The food was really good. Their salmon was just perfect. I asked for the teriyaki sauce on the side because I usually don't like it too saucey. Everything tasted fresh and was prepared nicely. Prices are more reasonable than Akane, but the fish is clearly not as high quality. The service was good .Servers were pleasant, waters were kept refilled, and the food came out quickly. read more

Mikado - Fried Chicken - Japanese Near Me - Los Altos, California

Mikado is next to LuLu's on Main Street (Mexican fast casual), both have outside seating, which most restaurants in the downtown area have - a big plus. It's important for us because we're accompanied by our dog and don't leave him waiting in the car. Ordinarily sushi restaurants that we like in the surrounding area, off the top of my head, don't offer patio or outside seating (Sumo on State St. doesn't), so Mikado fits this requirement. On a quaint Saturday afternoon, we had several sushi rolls, miso, the usual. Everything was fine, service attentive, no complaints. I haven't even poked my nose inside for anything, we just relaxed at our table on the sidewalk and had a good time. I usually reserve five star ratings for truly exceptional experiences, so this afternoon gets four. Cheers! read more

Unfortunate that I have to give them two stars. Considering I used to like them VERY much, it saddens me that I will unlikely be going there again due to a bad experience I had there with a Groupon deal. The woman, tall skinny Japanese lady, kept making up rules about using my Groupon that were not written anywhere: you must have two or more people eating with you; you cannot take your left overs home. WTF??? Other then this terrible service, their food was usually very good. I think dinner is overpriced but the lunch specials aren't bad. I'm used to paying a range of prices for good sushi but I can't swallow the price tag when it's accompanied by rude people. read more

OMG! I don't know could this place get a 3, 4 or even 5 star review! This place must be kidding! Seriously, I'm not a professional food critic, but I can say much about Japanese food, and have ventured to many restaurant, food shack, from several places around the world. This review is based on Japanese restaurant, run by Japanese. Early Aug 2013, after a sunny warm summer weekend with my family, we were walking about Los Altos, and from the review, we thought yeah, maybe a decent place, not many stars - average 3.5, own by Japanese, this could be a good place for some light food. We've ordered Oyako-don, Salmon Skin roll, Karaage and Hamachi Kama. Food arrive after a long while of waiting, which it was a surprise. More surprises after we starting to taste the food which was barely tasteful at all. The Oyako-don seemed like a big mess, and everything dried, and no flavor, bland, the chicken like it was dried chicken, and the egg was like nothing you would expect from an Oyako-don, by the way, the rice felt like from yesterday as well, very dry. As for the Hamachi Kama, it seems like it was heated dried, no flavor, never had a Hamachi Kama so dried that neither my wife or myself barely finished it. Then the Karaage, Japanese fried chicken, were also dried, and no flavor, and it was like chicken strip, unlike any Karaage that you'll get from any other decent Japanese Restaurant. Finally the Salmon Skin roll, amazing, I recall having many times in my life a Salmon Skin roll before, but this place served the Salmon Skin roll hot, can you imagine, so the rice around it was sticking all over the place and the roll was falling a part, because of the rice sticking all over the dish. It was one of my first time ever to have such a bad experience from a Japanese restaurant, especially first time ventured to a new venue. I really don't know where's their standard. Save yourself, there are some more decent Japanese restaurant around town. read more

This place is all right, but definitely nothing special. I've come here on a couple of occasions when I'm too lazy to drive far from home. I guess it's decent if you're looking for something to eat in the Los Altos area, but there are many better choices for Japanese food in the South Bay. If you're looking for good, authentic Japanese food, you won't find it here. They have something of a fusion between Korean and Japanese food here. You'll find some Korean versions of some Japanese dishes on the menu here. I've tried the spicy tuna salad before and it has big cubes of spicy tuna (not really finely chopped like some other places) and it's spicier than most spicy tunas I've had... decent. I also tried their teriyaki filet mignon along with some of their rolls... not bad, but nothing worth writing home to mom about. Overall, this place is all right if you're hungry and can't really find anything else that interests you in Downtown Los Altos. This place is more like a 2.5 to 2.75. read more

Why would you pay $20 for a bento that looks like other bentos??? Heard the chefs and manager guy speaking korean so my guess it's korean owned. Service: slow slow slow! Ordered sunset roll and tonkatsu entree. Our roll came in 10 min vs the entree that came 30min AFTER!!! found a bug in my miso soup, told waitress, no apologies, but a whisper of "oh, it must've fell in", and didn't comp anything. Food: Sunset roll was average. Very limited choices in menu and didn't like anything and overpriced. There was no chicken katsu so I ordered pork. 2 layers of thinly cut tonkatsu. Ice cream scoop size of rice and enough katsu sauce for only a few bites. Came with white sauce....that's wasabi. Orange wedge and weird tasting pink cabbage. NOTHING WAS GOOD!! Left $1 tip. Never again. Groupon $15 for $24 totaled $4 extra. Should've just ordered 2 rolls of basic sushi. If you really want to try this out, it's near lisa's tea treasure. read more

I think this place has the worst bento box ever, the chicken and beef teriyaki were ridiculously dry. It was so hard to chew. After that, I didn't feel like eating anything else especially when I ordered a roll. The roll was okay, fish wasn't too fresh. read more

Yum! I came here with a group this past weekend. It was rainy and cold outside and we didn't want to cook. Luckily we were close to this fantastic Japanese restaurant! We were seated in their tatami room, which is always fun. Service was attentive and friendly, our water glasses and tea cups were always full, and the waitresses were good about checking to see if we needed anything, but not to the point where it was annoying. The food was really good. Everything tasted fresh and was prepared nicely. If you like shitake mushrooms, you must have the Shitake Mushroom Salad dish - it was SO good! Miso soup was perfect, seaweed salad was good, and the edamame were served hot and salted - just how I like them. As for the sushi, I thoroughly enjoyed everything we ordered. What I can remember: veggie roll, kappa maki, california roll, spicy salmon, double roll, negi hama, sex & the city, hirame and tamago. I would recommend it all! All of the fish was superb, and I think this is one of the best places I've had sushi in the south bay. Highly recommended! read more

This place was absolutely awesome! The food was great and affordable and the staff was super nice too! This place has these little rooms with the sliding doors and the paper walls on the doors where you take off your shoes, sit on the floor, and eat. This is exactly how I used to eat when I was living in Japan. Would definitely recommend this place to others! read more

Sorry, this place is simply not very good. One way of judging an ethnic restaurant is if there are any members of that ethnicity in it, either behind the counter or in the seats. This place had neither. Bulgoki was not like either Korean bulgoki or Japanese yakiniku and regardless of what it was or was not like it simply was not very good. Of course the fact that it was listed as bulgoki and not yakiniku should have been enough clue but wife and I were hungry. Chirashi was ok at best, have not seen garlic smeared on the sashimi like it was here. Not sure what is up with that. Rice had been dispensed with some sort of icecream scoop thing, leaving a hemisphere of rice, a surefire sign that someone in the kitchen has not trained in Japan. The other stuff on the menu might be better, but I would be surprised if that is the case. At the prices they are charging you can do a lot better. A purist might sneer but it is indeed possible for Koreans to do good Japanese, such as is the case with Chocolate Sushi. Details count, some get it, others not so much. read more

Very nice sushi, though a bit pricey. I had the Sushi Lover's Box Lunch Special and it was really tasty. The sashimi was all great and the poki salad was tangy and tasty with a kick. The unagi was excellent as well. I also had the tuna and avocado roll but the avocado tasted a bit off and made the whole roll not great. It was kind of expensive for lunch, but it was very good quality fish and quite a bit of it, so I guess you get what you pay for! read more

We came here last month with a Groupon. We felt this place deserves 1 star because of blatant poor service and mediocre food. We needed refill on the hot tea and waited too long for it to arrive. The staff were not busy that night, which is a huge insult to their slow service. They were just standing there and IGNORING our request, which we did several times. Our Groupon was not deducted from the final check. After several attempts at raising this issue, they finally did the adjustment. The food was nothing special. It was expensive to begin with. After the Groupon , it because normal pricing compare to other surrounding establishments. read more

I Love this place! My boyfriend and I always go and we get the best service. We are almost regulars at Mikado and I have never been disappointed. Their specialty rolls are very good and everyone is a definite must try! The staff is very friendly! I have even gotten things to go and while I am waiting for my sushi to be wrapped up they served me a nice Miso Soup and hot Green Tea as I waited...On the house! I really love going here. I don't know why it has some bad reviews but I really enjoy it! EDIT JUNE 26th 2008----- I went back here the other day and I had this new Korean waitress. MEH. She was rude and told us to hurry up...uhh..EXCUSE ME?? HURRY UP? I come here on the regular you n00b, don't tell me to hurry up. Go cook some kimchi and smell like cabbage all day, don't serve me sushi. I am pretty sure I am never going to go back to this place anymore. I used to like it. and after one day of bad service I hate it. I am not just paying for sushi, I am also paying for SERVICE. UGH! read more

We ended up here totally on the fly. We were planning on going to Akane, but for some reason, they were closed Sat. night. We knew there were two other Japanese restaurants in downtown Los Altos, both get the same rating, so we went to the one we passed first. We were seated right away, but they were fairly busy. Prices are more reasonable than Akane, but the fish is clearly not as high quality. I chose the chef's choice sashimi for my entree. I liked my miso soup, and enjoyed most of the sashimi. Although, the ahi tuna was REALLY obviously previously frozen. I could have done without that on the plate. The service was good .Servers were pleasant, waters were kept refilled, and the food came out quickly. This isn't my favorite sushi joint, but it is pretty reasonably priced for pretty good food. It's not my first choice, but i would come back if someone else wanted to, or if i was craving sashimi and Akane was closed. read more

I've been to this restaurant several times. Every time I go I get the Vegan Udon. It is a big huge giant bowl. Every time I ate one I have to immediately go to bed to rest my tummy. Today I decided to get something else. I got a tofu dish and an vegan tempura roll and it was delicious. The tofu was cooked just right, crispy outside and soft inside. The vegan tempura roll was well done. Umm... very very yummy... The service is always good there. Food comes out fast. The reason why it only gets 3 stars is because the wasabi was not fresh. When it is not fresh it is not spicy. Waidy read more

I'm so glad my coworkers introduced me to this place for lunch. At such a great price with such great food, I'll have to come back! Got the Combo I Bento Box for only $8.95: miso soup, salad, rice, 2 pieces of gyoza, 3 pieces of California roll and SALMON. Their salmon was just perfect. I asked for the teriyaki sauce on the side because I usually don't like it too saucey. We also shared the Crazy Mikado Roll which tasted pretty fresh, but nothing crazy tasting about it. The portion was perfect. I couldn't have asked for anything more for lunch. I also noticed there's a section where you have to take your shoes off. Be sure not to wear your holey socks if you decide to sit there! =P read more

Bullet review - Average sushi at best, maybe a bit below average - Generous pieces and portions, not trying to jip you - Large menu of rolls, sushi, appetizers, and cooked foods - Nice environment - Friendly and attentive service, but didn't know jack about sake For my own taste, I would have much preferred they get higher quality or fresher fish (not sure which was more the issue, I think it was a freshness issue mostly) and serve me smaller pieces. When I go out for sushi I want only the most tender, fresh, fatty belly I can find, and I probably would not come here again if I was buying with my own money. My dinner was paid for last night and it was certainly palatable, but not what I would call a fine sushi experience. Their seaweed salad was good, and their cooked foods might be fine. I wouldn't know. I asked the server if they had a junmai daginjo sake, and she told me they had warm or cold sake. Now I have not always known much about sake either, so I am not trying to hate on them or anything, but I don't sell the stuff. They should probably learn something about the products they are serving and at least try to understand what their offering is and why it is that way. If they were only trying to be sushi fast food, it wouldn't matter as much, but they have obviously spent some money and care on the atmosphere and service, and I get the impression that they want to be more than fast food sushi. They have potential to realize yet. read more

By far my favorite restaurant in downtown Los Altos. They are great with my rambunctious daughter. The hostess remembers our favorite meals. While not the best Japanese food I've ever had (Yoshi's in Oakland has that honor), the food is very good. My favorite for lunch is the kimchi udon. I also love the Rainbow roll. My husband likes their steak. I can't get enough of their salad dressing and they serve great tasting water. CRAVING: Rainbow Roll, Kimchi Udon read more

We came about an hour before they closed for lunch. We ordered 3 rolls: the palo alto roll, the under the sea roll, and the big smile roll with 2 orders of salmon sashimi. The sashimi came quite fast, and then onced we finished the sashimi, the rolls came out right after. Although we like them all, my boyfriend's favorite was the big smile roll and my favorite was the palo alto rolll. We both enjoyed the under the sea roll because of the different kinds of fishes it came with. Overall, not a bad place to enjoy sushi at. With great service, and great sushi. How can you go wrong? I would definitely recommend this place! read more

3.5 stars. I recently moved here from Hawaii and have been craving Japanese food. We picked up a groupon for this restaurant $14 for $24 worth. At 630pm on a Tuesday, the restaurant was EMPTY. I know that Los Altos is considered a small, sleepy town, but man, the main street is REALLY sleepy. Downright out cold and passed out. But that means... plenty of parking! We were the only table there until another family came by. It was the night of World Series game, so that might have something to do with it? We ordered the: Hawaiian Poke- not traditional Hawaiian poke by any means, but it tasted good. Basically large chunks of maguro sashimi tossed in a spicy, sweet, tangy sauce (yes, it is all of those flavors combined) served on a bed of greens. Spicy Tuna Salad- it almost tasted exactly like the Hawaiian poke. The flavors and presentation really weren't that different. Tons of maguro sashimi, with a sweet, tangy spicy sauce. Thrown in carrots, onions, & zucchini. This is a HUGE salad though, so it was more than enough for my entree. I had to take home leftovers. Tempura Combo- shrimp and veggie tempura. This is a super huge portion and there was half of it left to take home. Stanford roll- salmon skin topped with unagi and avocado. Pretty typical roll. The portions at this restaurant are massive and justify their prices. With the groupon, our total was about $15 a person, which is pretty good considering we ordered and were given more than enough for 2 meals/person. They have a wide variety of rolls, and the fish seemed decent in quality. As a side note, this is a Korean owned and run restaurant. I'll leave that for you to decide what that implies. I believe my dinner companion made my experience exponentially better, otherwise it would have been underwhelming. Not sure if I would come back without a groupon. I have yet to be extremely impressed by a Japanese restaurant in the south bay. I guess coming from Hawaii, I have pretty high expectations. Keep them coming. read more

Very mediocre sushi. Their albacore tasted sorta like ham and their tuna tasted like mushy cardboard (no flavor). Yes, their fish wasn't the freshest obviously. The other off thing was their Sex in the City Roll, which had a sweet flavor, maybe because of the yogurty sauce that the roll sat on - very strange tasting roll. And overall, the rice didn't taste right - the texture and flavor was just off. Sorry would not go back! read more

Mikado was one of those experiences where my expectations were set really really low and then everything actually turned out to be so much better. I expected this to be one of those 'kick your ass roll' type of Americanized Japanese restaurants where the quality could be 'iffy' but the food actually turned out decent. *This review only applies to lunch and non-sushi items Bottomline: I'd be happy to go back if I am asked to with friends/or as a backup option if first choice restaurant is not available. We had: (1) Lunch size tempura udon (actually 3.5 stars) (2) salmon skin roll (2.5-3 stars) (2) Bento box with Saba shioyaki (solid 3 stars, was nice and juicy) california roll (3 stars), and fried gyoza (1 star, why do they have to deep fried the gyoza when you can just pan fried it?) All the above for $25 including tip. You can actually get similar quality from Miyake for maybe 20% less, but then again, you are in Los Altos, am sure the rent is a bit more expensive :-) read more

Wife got the two-choice bento for $21~, salmon was ok, beef teriyaki was very chewy and almost inedible. I got the chirashi bowl, A+ presentation but the quality of the fish is just so-so. Yes, would come eat here again. **also, the youngest female server with a ponytail is very hard-working! She easily does 2-3 times the work of the other servers. read more

Totemo oishii sushi desu!! Really tasty sushi!! They really put the effort into quality not quantity here. I ordered my gyoza and avocado sushi but was still hungry so I had to order one more sushi roll. I like how quickly they made it as they saw that my date was almost finishing his last sushi pieces. Great customer service- truly Japanese. The salads and vegetables in my sushi (yes I'm vegetarian..) were super fresh and crisp. The avocado was yummy and mushy- not crisp thank goodness. The fish looked so good I even had to try a piece though I don't really eat it. I'm not the best critic on fish but it sure didn't have that funny fishy smell anddddd it was actually yummy! Good sushi, good service, great decor. I think they had some traditional style tatami matted rooms in the back also. Decent prices too. read more

This is place average as a lunch spot. Would never come here for sushi regardless when there's akane a block away. It is a korean owned japanese restuarant that does not make either very well. Chicken cutlet is bento is okay. Bulgogi lunch has no flavor at all which I didn't think was possible with marinated beef... The Udon was honestly gross. Had toppings that normally does not exist in a Japanese Udon. There are a lot of solid japanese restaurants that are cheap if you just want rolls. This place is not really cheap but its not very good either.. read more

I'm a huge sushi lover and this place just misses the mark. Ordered about $200 worth of dishes and it was very disappointing: -the salmon was a pale white color (wasnt fresh and I had to not eat it because it was no longer the orange vibrant color it is supposed to be) -they serve the same exact prepared chicken for karage and chicken Katsu (shame) -and most of the dishes we ate since we felt it was a shame to waste, although if I could do it again I probably wouldnt waste the calories I consumed Sorry guys, not recommended. There are other options out there. read more

Went in a party of 3 and sat at the sushi counter. The speed with which the food was prepared was really fast! The wait staff was also very nice. Dragon roll was awesome. Spider roll -- I've had better but it was still good. My boyfriend ordered a bento box with tempura and bulgogi. He loves Korean food and was disappointed with the bulgogi but I had some and thought it was pretty good (note that I don't actually know what "real" bulgogi is supposed to taste like). Tempura was good. read more

I used to eat here once a week when I worked in the area, but I always had takeout and it was always for lunch. This time I came on a groupon deal. I was totally impressed having the chance to experience the resturant as a whole. This is what was ordered. Anago, hamachi, sushi pizza roll and the sashimi delux tray. Wow wow and wow!!! Fish was super fresh, tasty, beautifuly displayed and just perfect. a lot of care goes into when they make their sushi. You can see it. The waiter team are curious, and very propmt, but not over checking on your table. Miso soup is yummy and so is the green tea. I will be planning to come back again for a visit as I was very pleased with the food and service. Keep it up! Your team rocks! read more

A solid place to go get bentos for lunch. I've been here a couple times with my boss for our monthly lunches. The food is ok, nothing amazing, but their food is always consistent. The sushi is ok and the bentos are standard. Pricing is 10-15$ depending on what you get. Service is lacking here though, every time we are here we have to ask for water refills and it takes them forever to get us the check. read more

I'll admit, at first I was a little turned off by seeing both Korean and Japanese food listed on the menu because I'm always wary that restaurants will try to be a jack-of-all-trades and not excel in one area. But that's just me, and Mikado did a decent job on the Japanese end. My co-workers and I sat in the tatami room, which was clean and small enough to feel intimate, but not so small that we felt cramped. ASPARAGUS TEMPURA ROLL: Probably one of the better Americanized rolls that I've ever had in my mouth. The asparagus was crispy, the avocado was fresh, and the gobo was... gobo-y. I'm not really sure what gobo is, to be honest. I think it's some sort of picked root. SABA SHIOYAKE: The mackerel tasted a little too fishy for my liking, and the outside wasn't crispy enough. Generous portion, though. GYOZA: They DEEP FRY their gyoza! What is this nonsense? I was expecting the normal pan-fried potstickers, but nope. Good taste, but unexpected preparation. The miso soup, salad, California rolls were all pretty standard. They use a tangy (not sweet) miso for their dressing. Overall, the food was alright, but I prefer Akane better for sushi in Los Altos. read more

I used to really love Mikado, but feel that the food quality doesn't seem as good as I remembered these days. Of the times I've been recently, some of the sashimi tasted like it was thawed from frozen. When I ordered the chicken kaarage appetizer it was just a very dry chicken breast cut up and deep fried. Not very delicious, especially compared to the phenomenal kaarage at the much cheaper Ryowa in Mountain View. The sushi rice didn't have a gelatinous texture or much rice vinegar, it tasted like regular rice and crumbled in my chopsticks. :( I still order here occasionally because they deliver to my house. Mediocre delivered Japanese sometimes outweighs great distant Japanese. read more

Mediocre sushi and udon but awesome dressing for the salad that comes with the Nigiri combo read more

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Average, nothing special. Service was nice and they were welcoming. But the food really was not good. I won't be back again.

Cute downtown Los Altos location. Parking was easy. Had family of 4. Ordered steak habachi, bento box with salmon teriyaki and chicken katsu, a red dragon roll, spicy tuna roll, a Philly roll, sake nigiri and gyoza. Steak cooked perfectly medium rare. Tea was hot. The presentation for the rolls was not much to look at but it still good. Bento box was good serving size worth the price. Rolls and nigiri are over priced but I imagine that's everywhere. Will go back and try other things read more

I've been going to Mikado since the 90s. Their food and service never let me down and the quality of their food is evident. My favorite menu items: chicken teryaki- perfectly cooked chicken breast with a good amount of sauce. No nasty chicken pieces here! Bento box is has a ton of food. seaweed salad- super fresh house salad- super fresh with yummy dressing. I think you can choose from two dressing options calamari tempura- generous portion of fresh, perfectly crisp tempura miso soup- flavorful sushi rolls- dragon rolls, spicy tuna, philly roll, spider roll, sex and the city roll (I think I'm missing a few) are all delicious. The fish is always super fresh. Portions are generous and the staff is always super friendly. They can get pretty busy during dinner and lunch, but I've never had trouble getting a table. read more

Five stars for freshness and presentation. Very friendly staff here. Fish is very fresh. Thank you Chef Sky for excellent service ! read more

Mikado - Hamachi Kama - Japanese Near Me - Los Altos, California

Like a lot of other reviewers have said, this isn't the best sushi I've ever had, but it is still pretty tasty. They have several non-traditional rolls that appeal to non-sushi eaters (using things like cilantro and non-fish proteins), so you can still go here even when you have non-sushi eaters in tow and everyone can find something they like. A great option when considering restaurants in downtown Los Altos (since outside of Los Altos Grill and Opa!, most of the restaurants are pretty mediocre). read more

I do not know if it was an off day for Mikado. I am very dissatisfied with my meal today. I arrived at 5:15 from the downtown Farmer's Market. I got a roll and two pieces of salmon nigiri. My complaint is both the center of the roll (tuna) and the salmon were defrosting. Both items were thawing out from being previously frozen. At least it tasted like they were previously frozen. It was like pulling a box of sushi out of the freezer and it was not thawed out. Maybe it is because I arrived early before the dinner rush hour. Good sushi places inform you of fresh sushi and what is frozen. If I am incorrect in my assessment it still tasted that way to me. I paid for a full meal but only ate half. read more

My takeout order was on time for pickup and well packaged. We liked that unlike some other sushi places in the area, the specialty maki rolls weren't over-sauced - some places drown theirs in spicy mayo and such. Mikado uses sauces far more judiciously, which let's you focus on the flavors of the seafood. The amounts of ingredients were a little lighter than other sushi places in the area, but the prices were also not as high, so I'll take that trade-off. I'll be back. read more

Would actually give it a 3.5 stars if I could. I love good sushi, so I am on the pickier side when it comes to fresh fish. Mikado was pretty good. Not the high melt in your mouth sushi, but pretty close. There is a wide selection, service was average. It was hard to understand the server sometimes but overall for the price you are paying, it's a good sushi place. Would not be the top place to recommend but would come back. Worth the groupon. read more