08/16/09

Soooooooooooo overated, had no good experience

by niceandcute

Went there with my boyfriend on a Friday night. I made reservation ahead. But still got a bad spot. Maybe it's just they are too popular so they are running out of nice spots. Each customer must order at least 4 items. Food is good, but it's not beyond my expectation. IAnd each came in a tiny portion, only 2pcs for each order. And there's nothing other than sushi on the menu which means my boyfriend and I have spend more than $50 on sushi and still feel starving. And the waiters are not friendly.

• Pros: food is ok
• Cons: overated, bad service, expensive

03/25/09

Good food

by vivaciousdivah

Little Tokyo has the bomb sushi for realz...a great spot. Club Sushi is the best in Hollywood. It really depends on where you want to drive for good food.

03/25/09

Sasabune

by TrealTalk

I was impressed. This doesn't look like a great sushi place, but it surprised me. Best sushi I've had since Club Sushi in Hollywood

• Pros: Great Food
• Cons: Price

11/25/08

Best Sushi in Los Angeles

by theTick

Sushi Sasabune is the best sushi restaurant ever! The fish is all super fresh. Nobi, the owner, wakes up before dawn to go to the fish market. In fact, one of the reasons that Sushi Sasabune is closed on the weekends is that the fish market is closed and Nobi only wants to serve the freshest, yummiest fish. Other sushi restaurant owners follow Nobi around the fish market, trying to figure out how he is able to select out the best fish. The albacore sashimi appetizer is amazing, and way better than another sushi restaurant a few blocks away that tries to copy it. I highly recommend the American omakase. The blue fin tuna and toro are amazing, as is the butterfish. The list goes on and on. If the scallop with yuzu paste is available (but not part of the omakase), make sure you get it! The same goes for the lobster! Sushi Sasabune certainly isn't cheap, but it is so worth it! My wife lived in Japan for 6 1/2 years, and she says that it is the best sushi she has had outside of Japan (and possibly even better than the sushi she had in Japan). I cannot recommend this place highly enough!

• Pros: Best sushi in town
• Cons: None

09/21/08

An absolute must...

by inahuff

Hands down the best sushi in LA. This place knocks Nobu and Koi completely out of the game. Also, at $65 per person, an incredible value for the amount of food and the quality of the fish. I am completely baffled by the negative reviews on here. Clearly, some of those folks should stick to california rolls.

• Pros: value, quality and unique dishes
• Cons: slightly lacking in ambiance

08/18/08

Best sushi in town..hands down!

by JanieDee

The best sushi in town, hands down. It's not cheap, but it's totally worth it. When I had a larger disposable income I used to frequent it once a month. If you're a foodie, you'll love it. So the ambiance is not that of Nobu's, who needs it with food this good!

• Pros: Freshest sushi
• Cons: Price

08/17/08

variety of sushi

by pearline

Went with a group of 7, and sat at a table for Omakase. There was a lot of interesting sushi/raw seafood that you can't get at a typical sushi place. Such as raw abalone (can't say I like it though). My favorite was the monk fish liver, chilled toro, spanish makeral. Our omakase included albacore sashimi, abalone, some shell seafood type of thing cut in slices(didn't catch what it was), small oyster, salmon roe, uni, yellowtail, salmon, toro, tuna, ell, monkfish liver, spanish makeral, makeral, snapper, halibut, and blue crab hand roll. We also ordered some miso soup, chilled toro, a few beer, and a couple lychee ice cream(highly recommended). The bill after tip and tax was $110/person. The omakase was a good experience to try different stuff. But if i go back next time, probably will just order a la carte, my favorite ones only. :)

• Pros: fresh seafood
• Cons: Omakase can be pricey

06/29/08

Best Pure Sushi on the Westside

by cbsallee

I can not get enough of Sasabune. Seating is prompt and the service is polite and attentive. The fish is fresh and the authentic sauces are delicous. Although I wouldn't recommend going here if you want fancy rolls- it is a must for a true sushi lover!

06/05/08

sushi that will redefine TRUST ME

by sushimania78

been going to sasabune for years and consider myself a sushi connoisseur. I've never written a review but when i read the review by jinx2life i felt compelled to stand up for arguably the best sushi joint in LA. to address his review directly - salmon sushi comes with a layer of kelp + sesame seeds to enhance the experience rather than to distract from any fishy-ness

they didn't mention the salmon roe cuz it's actually so good no words can do it justice & they would have had to eat their words. marinated in sake for at least a day, these delicious little eggs pop ever so refreshingly with every bite.

the warm rice crumbles cuz it's what makes it melt in my mouth & is not overpoweringly sweet & complements the fish besides it's sushi rice after & there's mirin in it

recommend the chef's special to taste the majority of fish they offer especially since they only serve what's best for the day

first - albacore sashimi plate

2nd - sushi o-toro (highest grade of toro) and chu-toro or sweet blue fin tuna (depending on season)

3rd - sushi yellowtail and salmon. yellowtail here is only the belly portion of the fish which guarantees good texture and flavor

4th - halibut followed by albacore sushi and kampachi (sometimes bonito)

there are a few different ones here on out and here you can request sushi or rolls (negitoro, ume shiso or salmon skin roll) and they finish with blue crab roll. ask for toro ice, butterfish too. just added chawanmushi and lobster stir fry and a clam miso soup to their menu

super good chawanmushi but i'm usually saving my stomach for the other good stuff.

if you still have room for dessert - love the black sesame ice cream AKA goma ice. not on the menu so ask for it. creamy consistency, nutty flavor, big in asia not so much here.

adventurous? - out of this world uni, mirugai (served with shiso leaf and yuzukoso)

make ressies!!! frequently go to matsuhisa, hiko, zo and etc...this is by far the most notable. seriously

06/04/08

Have eaten better sushi at chinese lunch buffets

by jinx2life

The servers were friendly enough. Our server explained the menu was sushi only, that most people get the Chef's choice, for which you pay minimum $65 per person, but you could also order a la carte. There is a minimum a la carte order of 4 sushis per person.

We decided to go with a la carte. Having been to a number of bad sushi restaurants, we wanted to make sure the place was quality before spending that kind of cash. The first bump in the road came as the waitress was about to turn in our order. She informed us that the sweet shrimp, (which generally comes as a sushi, but includes the heads of the shrimp fried and served with ponzu sauce) would be coming as sushi only, and there were no cooked heads with it. Because the price was similar if not more expensive than most sushi places I've eaten at, we passed on it and went instead with salmon roe.

The test for us at a sushi place is the salmon sushi. If the fish tastes at ALL fishy, or looks bad, why bother trying their more expensive counterparts? Our salmon and yellowtail sushi came out to us. The salmon came with sesame seeds and what looked like some sort of thin covering... maybe it was ginger? I couldn't figure it out, but usually when a sushi restaurant serves salmon with sesame seeds (which are very strong in flavor and from what I've seen, are used to mask bad fish), its bad sign. We both ate it.. the rice was so heavily sweetened and seasoned, we couldn't taste the fish. At ALL. Tried the yellowtail, similar experience. The rice by itself could be warmed and served with milk as oatmeal, it was so sweet.

On top of that, both of us had rice falling apart as we picked up the sushi to eat it. The manager came over after I asked for her, and explained that this was their style, their taste, and we should be using our chopsticks like spoons. HUH? Traditional like McDonalds? This place is horrible if you really like sushi. Better sushi at McDonalds, if they served it. Passpasspass.

• Pros: Almost dark enough inside that you can't see the bad food you're about to eat.
• Cons: So many it would take a whole other review to list them all.