Saito's Sushi
(323) 663-8890
4339 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles,
CA
90029
34.0955
-118.2835
Neighborhoods: Central LA, Los Feliz
What People Are Saying About Saito's Sushi
The Editor
Tara Lis
Citysearch
In Short
Only in-know-diners venture into this tiny eatery located in the otherwise dingy mini mall across from Akbar. Once inside, the atmosphere is a study in stark white, a handful of tables and a small sushi bar. Unless someone asks, there isn't even a menu. But most of the diners are longtime fans of friendly chef Saito, will buy him a beer and give him free reign in preparing the the freshest fish of the day.
User Reviews
luvfood7
August 13, 2008
I feel bad about writing a less than stellar review for this family resto that has been here forever but it is not as good as it once was. the shoga/ginger I was served was off and when I pointed this out to the waitress she stared at me blankly and would not respond. it was also much more expensive than before. I am down with spending more if the food and service are worth it but it was not. I will give it another try because I really liked it before and want them to do well, but overall my last experience was disappointing and sad. oh, and don't bring kids.
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tyhsieh0621
July 15, 2008
I arrived at the restaurant today pretty early and right away I could tell that this is a traditional Japanese sushi place: it is not too big and there was only one chef and one waitress (traditional sushi restaurants usually don't have too many chefs because they take sushi seriousely and won't risk ruining their reputation by hiring just anybody). Since I was the only one there at the time, I was able to see exactly how the chef was preparing each dish. I was very pleased at how hard he tried to preserve the natural flavor of each fish: washes his hands before making every dish, uses different plates for sauced dishes, and I believe he even used different knives to cut different fish. I was pleased with the freshness of the fishes as well. Since it is a traditional sushi restaurant, I feel like there are a few things I should point out to new sushi lovers. 1. If you like restaurants that put a lot of sauces on their sushi/rolls, then this is probably not the place for you. Traditional sushi chefs try to deliver the natural flavor of the fish to their customers, so if you are used to a heavier flavor, the sushi might taste bland for you. In my opinion, natural flavor sushi taste the best, too much sauce just ruins it (but don't get me wrong, some modern sushi chefs are able to compliment the flavor of fishes with different sauces, it is just really hard to find one). 2. Omakase is probably the best thing to order there, just let the chef bring out his freshest fish to you. 3. I don't think it is worth going to that restaurant if you are gonna order anything other than sushi, even if it is sashimi. I believe this is why the place had some bad reviews. Like I said before, traditional sushi chefs take their sushi very seriousely, and some are willing to protect their flavor even if it means kicking out the customers. Some might say this is unreasonable and they are not in Japan anymore. But to me, conforming to their rules is worth it for good sushi.
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odalesque17
January 21, 2008
The parking is horrible--be prepared! Be careful where you step because the donut shop next door is a street person's Mecca and there is garbage everywhere. In case you do not read on...The owner screamed at me for speaking my opinion to another customer. At first, I thought I found an alternative to SANSUI on Hillhurst, but later found out I was painfully wrong. I hatched marked two orders of Salmon Sashimi and when the waitress picked up my order she said it would be $18.00. I then marked off only ONE ORDER since an order of sushi was only $3.95 I thought how much more could it be? Oh...a lot more I found out. We got our order,it was beautifully presented but I have had fresher. The hand roll was no better and yet horribly presented, half rolled-up and pathetically small. We got our bill: $38.00 for 1 order of Sashimi, 1 hand roll and 2 orders of Miso soup. I asked for an itemized bill and she came back with a written indicating $18.00 for Sashimi for one order. Both my companion and I interpreted what she said as $18.00 for two orders but she said it is $18.00 for one and walked away. I asked the owner and he threw up his hands in a gesture of not understanding english and blew me off. After ignoring us for sometime, I told her that the menu says $3.95 for Salmon Sushi but Sashimi is $18.00? She said yes again, I withdrew and reluctantly gave her my credit card. While she walked away I said to the couple next to me, "be careful what you order because I was over-charged". All of a sudden the owner starting screaming at me to leave his restaurant. I was just shocked. I walked to the counter to get my credit card and the waitress ignored me while I stood there being yelled at by the owner. It was a horrible experience. Lesson to learned. There are plenty of Sushi place in Silverlake and Beverly Hills for that matter that serve $18.00 Sashimi without ABUSE on their menu. I'm going back to Sansui on Hillhurst across from Albertson's
read full reviewThe Details on Saito's Sushi
Know Before You Go:
There is technically no menu, though if you insist they will give you the typical sushi ordering form found at most restaurants.
Look Good:
When ordering omakase, you can specify one or two pieces of nigiri with each cut.
Parking:
The strip mall setting usually provides plenty of parking. If not, street spots are available on Sunset.
