Tanto - San Jose
      

 Overall SmileSmileSmile
 Food SmileSmileSmileSmile
 Service SmileSmile
 Ambience Smile
 Value Smile
      

OVERALL

Wondering on the streets of Tokyo at night, I often find it frustrating to find good food after a certain hour.  It's a choice between Izakaya or Ramen, and ramen always wins when I'm alone.  Well, now I can bring my wife and kids to enjoy Izakaya food with me right here in San Jose!  While it's not quite there yet, Tanto does a good job reproducing the casual Japanese Izakaya (not a real business one) feeling in Silicon Valley. 

FOOD

Are you tired of sushi and more sushi?  To be honest, there are probably more sushi bars per capita in Silion  Valley in Tokyo, where Japanese cuisine is A LOT more diversed.  Tanto is a long-awaited restaurant that serves Izakaya (drinking house/watering hole) style food - served in small dishes and you're expected to drink lots of liquor with the food.  Many of the dishes taste homemade, something I can probably make if I really put my mind into it.

We tried a variety of things - grilled and broiled fish, sauteed pork, rice ball,  congee, ramen, etc.  Even the fried  banana with ice cream (NOT recommended!).  Overall the food is flavorful, authentic and on the heavy-side, kind of like country side cooking.  Everything is meticulously presented - of course not quite as good as what you'd find in Japan but close enough....  After, this is San Jose so my expectation is not so high.

SERVICE

Considering this is a family business (I think it is - everyone working there except the mexicans working in the kitchen look alike), the service is good.  There are lots other Japanese restaurants that offer better service though - since that's what the Japanese are really good at. 

One memorable story: During one visit, we left something there and called them to inquire about it.  They told us they'll call when they find it.  Yeah Right!  Well guess what, the next day we got a call and they asked us to pick up our thing.  Pretty amazing - but I think that's just a cultural thing rather than effort to offer good service.

AMBIENCE

There's no ambience to speak of in this restaurant.  While most Japanese restaurants try too hard to look like Japanese restaurants, Tanto didn't really try.  This place is about good food with lots of alcohol, plain and simple.  It's also located in a unattracted part of town - I've even heard some security concerns in that neighborhood.

VALUE

I very seldome rate anyone one smiley for value, but this place really offers the worst value around.  Considering many of the dishes taste homemade, I don't know why I ended up paying $70+ for a dinner for two adults and two small kids - and I just had ONE beer!!  It might look like a place for cheap eats but its definitely NOT one.

BOTTOMLINE

What a relief - no more boring sushis and rolls!!  If you are a true fan of Japanese cuisine, ie you'd drive to Berkeley for Kirala and you can't get enough  Gombei for lunch, then you'd love this place.  It has the flavor  and atmosphere of Japan that is addictive - IF you can afford it.

BTW

Just like the other restaurants that I review, this place is PACKED all the time.  Getting there at 7:30pm means waiting outside for an hour (that's right, there are only 4-5 chairs for waiting indoor).  There's also a sister restaurant in Sunnyvale, but it's definitely not recommended to bring family there since the two times I visited it was packed with businessmen.

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