Emma San Jose has one of the top food scenes in the bay area and with this amount of diversity and wealth in this area it results in a thriving food scene. Sushi is one of the cuisines where there is a serious amount of choice and a few great all you can eat (AYCE) options
Overall, AYCE options aren’t hugely prevalent in the San Jose area, but there are a few spots offering it. We have compiled a list of the top AYCE sushi restaurants to save you doing the research. As a bonus we have also included some of our top sushi joints from a value to quality perspective too.
- Tomi Sushi & Seafood Buffet
Address: 2200 Eastridge Loop #2074, San Jose, CA 95122
Price Range – $21.99 – $36.99
Tomi is a buffet style restaurant that is more of a Pan-Asian style offering, so there are so many options to choose from. The sushi here is actually pretty decent. They have a range of meat dishes, noodles, tofu, soups and of course a nice selection of sushi. There is also a really good dessert station with mochi and ice creams.
This is an interesting spot as it’s a buffet restaurant meaning there is no table service for the AYCE sushi. We do prefer when they have table service as it at least gives the allusion that the sushi is freshly made. The benefit of this being a buffet is that there are loads of other dishes that you can try.
Prices range depending on the meal time and the day. Midweek lunch is the cheapest option and costs $21.99. While dinner at the weekend will set you back $36.99. Overall, this is a solid option if you’re looking for a mix of sushi and pan asian dishes in one spot and for one convenient price.
- Kenzo Sushi
Address: 5465 Snell Ave, San Jose, CA 95123
Price Range – $$
This place doesnt look like much from the outside, but sushi here is pretty good and consistent. The variety of dishes on offer is wide and one of the better options in regards to choice on our list.
From a price standpoint dinner costs $35 for adults. There is a premium option that costs an additional $5 and includes two pieces of Nigiri. One of the interesting things about Kenzo is that each day they only do 100 people a day on the AYCE menu, so if you arrive late, you might not get it. So, arrive early.
The only downside to some of the rolls was that some of the rolls had a little too much rice to fish. There are also some rules for ordering food. For example you can only order 5 rounds in the 2 hour sitting, but honestly that is more then enough, so you shouldnt worry about that.
- Mizu Sushi Bar & Grill
Address: 1035 S Winchester Blvd, San Jose, CA 95128, United States
Price Range – $$$
Although this spot doesn’t offer AYCE Sushi, we had to include it on our list as it’s our favorite sushi joint in San Jose. They do have a number of specials too that run throughout the week, so you can get the most bang for your buck. This spot also has a really nice mix of a menu. It’s kind of a fusion Japanese and Korean restaurant with
- Sushi Factory
Address: 4632 Meridian Ave, San Jose, CA 95124
Price Range – $$
This place would have ranked higher, but since we visited Sushi Facotry has actually removed the AYCE option. Its still a decent sushi option and is really well priced. You can easly eat here for $20 per perso and that will include a decent amount of sushi.
Although Sushi Factory has relatively low ratings on Google review, we felt that the 3.8 rating was pretty harsh. This spot is more like a 4.2 spot. The Cherry Blossom roll was our standout and at $13.95 its really well prcied. The service here is also really good, so it makes the experience that bit better
Pound for Pound Best Sushi Spots in San Jose
- Sushi Koya
Address: 2424 Almaden Rd, San Jose, CA 95125, United States
Price Range – $$
Yet another spot that doesnt look like much on the outside, Sushi Koya packs a punch with their food and service. This is pound for pound top choice in San Jose. What we also really like about this place is that it is a relatively unknown spot.
The menu is relatively small and the price point is really competitive. You can get the Koya Deluxe platter which has 30 pieces of sashimi for just $40, which is an absolute steal. Their Wild spice speciality roll is really good.
The restaurant itself is quite small, so we advise going early to make sure you get a table.
- Yuki Sushi
Address: 1140 Lincoln Ave #8, San Jose, CA 95125, United States
Price Range – $$
Located South of Downtown San Jose in the Broadway-Palmhaven area. Yuki Sushi is a laid back spot that serves some seriously fresh sushi. Yuki Sushi is part of a chain of restaurants in the Bay Area and this family run spot is known locally as one of the best Japanese restaurants around.
This spot is always hopping, so getting a table here can be an issue. Like some of the other spots on our list, we recommend to eat early so you guarantee a table. Although the staff here are flat out busy, they are really attentive and are never too far away to make another order.
Their speciality dishes are the Spam musubi and the Red roll, which is a fiert tuna roll that is our personal favorite. From a price point perspective, this is one of the more expensive options, but its still very affordable with speciality rolls costs around $16 and the option of a sushi combo dinner option for $27.
- Cha Cha Sushi
Address: 547 W Capitol Expy, San Jose, CA 95136, United States
Price Range – $
The food here is baning. The fish tastes super fresh, the fish to rice ratio on the rolls is really good and the service is impeccable. When you couple this with the great prices, you get one of the best sushi spots in San Jose.
Our standout here was actually the handrolls,. The Salmon skin hand roll was one of the best we’ve had. They also have a wide range of hot dishes and traditional Japanese dishes. The donburi is pretty decent here too.
Prices here are very competitive, we recommend trying out the dinner combo if you fancy a mix of a few dishes. You can get and hot dish like Teriyaki or short ribs, a sushi option like sashimi or rolls or maki and a main option like chicken katsu or gyoza all for $25.95.
