Gombei

Gombei is one of my favorite Japanese restaurants in the Bay Area. Until recently, there were 2 locations: Menlo Park and San Jose Japantown. Everytime we've gone to the one in Japantown, it's been packed. The menu is different than most other Japanese places. Of course, they have the typical teriyaki chicken/beef, katsu and udon. What makes Gombei unique is the daily specials that resemble home-style cooking. Oh, they also don't server sushi or sashimi, unless it's part of one of the daily specials.

About a month or two ago, we noticed a Gombei sign in one of the shopping centers near our home. Could it be they were going to open up another location walking distance from us?! When we went to Gombei in Japantown, we asked if they were opening another location in Santa Clara. The response, "Maybe." Hmmm...sounded promising. Occasionally, we'd stop by and peer into the window and look for a sign that said when the place would be open. Well, it finally opened last week, and we went to check it our for dinner tonight!

You could tell that they were still working out some of the kinks, but the food was good! It's different than the other Gombei locations. The Santa Clara location actually serves sushi. They kept the sushi boat conveyor belt from the previous restaurant. The sushi boat counter takes up the majority of the restaurant. There were only a few tables in the front even though there was definitely room for more tables. Not sure if they plan to add tables in the future or keep it focused on the sushi bar. They also didn't have a daily specials board, which was somewhat disappointing. Maybe they'll add the daily specials after they work out some of the opening kinks. Or maybe this Gombei will be focused on sushi, which I wouldn't mind either.