Sweet Breams

I’m so sad this place closed :(this was the only place that sold really good taiyaki in many different flavors.

Why did you have to close :(
I loved eating warm chocolate fishies in my frozen yogurt. I wish I could have had taiyaki from Sweet Breams at least once more before they closed! This was a great location, too, because this was probably one of the only taiyaki locations in this area.
Goodbye and thank you for always updating your fan page on FaceBook each time you were serving matcha!

For starters, this place did not open on time. Waited 15 minutes outside for them to open the doors. And there were employees inside, they didn’t seem to care about us. Anyway, I may be bias… I’m not a big fan of taiyaki, but I do love red bean. The concept of taiyaki sounds good, but for some reason I disliked them…
I tried the red bean and the nutella. I thought it was pretty overpriced for such tiny things. And they were mushy. Are they supposed to be like that? I don’t know… I guess it’s not to my preference. I wouldn’t come back.

Sweet stuff! A very simple treat that is very popular in San Mateo. I stopped by here on my drive from San Jose to San Francisco. It’s in the middle of the two cities. This street is pretty busy at night with tons of restaurants and some bars. The treats at Sweet Breams is not something you can find everywhere. The Taiyaki is what they’re known for. It’s a breaded looking fish character with different fillings. And for a sundae they use soft serve.
The have set flavors such as vanilla, chocolate, nutella, and redbean. They also have a special seasonal flavor as well. The redbean tasted real nice with my soft serve. It’s not expensive either.
Recommendation: For you dessert fans go with the sundae and get the taiyaki of choice.

Sad that Sweet Breams will be retiring in a short few days. Last day will be ¹²⁄₁₆ so definitely go get your chibi taiyaki fix before they’re gone.
I’ve had many fond memories of this place with Tara and her staff, always a great place to stop off at for dessert whenever we’re in the area. Unlike the taiyaki that I often get from j-​town, they actually make every order piping hot and fresh. Their fishies are so hot off the grill that the filling still oozes out once you bite into it. Nutulla and Vanilla Custard still tops my list, but I’m always intrigued by their creative Catch of the Week as well. They’ve had some great flavors through the years.
The reason for the 4 stars is not only for the fishies themselves, but also for the awesome local artists that Sweet Breams supports. I cannot tell you just how many Cat Oshiro’s printings I’ve picked up through the years. In fact, we have one of her signature pieces hanging in our dining room.
I hope to stop by this coming Sunday for their last hurrah, but in case I don’t…thank you for filling our tummies with your schools of fishies through the years!

THEY’RE CLOSING FOR GOOD!!! ~ LAST DAY IS ¹²⁄₁₆ (next Sunday)!!!
I was super sad to hear that Sweet Breams will be closing. I was actually in disbelief at first when I saw my friend’s posting on FB! I thought it was just one of those December Fool’s jokes! haha But yes, indeed, it is true. The cute little taiyaki shop is REALLY closing for good. sad face.
Got half a school of fishes (6 cute taiyaki): nutella, vanilla custard, and gingerbread (catch of the week) for $ 3.25!
I will truly miss this little shop in the heart of downtown San Mateo. When I have a taiyaki craving, where will I go to get my fix? We will truly miss you, Sweet Breams! Best of luck on your new adventures!
Swim to your nearest Sweet Breams shop in downtown San Mateo!

This place rocks! My brother recommended it the day before so we went out the next day to give it a try!
Amazing!
Their taiyakis are so good! We tried their spiced pumpkin, nutella, vanilla, and peanut butter (on secret menu) filled fish over soft serve. Their matcha is only served several times/​month.
We ended up buying 4 dozen taiyakis to go and shared them with several friends!
If you’re every in downtown San Mateo I would highly recommend checking this place out.

Sweet Bream’s Taiyakis were as satisfying as…
«IS IT IN YET!!!»
Micro mini 8=D. No happy ending.
Whacked.
OTHER NOTES:
*Friendly staff.
*Adorable store with animé playing on the huge flat screen. Japanese snacks (Pocky and Hi-​Chews), cards, animé stuff animals and cutesy trinkets available for purchase.
*No pics allowed in store.
*Taiyakis were cute but the size of micro mini d*cks (yes, I had to go there again).
*Taiyakis sold in School (12): $ 5.50 and ½ School (6): $ 3.25.
*Taiyaki should have a crisp exterior. These were soggy and spongy. Boo!
*Ordered the Vanilla (bland), Red Bean (not sweet enough), and Nutella (the best).
*Can reheat in a 350 degree oven for 5 – 7 minutes.
*Total waste of money.

Quite rarely you be able to try some taiyaki freshly made. A few times, I lonely able to try taiyaki are during Japanese festivals. Sweet Breams makes it avail me all year around. This shop isn’t only a sweet taiyaki shop. It is also feature tons of Japanese style cartoon pop art. All these artwork can be purchased in different print media.
I ordered a whole school of these little edible fish. They come in assorted flavors that you can take your pick. There’s a the classic red bean filling to the Nutella. They are delicious and a very simple. Besides the small mini sizes, the taiyaki doesnt taste any special beyond what you normally can get. The little sticker on the box even includes reheating instructions so you can order them to go.
—–
+ Pro: Delicious bite size taiyaki.
— Con: Nothing too special about these taiyaki, taste wise. I prefer the big fish versions.
(^_​^) Overall: A shop that offers delicious taiyaki with a side of animé.

Nutella. Ice cream. Actually, there’s no need to even mention ice cream. But I’ll go on. Chocolate.
I didn’t need very much arm twisting to be convinced to have dessert here on my recent trip to the Bay Area. You wouldn’t be very successful with trying to get me to avoid this place on my next trip as well.
For dessert — I had a Taiyaki sundae with nutella and vanilla bean for the fillings in the little pastry fishes that topped off my order. If you look at the pics, it’s like a pastry filled puff with nothing but goodness inside. I really enjoyed it warm though I’m sure I’d enjoy them later or the next day as well.
But on this trip, the warm pastries went well with my chocolate/​vanilla sundae and my only regret is that I didn’t order more of the Taiyaki on the side to take home for for snacks while on my extended weekend in the area.
I really enjoyed Sweet Breams. Thanks Jackie!

Sadly, another dessert spot I think I hyped myself out for after reading the excellent reviews and waiting so long to try them.
I had not had Taiyaki before so was just going by what I had read in the reviews and seen in pictures. I ordered a half school of Nutella (
) and was expecting to get a crispy shell with melted gooey filling but in reality I got a soft, chewy almost sponge like shell with a small blob of not so melted Nutella inside.
They tasted. well. ok but certainly didn’t live up to the hype and I was left wishing I had got them in the Sundae instead thinking they must be better with Ice Cream melting around them.
Would I go back? Sure! There are other interesting flavors I would like to try that rotate on a weekly basis. Although I do think they are a little pricey for what you get (half school for $ 3.25 which for me was just 12 bites) they are different and very cute.

If there’s one thing I love, it’s dessert. If there’s two, it’s a good pun. Combine the two, and you’ve got Sweet Breams! We were stuffed after a great bowl of ramen next door and our perpetually sweet tooth lead us to try a delectable japanese treat called taiyaki. The little shop is super cute and there’s some awesome art and JDM toys to buy while you wait.
My pals and I ordered a school of taiyaki in vanilla cream, chocolate cream, and nutella to share, and there was enough for two a piece. I think I ended up getting a vanilla cream and Nutella, which were both really nice. The outside was crispy from being fried up against the hot skillet and the inside was nice and gooey with creamy goodness. These were delicious and at about $.50/​bite it was a fair priced treat considering how much work went into them.
There’s only one table in the entire place so it’s not a great place to just chill at while enjoying your taiyaki. However, the service was excellent and the little box that the treats came in was beautiful, and certainly not cheap. They don’t cut corners here but they do make some awesome Japanese desserts. Come and order a school, you’ll definitely want more than one.
Food: ⁹⁄₁₀
Service: ⁹⁄₁₀
Price: $
Atmosphere: ⁸⁄₁₀

What a delightful and simple dessert shop. Stopped in and shared a soft serve sundae with 6 mini taiyakis and it was the perfect treat after our heavy meal. We tried the nutella, vanilla custard and red bean filled taiyaki’s. You can choose up to 3 flavors for your sundae. Each was delicious but my favorite was the vanilla custard then red bean. I believe our dessert was about $ 6.
It’s great because after you order you can watch them make the little delights right behind the counter. The max occupancy for Sweet Breams is 15 people and it gets a little crowded when at max capacity.
Great stop for a dessert and to look at local art and fun plush toys and other artwork they sell. Will definitely return!

Definitely a cute little place where you can have desserts and not go home feeling guilty about the extra pounds! :)
Yes, these little fishes are a bit expensive, but as long as you don’t ALWAYS come and buy some, it shouldn’t hurt your wallet too much right? After all, you’re paying for cute flavorful fishes! And don’t forget the cute stuff this place also sells! And hey, they have a TV for you to watch as you wait for your order. Thanks for keeping me entertain, Sweet Breams! Service is also pretty fast, after all– you can’t rush perfection!
If you can, I would recommend trying their matcha (green tea) soft serve when they have it. I ordered it with 3 matcha taiyakis and it was just AWESOME. The vanilla soft serve is alright, but I definitely liked their matcha flavor better. Their pineapple soft serve was also good, but I would still put matcha before it. I dunno. I guess I just prefer matcha over pineapple. :p
Can’t wait till I come back here to buy some. :))))

Sweet Breams offers taiyaki and other desserts. You can buy the little fish by the schools or half schools. Each school is 12 taiyaki in which you can choose up to three flavors: azuki, vanilla custard, Nutella, chocolate custard or the flavor of the week. I chose half a school with 2 each of the vanilla, Nutella and azuki. These taiyaki are literally bite sized, so cute! Soft on the outside, creamy on the inside, I love these taiyaki’s.
Check out their menu:

Tips:
$ 3.25 for «half a school» 6 fishies
Flavors: Vanilla custard, chocolate custard, red bean, nutella, or catch of the day (varies) when I went it was a chocolate mint
I think they limit you to 3 different kinds of fillings.
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This is a nice little shop that sells these small fish wafers filled with a cream inside. Everything is themed with the fish which is super adorable. This was my first time seeing let alone trying something like this before. So they actually make these as you order them so they come out HOT right when you order them which is a huge plus. We got the vanilla custard filling and a red bean one. I really liked the vanilla custard and it was great biting into the fish and have it be really warm. I’d say this is a FANTASTIC snack for night time if you choose to walk around the streets of San Mateo.
These fish are definitely unique to this place and they’re good, but I didn’t think they were fantastic enough for me to come back unless I was already in the area.
Side Note: They were selling these shirts showcasing «Fat Rabbit» and they were the CUTEST things. I was definitely torn about buying a shirt because it was $ 25 a piece which is really steep for me. The cartoons are super adorable and funny though so I’d advise people to check out this small gift shop that they have set-​up inside of Sweet Breams.