20 Best Japanese Restaurants near Seaside

“Very good food quality. What was disappointing was the forced 18% gratuity for my family of 5. Then was given attitude when I didn't tip additional over the 18%. The best part was food quality. The service was just ok. We are a very low maintenance family to wait on.“

“This place has been here for decades and is now under new management I think. Much improved decor, food quality, brighter and cleaner, but prices are still worth it. Definitely give it another try if you haven't been here in awhile. I only wish they did delivery!“

“Oishii!
Ordered the 3 item comination plate for dinner on a Tuesday night. This was our second visit to this restaurant. It was not too busy, and we were promptly seated and given menus to look at. I oreded the teriyaki chicken, combo tempura, and inari plate.
The inari with a little wasabi was very good. The combo tempura consisted of shrimp, mushroom, green beans, onion rings, carrot, and zucchini. The tempura was very good, especially with the provided dipping sauce. The teriyaki chicken was alright. Nothing special with light and dark meat. The salad and dressing were very good as well as the rice. Service was good as we were asked how everything was or if we required anything else several times. I put Harumi as one of the top of my list for Japanese food on the penninsula and look forward to another visit.“

“today an amazing couple paid for our tab. We are a family of 6 trust when I say our bill was not cheap. Thank you so much and may God bless. The service is always great, the food is always on point.“

“Very happy to have Maido Sushi here in Marina. Staff is friendly, food is tasty, and it feels like an actual cafe you would find in Kyoto or some parts of Tokyo having visited. Thank you :3!“

“Delicioso 🤤 cuando lo disfrutes con las personas adecuadas para ti 🥰🥰🥰“

“I love this place... simply the best!“

“First time visited Monterey and decided to have sushi for dinner. Randomly walked in this restaurant and their food is amazing! The salmon belly literally melted in my mouth! Staffs are kind and friendly. Had a great dinner here. Will definitely come again when we’re back in town.“

“I spent around $300 here for one of the most romantic and memorable meals I’ve had in years. The value was absolutely fair — in fact, their prices are very reasonable for the quality they deliver. Every detail felt intentional:

The fish was incredibly fresh, melt-in-your-mouth quality.

The wasabi is real — not the dyed paste most places serve.

The hot tea was savory and calming, and the hot sake arrived perfectly heated and smooth.

The service was attentive, kind, and professional without being overbearing.

This restaurant easily deserves to be in the 4.8–5.0 range, not the 4.1 it’s sitting at. Anything lower feels undeserved and misleading to future guests. If you appreciate authenticity, craftsmanship, and genuine hospitality, this is the place.“

“Crystal Fish is my go-to when I want good value and tasty sushi. The setting isn't overly fancy but neither are their prices.

I took a star off of service because the last to-go order had a mistaken roll. I still enjoyed it. I've also seen mistakes on the bill when I ate in-house. Nothing egregious but I now double check.

Bonus: they are on door dash, now“

“Fun sitting at the Sushi Bar! Great team, great service, and of course great food!“

“This is a very friendly restaurant. The food is good and reasonably priced. I really enjoy the broiled eel and spider rolls. Ignore the food snobs writing bad reviews, who expect every restaurant that they go to be a James Beard-Michelin Star Food Network experience.“

“Five stars isn’t enough to rate the quality of the food, the delightfulness of the staff, or the ambiance at the Flying Fish Grill. We’re visiting the area primarily for golf, and our caddie told us that the Flying Fish Grill is his favorite restaurant in the area. We completely understand why! SO many “WOWs” in this meal from start to finish. We had the chips and ginger salsa, Calamari, Crab Tower, Salad, Sea Bass, and hot fudge sundae. Every. Single. Bite was amazing. And the service was the best we’ve experienced in the Monterey area. That’s saying a lot as we’re staying at The Lodge at Pebble Beach. From the very first contact on the phone, to the last bite of dessert we felt like family. Absolutely fantastic experience in every possible way!“

“Excellent food!!! It beats what we had in Maui recently.“

“My kids love sushi, so we decided to stop by this place on our way to Monterey. I ordered sushi, a California roll, fried chicken... and finished with ice cream for dessert. Everything was very satisfying. The side miso soup was a nice touch, helping with digestion and adding to the overall experience. The server was polite and attentive. After the meal, I felt comfortable and full the whole day.“

“exelent service and the food it's grate.“

“Cute place that we happened to find in Carmel when in town. We walked in and saw all the photos and were greeted by super nice people and decided to try. Wow, the quality of sushi and portions were really generous and good. We got 2 rolls and a sashimi platter, and it was plenty of food. The sashimi was fresh and really good fish. The rolls were delicious and well made, plus big portions. Def happy with out meal, it was great. Would recommend“

“Honesstly i don't know what kind of ingridients they use but,it tastes way better than the one in salinas.Noodles not greasy as the ones at salinas the vegetables have more freshness and the tofu was really tasty diferent flavor might be the tofu but,it was crunchy in the out side and soft from the inside.The chicken just on its point the one in salinas to dry.“

“Friendly staff, excellent food.“

“My wife and I will be paying a visit to the Presidio in a few weeks. We have many fond memories there from 1986/1987 when I was a Polish student and she was a Czech student, both of us U.S. Army. We met there and were married in Pacific Grove on our lunch hour. In our minds it's a magical place (and a superb language school) that expanded our horizons. We're returning to the U.S. after many years overseas.“