Kaita

Hannah Gwon

Hi, I’m kaita’s biggest fan, think I’ve been there more than 10 times since my boyfriend first introduced it to me. It is very authentic, (i had lots of exposures to Japanese food growing up), and it feels like a good home meal mom cooks for you. We usually get two special menus (they write daily special menu on the whiteboard, take a look!) and order side like sashimi, tempura, uni (if they have), grilled fish. Their regular menu has various options to enjoy but highly recommend trying special menus. In my photos, I ordered pork tofu hotpot that comes with sashimi, and my partner ordered rib/karaage. Both are so yummy!

Dottie Devillier

This was my first time here and it was so good. Food was fabulous and the service was excellent. It’s a very small mom and pop place with about 10 tabletops. There’s plenty of street parking.

Luisiana

Freshest sushi I’ve had in San Jose. Small restaurant perfect for a cute date. My bf and I went for a last minute dinner date and it was adorable and all the staff was friendly and we could not pick what was our favorite part of the meal from the fried chicken, gyoza, rainbow roll, sushi or tuna. A lot of families were there and the vibe was cozy. We will definitely be back at this gem.

Kuei-Da Liao

It hasn’t got too much attention yet, but I believe it has the potential to be one of the most popular Japanese restaurants! We ordered Kaita sushi set, stir pork mentaiko (spicy cod roe), and chicken karaage. There was a “otoro” nigiri in the sushi set, which was really surprising! Also, the pork mentaiko was really tasty. The only thing I thought could have been improved was the chicken karaage— each piece didn’t have to be big but flat (this made it wasn’t not juicy enough inside); maybe smaller piece but thicker slice would be perfect!

N H

Ordered their pan fried miso salmon (one of their specials)--cooked to perfection. Soft, moist, flavorful, with a nice skin. Do not fear dry salmon here! The specials are varied, and come with a combination of sides with a good amount of food. The water tastes good too, no tap flavor.

Kaita has some of the best Japanese curry I’ve tasted in my life. The staff are great (Taiga, especially) and I love the family-friendly atmosphere. Well done, Kaita.

Kaileigh Otsuka

Kaita has some of the best Japanese curry I’ve tasted in my life. The staff are great (Taiga, especially) and I love the family-friendly atmosphere. Well done, Kaita.

Went to Japantown in San Jose and a friend of mine recommended this restaurant. We waited about 15 minutes for a table. The service was fast and the male server was very polite and always had a smile in his face. All the dishes we ordered was really tasty and fresh except for the beef dish. We were expecting it to be tender and juicy but it was chewy and a little bland.

We had a solid time at Kaita, pretty good overall. The service was on point: we got seated fast, had enough time to figure out our order, and the food showed up quick. Could’ve used a smile or two, though—they were polite but not exactly warm and fuzzy. 😐 They’ve got a regular menu plus a whiteboard with specials, which is cool. We went for the pan-cooked miso cod special and the sushi-sashimi combo. Pair those with the soup and salad, and you’ve got a decent-sized meal. The salad dressing was tasty, maybe a little sweet for my liking. The miso soup? Super good, no notes there. 🥣 The sushi and sashimi were a win for me. The fish was fresh—you could really taste it—and the piece selection were nice. Seems like they care more about quality than piling your plate high, which I’m all for. The ginger stood out big time—so smooth and sweet, not that harsh stuff you get some places. The rice, though? Kinda dry. I’m guessing it was just an off batch, no biggie. The miso black cod was solid too. Funny thing—it didn’t actually have miso, but some other soup I’d never tried before. Still delicious, though! That dish came with a little sashimi on the side, which was a nice bonus. 🍣

I live in Japan Town for a few years and Kaita is perhaps one of the best Japanese izakaya type restaurants here in Japan Town. They have great specials - but I would suggest go with the flow and try their Fish dishes. One improvement they could make is their table registration system - the restaurant was more than half empty and I had to wait over 15min for a table for 2 (also 4 Stars because some of the Beef / Pork dishes I had were just average)

Izakaya place that serves good small tapas to go with drinks. The dishes are done well although I did hit a much too chewy piece in the plate of beef tongue. Will try other items on their menu the next time.

Located in downtown SJ in Japantown, this small shop has a range of cozy Japanese food and daily specials. It's a mom and pop shop that gets busy even on weekdays with customers of all backgrounds. My friend and I came here around 6:15 PM; it was empty when we entered, but soon it filled up with a waiting list. There were mostly tables for pairs. You can see the kitchen and sushi bar from the front of the restaurant. We got the special and regular kaisen dons (charashi bowls). The special kaisen don differs from the regular one by having uni, fatty tuna, and different roe. They both came with soup and salad. The amount of food wasn't too much nor too little. The rice settled in my stomach towards the end of the meal. The fish had good variety and texture. It was difficult to flag down help for a water refill once things got busy, but I have no other comment besides that. All in all, a worthwhile place to check out for Japanese food!

The menu is pretty uninspiring, but the food is well made. Portions are big and the prices are very fair. Simple dishes done well. They might benefit from some more interesting menu items.

Izzy H

Went to Japantown in San Jose and a friend of mine recommended this restaurant. We waited about 15 minutes for a table. The service was fast and the male server was very polite and always had a smile in his face. All the dishes we ordered was really tasty and fresh except for the beef dish. We were expecting it to be tender and juicy but it was chewy and a little bland.

G Lee

We had a solid time at Kaita, pretty good overall. The service was on point: we got seated fast, had enough time to figure out our order, and the food showed up quick. Could’ve used a smile or two, though—they were polite but not exactly warm and fuzzy. 😐 They’ve got a regular menu plus a whiteboard with specials, which is cool. We went for the pan-cooked miso cod special and the sushi-sashimi combo. Pair those with the soup and salad, and you’ve got a decent-sized meal. The salad dressing was tasty, maybe a little sweet for my liking. The miso soup? Super good, no notes there. 🥣 The sushi and sashimi were a win for me. The fish was fresh—you could really taste it—and the piece selection were nice. Seems like they care more about quality than piling your plate high, which I’m all for. The ginger stood out big time—so smooth and sweet, not that harsh stuff you get some places. The rice, though? Kinda dry. I’m guessing it was just an off batch, no biggie. The miso black cod was solid too. Funny thing—it didn’t actually have miso, but some other soup I’d never tried before. Still delicious, though! That dish came with a little sashimi on the side, which was a nice bonus. 🍣

Lukas S

I live in Japan Town for a few years and Kaita is perhaps one of the best Japanese izakaya type restaurants here in Japan Town. They have great specials - but I would suggest go with the flow and try their Fish dishes. One improvement they could make is their table registration system - the restaurant was more than half empty and I had to wait over 15min for a table for 2 (also 4 Stars because some of the Beef / Pork dishes I had were just average)

Leng Ooi

Izakaya place that serves good small tapas to go with drinks. The dishes are done well although I did hit a much too chewy piece in the plate of beef tongue. Will try other items on their menu the next time.

Mike G

The menu is pretty uninspiring, but the food is well made. Portions are big and the prices are very fair. Simple dishes done well. They might benefit from some more interesting menu items.

M

Located in downtown SJ in Japantown, this small shop has a range of cozy Japanese food and daily specials. It's a mom and pop shop that gets busy even on weekdays with customers of all backgrounds. My friend and I came here around 6:15 PM; it was empty when we entered, but soon it filled up with a waiting list. There were mostly tables for pairs. You can see the kitchen and sushi bar from the front of the restaurant. We got the special and regular kaisen dons (charashi bowls). The special kaisen don differs from the regular one by having uni, fatty tuna, and different roe. They both came with soup and salad. The amount of food wasn't too much nor too little. The rice settled in my stomach towards the end of the meal. The fish had good variety and texture. It was difficult to flag down help for a water refill once things got busy, but I have no other comment besides that. All in all, a worthwhile place to check out for Japanese food!

Dinnertime seemed to be quite busy—service was just so dreadfully slow. It took quite a while for us to receive our food. The food overall felt like a very average homestyle Japanese meal. Both the kaisendon and teriyaki were decent.

The gyoza and salad dressing was the best item I had. The gyoza was crispy and quite enjoyable. The sushi didn’t seem fresh and rice was not very sticky. The udon soup was okay.

This small restaurant is good for sushi only . Ordered Katsu don is way too salty, miso soup also is very salty! かいせん Don is great , rice is bit too hard, but fish is so fresh !

My friend raved about this restaurant and brought me there claiming it is “homestyle” Japanese food. Not sure what to expect but it sure look and tasted like a home cook meal, except dun expect chef-style or standard. We came to this restaurant after 7:30pm and were seated immediately. Both myself and the server saw a little small insect moving on the table and he smashed it with his finger nonchalantly. I ordered the grilled mackerel but was told it was sold out so I picked the usual grilled squid, which isn’t the best if I compare it to all the other grilled squid I’ve had. It was served with a lemon wedge and tasted quite bland and was rather dry compared to the other Japanese restaurants. The fried oysters tasted normal, nothing outstanding. The rice ball is a nice size with a good amount of fillings of Mentai, but rice somehow felt and tasted a little bit dry and the Mentai was a little too salty. My friend ordered the ginger pork bento set. I had a taste of a piece of pork and it tasted fine but nothing out of the ordinary. All the servers were very nice and friendly. This place looks like a family owned operation and only takes cash payment. The setting to me is “rustic Japanese”. I personally won’t return but I know my friend will and had been returning to this restaurant over the years.

Sarah C

Dinnertime seemed to be quite busy—service was just so dreadfully slow. It took quite a while for us to receive our food. The food overall felt like a very average homestyle Japanese meal. Both the kaisendon and teriyaki were decent.

Michael H

The gyoza and salad dressing was the best item I had. The gyoza was crispy and quite enjoyable. The sushi didn’t seem fresh and rice was not very sticky. The udon soup was okay.

Eve Lim

My friend raved about this restaurant and brought me there claiming it is “homestyle” Japanese food. Not sure what to expect but it sure look and tasted like a home cook meal, except dun expect chef-style or standard. We came to this restaurant after 7:30pm and were seated immediately. Both myself and the server saw a little small insect moving on the table and he smashed it with his finger nonchalantly. I ordered the grilled mackerel but was told it was sold out so I picked the usual grilled squid, which isn’t the best if I compare it to all the other grilled squid I’ve had. It was served with a lemon wedge and tasted quite bland and was rather dry compared to the other Japanese restaurants. The fried oysters tasted normal, nothing outstanding. The rice ball is a nice size with a good amount of fillings of Mentai, but rice somehow felt and tasted a little bit dry and the Mentai was a little too salty. My friend ordered the ginger pork bento set. I had a taste of a piece of pork and it tasted fine but nothing out of the ordinary. All the servers were very nice and friendly. This place looks like a family owned operation and only takes cash payment. The setting to me is “rustic Japanese”. I personally won’t return but I know my friend will and had been returning to this restaurant over the years.

Kimberly Iwamoto

This small restaurant is good for sushi only . Ordered Katsu don is way too salty, miso soup also is very salty! かいせん Don is great , rice is bit too hard, but fish is so fresh !

Young Eun Kim

Just OK. Kind service but food was below par. Ordered pork katsu and the all combo udon. Pork katsu meat was too tough and the salad that came with it was bland with no sauce. Udon broth was quite good but the tempura inside the udon wasn't great. Weird combination of tempura - including carrot and bell pepper - and the tempura skin all came off quite fast before I could enjoy them. Seemed popular with a lot of people trickling in even close to closing hours but wouldn't return.

One of our party of 5 went inside after 5pm on a Saturday night. It was cold outside. There were 3 or 4 occupied tables in the whole restaurant. The server never made any effort to move tables to accommodate our numbers or at least to seat us in the half occupied restaurant. He simply asked us, in an arrogant manner, to wait outside (twice without communication when we asked again 5 minutes later). We do not mind waiting for their service availability, but after 15 minutes, nothing had been done to acknowledge our waiting outside or prepping a table for us; we left for another restaurant. Even if the quality of the food might have been good, it was no excuse for extremely poor (actually non-existent) service or communication. The waiter may be busy at the start of the evening service but this curt, non-communicative customer treatment is extremely arrogant and gave us the message of you go outside and don't bother my work until I am ready !

David Ng-Quinn

One of our party of 5 went inside after 5pm on a Saturday night. It was cold outside. There were 3 or 4 occupied tables in the whole restaurant. The server never made any effort to move tables to accommodate our numbers or at least to seat us in the half occupied restaurant. He simply asked us, in an arrogant manner, to wait outside (twice without communication when we asked again 5 minutes later). We do not mind waiting for their service availability, but after 15 minutes, nothing had been done to acknowledge our waiting outside or prepping a table for us; we left for another restaurant. Even if the quality of the food might have been good, it was no excuse for extremely poor (actually non-existent) service or communication. The waiter may be busy at the start of the evening service but this curt, non-communicative customer treatment is extremely arrogant and gave us the message of you go outside and don't bother my work until I am ready !