Sushi Kato

Don’t understand the low rating? Maybe ambiance? But what really matters at a sushi restaurant is the fish quality. I’ve had a LOT of sushi in the last 20 years at some of the best from traditional to super flashy Californian. This place is a four star on my sushi scale. I gave this a 5 star because we found this in Bakersfield of all places. If you just want good sushi or sashimi, come eat here. Don’t let the décor scare you away!

Three stars is about accurate for this place. The sushi is ok, nothing to write home about but not bad either. The portions were good and the eel on the Super California was perfectly cooked and fairly fresh which is difficult to do in the middle of a valley! So they get an extra star for that. The standard California roll wasn’t put together well so all the pieces stuck together. The Shrimp Tempura roll was delicious, though, and the tempura was freshly cooked which warmed up the entire roll and gave it a nice crunch. My friends raved about the tempura dipping sauce so I would highly recommend the tempura appetizer. If we’re back in Bakersfield again, we might come back to try the ramen. Didn’t see any reviews for it and the owners are Japanese so hopefully it’s good.

I’ve eaten here twice now. I think it’s quite good. Not perfect but very nice. I will be back again.

At first entry, Sushi Kato in Bakersfield CA seems like a well-​rounded teppan grill and sushi bar local gem from the interior design and vibe. With somewhat of a weird smell widely recognized by the party I was eating with, we were not sure what to think of the place yet. There were two other parties dining in the restaurant, particularly unpopulated for prime time on a Thursday night. I ordered the most recommended item on the menu, the Chirashi Bowl (a sashimi and vegetable mix on top of rice) and also one order of Kampachi sushi. The kampachi (baby yellowtail) was pretty decent, with a bang-​for-​your-​buck appearance despite the pricey menu, for the fish piece’s thickness and length. The taste was somewhat fishy, but not too much as to distract from the flavor. The slight tuna flavor in the yellowtail and mild tangy aftertaste was what I expected, and the firm and chewable texture of the yellowtail was akin to other sushi restaurants. Nothing amazing, but it was good. Once I started my chirashi bowl, everything went downhill. Tuna was extremely chewy and lacked the familiar taste I was used to. The crab, let alone the fact it was imitation, was garbage. The first piece of salmon sashimi was alright, and the second piece I had tasted more like a watered down slimy fish with noticeable strings of fat weaved into it. Pretty close to disgusting. The Unagi (freshwater eel) was surprisingly very good, almost perfect with the included sauce. Tasted like a dark, marinated and delicate red meat, which was delicious. The waitress was nice, and got all our orders down perfectly. Overall, the place was very inconsistent with the culture it promoted. Sushi was good in some respects, and awful in others. ²⁄₅

Teppanyaki! Our relatives had never tried this dining experience before so we brought them here to Sushi Kato. Last time I was here was before my Unilocaler days. This review is not about their sushi cause wifey and I have never tried their sushi on any of our past visits.
Well, the restaurant was not very busy. No one else was there to dine at their teppan grill. The few tables with diners were eating from their regular menu. It took at least 30 minutes before the teppanyaki chef came out to cook our meal. Too long for a restaurant that is not busy. Perhaps they were understaffed that evening?
Anyways, on to the main subject at hand which is the food! Each of us ordered one of the 2 Item combos for $ 23.95 each. Patrons may choose any 2 items among the choices which are scallops, calamari, beef, shrimp, or chicken. The combo comes with soup, salad, vegetables, and fried rice. All 5 choices tasted fine. Veggies and fried rice were good. I preferred the calamari and scallops, but there was no «WOW» factor. Portions were regular size and evenly distributed among our family.
Part of the Teppanyaki experience is the «show» put on by the chef. Well our chef was a quiet and polite guy, but he did not interact with us very much. He cooked the food just fine in front of us all. The onion volcano he made was cool. Other than that, there was nothing really entertaining about this Teppanyaki experience.
Overall, we had a underwhelming 3 star experience which is not a bad thing. With the exception of the long wait, everything else was okay. In the future, we will try the sushi. Will skip the teppan grill.

Delicious and fresh! The freshest sushi in Bakersfield. Don’t be afraid to ask Mr. Kato what’s fresh the day you’re dinning! He will make sure you leave satisfied. I love all of it. My favorite items besides the sushi include the house salad (ginger dressing has amazing flavor) the gyoza and shrimp and vegetable tempura.

Traveled to Bakersfield for business
Found «Sushi Kato» next to the Marriott I stayed at.
Ordered take out, the Super Chirashi is very good, wish I had more days to stay so I could try more dishes.
Learned they have been in business for 20 years, that says a lot.
Wish they were in San Ramon, it’s nice that a Japanese restaurant is owned & run by Japanese. Most of the Japanese restaurants in San Ramon are run by Chinese or Koreans.

Love love love this place! Their Sushi is amazing and I have never been disappointed. The staff is very friendly and attentive. Kato himself is super friendly and does excellent! It’s safe to say that I now have a Sushi addiction.

The service here is great and the food is good. I’ve never actually gotten the sushi. All four times I’ve gone I’ve gotten the salmon teriyaki and sashimi dinner combo. The salmon is delicious! So much so that I’ve never tried any other entrée. The misplaced soup and edamame that come with the combo are only okay. That paired with the obviously overused bento box serving dish are why it’s four stars instead of five.

Yummy sushi! Fast service. I usually stop here when I’m on a work trip. The sushi chef is friendly too. I like the caterpillar & California roll.

I am honestly just glad I walked out without food poisoning. I only ate two bites and stopped. Everything smelled fishy, was slimy and looked just wrong. Never ever again. I had to go eat somewhere else afterward.

Literally everything is a variation of the California Role. Not the best place, I’ve certainly had much MUCH better. However it’s Bakersfield so what more could you really ask for?

Kato is a great Sushi Chef. I only go during happy hour because of the great prices. My fav roll is always some type of Eel and avocado roll. Sushi Kato has a BBQ Eel and Avocado roll that beats ALL other rolls in town. Pure F-​licious! His other rolls are Bomb too. Great Happy hour rolls. Fast and very friendly service too. The girls are amazing.

Best sushi in town. have been going since they open over 17 years ago. Kato and his wife are always a delight. salmon is some of the best you’ll taste. happy hour is a bargain ½ off a large selection of rolls.

Good food, not the best but good
Fish roll prices are around $ 10 to $ 16, but very small portions you have to eat at least 2, therefore about $ 30 per meal
+ Soda $ 2.50

We had a morning meeting at the Doubletree and decided to get a quick bite here since it is the closest restaurant not on-​site at the hotel. I was there with three other men. The service was prompt. We ordered and within ten minutes we had our bento boxes at the table. I had one with vegetable and shrimp tempura as well as four pieces of sushi. My meal was quite enjoyable and was so large that I was unable to finish my salad and the rice they served as part of the meal. I didn’t even finish all of the tempura, even though I love that stuff. The meal was all around good. The décor of the restaurant is dated. I don’t know that I would take my wife there for a nice dinner. For those reasons, I am giving it three stars, but I was very close to giving it four stars. It really is A-​OK, though. You won’t be disappointed with your meal here and you cannot beat its convenience and speed when you are at the Doubletree across the street. I expect to find myself at this restaurant again on days I have conferences and classes at the hotels nearby.

I had a Tempura Bento box with California roll for lunch today. They were pretty good. The server’s service was great. Food was served in less than 10 mins.
Place needs some renovation though.

Came here for lunch but wasn’t sure if it was opened or not, because the exterior windows were covered/​dark. As FYI the rolls are NOT half off all day like the sushi restaurants I’ve been to in Sacramento,. Kato only has half off for happy hour from «5 – 6:30». I ordered the teriyaki beef bento box. The teriyaki sauce tastes like its mixed with a1 steak sauce. It came with 2 tempura shrimps, 1 slice of a fat bell pepper (which was ridiculous), 1 slice cucumber, and a tiny yam. The miso soup was on the salty side with a few little tofus. I can’t believe Japanese people owns this restaurant and the food wasn’t really up to par. :/

Sushi Kato is owned and operated by japanese people from Japan. The owners are very sweet. My family and I have been going here for years and Sushi Chef Kato never disappoints. They have authentic special items every now and then that I always order. Their ramen is good and their bentos are wonderful. I would high recommend any special because their specials are authentic Japanese cuisine that you won’t find anywhere else. Once during new years eve, kato-​san opened for a special tempura soba that only is served during this time. It was so great and wonderful.
Authentic sushi is not philly rolls, overly salted miso soup, crunchy rolls or california rolls. if your measuring stick is that short than you should stick to those americanized japanese joints.

So to start off wow this place is terrible-​and sadly cliché. It’s only redeeming factor is that it was close to my hotel.
My initial impression was-​bad. The hostess started off speaking Japanese-​I understand that it is a Japanese restaurant but it came off as tired and cliché. The service otherwise was actually ok-​as in very fast. Didn’t check up on my food or see if I wanted anything but as soon as I reached for my wallet she appeared and took payment.
I got the buisness man’s lunch. The fish quality was… Ok. It just didn’t taste right, not really fresh. It was plenty of food and decent variety, but it fell apart when I ate it.
All in all I’m giving it 2 stars for speed, certainly not quality. Maybe I’m just spoiled from living in the bay.