Kuriya Japanese Kitchen

Came here on a Sunday afternoon. This is a small family run establishment. They are friendly with all of the diners and people seem to enjoy the food. Normally I'd be wary of sushi restaurants also serving ramen and curry, but we all gotta risks here. We ordered their kaki fry and nigiri combo. The kaki fry is a must-try! The texture and juiciness were noteworthy. We were disappointed in the nigiri combo though. They were only $30 and came with salad and miso soup, but it was all basic and repeating pieces.

A good bang for buck option in this area. I was initially very impressed by their quality of kaki fry ($11.50) that came fresh and crispy, with hot and juicy oysters on the inside. However, I was a little let down when the 10 piece nigiri combo ($30) came and I saw several repeated pieces and they were all basic cuts of fish. Although I have zero complaints about the quality of food, I just wish it were more unique.

The black garlic ramen was absolutely delicious! Rich and flavorful with a generous amount of black garlic that added a wonderful depth. The egg was well-marinated and added a silky touch. I was seated at the bar and got to see where all the magic happens. Chef Jackie was crafting sushi rolls at lightning speed! The service was excellent- all the staff were warm, friendly, and attentive. Thank you for such a memorable meal. I'll be back soon!

Food: 3.5 - 4.5 stars Service: 4 stars Ambiance: 3.5 stars Value: Average - Expensive Kuriya offers more variety of fish (sashimi/nigiri) than the typical Japanese restaurant and the chef was kind enough to point out the freshest offering on the menu, including fresh Scallops from Hokkaido. We ordered what we thought was plenty of food for the two of us but twice we we ordered more food as we didn't get full. First round included: 1 Sushi Taco appetizer which was ok. Four pieces of tempura base with rice, crab salad, avocado, chopped fish and tobiko. We noticed a strange, slightly unpleasant taste that seemed like the crab salad came out of a can but it was hard to pinpoint. It was not something we'd order again. 1 Kuriya Roll - This was one of the best thing we had! Delicious! How can you go wrong with Toro? Yumm! 1 Bay Bridge Roll - It looked good on paper and as presented but the flavor was forgettable. Unlike the Kuriya roll, nothing about it stood out or made us want to savor each bite. 1 Super Spider Roll - I love soft shell crab and spider rolls. Kuriya's version is generous. The portion is big but flavor wise it was ok. 1 Hotate Nigiri (the fresh Kokkaido scallop). WOW!!! it was sublime! The freshness and sweetness of the scallop shined! I loved it! 1 Kanpachi (amberjack) nigiri - I've enjoyed lots of Kanpachi in Japan. This was not at that level. I should have gone with one of the Chef's suggestions of fresh catches. After all that we went back for the Tim Roll (half seared, half not) which we enjoyed and the Chawamushi (I liked it, my partner did not care for it). Ambiance: It has a family (owned) vibe to it. The employees had their toddler settled in the area between the sushi bar and kitchen. It is clean and inviting but not a true Japanese vibe (the owners/employees are not Japanese, not that it matters to me). The employees were attentive and nice. All that food plus 2 large beers were satisfying. We left satisfied even though the meal set us back about $175. TBH, if I'm going to spend that much for two people, Kuriya wouldn't be my first pick.

This location would easily fall into the top 3 sushi I've had in California, maybe even #1. I could actually taste each type of sushi in the rolls (instead of it all blending into each other like other places). We got the Kuriya roll and 1 more (can't remember the name). We got our food within 5 minutes of sitting down which is AMAZING. Potato appetizer was to die for, and their tea is SO fragrant and delicious. I don't like oysters but their fried oysters were delicious, even to me! We also got curry which was really good but pales in comparison to the sushi. We preferred the fish curry over the katsu curry. I would eat here everyday if I could, seriously! Staff was so kind as well. It really doesn't get any better than this!

Good quality sushi at reasonable prices. Service was good. Chinese-owned but not a bad thing. Menu is pretty basic and no many choices, but quality over quantity. Parking might be a little hard to find.

The Tim roll was simple yet extremely satisfying with hamachi and seared salmon. The higher fish to rice ratio made it enjoyable to eat with the white ginger and a bit of soy. 5/5 I'm excited to come back and have more of the sushi here. The tonkatsu ramen had a very well-made half egg and noodles, but the cha-shu could either be more tender or sliced thinner, and the broth could use more umami-ness or flavoring to make it stand out.

So I have to admit I was skeptical about this Japanese spot simply because the previous longtime occupant of this space was a lackluster Chinese takeout spot, The Pearl House (review: https://yelp.to/4eHUXl-1tJ). However, Jamie W. and I finally took a chance and came away pleasantly surprised that it was a more than decent Japanese restaurant. We decided to share our plates as usual. We started with the $35 Sashimi Combination which was described as 14 pieces. I counted 11, and they were scrunched in a bowl, which made the portion look smaller (photo: https://yelp.to/W5e2a4g5Wy). Fortunately the fish tasted fresh so we weren't feeling that persnickety. We also went for the $14.50 Rainbow Roll. Again the fish was fresh, and the execution was solid (photo: https://yelp.to/6Ap5olXwWo). The one marginal disappointment was the $8.50 Tori Karaage where the fried chicken nuggets were neither crispy nor meaty enough to quite satisfy (photo: https://yelp.to/ooN4z7fOh7). Since we ordered just one entree, we had to divvy up the warm Miso Soup (photo: https://yelp.to/5I0Jw8H8wQ) and the overdressed Salad (photo: https://yelp.to/3gvT-WizBc). FOOD - 4 stars...saved by the freshness of the sashimi AMBIANCE - 3.5 stars...expected travelogue decor SERVICE - 3.5 stars...quiet TOTAL - 4 stars...stick with the sushi and sashimi RELATED - Exploring Albany? Here's my collection of places I've patronized and reviewed: https://bit.ly/3ebRKbk