Sushi Yoshizumi San Mateo - Buy Reservations

Precision, finesse, and mastery! Chef Yoshizumi san never disappoints. We enjoyed every dish and had a joyful conversation with the chef. 1. Hobo fish soaked in soy sauce (Red Gurnard)2. Premium squid (with squid egg) 3. Steamed belt fish 4. Smoked bluefin tuna 5. Japanese oyster (steamed?) 6. Firefly squid 7. Monkfish liver 8. Baby eel from Maine 9. Wasabi flower/leaves 10. Ika Squid sushi 11. Red snapper sushi 12. Iwashi sushi (sardine) from Chiba 13. Sakura masu (cherry trout) sushi from Aomori 14. Bluefin tuna sushi from Wakayama15. Chutoro sushi 16. Sea bass sushi from Nagasaki 17. Sawara (Spanish Mackerel) 18. kinguma from Mie 19. kuruma ebi sushi 20. Uni sushi from Hokkaido21. たいら貝22. Negitoro23. Unagi with shichimi 24. Tamago 25. Fish soup 26. Hojicha Dessert：sake jelly mousse Recommended drinks: yuzu sake

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I've visited more than a dozen times in the last few years, and I think it's worth writing a bit more about what makes Sushi Yoshizumi so special. It's still my favorite sushiya in the country, but at this price point most of it comes down to personal preference.Quality of ingredients and the chef's skill in turning those ingredients into something delicious is my basic framework for evaluating omakase. Yoshizumi-san's sourcing is certainly the best that California has to offer and you'll find items that are rarely found elsewhere (Meiji maguro, Izumi/Donchitchi aji, tennen kanpachi, namako and konowata, karasumi, shiro amadai, etc.). The quality is certainly at least on par with the more expensive NYC sushiyas and what you'll find at the high-end sushiyas in Japan. The emphasis on wild-caught fish also distinguishes Yoshizumi from other sushiyas, although at the $400+ mark in the US that's often par for the course (and they often share the same providers).When it comes to skill, at the end of the day a sushi chef's job is crafting the neta to match with the shari. Yoshizumi-san's style here is distinct--his shari varies in flavor throughout the year with more akazu during the winter months when fattier flavors are abundant, and heavier with komezu during the summertime. Throughout, the shari is definitely on the more acidic side and his style in making each piece complement the stronger rice results in nigiri that is more robust in flavor (my personal preference!). Across his nigiri and otsumami his style is on the more traditional side, but it's by no means restrained--he's not afraid to pursue more adventurous flavor profiles. Further, Yoshizumi-san's preparation techniques in aging, marinating, sujime, etc., is also among the best I've seen. In this particular case, the importance of technique is highlighted as he needs to bring out enough flavor from the ingredients to balance with the shari.The last dimension here is consistency--across visits and during the meal. Yoshizumi-san's attention to the seasons means that I always experience the best the season has to offer on each visit. Knowing the shun (best season) for each ingredient and the best location to source it from is a skill in and of itself that Yoshizumi-san has mastered. As a solo chef, it's also guaranteed that I get to experience his service on each visit. For omakase, it's important that each piece both stands on its own and contributes to the overall balance of the meal. As such, a "miss" can be pretty jarring and impact the flow. Across all my visits, I can't recall a single time where that's happened which puts Yoshizumi at the top of my list for sushiyas to visit.Even as the prices have gone up through the years to today's $295, it's still very much worth it.

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5/5). This was very borderline for me. Kind of pains me to give this a 3.5 because this restaurant was one of the places that I was most hyped about. I was referred here by sushi sho in hawaii (which is amazing by the way) near waikiki beach. After reading through the reviews, I was convinced that this may potentially be the best traditional omakase in California. Unfortunately I was let down. I felt like it was not worth $395 - should be closer to $200-$250 range even with the new 2022 inflation adjusted price. My 3.5 rating reflects price to taste ratio. Would've been easily a 5 if it was half the price.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Food (4/5): Most dishes were solid. In my opinion, their rice was leaning towards the acidic side compared to others, however, I thought it was fine and the cooking/molding technique of the nigiri was on point. Standouts: - Monk Fish Liver: This one was simply amazing. The creamy richness is one of a kind. I like to call this KING of all liver because in my opinion, it is superior to any foie gras even the finest of restaurants. - Amaebi (Sweet Shrimp): One of the sweetest shrimp I've had with exceptionally nice texture. Seems to have been cooked slightly which is great. - Smoked tuna 3 different pieces each with different flavor toppings. My favorite was the medium fatty cut. The smoked aroma on that one was amazing. Could be better: - Toro (Fatty Tuna): Unfortunately this one was not as incredible/rich as other toro I've had in other Omakase places. - It was interesting to me that some fishes placed on nigiri were not cut as cleanly as it should be. If you look at the pictures, you can see that a few fishes were cut where pieces of meat started flaking off. This almost never happens in most Omakase I've been to because the knife is usually razor sharp. - Hokkaido uni could've been higher quality. The taste profile of the Hokkaido uni wasn't as clean and sweet as what you'll usually find at other high end places. Other comments: - REALLY surprise that they put Shirako (Fish Semen) as the first dish. It was a great dish, however, I can see the worry in my less omakase experienced friends when they were served this dish. Would usually expect something easier/comforting to start the journey. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Service/Ambience (3/5): Service was definitely on the lower end in terms of Michelin star dining. Most likely it was a language barrier. Waitress didn't do much other than fill up water when asked. Honestly not a big deal, because I'm here for Traditional Omakase. Keep in mind that it can get a bit loud with trains coming and going. Again, not a big deal for me, just putting it out there. Also, you'll be asked to stand outside until reservation time. No waiting inside if you show up early.At the end of the day, for almost $400, I expect some sort of specialty that would blow me away. Unfortunately nothing made it truly memorable. They state explicitly to not expect anything out of the ordinary because it is pure traditional omakase, however, I felt like the quality of the pieces were not incredibly outstanding either. The standard fishes (golden eye snapper, toro, flounder etc) at Juni, kusakabe etc was easily comparable for half the price. If you charge super high with no extraordinary highlights, the quality better be the very best, which is was not. Ultimately, I would not recommend this place. P.S Reservations are incredibly hard to get. You would need to camp out on tock and wait for reservations to open to try to secure any open spot asap.

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I finally got to experience omakase and edomae style and I wish I was able to afford this place when I was a lot younger. It was definitely worth the experience (although pricey). I'm going to write a different review than others to hopefully help people with their experience other than the food.1.) PriceAt the time of writing, the experience cost is broken down below:$295 per person20% automatic gratuity added upon booking2% Service Fee (added by Tock, the reservation site)9.625% taxFor two people, the total added up to ~$790. So be prepared to drop some serious money on this. In my opinion, it was worth it but it still hurt when the credit card was charged.2.) LocationThe restaurant is located on 4th street in San Mateo. Keep in mind, the restaurant is UNMARKED and has no sign indicating that it is Sushi Yoshizumi. It is located in between hair salons. I took a picture of Sushi Yoshizumi to hopefully help you guys find it in case you guys need it.It's also quite close to the Cal Train crossing so you can hear the loud train pretty frequently while you were dining. I think it was a rather harsh interruption each time it passed by but you get use to it. It's an odd location for such a nice dining place but it is here nonetheless.3.) Be the first one thereOur reservation was at 5pm and since we were the first people there, we were able to choose exactly where we wanted to sit (8 people dined at this time). This is a HUGE advantage in my opinion as we were able to choose the seat right in front of the chef. We got a front row seat on all the preparation of the food which was a great experience in itself.4.) FoodIf you are dropping ~$790 for this meal, I'm guessing you appreciate having a great meal and you will not be disappointed. I'm not going to spoil the experience for you guys but the food was pretty amazing/fresh. All in all, we were served a total of 21 different dishes and we were both very full at the end of the meal. Great portion sizes and variety.I'll definitely come back again but my bank account needs time to recover.

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Wow. The boyfriend spent weeks trying to get a rezzie at Sushi Yoshizumi for my birthday and we lucked out and were able to score one for tonight. We were the first party to arrive and we chose the end of the row as we wanted to have a good view of Chef Yoshizumi and his craft. The Bay Area is not short of delicious omakase dining experiences (in fact, we really are quite spoiled here!). With that said, Sushi Yoshizumi brings it back to the basics in regards to the quality of fish, traditional flavors, and simple yet beautiful presentation. When you dine here, it's not just for the food, it's an experience. Watching Chef Yoshi was captivating - the room is quiet and all eyes are on the Chef while he meticulously prepares each dish with his nimble fingers. This was a good reminder that if it's quality ingredients, you don't need anything else. Forget the truffle, the fancy flowers, put the torch away. The flavor of fresh ingredients speak for themselves. Chef Yoshi is knowledgeable and it is evident that he has great respect and pride for the food he creates. A and I really enjoyed our entire time and left with happy and filled tummies. Sushi Yoshizumi will definitely be a staple for celebrations moving forward.

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The omakase was quite pricy but for sure the best one I had in Bay Area. The ingredients were high quality and the rice mixture was just right. Overall, most of the dishes were delicious, except ahi and kohada nigiri. Definitely coming again, tho it's so hard to obtain the reservation lol

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