Seiya Japanese Restaurant

After several years of walking past, I finally decided to venture inside and have lunch.
I am happy I did. Everything I ate was extremely fresh and delicious. Very worth the visit and I will be returning in the near future.

I’m a sushi lover and this was a disappointment. The place was understaffed, the service ok. But the food… the food was the worst. The edamame was mealy (overcooked and lukewarm), the rolls were poorly crafted, and the fish was of mediocre quality. I would give it 2 stars, but the restaurant found a way to delete our review on OpenTable… so we’re removing that star here. Skip it.

Very disappointed at this restaurant, sashimi platter was ok, for 2 people, only gave one serving of wasabi. I made reservations but they sat us at the bar. Chicken wings were super bland and it took forever to flag down a server to get check

Been looking for a good, local, Japanese restaurant for quite some time.
Of course food quality is our #1 criteria and it is 5 star.
Next criteria is service particularly order and timeliness the food is served and it is another 5 star.
Last criteria is cleanliness and again it is 5 star.
We also like the staff to be friendly and polite and we like ambiance but we rarely rate these because staff friendliness can vary greatly (we all have off days) and we come mostly for the meal. Ambiance does enhance the experience but is not a high priority for us when it comes to finding a good place to eat. We ate there for the first time, last night, and the staff exceeded expectations on friendliness, politeness, and timing (order taking was quick, serve time was quick, and checkout was quick). Ambience is fairly plain but not, at all, a reason to knock this place. We will come back often.

We dropped in after a harried day.
When you walk in, you see black. What you see is a very modern black décor with relaxing waterfall light. Nice touch Seiya!
Shared a pot of Seafood Risotto and the Temptation roll.
First up, the Temptation roll: comes in a few minutes; from the tail to the head, it looks good. The head: it had BBQ’d eel pokin’ out and looked fetching. The avocado, crab, with seaweed wrapping just added to the tune. Like!
My friend said the risotto was very good and I agree. At first, you think Japanese risotto?
then, it arrives in clay pot looking all yummy, shrimps in shell, sticking way up firm and high. Mussels, looking phat and plump, grace the rim.
And then, you scoop out a portion, and see several phat scallops, and a variety of mushroomes: skinny enoki, button mushrooms and other forms of delectable mushrooms sleeping together and you say Mmmm. Then, you taste, a light turns on, your tongue giggles, and your eyes meet and smile. Nuff said.
Tea: their hot tea was boiling hot and welcome on a chill NorCal evening. Kudo’s for tea done right.

Seiya is the best place to go for sushi!
They always have the freshest fish and good quality.
Once I tried this sushi place I was not able to eat sushi anywhere else!
Omar is the best waiter, he always takes care of our table like we are the only people in the restaurant even when the place is packed!

Great ambiance. Fresh sushi. Perfect for date night. Expect to pay a pretty penny here.

It was ok. Service was excellent. Tried several appetizers and rolls. They were decent. Miso soup was a little too watered down. Ordered bluefin tuna toro sashimi $ 40. What I got was most definitely not toro! I pointed it out to sushi chef unfortunately after I had eaten it and he insisted it was toro. It tasted delicious but it wasn’t toro!!! The two of us paid $ 162 plus tip. I can’t recommend this place, you’re better off going to Oh Baby Sushi in RWC!!!

Amazing sushi and sashimi.
Rushed service.
Setting too small and too narrow.
Waitress bumped my chair each time she walked behind me!

Not bad considering it’s San Carlos and there aren’t many decent Japanese places in the area. Their sushi fish is pretty fresh but to be honest the presentation leaves something to be desired. We ordered the omakase sushi and some a la carte sushi items, all were average. The fish tacos were interesting but it’s not really what I call Japanese.

The menu isn’t too big but they do have specials.
Presentation is nice. The fish is fresh but nothing incredible about the food. The best dish was the fish tacos.

This was one of my favorite sushi places on the Peninsula. However, it seems to have lost its edge. Perhaps it’s changed ownership…
1. Please coach your staff to greet guest properly. Being approached by a waitress that looks stressed and says «can I help you?» does not feel like a warm welcome. The first word should be «welcome!»
2. What is the point of a sushi bar if you cannot order from the sushi chefs!!! I cannot emphasize enough how much I detest sushi bars that make you order from a waiter. Then remove the bar and just have tables!
The fish is still fresh and well prepared. However, there is a disturbing lack of passion and energy. Sushi is an art that deserves respect, detail, and passion. Without that I might as well buy my own fish and prepare it myself.

I visited Seiya this week for lunch and chose to go since it’s close to work and had good reviews. First off, the place is pretty small but I liked the atmosphere and setting. For lunch I tried the House Salad, Temptation Roll, Spicy Hulk Roll and Geisha Roll. All of the rolls were delicious. The Spicy Hulk Roll was great and I liked that it had no rice in it — woohoo, less carbs! Temptation Roll was also great. The Geisha Roll was good, however, I personally didn’t like the veggies in the roll.
Overall, nice little restaurant. I would return for lunch again!

We were staying in San Carlos over the weekend and being unfamiliar with the area we took a chance in an early dinner at Seiya. We were very glad we did! We have a lot of sushi, so we always appreciate innovation and creativity in a menu.
The tuna tataki appetizer was especially notable. It was a little heavy on the garlic but it was delicious! The Kobe beef roll was definitely original and delicious. Even the simple cut pieces of yellowtail and albacore were perfect.
The only thing we had that we probably could have passed on was the «great balls of fire». The fried sea weed proved to be a problematic chew and detracted from the overall enjoyment of the dish.

Had lunch here last week and really enjoyed our meal! The service was great too! We shared several dishes and every item we ordered was very good! We didn’t order typical sushi rolls, but instead, ordered very flavorful, beautifully presented, and freshly made sushi. Just writing about it makes my mouth water! I think I’m going to have to go again soon!

WOW is all I have to say. Let me break it down:
Service: Excellent. Note there is one main server & 1 helper. Very knowledgeable about the menu.
Quality of Food: Fantastic. The quality of the sushi & the rice around the sushi is delicious. You can tell the sushi is fresh. Not your typical sushi menu though, so be prepared. I’m a Nobu fan & the way the sushi was made was a higher grade than normal.
I suggest making reservations in the evening & be prepared for the higher quality of food.

«Kobe beef roll Kobe beef roll!» — this has been my only impression of this place prior to trying for months now from a colleague.
Naturally, my whole team wanted to try the place since we’ve heard so much about it.
Note: we had people who rarely ate sushi or raw fish, some who couldn’t, and some who loved sushi so there was something for everyone.
Solely to review my own dish, I had miso soup, edamame (so fresh!), and the Geisha roll.
I was a bit sad when the waiter told me they didn’t have uni, so I stuck with the Geisha roll. It has boiled asparagus inside and salmon, lemon and roe on the outside. It was definitely interesting and it honestly felt way healthier than getting something fried. Now I’m not head over heels for it, but if you want a healthier option, go for Geisha!
Overall, great experience. Knowledgable and patient waiter, good food, and a great atmosphere!

A RECENTLY DISCOVERED FAVORITE…
Deserving of a 4.5
Growing up eating Japanese cuisine, from home cooking in California to lunch plates while traveling through Japan, there are certain palatable qualities for which one looks. It’s difficult to put in words, as it’s simply the pure, unadulterated flavors of Nihon that need to be at the forefront of all dishes.
With no reservations (both table and with our intuitions), we walked in and realized the limited seating available: 5 tables, 1 private room, 12 Sushi Bar seats and 3 tables outside. We enjoyed sitting at the Sushi Bar, watching the chefs keep busy with their creations. The benefit of dining at the bar is that one receives a 360 degree advantage of great service.
The décor is graced with dark wood and a large stone, slate-​like wall. It’s intimate and modern; very cozy. For the ladies and their lovely handbags, there’s a hook under the bar table for each seat.
We started off with appetizers of Agedashi Tofu and Asari Butter Sakamushi; both amazingly delicious! The Sakamushi arrived in a very hot clay pot filled with a generous count of clams, sliced pea pods, broccoli stems and red onions, all submerged in a pristinely flavored broth.
Our next duo of treats was the Salmon Skin Hand Roll and their specialty roll, Great Balls of Fire. The crispy, well seasoned salmon was surrounded by greens, cucumber spears & shiso (beefsteak) leaves and wrapped in seasoned rice and nori (seaweed). The most flavorful and succulent SSHR I’ve had. Their specialty roll was fried balls of spicy tuna. This dish is coated with Panko, deep fried, and is fully cooked.
For a taste of raw delight, we ordered the Chef’s Choice Sushi (two generous slices of each): Maguro (tuna), Hamachi (yellowtail), Sake (salmon) and Albacore. The Albacore was absolutely buttery soft. All of the fish were super fresh and nicely sliced (nicely angled and generously thick). The uniquely added touch was the cold stone slate in which the sushi sat. Well done, Seiya! Chilled sushi is like chilled beer… a must!

FOOD: 4
SERVICE: 4
AMBIANCE: 5
VALUE: 4
We’ve been wanting to try this sushi place for some time now. But we usually go to San Carlos on Mondays and they’re closed on Mondays. However, we’ve started going to SC on Thursdays, so we finally had a chance to visit.
The restaurant is a little small, so if you want a table, a reservation is highly recommended. They have 3 small tables outside, 5 mid size tables inside, a private dining room for 8, and a sushi counter for 12 (a little tight).
We ordered the following:
1. Asari Butter Sakamushi: cherrystone clams steamed in butter sake broth. A generous amount of clams in varying sizes, steamed with sliced peas, sliced Chinese broccoli stems, red onions in a delicious broth. Not only did we eat all the clams, we ate everything else and drank all the broth!
2. Agedashi Tofu: fried tofu served with bonito flakes, grated daikon and dashi broth. They use a slightly firmer tofu than most places, but still done well.
3. Great Balls of Fire roll: panko crusted spicy tuna, deep fried and served with spicy mayo, Unagi sauce, scallion and Tobiko. Initially I was surprised that it was a deep fried roll, but it tasted good, a little like a fish meat ball with a crunchy skin.
4. Chef’s Choice of sashimi: this was 8 pieces (2 each) of Maguro/​Tuna, Sake/​Salmon, Hamachi/​Yellow tail and Bincyo/​Albacore. All very fresh and melt in your mouth tender.
5. Salmon Skin hand roll: very crunchy Salmon skin in a very fresh seaweed wrapper. My wife said it was one of the best she’s had.
Service was efficient and the waitress controlled the flow of the food well since we sat at the sushi bar and there wasn’t much room. They refilled our teas without asking, cleared the dishes promptly as we finished.
Nice contemporary interior décor with lots of dark wood and dark stone. Very cozy feel and a good place for a romantic dinner.

2 words, fish tacos. Their Japanese take on fish tacos, salsa, raw fish, on a fried nori. It sounds weird but it’s amazing. I could have spent my whole meal eating just that.
Seiya is not your typical Japanese sushi joint, it’s more of an upscale establishment. They make sushi art.
When you walk in, you are greeted with a modern and sleek ambiance. Service is on point, and the food is good. I highly recommend this place for a great date night, especially with all the dark lighting. ;)

Excellent! Dragon ball sushi roll is superbe :)