| Tiny clean Japanese restaurant that serves up quick lunch dishes |
Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 992
Reviewed: 1/30/2004
Rating: 7
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I love japanese food so one lunch we decided to swing by and order up some Teriyaki. The place is very clean and it was a nice day outside so we swapped our indoor spots for the picnic style benches outside. Bad move....apparently they have somewhat a problem with yellow jackets and small little group of them tried to overtake our teriyaki meals. We quickly moved inside.
Back to the food...I got a chance to try the Teriyaki Beef/Chicken and shared a California roll. The beef was so-so as it was lacking some real flavor or maybe it was too lean. The chicken on the other hand was tastier. Had some burnt edges on it for that added grilled flavor. Teriyaki sauce wasn't too sweet yet it didn't stand out from the other Teriyaki sauces I've had in the past. The California roll tasted like the sushi you buy at the grocery store. I may sound like I'm complaining but Hattoriya has numerous things going for them that would make me do a return visit; very clean, friendly staff, not too expensive, and large portions of food.
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RETURN VISIT for Jason! 6/14/2007 - 8 Rating: Japanese Grill Hattoriya brings back memories of early jatbar. It was the 2nd restaurant to appear on the site and never would have guessed we'd be writing reviews 3 1/2 years later. Within the last couple of years, we've learned a thing or two about eating at restaurants and tastes have matured.
After reading my 1st review, I can't believe my low score considering how authentic Japanese Grill Hattoriya is. It ranks up there with Yoko in San Mateo, Gombei and Kaita in San Jose. We walked in to a half packed restaurant with one waiter running around and a lone cook behind the counter. About 5 minutes later, the restaurant is full and the inside was getting hotter and more humid. It was getting uncomfortable and luckily they kicked in the air conditioners.
Be sure to check the whiteboard for specials, it's right above the kitchen. There's many authentic items to choose from the menu and if you can read Japanese, they have the kanji equivalent next to the english. I had trouble picking a dish since everything sounded so good. I finally picked the grilled hamachi combo.
2 guys sat down at a table next to us and placed their orders before me. Looks like they ordered the same grilled hamachi dish. I couldn't believe the two received hamachi kama pieces (fish cheeks, considered one of the tastiest parts of a fish). I was hoping I was going to receive one myself but when the waitress dropped off my fillet, I became jealous for about 6.8 seconds. Oh well, you can't win them all.
Grilled Hamachi combo (image 10, $13) - served with a potato corn salad, mixed green salad dressed in sesame sweet glaze, and hearty watermelon wedge. Grilled fish is one of my favorite things to eat and today's fish looked great. The only seasoning was salt and man o man was it good. It was sushi grade with tasty fat stripes for melts in your mouth type of effect. I can eat this once a week for sure.
I loved my meal and it was just the right amount. I have no complaints spending $13 as the grade of fish was top notch. I wanted to give an 8.5 but the service was a snail's pace with an uncomfortable room temperature. Japanese Grill Hattoriya is legit. Although you might be tempted to try the teriyaki chicken/beef, I'd say skip the norm and go for the grilled fish. You won't be disappointed. |
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Reviewer: Terry
Total Reviews: 723
Reviewed: 1/30/2004
Rating: 6.5
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I rate this a 6.5. I ordered the Tofu Teriyaki Lunch special and added on 3 California Rolls. The meal arrived in 3 courses which was welcome. First up was the Miso soup which was a little different. The soup was the same taste, but the seaweed was leafier and there were some thin noodles at the bottom. A change, which was nice. Next up was the California Rolls. They were average or a little below. Nothing terribly fresh or exciting about them, but I gladly ate them anyway. And finally the main course came. (Granted this was all in a matter of minutes, this place is very quick). In addition to the Tofu teriyaki, the main plate included a salad, a slide of watermelon, a potato salad, and white rice. I found everything to be good but the Tofu. Jason and Michael (a coworker) got the Beef & Chicken respectively and they looked a lot more appetizing. The meat was served on the plate and looked suitable grilled. The Tofu was a mushy soupy thing in some kind of teriyaki sauce. I am not a HUGE fan of Tofu, but being that I am vegetarian it was all I felt like eating. I cannot recommend this dish here unless you really like Tofu because they REALLY piled it on. Piled it on like I was the only person that ordered it all month. The meal came out to $8.00 and I left a little hungry as I only ate about 1/2 of the Tofu. Check came with a butterscotch candy which washed out some of the Tofu taste from my mouth. The place was clean and the other stuff was definitely passable so when I return I will probably order another dish and might be more impressed with it. BTW, don't eat outside as the Yellow Jackets are quite pestering. We moved back inside 1/2 way thru the meal after a Yellow Jacket tracked across Michael's plate of food.
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RETURN VISIT for Terry! 6/14/2007 - 8 Rating: I'll make this brief, since its an update. This time I went with the Crab Croquette and the Ca roll combination. It was pretty price at $13, but I like the food a lot more this time around. CA rolls were a bit on teh small side, without much crab in them, but still decent enough. The Croquette was the winner. Very soft, rich, and flavorful.
Only problem I had with this place other than the high price was the temperature control. It was a hot day and the AC was intermittent. It was crowded and muggy inside today. |
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Reviewer: Dan
Total Reviews: 70
Reviewed: 1/18/2006
Rating: 8
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This small, quaint restaurant is in a slightly odd setting, but serves up good Japanese fare with friendly, prompt service. The restaurant occupies a squat, brick building formerly occupied by a tacqueria, and in a slightly industrial neighborhood, so its kind of an odd fit. There is outdoor seating, but it isn't very appealing, since it faces directly onto an unattractive section of a very busy, traffic-clogged street. But the indoor seating area is clean and inviting, with only about 6 or 7 tables.
The menu has the usual assortment of teriyaki plates, saba, and various combinations. There are usually a few interesting specials on the board, too. This restaurant is less sushi-centric than most Japanese restaurants in the area, though they do offer rolls (maki-sushi) and other selected items. They also have a few oddities on the menu, For instance, hamburg steak is offered as a standard item and appears on some combinations. Ive never heard of this on Japanese menu before, and frankly, I don't know what it is.
I have eaten here several times and normally order the teriyaki and CA roll combination. This consists of a big plate heaped with food: a large amount of teriyaki chicken in a pretty good sauce, rice, a nice CA roll, salad, melon, and some kind of pasta-potato salad(?) that's delicious. Total cost is about $11 with tip. A pretty good price for what you get.
Pros: Good food served quickly. Decent prices. Good service.
Cons: Difficult to get to. Setting could be nicer. Lousy Outdoor eating environment. |
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Reviewer: wchane
Total Reviews: 141
Reviewed: 1/25/2008
Rating: 8.5
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This should really be titled "Hattoriya" as I knew it was on here but took me awhile to find.
I was told to go here after my so-so review of Curry House. We ended up ordering a crab croquette ($13), the gyozas ($?), and beef potato curry ($9.XX).
Service was extremely quick and very 'grandmotherly' She kept checking up on us every 5 minutes it seemed to make sure we were happy.
The crab croquette was what one would and should expect at a japanese restaurant, not the crab cake like item i was for whatever reason expecting. at $13 a bit steep.
Gyozas - these were the let down, standard freeze dried mass produced gyozas found anywhere. served with dipping sauce.
Curry - now this was the stuff. filled with chunks of onions, beef, and potato. it was hearty, spicy, and delicious. This was what I expected at curry house.
I'm definitely going back soon. This time for a katsu curry.
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