Sushi & Kushi IMAI (Reported Closed)

Recommends

slpdocstu

Joined 6 years ago

Good Happy Hour, Good Sushi, and Great Ambiance. I love trying places that have happy hours with food specials. So, my girlfriends and I went to Sushi and Kushi for their happy hour on a Thursday night. The sushi specials only include three rolls during happy hour (crab and avocado, salmon and avocado, and spicy tuna), but the regular menu is great. We ended up mostly ordering from the regular menu and then having some happy hour priced martinis. Overall, we were disappointed with the happy hour sushi options, but enjoyed the regular sushi. It was moderately priced. The ambiance and the martinis were great though! And service was great too!

Recommends

katushasf

Joined 6 years ago

Love it. I rarely write reviews but this place deserves it! Come there for lunch for the BEST sashimi in town!!! Trust me you get a huge plate of 5 different kinds of fishes, all fresh and thick sliced, salad, miso soup and rice for $11.80. Where else can you get that? My bf and I love this place and the fish is always superb!

Recommends

george1951

Joined 6 years ago

Good God, that's good sushi!. I have never written a review here. In fact, I hate writing reviews. But after having gone to Sushi/Kushi IMAI about 15 times in the last 2 months, I figured I might as well throw in my two cents for all of those who are on the fence.

This place is the bomb. We consider ourselves huge sushi afficionados and have gone to almost every single sushi joint of note in the greater Los Angeles area. Bottom line: this place is truly special. You'd never know it by driving by...strip mall, not really noticeable...once you get inside, it's just ehh: bland decor, not really that interesting...but the food: now here's where it gets good. THE BEST SPICY TUNA ROLL I'VE EVER TASTED. You must try it to truly understand how good it is. You know when you eat sushi that's so good it makes your toes curl? That's how good it is.

There's no designer sushi here, if that's what you're looking for--but what is here is truly fantastic...a mouthful of the most flavorful, fresh and delicious sushi your lips may ever have the grace of eating. So head out, take it for a spin and hopefully you'll enjoy it as much as we do. Oh, and one last thing: go for happy hour. Every day from 5:30 to 7:30...it's the best deal this side of the Mississippi. $3 rolls and $2 beer! Go now, before everyone else finds out about it! You won't regret it!

Recommends

jazej

Joined 6 years ago

Overrated - Unless You're a Local?. We are Sushi Fanatics from the Seattle area. I looked up Zagat and CitySearch ratings for all Sushi within 5 miles of where we were staying (center of Hollywood).

We went for Happy Hour although only about 20% of what we ordered was on the Happy Hour Menu. If you want Happy Hour, you have to sit in the bar. The service is pleasant, albeit a bit slow.

The Salmon/Avocado Roll on the Happy Hour Menu was good, as was the Edamame, yes many restaurants don't even know how to cook Edamame well, this was does.

The Yellowtail sashimi was a joke for $10, 5 paper thin slices. There was as much fish on my wife's Yellowtail Sushi. We are use to big thick chunks in most of the places we eat. Maybe this is a Beverly Hills thing and the locals aren't use to getting very much for their money? That's the only way I can think this place rates over 9? This was the poorest value Sashimi order I've ever eaten.

My Salmon Skin roll, the salmon skin was soggy instead of crunchy. The Cali rolls are not your typical Krab and Mayo rolls, they use real Snow Crab. We like both, just a heads up. Is this a Cali thing trying to be Kool not using the Krab? Heck, use Dungeness, not cheap Snow Crab if you really want to set yourself apart.

We ordered a few Kushi items and some other sushi items. All were excellent.

I agree there's mostly good things to say about this restaurant and would recommend it. But even on CitySearch a rating over 9 is definitely overrated unless the reviewers giving it 9's and 10's are rating from a perspective of being used to eating at extremely expensive, mediocre Sushi restaurants, then this one WOULD look comparatively very good. I'm comparing it to top Sushi restaurants (not the most expensive) I've eaten at around the United States and it definitely misses the mark in that comparison (but not by much.) A 8.0 would be more appropriate for this restaurant in my opinion. Again, maybe it's a Beverly Hills thing?

Recommends

digrut

Joined 6 years ago

west-side gem, my favorite sushi place in Los Angeles. This is my first review. That said, I rarely like a restaurant enough to write about it online. But Sushi and Kushi Imai, where I have gone numerous times in the past few years, is hands down my favorite. The fish is always of exceptional freshness and quality and the barbequed meats are tender and perfectly marinated.

I strongly recommend the 'omakase' prepared by Chef Taka. His work is simply poetic. He prepares food with grace and humor (yes, such a thing is possible). For a nominal fee that I negotiated on the phone before coming to the restaurant, I and my dining companion were treated to a 7 course meal (no joke) that was utterly amazing. The sea bream was a revelation. The mackerel sashimi was artfully prepared and simply melted in my mouth.

Unequivocally recommended. I would give this place a ten, but they should move the advertisement for the oil from the front of the restaurant, it detracts from all the other great things about this place.

Recommends

sillyputy9

Joined 7 years ago

Fantastic Happy Hour!. Even though there's limited spaces at the tiny bar, the deals for happy hour are fantastic. $3.50 large sapporos and great deals on sushi. Lacks a little on atmosphere though.

Recommends

myung

Joined 11 years ago

great happy hour. Great happy hour with Saketini's Shochu cocktails - amazing value for the great sashimi we had. Excellent customer service. Can't beat a happy hour every day!

Recommends

pinkmonkeybanana

Joined 7 years ago

great customer service and delicious food!. I just had dinner here tonight with my mom and all the dishes we ordered were excellent. We sat at the sushi bar, and overall we really had a great night. The waitresses were extremely attentive, frequently filling our water glasses and removing our finished plates. The sushi chefs were so kind, polite and quick to create our delicious mouth-watering morsels of fresh, high-quality fish. Parking was no problem, as there were plenty of free and available spots in the lot. I can't wait to return to SUSHI AND KUSHI IMAI!!

Recommends

todd_eats_out

Joined 7 years ago

Great Quality Sushi. While the fare doesn't break new ground as far as sushi is concerned (not that it needs to), the fish is always first-rate, and the "kushi" skewers of meat, fish, and vegetables round out the meal nicely. You cant go wrong with the Sushi and Kushi Dinner Combination. The crowd is pleasantly unpretentious, the service is attentive and friendly, and the Tokyo-modern decor makes for a cool, comfortable atmosphere. There's usually not a wait, but the secret seems to be slowly getting out...

Recommends

fit2flare

Joined 7 years ago

Keepin it Kushi. We randomly came upon Sushi Kushi one night (Kushi means "happiness" in Hindi so we figured it had to be good), and have been going back ever since! This is definitely the best sushi for the most reasonable price in the neighborhood. Our favorite is the Cruch Roll Spicy Tuna. The service is usually pretty good, and you don't have to deal with reservations or long waits.