While Old Town Sushi is all the rage in San Mateo, I discovered Dash Japanese Tapas and Sushi last year. It surely didn’t disappoint. I recently went again and fell in love all over again. The shop is inconspicuously located in the alley of downtown San Mateo next to the movie theater. There’s not much of a wait but reservations are recommended for dinner.

We started with the baked baby scallop with uni. This dish was amazing! The creaminess from the uni was well balance with the scallop and roe.

For $40 a person, you can get a 10 piece omakase meal filled with delicious and fresh fish. My first platter came with ocean trout, hirame, kinmedai, tsuri aji, and ikura. Every fish is pre-dressed so don’t go dipping it in soy sauce! The ocean trout and tsuri aji were the highlights. The ocean trout was smooth and buttery. The tsuri aji was lean but tasty.

The second platter of the omakase was my favorite. It came with albacore belly, marinated bluefin tuna, shima aji, chu toro, and Santa barbara uni. The chef did a wonderful job dressing the fish. The albacore belly was fatty, melt in your mouth deliciousness. The soy marinated bluefin tuna was delicious. It reminded me of tuna with a hint of soy. The shima aji was lean and full of flavor. The chu toro was melt in your mouth divine. The uni tasted like the ocean. mmm…mmm…good!

I also ordered the king salmon belly and masaba (mackerel) off of the daily specials. If you put taste of salmon and o-toro together, you get the taste of king salmon belly. Heaven for salmon lovers!

Look at that beauty! The masaba was lean and the taste reminded me of aji.

Location: 220 Main St, San Mateo, CA 94401