Higuma Japanese Restaurant

This is my favorite place to come to for Japanese Katsu Curry. Their curry has just the right amount of spiciness and isn’t too watery. The katsu also has a very nice crisp when they bring it out to you and isn’t all soggy from sitting in the curry for too long. The ramen and sushi here is also pretty good considering it’s not a dedicated ramen/​sushi shop. My girlfriend is pretty picky about ramen and she likes it here too.
The parking lot is small so sometimes you have to some searching for street parking but at least it’s free and it’s not San Francisco so it’s completely doable.
The restaurant itself is also quite small so sometimes there is a wait for seating, especially large parties, but overall I still love this place. It’s probably my favorite Japanese restaurant in the area.

Second visit here and this time I had the Ramen. It was the Spicy Miso and it was good. Wasn’t expecting the amount of spicy… but it was good.
I’d get it again

I would of gave it a 4 if my wife didn’t like it as bad as she did. The place is pretty small. A lot smaller than it looks from the outside. You come in and you see two sushi chefs from across the room which isn’t very far since it’s not that big. We weren’t sure if we should seat ourselves or wait. We had to ask. I didn’t have to yell across the room since it was (once again) not that big. They said wait and then an little Asian lady pops out the back and seats us. The place looks pretty interesting. The customers looked like usuals like these two old ladies who took a seat at the bar who were served a good assortment of food specialties of the chef. We weren’t too hungry (New Years resolution not to eat too much) so we got the Chirashi and the Assorted sashimi. It came with the soup and salad. My wife didn’t like the the salad too much because of the salad dressing. It reminded her of mayo. The taste and the texture was questionable. It was okay for me. I had better. The fish tasted fresh. Only one fish was quite weird. Not sure what it was. It was a bit tough but with a slimy texture. It wasn’t bad but weird. The price was decent but not cheap. There wasn’t too much off on issue except that it was pretty cramped after the crowd started to come in. At one point we had to be reseated to accommodate another party coming in. Not a big problem but after the place was packed the claustrophobia started setting in (note: no history of claustrophobia). If you want fresh sushi you’ll get it here. I’m sure the experience will be different for everyone.

Tried the grilled ika (squid legs) today and it’s so delicious. Good flavor with a touch of sesame seeds. Will come back for it sometime.
There is a black board on the wall with specials. Don’t forget to check it out! :)

Love this place. It is small. The food is always perfect. It isn’t good for groups. It’s a very intimate setting. Super place to take a date.

Really great quality sushi, some of which is worth the price. Pay attention to the menu and sushi list as there are some mild inconsistencies in what you would get for cost vs. volume.
The food overall in my opinion is hit or miss. This place is really good at Sushi, other areas could use improvement. I’ve eaten here maybe a ½ dozen times now and my dining experience is always mixed. Stick with the fish.
They do have a great sake menu with some really good cold sake’s that I love.
Service could be improved. It seems the wait staff gets overwhelmed if they are serving more that one table at a time. Service is slow. This is a consistent experience, be ready to wait a long time for everything.

Best sushi on the peninsula, without a doubt. Cute, small, family-​feeling vibe with friendly service. Absolutely delicious sashimi and rolls, quality on par with the very best. Chirashi and Sashimi Mix (each ~$ 22 as of ¹⁰⁄₂₀₁₅) are highlights, as is the salmon skin roll and scallop hand roll. But to be honest, every single item I’ve ever ordered (except for the appetizer salad, go ahead and avoid that) is phenomenal. Highly recommend.

It’s a house that has converted into a restaurant. Tiny parking lot in the back or street parking along El Camino. There’s a patio where you can wait to be seated since it’s very small inside. Do not come with a group large than 4 as there are very limited number of tables (and they’re all 2 or 4 people tables). You put your name on the clipboard located by the doorway. There’s a bathroom to the right with additional chairs for waiting.
Minimum charge per person
Lunch: $ 9.5
Dinner: $ 12
Sushi Bar: $ 20
$ 0.50 per to-​go container
Our Order:
Black Sesame Ramen: $ 13
Tonkatsu Ramen: $ 12
Negihama Roll: ($ 4) 6pcs
Uni: MP
Hot Tea
My BF got the Tonkatsu Ramen while I had the Black Sesame Ramen. The broths were on the salty side and my BF’s noodle were a lot more thin and limp than what was in my bowl. I actually enjoyed my noodles (my BF kept stealing some of mine). The soft-​boiled egg in both of our bowls were over-​done and nearly completely boiled. The uni didn’t have the nice custard-​like texture to it unfortunately. After dinner tho, my stomach got really upset. That usually happens when I eat something really oily. I knew I should’ve scooped out the fat floating in my soup or could be the uni. =/​
Service here is quite lacking. A couple who were seated after us was able to get their drinks and order before we even got our menus. We got all of our food very quickly but didn’t get our drinks till after asking 3x after getting our food. My BF was already halfway done with the food when we were finally able to get something to drink. I was thirsty so I didn’t start eating till we got our drinks since the food would just make me more thirsty. Never got checked on or drinks refilled. They charge you for containers as well. No desire to come back.

Wow, fresh, fresh, fresh. I even wanted to eat the garnish it was so fresh and perfect. A small seating area, but full when I arrived, but there was room at the Sushi bar. Most large Sushi restaurants have 3 Sushi chefs, so seeing this small venue I was surprised to see 2 Sushi Chefs, but they were kept busy, and the fish in the case was apparent for not only its freshness, but quality. Service was fast and friendly. Prices were very reasonable. I’d go back every night if giving the choice.

Good Japanese Food!!! Their Salmon Sashimi is so fresh and tasty. I once ordered the Uni and it was so creamy with no hint of bitterness whatsoever!

Best Ramen I have had in Redwood City yet. Will definitely put them on my rotation!

I was looking for an amazing Japanese food and i finally found ! Miso soup, ton katsu curry, yakizakana — grilled makarel. so yumii felt like home

Has it really been almost two years since I reviewed this restaurant? With 100+ check-​ins, I guess it’s time for some updates.
Well, there’s no much update — I do still love this place. ;-) The same owner. The same kitchen. The same servers. It feels almost like they are a family business although they aren’t. As some of other reviewers wrote, the dining area is little smaller now (to add the ADA-​compliant restroom), but I rather like it that way. I don’t usually go there on Fridays or during weekends, but I still see some empty seats usually. I can park in the parking lot behind the restaurant most of the time, but if not, I can just street park either on El Camino or on Hopkins — not a big deal. They cook most items from scratch, and of course, they taste better than ready-​to-​serve cooked products that many Japanese restaurants just buy from distributors. Their fish selection is rather standard if compared with premium ($$$$) restaurants, but that’s natural. I saw some reviews complaining about their rather humble minimum charge, but if each person just has a meal, not just a snack, you shouldn’t have any problem. Do you order just french fries and tap water when you go to a sport bar?

The service is sub-​optimal and food is comparable to food court quality. My dinner companion is disabled and relies on crutches to get around, the waitress took his crutches without asking and put them on the opposite side of the restaurant to hide them. We were horrified at this rude gesture and inconsideration on how he would get around.
Now on to the food itself, the $ 24 sashimi special consisted of sloppy ends from the sashimi block, and the avocado on the spicy tuna roll was only half ripe. The old lady waitress couldn’t wait to give us the bill to get the table cleared for the next party, we didn’t even have time to order dessert.
Compared to Diner Japonica which is also Japanese owned, Higuma serves bad attitude at twice the price and half the freshness.

Higuma is my favorite ramen joint, hands down. I order their spicy miso ramen almost every time I go. I also highly recommend their home made gyoza. I rarely go anywhere else for ramen because for me? Nothing beats THEIR spicy miso. When I try at other restaurants, it just isn’t as spicy or flavorful. It isn’t overwhelmingly spicy, though if you have a sensitive pallet, you may want to stick to their regular miso.
They have fairly recently remodeled, with the purpose of becoming ADA compliant. I asked. Before, they weren’t wheelchair friendly, especially regarding their bathroom. They now have a wheelchair friendly bathroom at the cost of some seating.
Because this is a very small business with very little seating, in order to guarantee a sufficient profit to stay open they do require a charge of 10 dollars per person. This policy is posted throughout the restaurant. They can onlt seat between 20 and 25ish people at a time, so I feel this policy does make sense.
I do have to only give 4 stars however because their service can be questionable. It improves with repeated visits, though. Become a regular, and they’ll start to pick it up. That isn’t a great trait, though, and can be offputting for new customers.

Came here on a friday night at about 630pm. No wait. Cute little japanese restaurant that probably has a max capacity of 20 people.
I like it when japanese restaurants give you a menu to fill out what you would like. When it comes to sushi its especially helpful to see what you ordered.
We ordered:
appetizer: fresh gyoza: very freshly fried and the meat is very tender and moist. Sauce that comes for dipping is not salty at all and really compliments the gyoza.
spicy scallop handroll: fresh scallop sashimi in a spicy sauce (not spicy at all) but goes well in a handroll
hamachi carpaccio: fresh slices of hamachi with fish eggs on top but the red ones are actually spicy whereas the orange ones tasted like salmon fish eggs
sashimi: giant clam, uni, ocean trout, amaebi. all were quite fresh.
Nice place in redwood city for sushi. For 2 people, we ended up spending about $!50 including tip so its a bit on the pricey side.

I’ve been here a couple of times and the food is always better than average. What hurts this place is the isolated location — it’s on the side of El Camino that doesn’t get a lot of foot traffic and you can easily drive by and miss it. It’s also pretty small and the seating is cramped — avoid large parties.
The sushi is good and I like that they offer a good omakase though at $ 30 it’s a bit pricier than most other places. But the nigiri is filling and the service is good so it makes up for it.

This place is consistently good, and we used to come here quite regularly until we moved farther away. We came back a for return visit not too long ago, and it was still a good dining experience. Their online menu is no longer accurate, as we went specifically for udon but they no longer had it on the menu in the restaurant.
I always like tempura, and the tempura here is among the better ones that I’ve had. Not too oily, generous portions, always crispy and hot. The sashimi is fresh and clean tasting. Their bento box offers flexibility of choice and a nice well-​rounded meal.
Service has been average. You may need to flag down a server to get your tea or water refilled, because they don’t regularly make the rounds through the dining area. But since the place is so small, it’s not hard to get someone’s attention.

The food here is pretty good, but nothing super amazing.
The sushi is good, we had a few different rolls, good size, fresh fish, rolled nicely.
The Bento box is a great deal! You get so much food for not a bad price!
Overall however, the price compared to other usshi places, is kind of high. I have been to other sushi places with better food for less. But, this place will definitely fix a craving for sushi.
The service, excellent. Very nice people that help you with whatever you need.
The really only negative is when they brought us some small plates for sharing, they were dirty, have rice and shrimp tails in between the stacks. Makes me question how well they really clean their dishes and everything else…

Agh, Higuma. It’s always a shame when the stars for a review update go down.
I can no longer unconditionally recommend them. Some of their sushi is really excellent (yellowtail sashimi, the simple salmon/​avocado roll), but I’d say pass on anything else there. The black sesame ramen broth has definitely gotten inedibly salty, the non-​sushi/​sashimi appetizers are just blah (homemade gyozas, miso soup, etc.), and their service continues to leave much to be desired.
I also am not a fan of the remodel in which they inexplicably made the tiny seating area even smaller and located more of the tables awkwardly in front of the door.
I have a feeling we’ll intermittently return, but we’ve promised each other to resist the urge to order anything other than sushi.