Recent Visitors to Gochi Japanese Fusion Tapas
- 4/30/2015
A Japanese chowhound from San Jose, CA tried it.
shaomai
I got more Gochi
My follow-up review for this restaurant. Read my previous review for this restaurant here
So, I just ate at this restaurant 4 days ago, and I ate at it again yesterday. I was afraid that maybe I just lucked out and hit some really great dishes that first time, but the second trip was just as good as the first! I was especially impressed by the risotto croquettes. That stuff was SO GOOD.
Unfortunately, I don’t really remember the names for everything, so I’ll have to just describe most of them…
Dishes Tried:
Risotto Croquettes
I was afraid that risotto at a Japanese restaurant would be kind of nasty and mushy, but these risotto croquette balls were SUPERB. Hot and crispy outside, perfectly creamy mushroom risotto inside, a hot ball of melted cheese at the core. It comes with 3 croquettes, all sitting atop a pool of pesto and light marinara sauce. A perfect mix of Italian flavors and Japanese technique!
Seaweed Salad
I had thought this was going to be a typical seaweed salad – the bright green stuff with sesame seeds, but this actually was like a normal lettuce salad with some leaves of red and green seaweed. It was a good salad, but i wish there was more seaweed.
Kani (crab) cream croquettes
Same texture as the salmon ones I didn’t think were so hot, but i thought the crab flavor was much stronger than the salmon ones.
Dry salty fish and spicy roe fried rice clay pot
This really did taste kind of like salty fish fried rice, but i think it might even be better… i looooved the crispy rice! be forewarned that there are like, hundreds of tiny dried fish in the dish, so when you look in your bowl, all you see is rice and fish eyeballs… but if you can get past that, it tastes really good.
Salmon and ikura pizza
I thought this was pretty good. Thought it was a little strange to have salmon with cheese, I really liked the soy paper crust… thin and crispy!
opilicious
Gochi is a must try!!!!
I haven’t been to too many izakaya style japanese restaurants in the bay area, but I wouldn’t hesitate to put Gochi at the top of my list. Reservations are highly recommended and should be made well in advance as I tried unsuccessfully to make friday night reservations on a thursday night. Nonetheless I ventured in knowing there would be a wait (45 min), but I knew I had to check this place out after hearing nothing but rave reviews.
The food was simply outstanding. Every dish was fresh and had it’s own unique flavors. The menu offers a wide variety of items from clay pot rice dishes to carpaccio salads.
Our waitress was super friendly and gave great recommendations.
The ambiance was very casual where most tables were filled with groups of friends and families. Decor was very simple, but with great food there’s no need to attract a crowd with fancy decor. Most seating is tatami style with 5 or so tables for “regular” seating.
I will definitely come back and try out the other enticing items on the menu.
The website isn’t all too informative and lacks a menu so I don’t remember the exact names of the dishes we had, but I do make a feeble attempt below.
Dishes Tried:
Baked oysters with parmesan cheese
This was probably my least favorite dish but it was still pretty good.
Chicken and egglant
The pieces of chicken were perfectly fried. Eggplant was not too mushy and the sauce was excellent.
Crispy salmon rice balls
I loved the crispy rice!
Green tea creme brulee
This sounds odd but it was really good!!
Black sesame ice cream
I’m not usually a fan of black sesame but I had no complaints about this dessert.
Agedashi Tofu
Perfectly fried. Soft tofu. Excellent taste. But I wish they served this with more sauce.
Shabu shabu beef salad
This is one of their carpaccio (thinly sliced raw beef) salads. The vinaigrette dressing was zesty and delicious.
Dry salty fish and spicy roe fried rice clay pot
If you’re a fan of salty fish, you’ll love this dish!
mirabell_19
Gochi rhymes with Mochi
This restaurant is hidden but a great find! Too bad a lot of people know about this place already as it is quite crowded.
I agree with mandeelish. This place was awesome, but the service wasn’t outstanding. I understand it was busy but after waiting 30+ minutes for a table I wanted foood!
Next time i’ll try some of their fusion dishes like their twist on pizza!
Dishes Tried:
Seaweed Salad
We started off the meal with this salad which was excellent! It could have had more seaweed since that was the best part of the salad. Everything else, including the dressing was well balanced out.
Salmon Croquette
These little fried balls were nice and crispy but it had a tad too much mayo.
Agedashi Nigiri
This was basically a rice ball sitting in dashi sauce with some dried nori. Very simple dish but it was surprisingly very tasty. Gooo dashi sauce!
Black Cod with Plum sauce
The waitress warned us that this was a very unique dish, so my expectations were low. Good thing we ordered it because this turned out to be my favorite dish! Juicy cod with a crunchy skin with a bit of sweetness :)
Albacore Sashimi
This dish was presented nicely and tasted great. The sashimi was seared and the added flavor did not cover the taste of the tuna.
Steamed Taro
Few pieces of taro were served in a bowl of some sauce I can’t remember. This was probably the least flavorful dish, but I still enjoyed it
Agedashi Tofu
The tofu was crispy on the outside, and very soft on the inside so a perfect fried tofu! The dashi sauce was good, but I agree it needed just a tad more.
Onigiri with Tuna Mayo
Yummy rice ball that is crispy on the outside, will definitely try the other flavors they offer.
Teba Saki
Fried chicken wings, you can also request to have these grilled. The batter was a little too thick for me and I had a hard time finding the chicken. I prefer the wings at Furaibo.
mandeelish
Gotta getcha Gochi
First off, make a reservation! This place can get crowded.
Also, the seating is mainly tatami style. Which surprised me since I figured it was a fusion restaurant, that it would be less traditional. But it has a clean, minimalist atmosphere.
We were seated in one of the tatami booths, after a 30+ minute wait (we didn’t make reservations). However, during our wait we got a chance to peruse the menu.
There is a lot on the menu. We tried to get one dish from each category, but there weren’t enough of us to eat all of it. So the waitress was very helpful in giving her opinions on what we ordered. Although it did take awhile to flag her down to take our order.
The dishes came out fairly quickly and all were delicious. I’d give it 5 stars, but they need to improve their service quality. We always needed to flag down a waitress to refill our water and tea.
Dishes Tried:
Agedashi Tofu
Could’ve used more dashi sauce, but still yummy!
Onigiri with Tuna Mayo
A crispy rice ball with tuna mayo was one of my favorites!
shpladaow
Great food, but map is wrong!
Located inside a strip mall with a very unassuming exterior, Gochi doesn’t look like anything special. But, their unique take on “Japanese fusion” food is definitely worth checking out.
Much of the menu has the traditional japanese fare: sashimi, udon/soba, tempura… and then there are the more eye-popping dishes like the tofu cheesesteak, curry potatoes gratin, and miso pizza.
We ordered curry croquettes, salmon and tuna crispy onigiri, kimchee beef clay pot rice, and a pork miso pizza (I don’t remember their exact names, so I’ll refrain from adding them to the menu). To make a long story short, everything we ordered was delicious.
The croquettes were perfectly crispy with a tasty filling. The crispy onigiri is like regular onigiri (rice balls) but they toast the rice on the outside, giving it a great texture and flavor. The kimchee beef clay pot is pretty much their version of the korean dolsot bibimbap- I think I liked this dish the best (better than Koryo’s and Secret Garden’s dolsot, imo). Admittedly, it’s a very simple dish, but they execute it very well. Finally, the pizza was probably the most unique dish we ate because it had a rice paper crust. If I had to do it over again, I would have ordered another pizza flavor. The pork miso (or whatever it’s called) was good, but nothing that spectacular.
But all in all, we had a great meal here and we’re definitely coming back.
Note: We got lost on our way here because the map is WRONG (both google maps and mapquest). It’s actually on Homestead and Blaney (btwn Wolfe and De Anza) and NOT right next to the 85 freeway.
I LOVE THIS PLACE! great little izakaya. I was impressed ...
I LOVE THIS PLACE! great little izakaya. I was impressed with all the dishes we ordered. The only two things I didn’t think that highly of were the fish ceviche and the yuzu cheesecake.
Some of my favorite items there are the braised beef guitam with mashed potatos, Buda Meshi, Seared salmon carpaccio, duck steak, daikon salad, and the black sesame ice cream.
It is, however, pricey. Seperate menus for lunch and dinner. Lunch specials are priced pretty reasonably, and the dinner menu has hundreds of items on there. Reservations are highly recommended because they’re so busy!!
tulips500
yes please!
after reading and hearing much, i finally got to try some gochi dinner during my short visit to the bay. the japanese fusion cuisine definitely satisfied my palate, and overall, left me one very happy camper.
the beautifully understated japanese wood interior is a far cry from its unassuming exterior, which apparently hasn’t kept it hidden from local diners. on a thursday night when i went, the place was packed and bustling. as i was w/a large group, we got to have one of the sliding door rooms on the side, and got a more private dining experience (although it did get a little warm inside).
service was friendly and helpful, and the only thing that might keep me from returning are the prices – that tend to run on the higher end.
Dishes Tried:
Risotto Croquettes
everyone at my table seemed to love the croquettes, and i thought they were pretty darn good, but not quite as good as i was hoping. i felt they were lacking in flavor a bit. maybe i have to try them again.
Seaweed Salad
the seaweed salads i’m used to eating are usually ALL seaweed…no green salad really. so i was surprised when this salad was almost all green salad, w/small thin slices of seaweed that i barely noticed or tasted. i’d probably think again before ordering this dish…maybe if i was in need of some greenage for the day.
Pork
who knew pork could be so fatty?! one bite into this supremely fatty pork, and you’ll be wanting more. very tender, lightly flavored and bathing in a watery sauce (soy sauce?) of some sort, this kind of pork was a first for me.
Black sesame ice cream
3 good-sized scoops. if i didn’t know any better, i would’ve thought this was cookies ‘n cream b/c that’s what it looked like. but, one taste and the black sesame flavor overwhelms you…at least it did for me. can’t say i’m a big fan of black sesame, so this dessert wasn’t for me.
Dry salty fish and spicy roe fried rice clay pot
we ordered the largest size, and it came out in this ginormous bowl! it was enough to feed our table of 8, and then some. the fish is soft and salty, and the flavor of the soup base (comes in a tea pot) goes well w/the rice and fish.
Salmon carpaccio
yumm…slightly cooked along the edges, this thinly sliced salmon tasted fresh and delicious. my only beef would be that you don’t get too many slices.
Green tea creme brulee
i’m not really a fan of green tea itself, but put it in ice cream or creme brulee and poof! it tastes great! an almost gelatiny-custard consistency with a moderate green tea flavor — yum in my tum!
Kim Chee Pizza
this was a surprisingly excellent flat bread pizza. i couldn’t really taste the kim chee, but something in the pizza kept me going back for more.
Unagi Pizza
compared to the kim chee pizza, i didn’t like this unagi pizza as much. not to say it wasn’t tasty. couldn’t quite place my finger on why though.
I often go here for lunch since they have...
I often go here for lunch since they have 20-25 different donburis and I’ve tried maybe 10 of them. I definitely would like to try the rest 15 before summer ends :p Food is great, staffs are very friendly, and (at least for lunches) I never have to wait for long.
I want to gather a group of 6-7 friends and try their dinner (which is often regarded as one of the 3 best Japanese restaurants in South Bay — the other two being Tanto and Saizo which I’ve tried).
Best Dishes at Gochi Japanese Fusion Tapas
View all dishesThese dishes from the Gochi Japanese Fusion Tapas menu are contributed by Menuism users directly, as part of a restaurant review, or as part of a photo upload.
-
Salmon carpaccio (
) -
Green tea creme brulee
-
Dry salty fish and spicy roe fried rice clay pot
- Tags
- Website
- Hours
-
Mon-Fri 11:30AM - 01:30PMMon-Fri 06:00PM - 10:30PMSat 05:30PM - 09:30PM
Loves Gochi Japanese Fusion Tapas (6)
justin
Chicago, IL
+902 useful
mandeelish
Santa Clara, CA
+336 useful
opilicious
San Jose, CA
+299 useful
mirabell_19
Los Angeles, CA
+121 useful
Wants to Try Gochi Japanese Fusion Tapas (13)
fattiusthebear
Berkeley, CA
+620 useful
john
Seattle, WA
+735 useful
jetleigh
Seattle, WA
+619 useful
foodbuddha
Mountain View, CA
+178 useful
hungrytraveller
Sunnyvale, CA
+117 useful
Efface
Los Angeles, CA
+100 useful
trufflupagus
New York, NY
+59 useful
gary
Mountain View, CA
+60 useful
lovelypolarbear
Fullerton, CA
+44 useful
hermes
Cupertino, CA
+10 useful
Channing
Novato, CA
+45 useful
ironchef16
0 useful
DavidK
Los Altos, CA
0 useful