Sen Nari Sushi Restaurant

My first time at a authentic Japanese Sushi restaurant, and I must say that I am a fan. From the time we walked in and were greeting in Japanese to the Japanese décor, which included an area where we had the option of sitting on the floor to eat.
I am by no means a sushi expert, in fact I found that it is lost on me, but I would not mind coming back here the next time I am in Gardena.
We had the #4 special, I cannot tell you what exactly was in it, but it was so good! In fact we ordered a second helping towards the end of the meal.
We also had some softshell crab, which was very tasty as well!
I believe we had both the California Roll (dried seaweed, crab, cucumber) and the Dynamite Roll (dried seaweed, spicy yellowtail)

I love chirashi sushi here.
Authentic, Very fresh and reasonable price.
Sushi rice is also good.
Two thumbs up!

Really authentic sushi at a good location. Its hard to find a place that has great everything but this place seems to have pulled it off. Picture is their hokaido scallop with yuzu paste, shiso leave and grated pink salt. Really killer. Sit at the bar or have a semi private room feel in the back for groups.
Its been there 28 years in a neighborhood that understands good Japanese food.
Leave the beach cities behind and get some golden eye snapper and amber jack at a real sushi restaurant.

This is my favorite sushi restaurant. It is consistently good. The seafood is fresh and the preparation is authentic.

Amazing Omikase last night. Very high level technique and super fresh fish. Needlefish was my favorite along with Monkfish pâté. Excellent service. 2 hour dinner flew by. Very authentic. Nothing but praise.

BEST Sushi EVER!!!
Seriously! Authentic, fresh ALWAYS, great friendly staff, clean.
Everyone I tell to come here absolutely LOVES it as well.
Been a favorite for me for the past 5+ years.

I had just dropped off my car at the dealership next door and knew I was in for a long wait. Decided to venture down the street and grab a bite to eat. The moment I walked in I was greeted by all the sushi chefs and the hostess. I really liked the décor in the place. They have a small section where you can sit on the floor in front of a small table and eat. So cool. I took seat at the bar. Right away 2 sushi chefs went to work on my order. The fish was so fresh and yummy and the presentation was so nice it made it hard for me to want to eat it. I would definitely come back here again.

Went here with 8 of my friends. Their sushi was good, not the best. The sushi was not as fresh as I thought it would be. Make sure to ask for bottled water because the water that they brought smelled horrible. The service is a bit slow but overall it was ok.

Came here for my birthday last night and ordered the omakase (chefs choice). They are so amazing here ! The food quality is out of this world, all the fish is top grade. A huge thing I look at, being an extremely detail oriented individual, is cuts of fish; when sushi chefs use weird end pieces or stringy cuts to save money, it’s kind of a turn off. These guys consistently serve well manicured and nice pieces of this fish. They’re also wildly creative, which is very nice with omakase! Always a phenomenal experience and wonderful belly full of goodness. My family goes 2−3x a month. I suggest you go!

Sennari is one of my best favorite sushi restaurant and Taka is my friend and his work attitude is always so sincerely and good.
You can make friends here too easily since customers are also friendly. i always sit in sushi Bar and I made many good friends and had good talk.
Sushi is very fresh and sea urchin is very good too.
Price is bit expensive but it worth for food and service.
I am sure you would love it too.

In a part of town that is absolutely brimming with wonderful sushi, Sen Nari somehow makes them all look rather bland in comparison. Everything here is that good. The craft here is unparalleled, and without an ounce of pretense or attitude. It’s no surprise that people come from far and wide to sit at the bar here. It’s an incredible experience!

Still a favorite down in South Bay after all these years. This was my sushi place back in the late 80’s. Basic good no thrill or fancy dressing sushi, plain and simple and good. Must be 15 years ago since my last visit, it’s good to see Sony San again. If it ain’t good it can’t survive so long with all young joints poping up everywhere.

Sushi chefs Matsu, Taka, Sunny served customers very well with 3 great sushi restaurant essential:
1. Excellent quality ingredients
2. Mater level skill for preparing sushi
3. Ultra friendly attitude
It is pricy, but it worth every bit of it if you are looking for the Best of the Best in Southern California.

Sen Nari is a bit pricey, but the sushi is always fresh! This is my go-​to spot in Gardena.
I recommend sitting at the sushi bar because the chefs are all inviting and heap on the fish!
My favorite dishes here are:
Yellowtail sashimi — I get seconds, thirds… etc of this.
Spanish mackerel sushi
Albacore sushi in ponzu
Red snapper is a MUST! (Don’t put this one in soy sauce because they put salt and yuzu kosho on it)
Scallop sushi — like butter.
Sweet shrimp sushi — get your head fried!
Clam miso soup — my sister’s favorite, simply clams in miso soup.
UNIIIIIIIII sushi! Layers and layers of uni!
Usually I ask the chef what is good that day, and anything they recommend is amazing.

Intro & ＃1－4 will be posted at another time.
Sushi: Taka, by now, sensed that I want variety so he offered to make Sushi by the Ikkan/​single piece of Sushi. The Shari/​Sushi rice is well made here. The rice shines pure white. Each grain of rice sticks to each other, but stays individually separate w/​a touch of hagotae/​al dente feel. There is only a hint of Su/​Japanese rice vinegar & probably a bit of Kombu Dashi/​kelp broth… just enough to emphasize the natural ‘sweetness’ inherent in premium fresh rice if cooked properly.
5) Kanpachi/​amberjack has an interesting surface that is smooth & slick. When you bite into the flesh, it is mild resistant & has a chewy smoothness. Interesting textures that are in some ways opposing. Taste is aged meatiness that is not at all fishy, but is. At least for me, Kanpachi is an interesting, pleasant conundrum in texture & taste.
6) Hamachi/​Yellowtail tuna was cut from near the belly so there was a rich oily richness touched with a bit of aged Umami. A good dose of Wasabi & Sho-​yu/​soy sauce was a good way to cut the oiliness.
7) Ama Ebi/​sweet shrimp has an extremely velvet-​like soft, suaveness that hits the tongue like membrane of some lovely part of the human body. Extremely sensual with sweet sea minerality as well as an ethereal chaw that releases more sweetness with each bite. I took time to meditate on this sybaritic part of this multi-​course meal.
8) I had the option to get the Ama Ebi head fried as Tempura or in a Miso soup. Today I opted for the Miso soup since I wanted the fond de cuisine enriched soup to be a nuanced break from the previous raw selection. The salty, meaty Miso/​fermented soybean paste soup cleared the palate for the last raw dish. Addition of spicy Kaiware Daikon/​Japanese Giant radish sprouts was a nice touch.
9) Ika So-​men: So-​men is actually a very thin pasta much like Cappelli d’Angeli but with a slipperier mouthfeel. However, Ika So-​men is squid that is julienned so finely that it imitates the thin pasta-​like So-​men but has a chewy, slippery feel. This thinly sliced squid is dressed w/​pureed Ume Neri/​salted, pickled plum colored by the red Shiso leaf that gives the squid a fruity, salty, pickled flavour. I asked that a chiffonade/​finely julienned green Shiso or O-​ba leaf be placed on top so that I could mix it in as refreshing herbal component.
10) I asked for a dish that could be considered a specialty of the house. Chef Taka suggested the Hotaru Ika/​firefly squid & Sumiso/​sweet, Japanese vinegar Miso sauce garnished with more Wakame & Kyu-​ri/​crispy Japanese cucumber. Since the Sumiso was rather sweet, this dish became by elegant dessert.
No Sake (sah keh) pairing this time since I had tanked up on Rodney Strong Cabernet Sauvignon & a buttery, oaky California chardonnay w/​a friend earlier in the evening.
Sennari Sushi is a very pleasant more traditional neighborhood Japanese Sushi restaurant that adheres more to the traditional Edomae (eh doh mah eh) style of Tokyo Sushi. Thank the Gods that there aren’t too many crazy rolls w/​tons of the terribly cloyingly sweet «eel sauce» or tons of unctuous, crappy mayonnaise to hide poor quality fish. Thanks to Taka & the rest of the Sennari staff for providing great food & service.
PS For the whiners who complain about not being able to order UNI, March & April 2015 apparently had extremely rough seas which prevented the harvesting of Uni since it would pose grave danger or even death to those workers.
The rarified world of sumptuous Sushi does not end just because there is a temporary shortage of Uni. Cognoscenti of Sushi know how to work around this little bump in the road. Also how does whining about the lack of Uni sound when much of the world is starving & barely surviving? We should be thanking our lucky stars we are privileged enough to afford to eat delicacies at all.

This has to be one of the best sushi places in the South Bay area. Don’t let the unassuming exterior and interior steer you away. There aren’t many authentic sushi restaurants in the area; yes, there is kula and gatten, which are revolving sushi, but the quality of fish isn’t that great. There’s also sushi from Japanese markets, such as Mistuwa and Marukai, but it’s just average.
I came with the boyfriend and his family for dinner on our last night in Torrance this summer. Upon walking into the restaurant, we were happily greeted by the servers and seated immediately. We had a really late dinner; it was 8pm, but there were still plenty of people there. The interior is super simple, and on the walls, there are framed bills from different countries, and it was actually interesting to examine the differences between them. It’s also a great conversation starter!
We ordered the salmon skin salad, 2 omakase (chef’s choice of sashimi), a variety of single nigiris and a scallop dynamite. EVERYTHING WAS DELICIOUS. The salmon skin salad was really good; they used spring mix greens with a vinaigrette topped pieces of salmon skin with salmon. The vinaigrette was perfect; not too sour but gave the greens a lot of flavor. The salmon skin with salmon complemented everything really well; the vinaigrette was more on the sour side and the salmon is more on the saltier side. The salmon was on the heavier side with the greens were on the refreshing side. They were also very generous with the amount of salmon. The salmon was nicely seasoned and salted, and the salmon skin was slightly crispy which contrasted the greens’ texture.
We ordered a range of fish: salmon, various grades of tuna, albacore, mackerel, halibut, spicy tuna roll, etc. It also came with shrimp nigiris and sweet egg nigiris. The fish was nicely presented on a really big plate and everything was also very fresh. The fish was refreshing to eat, and a small dab of wasabi was embedded between the layer of fish and rice. My favorite was the toro (tuna) and salmon. The salmon was really rich and smooth. I had the ikura (salmon eggs) one too, and you could tell that everything was freshly made because the seaweed holding the ikura and rice together was still crisp. I tried uni here for the first time, and it surprisingly wasn’t too bad. I think what threw me off a bit was the texture, but tastewise, I could tell it was fresh.
I love dynamite, no doubt about that because I am in love with Kewpie mayo. For those who aren’t familiar, dynamite is various types of seafood, onions, mushrooms, etc., baked in a layer of mayo and broiled so that the top was crispy. I ordered the scallops one since I’m not a fan of clams, and in the dynamite, there were also mushrooms. The mushrooms were sauteed prior, so they were nice and soft and everything was full of flavor. You can eat it by itself or with rice. It’s a super rich dish, and one person probably can’t eat it all by themselves, but it’s definitely worth a try.
This is a gem in Torrance, and I definitely will be back to satisfy my sashimi cravings!

BEST SUSHI SPOT in LOS ANGELES.
Sit at the bar and do omakase. I’ve enjoyed every creation they’ve made.
It’s a great place to blow up the expense account.

I was looking forward to my omakase dinner. I read some reviews and I zeroed in on Sen Nari.
My Omakase cost $ 45 for 13 pcs and NO UNI.
Omakase is «chef’s choice» my sushi chef (Taka) chose not to serve uni. This is the first omakase I’ve had that did not serve uni. Minus 1 star just for that.
Here’s the rundown of the items I got (in order)
*Red Snapper w/​salt — good start
*Tuna — average
*Akagai (Surf Clam) — really good.
*Amaebi (shrimp) — fresh, okay
*Kampai? — okay
*Needlefish — Citrusy & good.
*Octopus — raw, good
*Toro — good.
*Mackerel — big piece, good
*Engawa (Halibut) — was blow torched. Best of the night.
*Salmon Roe — okay
*Tamago (Egg) — okay
*Eel — okay
Two item stood out for me. The engawa, I’ve never had halibut before and it was fantastic.
The akagai, this was fresh surf clam (still alive moments ago) not the frozen ones. I don’t like surf clam usually. I loved the akagai.
Miso soup w/​shrimp head came with the meal. It was just okay as well.
Service started out good. On the first dish, Taka told me he put salt on the red snapper and not to put soy sauce on it. I thought that was great communication, I loved it. But that was it. He would put the sushi on my plate and nothing. I had to ask him what the fish was each time. It was like pulling teeth. After being asked repeatedly each time what the fish was, you would figure he’d get the point. But no so in this case I had a better conversation with the gentleman next to me than Taka. Minus 1 star.
It was a good meal. But aside from two standout items, everything else was just okay.
No Uni for an omakase was very Disappointing.
2015 Review #35
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Review #100!
This review completes my Unilocal 100 Challenge — 2014 (on the last day of the year, haha).
For this milestone, I was torn between steak, sushi, and ramen — my current top three favorites. Ultimately, omakase won out.
Now that I’ve hit review 100, I want to say thanks to Unilocal.I would not have found most of these places to eat had it not been for Unilocal.I’ve used Unilocal for years to search for good food, but only started writing reviews in October 2014. Here’s to the next 100! Now let’s eat.
It’s only fitting that Sen Nari Sushi is located in the same plaza as my very first Unilocal review, Asa Ramen. I’ve come full circle.
I wanted to go in fresh, without any spoilers (kind of like when you go to a movie). So I got the omakase without knowing how much it cost or what exactly it entailed. I liked this method, because it allowed me to assess how much I think the omakase should cost after I had eaten everything. I’m no sushi expert, but I enjoy learning.
Recent omakase experiences: (see my reviews)
— Kashiwa in Signal Hill: disappointing, to say the least
— Kantaro in Torrance:
(does anyone say that anymore? haha)
With Kashiwa being a disappointment, and Kantaro being the gold standard, I was prepared for my journey at Sen Nari. And so it begins.
I arrived promptly at 5:30 (opening time for dinner) because I did not have a reservation. Luckily I made it in and sat at the counter (the only proper seating to enjoy omakase).
The chef is all business. He’s friendly enough, but takes a fast and furious approach to omakase. I wasn’t used to it. This is the first omakase I’ve had where I was in and out in 35 minutes. Normally it takes an hour and a half or so. Most places take a slow paced approach. Whatever the reasoning may be, they believe that’s best. Here, it’s an all out blitz of fresh fish coming one after the other. (I can eat fast with the best of ‘em, kbbq, pizza, etc, it just took me by surprise!) I counted 14 pieces in total, a miso soup with a shrimp head, and a dessert orange.
The first piece:
Snapper: standard, nothing special.
Toro — had to be chutoro. I wouldn’t even call this toro if I were a sushi chef. I could immediately tell the difference in quality, and realized that Starfish Sushi did indeed serve me a much higher quality toro than this piece at Sen Nari. Huge contrast in marbling. So while Kantaro had the best piece of toro I’ve had recently, Starfish Sushi’s toro was pretty darn close. Sen Nari’s so called toro is definitely lower quality, just like the piece I had at Kashiwa. I enjoy comparing toro; this is a learning experience!
Halibut — lately I have been liking halibut a lot, and this piece was no different. Good quality.
Spicy mackerel — wow. Spicy, but not over bearing. Fresh, heavy and strong flavor.
Yellowtail — wow. I like yellowtail a lot but this piece I thoroughly enjoyed. So fresh and beautiful, succulent, showcasing the natural flavors of the fish. Maybe my palate is improving, because I never appreciated yellowtail so much before.
Amaebi (sweet shrimp) — sweet, fresh, subtle in flavor, delicious.
Salmon — topped with seaweed. This salmon was really amazing! Wow, super fresh, and one of the best pieces of salmon I’ve had lately.
There was little or no break in between pieces. I can only venture to guess that they want you in and out quickly in order to get more people seated. After all, it is a business. I understand that, but IMO omakase is meant to be enjoyed slowly and savored.
Miso soup — really fresh, great tasting. There was baby watercress inside (or maybe just watercress) which was a unique touch. The shrimp head was cool.
Baby clam — not a big fan. Was chewy but maybe that’s normal.
The diver octopus and big scallop were both decent.
The sea urchin from Santa Barbara was spectacular. The one sure thing omakases have going for them is the sea urchin. Everyone seems to be getting it from Santa Barbara, and it’s consistently awesome. Oceany, smooth, silky, light, gorgeous.
Salmon egg — fresh, powerful flavor.
Egg — you know it’s near the end when the cooked egg makes its appearance. It was warm and that took me by surprise. It was good.
The final piece:
Sea Eel — Awesome. Cooked. Warm. Scrumptious. Beautiful tasting eel meat, not too fishy. I always love eel.
So while sitting around waiting for the bill, I guessed it would be around $ 45. I would have thought that to be a bit high for what I got, but I would have accepted it.
It was only $ 32!
Overall impression:
$ 32 is a great price for what I got IMO. 14 pieces of good quality fish — that’s a little over $ 2 per piece. Would be better if the chef would say chutoro (instead of toro) when introducing the very lightly marbled tuna. Reminds me of how restaurants in recent years were/​are ripping people off by calling their burgers Kobe and charging outrageous prices! Aside from the poser toro piece, this is a great deal, and I’ll be back.

A solid 4 stars. A little expensive (we ran a bill of $ 287 for 5 people), but really good. Not the BEST sushi I’ve had, but very, very good. Definitely hit the spot for our sushi craving tonight.
We got 3 orders each (2pc/​order) of yellowtail, fatty tuna, uni, sweet shrimp (heads come fried or in miso soup after), scallop, amberjack, and ikura nigiri, and 1 order of tamago. We also got grilled yellowtail collar, 2 salmon skin handrolls, a caterpillar roll, and 2 orders of chawamushi with uni.
Favorite nigiri had to be the fatty tuna (melt in your mouth!), sweet shrimp, scallop, and uni (very healthy scoop) — everything was really fresh and perfect for this hot (late) summer evening. Of everything ordered, I would get them all again except the tamago, amberjack, and caterpillar roll (they weren’t bad, but nothing special).