Under the Sea

Went to get sushi and it is now CLOSED!
Now has SUMIYA sign up. I guess ths is where they moved after the fire.

Sweet baby is very creative and delicious. 3 types of fish combined with a little seasoning and sauce on top. Mouth watering…
Prices are just right for the fresh tuna, salmon and sashimi

I used to frequent this place quite often when it was owned by another korean person. I loved it. I was sad nd disappointed they sold out and this place came in. When I came in to see if the magic had disappeared, it hadn’t. The sushi is still good. The prices suck. Yeah I said it. Prices suck. Who the heck should pay $ 4 for a cucumber roll? That’s completely out of whack. This isn’t some special «grow’s on the twilight of the season with a blue moon» after a summer rainstorm, it’s fricken garden variety cucumber. Did Donald Trump make their prices?
Other then that, sushi is decent. Don’t ever order donburi here. This pissed me off. Donburi is not rice with meat on top. throw some egg in that!

True that there is a huge selection of rolls. In fact, there were quite a few combinations that I had never seen before. I am usually pretty forgiving about the quality of the fish when I go to roll places because you don’t order rolls with high quality fish. However, the rolls that we ordered were just not good. We also ordered a tuna tataki salad that was okay, but just thinking back at our experience at this place kind of makes me cringe.
Oh well, not all new places you try can be winners.

I went here for lunch today with co-​workers Cindy and Akemi.
The restaurant is narrow but deep, and specializes in sushi rolls. Seating maybe 40 people or so. Not very large at all. The place has a dark and modern look.
One great thing about this place is the variety of rolls they have. The menu is several pages long and they have some funky rolls that I hadn’t seen before.
If you’ve read some of my other reviews, than you know I’m not a huge roll fan, though I enjoy them on occasion. This particular place wasn’t spectacular, but if a group wanted to go here, I wouldn’t skip out just to avoid going here. Having said this, I would never willingly choose to go here, not because the rolls weren’t great, but because in general, sushi rolls just don’t do it for me.
Oh well, at least it was something new.

2 ½ stars due to absentee service and mediocre cooked food. The sushi was pretty good though.
Yuki Sushi has nothing to worry about.
Chirashi was quite good, service from the main gal was abysmally bad. Sushi chef good. Finally got service from a guy that acted like the main character (younger brother) from Ping Pong Playa.
Sashimi good, steak and cooked salmon ok. Miso the usual blah mess that almost every japanese places has (except Gombei in Japantown!) so nothing to write about. lol
Would I go back? Maybe… I’ll try them for lunch. Too many better places to go. Yuki Sushi and Hoshi’s come to mind! ;-) At least it’s better than Sushi California.

I’ve just spent 5 days in the Mid-​west and I’m wanting some RICE! (And not Uncle Ben’s!)
I had Under the Sea on my bookmark list for quite sometime. Since S and I were in the area running errands, I suggested that we try this place based on a few of the Unilocal reviews that I’ve read.
I discovered that Under the Sea is a tad bit on the pricey side — I was expecting the food (and certainly the service!) to be a bit better.
After we were seated by the hostess, gave our menus, we sat there for almost a full 10 minutes and even changed tables before we were asked for our meal order.
Service was mediocre but got better towards the end of our meal.
The chirashi and sushi roll that I ordered was good. S appeared to enjoy his meal of salmon and beef teriyaki.
I also ordered a teriyaki chicken entrée to go for my daughter. Once I got it home to her, she told me that the chicken was okay — but the rice was definitely old (you would tell it was old because it was dry and discolored).
This won’t be my first choice in a Japanese restaurant when I’m craving sushi!

Under the sea is good, but I would not go out of my way to eat here. I go there for lunch since I work in the area. The food definitely satisfies the craving for Japanese at a reasonable price. One of my favorite rolls was the «sweet baby» roll. This is the only sushi place that I know that puts macadamia nuts on their rolls. It’s a good combination with the rice, seaweed, and raw fish!
The service is fair. The restaurant is never full, so you get a seat of your choice immediately and the food comes out in reasonable time. The music is always amusing; they play pop love jams! It’s a quiet restaurant so it’s great for conversation or a business meeting. It’s also very clean, which I really appreciate.

Good lunch spot with average sushi. For those who love rolls, they have a separate roll menu, and can make special order rolls. The 2-​item lunch is $ 9, which is less than the nearby Cherry Sushi or Sushi O Sushi. The place was half empty on a weekday lunch hour, with no one sitting at the bar (not a good sign).
I opted for the sushi lunch ($ 13). Standard salad, and a tad salty miso soup. My lunch came with 6 pcs. of CA. roll, 2 pcs. of veggie roll, and 6 pcs. of sushi. The fish was not memorable but not fishy either, so just ok. Hey the ginger was not pink, and that’s a good thing.
Btw, truly great sushi need not additional wasabi.

This is average or slightly above average sushi. Last time we ate here, my husband said his hamachi (yellow tail) was poor but his maguro (tuna) was excellent. The avocado rolls are always delicious, but they don’t carry my favorite vegetarian sushi filling: kanpyo (dried gourd).
I like going here because they are relatively uncrowded, they make it easy to order food to go, and they are usually open on holidays.
Vegan Report: They have some vegetarian offerings but be sure they don’t put dried fish on your spinach or tofu.

I was headed over to Kaiser and needed to grab a bite to eat for lunch. Looking for something a bit better for me than Jack in the Box, I saw Under the Sea. Never to turn down a trip for sushi, I walk in to a nicely decorated but sparsely populated restaurant at lunch time. This usually a bad sign, but I’m a fairly brave guy.
I sit at the bar and watch some of the Masters Golf tournament they have on the big LCD behind the bar. I’m not sure if I would want it on if I was here with company, but being solo it was nice.
I tired a Super Spicy Spicy Tuna roll, which was very good, a bit heavy on the rice, perhaps, a Rock n’ Roll roll which was very well done. The sushi chef also offered to make me a special roll if I liked spicy food, so I let him make me a tempura and hamachi spicy roll which was pretty good, but not great.
Overall, the fish was good, the service was good, the presentation was good, but nothing was of note. It was very much a run of the mill sushi joint that you eat at and feel satisfied. The bill however, was pricey. I could have had much better sushi at TGI Sushi for 25% less.

I don’t remember what I ordered, when I went and that’s never a good thing. But I do remember the prices and wow. Not worth it.
F O R G E T T A B L E.

I was a bit underwhelmed by Under The Sea. Having gone to a sushi restaurant at least once a week now for awhile perhaps I am getting jaded by the heavenly fish I have had at pretty much all of them. But not here.
Based on the Unilocal reviews my daughter and I decided to stop in and try a variety of rolls. Menu items sounded interesting and different as many had various nuts added to the ingredients. Intrigued we ordered three and sat back to wait.
The restaurant was small and cozy. A few other patrons already dined quietly nearby. The rainbow roll arrived first and we dug in. It looked scrumptious, but fell apart when touched and was messy to eat. After awhile our other two rolls came and we were definitely ready for them.
Unfortunately, they were disappointing. I don’t remember the menu saying that one of them would be served hot but it was and was not at all what I expected. It felt odd in my mouth and while the flavor wasn’t bad; I just didn’t like it. The other roll had the nuts in it and while they were an interesting touch, the roll was on the pricey side and also fell apart when we ate it.
For the presentation, flavor and price, this had to have been the most disappointing sushi lunch I have had. Nothing really stood out as being good enough to go back for. I would probably give them another try if I lived closer, but I’d have to pass so many other sushi restaurants on my way here that I doubt I’d make it before I’d have already stopped and eaten somewhere else.

Thanks to one of my lunch buddies who’s a huge sushi lover, she took me here one day and since then it’s one of the best spots in the South Bay.
You want good sushi go here! I really forgot which sushi rolls i ordered I’m just bad with names. Literally all of them are good.
They also have lunch specials for sushi, more like a sampler plate but pretty good.
It’s really about the special rolls they sell, if I could only remember what they were called. Now pricing is modest, but it’s not too expensive. Remember you’re getting a whole role, not 2 — 3 pieces, that’s why it seems expensive.
I only go here for sushi, not their bento boxes.

I decided to go to this place during lunch today after reading a few good reviews about this place. The outside looked not so nice but the inside is better. The inside is small so it’s not good for a large party.
I know the bento wasn’t that great from some of the reviewers here but I still wanted to try it myself.
My friend and I ordered the following:
chicken teriyaki and tuna bento
tempura and tuna bento
bay watch roll
Chicken teriyaki was kind of nasty. The chicken was boiled in water and topped with the teriyaki sauce.
Tuna sashimi looked not so fresh nor tasted fresh
Tempura batter was terrible. Whatever happened to the light and airy batter?
Rice that was in bento was all sticky and wet. Not a big fan of this kind of rice. Looks like they put too much water in the rice cooker.
Bay water roll was overly wet that when picked up, it just falls apart. I think it’s a combo of too much moisture and not rolled tightly.
BTW — the rolls aren’t as cheap. Approximately $ 10-​$ 15 per roll so that’s pretty much the cost of a roll at any other mid-​grade japanese restaurants.
I think I had a taste of everything so this won’t be a repeat for me.

I came here for lunch the other day with hopes that the Unilocalers would be right… and they were.
As I entered the restaurant which is located in a strip mall across from the Santa Clara public library, I was pleasantly surprised with the ambiance and décor of the restaurant. What was additionally nice was the fact that it was not at all crowded for a lunch hour which made it nice not having to wait.
I took a look at their menus. They had I think 3, so make sure that you take a look at all of them. I ordered the tempura udon lunch entrée which was priced really well. For about $ 9, you get a starter salad, sushi of your choice AND udon. What a deal!!! At a typical restaurant, you only get the udon. I thought that was a huge bonus. The udon was good and would order this again.
Service was overall very friendly and excellent. I would go back here with friends for lunch.
TIP: Check out the lunch menu. It’s a deal. Although I love California rolls, I would personally stay away from the California rolls. They are made with the stringy white type of imitation crab. I didn’t think that they were tasty at all.

I made the mistake of going here based on Unilocal reviews… and not ordering what everyone raves about. THE SUSHI!
It was a chilly evening and I wanted some warm cozy udon! Since my b/​f didn’t want to eat a bunch of sushi rolls by himself, he ordered a bento for more variety.
I was happy that they offer a good variety of vegetarian options. However, my «vegetable» udon only had a few thin slices of carrots and zucchini. My b/f’s bento was ok, but a little small. The california roll that came with the bento was pretty good.
The service was a little slow and unmemorable. All but one staff member went home 5 minutes before closing. The restaurant itself is kind of small, but very clean and modern looking.
I’ll have to go here again and try the sushi… then perhaps I will be able to add another star…

On Friday night we went to a Unilocal meet that Walter P. set up. The meet was supposed to start at 8:00pm, but later in the thread, it said that they were meeting a half hour earlier. Luckily I caught that or we would’ve been late. Or so we thought. We arrived five minutes before 7:30pm and asked the hostess if there was a reservation under Walter P. She said no, so we thought that the event got cancelled. We waited 5 more minutes before sitting down at the sushi bar and looked at the menu to see what we wanted for dinner.
I used the bathroom and as soon as I walked out, I recognized the infamous Walter P. with his friend in tow. I introduced myself and pointed out where we were sitting as he grabbed a table near the window. We ordered some unagi, smoke salmon and hamachi sushi while the sushi chef made something wonderful. Scallop topped with kewpie mayonnaise on top of a California roll baked until the top was golden brown. Damn… that looked really good. Justyn had his eye on a different roll that had the word «crap» in it. That was a good laugh when we asked the chef about it. He said it was intentional. Alright. So we decided to go with the scallop California roll sushi called Baywatch since it looked so good.
Eventually a lot more Unilocalers arrived and since we didn’t have a reservation, we pushed tables together and Justyn and I moved to the other end of the sushi bar to hang out. It turns out that Walter P. dialed the wrong number to make reservations.
Service wise, it was alright. The sushi bar was backed up with orders which is a really good sign except you get your food when the sushi chef gets to it. I think we ended up waiting almost 20 minutes before sushi got to us. I was a little bothered by that, but you really can’t blame the one chef making all the sushi for the restaurant.
I was really hungry by the time our food arrived and I have to say that it was worth the wait. The hamachi was very fresh and almost melting in my mouth. In my opinion, it didn’t even need soy sauce. The smoked salmon sushi was a little on the salty side, but that’s to be expected. The unagi was especially delicious and had tobiko on top which was a nice garnish unlike other places that serve it. The Baywatch was what drew me to this place. It had a spicy kick to it and the scallop was expertly cooked. The kewpie mayonnaise and scallion garnish on top made this my favorite sushi ever. I loved every single bite of it.

100% SUPREME SUSHI ! ! !
One fact about me. I have never been a big fan of sushi. I can’t get full off a rolled up rice with small pieces of fish in a seaweed wrap. I’m over 200 pounds man! I can eat about 15 pieces and still have a bento box. But Jeremy was determined to change my mind as we dined for dinner back in 08/​07/​2007.
This is like sushi on steroids! See our attached pictures.
Recommends (for heavy diners):
— King Of The Sea Roll
— Green Sea Horse Roll
— Sweet Baby Roll
— Dill Atlantic Roll
— Crazy Sea Horse Roll
— Bay Watch Roll

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RJR — ISSUE #21 — Swimming with Ariel Special Edition
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Sushi bars are the ultimate-​ultimate open kitchen, where the food is prepared in front of our eyes and we witness the creation of edible art designed to amaze and devour.
Though we use the word «sushi» to refer to all the delicious stuff that is delivered and plated in front of us, the whole cuisine of fish, rice and otherwise — — The word «sushi» actually refers to only the sweet, vinegared rice only.
And sometimes we do better and say «sushi» when referring to the pair of tiny rounded bricks of rice with slivers of various fish draped over it. But that is more accurately called «nigiri sushi.»
However, if it’s just fish without the sushi rice, like many of us already know, then it’s «sashimi.»
Now with all that said, I’d like to express — I am not a big fan of sushi boat places, or generic sushi places like Todai’s where the sushi and rolls are just sitting there collecting dust mites.
When it comes to it — I like mine — created and plated fresh — only when I order it.
That’s why, in this review I’d like to feature my favorite type of sushi known as «Uramaki» (inside-​out rolls) — also known as the Special /​Chef Rolls.
Standard «Uramaki «examples include menu features such as the caterpillar roll, dynamite roll, Godzilla Roll. Keep in mind, this is typically thought of as an invention to suit the North American palates, and is not commonly seen in Japan.
And with increasing popularity of sushi on the shores of our states, as well as around the world, it has resulted in numerous kinds of uramaki and has led sushi chef’s to push the outside of the «nori» envelope and express their creativity in the fine art of sushi.
And here in Silicon Valley, small places like «Under the Sea» feature a vast Uramaki gallery of plated edible art that must be seen, admired, and enjoyed by the taste buds again and again.
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Some of the one’s I’ve had the pleasure of sampling include:
(Also see added photos)
CHEF’s SPECIALS Menu (rolls)
— Sweet Bay: Macadamian nut, unagi, hamachi, tuna, salmon, avocado
SPECIAL ROLLS Menu
— Dill Atlantic: Crab topper with salmon and garlic Salt
— King of the Sea: 2 Shrimp tempura & avocado inside with sake, spicy sauce, tobiko & green onion baked on top
This place features: Classic Rolls (19 selections), Chef’ Special Rolls (9 selections), and Special Rolls (25 selections)
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The presentations of the Uramaki are featured on various styles of plates… and the quality of the seafood used are very fresh and the portion extremely generous for the price.
So when you’re in the area (maybe after watching a movie at the AMC Mercardo), skip places like Yo Yo Sushi Bar & Grille and other sushi boat joints… and check out Under the Sea.
The quality, presentations, and selections of the Uramakis is far superior here and worthy of return visit.
(CHECK OUT MY UPLOADED PHOTOS)
*SPECIAL BONUS FEATURES*
— Other special rolls (not listed on their menu) can be made upon request.
— TO GO Orders can be called in.
— A plasma screen tv is available to watch games at the small sushi bar area.
*TAKE NOTE*
— Their menus also include: Appetizers, Nigiri, Vegetable Rolls, Bento Combo’s, Udon Combo, Vegetarian Bento, Sashimi Combos, Box Dinners, Sushi Combos, Udon, Sushi & Sashimi Dinners, and Entre’ (like Filet Mignon, NY Steak, and Prawn Tempura)
— Plenty of parking in the main shopping parking lot.
— It’s across the street from the new Kirk Burgers.
— This is going to be my new place to eat the day after i do a bar scene (Like my current quest to complete my 99 beers at 99 Beers on the wall — Santa Cruz). Eating rolls such as uramaki make me feel better… perhaps due to its fresh and clean flavors… and above all lack of greasiness in the likes of fried oily foods.
Uramaki…it’s is good eating… after night of drinking!