Ukai Japanese Bistro

Tucked discreetly beside a billiards room, Ukai is a truly hidden gem that far exceeds its modest façade. In the East Bay where high-quality sushi is largely bereft, Ukai is the oasis especially after their somewhat recent change of ownership. Since changing hands a year ago, Ukai now ranks among the best sushi I've had in terms of quality, portion, and value. The price-to-quality ratio here just baffles me and one can easily imagine their food commanding significantly higher prices anywhere else.My family opted for the medium ukai special combo which featured a spread of poke, tempura, mussels, soup, salad, and sashimi all of which could easily serve four, despite being billed as a portion for two to three. The selection includes marbled toro, yellowtail, salmon skin, and other specialty cuts of exceptional quality. I don't know how this dish garners a profit at this price with these premium selections. We also shared the steak teriyaki which came with the unexpected ribeye cut, fatty and flavorful.My enthusiasm definitely outpaced my appetite and made me order strictly off their regular menu, but after the manager patiently explaining the specials to us after we placed our orders, I'd definitely would have picked some speciality dishes (I'm looking at you, uni pasta).TLDR, if Yelp allowed for it, this easily would be a six-star review but I'll settle for 5. Probably one of the best places I've had this past year.

It's been a few years since my husband and I've been to Ukai and we're so glad we checked it out again! There's new management and they have some new dishes and they were delicious!!We highly recommend the sashimi from the special fish nigiri and sashimi menu, the hamachi carpaccio, and the truffle uni pasta. The marbled toro comes with gold flakes, truffle and caviar--and it melts in your mouth... 5 stars We'll be coming back!

This was a friend's choice- If it was up to my choosing, I would have scanned this Yelp page, seen all the negative reviews mentioning getting sick, and said hey buddy let me take over the food search and would have found us a spot elsewhere. But, I trusted the process and off to Ukai we went. The water arrived, we ordered our tempura app, and never saw our waitress ever again (kiiiidding...)... but it did take over 45 minutes for us to wave her down and ask where our tempura was, and could we please order our dinner? "You didn't order tempura" she said as she looked at her pad where I suppose she had forgotten to write down our order. Ma'am, did you think we came to your fine Japanese restaurant to drink water? We reordered our tempura, and I decided to trust my deepening gut feeling to pass on my sushi craving and opt for something cooked- I chose the beef udon. My friend ordered the spicy "Korean" ramen.Mixed tempura (7/10): It was better than I had emotionally prepared myself for, and wasn't terribly oily with decent batter. Beef udon (3/10): This was... gross. Oily and bland, but with an odd after taste. I ate it because at this point I was starving, but I couldn't finish it.???? Ramen (3/10): They brought a different ramen than what my friend had ordered. It appeared to be seafood ramen (?). There was spinach (??), an egg that appeared hard boiled and refrigerated, and the broth looked like water. The bill came to over $120 with a modest tip. No thank you.

checked out this sushi/Japanese place in San Ramon. Their service is quick and efficient. Staff was friendly. Ambience had the feel of a modernized restaurant.Caterpillar roll: as expected. No complaints. Hurricane roll: also as expected and overall good quality. Hamachi carpaccio: fish was fresh. Tasted as I expected as well. Everything was up to par for a sushi restaurant. Has overall good quality and service. Can't complain. However, being the sushi lover I am, this place hits the sushi craving, but I always have a special spot for the extremely good sushi that just melts in your mouth. If you need your sushi fix in this area, come here.

Ukai continues to be our favorite family go-to restaurant with hearty lunch/dinner specials and fresh sushi rolls.Last night we sampled their Crazy Crab roll. It had a spicy kick to it (but not overwhelming) and the tobiko/soft shell crab on top gave a nice crunchy texture to the roll. We all approved!

Solid 3 star from my experience. Service was incredibly slow for starters and they were not that packed.My friend ordered dessert first and it was not ice cream it was ice. With flavor. So we had to return that. I'm even surprised the served it.My friends dish came without rice when it was supposed to be included and for some reason tofu that hardly needs cooking too forever to make I was waiting and waiting for the vegetarian stuff to come out that by the end I didn't even want me last two items and they hadn't even make them both yet so they took one off for me. It's too bad... the dishes looks beautiful for sure but the flavor was nothing impressive. One and done for me. I like better cleaner ingredients they just didn't seem super fresh. Def solid 3 star.Ambience was ok. Dark but homie and comfortable

I thought I had amazing sushi before... THIS place has shown me what amazing sushi really is!Came on a Saturday around 1 with my cousin. We were promptly greeted by, if I'm not mistaken, the entire staff as soon as we walked in. Already off to a great start. We were offered a table in front and also asked if we'd like to sit in the back. We chose the back corner table and it was nice and cozy, not to mention the beautiful artwork! We were offered hot tea right away and decided on ordering crispy rice, king salmon sashimi, crab cakes, and two Hurricane Rolls. I can't even begin to explain how perfect our food came out! 10's all across the board. The fish here tasted so fresh, the texture was perfect, and everything was like melt in your mouth good. After every bite, my cousin and I were quite literally speechless at the deliciousness and couldn't help but laugh at each other because of how shocked we were! Throughout our meal we were helped by a few different servers, but I believe our main server was Davina (at least that was the name on our check) - they were all so welcoming and friendly and helpful! :)Such a perfect first time experience! This place is now at the top of my list for places to go to with my friends and family for my upcoming birthday dinner. Facepalming for not taking photos of the food, but I'll inevitably be back so I'll add some each time I try something new here. Originally we were going to go to a different sushi restaurant one city over before we realized they were already closing soon... thank the heavens we ended up at Ukai Japanese Bistro. It was fate!!! Must try. You will not be disappointed!!!

It's been a while since my last visit. Since I was given a clearance for fresh raw seafood my first thought was this place. I didn't go crazy and tried to go slow and lightly. I went with the lunch bento with sashimi and mixed tempura. It included miso soup, salad and sliced oranges. More than enough for my shrinking stomach. This is my go to and favorite Japanese place especially for lunch. It hasn't missed a beat. Wait people pleasant and attentive. Food quality was what I had remembered, great and appropriate amount that satisfied me. The sashimi was buttery. Tempura was hit and crispy. I definitely will be back.

Met with a friend for sushi at Uka Japanese Bistro. It was the first time for both of us and we were excited. We looked at Yelp reviews prior to coming and everything looked delicious. The people did not disappoint as the food was delicious and the service was excellent. I do like the atmosphere as well. It felt upscale but also comfortable. I can't explain it but I would definitely come back. We both ordered rolls and a appetizer. Our waiter was very attentive and so nice. The place was packed too and on a Wednesday! That says a lot. There are lots of restaurants in this Plaza so parking it's a bit challenging but you will find one as long as you keep looking. I did also see a parking garage underground however not sure if all restaurant patrons were free to park there.Can't wait to go back and try more of Ukai's dishes. With friendly service and delicious food, you can't go wrong!

We had a wonderful dining experience during a recent Saturday night. As we (two couples) arrived, we were warmly greeted by Ukai staff and were seated at our table. We reviewed the menu with many delicious appetizers and entrees and gave our menu choices to a very pleasant, courteous server. Immediately afterwards, the restaurant manager appeared at our table with a free original appetizer from the Sushi-Bar. It was incredibly delicious and we all enjoyed the dish very much. What a nice touch! The rest of our dining experience was extremely enjoyable as well. I highly recommend the Ukai Japanese Bistro to enjoy a delicious, tasty meal in a relaxed, pleasant environment.