Gochi - Cupertino

The ambience is nice and culturally themed. Food is very middle of the road. The raw fish appetizer, carpaccio, was good but on the saltier side. The fried rice ball was too hard and on the bland side. The salmon stone pot was on the bland side but the accompanying soup was salty. They worked well in combination. The service was quick but not super helpful as the waiter did not speak English well enough to answer any questions and the busboy, who could understand and explain things well, was too busy to help us.

Gochi in Cupertino is a culinary gem that transports you straight to Japan!

My amazing friend made a reservation for us (4ppl) today at Gochi ! we were able to sit right away once we all were arrived.

You will be asked to take off your shoes and settle into special type of seats where you can put your feet under the table!

Here's a quick rundown of the mouthwatering delights I savored:

* Hamachi Carpaccio (10/10): Melt-in-your-mouth goodness with a perfectly balanced sauce.

* Cream Croquette (9/10): Crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside, and paired perfectly with mustard and tonkatsu sauce.

* Akedashi Tofu (10/10): Crispy and chewy outside, with a soft and delightful tofu center.

* Unagi Meshi in Medium (10/10): A satisfying portion with a crispy rice bottom that adds a delightful texture.

* Sake Oyako Meshi in Small (9/10): A smaller portion still bursting with flavor, perfect for mesh pot rice lovers.

* Men-tai Kinoko (Mentai Pizza) (7/10): Unique and balanced, with flavors that delight the taste buds.

* Beef Tongue (7/10): Tender and flavorful, served with a special sauce and mashed potatoes.

* Hojicha Tea (10/10): A light and perfect pair, accompaniment to the meal, perfectly balanced.

They offer not only exquisite dishes but also a dining experience that transports you to Japan. With its unique ambiance, it's a must-visit for any food lover looking for an authentic taste of Japan in Cupertino!

1 star for the rude front desk service (0 star if there's a choice). So don't bother to try the food. Need to take off shoes - not smells good inside the restaurant.

I also wonder if my experience only happens for Chinese people because I saw some similar reviewers posted by Chinese on Google Or if it's just the front desk is always that rude and unprofessional.

My friends and I didn't make reservations and we were asked to sit at the counter even when there were some empty tables. The front desk lady said those are for reservations but we waited there for more than 30 mins and no one showed up to use those tables.

The front desk also disappeared for several times when we need to get seated. When she came back, she said she needs to serve another party with reservations even we arrived earlier. After that she disappeared again and when she got back, she said she has to deal with a to go order and we have to wait again. We asked her if we can get seated first but she refused and said you have to wait which is unacceptable. Finally she finished her things and only take 10s telling us: come in and you sit at the counter. She didn't even take time to lead us to the seat. I kind of feel like she has something against us or the restaurant is not professional and polite to the guests.

Made a reservations for my friends birthday. First made it online since it was for 5. I called a couple days before to add 2 more guests. I had to call 5 times!!! The system cycles you until you give up and try again.
I got there early to checkin, but they open there doors just after 5:30. My remaining party called to say they were going to be a few minutes late. The hostess said if it is ten minutes after we should order all our food at once. She had a bad attitude and was condescending. I was not worried because they called.
Anyways the food was excellent and the service was great. The servers were great and let us know we would have to leave at 7, but the next group was not coming at 7:30.
We were packed up at 7:10. I paid early $600+ with a 33% tip. Unfortunately the hostess made it a point to tell us we had to leave. I lost my temper wanted to see the manager.
Won't be coming back. Could have ordered more and enjoyed. Will have to find another good Japanese restaurant.

3.5 stars but rounding up! I've always wanted to try Gochi since it's been around for so long and there's tons of reviews on it. We were looking for a nice dinner spot in the area that offered Japanese-fusion, and Gochi fit the bill!

We came in for dinner on a Sunday without a reservation, and they were able to squeeze us in. For a little over $70 total (after tax/tip), we tried two things:
+ Hamachi Carpaccio (5/5) ($21.50): Super delicious! The fish tasted super fresh and the garlic ginger ponzu that it was topped off with was soo good. The jalapeno topping also added more depth to the hamachi, would highly recommend!
+ Sake Oyako Meshi / Salmon + Salmon Roe Clay Pot Rice (2/5) (small, $36): I've definitely had better- in general the meshi just fell flat because the pieces of salmon were just so small and I felt like the lack of salmon was just hidden by the heapings of roe lied on top. The rice was nice and crispy though and the side of dashi soup ($3.50) was good and flavorful.

They were quick to clean our table out but otherwise we had minimal interaction with service. There wasn't much that stood out from our visit apart from the carpaccio, so it was just an okay experience overall!

Stumbled upon this place on accident and fell in love!

We were here on a Saturday evening and had no reservations, but got seated right away around 6:45pm. The interior is so unexpected, with private sectioned off booths, regular tables throughout and tatami-inspired seating. The menu was pretty lengthy with many great options. You will not find rolls on rolls on rolls - lots of appetizer/tapa-style sharing dishes and lots of Japanese comfort foods.

We ordered their Sakana Iroiro Salad (mixed greens with pieces of sashimi tossed in a light cream dressing), Hamachi Carpaccio, Baked Oysters, Hamachi Kama (cooked salt-broiled style), the Mentai Kinoko pizza and the Sake Oyako Meshi (salmon and ikura) clay pot with a side of dashi broth.

Our favorites: salad, carpaccio, pizza and clay pot. We could do without the hamachi Kama and oysters next time. The Hamachi Kama could've been broiled for longer so the skin is super crispy. It also didn't come with a side of ponzu, so I asked and they brought it out immediately. The oysters came out piping hot, but we weren't a fan of the creamy tartar sauce they baked it with, it was creamy and a bit tart? These are the reasons for the 4/5 stars.

Seemed like everyone came here for the pizzas and claypots which were delicious and unique. Do NOT forget to add a side of dashi broth with your claypot. Eat half of the claypot with crispy rice first, and then add the dashi and mix. The latter half with the broth was my fave, but I love crispy claypot rice too. I think the most underrated dish was the salad. I could've had an order to myself, it was so so good - fresh, not too salty, and loved the added daikon and crispies on top (I may be wrong about this description, but it was so good!!!).

For dessert, we got their matcha/green tea creme brûlée, which was the perfect ending.

The service was great and attentive, although I wasn't sure who was our designated server as everyone was helping each other out, which was nice to see too. Will definitely be coming back soon with a reservation.

Made a reservation here for two for a Saturday night and was seated immediately. They have an extensive menu, so it was hard to choose! After they took our order, the food came out pretty quickly.

Hamachi Carpaccio - saw this recommended a lot, and it exceeded expectations! I would get this again.

Chukafu Yakko (rice with minced pork) - a cold tofu dish and a nice light appetizer. Nice to try once, would probably try other things before getting again.

Yaki Onigiri with mentaiko - pretty thick and chewy outer crust, which I liked! But might be tough for some people.

Zaru Udon - good, we just got it because my bf always wants zaru udon if he sees it on the menu lol

Unagi Meshi (clay pot) - our main dish that we were excited for! The taste was great. The only downside was that there wasn't a lot of unagi. We also purchased the dashi-soup to add at the end, which was the perfect ending to the meal.

Overall, the food was great and not like a lot of other Japanese places that I've been to. We weren't sure if we had ordered enough initially since it's tapas style, but we were very full after. I'm looking forward to coming back to try more off the menu.

I liked this place the last time I was here... that was two years ago. Was here again this past weekend celebrating my goddaughter's birthday. Food was meh and overpriced. The beef tongue was stiff for some reason. But my main complaint is that the waiters make you feel like they can't wait to rush you out. I know the dining time limit is 1.5 hours but the waiter came asking for last call orders not even one hour in. What?
Also, 90 mins is short as hell for the service efficiency here. Are we supposed to just inhale everything now?

Oh not gonna be back again.

Fun environment for a meal! Service was attentive however needed to speak slowly to communicate at times. Food was delicious, good place for small groups.

Honestly, quite disappointing experience. I thought this is an authentic Japanese restaurant but not really....the biggest problem I see for this restaurant is the service. Servers not attentive. Need to flag down server to order more food or drinks. Also 1.5 hours limit is quite harsh for a izakaya. As someone who been to Japan numerous time, Gochi is really mediocre compared to the authentic restaurant in Japan.

Now for food! The sake ikura meshi was the best. I got it with dashi. Excellent combo. The pot makes great crispy rice. The seaweed salad and the maitake were great! Generous portion for the salad with good sauce. Maitake comes with green tea salt (great seasoning). The pizza, risotto croquettes, and Ebi yuba age were just average. I also got the fresh squeeze grapefruit shochu. Definitely 1/5 star for drinks. Can't taste the alcohol (very sad).

Overall I will give 4 star for food and 2 star for service. I think I can get better food experience elsewhere in the Bay Area with the price I paid.