I've been trying to get my review in for a while.. and here it is . Clean- friendly and very very good sushi. Everting on the menu is delicious- one of my favorite dishes is the pink lady role and the hamachi - you can't go wrong ... another favorite is the bento boxes - the chicken katsu mmmmmm these are some that I like... It's a cute place- comfy and I go there for lunch by myself sometimes - it's a 5 minute walk for me - it's an easy find at the top of first st- Stop by- you will be very happy you did- read more

Cute Japanese spot in downtown Benicia! Been getting takeout here for years and haven't dined in until recently. My bestie and our kids had a solid yummy lunch. Pulled out all the stops and got the agedashi tofu, salmon kama, unasake/eagle rolls, combo sashimi, and sake maki for the kiddos. Service was friendly, food was pretty good, and the ambiance was clean and welcoming. Recommend lunch here and then some dessert at One House bakery or the ice cream spot down the street! read more

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Disappointing. Husband and I went there for dinner and were greeted by friendly but very underdressed staff (we're talking sweat shorts, dirty tshirt and filthy tennis shoes) and a sloppy looking sushi chef. We don't expect staff to look fancy but the staff and chef looked like janitors. We order sushi rolls and a chirachi bowl. Sushi rolls were tiny like the size of grocery store kind and just mediocre. My husband said most of his chirachi bowl fish smelled fishy, which fresh sushi should not smell like at all. We appreciated the water bottle pitchers they brought to the table but the water itself tasted like bad tap water. We also shared a hot saki which tasted like watered down rubbing alcohol. I've never had saki that bad before. Total disappointment and I'm shocked this place has 4 stars. If you want fresh, mouth watering sushi, I'd recommend YO sushi in Benicia. Also, this place is hard to find. It says it's on First street (right past I st) but it's hidden in the back. We were surprised there was no sign outside on First Street to advertise this restaurant. You won't be able to find it unless you're looking for it. But trust me, it's not worth finding. read more

Food and our server were fine. But we will not be going back. I thought about not sitting down when my shoes stuck to the floor on the way to the table. We did and the sushi and other tastes were nice. Then I visited the bathroom. It was dirty, I won't add more details. read more

This is one of those restaurants where I have discovered my favorite dishes on the menu, and I tend to order the same things every visit. Maki, miso, and hot tea or Saki. I get different maki each time, but my favorite is the basic spicy crunch. No matter what else I get, I add a spicy crunch. I've had the yakitori a couple times. Excellent. will confess that even though I have been here thirty times I haven't really experienced the entire menu, mostly because I'm fairly ignorant when it comes to Japanese dishes and I don't order what I don't understand. You can navigate the Japanese menu. You will fall in love with this place Someday I will go ahead and be brave. Of course I love their sushi as well. It's just a comfortable eating experience. It's a place I can pop in without a moment notice and have a wonderful meal. I love the atmosphere and the friendly chefs and waitresses. read more

Still my favorite Sushi spot in town. I just love the peeps that work here. They always are so friendly and fun when we dine in. We went here recently and I noticed that I always have a bad habit of taking pictures of my food specifically here. Ive been to Izakaya so many times and usually am so hungry that I forget to take pictures of all the yummy food. I've never bad a bad roll so I think my brain just goes on autopilot or something. So the goal is to keep trying different rolls on the menu each time I come. If like you spicy rolls or Spicy Tuna, try the Spicy Unagi Roll. Spicy Tuna, Unagi, and Roasted Garlic packed together for maximum flavor. I also tried the Seared Scallop and Crazy Monkey Rolls this weekend and was just as amazed. Just a reminder. If you ever want to ball out and have an amazing 10+ course dinner, try the Omakase Thurs-Saturday. If you do this I recommend calling ahead and setting up a reservation. read more

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Cute little sushi place in downtown Benicia. Average pricing for sushi. Fish is fresh and food is delicious. Server was attentive. read more

Izakaya - Hamachi roll, Spicy Rainbow, and Beef Teriyaki Bento - Sushi Bars Near Me - Benicia, California

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Fish are very fresh. The ambiance is great I recommend getting the sushi bento. Staff is very hospitable read more

It looks and tastes so good ! I'm coming back again, It's not 5 stars for me because they forgot an item .... But I bet it would tasted good too !! Thank you !! Very nice people ! read more

Izakaya - Pink Lady and California rolls !! - Sushi Bars Near Me - Benicia, California

Fantastic food,fresh fish! And friendly atmosphere... David the sushi chef is always friendly

Absolutely loved this place! The inside was very clean and beautifully decorated, making it a really nice spot to dine in. The food was delicious and tasted very fresh. We ordered the spicy garlic edamame and fried gyoza, both were amazing. We also tried the spicy rainbow roll and the tempura maki roll. You can truly tell this place is authentic. We really enjoyed both the food and the great service. read more

Friendly service nice atmosphere reasonable prices tasty foods, definitely worth the visit will go back again

very fresh, everything is very good. Sea steak salad is an old stand by of Frankie's, owner, has been making for a long time. Never disappoints. I would also highly recommend Hamachi Kama one of my favorites. However you should always try something different each time you go. read more

A bit of a hidden sushi spot in Benicia on first street. Love the selection of rolls they have. Everything is fresh tasting. The toro roll was definitely a highlight! Highly recommend trying this spot if you're in town. Service is very friendly and quick. Small dining area but doesn't feel crowded and uncomfortable. read more

Izakaya - Sushi Bars Near Me - Benicia, California

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This is a local, family-owned sushi spot. They used to own Matsuri in Vallejo as well, but sold that a number of years ago. I have eaten here several times now. The sushi has always been fresh, and the service has been friendly and good, if at times a little "rushed". The restaurant itself is on the smaller side, yet the noise level remains acceptable. I cannot speak extensively to their menu as we have mainly limited ourselves to rolls, plus some tempura and a few of their appetizers (Miso soup, gyoza, tempura). Their rolls are very good, and run the range from "traditional" to "California fusion" (think avocado and jalapeño or something deep fried with cream cheese). I have enjoyed all of the rolls that I have tried. These include Pink Lady, Spicy tuna, Dynamite, Super California, and a number of others. All of their rolls and appetizers that we have tried have been very good. Note: while I do like the "California fusion" rolls, those that might have avocado or mango or jalapeño, I have never been fond of baked or deep-fried rolls, so I have not tried any of those. Their prices are about average for the area. I would classify this restaurant as definitely not cheap but also not horrendously expensive (how's that for precision?). They have a small selection of beer, about what one would expect. Basically, a very nice, mainly local sushi spot, family owned and run, and offering high-quality sushi and other items. read more

Came here for the omakase. Since it's always changing your experience will vary. My experience was quite good. First time doing omakase. The total for 3 people after tip was about $400. I reached out through Facebook messenger a couple days in advance to see if they take reservations since the omakase is advance order or subject to availability. They do take reservations. I was told someone would call me back to confirm. A day later I got the call back. I was asked about any food allergies. For the omakase they require a deposit of $25 per person. The deposit is put towards your total bill. The location is tucked away on Benicia's 1st street. Secluded. The inside is a little bigger than expected. There is another room besides the bar seating you see as soon as you walk on. Lighting is a little dim. It doesn't look like a super fancy sushi joint. So I was very surprised by the omakase we got. What we got looked like it came out of a five star restaurant. Server and maybe the chef asked again if there are any allergies or dislikes for the food. They will cater to you. Started off with oysters. Yum! Then a lobster claw salad. The third dish included ahi poke, some salmon and tomato salad, and ikura and hicama salad, deep fried amaebi and scallops, two rounds of various nigiri (there is a dab of wasabi between the rice and fish!), wagyu which was melt in your mouth, razor clam baked and fried, the main course was lobster over cauliflower, with some asparagus and fried shrimp balls, and dessert was crème brûlée but my companions chose to swap it out for the mango soleil. So it was about 10 courses over 2 hours. They really want to make sure you walk away full. We were asked before the main course to rate our hunger level (they will give you more food if you're still hungry) and again after the main course and before dessert. So my experience didn't look like the other Yelp omakase pics. But it was good and definitely worthy of a special occasion. It was a delight. Will likely come back for sushi or nigiri during a regular dinner night out. read more

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Amazing food! Such a quaint, hidden gem in Benicia. A must try if you want delicious Japanese food. read more

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Great food and service. We got one of the sushi platters (usually only available for to-go orders, but they let us order one for dine-in). We LOVED the Rainbow Roll. Can't wait to go back!! read more

Izakaya - Sushi Bars Near Me - Benicia, California

Enjoyed this for my birthday. Cozy on the inside and great nigiri! The staff was friendly and the selection was diverse.

We ordered takeout and it was delicious. The only issue was that the container of sauce in with the tempura was open and spilled out on the tempura. Other than that the food was delicious. Yes I will definitely order the food again. read more

Came here for a late lunch and was surprised that the quality was better than I expected. I prefer this spot over Kaigan, the other sushi spot on first street. I'm on a hunt for a lion king roll that tastes better than Yo Sushi's but I haven't been successful yet, and this place's version wasn't as good either. But the mackerel lunch was delicious and I'd order that again read more

Izakaya - Mackerel bento box lunch special and lion king roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Benicia, California

I haven't been to this locations since it was the former Matsuri, many years ago. It had the same setting but was less crowded (early Thursday evening). It was a good time, as we were promptly seated. Lighting was a bit dim for me, but nice for an intimate dinner. A fake candle would've been nice. Service was good and prompt. My daughter and I shared a sashimi combination, nigiri deluxe, and nachos. Nachos were good, like a Filipino version of ceviche. The nigiri and sashimi were good. Pretty basic but fresh. $28 for sashimi combo was a great price, but nothing comes with it. Miso soup for about $3 just was the broth. I'd pass on that. read more

It's a small lightly dimmed restaurant. The service was great she kept checking in on us. Though we intentionally went there for Omakase however I did not know you have to call a couple days in advance to do so. They also did not get their shipment of uni. But overall the food was good especially the Hamachi Kama it was grilled perfectly it was one of the best ones I've had. It was pretty big too and very flaky, you dip it in the sauce for more flavor. read more

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very cute place, fast and friendly service, fish was good quality, would visit again. Menu could use a tiny bit more versatility, however I had a great time. They accommodated my wife's gluten allergy very well. read more

This sushi joint is good! I love the rice to fish ratio. The long rolls are a decent size & they are cut into small pieces. I feel like this allows you to try more of their menu without getting too full. We ordered the pink lady roll & salmon nigiri (probably my favorite). Service was great & the space was clean. Parking outside is limited as they have a small parking lot. read more

Izakaya - Pink lady roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Benicia, California

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Review #001 - 2023 I haven't written a review in over 2 years and this experience was so terrible that I had to literally wait and compose myself, as I was afraid that I would say something that I might regret later. My ex brother-in-law reached out to me on Thursday, January 19th, because he wanted to treat my older brother and his family to sushi before they flew back home. It was a school night so I didn't want to drive out too far so I decided to Yelp for a closer spot and this place popped up with 4-star rating, but I regretted not reading the reviews. We showed up around 6:30 PM and asked for a table for 8. We were seated about 10-minutes later. I should've left, when I noticed how badly the restaurant actually smelled, but I was too dumb to go with my guy instinct. We ordered a bunch of stuff and everything was ok, that was until the food started coming out. The salmon carpaccio smelled like something had died and it was dark in color. So disgusting! But since we each took a piece and there was nothing left to send back, we just all looked at each other in disbelief how a restaurant could serve such disgusting food to paying customers. I wouldn't feed it to my enemy. The hamachi carpaccio was decent. We had two orders of "lion king" rolls. I took 1 bite and my niece took 1 bite and we both spat ours out at the same time. This time we were smart enough to send the food back. I told the waitress that the fish was bad and rotten, but no apology. When everything else started to arrive, we all just sat and stared at each other wondering if we should leave or take the risk of dying from food poisoning. We tried our best to be good customers by waiting until all the other customers left to let the server know how disappointed we were in the food quality, but she didn't even bother to bring out the manager or offer an apology. At that point I decided it was easier to dispute the charge with my credit card company. Honestly, they did a great job on the food arrangement as they looked very beautiful and appetizing. However, what good is pretty food when they're rotten? I paid almost $400 to eat trash and feel disgusted during my entire time at the establishment! I've been to many sushi places and this place by far wins the award for "nastiest sushi of the century!" If you come across my review, don't bother coming here! If you've already sat down, make any excuse to leave because you will not leave with a good impression! Don't say I didn't warn you! read more

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Messed up the order on 2 of 5 items. The rolls were bland except the fried parts which tasted like the oil had been used too long. Worst sushi I've had in5 years. read more

We just moved to Benicia a month ago. The food we picked up was amazing about a month ago. Unfortunately, the second time around wasn't the same experience. The crab was super dry, tuna was dry and chewy. read more

A+ for presentation and timeliness, as I texted in and picked up this order in an hour. Fresh fish. It was almost customized as well since they were open to what I didn't want on my Omakase. I docked a star because the rice for my sushi roll did not seem very fresh(it had that hard leftover rice texture) & because there were about 2 to 3 fish I didn't care for. Also the seaweed salad we ordered tasted like sake alcohol, I'm not sure if that was intentional or not. I was not a fan. I spent over 200 for this order which fed three people and we were stuffed. I'd recommend giving it a try if you're in the area, however I probably won't be going out of my way from Richmond again to order from here. It was good but nothing spectacular. read more

Ordered the dragon and pink lady. Probably just the timing of when I chose to eat here, but their roles are nothing special. Just another average sushi spot. read more

Izakaya - Sushi Bars Near Me - Benicia, California

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My Fiancee and I lucked out something major this Vday with the trifecta, grandparents in town to watch the gremlin, then we called Izakaya and caught them early enough to mention there's 2 seats at the bar available if we come early, followed by what would become one of the best meals I have ever had. And I have had some darn good ones. I'm a real fat kid if you know what I mean. Traveling just means trying new foodz/restaurants as far as I am concerned. Anyway, the omakase here is not to be missed!! I sheepishly asked if we could get in on that action after we stole the last 2seats in the joint and while I sensed some reluctance the owner/master sushi chef embarked on the 2.5 hr journey with us and blew our socks off. I know I am in a good sushi joint when they offer fish (nigiri) that I have never had /seen before. Some pics for the algorithm and your pleasure. 10/10 will return read more

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Attended a private party in this cozy restaurant. Everyone loved the food but I best enjoyed their sushi, sashimi and japchae. Service was great. Will be back. read more

Izakaya - Sushi Bars Near Me - Benicia, California

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MY FAVORITE SUSHI SPOT! Review: Takeout & Platters My husband and I frequent here pretty often and we absolutely love the freshness of their fish and the many options they provide! This past weekend, I ordered Omakase and takeout for my family and everyone was super impressed and very happy with the quality of the items. Service - Super friendly and attentive to what the customer needs/requests. I reached out via Instagram and they were extremely helpful with getting my order set up. Omakase - our first time ordering and we were very happy! Price ranges from $40-50 depending on what's inside of the omakase and what items they have available. Fish by the pound - also something we've ordered in the past for our diy sushi nights and we were very happy! Takeout - LOVE their sushi rolls! Specials - Check out their Instagram/Facebook page for specials from time to time! For this past Father's day I was able to get uni by the tray and A5 wagyu by the pound from them! They also had fois gras at some point as well! Always so fresh and reasonably priced! Dessert - OMG I don't know where they get their dessert from, but it's amazing!! Definitely check out their dessert options which can be seen in their Grab and Go case at their restaurant. I LOVE their fruit tart and their creme brulee tart. I had the mango mousse cake, but it was a little too tart for my liking. Overall, definitely a sushi spot we highly recommend! read more

Izakaya - Beautiful omakase platters - Sushi Bars Near Me - Benicia, California

We haven't been here since before the lockdowns and I'm very glad we made it back. The business has faced some headwinds in the last few years beginning with a short closure for a rebranding that was ready to go the day before the lockdowns were imposed in 2020. They bumped along through that period and they are all back to normal now. I think they have been for a little while, at least. The food was outstanding and the ownership is the same as the legacy Matsuri that first opened this restaurant at least 20 years ago. Same family ownership and the same attention to quality and service. The vibe at the sushi bar near the entrance feels very classic small sushi bar and I love that! The main dining room is comfortable and more lit as well. If you're looking for a quality sushi restaurant, this is your place! read more

A little hard to find. It's down the side of a building up a few set of stairs on the deck off the sidewalk. The orders surprised me because they were pretty large servings. The rice on the sushi was kind of loose but other than that the taste and the freshness of the seafood was very good. We ordered the Sashimi Combo and the lion king and the sukiyaki. The sukiyaki was good but the beef was overcooked. Service was great. We sat outside and they made sure to pop out every few minutes to see if we needed anything. Will go again. read more

Came for dinner around 5:30pm. Shared appetizers and salad with a friend. We each ordered a roll to ourselves. Waitress was friendly, and checked on us periodically. Place is small but there were plenty of tables inside. Floors were sticky which was not pleasant but this review is solely for the food. We ordered the vegetable tempura which included, zuchini, eggplant, red onion slices, a jalapeño, a red bell pepper and mushrooms. Interesting combo, slightly bland but if you dip it in the sauce, it's ok. The house salad was enough for one but I split it with my friend. I ordered the pink lady roll and slices were thinner than usual but the flavors were good. Not my first time here. I would keep coming back to try other rolls. read more

Izakaya - Vegetable tempura - Sushi Bars Near Me - Benicia, California

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Great service, food comes fast. Nothing too crazy but the sushi is good! Pink Lady & Super Cali roll were solid. read more

Izakaya - Super California. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Benicia, California

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I have greatly enjoyed Izakaya Benicia, and they are my new favorite sushi joint in my neck of the woods. they're not AYCE, and the prices differ between the nigiris, so if I ever am in Benicia while starving and broke I had best be careful. the decor inside is such a faithful recreation that when I try to remember what it was like to eat at an Izakaya in Kyoto, I will misremembered and mix that memory with this one. the food was delicious, I had a bento, some miso soup, and two nigiris. the otoro was an eye watering 18 dollars for a two piece, but the slices were generous. the scallop nigiris were 2 pieces for 8 dollars and I couldn't lift them with chopsticks, I needed fingers. the bulgogi bento was well balanced, the salad was well dressed, the entire experience was well packaged and a delight to the senses. Friendly staff. will come again read more

Good food. Not a big place. Fresh fish, no fishy flavor. Quick service. No parking lot but plenty of street parking. read more

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Hands down the worst sushi I have ever had. Service was equally gross. How this place has 4 stars is baffling. We ordered 4 rolls and all were nasty. If anyone thinks this place is good must not have eaten anywhere else. How can you be next to the sea and have gross fish? Yuck . Gas station sushi is better. read more