Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 1040
Reviewed: 7/24/2008
Rating: 9
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I think Gombei is our new once a week spot. Having been to the Japantown location ages ago, I wished for a rematch and my wishes were answered with a location closer to work. I've been 2 times this month and each visit is better than the next. On our 1st visit, we sat at the sushi boat (which btw used to be Sushi-Go-Round) and ordered lunch plates.
I had no intentions of eating sushi but watching Dominic pile on the sushi plates one after another, I had to do what I had to do. I picked 2 plates.
hamachi nigiri - fantastic piece of fish, melted like butter, oooh sooo good.
shrimp tempura roll - average in taste, tempura wasn't warm and rice had too much vinegar which left me with a sour aftertaste.
For my lunch, I ordered the curry chicken cutlet combo. That brown mess might not look appetizing but you have to believe me when I tell you, it's one heck of meal where you'll enjoy every bite. They might have overdone the sauce a tiny bit as you can barely see any white rice. Carrots were hidden under this brown goop and was hoping for cubes of beef but no luck. Overall the curry wasn't too sweet nor too spicy. It's one of the better curry cutlets I've had in the area.
Here's my current list of curry favorites, yes a 3-way tie for 2nd. I wonder how many of these places uses pre-made curry.
Overall, another successful lunch. I can't complain about the service, food, or prices. Gombei is jatbar gold. The tables are limited so try to beat the lunch rush. There's ample space at the sushi boat and no one will give you the stink eye if you order plate meals.
P.S. Don't forget to try the Salmon Teriyaki Donburi. Sooooo good.
P.S.S This makes my 1000th review. Woohoo for me.
RETURN VISIT for Jason!2/17/2009 - 9 Rating: Still lovin the curry dishes. I'm always tempted to eat at the sushi boat and guilty on picking a couple of the trays. The sushi is decent but I wouldn't go there specifically for the sushi boat. Gombei shines with the plate meals.
Reviewer: Terry
Total Reviews: 738
Reviewed: 7/3/2008
Rating: 9
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I was teetering between 8.5 and 9 here. Which to me is a big surprise, considering how low I rated the other Gombei location....
My hopes were a bit low when we walked in. The huge expansiveness of the place lead me to believe that perhaps it wasn't really a hardcore type of Japanese joint. I mean, usually I would expect the really good places to be these tiny establishments that you have to shoe-horn yourself into.
The fact that we were seated at the very back corner near the kitchen didn't help things either. It was a bit loud and cramped back there....
My mood improved, however, when I had a chance to sit down, to scan the menu, and see the sushi boat. The sushi boat was loaded with these beautiful big rolls. That gave me a smile. The menu was larger than the other Gombei establishment with a decent selection of non-meat items. That gave me a smile. The waitstaff was actually quite extensive on this Wednesday and milled around quite hurriedly and very attentive. That gave me a smile. The low prices on the sushi boat and the menu itself gave me yet another smile.
Its not often I smile at restaurants - and this place was full of them today. It was pleasant surprise after pleasant surprise. Sure nothing I saw was the best of the best - but it was better than I anticipated - and the prices were quite cheap. If this place delivered on the food quality, then we could have a winner here.
I couldn't wait to look over the menu and had california rolls off the sushi boat. The rolls were full and flavorful yet not the crab salad I prefer (more the imitation kind) but still it was solid and very enjoyable. And $2. Bargain. Same with the shrimp tempura roll. Bargain! And quite filling. I was surprised I only went with 3 rolls of the sushi boat. I was starting to feel like I wouldn't be able to eat my entree.
And today I went with the Curry with vegetables. And to be honest, my hopes were even a little low here too. I have had enjoyable curry but it just didn't strike me as something that would fill me up.
I was wrong.
The curry was a tremendously sized plate with way more food than I could possibly finish. My one complaint about the dish was that perhaps they gave too much curry and not enough rice and vegetables. The flavor was fantastic though and I was slurping it up big time. Veggies could have been a bit more crisp than the soggy mess within the curry- but they were still quite flavorful.
I would easily return here. I spent a bit (my entree was $7.50 and the rolls another $8) but really for the kind of stuffed I was experiencing it was well worth it - and the food was awesome. I will easily return here any day, any time.
Remember the days before izakaya and ramen became all the rage, when going out for Japanese meant sushi/teriyaki/donburi/udon? While I'm a big fan of the current trend, I grew up eating this 'traditional' style and thus have a soft spot in my heart for places like Gombei.
Been here a half dozen times and have yet to be disappointed. Their sushi, curry, and teriyaki and are definitely worth ordering again, but this time I decided to try the chicken karaage and mixed udon.
The karaage was mouth watering good - bite sizes pieces of tender juicy leg meat, w/ a hint of garlic flavor and a nicely fried crisp coating. I only wished the serving was bigger. If KFC had this, I'd be down for a bucket way more than the surgeon general would recommend.
When the udon arrived my first though was: wow! The bowl was huge, chock full of noodles and bits of egg, tofu, chicken, cabbage, pork, mushroom, etc. And the ratio of solid food to soup was pretty high. The combination was quite tasty, and the portion size was most likely more that a normal person could finish. Not a problem for me, though ;-)
For stick to your ribs, traditional Japanese 'comfort food' at a good value, I definitely recommend Gombei.
Reviewer: ne00
Total Reviews: 187
Reviewed: 3/2/2009
Rating: 7.5
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Gombei is located within the same plaza as Starbucks.
This is one of the few times I’ve left disappointed after anticipating a great meal from reading a jatbar review. Apparently all the great combo deals such as curry and the salmon teriyaki don buri must only be available during lunch hours because the dinner menu didn’t feature anything of that sort.
There are plenty of selections on the menu but I went with high expectations. Prices here are about a buck or two lower than some Japanese restaurants during dinner hours, but then again I though portions and selections are also less. I’d expect that if the don’s are topped off with lots of meat and were much cheaper than the combo’s then the combo’s would equally come with greater portions of meat, but this was not the case.
After scanning the menu and feeling disappointed that there were neither curry nor the salmon don bowl, I went with the chicken teriyaki and fried shrimp combo. The other weird aspect of the combo selections was there was no tempura offering with any of the combo. Basically it was choice of chicken teriyaki with something else or beef teriyaki with something else. My girlfriend who decided to give up meat for lent was disappointed she only had one choice on the menu, which was the salmon teriyaki dinner, served with miso, salad and rice.
Everything arrived on one tray. My fried shrimp were large but they were served over my salad. I would much rather had my salad and soup first like most other places. The miso had potato pieces and an overkill amount of onions, not the typical miso I’m used to. Served on my salad plate was three large fried shrimp. Chicken teriyaki came with average portion size. Tender pieces of chicken with just the right amount of teriyaki glaze. My gf’s two salmon pieces looks nothing like the don bowl shown in the photo above. She seemed to have enjoyed it although it was the same price as my combo platter.
I’m not as impressed as the reviews here indicate. Don’t think I will come back for dinner with better choices nearby. Prices range from 8.95 to 11.95 for dinner and combo selections and 8.95 to 10.95 for don bowl selections.
“The curry is great, also the don (rice bowls topped with good stuff) are huge with lots of meat. They also have a very simple Kitsune Udon, which is the best I've ever tasted. The sushi is fine, and many bargain plates can be found on the menu.”
