Kayla Vuong
Google
Conveniently located at the corner of E 4th Ave and San Mateo Dr, a few stores away from the famous Taishoken Ramen and in the heart of downtown San Mateo, Suruki Supermarket is a must-checkout location when you're in the area. You can find parkings (with fees) easily either in front or just 1-2 blocks away from the supermarket. Highly recommend you avoid lunch hours though as it's harder to find parkings.
At 10am in the morning, you can see a line of people outside the store, waiting for the it to open. They're all here for the fresh, of high quality and reasonably priced bentos, bowls, sushi, and sashimi dishes. As soon as you walk in the door, all the deliciously-looking food on the left side of the store will capture your heart. You'll see aisles of hot food first, freshly prepared daily and presented with care. As you walk on and make a right turn, you'll see a sea of endless sashimi, sushi and nigiri varieties. The hardest thing for me every time I come here is to not buy everything LOL.
The quality of their food is top notch. Today I bought a set of salmon sashimi and a chirashi bowl with uni and otoro (fatty tuna). The fish are exceptionally fresh and melt in my mouth! Something could cost me $$ to $$$ if I ordered in an expensive Japanese restaurant. But here at Suruki, I can get similar quality sashimi for a fraction of the price (typically $12-16).
Another best kept open secret is that you can actually order party trays of sashimi here from the store. Simply go to the back of the store where you'll see display of fish fillets and inquire there with the staff.
Like every other Japanese restaurant, Suruki also carries all other Japanese-related stuff like shampoos, skin cares, snacks, wines, etc. Everything is well-displaced and the store looks clean and well-kept. Suruki is a small store but I enjoy the coziness of a small store over a huge supermarket anytime.
Lastly, all the cashier staff here are friendly and accommodating, highlighting the hospitality of Japanese cultures. I always have a great time every time I shop here and highly recommend you check this out if you're in the area.