Wakamatsu

Nice little place with the Japanese atmosphere and design. After completing the orders, the Itamae came to our table and asked how our food was. He was very friendly and polite. The service and the food was good. With a stop if you're in the mood for sushi.

GREAT fish. This cute old restaurant really nailed everything: the woman who took our order was sweet, the food came out pretty quickly, the food itself tasted amazing. The restaurant is small, but worth it even if you have to wait. Got the hamachi cheek (would highly recommend getting this) it was a large amount of fish for one person, but would be good to share. The unagi don had rich flavor. And the sashimi was very fresh. The seaweed salad that came with the entrees (for dinner) was crisp and not over-flavoured. One of my favorite Japanese restaurants, will definitely make time to come back again.

Delicious hole-in-the-wall for traditional Japanese food in Hayward. Had the shrimp fry and wakamatsu roll, both very tasty! A comfortable shop with cute decorations. Very friendly service!

Pictured: the sign of a very happy meal! (Bonus picture of the clock and dining counter) My SO and I decided to impromptu go out since it was Friday night and we hadn't had sushi in a considerable while so we found a new place to try. The location is in a good spot of downtown where parking isn't too difficult, and the building itself is very cozy and has a pleasant, intimate feel with large windows to prevent the space from feeling claustrophobic. But what good would all of this do if the food wasn't worth it? The menu is very broad and diverse, with full meal options (my SO and I did the Wakamatsu dinner and split it along with a Lion King roll), and having sampled their teriyaki beef, the tonkatsu, their sashimi, the rolls, and the sake, everything was hands down fantastic. The sashimi melted in our mouths, it was pretty fantastic, and the potstickers were very authentic - handmade and clearly traditional (I'm a potsticker snob and these guys kick butt!) My SO and I agreed, we're definitely coming back with friends!

We LOVE this place! It’s those extra touches - like how the chef made the dragon roll actually look like a dragon! Check out the photo.... nice prices, too. It’s small with a small staff, so be patient. It’s worth the wait.

Starting off, food is the definition of AMAZING. We were treated so nicely here, and it took us only 15 minutes to get our food which was a full plate! This place is actually authentic, and small business owned which makes me even happier. I will definitely be coming back here to support and eat the yummy food.

Hole in the wall place, doesn’t even look open. Excellent service, fun mom and pop owners and tasty food for the lunch special. Left a 50% tip and still under $20 meal

Kai Yu

I love this restaurant so much. Super authentic Japanese food. Where else can you find this big and high-quality chirashi bowl in the Bay Area only cost $20!!! Also, the teriyaki and tempura here is quite special and you can taste the difference. One more thing, the old couple owning the restaurant are so nice and especially Joe, he is so lovely!!

Valerie Do

I meant to post this review earlier, as I make trips to California often & want to remember which places are yummy, but had gotten busy! Back at the end of July, my boyfriend and I found this wonderful restaurant. It’s a small place, but very cozy! We both had ordered lunch sets and I had enjoyed the Kara-age & gyoza set. Off to the side of my picture is the agedashi tofu. Not pictured was the miso soup I had which came with it. It was all fresh/super delicious! Everything was crispy, but still juicy inside. I felt fulfilled after eating all the food. Definitely will come to support again~

Flynn Chung

They changed ownership and the sushi rolls are amazing! We will come back again!

Shuwen Zhao

My second time to come. The Chirashi bowl is fantastic! Better to have reservation on weekend nights. They only have 5-6 tables besides bar seats, most with reserved signs. Also love Unagi/Avocado rolls, tempura, karage…

Albert Chan

Mom and pop (literally) Japanese restaurant with very authentic dishes! Very cozy spot and they don’t have that much capacity, so reservations beforehand!

Marie Anna

We spotted this small little Japanese restaurant while we were driving one day, and decided to give it a try. To my amaze it was surprisingly good! This is a place run by an old couple. Food is tasty and cheap, will definitely come again!

Lu Yi

I would rank Wakamatsu as my favorite restaurant in the Bay Area. The food is delicious, the fish is fresh, and even the tea tastes great. Their tempura is the best among the ones I tried in multiple cities in North America. I cannot imagine that there is a restaurant serving quality food but with such reasonable price in 2022... Edit on August 19, 2022: We had our lunch at Wakamatsu again on our last day at Bay Area. Joey probably had a happy morning trip to the fish market and he was so excited to share with his customers. Luckily I was there and enjoyed the best toro in my life. Thank you Joey, you made our trip wonderful!

Min H Chang

The best Japanese restaurant in the bay area. Homemade style Japanese ran by old Japanese couples. Nice tempura and quality sashimi offered. Highly recommend.

David Huang

I used to be a sushi/kitchen chef for many years, this place has the most reasonable price, the food is great! We will go back to try other items again.

Christie Chong

Not only was this place super affordable, the fish quality was also very good. I felt like the prices were from 10 years ago ($20 large chirashi bowl, $17.75 for a dinner combo?!). The chirashi bowl came with fresh and thick slices of salmon, hamachi, tuna, and some crab. On top of that, this place is run by a really sweet grandma and grandpa - I hope this restaurant stays alive for many more years because I can't believe I just found it!!

Alex Wagner

Nice little place with the Japanese atmosphere and design. After completing the orders, the Itamae came to our table and asked how our food was. He was very friendly and polite. The service and the food was good. With a stop if you're in the mood for sushi.

Tabitha Kirk

GREAT fish. This cute old restaurant really nailed everything: the woman who took our order was sweet, the food came out pretty quickly, the food itself tasted amazing. The restaurant is small, but worth it even if you have to wait. Got the hamachi cheek (would highly recommend getting this) it was a large amount of fish for one person, but would be good to share. The unagi don had rich flavor. And the sashimi was very fresh. The seaweed salad that came with the entrees (for dinner) was crisp and not over-flavoured. One of my favorite Japanese restaurants, will definitely make time to come back again.

Naomi Akagi

Delicious hole-in-the-wall for traditional Japanese food in Hayward. Had the shrimp fry and wakamatsu roll, both very tasty! A comfortable shop with cute decorations. Very friendly service!

Jamie Sharp

Pictured: the sign of a very happy meal! (Bonus picture of the clock and dining counter) My SO and I decided to impromptu go out since it was Friday night and we hadn't had sushi in a considerable while so we found a new place to try. The location is in a good spot of downtown where parking isn't too difficult, and the building itself is very cozy and has a pleasant, intimate feel with large windows to prevent the space from feeling claustrophobic. But what good would all of this do if the food wasn't worth it? The menu is very broad and diverse, with full meal options (my SO and I did the Wakamatsu dinner and split it along with a Lion King roll), and having sampled their teriyaki beef, the tonkatsu, their sashimi, the rolls, and the sake, everything was hands down fantastic. The sashimi melted in our mouths, it was pretty fantastic, and the potstickers were very authentic - handmade and clearly traditional (I'm a potsticker snob and these guys kick butt!) My SO and I agreed, we're definitely coming back with friends!

DrPfeiffer

We LOVE this place! It’s those extra touches - like how the chef made the dragon roll actually look like a dragon! Check out the photo.... nice prices, too. It’s small with a small staff, so be patient. It’s worth the wait.

jancis

Starting off, food is the definition of AMAZING. We were treated so nicely here, and it took us only 15 minutes to get our food which was a full plate! This place is actually authentic, and small business owned which makes me even happier. I will definitely be coming back here to support and eat the yummy food.

sage s

Hole in the wall place, doesn’t even look open. Excellent service, fun mom and pop owners and tasty food for the lunch special. Left a 50% tip and still under $20 meal

Allie Miller

The best chirashi and sushi! The food is always so fresh and at a great price. The service is always amazing too.

I had a wonderful dinner at Wakamatsu, and I’m glad that I didn’t go anywhere else. I don’t eat pork, and this place accommodated me with a non-pork ramen with miso soup. The sashimi was very delicious. I had the pleasure of speaking with the owner and learning his backstory. The place just reopened. I would recommend stopping by and giving this place a try. 10/10 would come back again.

Loved my experience at Rolla Cabin. Always enjoyed the previous owners but the location is in good hands with Sam and his team. Of course there’s feedback for a new business but worth the experience while they get settled in.

Kasey

A hidden gem in Hayward. Great service. Very laid back atmosphere. There are only 4 or 5 tables and 4 seats at the sushi bar. I highly recommend making reservations. They're only open for lunch and dinner. The food was good! The fish we had was fresh and melted in our mouths. I recommend the chirashi bowl. There were plenty of fish for $22. I think everything was reasonably priced. They weren't trying to price gouge on anything.

Unbelievably weird place. Despite 100 years old carpet and associated with it smell food wasn't a Japanese as we usually see at sushi place. Somnabulic servers who couldn't comprehence order from first time. So we needed to repeat it twice. Only one chef. We got lucky we were the only customers, otherwise we'd be waiting at least 30-40 min. We ordered tuna carpaccio . By all means tuna supposed to be marinated instead we got weather-beaten tiny pieces of raw fish. Unagi nigiri came in shape of roll with double rice layers. Sashimi came in form of random small pieces like cut offs. Caterpillar roll came in shape of trader Joe's small California roll. What an unfortunate experience!!!!

Vlad Galant

Unbelievably weird place. Despite 100 years old carpet and associated with it smell food wasn't a Japanese as we usually see at sushi place. Somnabulic servers who couldn't comprehence order from first time. So we needed to repeat it twice. Only one chef. We got lucky we were the only customers, otherwise we'd be waiting at least 30-40 min. We ordered tuna carpaccio . By all means tuna supposed to be marinated instead we got weather-beaten tiny pieces of raw fish. Unagi nigiri came in shape of roll with double rice layers. Sashimi came in form of random small pieces like cut offs. Caterpillar roll came in shape of trader Joe's small California roll. What an unfortunate experience!!!!