Izakaya Mai in San Mateo

I think I may be the only person that doesn't agree with alot of the posts here. This place seems like a restaurant for value eaters and not for foodies. Izakaya Mai misses the mark on the details. For example, the rice that was used on the sushi and rolls were overcooked and creamy. Not much care and pride was put into plating. Seemed like the kind of food you would make at home. A big no-go for me .

This one of my favorite go to places for sushi late at night. I highly recommend it if you're having a late night sushi craving.

Three of us ordered rolls and soup. The service was fast but lacked follow up to see if the food was ok the miso ramen soup broth was not to the taste for three of us so I'd call that a fail. The chicken udon was made with soy based soup broth rather than chicken broth so it wasn't what I wanted. Both soups were short on vegitbles. Two sushi rolls were fine. Rice was good ingredients good and well priced. I'd stay clear of soups and see if they are better at sushi.

Nice food

Decent, cheap food! Not particularly special, but not bad!

Really like that they have “mini” options for their -dons. I had a mini sake ikura don & ankimo. It was a perfect dinner size for me. Reasonably priced, casual environment, friendly service. I’ll be back when I’m in the neighborhood :)

Food was decent and the service was decent. The interior looks old and run down.

Pleasantly surprised to find a good place to eat while wondering arround late Sunday night after all other places had closed. I'd return even if I go back to the area earlier in the day. This place reminded me of some restaurants I've been to in Tokyo.

Cute and cozy Japanese restaurant with a train running around on the ceiling! The food was amazing and the price was fair. Highly recommend the miso cod which was juicy and tender and everything I wanted! The chicken and egg don was great too but a little dry for my taste. Can’t wait to try more dishes here! But remember to make a reservation before coming. It can get crowded!

Yummy goods and nice service!

I had the miso buta don (pork over rice) and my friend had chicken katsu curry rice. When we ate the food, it was ok (except my pork didn’t taste that fresh) and we were too hungry to complain. But after a few hours both of us had stomach aches and did not feel well at all... No more details necessary.

Nice Japanese izakaya in downtown San Mateo. The line is always long for good reason. Everything we’ve had here is good, except maybe the agedashi mochi. You can call in to make reservations for a larger group, so make sure you do so, and you might even land one of their fancy tables where you take off your shoes and slide in!

Ironically, I felt the Izakaya selection here was not as big as I would expect. Regardless of the name nisnomer, I was very impressed by the chirashi bowl selection. They have mini size and regular size for their single finish chirashi! They don't do mini for the mixed one. They had plenty of other foods you would find at other Japanese restaurants like tempura, rolls, tofu, miso cod. Good all around Japanese place if you're looking for a casual dinner!

With a basic but sound selection of sushi, this might not be everyone's idea of a "Japanese restaurant," but the reason you come here is the large menu of cooked food ... Japanese pub grub. That's what an "izakaya" is - the Japanese take on a pub, with a large menu of small to meal sized comfort foods.The reason I first visited this place is that I like working late, and I used to be driving back from Palo Alto to SF at 9-10PM, and there are relatively few interesting repeatable dining options on the Peninsula after 9PM. Then I discovered a Japanese restaurant open till 11PM+ ... happy day! Izakaya Mai rapidly grew on me, and since then, it's been my most frequented Japanese restaurant in the Bay.Unpretentious, cozy, friendly staff that will get to know you; it's a great place to become a regular. And you can have a "keep bottle."By the way, if you're tired and cold and starving at 10PM, have a huge, inexpensive bowl of champon.

After waiting approx 30 mins post order, on a busy night, I discovered that my chicken katsu curry was not up to snuff. Cutlet was only warm when plate finally reached us, the white rice was overcooked. And curry left something to be desired with it being under seasoned and just kind of basic. I had medium expectations that were ultimately let down by inferior product and long wait times, will not be returning any time soon, especially since there are so many other comparable restaurants that take this stuff seriously and don't make me wait half an hour for room temp fried chicken.

Lots of variety of Japanese food, from sushi to grilled items to soup noodles, they got it all. Lots of the bowls are also available as a mini portion so you can always get a good variety of stuff. I like the yaki onigiri. Prices are also very reasonable and they open late.

As a Brown man, I always laughed at the idea of Japanese doing curry. Boy was I wrong. This was fantastic and I want to try some new ideas for my Indian home cooking. Mon dieu, Japanese masala...who knew;)

The food was awesome! We loved the takoyaki, gyoza and the ramen! Would definitely recommend!

Delicious Japanese food, huge sake selection from a knowledgeable staff.

About the ramen:It is okay and nothing special. 3 out of fiveAll of the toppings taste like something bought from a grocery market directlyIf one wants great ramen, there are tens of better choices than Mai.About the grilled dishesA little below averageMy beef tongue was so overcooked that it takes like rubber.I will give a 2 out of fiveAbout the appetizers:4 out of 5Fried dumplings and several other dishes are impressive and tastyService is good but they are always very busy.After all, I do not think it is worth a rating of 4. The price is unreasonable based on the taste. And I doubt anyone's taste if she/he rates this restaurant as a 4 out of five.The bottom line is Mai is not worth visiting unless one has a tongue as insensitive as stone.

Popular little Japanese resto in downtown San Mateo. Busy on Friday night. But our wait to be seated was not long at all. Really friendly and fast service.We ordered the Okonomiyaki (seafood pancake), Seafood Tempura and Pork Gyoza . Small portions but filling. Food presentation was nice and the taste was good. Price was definitely within budget. $30 plus change out the door.

A large veriety of food to choose from, descent selection of cheap sake, and Japanese beers. Always an enjoyable place to end the night at.

Low key but high quality at a reasonable price. Having been to Japan several times, I can confirm that the taste and quality of these dishes is really quite authentic. It may look average, but you're getting a higher-quality dish. This may be one of my new favorite places in downtown.

We like this place for some hamachi Kama, spider roll, hamachi sashimi, chicken karage, gomae, squid, my friends like uni and natto, hot sake, and alot of other stuff. We usually get a bunch of dishes and appetizers and all share in the shoes-off table. It's causal and relaxed, easy-going.

I would give this place a 3.5 - it was pretty good food/not bad but nothing special and execution could be better. We ordered a bunch of food. Miso fish was probably the best dish. The croquettes were pretty good. The agedashi tofu was okay, chicken karage was just okay.

The food was fresh and very good. The wait staff was very attentive. We were a party of 4 so we tried several of the dishes and shared. They were all so good.

Great food, good prices, average service.

I visit this place a lot since I work close by. I have to say the service is always fantastic and they keep the spot well organized all the time. Prices are reasonable and they serve large portions.

Great Japanese restaurant with authentic dishes including sushi, sashimi, and noodles.

Definitely a spot worth stopping over, the food is great and fresh, the pricing is affordable and it is always clean in here. 5 stars.

Excellent Izakaya, stands out even in San Mateo. Sashimi and Nigiri were prefect, Ika Natto was beyond excellent, good selection of sake and shochu, and broad menu fitting of a proper Izakaya. Will be coming back here as often as my schedule allows.

Standard izakaya fare. Decent service and good portions. Lots of combo meals to choose from.

Simple, honest izakaya that does a good job at everything. Not excellent, but good. The two item lunch special is a really good value, nice atmosphere, nice people.

Lots of interesting Japanese tapas style dishes and incredible value bento boxes

Good place to get authentic Japanese cuisine. The menu is wide and varied. The place has a distinct ethnic outlook. I wanted to get the okanomiyaki and the curry. Both were good. Parking maybe a challenge to find as it is a busy street. Overall a good place to get the bites.

TERRIBLE SERVICE!!#1: I made a reservation but we didn’t get seated until 10 mins after.#2: We order three appetizers. Two out of three appetizers didn’t come until we finished our main dishes.It was very obvious that our order got messed up, but when we checked with one of the waiters, she had the nerve to tell us that it takes a lot of time to bake the squid. Seriously?? It takes one whole hour to bake squid tails which are suppose to be appetizers?I would have appreciated more honesty from her.#3: The food overall was good, but the original champon broth was very salty and the stir fry pork and eggplant miso was very greasy.

Food was awesome and also with the customer service. Every single employee has been awesome to every single customer they had served to.

This place is my favorite. I eat in a lot of restaurants but to this place I constantly return again and again. The stuff is very affectionate and the cuisine they offer is so good. I never miss an opportunity to have a good dinner in this restaurant. Highly recommended.

It can be a challenge to find good vegetarian food at a Japanese restaurant, but Izakaya Mai has some pretty good options. The decor is reminiscent of some Izakaya I have visited in Tokyo. THere's a model train running around near the ceiling, which is pretty cool. The service was pretty good, but not super speedy.I mainly decided to give the place a try because they server okonomiyaki, which is not so common in the Bay Area. They usually include seafood in the okonomiyaki, but will make it vegetarian if you ask. They seem to make the Osaka style okonomiyaki, and I was pretty happy with it.They have a few vegetable options and the typical edamame and Agadashi tofu. They also have an Agadashi mochi which is interesting, but all the mochi had oozed out of the outer shell. As long as we put the mochi together with the shell, it was pretty good. The vegetarian curry was ok, but not as much flavor as I expect from a Japanese curry.All in all, it was a good experience.