Katsu Los Gatos

Pretty good! The food was really good! Sushi rolls were fantastic! Only one thing (hk 47) was not good.
The server was super duper friendly and nice. He switched out the entrée we didn’t like, and brought us a new comp’d one. Good job!
Sad to see this place closing! First and last visit :(

When Katsu opened 3 years ago, everyone in town was so excited since Chef Nobu was behind it.
I have gone several times over the last few years and it was great but expensive.
Last month my daughter and I went on a Monday evening, it was awful
The sushi and cocktails were sub-​par to say the least. I didn’t complain to the staff, just left and annoyed…
It’s really sad that it has gone downhill and I obviously will never go again,
Los Gatos has wonderful eateries but the sushi bars are lame!
So sad

We came away very mixed with Katsu, for several reasons.
On one hand the food is good, maybe better than expected relative to some other reviews. The sushi rolls were properly done, rice cooked perfectly and seasoned nicely, fish seemed fresh. Tasting menu was pretty good, but not innovative. Miso cod was good, but nothing new these days. The service was friendly, albeit a tad amateur for what I thought was a restaurant vying to be high end.
But two things really ruined it for us, the interior /​purple lighting, and being questioned about our gift certificates being bogus.
For the interior, as you look closer to the couches, paint on the walls, the upkeep of the bathrooms… pretty low budget for a nice restaurant. The purple LED lighting just made everything look pale brown, both the food and people… completely unappetizing. We had to shine our phone flashes on the food to see what we were really eating!
Then the gift certificate thing just killed our evening. Granted the date written on them was apparently prior the restaurant opening, obviously the manager at the time (who’s signature was on them) wrote the prior year by accident. Plus these were obviously professionally printed certificates on card stock plus in an envelope with Katsu’s stationary and seal.
I’ve never been to a $ 50/​person restaurant and felt so humiliated. Honestly I cannot say how this should have been handled. I can understand the restaurant questioning the date, but it wasn’t like we brought in printouts from an inkjet printer. So here we are at 10:30pm trying to call my wifes manager to prove the certificates… absurd. More to the point, NEVER make your customers feel accused of something they didn’t do.
In all fairness, there are things that are ok, but other things just not up to par, (eg: current management). I wish we went when the place first opened, sad to see the fall off, especially in such a great location and town.

I’ve been at Katsu at least 10 times since first week after opening. Quality has gradually been lowered but I’ve kept coming back because of 2 – 3 signature dishes I like (Miso Cod, Hamachi Jalapeño, HK47). Now the standards are well below what can be expected but prices hasn’t followed. We never liked the blu hue and techno music but accepted it for the previously great food.
Food quality and interior seem linked in their decay; sofas has been replaced with standard tables and the signs of a luxury restaurant in the food is dissapearing. Sake selection used to be great, now several obvious choises are missing.
Service level follows suite; inexperienced servers with little knowledge of the food and drink that are being served.
Place is generally deserted which is a shame since food here was once great and possibly coul be again.

Came here on a Monday night at around 7pm and place was empty unfortunately.
My experience was poor. Sushi rolls fell apart instantly and rice fell off the paper too. I have never had such a poor sushi roll experience. I hope the owner considers hiring someone with more sushi experience because if he doesn’t I am not sure how long the business will survive open. Over all staff was super friendly and wish them the best! I know how hard it could be owning a restaurant.
I read many great reviews and some recent poor reviews and realized it’s because the chef left.

It’s 5:30 on a Friday night in downtown Los Gatos — we were looking for somewhere to have an early dinner. We had not tried Katsu yet. Curious and in the mood for the kind of experience we used to get at Nobu in LA, we popped in.
The place was deserted. Only 1 table was occupied with guests and two others at the bar. We figured we wouldn’t have a problem getting a seat given the hour and the vast cavern of emptiness.
The hostess with a hottie tone (not making a great first impression) asks for our reservation. We say we don’t have one and she promptly explains that there is no room at the inn (so-​to-​speak). We couldn’t help but chuckle. The place was practically desolate. She said that by 6:30 Katsu would be packed as all their tables were reserved for the evening.
This spurred our curiosity so we said that we were cool with sitting at the bar. She didn’t seem too happy about this but pointed us off to it.
We grabbed two stools and waited for assistance. It was slow, very slow. Did I mention that there was only 2 others at the bar? Finally someone showed up to assist. We ordered drinks and asked for the menu.
Per usual, I asked for assistance locating gluten free items. I was promptly told that the only thing gluten free was plain rice and a plain salad — no dressing. All items included some form of soy (which often has gluten) so it wouldn’t be safe.
We realized pretty quickly I wasn’t going to be able to order dinner here, so we decided to hang out, enjoy drinks and wait to see this onslaught of people with reservations that would come trampling through between 6 and 7pm.
We stayed till 6:40 — Katsu remained empty. Only two additional tables were filled. I don’t quite know what happened or why the hostess didn’t want to fill a table at an empty restaurant, but that was certainly what happened.
Poor service with an attitude, medicare drinks and little to no gluten free options — don’t think we’ll return.

I was so, so, soooo excited to come here when it first opened. I came here with my boyfriend and had the tasting menu. I was not impressed, but we did get super full.
The only part of the meal that really stood out to me was the black cod with miso sauce. That was really delicious and flavorful. I would get it again as takeout and eat it with rice. The sushi rolls, steak, and hamachi were just okay.
The reason I’d only get takeout is cause this place seems «hip» in a way that seems like it is trying too hard. The lights inside make everyone’s face red and it’s kind if creepy lol.
Fancy ambience, but for the price, I think the food should be better.

I came here for dinner to celebrate my 22^nd birthday; what I really enjoyed was the service and the ambience. It had a trendy ambience, everyone was very professional and friendly, and I got a free slice of red velvet cake for my birthday ;).
I was really excited about the cocktails because the descriptions sounded great but in the end the were only okay. In line with this, I expected the food to be better than it was based on the price. However, my mom did get really tipsy off of one cocktail, and I ended up having to drive us home. That was fun. :)

Like prior reviews, the service was really bad here. Our waitress seemed very frazzled and messed up our order more than a few times and the last time, we actually had to call her out on it. We felt pretty uncomfortable dining there. It didn’t help that the food is overpriced for what you get, which is mediocre sushi that comes with more rice than fish. And when the sushi rolls came out, they were so small. We cringed and looked at each other said, «That’s it?». Didn’t taste quality, or was anything to write home about, which is disappointing consdering you are paying so much for these tiny rolls.
I felt as if we were being shoved out the front door as we had the bill forced on us, the staff started moving around chairs and tables to set up closing, and the AC came on full blast that it became uncomfortably cold.
I won’t be going back either. Really bad dining experience, I apologized to my party more than once for suggesting we try this place out for the first time. Oh and by the way, the décor is not all that. I don’t know what everyone is so impressed about.

this was honestly one of the WORST dining experiences I have ever had!!! We were there for 45 minutes before we got a drink… the food was mediocre at best.
The only thing this place has going for it is the décor. It is beautifully done.

We wanted to like this place. We really did.
We came on a Tuesday evening and were seated right away. We we were the only customers there at the time.
The service was great. Each person was very attentive and professional. Unfortunately, the restaurant itself was not professional at all. I felt so bad for our waitress who apologized & even said she was embarrassed by how many times she had to tell us «no». I don’t remember her name, but she was a young girl that graduated in 2009 (we over heard her talking). She was great. If it wasn’t for her, I’d give this place a 1 star.
With a full bar displayed right in the middle of the place, they were out of alcohol. We were told «no» 3 different times since they didn’t have the alcohol stocked. Well, as a «high end» place with 4 «$» they should never have to say no to any customer.
As for the food. The two dishes we got were amazing. They were the appetizers.
Jumbo Scallops: Crispy on the outside, sweet & moist on the inside. GET THIS.
Black Cod Miso: So good. One of their main dishes & definitely worth ordering. It’s on their appetizer section, but it comes out as a plate. Very strange. The fish is moist and slightly sweet. This is worth ordering as well.
Rock n Roll: This was good, but not amazing. Unagi, hamachi, & avocado all tasted fine.
Salmon Delight: This was better. Salmon, avocado & cucumber topped with seared scallops and spicy mayo sauce. Very good.
Sushi Mix: This was a selection of mixed sashimi. They had a nice variety and my husband enjoyed it. It was fresh.
The thing is. the chef is a chef Nobu. You’d expect better sushi. This is a sushi place and it just seemed mediocre. I’ve had tastier sushi elsewhere. If it weren’t for the two appetizers, I would tell you to never come. I guess order at your own will. Be prepared for them to be out of things too. So unprofessional for a restaurant.

I don’t think we caught them on a good night… Because for how much it costs, I expected alot more. Food and service was terrible.
When my wife and I go out for sushi, we like to start with some miso, salad, and edamame. We do some nigiri and my wife always orders a dragon roll. This is what took place on a Sunday night 8:30pm:
We walked in and there was not host at the front to greet us. The greeting area was a complete mess, with menu’s all over the place. We stood there for a couple minutes behind these weird curtains until a guy who looked like a chef from the kitchen approached us and sat us at a table. I had to ask him who our server was going to be, it was a lousy first impression. We waited 10 minutes for water… For God’s sake.
The server gave us the drama about how busy it was earlier and how her friend who is the other server called in sick… Etc. It was unnessisary information, just smile and do your job. We had to ask for water refill twice and my salad tasted like cleaning products.
The sushi was lackluster, honestly the best thing I had was the two pieces of salmon and yellow fin tuna.
We observed the owner/​manager lady doing the books for the night at the bar while sticking her fingers into the olive jar behind the bar and eating them. The second server kept coming out of the back with his mouth full of food.
We paid $ 71 for 30 minutes of garbage food, garbage service, and spa techno trance music. This was supposed to be a special night for us. We will stick to our normal sushi place from now on.
Definatley Los Gatos price, but falls Way short of Los Gatos class. Stay away!

I’m not a big sushi person but I was here for a friend’s b’day dinner and the place always looked cool in pictures. It was smaller inside then I imagined and definitely not as crowded or as loud as I would’ve thought either. The whole 2 hours we were there it never really picked up for a Saturday night.
I ordered the whopping $ 20 (yeah ughhh) Ruby house cocktail and was unimpressed. The lemon drop and waikiki drinks looked better. The Ishiyaki Filet mignon was cooked well but not amazing; I would’ve liked a little more of the BBQ sauce. The sushi rolls were what really stood out. Loved the spicy tuna and my favorite was the shrimp tempura. I was disappointed with the red velvet cheesecake because I, for one thing, thought it was just cake not cheesecake but thats ok I guess (the menu only says red velvet under cakes). And two, it didn’t look like any of the red velvets on Unilocal which looked way more appetizing. The fruity sauce watered it down and killed the flavor for me.
All in all, we would come back for the sushi and probably skip the house drinks. Our waitress was one of the nicest I’ve ever had anywhere. She apologized profusely about how they are not honoring the bottomless champagne anymore which lessoned the blow. Interesting new place to try on a night out if you’ve got cash to burn and an empty stomach.

Katsu has more of a lounge vibe than a restaurant. The lights were purple and dim. The music was soothing.
Tempura Udon was delicious. Best udon broth I’ve had in awhile from a restaurant. It definitely do not taste like the broth was made from a packet of MSG. The noodles were perfectly soft. The bowl came with two tempura shrimps, two tempura bell pepper slices, one asparagus, and 3 fish cakes. Definitely one of the best udons I’ve had coming from a Japanese restaurant.
The Filet Mignon came with a side of mashed potatoes, sauteed mushrooms, a couple of brussels sprouts, and a wasbi-​like gravy. The filet mignon was overcooked from what we requested and so it was too chewy to enjoy the actual steak itself. The mashed potatoes was creamy and soft. The sauteed mushrooms were amazing! The brussels sprouts were decent, nothing special. The wasbi-​like gravy was very interesting and I definitely liked it with the mashed potatoes.
Overall, it was a nice experience. I’d love to come back to try other dishes on the menu.

This place was a big let down with over price food.
If I’m going to be paying that much money for sushi 16 — 20 dollar rolls I’d rather go to cha cha sushi.
911 bomb: Very spicy. The waitress even warned me that this roll was going to be spicy, but I wanted to try it anyways. The chillies that were in the roll were (Ghost, scorpion, Serrano, and jalapeño.) My mouth was on fire, but the waitress was nice enough to bring me milk.
sea food ceviche: Now I actually really like this dish. Very refreshing and a great tease for your pallet. This had crab, nuts, sprouts and other ingredients I could not name at the time because it was very dark.
Oyster shooters: Oysters were fresh and tasted good. You can’t really mess up on oyster shooters unless the oyster is not fresh.
Philly roll: Over use of the cream cheese.
I forgot the other rolls, must have left a bad taste in my mouth I couldn’t remember.
On a side note: HOT GIRLS! waitress was awesome. Very friendly and kept my drink filled up. Two starts for her. 0 for the place.

Overall 3.5 stars.
Food– Omakase was a good value and all but 1 of the dishes (the sea bass) were good. Dessert was great definitely a perfect way to end the meal.
Service– Very friendly staff that know their stuff. There were definitely certain tables getting a bit more attention. However at $ 50+ per person, I did expect a bit more.
Ambiance– cool vibe. At night it was all red inside.
Will I be back? Maybe. But, if I had time, I would prefer making a trip into the city for the Decadent Omakase at Roka Akor which has set a very high bar for all other Japanese Fine Dining.

3.5 STARS
It was my first time here this past Friday night. We didn’t have reservations but the place wasn’t packed for it to matter. As we were checking in, there was a family in front of us who were waiting to be helped. The host was MIA, and due to my curiosity, I peeked my head in past the curtains to see most of the staff hurdled together. I finally made eye contact with a waiter and waved him over. The host comes rushing over moments later. It was a sloppy transition. Anyways, the family turned around to thank me before walking to their table. Small deed for the day.
After we were seated, we decided to try the Chef’s Tasting Menu. Six courses+dessert for $ 60/​person? Can’t pass that up.
FIRST COURSE– The good o’ edamame.
SECOND COURSE– Seafood ceviche (Dungeness crab, rock shrimp lemon, chili and crunchy Peruvian corn nuts). This was my favorite! I’ve never had anything like it. All the flavors and textures of this dish went together well. It had this awesome citrus-​y taste with a touch of sweetness. Very refreshing.
THIRD COURSE– Hamachi jalapeño with yuzu citrus. This was also very tasty!
FOURTH COURSE– Koji seabass paired with a small scoop of white rice. The seabass was good, but I think they should’ve gone easy with the Sriracha.
FIFTH COURSE– 8 oz. filet mignon. This was overkill, and a little dry. The waitress didn’t ask how we wanted it done, and I guess we also forgot to tell her? Neither of us finished ours because we were so full.
We were expecting small portions for the tasting menu, but to our surprise everything was pretty much normal servings. I asked for a to-​go box and it came back nicely wrapped.
SIX COURSE– Chef’s Choice Sushi Assortment. This wasn’t anything special.
DESSERT– Chef’s dessert surprise. We each had a slice of red velvet cake, mochi and sorbet. This was a nice ending.
Overall, I liked the atmosphere and it was definitely a bang for your buck. I wouldn’t order some of the items individually, so it was a good deal.

There’s a value problem here, people.
Chef Katsuhiko apparently used to work for Nobu, and it’s clear that his goal is to make his own Nobu in Los Gatos. The problem, however is that Katsu is charging Nobu prices for regular Japanese food. I see that they’re striving to get to that next level, with close attention to artistic plating, but the quality, uniqueness, and crafstmanship of the dishes just isn’t there. To justify these prices, dishes MUST stand out as among the best examples of that dish I’ve had before. Sadly, in two clear examples, they did not.
The jalapeño hamachi yuzu dish was fine, but I personally like the Pepperfin dish at Mikuni’s in Sacramento better. The crispy rice topped with spicy tuna was also good here, but unfortunately I just had a fantastic version of just that dish at Yatai in LA (and for $ 3 at happy hour!). Even the version at Mizu in Campbell just as good.
I had a variety of other dishes– steak, miso black cod… (uh oh, it’s only been a week and I can’t even remember what else I had!). All were good, but only just.
Ambience is cool– Vegasy, not at all Los Gatos. Service was fine. If the prices were cut in half, I would be raving about this place.
Management– if you’re reading this, step up your game to match the prices, or lower your prices to match your game. As it is, I can’t see myself going back.

All I can say is what a difference a few months can make! Katsu has taken to heart the input from their customers and made some fabulous changes!
The management at Katsu reached out to let us know that they had made several changes and asked if we would be willing to come back in and give it another go! I asked the original party that I dined with to join me so that I could get their input as well. I was crossing my fingers that they had made enough changes but to tell you the truth I was not sure what to expect. I was completely caught off guard, in a good way, when the owner sat down to eat with us. The owner, Bobby, showed genuine concern that we had been let down during our first experience at Katsu. He talked to us about a lot of the changes that the restaurant had made and then we moved on to more important topics. food and the rule of 8 ball:-)
But let me start at the beginning.
The changes were apparent from the moment we walked in the door. The host was very professional and dressed very appropriate for an upscale restaurant.
We were seated only one table away from where we sat last time and boy what a change. There was a curtain blocking out the light from the kitchen so this time we really got to experience the full ambiance of the restaurant. I really love the sexy vibe with the low lighting and purple & black décor.
My entire party (except me) started the night with a flight of 7 Saki’s. I took a small sip of a few of these. If you like Saki this is a good way to start the evening! One person in our party ordered the «Ruby» (Grey Goose L’Orange, St. Germain, fresh ruby grapefruit juice, and Dom Perignon). She really enjoyed this drink. Said it was well balanced and not too sweet. Drinks are expensive here but I just saw that they now are offering $ 10 endless glasses of Champagne for women on certain nights of the week!
So what? Tell us about the food!
Hamachi Jalapeño with Yuzu Citrus — $ 16 (5 stars)
We had this the first time we came and really enjoyed it. Thin tender slices of Hamachi melted in your mouth. I love the combination of the bold citrus and kick from the Jalapeño! Oh, and wait. Can there be more? Yes, there can! The portion size increase by double! What?
Ceviche Tacos — $ 19 (3 stars)
I thought these were ok. I could have used more citrus layers and spice. The rest of my party though really enjoyed these! My husband is a Ceviche connoisseur and he said he would definitely get these again.
HK45 — $ 20 (3.5 stars)
The intense flavor of the spicy tuna on top of a crunchy fried rice cube was very well balanced. I would recommending eating each piece in two bites to get the true balance of flavors. I think we let these sit for too long on the table before eating them. They had cooled down and so I think were probably not as good as they could have been. I will be ordering these again and trying them while they are hot.
Black Cod in Sweet Miso — $ 38 (5 stars)
Ok, I love love love this dish! Now if this dish at first tastes too sweet to you just turn the fish over and eat it from the other side. I know this sounds like a weird concept but your bits will taste different. I happen to love the melt in your mouth sea bass caressed in the flavor of the sweet marinade.
Chef’s Special Mix Assorted Sashimi — $ 41 (5 stars)
14 slices of Chef’s selected Sashimi (salmon belly, blue fin tuna, marinated tuna, Hamachi, Blue fin Otoro)
During our last visit the sashimi was so disappointing. Small and flavorless. There are no words to express how good the sashimi was this time around! All of the fish was melt in your mouth good! The portion sizes were perfect! The salmon belly and marinated tuna were the shining stars for me but all of the sashami was excellent and I will order it all again next time! !
Fire kissed Wagyu Beef Sashimi — $ 24 (5 stars)
Ok, I could have eaten 5 plates of this! Funny thing is that I normally don’t eat beef:-) This was like beef carpaccio and was loaded with flavor. So tender and delicious with kisses of ginger and garlic flavor! Bring me more, bring me more!
Tomahawk Chop 21. oz — $ 70 (4 stars)
This was amazing! Our entire party enjoyed it.
Japanese Top grade 5-​A Wagyu Beef New York 7. oz $ 90 (4 stars)
This was very good but but very decadent. A little goes a long way! This is a dish to share.
We also had two items that are not yet listed on the menu
Rock Shrimp Tempura — (3 stars)
Cooked Tuna Rib — (3 stars)
The service was outstanding! Our wait staff was very attentive and knowledgeable about the food and alcohol.
In Summary
4.5−5 stars!
This is the Katsu I was expecting to experience my first time! Well done and congratulations! Thanks for listening to your customers! This was an amazing dining experience that I intend to repeat again and again!
Tips
Take the time to let the server know what type of experience you want and let them make some recommendations.
Eat family style.

We met friends for dinner at Katsu about a week ago and we were all excited to check out the new kid in town.
First. let me say that I’m not afraid of spending money on fine dining or fine wines, but I have pretty high expectations when I do. So. with that in mind…
I perused the wine list and found it to be somewhat short and heavily skewed toward the spendy, particularly in the wines by the glass department. That’s all fine and good but a happy medium would be helpful. There are a lot of great price performing wines out there that are more approachable for the average consumer. It’d be great if a few were included. Not everyone is trying to impress a date or business client.
On the opposite end of the spectrum there was an offering of a generic «house white», «house red» and «house sparkling» on the menu that made things seem cheap. Kind of an odd juxtaposition. I didn’t try any of them so I can’t say if they’re good or not but… just an observation.
As for me, I settled on a speciality cocktail instead. Apparently the «Ruby» is very popular and I can see why. It’s a lovely drink. Very well balanced. Not too sweet. Grey Goose L’Orange, St. Germain, fresh ruby grapefruit juice, and Dom Perignon. Delightful, but also over the top at $ 25 per cocktail. I felt I would be remiss if I didn’t at least try one, and I’m glad I did, but I switched to gin martinis after that. They were also very well made.
We sampled the premium sake flight and enjoyed that as well, though again we ended up switching to something else afterwards.
As for food… since there were four of us we ordered several items to share and sample. I’ll try to go down the list…
Edamame with bonito flakes — At the end of the day it’s still edamame but the aroma of the bonito flake was a nice touch.
Sunomono — I liked the flavor of the pickled daikon here but I can’t say that it was any different than any other sunomono I’ve had.
Corn Fritters — light, hot, fresh… nice but I would have liked a drizzle of sauce of some kind to give it some punch.
HK47 (spicy tuna on crispy rice) — I’ll admit that I might be biased here because I’ve had these at Koi in LA and they’re phenomenal there… but here I found the tuna itself to be rather bland. I would order them again though. they were not greasy and it’s hard not to love crispy rice. As far as I know they are not available elsewhere in the area.
Rock Shrimp Tempura — Fresh. Interesting batter… it seemed different somehow than your average tempura but I can’t put my finger on it. The sauce seemed sriracha-​like. Not something I’d go out of my way to order again.
Mushroom salad — Very enjoyable, and I do think that their vegetarian offerings are creative and tempting. A plus for the veggies and vegans out there, or those that just want to eat healthfully.
Black cod — We had someone in the group who could not have raw items so this was her dish alone. I did not have a chance to try this but she enjoyed it.
Sashimi — Excellent sashimi. It was very fresh and there were some interesting things that I hadn’t had before, like a particular type of squid that had plenty of tooth but was creamy in texture once you chewed it (not at all like a rubber band, which is far too common elsewhere). The uni was also fantastic. Creamy and sweet and slightly ocean-​y.
Dragon Roll — Good. Lighter sauce than you might be used to, which I considered a plus. But. still a dragon roll at the end of the day.
Rib Eye — Also well prepared, but it did not blow my mind.
Service was good but not great. Our server was polite, knowledgeable and helpful but the bar was very slow (or he was very slow) in getting drinks out, even when the restaurant was still empty upon arrival. There were some very long pauses in between dishes as well.
So… bottom line… I would go back for a martini, the sashimi, the uni and the HK47. I might try a couple of other small plates out of curiosity or have a vegetable dish but I can’t say that at this point I would be a regular customer. I feel like I can get a better steak elsewhere, and the roll offerings are no different than other sushi restaurants in the bay area.
Katsu is beautiful and there were certainly some nice items but it just wasn’t holding my interest very well, particularly when you consider the prices in comparison to other fine dining in the area.
Still. I’ll be keeping it on my radar to see what changes and will certainly update accordingly should I return.