Our new go-to sushi spot for take-out. Always fresh and great selection despite the challenges of COVID. Price reflects the quality of the food and staff is very friendly and helpful. Recommend highly. read more

I came here with my parents who were visiting me from Japan, because they missed JP dishes. We started with Sake and Omakase Sashimi. It was super fresh and volumy ! Even my parents were from JP, they amazed Sakae's Omakase sashimi plate! Friendy owner came to say hi to us. He was great , he recommended special sake for my dad and he presented omakase sushi plate, that was beautiful. I also enjoyed Ankimo, fresh oyster, every dishes were amazing.Overall, great and warm dinner experience with my family. I absolutely love this restaurant. read more

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I read some reviews, saying not friendly hostess, or very expensive, not worth it...So I wasn't quite sure about Sakae, but wanted to give it a try. It turned out it was pretty good (on a Tuesday evening) ! The Sushi is very fresh. I didn't order expensive items, only the Sushi Set A and B, and Tempura. Servers and hostness are attentive. They just don't smile...dont know why ;) It is more expensive than most Japanese restaurant. But the quality and freshness do make a difference. And we did not have any problem, after eating raw fishes ;) I would recommend this place! read more

Best sushi I have ever had....period! Don't order off the menu ask what the daily specials are as they include an amazing variety of fresh fish. read more

Sakae Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Burlingame, California

We happened to find this restaurant because the other restaurant that we had reservations for Valentines were doing set menu without giving us notice and we couldn't order from the sushi bar. Anyways, yelped to the rescue. We walked down the street and found Sakae. Luckily we only waited 10 mins to get seated. Everything we had was delicious! I prefer my beef medium well but the seared filet mignon here was amazing! The sashimi platter had a great variety of seafood and they were generous with the cut. Mirugai sushi was sweet, just how it should be when really fresh. We ordered a lot of dish which we normally wouldn't order from a Japanese restaurant (like rolls and tempura). Last order that came was the red snapper soup with enoki and shrimp. It was the perfect ending dish! You have to order this soup! We were told at the end of our dinner that we had the last order for that night. Couldn't have had a better Valentines dinner w/o Sakae! The night was perfect and the service was an icing to the cake. I'm so happy the other restaurant on the corner blew it otherwise we wouldn't have found this place. read more

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Paul was our chef and was great!!! We had a nice dinner and the food was fantastic, note it is pricey but I expected it with the quality and types of fish they served. We were on vacation so we took the plunge to dine here. I did the omakase and my daughter just ordered what she wanted. I enjoyed myself and could see coming back if we ever are near the area again. read more

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Our fam always favours Hiro's sushi he's the owner of this joint will always come back for more

As a Matchmaker I rely on yelp to get me to the best locations where I can book reservations with ease. I can rely on staff to create an amazing experience, this is the lifeblood of my business. You did a fantastic job of servicing my clients first date these are blind so I rely on you heavily to make sure they both get to the correct table that the food is good the service is good that the location is quiet and romantic to give them the ability to get to know each other better. You went above and beyond in this circumstance and I will definitely be using your restaurant in the future! read more

Randomly picked here as we just landed to SFO and wanted dinner before heading home to east bay. Now it's our new favorite go-to Japanese restaurant. We're very picky with quality of fish and this place did not disappoint! read more

I ordered the lunch special sushi udon combo and the Half Beak Sushi from Japan. Complimented the meal with Echigo Stout Beer from Japan. Mellow taste and doesn't overpower. Udon soup was good and just make sure you ask for salt if you prefer the taste more profound. The pepper comes in a nice wooden shaker which adds to the ambience. The salad was excellent comprised of a variety of greens and the dressing was perfect. The sushi combo was fresh tasting and good as was the California roll with real crab. Sushi chef from Japan presented the Half Beak for me and it added to the experience. The sushi was beautifully presented and excellent quality. I recommend this place when you want to treat yourself to highest quality Sushi. read more

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Had dinner here the other night with a client. It was a fantastic meal. Everything was super fresh and the service was excellent. My favorite sushi bar in the Bay Area. The chu-toro was excellent and they had a good variety of fish on special. The uni was a great finish to the meal. I will definitely continue to come back whenever I need a sushi fix. It's a bit pricey but as good as anything I have had in Tokyo. read more

Man. I really wanted some good sushi while I was In town. The place has an odd smell. It's pungent. I had the lunch sushi sampler. Fish was average. The service? There wasn't any. I'm sitting here now. Waiting for my server. Still waiting. He's taking to some tool that's telling everyone about his new house and trip to Paris. It's becoming a little comical. Still waiting. Did I mention I'm still waiting to pay!!!!!! He showed up. I paid. I left. And now I'm hungry!!!! read more

I wanted badly to like this place, but service was basically awful and made my date uncomfortable. Avoid if you are thinking of a date, client meeting, or a family dinner. Don't get me wrong, the food and fish were good, and I wanted to overlook the poor service, but we had 4 strikes when it came to the service. 1. When we were ordering, we needed a pen, the chef in the middle of cutting sushi, handed us a dirty wet pen =\ 2. Perhaps he didn't mean to, but our sushi chef's attitude was a bit condescending. =\\ 3. Plastic in our salad and Hair in our sushi... chef who made our sushi didn't apologize, simply looked at us and plopped down another order of the same =\\\ 4. Lastly, we were charged for something on our bill that we didn't order. This time with a super half hearted apology =\\\\ On the plus side, Gomae, Crab Salad, O-Toro, and Chu-Toro were great! =D read more

Sakae Sushi - Hair in our sushi and Plastic in our Salad Poor handling of both cases =\ - Japanese Near Me - Burlingame, California

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Fresh sushi at a restaurant actually run by Japanese chefs. Prices reasonable for this day and age.

Over price for the taste n presentation. I can see from the bar that use frozen fish like dark albacore. Hot sake for 20$, wow. Chef no smile at all. Not worth anything. read more

sakae has one of the freshest & most delicious sushi selection in the bay. offering different cuts of fish every week, there's always something new you need to try! chefs are friendly & knowledgeable, staff service 10/10. if you're in the area, please stop by for a meal :) read more

Stopped here for dinner based on the Yelp reviews and it did not disappoint. We did not have reservations, but we arrived when they opened (on a weeknight) and were seated promptly. The waitresses were so nice! They were efficient yet personable. I thoroughly enjoyed my sake flight. It was accompanied by a card with descriptions of each one. Yum! Hubby and I shared a tempura appetizer and a sashimi dinner. Rice and miso soup were a la carte, but we ordered them because a Japanese dinner would not be complete without them! The miso soup was delicious - hot with tofu and wakame - and a wonderfully flavored broth. Tempura had a light crust, and the fish was very fresh and had a nice assortment. Overall, a very nice meal. read more

Topper, the Mr. and I recently fled San Francisco to live in exile. In Burlingame. Because without a toilet, a house is not a home. So we're down there, staying at my in-laws while we knock the 80's out of our only bathroom, surrounded by fortunate suntanned people and their impeccably-dressed kids, and we sense that these people probably like sushi. But we have no idea where the good sushi is, and we are terrified of making the wrong choice and inflicting the unspeakable consequesces of intestinal distress on someone else's home. So we search Yelp by star rating, and Sakae Sushi is at the top (AND got 5 stars from the venerable Nobu K.), so we take a deep, snobby breath and deign to give it a try. And it is amazing. Truly. The sushi chef is an absolute artist. My mouth kept falling open as I watched him create these gorgeous sushi sculptures. And while my mouth was open, I put sushi in it. Spec-tac-u-lar. Perfect rice, fish that melted in my mouth, and lychee martinis that I could've consumed by the bucketful. To be honest, it was a bittersweet experience. You see, where I live, drunk old men pee on the side of my house, and I'm less likely to wake up to chirping birds than to a muscle car peeling away from a hit and run. So access to a diverse array of authentic, wonderful restaurants that outclass what's in the 'burbs is basically all I have. And Sakae Sushi took that from me. And now the siren song of San Mateo County is ringing in my ears: treeeeees... sunshiiiine... clean transportaaaaation... suuuuuushi... I fear I can only hold out for so long. read more

I loved Sakae so much the first time that my boyfriend and I returned the day after for dinner again, this time at the sushi bar. The experience was even more wonderful than the last time. I could spend days on end just sitting at the sushi bar sipping konacha and snacking on chawanmushi and uni. The owners of Sakae, as well as the helpful hostess, and the itamaes are so nice and welcoming. I truly feel a part of the Sakae family! I still recommend the chawanmushi with uni, if the chutoro is on the specials board it is a must to try! Also if the Japanese uni ( Hokkaido Uni) is on the white board, it is some of the best quality uni I've ever had, please try it! I also wanted to kindly point out, that after I was reading through the 3 and 2 star reviews, I realized the people that didn't have a 5 star experience at Sakae weren't even eating sushi or sashimi. They were complaining about rolls and hot dishes like duck or cooked fish. I'm sorry but, i'm not sorry to say that if you come to a sushi establishment that has fresh fish flown in 3 times a week from the #1 fish market in Japan, then you should probably be eating sushi and sashimi and not ordering california/american style rolls and hot dishes. Just a tip for one sushi lover to the next! Always opt for fresh wasabi, and if you must use soy sauce, dip fish side down. read more

COVID POST: This place was fantastic. The food was unbelievable and the staff was very safe and welcoming. I was shocked that the restaurant was totally empty, but Covid wise it's very safe. read more

My co-mentor and I decided to grab dinner last night after our Wed. session at BUILD. He suggested Sakae. Ordered the Omakase for 2 ($65). Tons of fresh fish: Yellowtail, Aji, Maguro, Scallop, Amaebi, etc. Very well done. Dish came with the body of the mackeral and shrimp head, which were deep fried after we finished the sashimi. Mmmmm delish! Also tried the spider roll which was very good. Hiro (owner) offers high end sake ($200+ for the big bottles). He will hold your bottle at the restaurant and continue to serve it to you during subsequent visits. At the end of the night Hiro came over to us and asked "Have you seen this?' It was a MICHELIN STAR announcement. How exciting for Hiro!!! Food/service is well worth the recognition!! read more

This was our menu (split between two people). I wanted to do Omakase, but I couldn't resist ordering straight from the white board all of my familiar favs. So I ordered some things myself, and the chef filled in the rest. Kampachi Amaebi Blue Fin Toro Aji Uni Akami (Red Blue Fin Toro) Pike Mackerel Tairagi (Shellfish) Flying Fish Shimaji (Striped Jack) Butterfish Anago w/ Anago Bone Everything was flown in from Japan except toro, akami, and anago. It was delicious! It's so very hard to find good quality sushi (traditional kind, not rolls) in the Bay. I do have a favorite place in Berkeley - Sushi Sho, but nothing else has ever come close to the quality of fish. Sakae sushi was recommended to me by a friend, and I must say, I do approve. But the type of fish experience is very different. Sakae has so much more variety of fish. Very good flavors, very big portions. Not that Sushi-Sho is not as good, but just different. Portions are HUGE! I spent about $85 on the meal including tax and tip. This seems expensive, but it was because we ordered all the special fish flown in from Japan. *Went again yesterday night and ordered the Omakase sashimi platter (beautiful presentation, and excellent Amaebi, Kampachi, and Hotate sashimi) as well as other fish from the white board. Tried some of the ones we had before, and the chef recommended the Alfosino nigiri, another winner. Also, if you love Uni like me (it's my favorite!), be careful to order the Uni from Japan (I believe it was from Hokkaido). The chef has two kinds of uni - we tried both. Very big difference. read more

If you just want the gist - service, employees, prices and food = INSANELY TERRIBLE. It kinda blows my mind how much I dislike this place. I went here solo after some shopping. I walk in and the first thing the hostess says (in lieu of an actual greeting) is that there is an $18 minimum at the counter and $13 at a table. Ok, that's fine, I'll take a table. No biggie. Looking at the menu, however, you have to wonder what's with the whole minimum thing since every single thing on there is stupidly overpriced - a tiny bowl of edamame is $5 (overcooked). And then, you have to pay extra for things such as ginger ($2.50), wasabi ($2.00), if you aren't satisfied with their paltry sides. Take into consideration the filthy, sticky menus and the lackluster closet space this restaurant occupies, and suddenly the prices are even more laughable. Anyway, I go ahead and order, during which time I realize that my little unassuming waitress is kind of a bitch. She rolls her eyes at me, perhaps because I'm dining alone and thus the bill won't be as high as it would be with more people. She then goes in the back, doing nothing, and stares and me with another employee, actually whispering while staring at me. Really? Throughout my meal, she doesn't come over once to see if I need anything else, or to see how everything is. In fact, when I get my food, I realize I have no other dishes or utensils for soy sauce, etc., and since she continues to ignore me, even when I try to get her attention, I stand up and take one from a different table. She immediately makes it clear how annoyed she is, promptly replacing the one I took (why not just bring me one in the first place?) My next interaction with her is when I wave her over to bring my my check. To the food - You'd think that with what they charge and the audacity of their employees, it must be good, right? WRONG. It freaking BLOWS. While I realize spicy tuna rolls are not the best cut of fish because it's covered up with spiciness, theirs' was truly the worst I have ever tried. I didn't even finish it, as it was simply a watery pink paste. Gross gross gross. Other rolls are equally gross. BARF. read more

Eating at Sakae reminded me so much of Japan... It really felt like eating in Tokyo... they got the atmosphere down to a T. Fresh fish flown in from Tsukiji. It truly feels like one of the better places in Japan. I chose the omakase sushi set which was $68 for 12 pieces of superb pristine sushi. For starters they gave me some ankimo wrapped in shiso and striped bass. They hit a homer right off the bat. Every fish I had was unimaginably good... they couldn't have gotten any better, but to me the highlights were: - Seared Salmon belly - Hokkaido Uni with Squid - Alaskan King Crab with Caviar - Chu-toro - Aji - Kanpachi - Wagyu Beef - Kohada - Tai - Bonito For what you're paying, it probably doesn't get any better than this... read more

This is not the place for rolls. I mean, you don't go down to that fancy Italian place in the financial district with the white tableclothes and tuxedoed waiters without a reservation and order spaghetti and meatballs. You might get decent spaghetti and meatballs, but that's not really the point of the place. And I'm not going to order a California Roll at Sakae. No way. It's not that type of place. Sakae is not cheap, but our dinner was very, very good. We had the beef tongue, tender and sliced thin in a savory brown sauce with a couple pieces of okra. We had chawan mushi topped with uni and caviar. We had ankimo with more uni and caviar and a subtle ponzu gelee. We had two perfect raw scallops, split and placed atop two perfect balls of rice. We had a grilled squid - somewhat overly chewy and under charred, actually. And we did get one roll - something with spicy tuna, which could have been worse. The centerpiece of our dinner, however, was a sashimi moriawase: assorted sashimi plate. The server mentioned that for $30 more than the $65 menu price, they had one with nicer fish. How was it nicer? That was a little unclear ... more stuff imported from Japan, for sure. But what we got for our $95 was one of the most amazing sashimi platters I've had - not that there was an extravagant amount of fish ( maybe four pieces each of 9 different fish ), but it was some of the freshest, most flavorful sashimi I've had in a long time, paired with real wasabi and beautifully arranged. The waitress was going to take the plate away, and then noticed that we were still munching on the shredded daikon. She understood. They fried both the heads from the amaebi and the skeletal remains of the aji, head to tail. We ate the crunchy bones. It was just a beautiful, beautiful presentation. I would be remiss if I did not mention that Sakae has a very good sake list, offering three different flights distinguished not so much by pricepoint but by flavor profile, something I approve of greatly. I think Sakae, like some other high end Japanese places that far up the peninsula, has a bit of a quandry when it comes to their customers. They range from Japanese looking for a high end taste of home to regular neighborhood folks off the street looking for a California Roll ... but not quite sold on the idea of eating actual raw fish. Sakae tries to accommodate them all, and that involves making some guesses about who's just walked in the door. Our server was very nice, very polite, and very Japanese. We can be a difficult couple to read, but once we ordered, things went marvelously. The person who served the table next to us was a native English speaker and spent a lot more time going over the menu with her charges. So, this is not necessarily the neighborhood sushi joint. What it *is* is an excellent and somewhat expensive restaurant with some very high quality fish available. We will be back. read more

I was very disappointed with Sakae for two reasons. One was the quality of fish, and the other was that I was discriminated against for being a white boy! I started off with some of the specials off the board, Kampachi, Wild Salmon, Shima-Aji, Everything was very average. I asked for a recommendation from the chef and he gave me Aji...which again was really nothing special. Being pretty disappointed with everything, I asked for the Aji bones (which was not on the menu) the chef kind of looked at me funny. Just then the owner came up to me and said..."Oh you like fried Aji bones?" I said yes. He asked how everything else was, and I replied "pretty good, but I am looking for something special". We started talking sushi, and then he realized that I wanted the best possible stuff he had to offer. He told the chef to break out the Seki- Aji and a few other items and he actually sat down and ate with me, It was late and I was one of the last customers. He told me that they didn't know that I cared about good sushi and that most of his customers are Yuppies with kids and can't tell the difference between fish and really good fish. He admitted that they save the best stuff for their Japanese customers or their regulars that knew what they liked. I was kind of appalled that i got the "White Boy" treatment and I told him so. He invited me to come back and they would give me the full Omakase Japanese treatment and not hold back the good stuff. I agreed to come back, but I'm not sure that I will. Maybe I am being naive, and that many sushi bars do this. I know that when you are a regular, the chef gets to know you and what you like, but to profile a new customer this way does not seem to be a good Idea. I usually go to Sushi Koo when I am in this area, but I wanted to try a new place. I think next time I will go back to Koo where they have been treating me well from the first visit. read more

Came here for dinner yesterday with my friend. We ordered the Sashimi Omakase B. for 2, $98 which was suppose to be top grade fish, as the waiter explained, compared to the Sashimi Omakase A. $58 for 2 deal. The platter came out with maybe 8 pieces per person which is already pretty skimpy and the fish was not top grade at all. I took a small bite of the uni and immediately wanted to spit it out. They do not provide napkins and I didn't have anywhere to spit and in panic to get the taste of out my mouth, I just swallowed it. I'm not an uni connoisseur but I eat uni (and sashimi) very often and you just know when the uni is spoiled. The first time I tried uni, I got really sick off of it and this was the same taste. It was clearly not right. So, like the good friend that I am, I told my friend to try a small piece to help me confirm. He ate a very small piece and we confirmed that it was spoiled. We told the waiter that the uni was NOT fresh and he took the plate back. He came back to our table, with only excuses in hand, and explained to us that today's uni was from Mendocino, instead of Santa Barbara, where they usually get it from. Ok, fine. So it's from a different place and lower grade quality. But why did it taste rotten? I tried to explain to him that the uni tasted ROTTEN and he rebutted with explaining to me again that it was just from a different place. He clearly didn't understand me and was just bullshitting us. Then he told us that they have uni from Japan which is top grade. Um, didn't we order the top grade option? So a few things here: 1. They didn't even offer anything extra, like their uni from Japan, or a complimentary dish, for the bad fish they served 2. They said the Sashimi Omakase B was TOP GRADE choices, which should have included the Japan uni but instead, they gave us Mendocino uni which is 3rd choice (or lower) to their Santa Barbara and Japan uni 3. They tried to make an excuse of why the uni taste "different", when it was clearly spoiled 4. They didn't even give a small discount, not even 10%, not even 5% 5. When a customer complains, you don't answer them with a rebuttal We canceled the other items we ordered and left. Soon after we left, we were both feeling hot in the head, stomach bubbles and small urges to vomit. Luckily we only ate a very small piece. We resolved our stomach issue with a small glass of whiskey. Thank you for the almost struggle bus trip to Mud Butt City, for the price of $113. P.S. The one star is for the Natto roll, which wasn't even on the menu Not sure how they get such great reviews. Their fish really is not that great. But then again, it is Burlingame Ave. People will believe its great just because of the prices they pay. read more

4.5 stars for Sakae Sushi! I would say Sakae Sushi is the best Sushi place in Peninsula. I have been there many times for lunch and dinner and this place is SOLID. - Authentic and chefs are Japanese - Fresh Sushi and Sashimi mostly from Japan - They take reservations so you don't have to wait staring at people eating inside - Service could be slow and inefficient - Simple decor, but very Japanese style and not cramped. - The way they serve food is simple, traditional and authentic. Especially, I really appreciate the oysters served with Ponzu, Momiji oroshi and green onion Thank you Sakae Sushi for being authentic. read more

Sakae Sushi - Miyagi Oysters with Ponzu, Momiji oroshi and green onion. Very authentic. - Japanese Near Me - Burlingame, California

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If there are bad grammars in this review, it is because I am a FOB. If you are on a budget, go to Kitaro. If you are poor, go to McDonalds for a fish fillet. If you are ballin', come to Sakae. My buddies and I have been coming to Sakae for about 2 years. I admit, the price was a bit intimidating. We use to order from the menu like a bunch of noobs. But we soon discovery the true experience of Sakae is at the sushi bar. Hiro and Jun are great chefs and people! They are entertaining and fun. They do a great job of explaining of all their fish. History, where its from, how its cut, how to eat it, etc.... The quality of their food is TOP NOTCH. TRIPLE JERSEY SHORE FIST PUMP FTW!!! I highly recommend the toro, fresh water eel, fresh shrimp, sea urchin, white salmon, bonito... Definitely order from the board. Don't be a noob!!!!! Epic fail if you don't!!! Disclosure: We spent over $500 at Sakae and it was worth EVERY penny!!! So I am not blowing smoke up your :) read more

My shortest review ever would aptly summarize the "Sakae Sushi" Experience. 3 words. THE BEST EVER. However I will expound. I recently joined General Mortgage Capital Corporation, submitted some proposals to increase profitability for the company and then: "We want to take you to lunch. You pick. Cost is no object." SMART COMPANY, you know how to get me MOTIVATED. Was thinking "Voigniere" but they don't serve lunch now. "How about the best sashimi/sushi on the Peninsula (and likely the Bay Area) instead?" SCORE! Called for a reservation, Joan Endo, proprietress and wife of owner/operator Hiro Endo answered, remembered me by voice and we arrive at a truly beautiful Japanese decor restaurant but the food is the STAR. "OMAKASE," "Hiro, you pick and design our menu and we want the best." My culinary dream come true when it comes to Japanese. This is saying a lot, I am Japanese American from Hawaii so seafood is my culinary "raison d'etre." I'll upload pics later. Started with some cucumber spears with 1 year aged tofu spread, and two other items ... off to a great start. Next, 3 types of uni, Santa Barbara, East Coast and Hokaido uni from Japan. Uni came with freshly ground wasabi ... that green, reconstituted Japanese horseradish you get everywhere IS NOT REAL WASABI ! Hiro described the tasting notes for the various types of sake, Hiro is a virtual Sake Sommelier; perfectly matched our sashimi. ($15 a glass.) You may have had some of these types of sashimi elsewhere. My uninitiated luncheon companions all agreed with big smiles on their faces; This is the best sashimi on the Peninsula, if not the entire Bay Area. DESTINATION SASHIMI AND SUSHI. I will upload pictures later. Another awesome concoction was the seafood broth served in tiny, individual tea pots with little cup/tops to serving portion, served with fresh yuzu wedge. Put a drop of the Yuzu essence in the cup serving and encounter a wonderful variation of already maximum "oishi" fish broth and you eat the seafood (so tasty!) afterwards that generated this hearty, fresh tasting Sakae Sushi special seafood broth with Yuzu. Wrapped up the meal with Edo/Tokyo old fashioned sushi. Before there was refrigeration in Japan style sushi. Hiro was careful to include the perfect saucing for each exquisite dish and fish. "Tamago" so good, like the finest egg custard you've ever had. I've known Sakae Sushi for years and I know how much pride they take in what they serve. Add that to the finest ingredients from Japan, locally and where ever else THE BEST can come from. You spend more but you smile to yourself and your mind is telling you "You get what you pay for." How often do you have a $300 a head lunch (tip included) and everyone is still smiling after the check and in unison: "(with big smiles) It was worth it." Thank you Raymond Chou and Charles Zhou for treating me to the best sashimi/sushi/other Sakae Sushi specialties EVER. Sashimi? Sushi? Authentic Japanese food? THE BEST EVER. read more

Nice but expensive place to eat, I guess this is a high level sushi place to eat. Nice Cousy spot, fast service, delicious sushi, clean place, very limited parking though, I recommend this place if you don't care about prices for a nice sushi. I will go back for sure. Five start no doubt!!! Although I hate when a restaurant has a not parking lot. read more

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Hands down the best sushi we have EVER had - anywhere - service was awesome and our bottle of Sake was amazing.

Very expensive for what you get. Food quality is good but not really worth it in my opinion. You get comparable sushi for 60-70% of the price elsewhere, and in greater quantity. You also have to pay extra for fresh wasabi. A plus is attentive service and then the food comes out quickly. Tea is charged per person vs per pot (cannot share with someone). We were two ordering sushi and tea for $45 but left hungry... not OK. read more

Very fresh fish! I've been here a few times and have enjoyed everything I've tried so far. They do amazing things here because the way food is served is simple and elegant. There was one kind of sushi platter- all different types of sashimi- that I shared with husby. I can't remember the name of the whole fish that was served, but it was cut to be sashimi, and then the skeleton of that fish was taken away. Little did we know that it would return to our table deep fried, and dang was it delicious! So simple- just a fry and probably a bit of salt. I think that there was also the shrimp head from the ebi on that platter that was fried and brought back to us. YUM!!! I know that I'm paying for top-quality sushi when I go here. Too bad I can't eat here every week. read more

Once in a while, we all need to treat ourselves to the finer things in life, and Sakae Sushi is definitely one of them. My girlfriend (Jane Z.) suggested Sakae to catch up over dinner last Monday. Although I had a reservation, I realized that it was probably not necessary. We were one of the first few people in and the very last ones out. Please dont judge us, but we were starvin' marvin' and went to town on the menu. We both ordered the Chef special, which came with an appetizer of 3 items, shrimp & shiitake mushroom chawanmushi, and 10 pieces of nigiri sushi. We were given a handwritten menu of the daily special and ordered the lobster tempura, wagyu beef nigiri w/ truffle oil, otoro nigiri, king crab nigiri topped with uni, and I believe the kenpachi nigiri. We told our servers that we also had a major uni craving, so they were so kind as to place a dry easel board on a chair next to us so that we could pick and choose from it (which I thought was hilarious). We decided on pieces of Hokkaido uni, uni with quail egg, ankimo topped with uni, and baked oysters topped with uni. I'm proud to say that we managed to finish them all. Although the bill came out to be over 400, it was absolutely worth it. If you're in the mood for anything but sushi, it's best to go elsewhere. The portions were generous and I love the wide variety they offered. Everything was extremely fresh and oh so delicious, probably the best I've ever had. I literally had to close my eyes and moan in delight. Yes, it was THAT good! Major props to the sushi chef for the beautifully artful presentation and for the selections of the evening. Service was top notch and attentive. I'm glad my friend shared this spot with me, because it has become one of my favorites. read more

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Worse Sushi Ever. I am a huge sushi fan. This place was a MASSIVE (not huge) disappointment. My boyfriend and I ordered: The Rainbow Roll, Philly Roll, Tempura Roll, Hamachi Nigiri, Salmon Nigiri, Ebi Nigiri, and Spicy Tuna Hand Roll. Only the rich, naive and the I'll-pay-$17.97-for-a-roll-because-anything-expensive-is-of-the-best-quality go here. The sushi rolls were huge (I suppose to explain the $17 for each roll), the fish (including the nigiri) cut was of the worse I've seen a sushi chef put on a plate, and the rolls had no flavor. Don't get me wrong, I've paid more than $17 for a sushi that actually was worth the money. This my friends, was not worth our $97 bill. And, to those who've claim this to be the "Best Sushi in the Bay Area," get out of Burlingame and go to the many top-notch sushi places in the San Francisco Bay. Maybe this place is also of the best quality for anyone who isn't familiar with sushi, rich, naive and who simply doesn't know any better. So if you've never tried sushi...go here...no wait...DON'T go here. And last, but not least...Puh-lease, the sushi here is NOT fresh. Any sushi leaving a metal-like fish after taste is NOT fresh. And any good sushi chef that serves and knows about "fresh sushi" does not need to rub a ton of wasabi to enhance the taste. BARF and The End. read more

OK I have to ask, why did JYW post the exact same pic of nigiri in Sakae and for Aya Sushi? Odd. Sakae is about as no nonsense as it gets in terms of sushi. Unlike most places, they don't have dozens of crazy rolls. They have a few to suit the American palate, but they really shine when it comes to simple nigiri sushi. I've been told by several japanese people that you can tell how good the place is by 1) how fresh the sushi is; 2) how sharp the knives are; 3) how many appetizers they have. I know it sounds odd, but the more places I go to, the more I look into the appetizers. Sakae has a ton of dishes; probably more than I've seen in any other japanese place not named Todai. If you look at the website, it defaults to Japanese. There is an English version, and it's ghetto as all heck. That's because they concentrate on their sushi, not the flashy gimmicks. read more

I should have written this review for Sakae Sushi 15 years ago but, of course, Yelp wasn't around then =) We were so bummed when they lost the lease on Park Road as the place was always packed and lively. The decor at the new restaurant on California Dr. is wonderful but a bit hard to find as they cannot hang a sign that you can see from around the corner. In any case, it opened as Noboru (which means "climb" in honor of the owner's late father who was a mountain climber and a vivacious man). After they closed the Park Rd location, it became Sakae---same owner, chef and staff, just larger and nicely furnished with a party room/karaoke in the back for those of you who want to have some late night fun. Jun, whom you will often see behind the sushi counter, was a chef at an ryoutei (upscale restaurant) in Japan before coming over to Sakae. He has amazing talent and you often get what you don't pay for. Hiro, the owner, is just as artistic (order his omakase sashimi plate) and is quite a character. Their otoushi, when you are seated at the sushi bar, is a wonderful creation. The quality and selection of fresh fish is never disappointing. They serve seasonal and unique fare like sazae, a type of conch shell and imported live from Japan, either as sashimi or grilled in the shell. There is always that something special which makes Sakae the top notch "authentic" sushi bar on the peninsula. Sakae also has one of the best selection of sake and shochu in the bay area, other than strictly sake bars, and Hiro can guide you to the perfect match with your dish. He definitely knows his sake! The 50 bottles that line the shelves were emptied by yours truly over the years. With over 200 Yelp reviews, you probably get the idea that Sakae is not your ordinary sushi bar. Their prices reflect that too. If you're looking to have funny rolls or a chicken teriyaki dinner, don't go. There are plenty of mediocre sushi restaurants in the area that serve whatever rolls that are inexpensive. If you truly like sashimi and sushi that is out of the ordinary, you've found the right place. read more

Awesome sushi!!! Im hard to impress... and I'm impressed. I almost want to say best sushi ever. Every roll I ordered is fresh and delectable. So great. I love the tuna tuna roll. read more

Sakae Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Burlingame, California

This is the best sushi I have ever had. Don't bother coming here if you don't appreciate real sushi. If you just like to get rolls like spicy tuna or california rolls you should just skip this place because you won't understand why this place is so awesome. If you do appreciate sushi, you must order off the white board. It's expensive as hell since the fish is flown from the fish market in Japan, but there are some items that aren't too bad. One of my favorites here is the scallop sushi. It's the sweetest, most delicious scallop I have ever had. Not only does this place have awesome sushi, but they have the best sake selection. The owner Hiro knows a lot about sake and has great recommendations. We tried a Nama Sake, which is a fresh sake that is still fermenting, that was the most delicious sake I have ever had. Since it was still fermenting the sake would bubble a little bit in your mouth, somewhat like mild pop rocks. Awesome!!!! We come here as much as we can afford. read more