Nozomi

My husband & I tried this place & love it! It was great! Yummy dishes all around & now I’m craving it…

3^rd time back here last Saturday and it was pretty much the same excellent experience we had the first time. We noticed some walk ins that got turned away. Reservations are recommended and let the guys at the sushi bar do their thing. We found any fish they served us on each of their omakase course is pretty darn good. Two thumbs up.

First time customer. Great service. Chef was delightful. I ordered the omakase, the best!

This is now one of my favorite sushi restaurants in South Bay for sure. The service is good, and the food is excellent!
My fiancé and I got the Broiled Squid Popoyaki to start which was delicious! Good flavor and really soft. For the main, of course we had to get the 20 piece + kappa and tekka maki chef’s choice. It’s only $ 70 for this amazing 20-​piece plate for two; its such a steal!
We came in about 30 minutes before closing so we felt a tad bit rushed. They never rushed us out or anything like that though. We just dont like being the only party holding up the restaurant so we ate quickly and left. I enjoy long dinners and enjoying my food so next time I’ll have to make sure I go earlier in the evening so I can enjoy my yummy dinner without feeling rushed.
I definitely recommend this place for all of you that appreciates good sushi!

Nozomi is one of my favorite sushi place
It is not so expensive than other sushi place but still sushi chef’s service is good and easy to talk and have lots of fun
I always order sushi chef special menu
It cost about $ 35
I sit most of time sushi bar and you can make friends there too

We sat at the table instead of the sushi bar. We had good meals. I think my eyes were bigger than my stomach. I almost didn’t finish my dinner. I had the Deluxe Chirashi. I should have had the regular one. I just wanted that chawan mushi that came with it. That night was a bag night because they had a few large parties. We lucked out because I made reservations. If we didn’t, we would have waited over an hour. I guess our first visit was a «special» night. Can’t always have the same experience each time, eh?

I really want to go 5 stars, but just can’t do it. 3.75÷5, rounded up to 4. I like this place, but can’t say I love it. Main problem is that the prices are high. Omakase for two, a large sake, an octopus salad costs $ 115. I understand that one must pay for high quality sushi, but I found that to be excessive. Omakase ($ 38) consists of 10 pieces of sushi and a roll. I got a more higher end sake for $ 19, if I had gotten the house sake it would’ve been less. The sake was great, very smooth and subtle. There are no, «Americanized,» rolls here, only authentic Japanese sushi and sashimi, which I appreciate.
The sushi is very good. Super fresh seafood and rice. Felt like the slices of fish could’ve been bigger. Inventive, they add some lime chili to a couple of pieces. I got the octopus sunomono (vinegared seaweed and cucumber) for $ 7 and it was really good, but the portion was minuscule. I guess for seven bucks I can’t be too upset.
The atmosphere is nice, service is friendly. The menu is varied with all types of Japanese delicacies. They offer fried, boiled, grilled, boiled, noodle, and rice dishes. I just can’t say for the price I would be enthused to return. There are a plethora of sushi spots in Torrance and Gardena that are comparable. I’ve only been here for dinner. I’ve heard the lunch specials are good, if I worked nearby I’d come check it out. If you don’t mind paying a lot for fresh authentic sushi then by all means come here, you will be more than satisfied.

This place is authentic, very reasonable priced for the portions, and fresh. Cannot ask for anything more. It wasn’t too busy right after they opened, but by 630pm they had all tables and sushi bar full. I was amazed at the quality of their sushi. I recommend sitting at the sushi bar — these sushi chefs are so awesome at what they do. Highly recommend this place for authentic sushi.

A wonderfully straight-​forward, Japanese-​run sushi restaurant.
I sat at the sushi bar and stared longingly at their beautiful selection of fish. I decided on a Chirashi bowl here for lunch this past Monday and it was delicious. The sashimi is so fresh and buttery, sliced to perfectly portioned pieces. I liked the pickles that come under the fish. I really love working through a good Chirashi bowl. This one even came with uni (and I didn’t order a Deluxe special or anything). Don’t judge– I’m not really a fan of uni, but the uni here is so good. It’s not as briny as other places and has that perfectly balanced consistency of soft yet firm enough to pick up with your chopsticks.
The waitress forgot my miso soup that came with the lunch meal and was nice enough to take a small chunk off the bill for that, even though I didn’t mind.
TIP: It’s busy here so you’ll have to flag down your server if you’re trying to get in and out quickly for lunch. Service is not too attentive. Maybe it’s also because I walked in like 40 minutes before closing and they were trying to wrap things up. My bad.
A customer next to me was enjoying a baked salmon lunch which looked and smelled heavenly. I feel like this is a Japanese restaurant where you can order anything and it will be great. The space is clean, the chefs are experienced, and the food is perfect in its simplicity.
The menu doesn’t waste time on random crap or America-​style rolls drowning in sauce here.
Simple. Definitely a situation where less is more.
For true Japanese food enthusiasts!

I have great lunch buddies in the South Bay. 2 of my favorite people (Steve and Joe) took me to this sushi spot and melted my taste bud for Uni.
I had the Uni bowl and it was very fresh and appetizing. The Uni bowl comes with sushi or white rice, miso soup and house salad which was OK. I prefer with the sushi rice for it added light taste of vinegar and it complements the sashimi. I was told that the owner of Nozomi and Maruhide Uni Club are relatives and they pick up the Uni from the same source.
Fast forward a year later, Today I came here with my friend that was visiting from Pasadena. I tried the Chirashi bowl and it was very fresh. My favorite is and always will be salmon. I wished we can substitute a few more pieces of salmon.
It’s a small restaurant located in the 85 degrees shopping center with plenty of parking. It’s fresh and authentic. It can get pretty busy during lunch hour so make sure you get there early.

Awesome place for the uni and salmon roe bowl! It was very crowded when I walked in. I was lucky that they were able to seat me during their busy dinner hour. We were so excited to try the uni that the reviews have been raving about. I ordered the uni and ikura bowl and the choice sushi. The uni and ikura was layered on steamed rice with a side of ginger, wasabi and pickles. I enjoyed every bite of this deliciousness. No soy sauce needed! The sushi, as expected, went beyond our expectations. Nozomi also sells jars of uni up front to take home. I highly recommend this place. All of the food is delightfully fresh and well priced.

Ordered the Chef’s Choice 20pcs, Grilled Salted Mackerel, and 2pcs Salmon Sushi. Not sure what all the fish were on the CC but I know there was a Toro, Albacore, Uni, and Salmon Roe. Honestly every piece of sushi on the platter was delicious and fresh. The toro literaly just dissolved in your mouth. I’m usually not a fan of uni, but this one was just so creamy with a subtle sweetness. The salmon roe was pretty good too. The mackerel was really good as well. They somehow managed to debone it completely and it was just the right amount of saltiness with crispy skin. The salmon was one of the better salmon sushis I’ve tried — definitely would recommend.
Great dinner spot! Will most definitely come back.

I came to Nozomi because I heard through the grapevine that they share an uni supplier with Maruhide. Whether that’s true or not (I think it is, because they have identical jars of uni shutou at the front door), both places have absolutely outstanding uni.
Steph H and myself both ordered uni bowls — she remained solely dedicated to the uni while I added ikura to mine.
Absolutely everything was in its right place: a soft blanket of urchin ‘tongues’ with well-​delineated edges and nice pocked textures, marking their freshness, a shallow orange ball pit of salmon roe, and the rice, flecked not only with seaweed, as I originally thought, but with seaweed AND shiso! The whole thing was accented by a few sticks of pickled veggies.
Proportion wise, and freshness-​wise, nothing in this bowl could have been improved upon. I didn’t even touch the jar of soy sauce or the pat of wasabi, which is VERY unusual for me.
The price point here is higher than at Maruhide. It ran me $ 21 for the bowl, which was nowhere near the size of Maruhide’s, nor did it contain any other types of fish. Not that it needed to. But it’s a consideration.
The dish came with a spinach/​bonito starter (tasty but too strawy) and a goblet of lychee sorbet (perfect, not sugary, like the pure iced fruit itself).

— Locale Destination —
It’s on W Carson St and S Western Ave in Torrance.
It’s in a big shopping center, right across from «85 degree».
Ambiance: Very simple, clean, a bit outdated.
Service: You better bring your Japanese friend. The clientele and chefs were all Japanese and many of them seemed to be the regulars. Even I as a Japanese, it took time to get to know the chefs well. Once they’re used to me, they were friendly. At the beginning, I was a bit anxious.
Menu: Sushi, appetizers.
Fish selection: Very wide — lots of fish from Japan for the special. They also have cut rolls, but skip those. You got to go to «straightforward» sushi here. Enjoy the quality and taste of the fresh fish! I usually don’t like a typical «Omakase», but it might be better here since I wasn’t familiar with many of the fish.
Price: Very inexpensive for the good quality and varieties they give. You would pay twice or more for the quality in LA.
Parking: Plenty
— Gluttony Expedition —
Spanish mackerel: Decent.
Engawa: Fatty and meaty. Good.
Live sweet shrimp: OK.
Madai (snapper): Good.
Hagatsuo (bonito): Good.
Chikame Kintoki: Great.
Yellowtail: Meh.
Sanma: Great.
Tokobushi: OK.
Tofu salad: Light dressing, decent «Japanese» flavor. Decent.
Spinach ohitashi: Decent.
Sweet shrimp miso soup: It was a bit too salty for my like.
Uni don: The owners are related to «Maruhide Uni club». So the Uni was the same awesome! I opt for uni only since I didn’t like salmon roes I got at «Maruhide Uni club». You can choose from only uni or uni/​salmon roe/​crab, I think. It was from Santa Barbara, it was big, sweet and tasty. Yum.
— Conqueror’s Deduction —
Good quality and very inexpensive for it. Lots of fish from Japan. All the clientele were japanese. It wasn’t crazy «wow» but great for the price! I still prefer «Hirose» nearby to here overall since «Hirose» offers a little better sushi and lot better appetizers. But this is very solid and good sushi — very cheap, wide selection, good quality. I’ll come back!
My sushi ranking (Sep, 2015):
1. Nana San (Newport Beach)
2. Sushi Zo (Palm)
3. Hirose (Torrance)
4. Kiyokawa (Beverly Hills)
5. Sushi Sushi (Beverly Hills)
6. Nozomi (here in Torrance)
7. Kasen (Fountain Valley)
8. Koto (Fountain Valley)
9. Sushi Ota (San Diego)

We chose Nozomi for lunch based on a friend’s recommendation and this place does not disappoint!!! I ordered the «8-​piece sushi» lunch special, which comes with a California roll, miso soup and salad. As I was placing my order, the waitress asked me, «is it OK that the special comes with uni?» OMG… I nearly passed out from excitement!!! Uni??? YESSSSSSS!!! I can’t believe that was part of the lunch special! In addition to the Uni, there was also salmon, tuna, albacore, squid, shrimp nigiri. Quality of the fish was excellent. And all this for $ 16.80!!! Highly recommend.

Yum! One of my favorite Japanese places in Torrance. I am constantly forgetting about this place until I go to 85 Degrees and see it. I went to lunch at Nozomi at lunchtime, near closing. The restaurant is located in the next plaza from Mitsuwa, near 85 degrees and Daiso. There is plenty of parking in the plaza. The restaurant itself is very small, has a few tables, few private rooms for bigger parties, and a sushi bar. There was 2 of us so we got seated at the tables. The waitress was very nice and took our drink order and food order quickly.
They have a lunch menu, which includes combos and plates. For the combos, you can substitute any item (they can charge more if it’s expensive). They had fried chicken and sashimi combo on the menu. I decided to go a little healthier and substitute the fried chicken with grilled teriyaki chicken (their chicken is free range) for free. The food was pretty tasty! The combo came with salad, rice, and noodle side dish. The chicken was tender and juicy and the teriyaki sauce was a good mix. (You can also choose salt if you don’t like teriyaki). The sashimi was pretty fresh and good. I will definitely remember to come here again for lunch.
If you want an after meal stroll, Daiso, 85 degrees, and Mitsuwa are all within walking distance.

Nozomi is located by Musha, Pi Water and 85 Degrees. It’s a traditional Japanese restaurants where local Japanese come to dine.
Bf and I stopped here for dinner. The Daikon salad was enjoyable, but it was too much for just the two of us. I liked the ika dish and the tsukemono.

Uni bowl — That’s what’s on the menu for me =)
Lunch with two of my favorite Unilocalers. Joe P and Jennifer N. We were in search of the perfect uni (sea urchin) dish.
It’s a small restaurant with a sushi bar, roughly 10 tables and a few private tatami rooms. Joe P was first at the scene and secured us a table. Good thing too, the lunch crowd was forming as I got there.
To the food:
I only had one dish in mind when I came here. It’s the Saltwater Fresh Sea Urchin Bowl aka Uni Bowl. It came with a side salad and miso soup, both just okay.
The uni bowl came with your choice of regular rice or sushi rice. I went with the sushi rice which complimented the Uni perfectly. There was a good amount of Uni in this dish and it was good, very good IMO, but not the best I’ve had. Maruhide’s is still the king of the hill in the Uni battle.
Service was good and the food came out fast.
Would I come back? Yes. Maybe not for the Uni bowl since Maruhide is close by, but they have an array of lunch items that are more wallet friendly than the Uni bowl. I’m also interested in trying the sushi, maybe their Omakase.
Rating: Solid 4 Stars
The search for the best Uni dish continues.
Try it for yourself and decide.
2015 Review #7

Now that I am working in the South Bay, I met Jennifer N (my sister from another mister), and Steve S (my brother from another mother) here. They both work close by. Nozomi is located on Carson just off Western in Torrance. There is also an 85 Degrees in the same lot.
Nozomi specializes in uni don, but I just went to Maruhide Uni Club the day before. So I opted for a chirashi bowl ($ 17.95). Jenn and Steve both ordered the specialty for the same price. Entrees come with a salad and miso soup.
First of all, the chirashi was very good. It reminded me a bit of Ikko in Costa Mesa. The fish was very fresh, the portion was large, and the rice was nicely seasoned with seaweed. The only downsides were Ikko has more fish. and Maruhide’s uni has better taste: 4 Stars. On the other hand, the salad and miso were garden variety. I have had better, and I have had worse: 3 Stars.
The ambiance is very nice. It is a traditional (and real Japanese) place. The space is small, but efficient. There is a sushi bar, a few tables and a couple of tatami rooms: 4 Stars. The service was also very good. They seated me as the first to arrive, and did not require that we all be present. In addition, the food came out quickly. Lastly, the waitress did not have an issue with mixing cash and credit for payment: 4 Stars.
If you are in the area and want some reasonably priced sushi/​sashimi, in a traditional Japanese setting, then Nozomi is the place for you. I love working in the South Bay because of all the Japanese food options. I look forward to having other foodie adventures with my Unilocalies because we work so close to one another.

The most affordable and satisfying omakaze!
FRESH, JUICY, QUITE SWEET TASTE
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After reading this article, I was determined to go to try Nozomi because it’s close to my friends house who also loves sushi. Our goal initially was to try $ 55 omakaze set, as described on the article.
Free parking in the complex.
When we got there, we got seated immediately at private room. The place quite crowded, mixed crowd.
The private room is traditional Japanese style, we have to sit without shoes/​sandals.
You shall choose the omakaze package of $ 70 for 2 or 3 people. I believe you could order it for yourself too, it’s on the menu option. It’s better deal than ordering $ 55 individual omakaze.
Omakase set consists of: 20 pieces of chef’s choice sushi, plus cut rolls.
Fresh, juicy, quite sweet taste. I enjoy every piece and experience ‘wow’ effect on each bite.
$ 21.95: Uni bowl consists of: uni, salmon roe, snow crab (quite big, could share), choose sushi rice. It comes with miso soup, 1 scoop ice cream and spinach side.
Minus half star because:
#I expect the omakaze set come one by one.
We also ordered cold sake.
Total, not including tips, it’s about $ 100ish, divided by two people, it’s about $ 50ish/​person, lower than our initial expectation of $ 55/​person for Omakase set ONLY!
Friendly service, typical Japanese girls polite attitude.
I left this place full and satisfied.
RECOMMENDED!!!
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NOTES: this place sells «uni shutou», showing at the front side of its restaurant, right hand side from entrance, inside transparent small fridge.
Uni shutou jar $ 12 (originated from Santa barbara).
It is served in JAL first class as an hors d’œuvre and compete with a high quality caviar.