was really good too, the ginger sauce was overwhelming and could not taste much else. 5.) Beef Tongue was really good, this was a surprised. meat was extremely tender Boring Stuff: Parking: Large lot outside Directions: Do not use Apple's Map...it tried to get me to drive through a brick wall Reservations: Definitely make one. It wasn't packed when I first got there, but there were people waiting when I left.
(4)Jessica W.
My new favorite place to eat! You HAVE to try the Gokaku roll and the Warriors roll! The spicy dragon is an awesome take on the dragon roll but with seared tuna on top. The hamachi garlic steak is so flavorful with fun textures of crispy potatoes and garlic chips. The tempura ice cream is AMAZING!!
(5)Tiffany N.
This place is really great for a catch up dinner with your friends. For sushi lovers, the sushi here is really fresh and I like their portions. Definitely try the sashimi salad! The dressing is perfect with it and the pieces of sashimi are generous. I like that they have tapas as well so if you're not sure what you're in the mood for or you and your friends are craving different things, you can get hot food as well as sushi. For those of you who love pretty foods, everything I've ever ordered was plated beautifully--ASIANS WHO TAKE PICTURES OF THEIR FOOD AND POST IT ON INSTAGRAM, YOU'D LOVE THIS PLACE. lol The service is great. Their menu has a lot of items listed in their Japanese names, and the servers are great with interpreting you when you're trying to order and if you ask, they'll pronounce it back for you too (for those of you who are curious about pronounciations). Everytime I've been here, they've always been very welcoming right as you come in the door and they're always attentive--my tea cup was never empty. Recommendation: Sashimi Salad. YUM!
(4)Tony L.
Had their Ginger Pork lunch special. It came with a cup of miso soup, potato and lettuce salad on the side. The soup was nice and hot and not too salty. The pork was marinated with ginger then sautéed with onions. It was tender and juicy. The restaurant was decorated in a modern contemporary theme. The two waitresses there were friendly and efficient. Not bad for lunch, have to come back and try their dinners..
(3)Elizabeth S.
You know... I'm actually kind of disappointed. Maybe it's due to the hyped-ness of the reviews and such, but the food wasn't as awesomely exploding as I had hoped it would be. Seafood nachos: meh. It's an innovative idea, but nothing stood out to me. It was really seafood on a nacho. Cabonara udon: upon recommendation from the waitress, we ordered this. I actually really liked this EXCEPT I wish it came a little more saucier in that the udon got really dry and there wasn't enough flavor to coat the udon. Duck steak: actually this was pretty good- soft, tender, juicy.... would come to eat again. =Overall, this place is good but I honestly wouldn't come here again. In my opinion, there are better and cheaper places for sushi. As for Japanese food, well... it didn't blow me out of the water so my rating is just A-OK.
(3)Victoria J.
I had the Sushi Lunch Jo-Nigiri. The sushi quality was very good, but it was sort of haggardly cut. My salmon nigiri was HUGE, like 3 oz of fish, very odd for a nigiri. The salad dressing was a tasty creamy sesame dressing and I liked the miso soup. I didn't find the service rude like some people have said and everyone was nice and although they aren't super attentive, you can certainly get their attention if you need something. I thought it was a bit expensive for only 8 pieces of Nigiri at $20, but I could tell it was good quality food.
(3)Agustinus T.
Dropped in on Sat evening and saw a number of empty tables. The waitress told us most of them are reserved but fortunately there was empty one for 3 of us. Teppanyaki Hamburger Steak : when my friend picked hamburger steak.. I thought.. ok doesn't sound that great but let's try it. It's quite deliciously soft and the sauce was really good. Buta Kakuni & Hanjuku Tamago : pork belly + eggs! two of my favorite food.. it's as good as it sounds but not better which I was hoping it would. One of the chicken dishes.. forgot which one but it was good.
(4)John-Michael C.
GO HERE! Here's a friend recommendation that finally steered me right! the offerings are solid despite the cramped space. I wouldnt mind waiting for a table or even the sushi counter. The hot pots, sashimi.. and never mind the guy behind the counter using a flame thrower on the sushi rolls to keep you entertained! Definitely a go to spot if you're in the area.. hell if you're not in the area go check it out anyways. And a couple bottles of sake always makes things great! ;D
(4)Cindy K.
Food was decent. I had the Okonomiyaki. The last time I had this was in Japan. The only major issue I had with this dish was that there was less than half that came on the plate. My friend got the lunch special that day which was fish and eggplant, chicken karage and sashimi. Sounded great but it turned out it was just okay. Chicken karage was normal. The fish and eggplant was disappointing. It was a large steamed sardine without the head and like two bits of eggplant. When I asked my friend how he liked it the response I got was, "That chicken better be good!" Enough said.
(3)Steven C.
Probably another case of myself doing it wrong. Stick with the traditional Japanese tapas items or anything that's cooked, skip the fish stuff since this place is a tapas place first, sushi second. The good: Okonomiyaki - Can't really screw this one up, tastes like what you can expect from other Japanese tapas places although a tad bit heavy on the sauce and smaller in portion than the traditional circle style. Volcano Roll - Not typically standard at a tapas place, but the picture showed a giant mound that resembled a volcano so it was hard not to order. This thing takes up a whole frigging large plate and was more spicy than expected. Good stuff, beats all the past Volcano rolls I've had by far. The aite: Beef tongue - Was expecting something a bit more chewy and grilled like what you can find at Honda-Ya or other authentic Japanese tapas places, this one was braised and a bit too dry to enjoy. The sauce helped with the taste a lot though but nothing noteworthy. The meh: Omakase Three Appetizers - Not very impressed for something that's named chef's choice, it's pretty much chopped up sashimi in three separate portions and the fish tasted way too icy. Fish that isn't fresh is always a guaranteed sadface. Hamachi Sashimi - The pieces were well cut and large too but unfortunately icy tasting as well, what a bummer. Will have to try more of the standard tapas items next time around like takoyaki, onigiri, etc in order to get a better impression. Service is okay, decor is simple. The space itself is small-ish so don't expect anything fancy, although the garnish begs to differ. Pro tip: Keep it simple with small plates which are hard to screw up. Better value & experience too since most people try to sample a bit of everything when your out for tapas.
(3)Cynn H.
I seriously adore this place. Service is great, the menu is extensive but everything is still done well. There are so many good things to eat here...where do i start? Somehow we often find ourselves here for late night dinners (around 8 or 9pm) since they stay open a little later than most places. There is a row of seating to the left of the restaurant (when you walk in) and they have little bamboo curtains that afford a date some extra privacy =) Things we've gotten: Volcano Roll (Good, but is wayyyy too much for just two people to eat. Order if you have 4+ people...because it's RICH.) Secret Shrimp, this is like a straight shot into food coma world. 4 battered crispy big shrimp swimming in an ocean of fancy ponzu infused mayo. YUM. Buta Kakuni Don, hands down my favorite here. Big soft fatty pieces of indulgent pork over rice, with a ramen style softboiled egg and some ginger/mustard. Comfort food to the max. This dish almost made me cry. Carbonara Style Mentaiko and Kimchi Udon, lightly creamy, just tangy enough from the kimchi, and perfectly cooked udon. Big enough to share. Black sesame ice cream, need I say more?!! And too many other things we've tried that I just cant remember. But everything is good =) Oh and, service is super friendly and they remembered us after just one trip =)
(5)Cat H.
This is an awesome tapas place! Some other reviewers complained about the service, but I feel like the servers were pretty nice to us. They were very diligent with refilling our tea and were very friendly as well. We ordered the sashimi combination and each fish had their own flavored roe! If I am correct, they were wasabi and yuzu flavored. It was very unique! The sashimi was also fresh and cut thickly. In addition, we ordered the Maguro Poke, Kimagure Okonomiyaki, and ZigZag roll. Each of them were very flavorful! I will be coming back again.
(5)MOna S.
This sushi place has such amazingly delicious and fanciful sushi that we always spend a small fortune getting all of our favorites! The presentation of the food is exquisite. We feel like we're enjoying a top-notch foodie restaurant. I don't order the classic Japanese selections but rather the Gokaku favorites.
(5)Erin J.
WOW, what a disappointment. I decided to come here based on the pretty good yelp reviews. However, I unfortunately do not agree with most of you on Gokaku. I came here for lunch. I decided to order the Ten Don (tempura rice bowl). It came with some miso soup which we started with. The miso soup was quite good, and I was thinking, okay this is a really good start. And then my Ten Don arrived. I couldn't believe how horrible it was! The tempura has cooked in a batter that included GINGER of all ingredients and the sauce that was poured over the rice bowl also had a bunch of GINGER in it. What the.....!!! Who cooks tempura with ginger? It was so GINGERY, that I couldn't even eat it. When I proceeded to tell the waitress my problem with the dish, she had the NERVE to argue with me that that is how ten don is cooked in Japan. UM EXCUSE ME? I AM Japanese, and I've been to Japan several times, and never in my life have I had tempura that was coated all over with ginger. Yes it is true that you sometimes put some ginger in the dashi (sauce) for tempura, but it is usually a small amount, not a whole BOWL FULL of GINGER. In any case, after some arguing, they decided to cook it again for me in the proper way without any ginger. My other disappointment with this dish is that it only came with 1 prawn, and the rest with veggies. Pretty overpriced for $10. I almost laughed because the menu says you can order a vegetarian version of the ten don, but the regular version is pretty vegetarian anyway. Food - 1 star Service - 0 stars.
(1)David K.
Took my best friend here for a late birthday dinner! Making reservations is a good idea because I heard this place gets pretty packed! Sashimi salad was legit cause you get a lot of fresh sashimi over a bed of greens! I ordered that pancake dish because I never tried it before but I didnt really like it haha im not saying it wasnt good here but maybe I just didnt like it in general. Seafood nachos were pretty tasty, but my favorite was the duck steak! You definitely have to order that! OH YEAH we did some sake bombs as well!
(4)Benjamin L.
The hot stone items were good...try the sukiyaki style hot stone rice and kimchi udon.
(4)Pauline L.
This place is truly a hole-in-the-wall gem and has quickly become my favorite izakaya restaurant. All of the dishes that my husband and I have tried here are executed well, high in quality and flavor, and a nice breather from the ubiquitous sushi/ramen joints all over the South Bay. It's a small, simple restaurant with wonderful service. Our first time here, the server produced us with two menus: the standard menu and the Chef's top choices menu. Nearly everything is made by the sole Japanese chef hammering out 5 dishes simultaneously in the back counter, blow-torch included. Not only does the food taste amazing, but the presentation is lovely. I forget that I'm eating in a strip mall restaurant sometimes. Our stand-out favorites that we always order: Fish Nachos - spicy tuna with a hot and semi-sweet sauce served with tortilla chips. Perfect appetizer. If you have a large group, you may want two of these boys. Zig Zag roll - soft shell crab roll in a slightly creamy sauce wrapped with lettuce. Crunchy, hearty, and satisfying. Other dishes that I liked: Okonomiyaki - savory and sweet seafood pancake Maguro Poki - amazing fresh sushi wrapped in cucumber Braised pork and soft boiled egg - unctuous and rich Firecracker (spicy tuna) - seared tuna with seaweed and chili peppers on top of a roll drenched in a sweet, spicy sauce (vinegary hint of tabasco). Tasty, but not for the faint of heart. Gindara Miso Zuke (black cod) - buttery, grilled cod wrapped in a banana leaf. A new favorite for me! And what's an izakaya without some sake or soju drinks? Some simple refreshments to enjoy with my rich array of entrees: Grapefruit sour with soju and Calpico with soju (like drinking delicious yogurt... could be dangerous).
(5)Cicie W.
this places doesn't deserve much praise at all, it's just another so so Japanese restaurant. We came here for lunch after seeing glaring reviews. The restaurants has maybe 15 tables, and only two waiters and one sushi chef. I waited 40 minutes for my food, which is not acceptable for lunch time. the waiters weren't very nice, but I can understand since they were just running back and forth b/t the kitchen and the customers. There's nothing special, but the ordinary stuff on the menu. I got a rainbow roll, which was just alright, not as pretty as I would expected and paid $17 for it. I don't know why they call it tapa. Won't be back.
(1)Mia W.
Sushi is every bit as good as reviews say. Thankfully, a winter Tues night didn't require reservations. The place is cozy so don't be surprised if you need to wait (as other Yelpers said to expect). Tofu salad was very generous. Presentation of the lettuce in dressing was a bit sloppy and soggy. Flavouring of the tofu was pretty good. Fresh ingredients. Godzilla roll was americanized sushi. Gobs of orange mayo, sweet gooey soy, topped with seaweed that presented very confusing flavours. the menu said there was supposed to be tempura hamachi? in the roll.....I couldn't taste anything other than sweet mayonnaise. The $25 nigiri was very good. Very large portions of fish. Didn't seem like the freshest fish I've tasted (wasn't gleaming) but texture indicated it was still good. Huge pieces of tuna, atlantic non fatty salmon, yellow tail, sweet prawn, uni, and crunchy deep fried shrimp head. It was very good "ordinary sushi" and worth trying. Omar, the server, is really attentive and nice, and seems to know his sushi. It's not Gochi and it's not Sawa. But it's not priced like either of those places either. I'd go back, just not for the rolls.
(4)Carrina D.
I came here with my family for lunch, and I can't believe that this place has been so close to where I live the entire time and I never noticed it! The food was definitely really yummy as far as Japanese food goes, and we went at around 11 so it was pretty empty. Service wise, our server was really nice and smiley, and the food came quickly. We ordered: 1) The secret shrimp, which came with a really yummy mayo sauce. To be honest, I don't think I enjoyed this as much as I could've because I just had another roll with the same sauce and I was kind of getting sick of it. 2) The zigzag roll.... don't judge it by its size. It's REALLY filling... I usually eat a lot more (volume wise) than the zig zag roll but I was full instantly after eating around 3 pieces? Even though the roll itself is not huge by any means. Anyways this was really delicious but it's the same sauce as the secret shrimp, so don't get these two together. 3) The buta kakuni don. I followed another reviewer's recommendation on this and to be honest, I couldn't really enjoy this because I HATE fat on my meat. I think this dish was specifically a fatty meat dish so I guess I made a wrong choice. Still, everything was so fresh and I really enjoyed the gravy sauce that came with it! I actually would really recommend this dish. I think I would've enjoyed this one the most if the meat were different. 4) The black sesame ice cream is delicious! Enough said. Anyways I definitely recommend this place! Their food is amazing even during lunch (the dinner menu is supposedly more diverse) and the prices are really good. Looking at the other reviews, I would say that coming early is probably a good idea. I personally had no problems with the service/speed in which the food came out, but it looks like service is an issue when the place starts getting crowded.
(4)Charlton Y.
The rolls are a little pricier than other places but they also have that extra flair of creativity. If you are wondering what to order, its quite simple to look around and see that everyone has ordered that giant tower called the Volcano Roll. Yes, thats the one you are wondering 'what the heck is that mountain?!' However, as cool looking as it is, i dont think its really thattt great. its just piled high with tempura crispy bits and an entire bottles worth of sauce. Thus, creativity a plus, but actual taste and price bring it down to being A-OK. Ambience is nice too, seems like it could be a date place (the location is in a dead lot though)
(3)Tina C.
I wanted to give this place a try since it got such good reviews...but NO! HORRIBLE CHOICE! My personal pet peeve is that the rice at a sushi place HAS to be good...but they gave us clumpy LEFTOVER rice from the day before... totally unacceptable and I will NEVER COME HERE AGAIN. We ordered: -sushi roll lunch: salmon roll, New York roll, and unagi avocado roll It tasted fine, but the sushi rolls were cut very unevenly so all the sushi pieces were not the same size. It came out less than 5 minutes after we ordered, which was great but everything else took MUCH longer. I was finished with my sushi rolls before everyone else got their food (it was my birthday so I got to do whatever I want for a day :) -tempura don with mini udon the mini udon came 15 minutes earlier than the tempura don...?! What?! The udon was not very good (hagotai ga nai...) and the broth tasted like it was instant the tempura was the best thing we had, they were fried to perfection EXCEPT it came 20 minutes later than everything else. OLD RICE = :( -tonkatsu plate Forgettable, the portion was big but the pork cutlets were tiny and thin (they gave 3 pieces of pork cutlets). I want a juicy big cut of tonkatsu if I order it in a restaurant so this was a NO. They were very ordinary. The tonkatsu sauce was overly sweet and tasted bad, I would rather just have a store bought tonkatsu sauce. The potato salad was worse than what I make. Usually there's some veggies or fruit in Japanese potato salad, but this was just a clump of mushy potatoes. OLD RICE = :( -dragon roll WAY TO OVER SAUCED and salty. Again the shrimp tempura was great but all you can taste was the sauce. The chef poured so much over the roll it was the only thing you could taste. Service was pretty bad, our tea cups and water glasses were empty and no one filled them. We had to flag people down to get some service. To be fair, they were busy but it took a few tries before we can get a waiter to pay for our meal. I really wanted to like this place since it was only a 5 min walk from my house...but alas, I would just go somewhere else (like Hoshi or Tomi sushi) next time.
(1)Hardev G.
Update: came back a third time and the miso glazed beef tongue is AMAZING ! (5 stars for that dish alone) Wonderful, whole in the wall Japanese restaurant. Very popular with a modern twist on Japanese and somewhat Korean dishes. Becoming one of my favorite places. Kimchi Hot Pot is awesome on a rainy, cold day. Fish quality is very good. And they have takoyaki...... ;-)
(5)Christina L.
My favorite Japanese joint in the South Bay. Seriously love this place (so sorry En). Gokaku has the perfectly balanced blend of traditional with foreign inspired... basically the food still tasted traditional but looks rather foreign. Their exterior is a bit deceiving, by the way. You would NEVER guess what's inside. I've been her a few times for both business and pleasure and they surprise EVERY TIME... yes, still. This is one place I very actively attempt to try something new each visit, and it's not because the last dish didn't please. On the contrary, it's because each dish is even more impressive than the last. Their duck dish is extremely flavorful and perfectly seasoned - a definitely twist on traditional (I guess this may be one dish that isn't quite traditional, but I don't care). Their sashimi donburis are extremely beautiful and taste just as fresh. Taro chips and their kimchi mentai carbornara udon is also a must try. I wouldn't say it's the cheapest tapas place on the block, you could go all out, and a dinner for two would cost you maybe about $80 ish with drinks and the appetizer works. Or you can go simple with a single appetizer and two entrees probably closer to $50. Anyway, this place is 10000% recommended.
(5)Yah H.
Came here with a buddy to check out the place. Price is actually not that expensive, a place where I probably go with a group of friend to grub a drink or two and some food. A different scenery for a change instead of going to TGIF or where ever you usually go all the time. If you like Japanese food from place such as GoChi, Sumiya, or Red Crane and haven't try out this place yet, you should, really. Only reason I give it 4 star instead of 5 is cause I don't like the cheap bamboo fence thing that is being place between tables. I would come back for sure.
(4)Craig K.
This place gets pretty busy, even on a Tuesday night. Apparently they had $2.75 on Asahi and Sapporo beers, not bad at all. The sashimi dish was delishious, no strong fishy flavor which is how sashimi should be. The fish just melts in your mouth, with the little crackles and pops of roe. The green tea cheesecake and black sesameaice cream were pretty delicious and complimented one another well. Service was good, evwn when busy. Will definitely come back. BE WARNED, BE PREPARED TO SPEND MONEY
(4)Jordan H.
Place is tiny and a bit cramped but the food was good. Felt like portions were a bit small but they're tapas so that's normal. Everything was pretty tasty and service was okay but occasionally a bit overwhelmed.
(4)Truc N.
Love this place!! Great service! Very friendly and attentive staff. Octopus balls - YUMMS Sashimi Salad - GOOD! Cucumber Chef Salad - YUMMS Salmon Sashimi - YUMMS Volcano Roll - So big! It's ok. I wouldn't get it again. Secret Shrimp - YUMMS I can't wait to come back!!!! Closed Mondays. Make a reservation.
(5)Kim N.
There's a new Izakaya player in town. In fact they're not that far from Gochi which is my favorite izakaya in the bay area. Now they're not on the same level but they're still young and have potential. In fact they have a lot of dishes that you don't see at many of the other Izakayas around. It's always nice to have variety right? We were seated immediately and perused their solid selection of sake. Got a bottle of Hakkaisan to start off the night. We then got a large amount of dishes as follows: -Hamachi Kama -Nato -Grilled squid -Soy grilled beef -Tripe stew with tofu -Teka Maki -Soba/Tempura -Mozzarella/tofu/mentai -Okonomiyaki omelete Everything was pretty tasty, though the kitchen seemed slammed at times and we got our dishes in erratic spurts. I had also ordered a roasted/chopped aji mackerel dish which never showed and they were super apologetic about it. They also have a full sushi bar and bento style entrees but we concentrated on the izakaya side mostly. I'd definitely like to try more of the izakaya dishes and the sushi. Service is friendly but as I said, under heavy load it's noticeable. Definitely worth a few trips though to see the breadth of the offerings.
(4)Carol K.
Thoroughly enjoyed my meal. Will definitely return. Only gripe is that I wish they had more fresh fish rolls without mayo sauce. Half the menu is fried this and that.
(4)Patrick L.
Definitely a new favorite. A replacement of Tommy Sushi.
(5)Esther S.
A little biased since i'm not too big on Japanese food. But that day I even felt like some raw fish! (very rarely do I eat this) Me and boy came on a Saturday evening- place is very nice, casual with a touch of elegance but not too fancy. Everything is very clean and tidy- waitresses are plentiful and very friendly. A large menu to choose from and the presentation is very nice! Prices are pretty good considering in Japanese food. Everything tasted pretty good and we left super full with some leftovers as well. Saw some promotions for set course dinners and a ladies night with unlimited sake hmmmm =D
(4)Andrew T.
I figure I'm not very popular on Yelp, so it's safe for me to review this place. If I were popular I might think twice about it, because I'd want fewer people to know about this diamond in the rough. What looks like a hole in the wall from the outside turned out to be a nice, modern-looking restaurant. That was a pleasant surprise. Then we took one look at the tables around us with plates full of large rolls and we instantly knew we found something special. We ordered the Seafood Nachos to start, and then shared a Zig Zag Roll (Soft shell crab with soy wrap), Super Roll (Chef Special which had Salmon, Tuna, and Yellowtail with flavored Tobiko) and the mother of all rolls, the Volcano Roll (too much awesome to name). The rolls were a bit more expensive than I had come to expect, but for good reason. They were all extremely delicious and we came away very full and satisfied. The waitresses were also very nice and efficient. Overall I had a really great time, and plan on going back again very soon.
(4)Caroline S.
Yum! The sushi here is divine. They have some very filling specialty rolls with sashimi layered on top and some fried goodness, too. Then, drizzled with chef's special sauce. I also have had soba and udon noodles here. The broth was light and yummy and the noodles were not soggy. The place is a bit hidden, so I hope they do well with more positive yelp reviews. They are located in a small shopping center where there's a Walgreens on the corner. If you are a Cupertino native, TinTin market was located in the shopping center before it closed down.
(4)ChingYing K.
This is my first visit. The Sashimi salad is pretty good. It's very fresh and tasty. I ordered Superroll which is good as well. However, the appetizers aren't that good. I will come back for next time though.
(4)Tiny K.
I liked everything that I tried and will come back for more! It does look a bit strange in a Chinese strip mall with a Walgreens, but then again, it reminds me of Los Angeles minus the valet parking.
(5)Laura T.
I would say that the Price Range here is more $$$. It's pricier than most sushi restaurants. Only had a few dishes here, but the hamachi sashimi was good. I also enjoyed the black sesame ice cream for dessert.
(3)May B.
Come hungry as they serve generous portions. Fish is fresh and one order of their sashimi feels like I ate two orders :) I was surprised to find this restaurant, located in a residential zone but trusted my foodie buddy to steer me in the right direction ;) It does get busy and I would not recommend coming with a huge people as the restaurant is on the smaller side. Attentive wait staff and prompt service. I would go back again...
(4)Andrew Y.
Came here on a Sunday night around 8:30PM and it was pretty empty. Staff was very friendly, and service was excellent. Overall, it went like this: Service - 5 stars Hamachi Nigiri - Very fresh, nice cut. 4 stars Uni - Fresh and tasty, comes wrapped in shiso. 4 stars Hamburg steak - Delicious! very juicy and most, served with egg on top. 5 stars Tekka Maki - You really can't screw this up. 3 stars Yaki Onigiri - This was just ok for me. Salmon was a bit sparse and came on top of the rice instead of inside. 3 stars Deluxe CA roll: Supposedly uses fresh real crab. The crab was real, but was unfortunately also really unfresh. This was bad order. In fact, I couldn't even finish it. 1 star. Hamchi Garlic Steak - That has a very appetizing ring to it doesn't it? unfortunately this dish was not good. It came it dry little chunks. Disappointing. 1 star Egg Plant - We got the one without the cheese, and it was just ok, 3 stars Overall, we had a decent dining experience, but there are other izakayas out there that we'd go to first over this one. dont get me wrong, it's not bad a worth a try. i was particularly impressed with the freshness of their sashimi, which i would gladly recommend. in all, 3.5 star is a fair rating, which is about where these guys are rated at the time of this review. portions, btw, are on the smaller side. so order up.
(3)Shanna N.
Another great dining experience thanks to my fellow yelpers! GREAT LATE NIGHT DINING! Recommend getting the Sashimi Salad - absolutely amazing! Lotus Root IMO... was cut too thin. I didn't even taste anything but fried.. Can't wait to come back and try more dishes they have a lot of interesting looking dishes!
(4)jj l.
Nigiri is super fresh and good portion. All the rolls we tried are very tasty. The flavors are multi-dimension and make you want to eat one after another to figure out the ingredients. Some servers are very attentive while others are so so... I highly recommend.
(4)Heidi M.
Too hot to think about much today. A cute little hidden restaurant in the heart of Cupertino. You are always greeted in a pleasant and polite manner and the menu is suitable for anyone's appetite. A personal favorite of mine - weekly, as I enjoy the staff and my Zigzag roll with a delicious sake - Suigei.
(5)Julie W.
We've been wanting to come here after getting rave reviews from our daughter (and yelpers). last Friday, hubby surprised me by having a celebration here with my children and friends. We had reservation for 6pm; arrived 5 minutes early and was told to wait outside. The place is small and simple. Service was efficient and good for the most part. Daughter did a good job ordering for a total of 10 people including two non-raw fish guys. We had multiple orders of seafood nachos, white tuna salad, assorted sashimi, pork belly w/ poached egg, spicy udon, tempura, fried oysters, an order each of unagi don and tonkazi for the two picky guys. Everything was done well, we were impressed with the quality of the ingredients and flavors; the fusion spin added freshness and interesting twists to the tastes and presentation, portion sizes were decent. I liked all the raw dishes, pork belly was melting in your mouth but a bit too fatty, I did like the soft boiled eggs a lot. I'm not a fan of fried food, the fried oysters were good, the rice dishes were decent as well. Price was quite reasonable for less then $30 pp including tax and tip. Will come back to try the lunch specials and other dishes.
(4)Max D.
As a long time resident of the bay area I go all over looking for the best Japanese food here. Even though this place is top notch it's not my favorite. I'm writing this review weeks after I went so I don't quite remember what I ordered but it was only ok compared to other places where I spend the same amount of money. However the presentation of the dish was exquisite, much like a five star restaurant. The service was also fantastic, because there was such a large party coming in, they moved me to two different tables which I didn't mind much because they were pretty nice about it. Because they made me move they apologized and got my date and I free dessert! Overall food 3.5 stars for the food/price, 5.0 for the service, 5.0 for the presentation of the dishes. Presentation isn't much to some people but it is too me. My food must look good for me to enjoy it correctly.
(4)Christine L.
Sighh I really wanted to give this place a 5 :( After discovering this place after finding that tintin closed, I've been here at least once a week. This place is DELICIOUS. TIP: a lot of their dishes have a lot of subtle spices where you don't feel that the food is spicy in the first few bites but after a while it's like a spice party in your mouth! Make sure to order cold water first because the hot tea doesn't exactly help with the whole spice factor. Also, a lot of their dishes all have the same cream sauces so don't order too many dishes with cream sauces in them or else it'll all start tasting the same. I always order: Kimchi Mentaiko Udon: Hands down the best thing here. Share with someone though, the portion size is huge! Chefs roll: I didn't try any sushi after my first time here because I didn't like the zig zag roll at all... that being said, the Chefs roll is AMAZING. I don't like sashimi but the fish in this roll is mostly cooked (partially cooked partially raw) It's delicious. On the spicy side though. I alternate between appetizers: Boom: I used to always order this but now it's gotten a bit salty. Secret shrimp: The first time I got it, the breading on the shrimp was already soggy, however, I wanted to give this dish a second chance and it never disappointed after the first time :) Taro Chips: A MUST. This is sooo good. Sometimes there's too much salt on some part of the chip and not enough on other parts though. And I wish they would give us more sauce for the chips. Other things that I've ordered are Oden soup: The dashi broth was amazing. And I usually hate dashi broth. Blue Fin Tuna Coller (Cheek): Holy Cow this tuna cheek was HUGE. Delicious. I was so lucky that I got the last order of this. It's a special so they don't have it every week :( Rainbow Roll: Skip this. My mom really likes sashimi so I told her that I would order it and she could eat the sashimi while I eat the california roll portion. The taste of the california roll was just weird. Duck Udon: I personally don't like duck but my friend who ordered this said that it was delicious. Berkshire Pork and egg: It's good but the one at tanto is better. Now I'm sure you're all wondering why I rated this place 4 stars instead of 5 if I love it so much. I usually order to go on the weekdays because I don't have time to go out and eat and today, when I ordered to go, instead of the berkshire pork and egg, they gave me sausage. I didn't bother to check if they gave me the correct food or not because they've never gotten my order wrong before. On the bright side, the sausage was pretty good! But the boom was WAY too salty this time and they put too much sauce on the chefs roll. It was like soy sauce gone wrong. Even after this incident I will still always go to Gokaku because I know how good their food usually is. But they have to remember that to go food needs some love too!
(4)Minako S.
Good Japanese tapas place. Must-have: - crab cream croquette: soooooo yummmy. verry creammmyy with a nice crispy crust. my fave =) - takoyaki: great flavor. great texture. could use more squid bits tho. Good to try: - Nigiri: decently fresh. if you like seared salmon, ask for it =) - grilled cod: tender, but nothing special. - carbonara pasta: a little salty and heavy for me, but has good flavor otherwise. - seafood nacho: altho not the best. still decently yummy. - volcano roll: looks like a crazy huge roll, but mostly it's one roll with a lot of tempura flakes thrown onto the plate. if you like the crunchy roll, definitely get it! Overall: food: good service: sometimes a little slow price: normal atmosphere: casual
(4)Diana C.
i was debating between 3.5 and 4 stars, but the Secret Shrimps pushed it to 4 :) a couple dishes that i would definitely order again: Secret Shrimps (so good. it's not like tempura shrimp. much crunchier. sauce was not bad. maybe mayo and soy sauce mix of some sort?!) Sashimi Salad (lots and lots of fishes. they are not tiny pieces. like 2/3 length of your fingers. i am not exaggerating. not a lot of veggies. such great deal) I'm likely to go back to this place just for these two dishes. the other things we ordered was alright; not likely to order again - grilled hamachi in garlic sauce - pork and half boiled eggs - (braised?!) beef tongue (this one requires an acquired taste) - black sesame ice cream with a side of red beans i added some comments when i posted photos...
(4)Carrie-C N.
I am so happy that Gochi was full and we had to make alternate reservations at Gokaku. We ordered about five dishes, but after the Volcano roll came out, we had to cancel two of the five dishes. The portion sizes were HUGE. It was also very delicious. Apart of me wished that I had more tummy space so I could've tried the other dishes. This will be a stop in the future for some wholesome and homey Japanese tapas. I am so very happy I found you, Gokaku!!!
(5)Richard C.
I love the food. It's got variety, authenticity and great taste. I've been here twice and ordered different tapas and sushi; everything is unique and yum yum. Can't wait to get back again.
(5)Karen T.
Been craving for a spot that can break me out of my familiarity with En in Santa Clara... and what do you know, there's a place that is literally down the street from where I live! Located in the old Tin Tin plaza [good riddance, smelly supermarket!]- this place doesn't look like much on the outside, but you totally couldn't tell with the amount of people lining up before their open time at 5.30 pm. Seriously, though. This place gives an entirely new definition to 'ambiance lighting'. Someone had the audacity to peek in before the place was officially open... and the inside was super nondescript and kind of plain in fluorescent lighting. But turn down the lights and BAM- you've got an entirely new beast there. Coupled with their penchant for the way their food is presented (and their great service) this place is definitely an excellent up and coming eatery. Their menu is extensive, and as many people have said- if it's your first time here, someone will go over the most popular items in the menu for you. Nice of them to do so, but given that I can barely wrap my head around the gamut of choices- it was a little too speedy for me to comprehend. No matter though! There are pictures next to a lot of their dishes, so if all else fails, you can certainly eenie miney mo yourself to a great meal. We ordered: VOLCANO (a special roll that piled on tempura sushi, with a ton of crab meat, and fresh salmon sashimi... if you're a fan of specialty rolls, this one's for you), AIGAMO STEAK (sliced seared duck with mashed potatoes- the sauce was really rich, but the duck was amazing!!), and the CARBONARA UDON. All three dishes were top notch, but in retrospect, I kind of wish we didn't choose all dishes with really rich sauces... but hindsight is 20/20. Next time, will definitely expand my food adventure and try out other things from their menu. One quip, though, the place is kind of small- so the tables could barely fit all the various plates... and we only ordered 3 dishes. The music was also a touch too loud to carry a regular conversation. Other than that, though, I would definitely love to come back here!
(4)Joanna Q.
Awesome food, but service could definitely use some improvement. I've been her numerous times and each time it's pretty much the same - servers take a while with requests and rarely checks on our table unless we waved them down for something. That said, the food is yummy! They have an extensive menu so if you're not particularly in the mood for sushi there are other options. My go-to items are the Aburi Trio special (salmon, yellowtail, and scallop nigiri - all seared) and the carbonara udon. The restaurant is small and located in a plaza and so it might hard to see the sign from the main street.
(4)Randy F.
Chirashi Chronicles #23 I had actually been to Gokaku a few times, but it seemed that every time I was able to go, their sushi bar was closed. They actually have a great selection of Japanese cooked dishes that are reminiscent of Gochi though perhaps not quite the diversity of dishes served there. I finally was able to return to try their sushi selection and, boy, was I glad I did. I had seen photos of their toku-jo nigiri and chirashi and couldn't decide between the two. In the end, since I'm such a Chirashi fan, I opted for that and I can't be happier. I got the mini udon add-on ($3) and it was a nice start. Flavorful, piping hot, and the perfect compliment to cold sushi. The chirashi bowl arrived next and I was stunned at the presentation. A very large oversized white plate is decorated with sauces and in the middle is a ~5 inch bowl of chirashi. The "bowl" is actually made out of cucumber and filled with sushi rice and then topped with very generous cuts of salmon, hamachi, tuna, ikura, and wonderful uni. The best part was that there were 3 pieces of uni and a generous helping of multi-colored tobiko and ikura. Easily the most creative chirashi I've ever had but up there in terms of quality too. Overall, I couldn't be more pleased with the fish quality here. I liked this place with the cooked dishes, but their sushi bar puts it over the top. Gokaku accepts credit card, but not American Express.
(4)Derek L.
$14 ($15 plus tax) for a rainbow roll and they had the audacity to use imitation crab meat?! You're kidding me right?! And I thought this was supposed to be an authentic Japanese restaurant...Unacceptable! And to think they have some rolls that are upwards of $20! Do they contain imitation crab meat as well? I'm scared to find out.
(1)Ashley L.
Took a roommate here for his birthday. Got seated pretty quickly (maybe because it was a Monday night). Items ordered: Sashimi Combination - This dish came with 3 different types of sashimi - salmon, tuna, and yellowtail. The freshness of this dish was okay. I had better sashimi else where. Volcano Roll - When this roll first came out, we were all surprised. The roll was buried under a pile of tempura flakes. You will have to dig in to get to the roll. Overall this roll was pretty good. Ika-Jaga Butter Yaki- My favorite dish. Squid and potatoes... well its more like squid and french fries. The sauce that came with this dish made it so much better. Yums! Seafood Nacho - This was okay... nothing really special. Just spicy tuna on a chip. Over priced for 4 piece if you ask me. Renkon Chip - thinly cut lotus root fries. Doesn't really taste like anything, but that sauce it came with was pretty good. The group also ordered the the firecracker roll, but by that time, I was too full to try a piece. Overall, the food was decent. Will come back here to try other dishes.
(3)Derek S.
Came by for dinner the other night. As a walk-in, seating was tight for a table although we were able to squeeze in at the sushi bar. Reservations are recommended. Service by the non-Japanese male staff can be short and curt. Try to flag down the Asian female waitresses for better service... Hits: - Miso soup was decent. - Seafood Nachos is a must try w/ spicy tuna over a fried wonton wrapper. - Maguro Poki was decent but the size has gone downhill over the years...they also removed the fried taro chip too... - Buta Kakuni was decent though it was pretty fatty, super tender though Okay: - Secret Shrimp was okay. The batter was too thick... ~$25/head after tax and tip
(4)Kris K.
I've been here a few times now and enjoyed each one. The times I have been there the sushi was high quality and fresh. Like a breath of fresh air compared to what Yuki Sushi has been churning out. They have a nice variety on the menu so you don't have to eat raw fish if you don't want to. The alma ebi is definitely one to try since you get the fried shrimp heads served along side. The only thing I've had so far that I didn't like was the Boom appetizer. My work associate/friend is a huge fan of the beef soup. I've tried it and it is good but not my favorite. It's not cheap but they do have good food and a lot of variety.
(4)Kriti R.
I swear this place is consistently good EVERY TIME! LOVED the Dragon Roll and the Caterpillar Roll this time :] Got the secret shrimp again and of course... I dipped all my rolls in that yummy ponzu sauce again! The waiter came by and took the leftover sauce away when I wasn't looking... I had picked up my sushi roll to dip it in the sauce and when it realized it wasn't there, the roll went SPLAT onto the table. It was hysterical! Silly guy... you can't remove the sauce from the table!!
(5)Xavier Y.
Dishes (from kitchen) are good. e.g.Shabu Pork Salad, Duck Steak, Gobo Fries. Fresh Toro! but cut in wrong direction........ What is wrong with the Sushi Chef!
(3)Lawrence C.
Very good sashimi, very fresh and good presentation. The environment is nice and cozzy. The mall is very small but with a lot of reataurant. Its a good Japaneae restaurant overall. I ordered zig zag roll, sashimi combination.........
(4)Cynthia C.
Made reservations for 8:15 and we were still waiting at 8:40. Had friends visiting Friday night from the East Bay after a long week of work... we just weren't in the mood to wait any longer and left to eat dumplings. The staff kept telling us that the tables were leaving soon and 25 minutes later we were still waiting, while the tables still looked like they were no where ready to leave. That's just bad service. Period.
(1)Serena L.
We are quite regulars at this Japanese tapas restaurant. Service is usually very good. One ofy favorite dish is the carbonara mentaiko buta kimchee udon. It is very creamy with spicy pork kimchee. If you have extra sauce leftover, try it on a bowl of rice. My brother's favorite here is the chirashi which is beautifully presented wrapped in a ring of cucumber strips and topped with a taro chip. The sashimi fish is very fresh. My friends also like to come here for their lunch special which features different dishes daily and very reasonably priced.
(4)Hiroshi K.
I've been here a dozen or more times but this is my first review. I probably want to keep this place a secret because it's such a hidden gem! It's a little place in the back of the former Tin Tin Plaza. Wait staff are very friendly and attentive. The food is excellent. We almost always start with Seafood Nacho's which is spicy tuna on a crisp with wakame and a sauce!! Very good. Then, we usually get a salad; last night we had the daikon salad, which was excellent! They also have sashimi salad and a shabu shabu salad, also great! Then, we had four rolls; Gokaku, Rainbow, Lion King, and Firecracker roll; all excellent! Then, we had a special otoro nigiri and blue fin tuna sashimi!! Both, to die for!! Finally, a bowl of green tea ice cream!! They also have an excellent sake list; we had a bottle of Dassai 50!! A fantastic meal!
(5)Michael C.
The service was okay. The food was really good. My dad loved his Saba shiyoyaki and my mom liked her salmon teriyaki. However, the zig zag was a disappointment. Despite all the other reviews praising it, it just tasted like fried something inside too much rice.
(3)Sonya K.
Gokaku is another friendly Japanese restaurant that my family likes to visit. We came here for dinner tonight and ordered the following: 1. Sashimi salad -- lots of sashimi chunks, cherry tomatoes, wakame (seaweed), salad and yummy dressing all tossed together and plated inside cucumber walls. 2. toku-jo-nigiri -- 8 pieces of chef's choice sashimi: tuna, albacore, yellowtail, salmon, uni (sea urchin), ikura (salmon roe), scallop, and another whitefish I think. The scallop was really yummy! They have generous portions and all the sashimi was very fresh. 3. Rainbow roll -- pretty standard 4. Zig Zag Roll -- one of their special, chef recommended rolls. pretty good, unique 5. Takoyaki -- 6 octopus dumpling balls 6. Carbonara Style Mentaiko-Kimchi Udon -- my dad enjoyed it a lot, but it wasn't that appealing to me. I don't really enjoy the creaminess of this dish, although it is different and a special dish that you don't really see anywhere else. The food here is tasty, the sashimi is all fresh. There is plenty of parking in their private lot. The waiters and waitresses are all very friendly and they have good service. The restaurant itself is quaint, I saw that other parties that were larger knew to call ahead for table reservations. They also do take-out orders. We came right when they opened at 5:30pm and were seated right away. I'd recommend Gokaku.
(4)Sin-Yaw W.
Really? Yelpers. This is the first time yelp failed on me. If you are serious about Japanese foods, don't come. If you want something quick and simple, it is fine. We have a party of six and reserved a table. There were only two servers that we can see and we need to fight to get their attention: like walking up, standing in front, and say, "could you bring sesame ice cream to that table when you have a chance?" Seriously!?!? The Volcano sushi has an interesting look, but the seasoning was way off balance. The hot sauces were simply poured on top and did not blend into the dish. Guess digging out the meat from underneath a pile of simulated lava was fun. The most disappointing dish as the soft shell crab, one of my favorite and Gokaku totally ruined it. They battered on thick and over-fried it. There was no trace of crab flavor left. To be fair, the udon, caterpillar sushi, tempura, and croquette were pretty good.
(2)Glenn L.
I went to Gokaku for dinner with friends on a Sunday night and found a small busy restaurant! There were three groups ahead of us and we waited about 20 minutes to be seated. Not bad at all, since we didn't call for reservations, and they were pretty busy during their dinner service. WHAT WE FEASTED ON: - Maguro poke - We loved this poke dish! The fish was fresh, and it was nicely presented! One of those dishes, that you almost don't want to eat cause it "looks nice". - Volcano rolls - This dish was very overwhelming! It's spicy tuna, tempura jalapeno with fresh salmon, crab mix, and avocado covered with crunchy tempura flakes and their spicy sauce! - Zig zag roll - This was just okay... I couldn't really taste the soft shell crab... but the soy wrap makes this roll stand out from the rest! - Salmon tofu rolls - It's tofu topped with salmon with their special sauce! I thought this roll was really good, but my friends didn't really like the "cheesy" taste to it. I definitely liked the presentation of this roll! - BBD roll - yummy rolls with scallops! - Carbonara udon - This has gotta be my favorite! It was delicious and I recommend it if you like udon! The sauce was good! I'd have to give this place 4/5 stars because of the generous amount of food for the price! The service was alright... There were a couple of rolls that were a miss to me, but overall we had a really good dining experience here. I wanna go back and have some of the udon again!
(4)Jess C.
Fresh, but expensive sashimi. Note: I do not think they serve sushi on Tuesdays. Buta kakuni (pork belly over rice) is tasty, but very fatty. Also, it's not very unique and I drove pretty far just to try this place. Service is friendly.
(3)Samuel Y.
I've come here twice and each time I've sat at the bar. I've probably ordered similar things but I'll state what I've tried here most recent time: Sashimi salad $12.95 Takoyaki (6 pieces) $5.75 Chef's roll $13.95 Zig Zag $9.50 Buta Kakuni and hanjuku tamago $9.50 I thought the sashimi salad was actually pretty delicious as it was a nice presentation with plenty of sashimi to go with the seaweed and other mixed veggies. Takoyaki was nicely plated and delicious with the mayo/sauces. Chef's roll was filling and the spicy kick available was nice. Zig zag isn't the most visually appealing as it lacks vibrant color most sushi rolls have, but the components are ones I like and the entire roll was tasty. The braised pork and half boiled eggs were a bit disappointing to me. It comes in a boatload of gravy and though the dish itself is alright, I can easily request this dish to be replicated by my mother(she cooks wonderfully) and she'd probably make it better. Came here as a group of 3, looking for a decent priced sit down restaurant in Cupertino that served Japanese so we decided to come here. The staff here are friendly and fairly attentive. Overall it was a satisfying meal and I could see myself coming back some time.
(4)Christine C.
So so much want to give this place a 5 star, only drop one star because of the Unagi Don, which was really below average. The fish was very fatty and this is the first time I have had unagi with that much bones in them. These are not soft eatable bones. For $16.95, it is NOT worth it. Ok, lets start my sushi review (5 Star). OMG! This is going to be my favorite sushi restaurant!! I love Hamachi and Salmon, and their Hamachi and Salmon Nigiri melts in your mouth! First, you have to order the nigiri to get the best cut, hence, nigiri are usually pricier than your other combo price sashimi. I tried Tomi in Mtn View, even their Nigiri wasn't the best cut but carry the same price, that was disappointing. Been to Niiji in Mtn View, they were ok, just not thrilled to be in a Japanese restaurant owned by Chinese. The restaurant is very small and popular, so if you don't have reservation or get there early, you are going to have to wait. The best part is, the sushi chef is authentic Japanese :) So glad for YELP! Thank you, thank you! I finally found a sushi place that meets my standard.
(4)Aimee D.
Sushi rolls have too much rice that it over power the flavor. Chef special was okay.. (very generous on size of fish). I love the Takoyaki.. the best I have tasted. If I do come back for sure it will be because of those squid balls.
(3)Jim P.
So I created my first Yelp List about one of my favorite meals...Chirashi Sushi. Gokaku was my first meal dedicated to starting this list and boy have they set the bar high! The Chirashi was beautiful, I mean artistically beautiful. The sushi rice was wrapped at the edges with long thin slices of cucumber; the ends held in place with wasabi, ginger and sweet grape tomatoes. To jazz up the plate Eye Candy the chef used 3 infusions to make colorful stripes (Dill, Plum and I'm guessing Chili). The variety of fish was very nice with the 3 big standouts being the Ebi which was huge (Cocktail Prawn Huge) with a wonderful sweetness and firm texture, the Uni which was very fresh with all the flavors of the ocean without that left over YUCK taste you get when it is not fresh and last but certainly not least the Hotate coated in fresh fish roe (the little sweet ones) was over the top fresh! Another cool chef tweak was how he cut the Hirame and Sake into long single filets instead of 2 or 3 smaller pieces and wrapped them around the rice. Lastly I would be amiss not to mention the Wasabi Fish Roe which was awesome! Also had the cold Sake Sampler A that included Kokuryu "Junmai Ginjo", Akitabare "Koshiki Junzukuri" and Masumi "Okuden Kantsukuri". All 3 sakes were tasty and went well with the meal. The Kokuryu Ginjo was my favorite as it has a little more bite. So to close; Quality /Quantity to Price ratio was good. Overall freshness of the meal was good. Meal presentation was great and the atmosphere was cool with some perfect Downbeat playing in the background. Gokaku is my first Chirashi List review and wins for MOST ARTISTIC Presentation. Cheers!
(4)Christina C.
Come early for lunch and dinner, this place gets packed. Its not very big. Make reservations during prime time as well. Buta Kakuni - ginger braised pork. very tasty and delicious. heavy on the ginger taste. You can get the rice bowl for lunch or the entree (sans rice) for dinner. Carbonara style Mentaiko-Kimchi Udon - this was pretty tasty. Creamy, kimchi-filled udon. Wished there was more udon because its so tasty. They have okonomiyaki! that is non-seafood! When it came out, it didn't look anything like the photos which was disappointing. It was just ok, didn't taste any beef/pork/chicken in it at all- just veggies. Service is hit or miss. Definitely a huge miss during dinner when there was only 2 other tables :(
(4)Tyler K.
Good, possibly great food but poor inattentive service that was slower than molasses. Was hoping for a better experience.
(2)Katrina T.
OH EM GEE This place is SO GOOD! I knew this place was going to be good, but didn't realize it was going to be THIS good. So good I had to yelp it right away! This place is literally a block away from my house and how I didn't discover it sooner, ceases to amaze me. My boss even recommended this restaurant to me and ever since that suggestion, I had been dying to try! Came here without reservations (I do suggest making them because it gets REALLY packed!) luckily, we came right before the crowd! It was already starting to get crowded, but as we were seated there was a wait outside the door. The menu options are ALL mouthwatering. Couldn't decide what to get! But went with the: Volcano Roll - MASSIVE. It was so big I couldn't even find the sushi roll underneath. I loved that it was drenched in tempura crunch stuff and sauce drizzled all over it. It was sort of too spicy though! The raw sushi in it was super duper fresh. I like it when it kind of is "slither-y". Weird I know. yelp.com/biz_photos/goka… Caterpillar Roll - The green avocado was so vibrant in color and there were big pieces of unagi. YUM. yelp.com/biz_photos/goka… Spider Roll - The plainest of all of our rolls. STILL Delish though! yelp.com/biz_photos/goka… Godzilla Roll - Super saucy. Super spicy too. yelp.com/biz_photos/goka… Basically all their rolls are BIG. They are plated with good presentation and the food honestly tastes as good as it looks. Great portions at a great price point. This restaurant seems like it could get classy. NEW FAVE SUSHI RESTAURANT!!! btw looks kinda janky on the outside, but trust me the moment you walk in, it is a big turnaround.
(5)Kat H.
Love the takoyaki here. One of our favorite places to go for dinner!
(5)Sharon H.
Small, casual, quiet place in the old Tin Tin marketplace plaza. I highly recommend the Sukiyaki Hot Stone beef rice. The dish is absolutely huge- I ate it for about three days. The beef is tender/delicious, perfectly sauced, with some mixed vegetables. I got the Godzilla roll and was a bit dissapointed. I'm normally even someone who likes mildly tempura-ed, crazy rolls, but this was just way too heavy and over-sauced-- I couldn't eat more than two.
(4)Elaine L.
Came here last night for dinner with my parents. I've never stopped by Gokaku because it kind of looks like a "hole in the wall" but the saying "never judge a book by its cover" has never been more true for this little restaurant. The restaurant itself is very small inside, and they specialize in serving Japanese-style tapas dishes and sushi rolls. Here's a breakdown of what we ordered: Ika Maruyaki ($7.95) - Soy-seasoned grilled whole squid. Ohmygawd this was so good! The squid was seasoned and grilled perfectly. It wasn't rubbery or tough to chew at all, and it came with a dollop of a yummy mayonnaise-infused dip to pair with the tender pieces of squid. Such a simple dish but so well done! Highly recommend! Kamo (Duck) Udon/Soba ($12.95) - Noodle soup with Seared Duck Breast This was such a light and refreshing dish. Again, very simple but packed with so much flavor. The broth is just mind-blowingly damn good! You get to choose whether you want soba or udon noodles in your soup - I prefer the soba personally. They are very generous with the duck breast, which were wonderfully seared as well. This is one of their most popular dishes and I can definitely understand why. Salmon Ikura Don ($19.95) - Salmon sashimi & salmon roe over rice Nothing too special here - basically just pieces of salmon and bits of salmon roe over sushi rice. The sashimi was very fresh and tasty, but I do feel that this dish was slightly overpriced. I feel like you can get this same exact dish somewhere else for the same quality at a lower price. Service here was friendly and professional. I'd definitely come here again - I really want to try the Carbonara style Mentaiko Kimchi Udon next time!
(5)Norman S.
Izakaya is catching on in the Bay Area so it was time to try Gokaku. Like typically good Japanese restaurants, waiting is the name of the game if you have no reservations and arrive at 7pm for dinner. Call ahead, reserve a table and all is good. The menu here is extensive and range from appetizers, to sushis, to soups, salads, and of course, Japanese style tapas. Regardless of variety, a few items stood out and were ordered and devoured: Shabu salad: thinly sliced boiled pork mixed in with lettuce. Well prepared salad but nothing spectacular. Seafood nachos: Japanese style nachos, surprisingly spicy tuna sitting on top of crunchy tortilla chips. Very good but be warned about the heat levels. Grilled braised chicken thighs in garlic sauce: Super flavorful marinated grilled chicken thighs. Garlic sauce adds additional dimension to the already intensely flavored chicken. Easily the best dish of the night. Rice ball served with in a broth with salmon. Fresh salmon complements the rice and boiling broth all served a steel pot at your table. So good to savor during the cold weather. Overall, hight quality food, great selection with reasonable prices. Will be back to try the other items on the extensive menu.
(4)Christine C.
I love sushi and like to try different restaurants, but I now know to just stick with the sushi restaurants I already like. There must be a review typo because someone said the Chirashi was $14.95, but it's actually $24.95 (I didn't order it; there are too many sushi joints for Chirashi under $20). The Seafood Nacho ($7.50) came in big chunks of spicy tuna on 4 pieces of chips. It was okay. The only thing decent was their Zig Zag Roll ($9.95), which was uniquely rolled in green soy wrap. But sorry, it isn't enough to make me want to come back. What really got to me was the Chef's Roll ($13.95). The description said the roll has tuna, yellowtail and salmon. Usually when those 3 fishes are involved, it's raw fish (even some of the photos on Yelp make the sushi look like sashimi). On the contrary, they do "tempura style" which means it's all cooked, and it tasted so fishy. PLEASE EXPLAIN THIS BETTER, MAYBE IN CAPS OR BOLD. I was so dissatisfied that I went down the street to eat a second lunch at Gyu-Kaku.
(2)Lily L.
The staff was super nice and friendly. I took a long time deciding what to eat and they checked on me and offered suggestions. As it got busier, they still checked on me and refilled my tea cup several times. Good service! I tried only 3 items: House Salad, Fried Baby Octopus and the Dragon Roll. The salad was blah. The lettuce tasted like tough romaine lettuce (the old outer leaves) and the dressing was rather bland for a miso dressing. The octopus was delicious. It was perfectly crispy and lightly battered. It didn't need it but it might have been nice to have some sort of sauce on the side. The Dragon roll was very unappealing to look at but tasted fairly good. I'm not a big fan of the spicy sauce but the tempura, eel and tuna were good. I think the flavors were unique and I applaud them for that. I probably wouldn't get the Dragon roll again but I would like to come back and try other rolls. $26.45 for the three items, which was just enough for me for lunch. They have a warning on the menu that prices may change without notice and they did just that (the salad was marked $1.50 but they charged $2). Not a deal breaker but not sure what else has gone up.
(3)Jenn W.
Our party of 6 ordered everything family style - the dishes were really inconsistent. The volcano roll was covered in sauces and fried tempura batter, while the croquettes had minimal style plating and saucing. It was just kind of annoying to not know what to expect. The soft shell crab appetizer/salad/thing was probably the worst thing we had - it was deep fried with breadcrumb batter instead of the usual way (like a spider roll) so all the crab flavor was lost. The duck udon was probably the best thing we had that night. If you do end up coming here, I'd recommend ordering the simplest types of dishes, they tended to be tastier (I guess because less complex and less they can mess up...). Black sesame ice cream was not bad, but took a few bites to actually taste the flavor.
(2)Stacey L.
If you're craving sashimi, Gokaku is not the place to come to, unless you're looking to hurt your wallet a bit. No doubt their sashimi is great quality, but definitely pricy. On that note, some of my favorite dishes that are delicious and portioned decently are the following: Zig Zag Roll: Crunchy from the soft shell crab, and tasty with their homemade sauce. It's wrapped in a soy wrapper. I almost always get it when I go here. Duck breast: SO good and flavorful. This is probably my favorite thing to get here, but it always depends on if my fellow diner(s) are in a duck mood or not. (tip: the duck udon comes with a generous portion of duck beat for $12.50, but it's not the same flavor as the duck dish) Crispy nacho and sashimi salad are also among other items I enjoy there. Everything on the menu is good to be honest, these are just the highlights. I would highly recommend calling ahead for a reservation if it's prime dining hours. If you don't, you can always chance it with the bar seating.
(5)Holly L.
The sushi here is pretty good! Its totally hidden in a shopping center that you wouldn't know it was there unless you were looking for it. The place is kinda small, I can see how this place could easily get busy on a Friday, Saturday night. But lucky us we came on a Wednesday so we got sat down right away. Super cute place, my hubby and I were having a little date night and we wanted a new sushi place and this was a nice change. We got the chef's recommended sushi, and looking at other pics for this plate, he will change it up. Which it cool with us! And that is a MUST GET very fresh, yummy, and only $19 and you get like 10 pieces!! And we also had Udon, Carbonara. That wasn't my favorite. It was good first bowl then I got sick of how thick and the bacon in it? BUT hey if thats what you love, then I'm sure you'll like theirs. And then we got the Firecracker Roll..very good too!
(4)Maureen C.
This has been in my bookmarks for awhile, so I was really excited when I got a chance to go. It's in the plaza that used to house the TinTin Chinese Supermarket, and it's pretty small so I was really surprised by the varied menu. I feel like there's something here that everyone could like. I went with four other friends and we each ordered two dishes to share family-style and the final bill came out to be $25-30 per person, which was pretty worth it. The wait time wasn't too horrible, maybe 30 minutes for our party of five, but when you're already hanging out with friends a wait isn't so bad. Not really a place I'd frequent on a regular basis because of the price, but it's got a great atmosphere for a fun dinner with some friends and the food really is absolutely delicious.
(4)Elaine N.
Amazing Japanese tapas I have ever been to. Excellent mouth watering food and friendly service. I ordered: 1) Ankimo- broiled liver of the sea toad, taste like delicious foie gras. 2) Takoyaki- japanese traditional dumpling with octopus in their yummy sauce. 3) Secret Shrimp-deep fried shrimp tossed in chef's creamy ponzu sauce. 4) Zig Zag- tasty sushi soft shell crab rolled in soy wrap. 5) Volcano- huge portion of firing spicy tuna, fresh salmon, crunch tempura flakes, tempura jalapeno. This portion could feed up to 4 people! 6) Okonomiyaki- good seafood pancake, too bad its a small portion compared to other places. 7)Aigamo Steak (Duck Steak)- the BEST duck steak compared to Gochi. So tender and moist. Everything thing about this dish is AMAZING! 8) Soba- simple cold noodle, yet appetizing. Finally, my food buddy pick a good restaurant for once. This place will be my favorite Japanese restaurant. I love this place so much I came back here twice within a week. Definitely will recommend this place to my fellow friends and yelper! =0)
(5)skykid H.
Friday dinner. Food was great but service was a bit slow.
(4)J K.
Gokaku is like a hidden treasure in Cupertino! One of my favorite Japanese restaurants in the area. A couple of my favorite dishes on the menu are the zig zag roll, pork shabu shabu salad, and the takoyaki. The zig zag roll has such a different yet delicious taste that always has me coming back! Also, the takoyaki is super crispy just how I like it! Most of the entrees with a thumbs up on the menu are all pretty good. They're mostly small dishes so you can share since some dishes are a bit pricey. If I had to pick one thing I didn't like about Gokaku it would be that our server was a bit weird. When we first walked in he had this look on his face like we just walked into his bedroom I almost felt bad for coming in. He also brought our pork shabu shabu salad without the pork and took it back without saying a word I was so weirded out. Also when I asked for the extra mayo for my takoyaki he responded like 5 seconds later even though he was looking right at me. He wasn't necessarily rude but I can't say I was pleased with his service. Otherwise the service from other servers was great and I am sure I will be coming back :)
(5)Denise L.
I'd always passed by this place in the run down strip mall (everything's gone now!) and was curious to try, as I'm a fan of Japanese fusion tapas. It was smaller than I had thought, but it was only half full. Wait staff here are very friendly and fast. Everything I wanted was fried or creamy, and it seemed to be the top choices on their menu as well (love it when they put the icon for chef recommended or top choices!). Their prices are also very reasonable, and they have quite a few rolls (all fried or creamy of course). We started with the grapefruit sour, 2 shots of Japanese shoju (not to be confused with the Korean soju) tonic water, and real grapefruit juice. Literally, our waiter came with 2 grapefruit halves on top of a squeezer and graciously squeezed those bad boys into our glasses. The drink is not strong though, so was a bit dissapointed. We started off with the zig zag roll, secret shrimp, sashimi salad, and seafood nachos. The seafood nachos was good, you get 4 chips with spicy tuna on top. The secret shrimp, although fried perfectly, the creamy sauce gets overbearing, and I thought it was a bit overrated. I really liked the zig zag roll, a spider roll in soy paper, and a bit of creamy sauce. I thoroughly enjoyed it for sure, probably one of my favorites from what we ordered. The sashimi salad was delightful too, and we ordered it spicy. Lots of big chunks of sashimi, seaweed salad, salad, all wrapped in a cute cucumber bowl. It was refreshing to have something that wasn't fried or creamy. However, I did want to try the carbonara kimchee udon, and our waiter said it was not too heavy. Huge pot came out and it was a large portion for the price. It did look like it was going to be really heavy, but it was not. Lots of udon noodles, kimchi, pork belly, simmering in a creamy sauce. However, when you take the noodles out, the creamy sauce comes off, so you are not overwhelmed. I really enjoyed this dish, and would have like it even better if the noodles were not as overcooked. All in all, a great dining experience, and would definitley come back.
(4)Alyssa N.
I've been here several times in the past and I have always been satisfied with the food and the service. I always go with a group of 3 or more and I usually make a reservation because they can get really busy especially Friday and Saturday nights. The staff is very nice and I don't ever feel rushed to order even if I'm being indecisive(which is pretty much all the time!) I'm Japanese and I know GOOD japanese food. With that said, I can be pretty picky with Japanese restaurants. But I don't think I was ever served anything I didn't want to order again! Definitely one of my favorite restaurants in Cupertino!
(5)Jade D.
open on saturday for lunch when gochi restaurant close. another good option for japanese fusion style food. not cheap though some special dishes.
(5)Suzanne T.
I came here for the tapas and ordered a chirashi so I didn't quite get to enjoy the tapas experience. However, the chirashi was good and beautifully wrapped with thin sliced cucumbers to resemble a bowl. The cook then topped off the plate with some sauce to produce an aesthetically pleasing presentation of his dish. The fish was fresh and plentiful, and the environment was great for the semi-casual, semi-business lunch that I was having. I would like to try this place again.
(4)Justin S.
Gokaku is a nice little sushi tapas place located in the old Tin Tin market square. On a Saturday night, this place is very unassuming since the whole plaza is eerily dark. I cannot comment on the reservation section, as my friend and I walked in and were seated at the bar. Food: Food quality was fresh and filled with flavor (and texture, when it required it!) Zig Zag Roll: Watching the sushi chef make this was pretty interesting. It was crunchy and good. I wasn't THRILLED by it as everyone else seems to claim, so don't get your expectations up. Crispy nachos? with Tuna, seaweed and the tobiko (tiny fish eggs): Very tasty and spicy tuna. Flavor was excellent, the chips were fresh. Raw salmon sashimi salad: Another great dish that proves that the fish is fresh. Vinaigrette was tasty, I still have to find out what they use and where I can get it. Service: Bar service was good. Water refilled promptly, no complaints. My compliments to the chef. This was ONE guy working alone on a Saturday night to serve the entire restaurant. Watching him work was pretty fascinating, and the quality of food he pumped out with precision and accuracy is to be applauded for. Thinking of making this my go to Japanese place.
(5)D Y.
Okonomiyaki - ok takoyaki-ok secret shrimp - wasn't that good kani cream- good oyako don - never had such a watery don dish shiitaki maki - good. we thought we'd come to try as many small plates as possible. we were disappointed. and totally disappointed with the watery oyako don.
(2)Jay S.
We have been going here for a couple years, but then twice got sick from the sushi recently. We've therefore dropped this place entirely off our list, regretfully, since their rolls are good, albeit a bit expensive. Plan on a wait as well during weekend nights.
(2)Jenny L.
I couldn't write a review after one visit, so I came twice before deciding that this place is a solid 3 stars. Tapas style food, but I prefer Gochi more. There's usually a wait here. Not sure if they accept reservations. I did enjoy the Zig Zag roll. I still can't figure out what that green stuff on the wrapper is though. What makes it green?! Takoyaki is pretty good, too. My friend said the sashimi he got was just okay. Service could have been a bit quicker, but overall decent meal.
(3)Edison T.
You know how most sushi places just make up the most random names for their rolls? Then the dish comes out and you're just like eh, this doesn't really resemble the name at all. Well, not here. Or rather not for one particular roll but I'll get to that a little later. The place itself is very small, I got sat next to a bamboo curtain that I kept hitting my elbow against. The lunch menu and prices are a great value. Miso, salad, and very generous portions of salmon, tuna, and yellowtail sashimi for their sashimi lunch combo. I counted 12 pieces in total for less than 20 bucks. After my friend ordered her lunch combo and I followed suit, I thought maybe we should at least order one roll for both of us to share. Reviews kept mentioning volcano so I asked her if she wanted that one. That's when she asked me if I was sure for it was a very big roll. I laughed and my competitive side instantly kicked in (whenever people doubt my stomach I go Barney Stinson on them and my stomach yells out "Challenge Accepted!"). With a name like volcano I figured maybe it had red sauce flowing from it or what not to make it look like molten lava, then it came out and I instantly knew why it was named "Volcano". First off, WHAT IS THIS? A SUSHI ROLL FOR JOEY CHESTNUT? The thing was huge! And it was in the shape of a mountain, or more accurate, a volcano (oh so that's where the name came from). Covered in tempura bits and spicy mayo sauce over flowing from EEERRRRWHERE, it resembled Mt. Vesuvius with my mouth covered in tempura crumbs like ashes. I had to dig my way through with the spoon just to finally uncover the salmon roll underneath. The salmon roll was delicious and sauce was on point. I don't have a second off, but let me just say that "roll" shouldn't even be called a roll, it should be called a frickin' life sized volcano. I will now learn to be more cautious when ordering sushi rolls with names that could potentially describe exactly what I'll be getting. Gotta watch out for the 49er roll from Cha Cha Sushi, don't want Patrick Willis to show up on a plate now. Oh and here's the beast in all of its glory, yelp.com/biz_photos/goka…
(4)Esther S.
This place had great food and great service! The 2 of us shared takoyaki, okonomiyaki, chef's roll and beef tongue. It was a lot of food especially because the chef's roll is really filling. I would recommend sharing it because it can get a little boring since it has a lot of rice as the rolls are huge. My boyfriend enjoyed the beef tongue the most and my favorite was the takoyaki. total bill came out to about $40.
(5)Jennifer P.
hmmm i don't know what to think now. The last time I was here wasn't the best. The service is still very friendly and great,, and the cooked food was delicious, but the fish wasn't so fresh this time. We always order similar sushi and then change it up a little to meet our craving, but the hamachi just didn't taste straight from the ocean. Maybe they had an off day but it was kind of disappointing considering I gave it 5 stars previously and though I found my new sushi spot. I guess i'll give it another go to make sure. But if you meet in the middle of my 2 reviews you get 4 stars...not to shabby
(3)Kathy L.
For my first Japanese tapas place, I really enjoyed it! My friend and I showed up with no reservations around 7pm on a Friday night, and though they estimated a 30-45 minute wait time, I'm sure they called our name within 10-15. We got a seat at the sushi bar, which is totally fine for parties of 2. They were definitely busy so our tea cups went low for a while before asking twice to be refilled, but no biggie. We shared 5 dishes -- - Boom (spicy crab mix and avocado in seasoned tofu skin) - Buta Kakuni and Hanjuku Tamago (japanese style braised tender pork and half boiled egg) - sashimi salad - agedashi tofu - Kurobuta ReiShabu Salad (chilled freshly cooked berkshire sliced pork with organic salad) My favorites were the pork salad (I could just eat those slices of pork all day -- going to try and recreate this one at home!), sashimi salad, and agedashi tofu (just cooked really well and the skin wasn't too gelatinous). The braised pork was a little too rich / overpowering for me (though it came with a soft-boiled egg that reminded me of Orenchi...yum), as was the Boom (too fried and saucey). They have a huge menu with LOTS to choose from. Would love to come back to try more, but will make sure to make reservations next time!
(4)Nelle L.
Must try duck breast with mushrooms. Then Boom is unusually crunchy great texture thoroughly enjoyed spicy and creamy sauce. Managed 2 rolls for party of 5. Oh yes, don't forget the poke salad. Overall nice fast delectable dinner at reasonable price
(4)Angela W.
Came back when I visited San Jose for the president's day weekend and I think I'm going to make it a requirement to come here whenever I go back to San Jose. It's such a lovely place to eat lunch or dinner :) I had the volcano roll again (couldn't resist! the first time was so great) and I was still in love with it. Next time I'll probably try their other rolls We had to wait quite a long time though because it was dinnertime and it was just very crowded for a small restaurant. However, the wait was nothing compared to how great the food was :)
(5)Lon H.
Went here last weekend with my wife and our friends. Called for a reservation, which was a good thing, since they were very busy. We enjoyed the Ahi Poke, Nasu (eggplant) Agedashi, Okonomiyaki (pancake), The Volcano, Aburri Salmon Tofu Roll and the Chef's Roll. Everything we had was delicious and were flavored nicely. Very good service and the waitresses were very friendly and attentive. We'll have to go back to try some of the other items.
(4)Dawn H.
I cannot offer more than 3 stars for this place. The food is ok except for the sushi and sashimi. If you are craving for the thick raw fish, go somewhere else. They have more options than just typical Japenses. The service is terrible with errorgent stuffs.
(3)Steve S.
Will definitely be coming back. Chicken teriyaki was amazing and completely different from the usual teriyaki dishes you order from Japanese restaurants. Volcano roll was spicy, very good portions, and came wonderfully presented. Very good value for money. Played good music too (I heard some DJ Spinna or Mark Farina mixes on the speakers when I had lunch there). Really great Japanese spot in Cupertino.
(5)Rié C.
Our favorite new place for sushi in the South Bay. We just went for the 2nd time and found they were just as good as the first time there. Their rolls are great, especially the Sushi Special which was Maguro, Hamachi, Tobiko, Ikura and Uni -- fantastic! Last time we had the volcano which, even though we love spicy food, was really, really hot so beware! The service is also really excellent. We hadn't been there in 2 months, but our server recognized us and even remembered which sake we had last time. Highly recommended!
(5)Tina A.
I recently visited Gokaku for a friend's birthday. Little did I know that such a gem existed right down the street from me. The place is intimate, the menu extensive, and the food of high quality. I tried a variety of their sashimi, and a couple pieces of CA and volcano rolls. The reason I dock one star is because I was expecting the volcano roll to be lightly dusted in tempura flakes whereas it was heavily battered and deep-fried. I guess that's what I get for being picky.
(4)Goldilocks J.
This place is great! We went to visit friends in Cupertino and had dinner here. I had made reservations and they had a great corner table waiting for us. I love that there are small plates to share. We ordered a bunch of stuff including the seafood nachos (in fact, placing a second order of them, they were so good), secret shrimp, some potato croquette thing (again, second order placed due to extreme deliciousness) and a couple of sushi rolls. Unfortunately I lost the receipt and it's been a couple weeks since we went and I just can't remember it all. Bottom line: great place that I would happily return to any time!
(4)Matt D.
Omar knows his shit.
(5)Ann W.
Food: 5 stars Service: 3.5 stars I really wish I could give this place a full five stars. I am - literally - one of their most die-hard customers. I go AT LEAST once a week, sometimes more, and have brought many, many (read: at least 15) new customers to their doors. Their food is divine - and I've tried most of the things on their menu. Reliably amazing go-to's are: Rainbow roll, Zig Zag roll, rare-beef special (Japanese style steak), kimchi-cream udon (cold). Their fish is consistently fresh, and dishes are creative and delicious. Negatives: Service is REALLY hit-or-miss, and this includes food consistency. Don't get me wrong, the food is consistently tasty, but the chef often accidentally leaves things out. As a very regular regular, I notice when things are different. One example is: their California rolls are very tasty, but only because the chef USUALLY adds green apple slices, which lend a tangy and sweet crunchy surprise to an otherwise predictable roll. However, on MULTIPLE occasions, the apples have been left out ... I was only told that they had run out of apples when my sister asked the server why the lunch California rolls were different from the dinner California rolls. Their lunch combo is a really good deal; you can choose 3 rolls from a list for something like $12.95 or 2 rolls for $9.95. BUT - again, consistency is an issue. Apparently, although the California roll is listed as an available choice, these "lunch" California rolls do not come with the crunchy apple bits, even though this is not specified ... what bothers me is that, come on, how much could it possible cost to put - LITERALLY - a half inch cube of apple into a roll? Ridiculous. Also, and this is a relatively minor gripe, sometimes the Rainbow roll comes with a tall taro chip ... and sometimes not. Consistency is a really big deal to me, since I'm one of those annoyingly persistent types who'll order the same thing repeatedly once I've found something I like, and will patronize the same establishment repeatedly once I've decided I like it. I consistently spend over $60 dollars here ... usually bringing another (new) customer with me, since I really do appreciate the quality of the food here. For the prices, I do with the service would be faster. It looks like they only have one sushi chef, and the place gets really packed. I will say the service really suffers when they get busy; front-of-house and back-of-house wise they are really understaffed for busy nights. I do want to mention that all three of the regular servers are very polite and very nice; they do want you to enjoy your meal, and apologize if things go wrong, but there are just not enough of them to handle the heavy flow of customers. I will keep going, but I hope they can fix these two main problems: consistency and being understaffed.
(4)David L.
Nice little Japanese restaurant. Good sushi and traditional dishes
(4)Harvey K.
Duck Breast is my favourite
(5)Way L.
recommendations: -chirashi sashimi -carbonara style mentaiko-kimchi udon pork belly don not good, too much fat, so no texture, and lost flavor
(4)J C.
This place is definately popular. We arrived at 6:00pm Friday evening and the place was 80% full. within the first 5 minutes, 3 different waitresses came by and asked for our drinks. A few minutes later, the same 3 waitresses came back to take our order "we need a few more minutes please". The hamachi shashimi and rainbow row is good. Toward the end of our meal, the waiter came up and said they messed up and forgot one of our other orders, it would take 10 minutes if we still want it. We didn't want to wait and was told the chef's roll would be faster. "Cool, we'll take the chef's roll instead". 3 minutes later, the dish we ordered came out to the next table. (was that our order? hum?). About 10 minutes later, the chef's roll came out and wasn't very good. hamachi shashimi and rainbow roll = good service = ok but a bit unorganized forgetting an order = bad
(3)Paul P.
The alternate solution to Gochi. I like the pricing here. It's not bad. They need to go easy on the rice on their rolls. That will probably never happen. If you are one of those people who takes maybe 20 to 33% of the rice off their rolls, it's because it takes away from the core flavor but also you get too full too soon. When sushi's get ridiculously affordable for the price you pay for, it usually means more rice. I find this so stupid. It ruins the balance of the flavor of whatever it is you're about to eat to a certainty. Otherwise, it's all good. To fully maximize your dining experience here, make sure you're craving Japanese food. This is place is not better than Gochi. Gochi is not better than this place. If making a reservation was impossible at Gochi, this place is the answer to that. It delivers. You don't need to know exactly what I ate. Just read the reviewers below or above this review. Just make sure you're craving Japanese food. Not just asian. That's so stupid.
(4)Vanessa C.
This place is a hidden gem. I would not have found this place if not for the fabulous instagram. Place is small, but cozy. The outside can deceive, but it is really nice and clean inside. I ordered the hawaiian style poke don. I was a little disappointed. To each their own, I felt like it needed a little more flavor so I added some soy sauce. It probably needed a little more green onions too. Again, to each their own. As for the service, the waitress we had would look in our direction, but she didn't pay attention to our water glasses and you would have to holler at her for a refill. It wasn't automatic like most places. Regardless of my failed experience for the food, I would still come back to try some of the sushi. I would definitely recommend this place to a friend. This place might be too small for a bunch of kids. Make sure they are well-behaved because you'll be in close proximity with others.
(4)Lori L.
Heard so many great things on yelp, so we spent my first anniversary here. At first glance, the restaurant seems small, but they use lots of dividers and screens for privacy. I'm from the East Bay, where most Japanese restaurants are run by non-Japanese. Really appreciate the authenticity and innovation that both honors the cuisine while creating something new. We ordered the Volcano Roll, Zig Zag Roll, and Kani Cream Croquet. All were excellent in quality and portions. Nice balance of texture, flavors, and size. You can taste the freshness We kept wanting more! The experience was mostly good, except for the service. Even though we made reservations and arrived on time, we felt rushed to order. We only have a few minutes to look at their extensive menu (after being moved to a better table), when one of the waiters came over and made helpful recommendations. A few minutes after that a waitress came over to take our order. We wanted to ask for a few more minutes, but she made a comment about the restaurant being busy later (which is why we made a reservation at 6pm...). So we had to quickly make a decision and made our order. Afterwards, our food came super fast and we were able to finally relax and enjoy our night. Also, when they asked for drink, we ordered two waters (it was also hot that day) but the waitress came back much later with two cups of hot tea after we ordered. So we asked for water again, then she later came back with just one small cup of water. After clearing things up, they were great about refilling and the night went smoothly. Even after we paid, they continued to refill the waters and didn't rush us to leave. Overall, service is friendly, but they seemed frazzled and unorganized. Maybe they need another server or a more efficient system. However, their food and hospitality still makes Gokaku a great place to eat.
(4)Clarissa L.
Food was pretty good, but service speed pretty abysmal. Our servers were very lovely people, don't get me wrong, but the time it took for our food to come! Seriously... We were told that the aburi salmon would take a while; fine. So our octopus karaage came first, and got cold while we waited for the next dish. Eventually finished the octopus (which was not bad, slightly chewy and well fried indeed. Kind of oily though.) The aburi salmon with cream cheese (a bit too much of it! Gd pairing though) and tofu came after another 20-30mins. Delicious! And we ordered the buta kakuni (stewed pork belly) with half boiled egg but after another 20-30mins it still had not arrived! I was like ok... This is really taking a while. So I asked about our order, and the waitress said they hadn't started making jt yet so would we like to order something else? So fine.. We ordered a super roll instead and asked her to rush our order. This, at least, came within a decent interval of time. And was huge! I guess it did cost $19.95... Tuna/hamachi/salmon and crab or lobster on top, as well as three different colored tobiko. Soy wrap (nice change fr nori!) with soft-shell crab and mayo (the description said avocado but really I'm not sure I tasted that..) a bit too much creaminess but very filling indeed. To crown the evening, I was trying to redeem a yelp deal but apparently they couldn't find my name on the list! So settling the bill took another 20mins or something while they tried to verify my coupon. Thankfully the guy was nice and honored it. He originally seemed to think that I'd redeemed it before or something and I'm like no.. I just tapped redeem when yr server returned me my phone.
(3)Tak K.
I come here quite often. Since Sushi Kuni raised their lunch combo, this place has become relatively more competitive. Lunch specials like the ones that include grilled mackerel and pork cutlet are pretty good. Quantity is a lot to fill one's stomach. Seasoning is balanced as well although a little sweeter than I prefer. Potato salad is a nice side dish complimentary to miso soup and usual salad. Rice is properly cooked. While waiter/waitress service can be faster, but given how many people are seated, I understand about the situation. Their mini kaiseki on the other hand is something to be desired, from what we experienced in December Sure, it is $50 instead of $90 or $120 that other more expensive places charge. But I cannot help thinking that they wanted to serve their newest creations and test reactions of customers. Their appetizer, salmon pieces wrapped with cucumber slices and colorful sauces was beautiful to look but tasted too plain to start up appetite. The chef probably should have adjusted seasoning according to make the dish more enticing. Their last dish - buckwheat noodle with small stove to keep things hot - made me smell the fume from fuel tablet, and the whole eating experience was rather unpleasant. Other items like hassun and soup (eggplant and seafood) were mildly seasoned to continue the course with pleasure, but did not completely forget the others. So I will still come back here for good lunch and dinner, but not course menus. They will probably put more successful dishes on their menu, which would increase my chance of enjoying an eating experience.
(4)Dave A.
I got invited for dinner to this spot by a Japanese friend and according to him this was the best sushi spot in the S bay. After trying a few of their speciality rolls I have to admit it was simply an amazing experience
(5)t h.
Was not so impressed by the food but not sure if ordered the wrong thing. Did not like the zig zag roll. Too much sauce and did not see any avocado in the roll. Secret shrimp ok. And tempura ok but noticed the vegetables were on the skimpy side (e.g. Half of a broccoli vs whole floret).
(3)Michael G.
This place is walking distance from my house so I can get faded and walk home! Plus it has some of the freshest, creative and tasty as hell sushi/tapas menu's around. I love the fact that they use warm rice to do the rolls. It just melts in your mouth.
(5)The L.
If I could give no star, I would. This place should seriously consider improving their service and hiring servers with better attitude. We came to this restaurant before and thought the food was alright, though Gochi, Tanto were all better hands down. We called for reservation tonight as we wanted to avoid standing in line with 2 young kids. Over the phone, we were told they couldn't accept reservation but there was no wait. So within 15 mins, we arrived as walk-in. There was indeed only just one 4-people party ahead of us. We were told the next table would be for us but after a good 30 mins standing with 2 whiny kids, every table opening up were for "reservations" (WTF?!?! We were just told they couldn't accept reservations!) We thought perhaps we were just unlucky so we patiently waited for another 15 mins before inquiring with one of the waiters. Again, we were told a table would be available soon as several tables had paid already. 15 minutes went by, 3 other 2-people walk-in parties were seated, a 4-people walk-in party were seated at the bar, and all tables that could fit us (4-people tables, 2 table-for-2 combined, etc. ) were all setup as "reserved" for which several parties didn't arrived on-time. We would have been totally fine if the waiter or whoever answered our phone simply told the truth upfront that we would have no chance of getting seated tonight as walk-in. Or, offer us the bar before quickly seating the 4 walk-ins coming in well after us. Instead, each time we were told "Just another 5 mins. A table is freeing up." for at least 3 times. At about 7:45pm, the kids were out of control and we kept getting ignored. My husband approached one of the waiters and asked politely if we could take one of the tables since the "reserved" party clearly didn't arrive on-time. The waiter's attitude wasn't friendly nor apologetic and just said "We are very busy and I have to setup this table for another party with reservation." At that point, we were fed up and decided to just walk away. I swear to God I will never come back to this restaurant again, even if I'm not hungry and have a ton of time to waste standing in line!
(1)Niniane W.
The california roll was good, as was the hot stone sukiyaki. I would go again! Decor is cute too.
(4)Kenji Y.
Just delicious. First time here? After coming here several times. There are two items I cannot stop ordering. 1. Hamachi Sashimi 2. Udon (any of them). Their udon noodles are freaking delicious.
(5)Kenneth F.
Very good food, very nice service, great value, and no wait! Came here for dinner on a weekday and got a seat immediately. The waitress asked if it was our first time and offered some recommendations as well. Enjoyed each of the items we got: - Zigzag roll - softshell crab roll wrapped in soy paper, the crab was a bit too crunchy for my preference but overall very good flavor - Kani cream croquette - a bit small for the price but jam-packed with great creamy flavor - Hamachi Garlic Steak - very flavorful dish - Buta Kakuni & Hanjuku Tamago - pork and egg dish with a great thick gravy sauce and flavorful meat - Aigamo (Duck) Steak - accompanied with mashed potatoes and mushrooms and a great sauce, my favorite dish of the night - Tempura - nothing crazy but had side of salt on top of dipping sauce. Everything was presented very nicely with great plating and was even pleasantly surprised by a nice extra from the chef. Looking forward to the Boom, Carbonara Udon, and Volcano next time I come. Keep up the good service!
(5)Shiya L.
Very poor service. We have a party of 5 on a work lunch and our schedule was tight so we wanted to order in advance so our food can be served faster when we get there. We were told that "our type of restaurant do not offer this service". Go there if you don't expect them to offer you services other than bringing you the plate.
(1)Anne P.
In my opinion, the perfect chirashi would contain the following ingredients: *multiple slices of sake, hamachi, saba, hotate, maguro, unagi, amaebi, tamago, white tuna *ikura (salmon roe) *slices of sweeten braised shiitake mushroom *pickled radish or daikon *seaweed salad (optional) This restaurant's chirashi had the following pros and cons, relative to my notion of the perfect chirashi: Pros: trying to thinking hard for some real 'pro's for this chirashi since this chirashi was pretty mediocre (hence the three stars), imho...it had pretty fresh fish, but the chirashi was nothing special - it came with ebi, maguro, hamachi, sake, ikura, tamago, tobiko and some white fish...oh yes..a pro -- it was reasonably priced at $14.95 Cons: no unagi, hotate, wakame, marinated shiitakes and pickled daikon... and the tamago was a bit artificial looking. Unfortunately, the wait staff that was working that day was relatively new - for our waitress, it was her first day, so the service was shoddy -- a bunch of us had to keep asking for stuff that was missing and one of my friends didn't even get something he had ordered.
(3)Henry X.
Tappas here not as good as neighboring restaurants such as tanto or sumiya. dragon roll was sub-par, but i highly recommend the volcano rolls and zig zag rolls.
(3)Caroline L.
Mediocre food here. Great service and friendly staff, but the food just wasn't up to par with so many other good tapa spots around this area. The deluxe california roll was supposed to be with real crab, but it tasted frozen. At this rate, I'd prefer to have artificial crab. I didn't even finish, that's how bad it was and we usually don't waste food at all. Hamachi garlic steak was dry. Eggplant was so so. Only thing I enjoyed was the Hamburg steak, juicy and moist. I'm glad we were able to get the check-in discount though! Mostly likely won't be coming back....
(3)Michelle L.
DO NOT COME HERE FOR LUNCH. FOOD OFF OF THE DINNER MENU IS DEFINITELY BETTER QUALITY. Anyways... I came here for lunch and had a very interesting meal. Got here at 11:30 on a Tuesday for a lunch date with my mom. We were the first ones to arrive, so we were seated quickly at a table near the window. Soon after we sat down the waitress ran over to us and asked us if we spoke mandarin. Apparently there was a customer trying to order some food for take out, but she couldn't communicate what she wanted to the Japanese workers. Consequently my mom went over to the counter and helped the customer order an udon to go. Afterwards, my mom and I ordered our meal and we were served promptly. We ordered two items off of the dinner menu, and one item off of the lunch menu. White mountain sashimi: 4 stars. Albacore tuna with salad drizzled in some sort of sauce. Delicious. The flavors worked really well together, and they gave you a decent amount of fish for the cost. Zigzag: 2 stars. Eh. Maybe this just wasn't my thing, but I thought that the sauce served with the soft shell crab was too overpowering. Sushi should be light, and this definitely was not. Sashimi lunch combination: 2 stars. When they brought out the sashimi combo, I noticed that the salmon looked very fresh (and fatty!) but the tuna and hamachi both looked kind of off. I tried the salmon first, and my mom and I were both VERY pleased with it. It was cut into large pieces (as opposed to thinly sliced) and was absolutely delicious. The tuna and the hamachi were a different story. My mom tried the tuna and said that it tasted horrible, and much to my dismay, called the waitress over to tell her how she felt. Because of this, the chef came over to our table and explained that the quality of the fish is worse for their lunch menu because their prices are cheaper. Not only did he come over to explain that, but he also brought over a place of their dinner-quality sashimi for us to enjoy. The dinner quality sashimi was DEFINITELY much better and was amazing. Normally I don't like tuna, but this tuna was very fresh and tasted better than tuna at most other restaurants. Finally, after we had completed our meal, the waitress brought over two complimentary bowls of green tea and black sesame ice cream to thank my mom for translating for them at the beginning of our meal. To sum everything up, if you're coming for lunch, stick to the cooked items. If you're coming for dinner, the quality of the sashimi is top notch, and you will get a delicious, though pricier, meal. I'll probably come back to gokaku, but only for dinner.
(4)N. M.
Pretty much THE go to sushi place around the bay. Authentic dishes, great selection of sake and amazing creativity to some traditional dishes as well. Service can be slow, but it is a small place with very limited seating and service. If you're not familiar with duck, you will have to try it, it's one of the best "melt in your mouth" dishes i've had in ages. Sashimi is always fresh and well, great price for the amount you get as well
(5)Vitalii S.
There is a special atmosphere inherent in this small japanese restaurant. Great cucumber salad with seafood. A good place for a light meal.
(3)Candace C.
Bottom line, I can't wait to go back and work my way through more menu items. The food is quality and the presentation is beautiful. I love the mixture of sushi bar stuff and good old Japanese home cooking. Between three people we ordered some rolls, the sukiyaki, kani cream croquette, and something else. We didn't finish it all. Minus one star because the wait for a table seems bad and the wait for food can be silly too. We made reservations and were sooo thankful to have done so. I saw many familiar faces from before I was seated still waiting as I walked out. I was surprised that the kitchen food took a lot longer than the rolls took to make. Usually kitchen food is faster to come out but our friend could have finished eating his rolls before we were served our kitchen food had he not waited for us. Just keep that in mind when ordering...
(4)Rebecca Z.
I really love this place to get some good Japanese food. The rolls are so unconventional but delicious. I especially love the zig zag roll and the volcano roll (though the volcano is a bit strange to eat...you sort of have to dig through a pile of bread crumbs to get to the good stuff). I also really like their yakuniku don (my go to entree at a Japanese restaurant). The portions are a good size, so don't come in if you don't really feel like eating. I'd totally recommend this place and will definitely be excited to come back here again.
(4)Huelling S.
The food is OK here but the service is terrible. We are celebrating our girl friend's birthday, there are 7 of us, in the middle of the dinner, the server have the nerve to come over and ask to move one of our table because they need the table to serve more people. We are shocked....... This is our 2nd time here with a group more than 7 or 8 and we spent a good fortune here, average more than $50 per person. The restaurant did not charge us for birthday cake the first time and we tip the waitress nicely. This time, the same server, maybe he is the manager? Come over and tell us, he needs to charge us $2 per person for cutting the cake? WHAT?? have you ever heard of that? Charging for cutting the cake?
(2)David S.
I got the volcano. It was fresh and yummy. Prices are reasonable, so I'm happy. Good place for sushi. Not too pretentious, and down to earth.
(4)Phuc B.
wanted to order a lot of stuff, but buddies both ordered the chirashi, so had the same and it was gooood. long ass wait though to get a table.
(4)H I.
Food was okay while we were eating it (then a couple hrs later = food poisoning), but I could tell at the time that it was definitely not of superb quality. What bothered me was that everything (except maybe the sushi and secret shrimp) tasted like it was leftovers from lunch. If you want izakaya, Tanto and Gochi are both a lot better (you can tell the food is freshly made and no food poisoning). Tanto is still my favorite because Gochi is overpriced for the amount of food they give you and the food at Tanto edges out Gochi by a narrow margin in terms of taste. But back to Gokaku. We got: - Taro Chips (good but cold and I was expecting something straight from the fryer, not fried earlier that day) - Secret Shrimp (one of the better dishes we had) - Seared Yaki & Zig Zag rolls (Zig Zag was good, the Seared Yaki was ok but a bit fishy in taste) - note: we ordered cooked rolls since I'm currently pregnant... - Kakuni (horrible, avoid at all costs) Unfortunately, the sauce for the taro chips, secret shrimp and rolls all had the spicy mayo "chef's special sauce" and honestly, after about 4 dishes of that sauce, it gets a bit old. The kakuni was even lukewarm at some parts (this is what I mean by lunch leftovers)--the fact that it (1) tasted old (2) wasn't even heated all the way through (3) was way salty made it the worse dish I've ever had at any Japanese restaurant ever. Oh and definitely don't order it if you don't want to eat 99% fat but I personally didn't mind that part (although my husband did). Maybe I'm too hard on this place but Japanese is my favorite cuisine and I'm pretty picky when it comes to my Japanese food. Oh...and I would've given this place maybe 3 stars (but 2 stars if factoring in the kakuni = leftovers dish), but this is one of the few times (3 to be exact) in my adult life (and I eat out A LOT) where a restaurant gave me food poisoning and that's a big no-no in my book. I want to give them a 0. It's worse than serving leftovers. Let's just say I'm definitely never coming back here.
(1)W J.
Just came here right at 6 when it opened and they said they weren't open yet, wait 5 more min. I told them my watch said 6:01, and the guy said not on his watch! I asked if we could sit down first and they said no they had a meeting. All 3 of the ppl there! Waiter, waitress and sushi chef! What attitude!
(1)Bianca L.
I normally don't rate places where I haven't been a customer but I'm writing this because people should know, and it's not for lack of effort that I wasn't able to be a customer. I also really feel bad about rating places (especially new, upstart businesses) with a 1-star rating. My husband and I wanted to come here for date night and showed up at 8:30pm on a Tuesday night with a reservation. I had called twice, once in the morning to make the reservation (no problem) and again in the evening when we were running late and it was clear we wouldn't be making our original reservation time (8pm). When we arrived at the restaurant, it was completely empty except for one other table. This was our first signal that something was awry. Even in a Cupertino strip mall, a decent restaurant should have more than one table filled, even on a Tuesday night. I know it's suburbia, but we're not exactly people who like eating in deserted restaurants. It does not bode well for anyone. We were seated promptly by the hostess but then the waiter, after some discussion with the hostess, came by to very apologetically inform us that the sushi chef had been called away that afternoon "on urgent business" and that we could not order sushi. We were welcome to order from the rest of the menu, though. The menu was about half sushi/sashimi and half tapas. We decided to cut our losses and go elsewhere, but the incident left a bad taste in our mouths because: 1) While the sushi chef might have still been there when I made the original reservation, he was (per their info) gone by the time I called to adjust the reservation. Since I had given them the courtesy of letting them know I was running 30 min late, they should've provided the same courtesy of letting me know the sushi chef was gone. It might've saved me a trip. 2) I always feel a little apprehensive about date nights that I plan b/c I'm always anxious that we'll have a good time. Luckily our evening out was later salvaged but this did not lend to an auspicious start and did nothing to assuage my anxiety level. 3) Honestly, I know you're struggling to survive, but maybe just close down the restaurant if there's no sushi chef. One table isn't going to get you enough profit to cover the waiter, the hostess and any chefs/cooks in the back. I promise to update this if we ever decide to eat here, especially since it was recommended by friends but if you're going there you may want to call first to check that the sushi chef isn't MIA.
(1)josh c.
Took a big group there yesterday(10 people) on a reservation. They had the table ready and waiting which was nice. Food: We ordered every one of the tapas on the back of the menu. While some were really tasty, in the future I'll stay away from the fried stuff. It was very filling. Also, as other reviewers have commented, the sushi rolls have a lot of sauce on them, so I ended up sticking to the nigiri which was really fresh. Service: Good and bad. When we first got there they were very attentive, however as the night progressed it seemed like we had to chase down the servers to get missing dishes, tea, and the check. Albeit they were busy but you think they would want our table to get other people in the restaurant.
(4)B C.
WORST SERVICE EVER! We came here in a group of 8 on a Tuesday night. It was busy at first but it started to die down after a while. Once we ordered and the food came, the wait staff NEVER came back to our table. No asking if we're doing okay or need anything else (we did want to add some more food later on), no refilling of tea for us. We tried to wave at a staff a few times and he kept pretending that he did not see us and attend to other tables around us. Whenever we tried to catch their attention, they just turned their back really quickly. I really didn't know what we did to deserve such bad service! When we finally got to ask a waiter to refill some tea for us 20 minutes later; he said okay but never came back. At the end when we finished the food, and tried to ask for the bill (still no refill of tea), we had to wait another 45 minutes before someone came. A lot of the times they were just standing around and I swear I saw them looking our way a few times when we waved, and they still ignored us. I really wanted to just stand up and leave and see if they still don't see us. But of course we didn't, and they still got their full 18% of tips because of the number of people in our group. I really hate it when waiters/waitresses give NO SERVICE at all when they knew they would get their tips no matter what. It happens all the time, unfortunately. Anyways, food was not bad, but for that kind of treatment, we will definitely NEVER COME BACK.
(1)Sarah Y.
I had high hopes for this place (especially as many reviews on Yelp compare it to Gochi, which is one of my favorite izakayas in the South Bay), but the food we had last night did not live up to the hype. Hamachi Garlic Steak - 2 stars - I liked the crispy onion they put on top. However, the hamachi was tough (they weren't kidding when they say it's like steak), and the sauce was way too salty. Volcano - 2 stars - This thing was massive. However, the sheer lumping together of tuna and fried tempura bits (drowned in sauce) got kind of gross after the first two bites... and we left most of this untouched. The waiter offered to box the leftovers for us, but no one wanted it... a telling sign. Buta Kakuni with Half Boiled Egg - 3.5 stars - This was the only thing I sort of liked. Despite the sauce also being a bit too salty, I liked the inclusion of the mustard on the side. Surprisingly, it works and gave the pork belly a nice little kick. The half-boiled eggs were OK, as well (although a bit too salty again). Ambiance was also a bit lackluster, and service was so-so. I think we had to flag someone down a few times. Conclusion: Someone in the kitchen must really like to use salt (or msg?) I'm not sure if we just didn't order the right things or what, but my first experience left some things to be desired.
(2)Pei L.
Came here last night for the first time and because the reviews are pretty high, I was expecting Gokaku to be on par with Gochi. We ordered the okonomiyaki, the volcano sushi and the carbonara udon. Overall, while I liked the food, it was just okay. The menu offered lots of unique selections. Many raved about the volcano but 70% of the plate is sauce + tempura shavings... the actual sushi was yummy but i don't think it needs to be so overly dressed up to taste good. The okonomiyaki is tiny but was pretty good. I expected more meat/seafood in this Japanese pancake because I've only had the Osaka style okonomiyaki which is a lot thicker. Perhaps they were serving a different style of it? The carbonara udon was my favorite. From the yelp pictures it looked soupy but it's actually more like a pasta sauce flavored by kimchi. Will be returning to try the other cool and unique looking dishes.
(3)J K.
Came here with friends on weekday nights. Sometimes they're very busy, sometimes not. Very good service and food! I never liked raw fish before, but their selection is fresh and delicious! If you don't see anything you like on the menu, ask the sushi chef to make something custom for you. I asked for something crunchy and spicy and it was the best roll I've ever had! This is definitely my go-to sushi place in the bay area!
(5)Carolyn K.
My goodness, how is this restaurant still in business? Mediocre food, small portions, exorbitant prices. We ordered: Braised pork with soft boiled egg (actually a really good dish; the pork almost melted in your mouth) Salmon carpacchio ($12.95 for some very thinly sliced salmon pieces in ponzu sauce. Good, but nothing special) White mountain sashimi ($12.95 for some more thickly sliced albacore pieces with ponzu) Seafood nachos ($9.95 for 4 little nachos with some crummy seafood paste mixed with creamy sauce) Agedashi tofu ($6.95 for 4 dinky pieces of tofu) Okonomiyaki ( was the size of a small tupperware container) Maguro poki ($13.95 for a small martini glass of 5 pieces of maguro and lots and lots of garnish) Hamachi kama with garlic sauce (forgot how much it was, but it was a couple pieces of fish in teriyaki sauce) Keep in mind that these are all the appetizers/tapas, and come in the smallest portions possible. These prices would be justified had they been regular sized portions. My friend got the unagi-don and said it was the most ricey unagi-don he's ever had. Server said there were 2 large pieces of unagi... it was more like a small tail piece and another half piece of unigi in real life. How much was it? $16.95. Really. The sushi rolls really made me mad. The Godzilla roll was $10.95 and contained most thinly sliced sushi I've ever seen. We all stared at it in disbelief when it came out. Fried on the outside with some creamy spicy sauce in the middle. It was gross. The Chef's roll really took the cake. The most horrific mixture of neon green, brownish-purple, and red sauces completely covered the plate in a sort of "artistic display". Again, fried on the outside with some sashimi in the middle. It was completely tasteless and adding sauces to it barely helped. I've never had such disgusting sushi before. All together, the bill came out to be $143 (before tip) for 7 people. We went to Verde for drinks afterward, and my friends gave in and got 25 pieces of wings from Wingstop. Absolutely unacceptable. I paid around $25 to eat a couple bite-sized pieces of food. I would understand had these bites been delicious... but they were mediocre at best, and disgusting at worst. Service was nice and the manager enthusiastically explained the menu to us and gave us all $5 off coupons for our next visit. But sorry, I'm never going back again, $5 off or no.
(2)meggie j.
Feel like I am in Japan when I go to this restaurant! It's very authentic! Fine ingredient! I am from Japan and I really approve this restaurant!
(5)Kristy H.
everything is way too salty.
(2)Jeff K.
Second time there last night. Food is both beautiful as well as delicious. To me this is a hole on the wall alternative to Gochi. Reason for only four stars is that some of the dishes "may" be slightly overpriced for what you get. Having said that I will be back there often. Get the Maguro poke!!
(4)Wang W.
Very good and friendly service. Great soba noodle. Excellent sushi rolls. Worth the price.
(5)Ai Y.
The best izakaya and kaiseki we've found in the Bay Area! We went for lunch on a Saturday and it was not crowded. The sushi chef was out due to emergency that day but it was fine since I was pregnant. We loved every single thing we ordered. Grilled hamachi steak was just perfectly seared; the topping and sauce was artistic and yummy. Lotus root chips were very unique, crisp, and tasty in its own bland way. The spicy mayo sauce was interesting. The grilled riceball (yaki onigiri) with salmon is the best I've had in the Bay Area. The fried smelt with fish eggs inside is also the best I've had in the Bay Area -- reminiscence of those I'd in a B&B in Japan -- they were perfectly crisp (instead of soggy like at other restaurants), the sauce on it, perfect. Service was superb - probably because they were quite free. The owner and the waiter were perhaps even obsequiously polite and chatty. We enjoyed it though. They are an enthusiastic bunch about their restaurant and really believe in their cuisine, and strive to make both the food and the experience a good one for customers. Always good to be at a restaurant where food is served with pride and care. We will be back many many more times!
(5)Jason K.
The service. Holy crap on a crapsicle. We arrived at 5:59pm, the Open sign was on, and the placard with specials was out front. Door was open and we walked in. We were told they would be open in one minute (literally). So I figured I'd just stand and wait. I was told to "Get out now, and wait outside." I asked, "For one minute??" incredulously and was told yes. So we left. Horrific service. Don't bother.
(1)avalon e.
Nice quiet location, great atmosphere, friendly and very cute wait-staff, but run-of-the-mill Japanese restaurant offering is nothing that rivals the likes of Tanto and Gochi. Almond shrimp gets a bit boring after the 1st few bites. (Consider toasting the almonds before frying maybe, or just do the shrimp bondage style with fine-shredded potato instead?) Udon carbonara was OK, but not like out of this world. Not bad, but I expect a lot more from any place that calls its offerings Japanese Tapas. ALmost inclined to give 4 stars but I want to balance out the all-too-generous reviews here.
(3)Rosyan C.
Love it!... great place, great food. The service is always fantastic as well. The only negative thing i can say is the wait for my food was so long ...
(4)sam s.
Found this place on yelp. Nice little restaurant and what's really awesome is their lunch special.. If you're not super hungry but hungry just order the two item shushing lunch special. Sushi tastes fresh healthy. Loved the salad and miso soup as well. Will repeat for sure.
(5)Pat L.
Love their omakase for $30. Best deal ever for a 8 course meal. I am including their appetizer and dessert. Everything is super tasty though most everything was a tad bit sweet.
(5)Dave T.
If your idea if Japanese food is california rolls, teriyaki chicken and other "Japanese foods" that don't exist in Japan, you will probably not like this place. Gokaku is really a kaiseki restaurant masquerading as an izakaya. Kaiseki is typically only found in expensive restaurants in Japan. Each dish looks and tastes like art. An izakaya, on the other hand is generally a social type place where you have small plate foods, drink a lot and enjoy your evening with your friends or coworkers. Gokaku's menu features a lot of izakaya favorites, but most of the menu is kaiseki. It's not on the menu, so be sure and ask about their omakase/sake pairing dinner. Oh man! Fricken awesome, complete with handmade plates that would cost $200/ea if you wanted to buy them. There are five courses, each paired with a different sake for $40 including tip. As you would do with wine from grapes, the chef has masterfully paired food items to enhance the sake flavor and sake that makes the food taste better. Since it's omakase, the chef will have specials already chosen, so just roll with it. Everything is very traditional, from various regions of Japan and tastes amazing. Our dinner featured dishes that contained squid, octopus, sashimi, duck and pork. Everything was outstanding! Their sake selection is pretty amazing, as well. They have some of the common favorites such as Hakkaisan, but most seem to be specially shipped from Japan, as I've never seen many of them here before. They also have a good selection of shouchuu (distilled liquor) made from rice, barley and sweet potato. Since the kaiseki menu was so awesome, I had to order a couple izakaya menu items just to make sure that those were good too. I ordered gindara (broiled cod) and ankimo (steamed monkfish liver,) which are two of my favorites. I've had each dish in close to 100 different restaurants over the years. The ankimo at Gokaku is in a completely different galaxy from any ankimo that I have ever eaten. It is clearly handmade in the restaurant and has the most amazing buttery flavor. Regardless of any past negative experience you have with liver of any species of critter, order their ankimo! It doesn't have any sort of liver taste. It's just 100% pure decadent awesomeness. Oh, and as luck would have it, it also goes well with sake. The gindara is equally excellent. The texture is nice and flaky and firm, yet has just enough natural oil in it to hold together. If I didn't already have reservations for Sumiya tomorrow, I'd be heading back to Gokaku again. You have to give this place a try. Well, unless you only eat American "Japanese food."
(5)Margaret T.
I guess this place has been here for a while, but I've always overlooked it b/c it seems like the restaurants around that area are ever-changing. SO GLAD we came here for dinner. The food was DELICIOUS, and because it's tapa-style, you can get a little taste of everything. The service was also really good- you could tell they were really making an effort to be attentive to everyone. The small dishes were good, but I really enjoyed this place b/c of the sushi/fusion rolls. We got 3 rolls and all of them were pretty good. The pictures on the menu are helpful, but when you come here, pay attention to the little stars on the menu. Those are the chef recommendations. Also, check their website for special events they have going on during the week & month. Definitely coming here again!!!
(4)Tetsu N.
Gokaku is pretty good. The restaurant looks fairly clean, there's plenty of seating, and the atmosphere is expectedly Japanese in style (low squared off chairs, tight fitting tables) though with a somewhat more refined elegance than some other restaurants of similar disposition. It's a good place for a business meal or a date night or a night drinking with friends. It's a Japanese tapas restaurant, so be warned, prices can be reasonable, but can also sky rocket easily if you're not careful so if you go in a small group, keep a watchful eye on the number and prices of tapas you order. That's advice from someone who makes that mistake every time....and cries at his empty wallet afterwards.... They serve rolls here too, and more traditional sushi, but it's the tapas that here that is really authentic. - Edamame - $3 - 3 stars. Hard to get these wrong. The little plate of beans boiled as is in salt.... - Mozarella cheese sticks - $6.50 - 3 stars. Again, what can I say here? It is what it is. - Pork flavored gobou (root) sticks - $4.25 - 4 stars. These were good. They're basically root sticks cut up similarly to french fries and cooked in pork flavored oil (fried or deep fried), served in a cup vertically. So addicting, like eating crispy fries, only better. - Salmon steak with salmon roe topping - $6.95 - 4 stars. Very good. Light appetizer, beautifully arranged, and tasty. but salty for some, but perfect when eaten with some rice. - Okonomiyaki-Tofu - $6.25 - 3 stars. Meh.....it's hard to find any good okonomiyaki place in the Bay Area. Guess it's not really popular here. This one was not impressive (not bad, just not worth ordering again for me). The easiest way to describe this is to say it's basically a pancake type meal with a bunch of stuff in it. - Ishiyaki onnkann chazuke - $7.50 - 3 stars. chazuke is basically hot water poured over white rice that has some stuff on top. Makes a bowl of rice into a watery soup. pretty popular and I used to eat variations of chazuke in college to save money. This one had a bit of crispy rice around the edges, a la korean style, but overall the chazuke was sour for me. - Cream mentaiko on carbonara style yaki-udon - $9.25 - 3 stars. mentaiko is fish eggs. This was a little spicy, but then again, I like it that way. very...ummm....fusion. Not quite as crazy as PF Chang, but still distinctly mixed western and eastern feel. - Gokaku chicken salad - $8.95 - 4 stars. Who the heck gives f stars to a salad? I do! This was very good. Light, but well flavored. complex but nothing out of place on the palate. I would say as a light starter salad, this is definitely the way to go. - Puri puri ebi-mayo - $9.50 - 3.5 stars. This is shrimp with Japanese style mayonnaise flavor. It's pretty typical Japanese tapas and has just the lightest tanginess or bite to it. Nothing strong, but fun and tasty. - Kurobuta (berkshire pork) sausages - $6.25 - 2.5 stars. You know, I'm a sucker for the right name in foods. I see "kurobuta" (berkshire) and I instantly think...oooohhhh gotta try it. But as often as not, I'm disappointed. these are just sausages. nothing really special about them. I'd pass on these next time. - tofu tiramisu - $5.50 - 3 stars. lightly flavored, lightly textured. Very god idea. I'd order this again if I had the room left after dinner. - soufflet cheesecake - $8.50 - 3 stars. you know, I expected this to be a much lighter variety of cheesecake, given the name in the title. And it was, but not as light as I had hoped. Still. Great dish, and seems like a master baker made this. It's worth eating once, dunno if I'd order it again though. Great conversational piece tho. And that's about it. All in all, I'd say this place is A-OK (And yes, that means I'd go here again)
(3)Dorit K.
We came for dinner on Sunday evening around 6:30. The restaurant was almost full. we were seated pretty fast and were handed multiple menus. the menus are overwhelming and there are too many choices. but to narrow it down the servers helped us. We took the chef special roll (tuna, salmon, yellofin, avocado. excellent) and a veggie roll (shitake and avocado) - excellent we also took the special - grilled red snapper. this was a great disappointment. there were two tiny pieces of fish with some fried bok choi and a piece of pepper. it was 9.99. the fish was fresh but it wasn't worth it. very tiny for an appetizer to share. we also had the soba udon which was good. service can be faster. we waited for a long time till we got our rolls
(4)Tran N.
I came to meet with a few friends for dinner. From the outside the place looks dull, but the inside is very nice. The waitress was friendly and quick to fill our drinks. We had a variety of dishes, my favorite was the beef tongue. Very tender and I would definitely recommend it. Another good dish was the duck. We also tried the Titanic sushi roll. The roll itself was humongous. For 4 people, we ordered 5 or 6 dishes and were completely stuffed by the end.
(4)Mi-tan M.
What a waste of money. The special calbonara udon that the waitress insisted that we get was really not all that great, we only finished half of it. The grilled fish was really dry. Rice was too soft (they probably put too much water in the rice cooker) Miso soup was really salty. And the dishes were pretty expensive. We left the restaurant feeling really unsatisfied. BTW, I went few months ago and have heard that this place has gotten a new chef since then. So maybe I'll give it one more try if I'm going with company expense.
(1)Theresa N.
Pleasantly surprised by this place. Takoyaki - I'm not usually a fan, but I thought this was good Seafood Nachos - looked better than it tasted (the only 'eh' part of the evening' Salmon Yaki Onigiri - nicely done, crispy outside and just salty enough Kamo Nanban Soba - not stingy on the duck! Ordered another roll but I can't remember the name for the life of me. I know it changed my mind about uni (hated it before, guess I never had the good stuff). Great service, plenty of parking. Tucked away in Cupertino. Will definitely be back!
(4)Shota H.
Gokaku deserves more attentions. Zig Zag Rolls Boom Volcano Agedashi Tofu Teppanyaki Japanese Style Hamburger Steak Negima Nabe (Hot Pot) There are all pretty good. We especially liked the Zig Zag Rolls, Boom and Volcano. Everybody should give it a try. Since I grew up in Japan, I tend to be picky about the Japanese foods, but I can tell you Gokaku is one of the few places in the south bay area that have pretty good Japanese foods. Another friend of mine said he had a good time eating dinner here as well. So, you will enjoy dining here, too.
(5)Vi E.
Came here a little before the restaurant opened for dinner, so I was able to get in without a reservation. There was also a group of two, four, and six that came without a reservation. Only the group of six had to wait because all the other tables were booked. So pretty much if you don't have a reservation and are a small group, come early; but if you have 5+ it's best to make a reservation. Most of the servers are Japanese (good sign for a Japanese restaurant lol) and quite friendly. The things we got were: -Yaki Onigiri with salmon: The salmon was a little disappointing because it was more of a decoration if anything. But the onigiri itself was crispy and delicious. -Sake Nigiri: It tasted good, but I hate to say it was a little fibrous. I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt and say that it was a fluke. Just a warning, this is one of the places that puts a hidden piece of wasabi under the salmon. -Vegetarian? Maki: The person I was with was a vegetarian, and I didn't catch the name of the roll except that it was a type of maki. It was good and really filling. -Matcha Ice Cream with red bean: It was alright, I've tasted better though. The red bean was the small kind, not the big one.
(4)Steph N.
Came here with a group of 8 for lunch. The location isn't so nice - in a strip mall with minimal stores embedded in a residential area. The food however, does make up for the lack of visual appeal on the exterior. It's a fairly small restaurant so do make sure you make reservations for both lunch and dinner if you have a larger group. For apps we had the maguro poki appetizer with seaweed salad, agedashi tofu, tempura and the seafood nachos which was an ahi tuna tartare thing on some wonton chips - all very good. The rolls (rainbow roll, firecracker and zigzag) were also very good but a bit heavy on the rice. All in all the fish was very fresh which is my number one gauge for a good sushi restaurant. I'll be back for sure.
(4)Louis B.
My wife and I love this place. Great service and food is excellent. I love Kamo Nanban soba in cold day. Sushi are fresh and delicious.
(5)Donald W.
Server was not really friendly today. But I've been here before. And the food is amazing. Well balanced and crafted Japanese - really the best.
(5)Melanie B.
3 1/2 stars for this one. My favorite is still Gochi! I love Japanese food but some of the dishes we ordered last night didn't do much for me. We started out with the Hamachi Carpaccio (Gochi executes this dish much better), Chef's rolls, Seafood Chef's Special, and Unagi rolls. Nice and cute little restaurant (just don't expect the decor to be fancy). Very low key and casual place to grab some Japanese Tapas and Sushi. I will definitely come back but still have a preference for my Gochi :)
(3)Rishi C.
The best Japanese food I've had in the Los Altos/Cupertino/Sunnyvale area. Unique Japanese dishes. Great alcohol. Large portions. It is hard to beat. We have been twice (once with the kids). Both times we have been super impressed.
(5)DL P.
What makes this restaurant is the sushi chef. He engages with his customers and makes inventive and savory sushi concoctions.
(4)Steve A.
Here is the 3-1-1 Food: WOW! if you are hungry this is the place to go. The tofu salad which is served in a large stainless steel bowl is enough for 4; plenty of tofu and other vegetables with their house dressing equally distributed with every bite. We only ordered 3 rolls (the Chef's, Zig Zag & Volcano) with the first 2 rolls evenly cut and the amount of rice was equal to the amount of fish. They had a unique flavor profile and it was fresh, light and tasty. The Volcano roll was the complete opposite, this roll in actuality is buried under a mound of tempura flakes and sauces to make the platter it was served in look like a volcano with the saracha emulating lava. A bigger table and more friends are required to help consume this masterpiece. Service: The servers are constantly running around as if the kitchen was on fire but the food did come out quickly once they came to your table to take your order. Given the size and the ingredients of each of the rolls the lone sushi chef delivers on the high volume. Ambiance- Small an quaint with 1 Tatami room and 7 seats at the sushi bar. Tables for 2 lose a lot a real estate depending on what your order so your table will get full quickly if you are eating slowly.
(4)Pamela K.
How often do I think about this place and the Zig Zag roll? A LOT. So yummy with a warm staff, casual, friendly ambiance, it's my favorite in the area. So sad, I moved away but hope to be back in a couple months to enjoy my old home away from home, visit with Tommy the chef, and devour a Zig Zag roll again with my friend Heidi M.! Maybe I will share... Maybe not.
(5)Patty B.
Happened upon this gem of a restaurant purely by chance after stopping at the Walgreens. Had the lunch special of two rolls + salad+ miso soup. Everything was excellent! Our service was very good and the bill was $25 for two, which considering you are eating sushi, was very reasonable!
(4)Mike C.
The fish is very fresh and specials are delicious with just the right amount of fusion. It's a great place to go for lunch, especially since it's new and doesn't get too crowded yet. The daily specials change frequently and have been tasty the last two visits.
(5)Sabrina A.
My boyfriend treated me to a wonderful Sunday dinner. Last minute he wanted to take me out and I had remember this was bookmarked. So off we went around 6:30pm. Located in a smallish strip mall, their huge Sushi and Tapas sign was easy to spot. With a specials board outside we come on in. This little restaurant is deceptive. With the non fancy, older looking outside of the mall . . . the inside is modern, clean, nice and I loved the ambiance. With cute dark wood tables, a section parted off, recessed lighting and nice pictures about - I enjoyed the feel and would definitely recommend this as a date spot. Our waitress was great. She was extremely attentive, helpful in suggestions, nice and really added to our experience. From start to finish she was an excellent waitress. The other wait staff looked equally as pleasant as well. The food was good, arty, interesting and provided for a great experience. I will say the menu is too large, just so many options that it is difficult to choose things. Luckily, we had the help of our waitress. They provide a menu of specials, a menu just of pictures and the full menu itself. We chose: -Rainbow Roll - soft fish, well rolled, good flavor, plenty but served with pretty but odd tasting optional sauces on the side. -Uni Ngiri - was on the special board and OMG it was so fresh, flavorful and some of the best I've had in a while. Yum! -Zigzaig roll - not my favorite, apparently it's popular . . . too much mayo, good crunch but just ok. -Hamachi Steak - pretty good, lots of flavor, wish it was a tad softer though. Interesting flavor to try at the least. -Potato Croquettes - um, interesting . . rather than just potato, it was mashed potato served inside but it made it a tad too mushy. Crab sauce was pretty good and it was fun to try. Everything is beautifully served, plates, food, extras, it's art. It really adds to the fun and I loved it. Everything came out in succession and seemed quite fresh, even for a Sunday. The sake and beer selection was good. Some draft beers, plenty of sakes and I dry the Asahi on draft for $5.50. Reasonable but not cheap prices. The plates add up and for 5 dishes and 1 beer the total came to $68. So while I had a fun and lovely date, I won't be rushing back to make this my regular spot. Fun, interesting and a perfect date on a Sunday night.
(4)Thomas C.
Japanese tapas that's pretty on par with Gochi and Tanto, but it's tucked in a very residential Cupertino neighborhood.
(4)Therese L.
The food here is excellent. The servers are very courteous and attentive. I ordered the firecracker roll. It was full of flavors. The rice ball with salmon was also very tasty.
(4)Sherry K.
I was there for my birthday this past weekend. It was a small informal celebration so we didn't make reservation. The server was very accommodating and although we couldn't get a table, we sat at the bar just fine. The service was great probably because we were sitting in front of the chef. We had a delicious sashimi salad, a very beautiful looking plate of super roll, tasty seafood nachos, always tasty kara-age, additive taro chips and fabulous hamachi-kama. After the chef knew it was my birthday, he offered us complimentary ice cream, which was so awesome because I was going to order the black sesame ice cream for dessert. We had been there for a few times previously with a bigger party and ordered quite a bit of stuff. There wasn't a dish I didn't like but I was most impressed with the Tori Zosui - Japanese porridge with chicken. It was flavorful and great comfort food. Excellent for the cold, windy nights. It warms you up. One can't find this on the menu at other places. Their lunch special is a good deal as well. I couldn't believe that one would get ALL THREE ITEMS written on the board placed outside the store. Usually, one choose an item out of the three. It was a big bento box with great stuff - sashimi, grilled salmon and pork chop plus few pieces of rolls, salad and rice. I am glad I just ordered their regular lunch plate which was delicious and plenty. My cousin certainly enjoyed her lunch special. Gokaku is the only "happening" store in that strip of stores. The Tin Tin supermarket closed a while back, hence the parking is not a problem, not it ever was... NOTE: Their lunch is CASH only.
(5)Lorraine E.
This is my new favorite lunch sushi spot! It is iIn an older shopping center with plenty of parking out front. Warm and inviting inside with great service both times I visited in the past two weeks. For the lunch special only, you can get three rolls along with miso soup and a nice sized salad for $10. Hungry? Three rolls are only $14. The list you can choose from is very good. The shrimp tempura rolls are about the best I have tasted, and I am pretty sure will always be on my order. Quick service, great priced lunches and close to home. Score!
(5)Brian L.
This place seems to attract quite a crowd. Sashimi salad--sauce overpowers sashimi Chicken momo garlic--saltier than it should be Nasu dengaku--served drowning in oil Aburi tofu sushi--contains cream cheese...!
(2)Richard S.
I made a reservation for 4 on Saturday night, just in case they had a small crowd. Looks like they have a lot of reservations there in general. The place had a lot of families there with small children but it was not noisy. Waiters tried to refill our tea cups as much as they could but when it came up to ordering food we always had to flag them down. But they did in general provide good service. I ordered the following items there 1) cucumber pasta - cucumber shaped in sphetthi with assorted raw fish w/ mayo. This plate fed 4 people and tasted refreshing. Seems like everyone in the resturant ordered it. I loved the taste of crunchy vegetables with mayo and fish. 4 out of 5 stars 2) Omakase Appetizer - which was basically similiar to the cucumber pasta except with more fish and no strands of cucumber pasta. Again it was mixed with mayo. Nothing Special there. 3 out of 5 stars 3) Aigamo Steak - 6 thin slices of medium cooked duck in a mushroom gravy with chunky mashed potatoes. the duck was somewhat fatty but had a nice flavor. Would rate it a 3 out of 5 stars 4) ToriNankotsuKaraAg - Fried chicken cartilege, was not as tasty as the other places I've had it at (ex. Tanto) which was quite disappointing since these are usually easy items to make. 2 out of 5 stars 5) Boom Roll - Again more mayo in the roll but it had a nice spice to it. Wasn't extremely impressed. 3 out of 5 stars Overall these 4 items were able to fill us up, but I wasn't really impressed with the items on there menu. I wouldn't mind going again to this place but it wouldn't be something I would pick right off the bat. Hence I have rated it a 3 star restaurant.
(3)David A.
Jo-Nigiri and the Zig-Zag roll were good. I would recommend Yelping pictures of the Volcano "Roll" before you order it, not what we expected and we did not enjoy it, way too much tempura and not enough fish. Katsu Don was pretty good.
(2)Joyce L.
Fantastic rolls! The dragon and rainbow rolls are great which I never had before!
(4)S L.
Ok I'm only rating the cooked items because I don't eat raw fish. My husband likes this place but really I would rather never go back. He said it has fresh fish, thus the 2 stars because i would have given them 1. 1. The pickled ginger was gross, not fresh on the boarder line of spoiling they don't even refrigerate it.. 2. I ordered a shrimp tempura roll with avocado, the roll came out without the avocado. I ate some of the ginger before the waitress came back. She wanted to go check with the chef because she didn't believe me! 3. THE SAME ROLL i just SENT back landed onto the table next to us after they sprinkled some tobiko on it! THAT IS JUST UNSANITARY! 4. The table that was unfortunate to get my sent back roll, had to send back two fish dishes they didn't think they were cooked all the way through, The hamachi (fish cheek which is suppose to be grilled) 5. The fried corn chicken skewers (sounds good right? ) were DISGUSTING. has some mystery meat that they called chicken, rolled in canned corn and then some how baked and then covered in teriyaki sauce to cover up the look the the freaking corn log... I won't be going back there are other sushi places that I would rather go to than this place. What really gets me is that they totally served the table next to us food i SENT back! I know this because i watched the server take it back and the whole thing go down with the sushi chef... Totally gross!
(2)