Barracuda Japanese Restaurant

Dropped by for an impromptu lunch on a nice weekday, and the restaurant didn’t look very packed.
The ramen was so-​so. I am pretty sure there were a couple of uncooked clams in there, and the broth was severely lacking flavor.
The service was slow and they didn’t even bring out the dessert menu. I love dessert.
Will not revisit.

I used to eat at the Barracuda in Burlingame frequently, so I was excited they opened one in Mountain View. The food has always been well-​prepared and tasty. The fish has always been fresh. The dinner menus is a little pricey, but the lunch bento box is a good deal. Their cocktail menu is good, and their sake is a reasonably good bargain (you can get quite drunk for $ 15 if you get sake).
My favorite dish is their «63 degree chawan mushi», which I understand is nothing like traditional chawan mushi. It’s good as it’s own thing though. It consists of a lightly poached egg with tempura and a slightly sweet umami-​heavy broth of some kind. It’s very good: the runny egg yolk goes really well with the tempura, and the whole dish has a great contrast of texture, flavor and mouthfeel.
I’ve had a few mediocre experiences here (the waitstaff is not always on-​the-​ball), but the food has always been good. Their music is really too loud most of the time, which is the only reason it’s a 4-​star review instead of 5-​star.

My favorite sushi place was Fuki sushi in Menlo park. That’s high end and a little on the pricy end. No complaints though, as I want my raw fish to be fresh and of the best quality.
Fuki just got pushed to second place. Or well, I have two favorite sushi places. The best thing about barracuda sushi is that they have fried, baked and other versions of sushi. The power of love sushi is a roll that is dipped into tempura batter and deep fried. It is extremely delucious.

We ordered the Works which include 1 roll, sashimi, and sushi. Overall the sashimi quality is pretty good, but less than expected.
we got a salad with sashimi from the chef which was nice

Average, Americanized sushi and sushi rolls in every possible way. Of the several sushi rolls we tried, including the Castro, none really stood out for flavor or freshness. You can do better for sushi in downtown Mountain View (Sushi Tomi — especially for the sashimi there) for one, and for really good sushi you should probably head up to SF.
When we visited on a recent weekend morning, this place was eerily empty and quiet. Speaks volumes when Mountain View is bustling with foot traffic on a weekend morning with the farmers’ market and adjacent restaurants are fairly busy with patrons. They had lots of outdoor seating that I wanted to enjoy on a beautiful, sunny day, but the servers were AWOL. None of the tables had been cleaned up (or their receipts collected, even) from previous patrons, so sushi bar it was. That having been said, the sushi chefs there were very engaging and attentive.
A shame that this place is such an afterthought given its prime location in the first block of Castro across from the Caltrain/​VTA station.

The food was pretty good, but was not that great of a value when factoring in the price. Boyfriend had the Castro and I had the 49’ers roll.
The Castro had a really interesting boxy presentation, which was creative, but difficult to pick up and eat because it was twice as large as a regular sushi piece. It tasted pretty good, though.
49’ers was okay. Nothing terribly special about the quality of fish in this or the Castro, but not bad-​tasting, per se.
Service was kind of annoying. I came with a friend that I hadn’t seen in forever, and was talking a lot with her. Of course, there were moments in our conversation in which would not say too much, but the waitress would flat-​out interrupt me, when we were deep in conversation, about if we were okay and/​or wanted anything else.
So all in all, it’s an okay restaurant. Probably won’t come again.

I’ve been dying to try the Castro roll for a long time. After seeing photos of this bad boy posted all over Unilocal and facebook I knew I had to try it.
Came here for lunch on a weekday and the place was empty. That being said, it was still pretty difficult to flag down a waitress…
Anyways, I (obviously) ordered the Castro roll and quickly started eating it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as good as I hoped it would be. The quality of the sashimi was sub-​par and the sauces didn’t go very well together.
It’s hard to say how the other items here are, but I’ll definitely be willing to try it out one more time.

I went to Barracuda with average expectations, given the plethora of Japanese restaurants on Castro Street and the very average 3-​star rating on Unilocal.However, it’s great with those expectations are surpassed, and my friend and I were both very surprised… at everything! The place was trendy and offered nice outdoor seating, prices were reasonable, and the food was delicious.
We ordered the gyoza to start with, and I opted for the Veggie Fantasy roll. I give props to sushi places that can get creative with their rolls (particularly for the veggie eaters), because trust me… eating cucumber rolls and shitake rolls can get damn boring! The Veggie Fantasy was composed of tempura kabocha, carrot, asparagus, and topped generously with avocado and a spicy mango salsa. Unique flavors that you don’t see often in sushi, but came together very well. It was a really, really great vegetable roll!
The service, the ambiance, the food, and two Sapporos later… a 4-​star rating!

The happy hour menu here is reasonably priced. The food is not spectacular but it does the job. Beer and sake are very cheap but cocktails cost a bit more. The only item I would not order again was the Kahlua Pork Katsu. The textures just didn’t work for me and it was not very crispy.
We tried the Spicy Tuna Roll, California Roll, Gyoza, Kahlua Pork Katsu, Barracuda Handrolls, Lemon Ginger Drop and Unfiltered Sake

Mosey’d into Barracuda on a misty Monday evening, t’was a rather quiet evening in house.
Glanced at the soooshee specials, which included a sushi burrito, «kobe beef nigiri» (c’mon, we know it’s not real a$$ wagyu let’s be frank here). Whatever happened to kohada on my first visit a year+ back?
Looked at the menu, and settled for the 10 pc nigiri combo ($ 17.95 + tax + tip), and put in the order with the waitress.
While the chef was making my order, I glanced at the fish counter contents… saw the shiny pearly white block known as escolar (snake mackeral, «butterfish», «walu”/“waloo», and the sexy sounding «super white tuna» etc). Even the overly referenced wikipedia has an entry for this…“Escolar’s wax ester content can cause keriorrhea (Greek: flow of wax), gempylotoxism or gempylid fish poisoning. Keriorrhea is similar to diarrhea, only the body will expel yellowish-​orange drops of oil instead of liquid bowel movements.“
So I kindly requested to the waitress, that the chef give me something else instead of escolar. She conveys my order to the chef in Korean. The chef gives me this mondo chit eating grin, mutters something back in Korean in response, that probably translated to «oh hell yeah, dis muddafugga knows his keriorrhea prevention techniques!»
And so I got
Uni — creamy but not much flavor. At least it wasn’t watery.
Hamachi — not bad, but sadly lacking flavor.
hirame — good
ebi — very good for a restaurant of this caliber
maguro — ok for a K place
albacore– ok
tobiko — boring, too bad I didn’t get ikura.
salmon — fine
kanpachi — not bad
a fish that resembled shima aji, but had not much flavor
The chef was very kind… he threw in a piece of Hokkaido scallop nigiri (with a slice of lemon on it).
Rice…if only it were a bit more sticky (more «nebari»), stronger vinegar presence (hardly any at all), and warmer. Chef has good knife skill, but the texture of the rice would make the shari harder to adhere to the fish… like in the case of hamachi, the fish separated from the rice pad quite easily (other pieces were fine).
The customer next to me asked «hey mon, what fish did you substitute?». I pointed at the shiny pearly white bar of seafood at the counter. The chef then told him, «a little bit of this is fine. Some people don’t like it. But I would not advise ordering 10 piece sashimi of this. Hahaha!»
Thanks for saving my a$$ bro!

FYI Folks!
Wednesday all night — $ 2 Beers (Sapporo/​Kirin) and $ 1 sake drinks!
The hubby and I went this past Wednesday and it was pretty packed but the server found a space for us. I actually quite enjoyed everything we had:
1) Edamame – had something special on top, i liked the spicy sauce on top as well.
2) Spicy tuna/​Spicy Salmon — loved the rolls ESP bc they do not add mayonaise to their rolls, the way theyre supposed to be made!
3) Cali roll/​Cucumber rolls-​fresh and delicious
One point docked off for the slow service but that could be because of how packed it was. I will definitely come back again.

Barracuda, Bushido, Xanh… downtown Mountain View’s north side of Castro Street has been dominated by Asian fusion restaurants in recent years.
Having recently tried Bushido, I used a Groupon as an opportunity to try Barracuda.
The décor of all three places is similar: modern, clean and featuring happy hours with drink specials. The menu at Barracuda is an interesting mix: many traditional sushi items but also newer Asian fusion spins that do sound appealing on the menu.
We went to try the filet mignon with furuakake salt and uni risotto but unfortunately both items were discontinued due to lack of demand. Our choices:
Agedashi tofu — standard preparation of deep fried tofu. The flavor was a bit mild in the dashi sauce and the tofu a tad chewy. Definitely not as crispy and piping hot as places I like.
Nuevo Chawan Mushi — the waitress warned us this was a non traditional presentation but I didn’t expect a poached egg and some fried tempura bits. While it looked pretty, the real thing is worlds better and a better name for this might by be ‘chawan mushi deconstructed.‘
Hamachi Kama — traditional preparation of hamachi Kama. Mainly salted without miso. Solid.
10 piece nigiri set — notable for inclusion of an uni nigiri. Sushi was good but not particularly memorable or notable. I think the temperature could be better (warm rice, colder fish).
Gindara Nabemono — without the filet mignon with sweet potato fries, we opted for this clay pot rice dish with sea bass, Portuguese sausage, clams and miso flavored rice. Truly a standout and a surprise given the other dishes. Excellent tasty rice and well prepared ingredients. The fish was delicious as was the sausage.
Overall, Barracuda was an ok meal, saved by strong last main dish. The prices here add up quickly like at Bushido and with our varied selection it’s easy to hit prices of $ 30−40/person after tax and tip.
The pluses are the décor, convenient location, and solid service.
In truth, for just an ok meal at Barracuda, Bushido or Xanh, I’ll stick to Kappo Nami Nami on Castro or just head to south to places like Gochi or Hoshi for the same or less money.
Barracuda accepts credit cards including Amex.

Favorite Japanese restaurant in Mountain View!
Awesome staff and sake bombs.
I really like the curry and lunch boxes.

GREAT fish, house-​made ankimo, and smooth-​moist tamago. Super-​generous XXL nigiri. Honest chef takes pride in his craft. Sit at the sushi bar and enjoy!
TONIGHT’S BEST…
–hamachi sashimi. FTW
–ikura with tiny quail egg yolks. (they just seemed small compared with the huge scoop of salmon roe it was sitting on) WOHOA!
–ankimo firm, flavorful, perfect presentation and garnish
–tamago was a bit wet, but nice sweetness, great flavor. love the wedged-​in rice presentation
#barracuda-​style lettuce wrap. not so much. thousand-​island, roasted pepper garnish, whitefish. if in-​n-​out did a protein-​style fish sandwich, this might be it.
i totally happened on this oasis of mostly asian restaurants and shops amidst bay-​area suburbia hell. really fun walk before or after your meal.
as with any sushi bar, you must visit with your chef. Don’t beat about the bush.
What is the best fish you have today?
If he’s honest about it you can steer clear of the 2^nd round and 3^rd round stuff that will go into the roll mixes.
Once he knows you’re serious, they’ll be «out of it» when you ask for something that’s not 1^st round.
Barracuda fits my bill and I’ll definitely go back when I’m in the area.
Oh, and if you’re the spider-​and-​california-​roll-​with-​sake-​bombers type, you’ll love this place. Menu is FULL of your favorites and some «barracuda-​style» selections as well.
ONE.
TWO.
THREE.
BANG!!!
Drink!!!
Yeah, you know what i’m talking about.

This is based on the brunch menu only.
I came here over the weekend after being told they had bottomless mimosas for $ 7. I heard «bottomless» and knew I had to be there. :)
I ordered the katsu loco moco and my friend ordered the katsu curry. We had the ceviche tacos to share.
The tacos were very good. I liked the acidity of the ceviche, and the taco «shells» were super crispy without being greasy. I would definitely order this again.
My katsu loco moco had an interesting gravy on it. I have never had it served this way and I prefer a traditional gravy over what they use. It was a little on the bland side and it looked like it was leftover bits of dried up gravy. It did not look appetizing when it was presented. I would skip this next time. I do have to note the katsu itself was cooked to perfection.
I tried my friends curry and it was much better than my order but it was just typical curry. I would order this the next time I come.
Service was friendly but verrrry slow. It was hard to flag down our server (or any server) when we wanted refills of the mimosas. It wasn’t busy at all for a Saturday and would hate to see what the service is like on a busy day.

Why the 3 star average? This place is legit! Came here for dinner tonight with the momma and had just a terrible time deciding what to order. Everything sounded so good! After much debate and far too much thought, we finally settled on a Philadelphia roll ($ 5), a Mango Paradise roll ($ 10), The Power of Love roll ($ 10), and miso soup ($ 2).
— Philly was standard, fat, and yummy. A good start to our meal.
— Mango Paradise was delicious. Loved the sliced mango and tuna.
— Power of Love wasn’t my favorite. I didn’t know it was completely fried, and consequently it was super heavy and to be honest, kind of unappetizing. I pawned the majority of my portion on to my mom. For some reason she said it tasted like casserole… ie: not what sushi is supposed to taste like. Nothing about this roll was light, fresh, or healthy. Would not recommend.
Pros: free tea, large menu, super creative (alcoholic) drinks, and happy hour (m-​f 4:30 — 6) with select $ 3 rolls and various other discounted appetizers. You bet I’ll be coming back to check out happy hour!
One negative is that the service was painfully slow… I mean really really slow. took forever to get our food, and when we arrived the waitress tried to seat us right next to another party when the restaurant was mostly empty. No no no. Not happening.

Lunch Bento
–Salmon Teriyaki
–Mixed Tempura
–Miso Soup
It was pretty good for the price $ 10 – 12.

The Castro is not known for the best cuisine and Barracuda fits the bill.
There was definitely a Groupon rush here, so make sure to secure a reservation.
Service: With a smile and good for the amount of people they were juggling.
Eats:
–House salad, standard miso mayo type dressing with A LOT of iceburg
–Ceviche tacos, mystery meat meets odd flavors
–Kalbi, good flavors and meaty
–Hamachi Jalapeño, sauce was WRONG, it was drowning in sesame oil
–Maki, one was not even a roll, it was like an open face sando, very difficult to eat, the actual maki rolls were okay, loosely rolled, ordered the Gangsta, Crazy and The Castro.
–Sakes are plentiful and reasonably priced
Ladies watch out on the walk to the bathrooms, the floors are slippery.
If you’re looking for trendy Japanese, look elsewhere, unimpressive food, the setting and lighting are not the most desirable.

While it wouldn’t surprise me to discover there are better Japanese restaurants in the area, and I’ll defer to locals for comparisons, the point of this review is to compliment the staff on their service.
I was in the area on business and rather than scour the surrounding cities for more exciting options, I decided to head to downtown Mountain View to enjoy the sunshine and choose among the sidewalk cafes on Castro Street. Unfortunately, my meetings ran through the lunch hour and I arrived after 2:00p, so most of the restaurants were closing for a few hours prior to dinner service.
So I arrived just prior to closing and I’m sure many servers would think to themselves, «Great, I thought I was about to get out of here and now I have to wait on another customer.» But, that wasn’t how I was treated at all.
I ordered the Sushi Combination lunch and it was served promptly. The check was brought out at an appropriate time and delivered with the message, «Please don’t rush, I have plenty to do inside.» The sushi was fine, but the service and attitude made the experience.

Grand Opening Night was today! We were looking for something new to eat, and said «What the hell. Let’s Do It! «
$ 1 Beer and sake on the house!!! I would of totally taken up on that sake offer but too bad I was with someone that didn’t really drink. I felt bad and I didn’t want to be seen as an alcoholic…
Service: Think about it. It is the first day. They pay attention to you nonstop, asking you if everything is okay ten billion times! The waitress was a tad slow on our dishes but I give them props since it is their first day on the job! Everyone is friendly though!
Venue: clean and wooden modern décor. they have cute plates, very japanesey. Nothing too fancy. Sushi bar is at the back of the restaurant. It is located right next to Xanh Restaurant.
Food:
Grand opening small plates: included white potato pancake and yellow pickled cabbage.
1. Hamachi Kama–
very big, generous portion but it wasn’t as good as it can be. It was undercooked which was a big no no. Not as much flavor as it can have.
2. Fresh Oysters with BBQ sauce–
BBQ, or spicy sauce is $ 2 extra. ridiculous i know! They came in a trio, which was actually pretty good and it was topped off with tobagi.
3. Spicy Crunch & Munch Roll–
not that great. There was nothing special about the roll. It was a dry roll with firm packed rice. Not much substance/​flavor that makes it stand out. Filled with cucumbers, crab, and unagi. It was topped off with fried potato drizzles. Not too mentioned: I don’t remember anything spicy about this roll.
4. Marinated sukiyaki beef– this was the best part of the meal. Meat was tender and delicious with the grilled onions! Sauce was great. It was a derivative type of soy sauce. Came with a side bowl of white rice.
This is a chain sushi restaurant. I never heard of it but I might just give their other dishes a try if I am in the area!!! Definitely beats Tsunami Sushi though! I saw from their websites how they have cool additional events and unique themes they try to do though, which is awesome!