Traditional Japanese with no fancy fusion items. Great portions and delicious yosenabe, with a wonderful broth and plenty of seafood! Enter the door, sign in and wait. A great experience!

3* Hotaru Japanese San Mateo Have bento box lunch specials and sushi The price is inexpensive The food is okay The fish seemed a little old Probably won’t go back

We have been coming to this restaurant for over 15 years. It has maintained its quality though they did raise their prices. But still the prices are not unreasonable for the area. The Don Katsu is one of the best that I have ever had....Sukiyaki is good too. Service is a bit spotty . Sometimes, they would forget to bring the soup or salad that comes with the meal . They offer brown rice but they do charge extra for it. But at least to those who are health conscious, they have this option. did not see any brown rice sushi though.More

Hotaru is one of our favorite Japanese restaurants in San Mateo, Ca. We arrived after the lunch rush period and finding a place to park was quick and easy. For lunch, I ordered my favorite, the Udon Special that had pork cutlets, small green salad,...California rolls and a medium-sized bowl of hot soba. Always delicious! My wife ordered a bento box, and also a Dragon Roll and Tsunami Roll that we shared. I also had a glass of very refreshing cold Asahi beer. Everything was delicious all for $57.93 before the tip. Considering we had so much leftover food that we gladly brought home, the price was fairly reasonable. We will surely go back again.More

My wife and I have been coming pretty irregularly to Hotaru Japanese Restaurant for several years and it has been over a year since we’ve last eaten at this restaurant. We came back for a late lunch on a Saturday afternoon and gladly there was...no usual long lunchtime wait to get seated. We did not have to wait long to get our order of delicious Dragon Roll which was freshly made by the chef. The sauce on top was salty and sweet that made the roll with avocado, shrimps and other goodness so delicious. It was gone in no time! I also ordered a lunch spacial with a small salad, slices of breaded pork cutlets, hot soba soup and California Roll. My wife ordered the Bento Box. The breaded pork cutlets were served hot. They were crispy on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside and were very flavorful. There was no need to dip them in soy sauce as far as I’m concerened. Although my favorite soup is hot Udon but I mistakenly ordered Soba Soup instead. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the Soba Soup with its thin broth that is full of flavors. My wife said she enjoyed her Bento Box of Teriyaki Chicken, Mackerel, Vegetable tempura, California Roll, Miso Soup and steamed rice. The table service was polite and the food service was quick, however they never offered to refill our hot tea cups nor asked us if everything was o.k. The restaurant was not busy at the time were were having our late lunch and I had to ask for our hot tea refills. We gladly brought home our leftover food plus we also ordered Tempura-flavored Chicken wings and another order of Dragon Rolls to go for our meal tonight or tomorrow. Honestly, I don’t think I will be hungry enough again tonight to want to eat a full meal. Yep, after eating this delicious meal, I was stuffed...and happy! We will be going back for sure.More

Bring your own pearl chopsticks, then sit back and enjoy the quality of fresh fish, complimentary hot tea, edamame, in a local feeling establishment. Hotaru gets an 9 out of 10 on my sushi scale for families (considering cost, quality, portion size, ambiance). The lunch...menu is the best value, and is different than most sushi places. Plan on sacrificing some service during lunch, and waiting up to 15-45 minutes to be seated for dinner. About me: As my favorite food, I eat everything, order unique sushi, off-menu items. I routinely eat sushi for both lunch and dinner in multiple places in this area.More

Yowzers! Stopped in after a business meeting with the Library and we were blown away by the wonderful treats that were brought to our table. The Sushi rolls were delectable, the Sashimimi was pretty and durn good. There was not a mistep on the menu....Left full and feeling fantastic!More

Hotaru is a good restaurant with ok service. The specials offer great value and the sushi is good. The portions are large.

My wife & I have been coming to Hotaru for about 10 years now & we have always enjoyed ourselves. The food is always good, the service is excellent and the prices are very reasonable. Depending on when you arrive, there could be a wait....Be patient because the wait will be worth it. One of my favorite dishes is the Bento Box. A lot of different items, which is always nice. My wife likes to order the Udon. Bonito broth with wide Japanese noodles. The sushi is always fresh and well prepared, always delicious. I highly recommend Hotaru for Lunch or Dinner. I can't wait to go back.More

Arrived on a Sunday afternoon before 1pm, Slight wait. Ordered the pork cutlet rice bowl. There was a lot of rice. Also came with salad. Good portion of meat for my bowl. My parents had Bento boxes which included chicken teriyaki , pork cutlet, and...California rolls. We also had hot udon and cold soba noodles. The taste was average to good for everything. Service is OK. Will be going back again.More

Very busy dinner place on a Friday night. Ordered a bento set No. 2: very satisfying, a bit of everything you want from Japanese cuisine; fragrances soft sticky rice, sashimi, hot miso soup, teriyaki chicken, it’s just the right reward after a week’s long hard...work. Serving was fast. Very friendly and helpful staff, came around regularly to top up hot green tea. Highly recommended.More

Place was very busy on a Sunday though the wait was not too long. But with limited sashimi choices by 2pm there was little to decide on but the portions were good and staff were attentive even though the place was full.