Sushi King

Perhaps it’s time to call it a day, Sushi King!
The place is getting run down; the chefs are a bit long in the tooth, and not in a good way.
I’ve eaten here dozens of times over the years. At one point, not long ago, I looked forward to arriving.
My last three consecutive visits have been bad, worse, worst. And that’s a wrap! They get no more of my money.
On my most recent outing, the fish looked wet — and was, as I watched one chef pour water from the bowl; clearly frozen and now thawed. The hamachi (yellowtail) was inedible. I left one piece untouched. The tuna, a shade of transparent pink and ikura (salmon roe) soft and nuclear-​salty.
Sloppy looking rolls, heaps of yick-​looking pre-​made crab/​mayo, vile looking mackerel slabs. I watched several customers wince and leave the mackerel on the plate, likely fearful of insulting the chef. I was mortified that SK would even serve (it).
Yes, once upon a time, Sushi King was an easy recommend. A chef at Mori sushi, just down the road, once told me, «you have to care to make sushi and it takes care.»
I think the «care» is gone at SK.
Candidly, I’d prefer to give Sushi King 1 star, however, I have fond memories of this spot. The owner is a good guy.
Time to go elsewhere.

The irony of this place is that it looks like a bigger hole in the wall compared to the smaller sized hole in the walls but their price and quality is not ‘hole in the wall’
Excellent quality fish all though a bit pricey if you order the chef’s special on the whiteboard. Would I recommend this place? YES! Would I go back? DEFINITELY! Thumbs up!

Fantastic sushi. The fish was very fresh and delicious, a great experience with superb service. The restaurant is small and unassuming but feels like an authentic Japanese sushi place. Not a single complaint. I will definitely come back if I’m in the Santa Monica area again.

Aaah, Sushi King, you are not glamorous, you are not huge, you are not pretentious and you are not stooge (only thing I could think of that rhymed), but I love you so!
Chef Nara is a crack-​up! He may seem stern, but have a beer or 2 with him and you’ll see his comedic side emerge.
The Miso Glazed Sea Bass with string beans is a must.
Outside of that, there isn’t a single fish you should pass on. Everything is so fresh and delicious!
My faves are the uni & monkfish liver. Be nice to Chef Nara and he will be nice to you :) He’s been there since the beginning and he knows his sushi, believe me.
Enjoy!

had this place bookmarked and got a chance to go last night. Pricing wise, this place isn’t bad. Its def smaller and simple set up but food is fantastic. I got a tamago nigiri, anagi nigiri (6.50), and a salmon sashimi (12.50). The rice to fish ratio is pretty good esp the tamago. The Tamago was a huge chunk and I liked it because it wasn’t super sweet. The sashimi is a nice quantity too for $ 12.50 but slices are smaller. Def a nice place to eat

The place is really cool. We came in for a snack but it ended up being our 5^th meal for the day. I really enjoyed talking to the chef although he may not be very fond of my sushi ways lol.
B+: Shrimp tempura — satisfying
B: Soft Crab Shell — I love my MD crabs. The crab was pretty sizable and the ponzu sauce was okay. Was more than enough for two people to share.
I like this place, it’s a quick in and out joint. Will be back!

This place is no frills — they have a small appetizer menu, and mostly serve nigiri and some traditional rolls. All the sushi chefs are Japanese, which I feel like is rare in LA nowadays. We came after 6 pm on a Saturday, so there was a decent amount of metered parking (that was free since it was after 6) in front of the restaurant.
We opted for the sushi (nigiri) a la carte menu, sat at the sushi bar, and ordered as we pleased. I think we ultimately ordred 9 nigiris which came out to be around $ 70. It is a little steep for the amount of fish we ordred, but I must note that the fish pieces were pretty sizeable, and really really delicious. My favorite, the salmon, took the cake for my favorite, but other favorites included their mackerel (so much flavor) and their monkfish liver! Tea refills were constant, and the service was great. We will definitely come back!

Really into Sushi King. Never a wait but always crowded. Fish is fresh and good. Never been so into a chirashi bowl in my life, but hot damn, it’s good here.

This place is bomb. Simple unpretentious sushi. It’s not the cheapest but also not the most expensive. Super fresh and really tasty. Had the salmon, uni, yellowtail, Alaskan roll, ebi (miso soup for the heads). Would order all again except for the Alaskan roll. Wasn’t a huge fan of that

Very very bad, most unfresh sushi I ever had in my life, and also the service is very bad when we tell them it’s not fresh they refuse to exchange to something else
Don’t go
23 $ combo sushi is really bad for not fresh sushi

Though I am a loyal sugarfish fan, sometimes you want an expanded menu and a different scene. Enter Sushi King. Its a tiny spot in a random spot on Wilshire, but once you walk in you are whisked away to an authentic Japanese experience. (Or what I imagine to be one, I’ve never been to Japan…) The fish was some of the freshest, tastiest I’ve ever tried, and their menu wasn’t too big, but gave you enough options if you aren’t feeling the raw fish. This place would be an adorable date spot, or just a place to indulge in some delicious sashimi!

awesome!!! Had the blue fin… excellent! !!
And the sea bass miso yaki… soooooo delicious! !
All of the fish was super fresh.
This was my third time here and it’s been bomb every time!

BF and I went on a Friday night at 6PM and there was no wait… Wanted to sit at the sushi bar, but got seated at a table instead (NEXT TIME!) The waitresses were friendly but I definitely felt rushed as I was checking out the menu.
We ended up getting the sashimi dinner (salmon & tuna), the king sushi combo (8 nigiri, 3 cucumber and 3 tuna rolls), combo tempura and fresh water eel roll with avocado. We both thought the salmon was divine *SWOON* Everything else kind of paled in comparison, but was still up to par! I would definitely recommend the sashimi dinner and king sushi combo (each around ~$ 22) because it’s super worth it. You can pick up to 2 kinds of sashimi and you get a wide assortment of sushi too.
Overall — came out to be around $ 80 with tip and tax so a lil bit pricier but we were so impressed by the salmon I’m sure I’ll be back!

The Sea Bass Misoyaki is simply the best in the city. I’ve had the Black Cod Misoyaki at Nobu and this is better.
Don’t let appearances fool you, this looks like a nothing place from the outside. But the sushi is very good and like I said, the Sea Bass Misoyaki is a freakin’ triumph!

Wow, a great dinner tonight! Very unassuming, but the fact that the place is packed just ½ an hour after opening should tell you it’s a nice hidden gem in Santa Monica. If you don’t want to pay more for a fancy ambiance, and just want some really tasty food, this is the spot. For the non-​sushi eaters like my wife, there are plenty of options to keep you happy too.
Overall friendly servers, though one of the guys that was helping us out seemed to be relatively new. Everyone else was really quick.
If you’re a parent, looks like this is a pretty kid friendly spot too. The opening crowd nearly all had kids at their tables.

Great new sushi spot for us in SM. We have been going past this spot for a while and eventually tried it for dinner. It was worth it…
We started with ebi as well as a salad and a couple of rolls. The rainbow roll was made with real crab and the toppings were as per the name… The unagi was lower in fat and was really ‘meaty’. Yellowtail was super as were all the other negiri pieces.
We shall return. Great service too.

Okay. Agreed. Sushi King is a corny name but listen, they have been in business 30+ years. In my mind that means that either Sushi King is still around because they’re running an underground (black market type) business or they are just really REALLY good at what they do. My guess it’s the latter. This place is a gem!
I suggest sitting at the bar and watching the sushi chefs do what they do best: prepare sushi. What they do and how they do it is definitely a production to watch. Each chef so gracefully places, cuts, and assembles the delicacies you will drool over and then consume! (Chefs are definitely above par.)
On food: Start with miso soup. It’s broth is not salty (sodium rich soup is such a turn off!); so, it has just the right amount of miso paste, green onion, seaweed and tofu. The tofu is not the fall apart on your chop sticks type; it has perfect texture and size (not too big or too small and not too soggy or too tough). After you are done with your miso soup I recommend ordering: unni (sea urchin), salmon, tako (octopus), and edo (eel)! (The way they prepare the eel definitely reminds me of the traditional eel meals in Japan!) I could write paragraphs on each but I will spare you further description. Wrap up with a cup of green tea — it’s solid (includes the floating green clouds of quality loose leaf green tea). Enjoy.

A little gem in Santa Monica, we arrived at 5:30 and we beat the crowd. Note when visiting, come early if it is a weekend or you will wait. We ordered the combination sushi, a vegetable roll and oshinko maki. I was impressed by the freshness of the sushi, the tuna was fresh and tasty. It was all good but I didn’t like that there were two pieces of mackerel (not one of my favorites). I wanted to have Sake or Sapporo but I was drained from the Bimmerfest so I settled for a diet coke.
I take off one star for the service, the waitresses did not communicate if we had ordered already. They each came back… new staff maybe.
Green tea for dessert, priced moderate compared to other sushi places in the area.

Very nice place, excellent food (five stars). Expensive (minus one star).
Dropped my mom off at UCLA for surgery and hadn’t eaten all day, so I was really hungry by 5 p.m. Walked a couple blocks down the street to Sushi King and arrived just as they opened at 5:30 p.m.
To make it easy, I decided on the vegetarian combo, which was a salad and three rolls (cucumber, veggie, and asparagus) with miso soup. I wasn’t wild about the salad, but should have read the description better before ordering; my bad.
The rolls were good. I don’t usually like seaweed, and forgot to order them with soy paper, but their nori was REALLY tender and not fishy, so it was totally fine. I felt like I wanted something more, so I ordered a California roll with soy paper and Oh My Goodness, it was the BEST one I’ve ever had in my life. Crazy good.
All told, with iced tea, the combo and the Cali roll, plus tax and tip, I was out $ 40, which is too much for mostly raw veggies and rice, in my opinion. I’m used to paying $ 3.50-$ 5.00 for a veggie roll (Thousand Oaks), so their $ 7+ price tag seemed really steep. But I had a great meal convenient to the hospital, so I’m a happy camper.

A friend living in Santa Monica took me to this little gem last week. Not too small, not too big, down the street from Krispy Kreme and Dunkin Donuts. With a name like Sushi King I wasn’t expecting much.
Luckily for me, he got there early and got us a spot at the Sushi Bar. When I arrived the place was packed, which is always a good sign. Sitting down and being greeted by all 4 of the sushi chefs and even some of the neighboring patrons gave the place a nice, local feel.
Sitting at the bar, you get a good look at today’s selections and the fish all had a nice color and fresh look to it. We ordered a selection of sushi… Toro, Salmon, Uni, Engawa, Japanese Scallop… all were excellent, fresh and a good value for the money.
One thing that surprised me was the cut of the fish. They were huge. The Toro was almost twice the length of a normal piece of sushi. It was like I was getting some sashimi and sushi rolled into one. I had no quams with this, more bang for the buck as the fish was delicious.
So, this is not a elegant, cut perfect, show off to your foodie friends kinda place. This is friendly, fill your belly with some good sushi and not damage your wallet too much kinda place. A place to go with friends and eat without being worried about the bill.
Now, it’s not «cheap» per say, but in relation to what you get, its great value. Order enough premium sushi and your bill will go up accordingly.
I didn’t look at the menu, I didn’t look at prices, just our final bill and in that, just paid it. This visit was more about catching up with an old friend.
I plan on visiting in the next week or so and taking the time to give the place a once over and will provide a more comprehensive review. But I meet a few locals that love the place… and the crowds told me I won’t be disappointed on any visit.