Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 998
Reviewed: 2/10/2004
Rating: 9
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My brother was in town visiting for his birthday so I decided to take him to Hotaru for good sushi. Located in San Mateo, this restaurant is small, seating roughly 40-50 people. Everytime I've been, the place has been packed with loyal customers.
With a short 5 minute wait, we sit down and immediately order tempura shrimp, side of rice, California roll, Hamachi, Spider roll, Dragon roll, and Hotaru special. I think Hotaru serves one of the best tempura shrimps...its lightly battered and nice size portions for the price.
The Spider roll pieces are gigantic!! They need to cut these pieces in half so you can fit them in your mouth. I was a little disappointed with the Dragon roll...it was a bit too salty for me. California roll is always a favorite for me, not too much mayo in the crab. Hotaru special didnt appear to special...it was just tempura unagi, crab, cucumber, and something else. Hamachi was fresh with no fishy taste.
The wasabe needs to be hotter. I didnt get that teary eyed feeling no matter how much green paste I threw on.
I like this place and would recommend it to anyone craving sushi in the San Mateo area.
RETURN VISIT for Jason!12/21/2006 - 9 Rating: This is my most visited japanese restaurant on jatbar. I normally eat here once every 2 weeks. I tend to rotate the dishes below
- sushi nigiri and maki rolls - shrimp tempura appetizers - curry rice with chicken or pork cutlet - chirashi sushi - teriyaki chicken or salmon - tempura udon
The best bang for your buck is the curry rice. It's the real stuff, you know the beef, carrots, and whatever meat you'd like. For less than $10, you have a gigantic portion good enough for 2 sittings.
The Chirashi sushi is also an amazing deal, you get about 12 pieces of fish for $13.50. Fish is high quality and you recieve a bed of rice.
Their sushi is very good but don't expect the selection of fish you'd see at Sakae or Sushi Sam's. Those are dedicated sushi houses while Hotaru shines with comfort cooking and can offer very respectable nigiri and maki rolls.
The restaurant is busy during dinner and you'll normally have to put your name on the waiting list. Parking on 3rd can be iffy at times so I'd recommend parking in the structure behind Hotaru. I order to go frequently and the food travels very well.
Open 365 Days a year Lunch 11:30 - 2:30 (Monday - Sunday)
Ok there are sushi restaurant and there sushi restaurants. … Hotaru has gets a very high rating from me. I’ve been going there for over 3 years now and I’ve never been disappointed. My usual feast is the dragon roll (so yummy), 2 maguro (dark red and fresh), and the salmon teriyaki dinner (cooked to perfection). The place is always crowded but doesn’t take more than 10 minutes to get a table. Only down side is the sushi bar only seats 5. So if you absolutely have to sit there you might be waiting a while. Also since this place is somewhat small there isn’t much place for the little one’s stroller. But all in all this place rates 9.5 with me. I may have to go agian tonight!
Reviewer: Eddie
Total Reviews: 47
Reviewed: 8/6/2004
Rating: 9
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Again this place came highly recommended by Jason and Mike. I finally got a chance to try it and I found it well deserved of what they say. The place is always packed so prepare to wait if you go during peak hours.
Get down to the business, tempura shrimp - Excellent, good size shrimp battered just right and not too greasy. I think it was probably one of the best in the area. I also like the spider roll and the Hotaru special. The spider roll is huge and taste great. Hotaru special is the combo of unagi, crab, and other stuff. Basically a dressed up california roll but taste very good. The best part is the price was very reasonable. I would highly recommended this place.
Reviewer: Lainie
Total Reviews: 41
Reviewed: 2/7/2006
Rating: 8
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I understand why so many Japanese call this a 'homestyle Japanese restaurant.' There's just something a little different about this place compared to other run of the mill Japanese restaurants. The portions are huge and the food is very authentic. It's a great place to try something different every time. The wait can be long so go at non-peak times if you don't want to wait. I love the Tempura Spicy Tuna Roll. How fun is that?!
I believe the the previous reviews do this place justice. I've been coming here for years and it has never disappointed. Always more then enough food and easy on the wallet.
Much like Joy in Foster City, the real menu is up on the walls, I personally usually just go with one of the combo meals found on the back wall opposite of the sushi bar.
Everything is fresh, well prepared, and that great balance of delicacy and complexity I look for in Japanese food.
“This is one of my regular work lunches. I'm not a sushi eater so I can't comment on the fish, but the beef/chicken/tonkaktsu are all usually very good. Inexpensive for Japanese. Downsides are always busy, and a little inconsistent in quality.”
10/4/2007 10:01:57 PM
Grubbin ate...
teriyakai chicken, tempura, sashimi
“definately the best teriyaki chicken ive ever had. So much flavor, nice and tender YUM! They give real generous cuts of sashmi. Hotaru has easily become one of my favorites”
8/24/2007 12:23:04 PM
wchane ate...
combo 4
“fantastic as always. the rice was a bit stale, but i was just happy to be back.”
6/29/2007 12:39:08 PM
Godlike4U ate...
The Large Plate and a Couple of Rolls
“Don't go with the large plate, it's for the inexperienced sushi eater. The rolls rocked. Had the Geisha and Haturo Roll. Both were excellent. When I go back I'll stick with the sushi.”
4/12/2007 8:26:27 PM
Jason ate...
teriyaki salmon and tempura shrimp
“i've been here so many times and never been disappointed. I haven't eaten sushi here in a long time considering the homestyle japanese food is addicting. Wait times can be long during peak hours.”
