Taro Sushi Boat

It’s really hard to mess up Unagi Donburi, and Taro did just that. The eel was not fresh, it was not completely scaled, and what is usually a light saucy glaze was replaced by gelatenous slop. Absolutely terrible.

STAFF IS RUDE. EHH! The sushi isn’t worth it… It’s not horrible but it isn’t quality either. It’s ALRIGHT. Won’t be back…

Taro Sushi Boat has good sushi at a fantastic price! So why do I give it only 3 stars? Service can be so slow, it’s glacial. I still go, but I have to be sure I’m in not in a hurry. The owner has also had problems with the commercial unit, like the phone not working. It’s great they can stay in business between the problems with the building and the slow speed of service. They are also open the night Yuri’s is closed which is a bonus, and the CA roll is very tasty!

I’m new to the area so I tried the Mt. Helen like everyone recommended and it was good, but lots of sauce on it. I also had the spicy tuna roll and the fish was far from fresh. It was soft and dark and not what tuna typically looks like. OVerall I would say the food was sub-​par.
The building is under construction and it smells weird. There’s a fish tank that has no water or fish, and half of the lights in the tiny space were burnt out. Not much of an enjoyable experience, If I hadn’t have ordered it for take out I definitely wouldn’t have stayed.
The staff was incredibly curious and attentive, and that is the only reason for two stars. The sushi chef as well as the two ladies working the counter were extremely nice, but that is just about the only thing I think deserves any credit.

Worst sushi I ever had. Not fresh. Not creative. Wanted to like it so much because its so close to home. What a disappointment.

Ewwww…

All of the sushi is salty and weird tasting. Bento box and Miso soup are salty. Salad dressing is not too bad.

For anyone interested in a decent sushi place for take out, ought to check this sidebar. Keep in mind, you won’t find the widest array of items to choose from, but for those craving sushi on the go, it’ll satisfy those seeking their raw fix quite amicably.
I pretty much order a bento box with two items, a California Roll and shrimp tempura, and found that each time the preparation was simple, plated in an appetizing manner, and quite flavorful.
It’s a restaurant that if you blink you’ll miss it. It’s relatively tucked away and quiet kind of date night place, albeit the LCD television in the background playing several different movies. The last couple of times I was there, Pirates, Harry Potter, and Waiting for Superman were on tap. The outlay has a minimalist, but welcoming approach to it, so if ever I decided for a sit down excursion, I’ll know what I’m in for.
Expect efficient service concerning food for take out: the young lady who greets you also wears several hats — server and hostess. But she’s quick to make you feel as though you’re the only one there — her pearly smile is quite sincere and compliments her easy going demeanor. I noticed the guy making the sushi is pretty diligent with orders, though he spends much of it watching the TV as he’s making the rolls.
Overall, it’s easy to recommend the place and take it for what it is: simplistic food done on an affordable run.

We went here because the Sushi palace across the street was closed. BIG mistake, we should have ate Taco Bell.
Sushi Boat… there was no boats! The sushi was mushy and was not fresh. The service was slow, and took some time before our drink orders were even taken. In addition to the sushi we ordered chicken teriyaki bento boxes. They waited until they brought my finished meal out to tell my husband they ran out of chicken. OK…1^st– who runs out of chicken AND 2^nd-​you knew you were out when you put my chicken on the grill WHY did you wait until my food was done to inform us there was no more chicken???
The only positive thing about this place was the waitress was polite and the miso soup was good.
We will never go here again.

Cons: generally agree with most folks points on slow service and location and that’s it.
Pros: The food, esp. the specialty rolls and simple things like the teriyaki chicken IS good. This from several subjective views vs. Yuri across the street.
Taro is hanging around and has a slow growing base who clearly like the food. For now, it seems Taro is more for the patient, call-​ahead, slower going, avoid-​the-​crowd types.

Sushi wasn’t that bad for a Korean sushi bar, but the service sucked. Waitress acts as if she doesn’t care, and the sushi chef was watching lame movies on the big screen while we were trying to have a romantic dinner.
Tell the waitress she sucks if you go there… I did!

Avoid this place! You know it’s gotten bad when the waitress is behind the counter making the sushi. It was extremely slow and it tasted terrible. The unagi was burnt to a crisp and a simple California Roll was gross.
There are no boats here (LAND HO!); only grounded wooded vessels sitting in a drained tank.
SHUT’ER DOWN.

Forget the name — there are no Sushi Boats running. They have plants sitting in front of the sushi bar.
We tried this place for the first time on Sunday 5÷2÷10. The was only one person who worked as the host, waitress, chef, and manager. The time from order placed to food served was over 1 hour!
We repeatedly tried to ask about our order, but by then the host/​waitress turned into the chef and was nowhere to be seen.
We didn’t even get water or drinks until about 30 minutes into the meal.
When we were finally able to ask about our order we were told they ran out of the fish we ordered and had to go and buy more! Seems like it would have been better to tell us they didn’t have the fish.
When we expressed our dissatisfaction with the service we were literally told to «understand my situation here. i’m only one person».

The person who helped us was the host, waiter, chef, and manager. he was a:
host: when we entered
waiter: when we ordered
chef: after we placed our order
manager: when we found a worm in one of our bento boxes
Basically, this restaurant gets 1 star for only having 1 person.

I like sushi. No, I love sushi! But definitely don’t like the sushi here.
I did not like the quality of the sushi at all, and the service was mediocre. Quiet, boring atmosphere for a restaurant. I’d rather drive the distance to find better sushi.

I came here for a sushi fix since I was at my parents and didn’t want to go Japantown.
I asked for my order to go and it took forever since one person was only working there. He was cooking, making the sushi, and the waiter. Besides me, a table of 5 was there, so I had to wait until he served them. He did give me water while I waited.
The sushi here is decent. I got the Philadelphia roll, Mt. Hamilton roll, and a California roll. The Mt. Hamilton — shrimp tempura, avocado, crab and the house spicy sauce, was pretty tasty. I definitely recommend Mt. Hamilton to everyone who comes here.
They need to hire more people here!

I went here earlier tonight and OH man, I really REALLY wanted to like this place since it’s so close by and open on sundays. This could have been a 3 star review but I think 1 star is fair, since:
— I never got a refill on my water; as a matter of fact, no one paid any attention to me between when I was served my food and when paid my bill
— It’s hot and humid in there; there’s just one electric fan moving hot air around
— The portions are tiny, especially considering the fact that the prices are about the same as Yuri across the street (closed on sundays)
— The salmon on the nigiri I had was really bad (as in rotten)…
… like, it smelled and tasted like dirty garbage juice (not good, considering this is raw fish we’re talking about). I told the waiter/​chef/​host about it and he denied it, saying that it shouldn’t be bad because that’s the freshest fish they have. UHHH if a piece of raw fish smells and tastes like dirty garbage juice, it’s bad right? I mean, I’ve had sake nigiri countless times at various restaurants, and I was under the impression that it wasn’t supposed to smell and taste like dirty garbage juice.
Whatever, he didn’t charge me for the rotten fish, but still. If I end up hospitalized, you’ll all know why.

Well… it’s open on a Sunday…
So the last time he went here he said there was a different sushi chef, an older middle aged man, that did a good job.
This time was a young guy maybe in his early twenties? named Michael. Umm, not so great.
We walked in to a small but quaint little restaurant on a hot Sunday night, and they had a large fan blowing to cool the place down. No AC. Only Michael was in sight, and I had to say Hi to him before he even acknowledged us. We sat at the bar since there was only one other table occupied at the time, hoping we would get a bit more attentive service. Unfortunately that was not the case. There was another lady that came out to give us water and utensils and then disappeared into the back.
What we started with…
Sushi Platter — 5 pieces nigiri with a CA roll/​Tuna roll served with soup and salad. Michael obviously doesn’t know the menu because when I wanted to opt for the tuna roll he said it comes with the CA roll only, until I showed him the menu. The waitress that brought us our water, brought out a small salad with the sesame dressing first that seemed a little watered down, using iceberg lettuce *sigh* It came out with 2 sake (salmon), 1 maguro (tuna), 1 ebi (shrimp), and 1 shiro maguro (white tuna). The fish was fresh… but not melt in your mouth fresh. And he also topped it off with green onion and sesame seeds which I have NEVER seen any self respecting sushi chef do. Why? To cover up? *shrugs* ($ 13.95)
Mt. Hamilton roll — shrimp tempura roll with avocado (? I think) and tempura bits on top with house sauce. Pretty good, the shrimp is freshly fried, nice and hot instead of it being sit under a heat lamp for forever and a day. The only thing is, I’m not sure if its the batter, but the bits tasted stale. ($ 10.95) 8 pieces
Anyone notice I didn’t mention anything about soup yet? That’s because they didn’t bring it out until I inquired about it near the end of my first order. They didn’t even refill our waters until 15 minutes after that.
He was still hungry and Yuri’s was closed Sunday so we just ended up ordering more…
We then ordered…
Spicy hamachi roll ($ 4.95) — which was good but someone tell me why there’s green onions in it when I didn’t order the negihama roll. In any case there was a nice kick to it.
CA roll — average 6 pieces ($ 3.95)
I ordered shrimp tempura[still an odd tempura texture ($ 6.95)]… but he made me a shrimp tempura ROLL[6 pieces shrimp tempura with avocado ($ 4.95)] instead, even after i had asked the waitress where my order was when she refilled our water that one and only time. We got both. By then, I was past the point of caring anymore.
When we were done I had to ask for the bill, left an average but definitely more than gracious tip, and walked out mentally crossing this place off my list. By the time we left, only 1 other couple had walked in.
For 2 for lunch was just over $ 50, with shotty service and poorly made sushi. For a bit more of a drive we could’ve just went to Sushi Factory for all you can eat and better service and quality, for the same price. Actually cheaper, since I have coupons for there.
I’ll still give this place the benefit of a doubt, and hoping next time we come in the other sushi chef is there. Until then my friends, all I can say is… well, it’s open on a Sunday.
PS this place is under the same ownership as Gin Ga Sushi FYI and they also have Japanese beer.

Tonight was a lot better. My brother and I sat at the bar and we enjoyed all of our rolls. Fish was a lot more fresh than before. We had the California roll, shrimp tempura roll (the best roll ever), hamachi and sake nigiri sushi, and the rainbow roll. Loved every one of them. Service can be slow because there is one sushi chef and one hostess/​owner, but give them a chance. I like to give places business when I can. Especially the newer not well known ones. Priced very affordable too.

If you want some standard delicious Japanese food, this is the place to go. It’s consistent. The tempura is crispy, the miso is savory, the unagi is delectable.
I love this place. If you’ve ever visited me in San Jose, chances are I’ve at least tried to convince you to eat here. Don’t be deterred because it’s in a strip mall next to a Savemart. That spells convenient dessert. Nothing beats dinner at Taro and then a stop at the grocery store for cream cheese frosting.