Santa Ramen is a very popular Japanese noodle Ramen restaurant in San Mateo. Located in a small shopping mall with a Fresh Choice and JoAnn’s, the restaurant has achieved a legendary cult following and long lines at both dinner and lunch times. We have eaten here many times with our last visit in April 2013.

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Champagne Buffet is a new Chinese Restaurant in downtown San Mateo that opened in Joy Luck Place’s old location. They changed their format from a traditional Chinese restaurant to a buffet at the end of April, 2013.

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This restaurant changed hands in January 2013 and is now serving Shanghainese Chinese Food.

Why did we dine here? – China Bistro is a new Chinese restaurant in downtown San Mateo. It is located where HK Causeway Bay was located. This location is no doubt jinxed as restaurants have come and gone here for decades.
The place was fairly empty, and had a familiar menu, so we decided to be brave and try this new spot. The chef and the owner have changed although some dishes taste similar to the previous restaurant. These folks also run Shanghai Bistro in Millbrae.

Insider Tip – Order simply, less expensive items.

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Rave Burger is a new burger joint that opened October 2008 in downtown San Mateo. We were walking by and decided to give it a try to see how it rated. The provide sit down service in addition to to go food. They tout their Niman Ranch gourmet natural meats with no antibiotics and hormones. Niman ranch was sold so their quality may have changed. They serve hamburgers, vegan burgers, hot dogs, and salads.  We have been to Rave Burger several times over the last year with our last visit in May 2012. Read the rest of this entry »

Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot is a hot pot restaurant in downtown San Mateo, right across from Walgreen’s. Their soup base options have recently become more acceptable for mainstream Americans.  This company has a couple locations in the USA and many more in Asia. Yum Brands (KFC, Taco Bell) actually owns this company. Chinese hot pot is a fun meal where a pot of boiling broth at your table is used to cook meats, vegetables, and seafood. Cooking involves dipping the food in the boiling broth for 30 seconds to a couple minutes. They also have some pre-cooked BBQ and Rice, Dumpling, Pancake items on the menu. Our last visit was at the end of 2012 for dinner. See how hot pot is done in Beijing.

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Kingfish is a fun New Orleans/Southern focused restaurant in San Mateo. They had a location in San Francisco but that closed.. The place is prime draw for this sleepy suburb as it is around the corner from the Cinemark Theaters and is one of the few places that stays open late. They focus on using organic, antibiotic & steroid-free meats. Our last visit was in March 2013. Read the rest of this entry »

Why did we dine here? – All Spice is one of the highest rated restaurants on Yelp (4.5 stars) within the San Francisco Peninsula. We’ve heard good things about this restaurant. A recent review on Check Please reminded us. Their unlucky but cozy mini Victorian location just off El Camino Real has housed The Dining Room, Dolly Marie, among others. This restaurant focuses on seasonal food along with the traditions of Indian cuisine.

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Why did we dine here? – Attic is a Asian fusion restaurant in downtown San Mateo with an emphasize on Philipino cuisine. Tim Luym (Poleng Lounge) is their consulting chef. He previously ran restaurants in San Francisco. This restaurant has been here for about two years, so we figured it was worth a try.

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Hokkaido Seafood Buffet is a popular buffet in San Mateo’s Bridgepoint shopping center (near Foster City), next door to the ice rink. They charge $19.99 – $20.99 for dinner, depending on the day. Lunch ranges from $11.99 to $16.99. An extra $1.75 buys you unlimited soda. There was a $5 Mon – Thur discount coupon in some Ranch 99 fliers that we used in 2009. We haven’t seen any new coupons lately though. Our last visit was at the end of January 2012. Read the rest of this entry »

Restaurant.com sells discounted Certificates for this restaurant.

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Why did we dine here? – Ramen Parlor is the third location in San Mateo from the legendary Santa Ramen folks. It is located one block from the original Santa Ramen, which now houses the very popular spicy ramen oriented Ramen Dojo. All three are owned by the same person.
This restaurant uses the same noodles as Santa Ramen but adds some lobster oil as well other toppings. In the evening, they have additional items on the Ramen Parlor menu including skewers. We have been here for both lunch and dinner with our last visit was in the spring of 2013.

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Sushi Sam’s is a popular Japanese restaurant in downtown San Mateo. We have considered them and Hotaru as the 2 best Japanese restaurants in this area that seems to have a Japanese restaurant on every block. There is a large Japanese and Asian population in this area. Our last visit was in January 2012. Read the rest of this entry »