Shin Sushi

Sorry to do this but feel that I need to. We used to frequent this place due to the lack of authentic Japanese restaurants in this area. I miss living in the city where authentic Japanese is prevalent. Anyway, friendly family owned place but they have a sanitation issue. While eating there recently my husband pointed out a roach crawling on the wall right next to me. We quickly paid and left. Unfortunately we will not be returning.

Order chicken teriyaki and there was at least of ¼ of an inch of sauce swimming on my plate. More like teriyaki with chicken. Husband Shushi was nothing special either. Won’t be back. We’ll keep looking for an amazing sushi place.

Went in last night and what a gem… great people, and nice environment. Good sushi too. Uni was very good and hamachi/​Ikura/​quail egg, awesome… prices here are very good and reasonable up there with Sushi Maru but much closer to home.
Shin and Itsumi are great hosts and very fun. I will be back.

«I’m not making art, I’m making sushi.” – Masaharu Morimoto
Shin Sushi (SS) has been around for at least 20 years tucked away in the corner of the Sunrise Plaza Shopping Center. In fact, SS was the very first place that I ever tried Sushi back in High School; one of my friend’s parents took a few of us out to experience something a little different, as before then the most «exotic» thing I had eaten was Americanized Chinese food. I’m pretty sure all I ate then was some kind of Teriyaki nonsense and maybe a CA Roll. Fast forward twenty years and my tastes have radically changed, as I’m now into practically anything and everything that won’t eat me back. My taste in Sushi is more refined as I’m just into Sashimi, Nigiri and the occasional simple roll. We’ve been trying to find a great Sushi place close-​by home in South SJ and finally decided to give SS a try. Ordered up a Sushi Combo, Sashimi Combo and a few rolls to see what’s doing, and here’s the assessment:
Spicy Tuna Roll– To paraphrase Clara Peller: «Where’s the Fish!?» The roll was 90% rice, 5% Nori and 5% some kind of orange paste?!? No fish, no flavor – no stars… 0*
Philly Roll– This is probably my go-​to roll at most places because I love Salmon and especially Smoked Salmon. I really liked SS’s version of the Philly Roll; it had a nice balance of fish, cream cheese and cucumber. 4*
Tuna Roll– This came with the Sushi Combo and was a pretty standard version of this ubiquitous roll. Nice balance of fish to rice, and the roll was clean and tight. 3.5*
Sashimi and Nigiri– I can pretty much say the same thing about all these: they looked great, good clean cuts and uniform pieces, but there was something about the flavor of all the fish that was a bit «off.» It was really hard to say what, but I’m not sure if it was lack of freshness or what the deal was but it just wasn’t good. My biggest complaint was with the Mackerel –which is renowned for being fishy tasting– but this was overly so to the point that even I couldn’t stomach it after two bites. 2.5*
Service & Ambiance– I picked up the order to-​go and the one lady I dealt with was very fast, efficient and friendly. The décor hadn’t changed much from what I remember all those years ago: clean, dark and bit romantic. This would be a good spot for a date night. 4*
Value– SS prices are a little bit high, but I don’t mind paying high prices for good quality sushi. However, since the final product didn’t turn out so great I’m going to have to give them a low score. 2*
I think my wife summed up SS perfectly when she said, «It was good enough to eat once, but not good enough to go back.» I was really, really hoping SS would be the answer to my South SJ Sushi woes because they’re so close to home that convenience factor would be very high. Unfortunately, I guess the hunt continues…

My steak was swimming in teriyaki. Water had lipstick on it. Roll didn’t have pricing. And I was greeted with, «Are you already?». Details were lacking. Food was not tasteful or presentable.

I have been coming to Shin’s for years and have never had anything close to a bad experience. The service is great, the prices are good, and the food is always great. I have been to many more expensive sushi joints and left unimpressed by the food quality and freshness of the sushi. I always keep going back to Shin’s.

This is a good place… rolls are simple think no siracha mayo… but stuff taste good and authentic. I love their sashimi and chirashi. The dinner specials are always a good deal!!! They are very efficient ! Everything tastes better than at Kenzo.

We’ve been going to this place as a family for 10 years, and there’s never been a better place for sushi in the south bay. Everything from dragon rolls to a more traditional hamachi or nigiri is good here, and it still has its own little family owned feel to it. The serve staff has been working there the entire time I’ve been a customer for the most part, so they recognize faces and take care of the regulars. Make sure to stop by and enjoy!

Very much recommend their lunch special. Really yummy and it’s at a reasonable price. What I really like and appreciate about Shin is that it’s not very big, which leaves the restraint noise to a minimal. So if you or a friend tend to be loud talkers. Maybe this is not the sushi place for you.
The service is great! Servers are consistent to check in on you to see if there’s anything else they can get for you or making sure your meal is to your satisfaction. The sushi bar dudes are super cool too. They notice familiar faces and always greet you.

Service sucked tonight. Food was ok but they changed the way they served and my dinner was the last even though we were the first guest. Sad

Stopped in here the other day as I was in the shopping center taking care of other business. The chef and staff were all very nice. Wish I could say the same about the food. I had nigiri sushi and a few rolls. The rice on all items was bland and wet, didn’t have that right Japanese rice flavor and was too sticky as it was overcooked. The nigiri all tasted the same, wet and thawed. It had ZERO flavor. Everything left a metallic aftertaste in my mouth. The rolls were forgettable as well. I’ve had MUCH better sushi from local supermarket sushi counters, and that isn’t saying much!
This was one of those experience where you leave a place full, but the food is so bad you want to go eat something else just to get the taste out of your mouth. I had to grab a milkshake just to get rid of the bad sushi after taste.
It pains me to say this as they were so nice, but this was some of the worst sushi I have ever had.

A great place to go for lunch. Tasty food and great service. If you’re near by, definitely check it out.
This place is a usual lunch spots for me in the South Bay.
I would highly RECOMMEND the lunch special A. Included is Miso soup, Teriyaki chicken, salad with their yummy house dressing, California rolls, and a Chicken Katsu. Total price $ 8.50
As for anything else on the menu. honestly, I have no idea. I’ve always had gotten Lunch Special A. it’s like my soul mate, so i don’t ever have the urge to look into getting anything else. lol
Service is always amazing, for me that is. Since I frequent this place, they always remember my name and bring out the extra stuff for me.
Overall, A definite goto spot.

We used to frequent Shins, but we had increasingly bad service upon the last few visits. We had an exceptionally bad experience with service on our last visit. A friend of ours ordered the teriyaki chicken for her kid that had a sesame allergy — not knowing that the dish had sesame sprinkled on top. Nothing on the menu indicated that there was sesame, and it was like pulling teeth to get them to make an accommodation. It was still an hour out from closing and the restaurant wasn’t very full: yet the waitress was hovering, wanting to hustle us out of there.
The food is has gone downhill. I had the nabeyaki udon, and it literally only had two dime sized pieces of chicken. The waitress defended it like the Soup Nazi — saying that’s how it is. Who was she trying to kid? It wasn’t the first time I’ve ordered that item from them.
So if its not the service, why would I want to return?
Sadly, we’ve taken this off of our Japanese restaurant list. There are plenty of better ones within a few mile radius.

Sushi is decent for the price! Great lunch special 2 rolls for $ 8. Tasted fresh too!!! Service is decent too!!! I will be back for the lunch specials!!!

We have been coming here for almost 18 years. It’s our «go to» sushi place. We used to dine in but now we just get takeout. The fish is super fresh. I always order tekka don and ask for thin slices of tuna. They always oblige. The tuna is usually deep red and melts in your mouth. Lately we have also been getting salmon over rice and it is equally luxurious. My husband always orders the chirashi. Sometimes we get California roll with a combination dinner (the kids like the chicken teriyaki) and the avocado is smooth and creamy. The food here is outstanding.

Service was impeccable but the freshness of the sushi was a big miss. Hope I’m not sick tomorrow or even later this evening!

Excellent! The service is great. They are prompt in greeting and seating you as soon as you walk in, and the staff is courteous and very friendly (unlike countless other experiences I’ve had). Our server was extremely attentive toward us the entire evening. My boyfriend and I ordered the sashimi combination which came with with potstickers, miso soup, salad, and complimentary edamame. This is a new favorite spot for sure!

I’m a frequent sushi eater and frankly, very picky with the sushi joints I go to. My favorites are Minato Japanese Restaurant in Downtown San Jose and Sugarfish in LA. This place definitely has the hamachi to have me coming back for more.
MUST TRY:
— Hamachi sashimi and nigiri
— Negihama (hamachi and green onion maki)
— Tempura is fried perfectly, but the batter is a little sweeter than I’m used to. Still good, though.
The staff is also extremely nice and attentive. My fiancé & I came in late when they were about to close and didn’t rush us at all.
Will definitely come back!

Dennis Test
1 – 10 scale 10 being the best
for those of us who prefer quantitative data =)
MENU 6 organized easy to navi
VARIETY 6 the usual
AMBIANCE 4 music playing
SERVICE 4 apathetic and stopped by the table once
SPEED 8 very fast
TASTE 6 Luke warm miso overcooked rice however the tempura is awesome, the samshimi is average, Teriaki is nothing you would remember
VALUE 4, $ 58 for 2
ENTERTAINMENT 3 pretty boring
PRESENTATION 5 the food looked appetizing
HEALTHY 4 sashimi rice
PARKING 8 allot of parking
BATHROOM 7 clean

I somehow ended up here with my relatives, and they said to me that they like to come here for their dinner specials, and the prices are fairly moderate. $ 20 should be enough for a good dinner.
I got a Pork Katsu and sushi combo and it came with salad and miso soup. The tenderness of the pork was not bad and the crispiness was okay. The sushi had a decent freshness and was satisfactory enough to be tasty. The tuna itself is not the best tuna I had but it’s definitely not terrible. I was able to eat some California rolls, and they are not too bad, and were decently good.
The bento boxes they serve here for their other dinner combos are nice and big. The tables are a little small, but it is a somewhat quiet place to have a decent conversation with people.
Overall, I don’t think this is the best place to get sushi and simple Japanese food in a city like San Jose, but the atmosphere and prices are not too bad in a state like California. If you don’t want to spend more than $ 20 for a decent Japanese set meal, then this place is definitely not a bad choice. If a restaurant like this is open for more than 20 years, then they definitely seem to a least somewhat know what they are doing.