SoCal Top 3: Sushi
Sushi is art - looks so simple yet deep. It requires a lot of skills to make it so unbelievable. There are tons of sushi bars and I’ve tried tons in SoCal, but I pick the top 3 that bring you great quality in taste - even for Japanese. Some of them don’t have much ambiance, but I’m strictly focused on the quality of taste. Don’t waste your money somewhere else. You can impress your friends and loved ones if you could take them there. Real good sushi by Japanese (I’ve skipped all the non-Japanese run sushi bars here).
Table of Contents
Socal top 3: Sushi
1. Kantaro
1542 W Carson St. Torrance, CA 90501 (310) 320-0200
It’s located in a super tiny shopping plaza next to a coin laundry – a shabby place. Super old school sushi bar without ambiance (I’m not kidding!). However, no one can beat the value they offer – great taste, high-quality ingredients, and lots of food including dessert for $55/person omakase. You’d easily pay more than $150/person in LA for the quality and amount of food you get. Dinner is only omakase and you must have RSVP. If you go there as a walk-in, they’ll turn you down. You got to try this place – they’ll blow your mind.
2. Sushi Zo
Website: Sushi Zo
Sushi bars are fun because you could interact with sushi chef so that you could get better stuff through the conversations. You can’t have the interaction here and omakase only. However, the quality of fish and taste are very impressive. 22 different stuff through the course – appetizers to sushi and yuzu drink. You could order more if you want more like me. Many fish come from Japan, so you could see lots of not-so-typical fish varieties here. Great place if you want great sushi!
3. Ise-Shima
Website: Ise-Shima
Located in Miyako hotel in Torrance, they offer great quality sushi here. It’s a bit more expensive side of sushi in Torrance, yet much more value than ones in LA. A little hidden gem.
Honorary Mention
Kanpachi
1425 W Artesia Blvd Ste 27. Gardena, CA 90248
(310) 515-1391
Many Japanese aren’t good at marketing. They do look like a typical sushi bar but do offer good quality sushi at a very decent price. This place is one of those. They usually have typical fish varieties but sometimes you see something different. Casual yet good sushi.
Nana San
3601 Jamboree Rd. Ste 15B, Newport Beach, CA 92660
(949) 474-7373
Probably one of the best sushi bars in OC – price, quality, taste, and service. Not as good pricing as the ones in Torrance, but definitely better than ones in OC and up in LA. You just need to sit in front of Goro, the owner-chef, and order all the daily specials and ask him what else he can do. They also offer good appetizers.
Conclusion: I love sushi and know lots of decent places. I want to mention more places, but guess I have to create other categories than truly top 3.
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