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    Colander Kitchens

    4.8 (45 reviews)
    Updated 1 month ago

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    Seared tuna with japanese chili
    Ruby Z.

    Such a cute spot for weekday lunch, and such a steal! Street parking in downtown san mateo (unfortunately gets busy at times). The storefront is on a main street and you see a cute coffee truck inside. Open seating and easy to find a table when we were there. It's a few restaurants/kitchens with a variety of (mainly seafood) dishes to try. Ordered through QR code, food came out quickly. Everything was truly delicious, and at an amazing price point! We got stuff to share and were super impressed. Looking forward to coming back and trying some of their other items.

    Beignet!
    Jill R.

    We happened across Colander Kitchen and boy what a fabulous surprise. We were out for a Carmel machioto for my son and had to order a full blown lunch. 10/10. I crave fresh food low carb and my husband the opposite and this satisfied all 3 of us. The menu is fresh and inventive and the service impeccable. So charming inside, very chic with a vintage feel as well. See photos for what we ate. We will be back very soon.

    Build Your Own Breakfast
    Nichole B.

    Walked in and was informed that there's a kiosk, or I could use the QR on the table where I can seat myself, to place my order. Was there on a Friday morning early so it wasn't very crowded. I believe they were soft opening their new brunch menu so it was interesting navigating that. I was unsure about the dishes as they seemed more eccentric than a classic breakfast but my friend I was dining with went for the crab cake Benedict and was thoroughly impressed. I highly recommend that dish. I ordered the build your own breakfast which was a nice option because I could pick only the things I actually felt hungry for. Eggs, potatoes, toast and avocado. All priced individually as you "build" I was most impressed with the potatoes and andouille sausage. I would come back here for that alone. The toast was also really yummy but you only get one option so I think that's important to note because I'm used to being asked: "white, wheat, sourdough or rye" and I only had the option of brioche. I ordered a bottled ice tea and I stated to realize the way that this place feels is a restaurant that usually only does door dash items delivered to local tech types who need an excuse to leave the office. Feels a bit disjointed in that way. But the coffee cart is a nice touch. I just get the feeling that this place doesn't really know itself yet. Maybe it's because of Covid that many restaurants have adopted the kiosk/QR code dining experience but we've moved away from that and it doesn't feel necessary in a space that seems like it wants to feel personal. Bring on the fresh squeezed juices and maybe a condiment station and I'll stay a while next time.

    Anthony G.

    It was a warm Tuesday morning. My partner and I were looking for a nice brunch spot in Downtown San Mateo and we stumbled upon Colander Kitchens. This place is a seat yourself cafe with qr codes at each table. They have a big and open space that provides a great cozy vibe, with a touch of upscale. We started off with an iced Caffè Latte. We followed this up with the Miso Black Cod, Whipped Ricotta Toast, and the Brown Sugar Thick Cut Bacon. The Latte itself was great. Very fun presentation and you pour the espresso yourself over a mound of shaved ice. The Miso Black Cod hit all the classic notes, but with a scallion vinaigrette it was definitely brought to another level. It was topped with a handful of crunchy fried (purple yams I assume), which were a bit too hard and crunchy. On a fish like Black Cod, I think a lighter and crispier topper would be better suited. The Brown Sugar Thick Cut Bacon was really great as well. The flavor was nice and the order came with 5 big pieces. The Ricotta Toast was also really flavorful and topped with a ton of fresh fruit. I would've liked a little more honey on top, but it was overall pretty nice. I think the food, vibes and service here are great, but they can get a bit busy as a lot of people just sit around and hang out for a while, keeping the tables full.

    Steak & Black Cod
    Yoojin S.

    This place is super cute! Love the quiet music, spacious lounge-like layout. Super kind owners greeting and managing the place. Miso Black Cod - 5 stars!!! Deliciously soft, perfect texture. Good portion. Miso marination was perfect. Not too salty. Just perfect. Steak - 4 stars Flavor-wise, it's delicious. While the description wnd picture looked "medium-rare," it was more medium well! If there was an option or more attention to detail, it would easily go up to 5 stars. Rice is an add-on ($3.5) for dinner but it was kinda hard. Maybe this place is better for lunch bc rice is included with these protein options. Felt super healthy and clean. Welcome to San Mateo!

    Oyster
    Erika C.

    So glad to have found this place. Walked by and thought it was a coffee shop or a bar lounge. It is a bit of both as well as a restaurant. The large windows make this space really airy and welcoming. They're between backhaus and foreigner. I used to love going to Roy's in SF. The owner is a former chef at Roy's, and the menu is a little reminiscent of that. We came here for dinner. All the dishes were great (see photos) and the menu prices are unreal. I would fully expect the prices to go up after initial opening, and it would still be worth coming to. I brought my friend and her kid here for lunch and coffee when they were visiting from out of town. The owners are super friendly and warm, and also gave my friend's kid a mini sushiritto roll on the house. We just chilled and lounged around. Shared the salmon rillette salad which was good. I liked my macchiato and will be back.

    Crunchy Musubi & Crispy Spicy Tuna Sushi Burrito
    Sarah W.

    Went to Colander Kitchens today for lunch and it was lovely! Ordered the crispy spicy tuna sushi burrito, crunchy musubi & beignets. Everything was delicious. Didn't get a photo of the beignets because we devoured them right away. The beignets were an amazing consistency, light and airy. We ordered at the kiosks and the food came pretty quick. The purple flower was a nice touch to add some color to the plate. I love the coffee truck! Very cute. The restaurant has very chill vibes. Would definitely recommend to others and hope to be back soon.

    Crab canes,  perfectly lightly fried!
    Judy S.

    I've been wanting to try this place for a while because I keep hearing great things about it. I was invited to a private tasting, and wow, I'm impressed!! The decor is so cute and inviting. But the best part is the food. We were all anticipating that the food was going to be good because of the reviews, but I think we were all pretty wowed by just how good everything was. Every dish was perfectly cooked and presented. And just when we thought it couldn't get any better, the beignets came! They were heavenly pillows! And to finish the meal off on the best note, a prefect latte. I think it might be the best I've ever had. If you're a coffee lover, you have to come here and try it, you might not ever get any elsewhere!! You can really taste the care and dedication the owners put into their product, I can't wait to come back!!

    Beignets
    Analyst C.

    Omg! We came for lunch on a Friday. We ordered a Sushirrito with baked salmon and Sumo Crunch Sushi Burrito. Both of them came with edamame. Tye gave us last of the beignet to try since it was sold out on the menu. Everything was delicious! We took home half of our sushi-burrito because we couldn't finish it. Will definitely come back again. Cheers to Jenie and Tye.

    Ribs

    Such a great find in downtown San Mateo! I finally got to try Colander Kitchen for a lunch date with my husband. I got the miso cod dish and he ordered the ribs one. The food was delicious. My fish was moist and flavorful. The plate also included rice and edamame beans which was a pleasant surprise considering the $15 price for the dish. My husband loved his dish too and said the ribs were great. I really liked the overall vibe and ambience, like a combo of upscale cafe and restaurant. Relaxing and quiet enough you can talk to each other across the table. For now it's open through lunch only, but the owner mentioned they will be opening for dinner soon. I really wanted to try the beignets too, but didn't have any room so that will have to wait til the next visit!

    ribs
    Jeanine C.

    New spot just opened downtown San Mateo. There's a cute vintage truck in the window with an antique espresso machine. The four of us had lunch here, and the bill was only $60. That's unheard of these days. We had a little bit of everything: the pesto pasta, the red sauce, an americaine salad, braised beef cheeks, and ribs. The food is really good! Front has big comfy seating, and there are dining tables in the back. There's also a huge bar when you enter, but the owner is still waiting for the liquor license. There's a cute vintage truck in the window with an antique espresso machine. Definitely going to come for coffee and get get a little work done. The big windows are great for people watching.

    Annie T.

    I literally wolf down the beignets. They were incredible. Fresh, hot, melting, perfect. Enjoyed the brunch, have enjoyed the sushirittos in the past, love the poke plate, super fresh, really enjoyed the steak and ribs. I haven't tried anything there that I thought could have been better. It's a beautiful space and is a wonderful addition to the San Mateo food scene.

    Tuna salad

    The cod is so delicious! The salad is fresh and tasty as well. I can't eat carb so I had to order both entry but I can only finish half of the salad and wasted the rice. It will be great if the restaurant can offer an option for us to choose a side (salad instead of rice). That way we can reduce food waste. Food is very tasty so I highly recommend the restaurant

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    Ask the Community - Colander Kitchens

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    The food was great! I had the chicken souvlaki and my husband had the sirloin souvlaki. Both meats…read morewere perfectly cooked. The salad had a lot of fresh tomato chunks. Next time I'm going to see if I can get it without the cucumber. Service was friendly and efficient. We went to Fieldworks afterwards and found we could order food to be delivered there BONUS!!!

    Our visit to Bahche was around 6pm on a Friday. The restaurant was not very crowded and we were…read moreseated quickly. There was ample free street parking one block to the South on South Delaware. We liked the restaurant because they are dog friendly. They have outdoor seating. The servers were great and brought water for our dog. The food was good. It was served quickly and was still hot. We ordered a kale salad ($17), the chicken souvlaki ($16) and a seafood paella ($39). We found the flavors to be good, but the chicken was incredibly dry. The paella was good. When we order paella, our favorite part is the crusty, flavorful part that is burned into the pan. Unfortunately, the paella at Bahche is served in a different pan than where it was cooked, so the crusty part is missing. The advantage for them to do it this way is that they can cook it in large batches and serve it quickly when ordered. Although we did kind of miss that component of the meal, we liked that they had both chicken and salmon in the paella, making it more substantial. They must have done a shift change when we were there. Some restaurants will introduce the new server, but we did not experience that during our visit. After we finished our meal, we had to wait awhile before our server appeared. It seemed unusual because the restaurant did not seem very busy at the time. It might have been because we were seated outside rather than in the dining room. Overall, we found Bahche to be a nice place for casual dining, especially if you have a dog.

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    My boyfriend and I have made it a little tradition to come to Lobster Chef with our friends, and it…read morefeels like our little happy place Angelina is such an incredible, warm host. She really cares about the QUALITY of her seafood and always keeps us updated when she's sourcing from new places around the world so everything stays super fresh year-round. You can tell she puts so much love into what she does. Last week we had these massive crawfish boils and Angelina even made sure we got our crabs whole because she knows we're obsessed with that butter She's also introduced us to other regulars, and now it genuinely feels like a sweet little community we get to be part of And the FOOD?? SO good. 20- 30 minutes in, I've already devoured my crab and started casually stealing clams and crawfish out of my boyfriend's boil. No shame. Last night we tried the corn ribs and the Cajun seasoning on them was unreal. So flavorful and addictive. (Not pictured because we were too excited, sorry!) We joke that it's an "invite-only" kind of spot because we kind of want to keep it our secret, but it's too good not to share... even if a tiny part of me wants to gatekeep this spot

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