Kappo Nami Nami

Reviews

• Joe D.

  star star star star star 11 June 2026

  I love Kappo Nami Nami. The name for a start is irresistible. Been coming here about monthly with a group of 5 or 6 guys, and here is why we keep coming back:
  
  The food is consistently fresh, made with care. It is not complex or contrived, but simple and delicious.
  
  The service is always friendly and welcoming, the way great restaurants (especially Japanese) are. Even when we sit talking until 10:00PM or later, they never rush us, never make us feel unwelcome.
  
  The prices might be high for Dayton but not for Mountain View. Good value.
  
  It's NOT a chain. This is someone's business, and they know how to treat customers.
  
  I love this place and their calm, steady ways. We'll be back!
  
  Joe D

• ben l.

  star star star star star_border 26 May 2026

  Fairly decent izakaya that graciously allowed us to be seated about a half an hour before closing, to our relief and gratitude. I wasn't actually super impressed by the cooked dishes, though. Why 4 stars, then? Surely not simply for the late seating? Patience, little one.
  
  The tongue dish wasn't all that compared to Gochi's gyuutan kakuni (IMHO one of the best riffs on buta kakuni I've encountered). It was almost as velvety in texture as Gochi's tongue but I found the sauce too sweet and something in the dish made my stomach queasy after 1 bite.
  
  The agedashi doufu was huge (felt like an entire package in the bowl) and came with scallops(!), but the 4 big blocks of tofu itself were so big they were bland despite sitting in the saltier dashi, and the scallops were overcooked as they basically boiled away in the dashi while I was trying to find them and rescue them (and you only get 1 cut into quarters, it seemed).
  
  The soft-boiled egg dish was fine but expensive for what you get, 2 eggs with a few tiny bits of radish, asparagus, and a pinch of ikura.
  
  The chicken karaage was slightly burnt and not as good as our favorite at Yayoi. It's better at En as well, whose main selling point most of the time are its cheapness ($28 uni bowl with 3 huge and tasty sides ftw), its late hours, and its wall-to-wall salaryman throng.
  
  Would expect a little better since the chef is supposed to be famous or whatever. But the whatever turned out to be how I felt about the food. I'm glad I didn't find this out about the chef until after or my expectations would have had farther to fall.
  
  Maybe it's our fault, coming in so late. Or maybe we ordered the wrong things, but I read glowing reviews of the tongue dish on Chowhound and I didn't feel that lived up to the hype.
  
  The meal would have been another expensive "whatever" in a sea of "whatevers" I've been experiencing since moving to the Bay area but for a not-minor miracle.
  
  I know I probably piss off the locals griping about the sucky food across the board for a supposed foodie town (not if you're from a real foodie town like NY, HK, Paris, Tokyo, or even LA, which I hesitate to name in the same breath as those other cities), and the lack of excellent sushi at not exorbitant prices all around the bay, but it's a real epidemic in my opinion. So color me shocked when the sushi was surprisingly good both for an izakaya and for the area.
  
  The uni was much tinier lobes than I'm used to and had a strangely squishier texture than I'm used to as well, but was creamy and didn't taste metallic or bitter. I'm extremely picky about my uni so it's high praise if I say it didn't suck.
  
  The ikura was briny but not too salty, hard to find IME.
  
  The biggest letdown was that the toro was chuutoro and not oh toro, but it was an okay piece of chuutoro.
  
  The yellowtail was a pinker cut than I prefer but at least it wasn't fishy.
  
  The regular tuna wasn't amazing but it at least had some color and some substance unlike the watery, unmeaty versions I'm usually treated to by bay area restaurants.
  
  The sushi wasn't Sushi Gen level (I know, I'm a broken record) but it probably was up there with Sushi Sam's without the crazy wait and the factory commissary ambience (though Nami Nami can't beat Sam's for breadth of choice in sea life). Some of the better sushi I've had up here since Geta's new management flushed their quality down the toilet.
  
  As an izakaya it was okay but didn't blow me away, unfortunately. Iroriya was better. But as an izakaya that serves sushi, I was pleasantly surprised. Iroriya's sushi was worse and more expensive.

• Manfred S.

  star star star star star 24 May 2026

  Only come here if you like Japanese food. It was as good as it gets and I didn't have to cross an ocean. I was lucky to have Japanese hosts that are long time friends and who understand that I like it authentic.
  Our selection:
  Sapporo draft, edamame, white fish tempura roasted fish head, nakaochi rolls, sushi: hamachi, otoro, uni; then a beef dish (rare ordered came medium to medium well just like Japan), and a wonderful bottle of Kikusui sake.

• Kris Y.

  star star star star star_border 22 May 2026

  One of our go-to lunch spots on Castro st in Mountajn View. Good sets for $20 or less, high quality sashimi and sushi.
  
  Overall: 4.5/5
  Food: 5/5
  Value: 4/5
  Service: 5/5
  Decor: 5/5
  
  Hokkai Zen, their sashimi lunch set is $20 and comes typically with an assortment of salmon, scallop, hamachi, tuna, and sometimes uni. The miso soup is fairly standard as is the salad (which has a tasty sauce though).
  
  The tofu is a nice dish you are vegetarian - comes in a hot pot with vegetables like cabbage and ponzu sauce on the side.
  
  Rice is refillable and the service is efficient and pleasant. Highly recommend for lunch (expensive spot for dinner though). Perhaps slightly on the higher side price wise, but good food. A great convenient location on Castro St!

• Jenny H.

  star star star star star_border 16 May 2026

  We were here on Friday night, lots of people here. So, it is best to have reservation in advance. Crab porridge, eel Don and grilled fish were delicious. Yummy food with great service, and it is located in downtown mountain view.