Restaurant Nishimura

Doesn't Recommend

andrew wood

Joined 2 years ago

AVOID THIS PLACE AT ALL COSTS!!. If you haven't had sushi in your life before, or you buy your sushi from Ralph's supermarket, the quality of sushi here might strike you, but this is hands down THE WORST SUSHI I have ever eaten in Los Angeles!! I am surprised by the people that wrote positive reviews, maybe they've never had quality sushi or maybe something is 'fishy' with these reviews. Just go try Oomasa or Izaka-ya as an example, see what quality sushi is and I am not talking about Nobu or more expensive places.

Aside from the the chewy Toro and blue fin tuna, that were blood red!, the chewy yellowtail! the rubbery seaweed roll and the low quality chewy rice that needed to be washed down with drinks, the SERVICE was only looking to cash in for the night.

The aggressive and confrontational waitress (a lady in her 50's) greeted us with hard facts about serving only basic sushi and nothing fancy (whatever that means?). Then she maintained her rudeness throughout the night and only encouraged us to order the most expensive things. She was clearly unhappy with our order and pointed it out to us. We had to wait about 30 mins!! while having nothing else on the table except water, before our food arrived.

Here comes the tragedy. We had ordered five items, that were each around $8-9, except for the Toro that was listed as 'Market Price'. We also ordered green tea that was $4. OUR BILL CAME BACK TO US $91.00!!! THAT MEANS TWO TINY PIECES OF TORO MUST HAVE BEEN $50!!!! I am sorry but I felt completely ROBBED! I didn't bring this issue up, because I was with a date and they totally took advantage of this situation. If you like a similar quality sushi, save $100 and go to Ralph's supermarket.

Recommends

erwinyu888

Joined 5 years ago

Best Food. I went 2 weeks ago, the food was extremely good and fresh. I am not looking for any service and I am not even paying attention to that. All I care was the the sashimi. They are the best so far. Price is high, but you pay what you get. If you are planning to get Hand rolls, go somewhere else. This is for those who's really know how to eat sashimi.

Doesn't Recommend

nobu74

Joined 5 years ago

Avoid Nishimura's on Melrose. I went there this past weekend and it was horrible. I concur with the negative reviews of this place.

The sashimi is over priced, the wait staff was very rude, the sushi chef made substitutions on items he didn't have on the menu without consulting with us or telling us (he finally came clean when we confronted him), and our hand rolls were falling apart on the dish as the server put it on the table. My nearly blind grandmother can hand roll cleaner than Nishimura.

When we left the servers just stared at us as we were leaving. They said nothing! Avoid this place and go to Sushi Gen in Little Tokyo.

Doesn't Recommend

rw74

Joined 5 years ago

This place has completely fallen apart. Used to go there all the time. Back then the food was great. Service was great. BUT TONIGHT WAS THE WORST RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE I'VE HAD IN YEARS. First, when I called to make a reservation they told me they were fully booked. I asked if there were any cancellations on account of the torrential downpour. They 'somehow' found a cancellation that they had overlooked. At no point during our experience was the restaurant more than half full.

It took 20 minutes to get a drink and another 10 to order. In the first 45 minutes we received a few dishes (one of them something we didn't even order) but then NOTHING for the next HOUR. We asked the waitstaff about our food and they kept telling us it was coming. All the while the sushi chef was chatting with the patrons at the bar. When 20 minutes later we asked if our food was coming out soon they told us that they only have one sushi chef and things are slow tonight... oh, and he hadn't even started making our food. we demanded the check and walked out, still hungry, 1hour and 45 minutes after we arrived. what is wrong with the guy!?! the whole point of me going to your restaurant is that i want to EAT. If i wanted to sit and hear your talk with your customers I would have brought a friggin sandwich and a beer. with that kind of treatment of his customers I can only wonder how quickly he is going to go out of business.

there are way too many great sushi restaurants in LA for me to ever even bother with that place.

Doesn't Recommend

morita2007

Joined 6 years ago

The Worst Sushi Restaurant. It was the worst experience, ever.

We went there because of the Zagat high rating. I can speak and understand Japanese completely because I am a Japanese. This restaurant is NOT worth going. As someone says, it is overpriced and it is VERY VERY slow to serve dishes. We had to wait for 45 minutes to have a first dish which was only four thin Sashimi for 25 bucks!!! Then, again, we had to wait for 30 minutes for a second dish which was also only six slices of Sashimi. I thought that the third one would be soon, but again we had to wait another 40 minutes. Nishimura, the shef, was very busy with talking to customers who seemed to come there frequently. Although they came 30 minutes later after us, Nishimura made Sushi for them so quickly. We finally decided to cancel the main dish after having four dishes because it was SO slow. I went to many excellent Sushi estaurants in Japan and USA, but I have never experienced like this. It ruined everything. We spent more than $150 for two, but after we canceled, Nishimura, the shef, was so rude. He spoke Japanese all the time, and said to the customers "Arigatougozaimashita" which is very common to say when they leave a restaurant, meaning "Thank you for coming" (By the way, he said "Irrashaimase" which means "Welcome to my restaurant".) He completely ignored us without saying anything. He should have apologized or say something to us as he does to other customers. Although we cancelled the order, we spent at least $150 and we were still customers. And I felt so humiliated. Even my American friend was very upset. He is a very easy-going guy, and I have never seen him complained anything in my life.

I think that Sushi restaurants here in the US is overrated in general, but Nishimura is the worst in my opinion. It is not a good restaurant at all although Zagat rates very high. I would never recommend Nishimura to anybody.

Recommends

dianara

Joined 7 years ago

like eating at an art gallery. i thought it was great. very minimalistic decor...like eating at an art gallery. presentation was outstanding and so was the service.. the sushi was fresh...except the ikura was a bit saltier and didn't pop like how i think truly fresh ikura should be. toro was to die for thought.....overrall...it was a bit pricier than most sushi restaurants in this same level...but considering the ambiance ...well worth it.

Recommends

Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

Simple, stylish interior creates a blank canvas for a menu of exclusively fish.. In Short
A minimalist white interior sees a mix of Japanese diners on the early side and well-heeled sushi regulars later. Nishimura is for purists only, with nothing but fish on the menu. Tiny periwinkles in sake and soy are served with sea scallop on the half shell, snapper is prepared multiple ways and assorted sashimi platters are also available.

Doesn't Recommend

magandadin

Joined 9 years ago

ni$$$$$$$himura. although presentation was definitely tops, the place is still insanely overpriced for un-spectacular sushi. fresher and better fish can be found elsewhere such as sasabune.

Doesn't Recommend

angeleyes210745

Joined 9 years ago

WOW.... was what my friend and I said when we received our tab. Do NOT order omakase unless you are ready to spend $100 a person and have eaten beforehand. Overated and nothing special. You're better off going to Echigo or Sasabune if what you're truly after is the fish but if you want the unnecessary presentation (a flame was lit underneath one of our omakase dishes) and to subsidize Nishimura's rent, then this is your place.

Doesn't Recommend

sushilover1970

Joined 10 years ago

Get a little, pay a lot. Although this place has beautiful ambiance and decor, I do not recommend it. I am a huge sushi lover and this place has good quality fish served very artfully but overall I would have to say that their portions are miniscule and their prices are obscene. You can get amazingly fresh, delicious fish at Sushi Ike or Sushi Sasabune or Sushi Sushi without paying through the nose for decor (or valet...). Avoid this place unless you want to spend a mininum of $200 per couple and still be hungry when you leave.