DASH Japanese Tapas & Sushi

3 ½ stars.
My best friend and I tried this place for the first time last night, and it was good, but I expected better. Waited about 40 min. without a reservation on a Saturday night, not bad. Service was okay, nothing to rave about.
We ordered oysters with uni, lobster tempura, uni sashimi, king salmon toro sashimi, hamachi carpaccio, the 10 piece omakase, and sake. Total was around $ 175, without tip. With prices like that, I expected a lot better.
Oysters with uni– it was just okay. I think it was around $ 17 for 2 oysters.
Lobster tempura– came with green tea salt. It wasn’t bad! The green tea salt didn’t really taste like anything though, so we just dipped it in soy sauce.
Uni sashimi and salmon toro were both really good! The uni here was one of the best I’ve ever tasted so far!
Hamachi carpaccio was whatever’s.
10 piece omakase for $ 40– not worth it.
Overall, it was not bad. Just expected better.

I’ve been here once for their 10 piece nigiri omakase.
Some Unilocalers have compared this with Amami’s omakase in San Bruno. At $ 33 for 10 pieces (Amami), it’s a better value and the cuts of fish are larger than DASH’s. However, when comparing the quality, freshness and preparation of fish, I’d say DASH is the winner on this one. Although slightly more expensive at $ 40 for ten pieces, it’s still one of the more affordable/​reasonably priced omakase’s I’ve come across in the bay!
Everything is pre-​sauced and seasoned as is, so no soy sauce needed! Before the meal, they’ll ask you about your preferences or any food allergies. I requested fish only, however one uni managed to sneak into my omakase. I ended up trying a bit and then giving it to my human trashcan, Shawn C., he didn’t seem to mind. Everything else was superb, however! My absolute favorite was the king toro salmon, which I have yet to find anywhere else!
Regardless, I really enjoyed my experience here and will probably be back to try some of their cooked dishes cause they look bomb dot com.

Came to this place when we were house hunting in the peninsula area. Since I was going on a friday night, I had called in advance to see if I can make reservations. They told me I couldnt since i was going to be there within 45 mins. note to self: reservation needs to be made 1 hour before arriving. Anyways, I still wanted to check out this place and just showed up. Surprisingly I came in before the night time rush. They were able to seat me quickly as my husband drove around to look for parking. 8 things while we were here.
1. Oyster shooters
2. Monk fish liver
3. chirashi bowl
4. Oyster with uni and fish roe
5. fried squid legs
6. squid with uni
7. scallops with uni
8. seaweed salad
All my japanese tapas dish had so much favor! I was extremely happy except the portion size is a bit small… i know its tapas but the chirashi bowl could have been a bit bigger with a little more rice. The quality of the seafood was very fresh!
Service wish, everyone was very active and refilled our tea/​water quickly. The food was brought out as soon as they were available. I would come here again!

Their hot Japanese tapas are quite experimental and unique. The restaurant is quite small so make sure you come here early to get a seat! They’re located right next to the movie theater so it could even be a good option for before or after a movie. Portions were very reasonable.

Looks like dash is getting better and better, food wise. Service is still a little slow so you need to account for more time if you already plan to catch a movie after dinner and thinking to eat something quick.
The chef (owner?) has hired three helpers to make sushi behind the sushi bar. He just supervises and oversees now. Before it was just himself and one other helper.
Fish was really fresh so I will keep going back as long as they keep the price reasonably set. Price came to$ 130 pre-​tip.
Great sushi joint!

******high level of taste buds******
Heard this place is another version of Sushi Sam except this place is Way Better! When you are comparing their sushi rice being Michelin star’s taste versus Sushi Sam’s sushi rice has no taste to low quality! Since their main focus are on sushi bar daily special of upgrades of fish. I took my guest and had dinner here. Even tho I was focused/​observing on my guest’s conversation, but the dishes I’ve tried was very tasty and delicious.
we ordered was:
10pc Omakase sashimi
–assortment of all upgrades of fish. they all had an distinctive umami flavors to it.
Blue fin tuna: delicate & silky
Shima aji: striped Jack
King salmon
Kinmedai: Japan golden eye snapper
Kumasu: barracuda
Blue shrimp
And the rest were all Japanese tapas. they were all delicious and tasty, great pair with nice cold sake.

For those of you looking for bento box, this is probably not the place for you. But it is a great hidden gem for unique Japanese tapas. The concept is to order many small dishes to share so you can get a little taste of everything — this kind of jacks the price up quite a bit, but I would describe this as a place which is more about the experience and dishes than feeling completely full.
Some highlights
The fish tacos are delicious — cooked salmon over fried and seasoned seaweed
The salmon and tuna tower — comes with a sweet and spicy dipping sauce and wonton chips for scooping. They give you a fair amount and this was delicious!
The peach shirome — white fish wrapped seaweed and peach. This paired surprisingly well. I think there were also pine nuts, which was a great touch. Would have never thought to put these flavors.
People raved about the ika uni (squid with sea urchin) but I was not as impressed with this dish. I found it a little watery and hard to ear — it probably would have benefitted if it came with instructions (are you supposed to mix or leave as is and dig in??).
Overall, a very fun experience and plenty more things to try on the menu each time!

Surprisingly impressed with the food we had. Ordered off the tapas menu and enjoyed a variety of choices from hamachi carpaccio, spicy edamame, lobster tempura, to wagyu beef carpaccio. All was so yummy! And the plating and amount was just right as well as the service. We will definitely come back to try more dishes!

Small authentic Japanese restaurant with the intimate atmosphere and gorgeous food choices.
Dash is tucked away from the major streets of San Mateo downtown, ironically it is on the main street. The place is small and cozy with a great chef and several polite and helpful staff.
There are three menus: drink menu, main menu, and daily menu. The daily menu is absolutely extraordinary. It features superb nigiri selection with daily fresh fish. They cross out the items when their availability expires to keep it up to date.
I’ve been here several times, this time I had a baked baby scallop with ikura instead of uni, Ika Ni, and King Salmon fatty belly, plus miso soup and hot sake. All dishes are nicely tasting, well balanced, and fresh fresh fresh.
My husband had a seaweed salad and vegetarian dish Yamaino Okra Soba. Vegetables were nice, juicy; soba was on the softer side, which not everybody likes. Seaweed salad was on the sweet side.
Even though I love tapas idea and I’m willing to try new original things, prices are a bit too high. We’ve spent $ 50 for two people which is still a bit much.
But, what the heck, the food is great so we’ll be back!

I came here for dinner to treat my mom out to dinner. We originally wanted to go to Sushi Sam, but there was an hour wait so we decided to give this place a try.
They had many interesting options and many tapas to choose from. We ordered a few tapas and it was pretty good. We also ordered their nigiri specials and they were pretty decent, I recommend ordering the fatty salmon!
The service was VERY slow and the waitress wasn’t very friendly hence why I did not give it high ratings. She looked mad the whole time, she definitely seen better days.
Not sure if I’ll come here again, I honestly rather wait at Sushi Sam for an hour.

Look, sushi isn’t my thing. I usually end up at these places because it’s a group decision and I’m a pushover. My usually backup is that there is something other than sushi on the menu that will be good for me. Worked out here, but if you care about sushi only, all I can offer is that everyone loved it and mentioned that a certain place around the corner wasn’t worth the wait given that this is an option.
The space is pretty small – not sure how hard it is to get a table generally. We had a reservation that we got week of, so YMMV.
I had a couple orders of the potstickers and they were solid – flavorful, fresh, etc. I wish there had been a little more variance in the menu, but I think if you like sushi, this is a great San Mateo option. And if not (and you are a pushover), there’s at least a chance there’s something else for you.

Came here for a birthday celebration last night. This place is small, so get here early or get a reservation.
We came in at 6:00 on a reservation and were encouraged to order everything we wanted up front, because they supposedly get very busy and food can take a long time if you make subsequent orders.
We ordered around $ 200 worth of food for five of us. The portions are modest here; the five of us were not really sated at the end of the meal. Granted, a lot of what we ordered was on the special daily menu of items from the Tsukiji Fish Market in Japan.
What we ordered was generally okay to good. My favorite was the Sake Toro nigiri… fatty and delicious. Agedashi tofu was good as was the cold eggplant dish. Fish «tacos» are also pretty good.
I’m not clamoring to come again, but I wouldn’t say no if someone wanted me to go there.

From the outside, DASH looks like a quaint and cozy Japanese restaurant. Posted on their window, right next to the entrance, is their menu, where you can check out the types of dishes they have to offer. I’ve passed by a few times, but always hesitant to dine at DASH because most of the menu is tapas.
As a party of 9, we tried it out on a Saturday night. Half of our group arrived around 7PM, and I put our name on the wait list. It wasn’t that busy inside, but due to the restaurant’s limited space, I knew it was going to be difficult for them to put several tables together for our somewhat large party. The rest of our party arrived around 7:40PM, and we were seated around 8:15PM. By this point we were all very, very hungry.
Most of the group ordered the chirashi, and I had the tempura soba. We also ordered several other items – tamago, inari, and hotate nigiri, and some alcohol. The sushi and alcohol arrived first, and was quickly devoured. By 9PM, we all received our main dishes, but to our dismay, they were very small portions. The food was delicious, but we couldn’t help but feel less than satisfied.
Overall, I would recommend DASH to anyone who loves Japanese food, and loves tapas-​styled meals. The portions are, sadly, too small for my taste. And, unfortunately, the service was very slow, from beginning to the end, even though it didn’t seem that busy that night. The only thing they were quick about was giving us the check.

I’m not sure why there is so much more hype around Sam’s Sushi when it comes to Japanese restaurants in San Mateo (or the peninsula in general). We stuck to the hot and cold tapas items, but I still felt I got my sushi fix because everything was so fresh and there were such generous portions of sashimi in some of the dishes (like the sashimi salad).
We ordered the following:
— Baked baby scallops (excellent — highly recommend)
— Hamachi carpaccio (so clean and fresh)
— Sashimi salad (no skimping on the sashimi, ftw!)
— Ika-​uni (pretty good, though I felt the uni could have been creamier)
Reservations were easy to make, and it wasn’t too crowded on a weekday for dinner. Service was good, and very attentive.
In terms of location, it’s tucked away in an alleyway behind the movie theatre, so it’s easy to miss. (In fact, I walked past it 2 – 3 times.) Parking wasn’t too bad because the restaurant is located in the outskirts of San Mateo.
I already know I’ll be returning sometime soon. Can’t wait to try some of their other menu items.

Two thumbs up for DASH. First of all, I love the attention to detail in Japanese restaurants. Instead of bringing us iced water (the temperature is usually too cold for me to enjoy along with my meal), they brought water in iced cups! Perfectly refreshing.
Their sushi comes from Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo. Highly recommend their nigiri. The gizzard shad («the better mackerel») and King Salmon belly showed off the chef’s knife skills and preparation. Too good.
The hamachi carpaccio and sautéed mushrooms were also excellent. One thing that didn’t quite hit the spot was the ankimo — I’m usually a huge fan but for some reason it wasn’t as smooth.
We may come back next time we’re in the Bay!

A hidden sushi place next to the theatre
This place is terrible. Not sure why Ken K. gave it full 5 stars.
The wait was REALLY long. First we waited for a table, which took forever even though we can clearly see there were tables empty that just wasn’t cleaned yet. Then, when we sat down, we waited FOREVER for the food to arrive. It was the same for the other tables as well. They seem to be really short staffed in the kitchen.
In terms of the food quality, it’s ok. The sushi was pretty much what you’d expect. Nothing special.
Would probably not come back again – there are so many better options in the area.

Love this place! They take reservations, so be sure to call ahead if you want to beat the long wait! 15 minutes before our reservation, I got a phone call from Dash letting know that a table was ready for us if we were around the area (and we were!) so we walked over and we were seated immediately.
We ordered the fish taco (3pc seared salmon with tempura seaweed shell and Dash salsa) because our server recommended it, it was pretty good and fun to try! Then we just ordered all nigiri:
Shima aji (striped jack) — yummy!
King sake toro (king salmon fatty belly)
Hamachi toro (yellowtail fatty belly) –average
Hon maguro chu-​toro (bluefin tuna medium fatty belly) — yummy!
Sake (salmon)
Hamachi (yellowtail)
Ikura (salmon roe)
Unagi (freshwater eel) — decent
Hotate (scallop) — try it seared!
Ao ebi (blue shrimp) — must try!
Inada (baby yellowtail) — ok, would not order again
I would go back to try the daily specials, they’re all very fresh and delicious!
The standard ones (sake, hamachi, ikura, unagi, hotate) are good and fresh, average like any other sushi restaurant, but if you come here, definitely give one of their specialties a try :)
Customer service is amazing! They’re all very friendly, keeps checking up on you to clear plates, and ask you if you need anything else. We’ll be back for sure!

This place is amazing! We were searching the San Mateo area for a sushi restaurant for an early dinner. The reviews and photo lured us here. Plenty of nearby parking, between the parking garage and side streets.
It was early, so there weren’t many other diners. The staff was really friendly and knowledgable.
We started with the Gyoza and then went straight for the special fish from Tsukiji Market menu. Everything was mouth watering. While I write this review, I can remember the experience of the flavors of these marinated fishes melting not in my mouth. Did I mention this place is amazing!
We were ready to come back the next day, but they are closed on Mondays. Next time I’m close to San Mateo, we’re coming back!

This is also my kind of sushi place just as Rob C. states in his review.
Small, unassuming, and located on Main Street not too far from the movie theater, Dash Restaurant is a perfect stop for sushi aficionados and a great alternate to heavyweight Sushi Sam’s in San Mateo.
I followed Ken K.‘s tip and started with the omakase sampler and it’s a great introduction to the more modern and pre-​sauced style of sushi they prepare here. There’s been a chef change since some of the earlier reviews but ‘George’ is the main chef now and if you order from their daily special menu, he’ll more than likely be plating and preparing your selection. Our order:
Omakase Sashimi — $ 40. Beautiful presentation of 10 pieces of exotic and higher end fish including Hokkaido uni, Baigai water snails, blue raw shrimp, blue mackerel, and Japanese kingfish. Each is pre-​sauced and its for the most part light and flavorful. I did find the mayonnaise and pine nuts on the blue shrimp to be a touch much though. Overall excellent.
Omakase Nigiri — $ 20. I love that their is a smaller offering of 5 pieces as I prefer to make my own «omakase» selection as I know my own preferences so well. This is a perfect introduction to their daily special selection and each is pre-​sauced and nicely crafted. Like the sashimi, the freshness of the fish is clear though the one consistent criticism I had is that the sushi rice is too heavily vinegared. Some actually like that style of sushi rice but it’s a bit too strong for me and while it never overpowered the fish, it can be distracting.
A la carte nigiri — for me, this is where the fun starts. Once you’re familiar with the style and selection available, you can choose your own adventure. The daily specials are great and varied with many I’ve only seen at Sakae or Sushi Sam’s. Highlights were the hon maguro Chu-​toro, King sake toro, house made anago, and the two varieties of Hokkaido and Canadian uni, a nice change and subtle variation from the more common Santa Barbara uni we have here in the Bay Area.
I also sampled from their regular nigiri selection and it’s solid albeit more plain looking than the higher end cuts. The Saba was fresh but prepared simply but the ikura and hotate were pre-​sauced and very good.
Zaru Soba — $ 7. Given all we ordered, we didn’t try any tapas but I did have a craving for soba. Served cold, the zaru soba with dipping sauce was the perfect end to our meal, no dessert needed.
Overall, we had a great sushi meal at Dash. The style is pre-​sauced and more modern than pure traditional edomae style sushi but I liked it. Most often sauces were subtle and enhanced the great fish selection with only an occasion or two where I thought it was too much like with the Ao Ebi. Sushi rice had too much vinegar for me but I know some like that style. Dash is a great Bay Area sushi restaurant and I’d easily choose to come here over the too crowded Sam’s.
Dash Restaurant and Tapas Bar accepts credit cards including Amex.

So we came here on Saturday evening and we waited about 20 – 30 mins to get seated. This place is small so it was pretty crowded. When they finally sat us down to a table, the waitress came by 5 minutes later to move us because they wanted to seat someone with a reservation there. We got moved to the bar and no one brought us tea. We asked twice until we finally got it 10 minutes later.
You can check out what we ordered on our photos.
Overall, we would recommend Amami sushi — it’s cheaper + better.