Hama Sushi

Best sushi on earth! But the staff is very unprofessional and the chefs are extremely rude but guess you can’t get the best of both worlds.

This one is just like akasakas and close to my heart. This was the menu for my birthday dinner. I’m going to list the must trys!!!
halibut– never disappointing (during the winter is crazy good)
red snapper– summer only
uni– winter is the best
salmon skin extra crispy — always bomb
soft shell crab appetizer — always good extra ponzu
ama ebi– super good
oysters– get them while you can
staff is super nice and always super attentive. If you are willing to wait for dinner time, you will not ever go back.

Japantown has turned into a must go/​must see spot in DTLA and Hama Sushi is the place to stop. It was recommended by a local and I’ve been a handful of times since then. This is a place where all the talent is in the sushi with little left for the ambiance, yet this is the type of sushi place I prefer. The sweet shrimp is best in class.

Good! Good food, good service
Others eating when we did had been frequenting the restaurant for 15 to 40 years.

Best sushi ever. Even better than most sushi restaurant in Japan. Food was amazing. I recommend yellowtail hand roll. They use super crispy seaweed that makes their hand roll extra special.

If you Unilocal/​Google/​LaEater/​Thrillist etc. «The best Sushi spots in Los Angeles» you will consistently find Hama Sushi among that list. Unfortunately with fame, comes long wait times and unfulfilled expectations. We showed up at 8:00pm on a Friday and there was about a 45 minute wait. Considering you can expect that kind of wait at the Olive Garden on a Friday we decided to tough it out. The only solace was the ice cream truck (Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream Truck) parked right in front of the restaurant. Who says you can’t have dessert before dinner?
Very small establishment, probably 20 seats at the sushi bar, along with 8 – 10 tables behind that. The sushi chefs were so busy that you couldn’t order at the sushi bar with the chef. A waitress takes your order at the bar, then all the items you order come out on 1 big plate. The fish selection was pretty bare (my assumption is they don’t need the exotics because they’re busy pumping out salmon and spicy tuna handrolls) but here are the basics I always order:
Yellowtail — A touch on the firm side. Tad stringy but overall good balance.
Amaebi — Nice sweetness to it. Nothing to write home about. Deep fried head was average. You can tell they don’t change out the deep fry oil.
Hotate — Always love scallops. Great texture. Not too firm where it clumps but not too mushy. My only gripe was they didn’t offer Yuzukosho. What well respected Japanese restaurant doesn’t offer Yuzu!?!
Ankimo — Generic Ankimo they cut from a roll wrapped in foil. They sell this at many Japanese establishments.
Toro — Average to below average. We got a very sinewy cut (could taste the stringiness). It began to melt in your mouth but then you would taste the stringiness and ruin the whole experience.
Uni — Standard Santa Barbara Uni.
Aji — not memorable but good.
Tamago — not memorable but good.
The total bill was around $ 100 with 1 large hot sake.
If you’re looking for a personalized experience where you can interact with the sushi chef, don’t come here. If you want average to good quality fish at a decent price then this spot could fit the bill. I can see why at one point Hama sushi may have been one of the best sushi spots in LA (fish cuts are experienced, rice is perfectly portioned and balanced with vinegar, mom and pop atmosphere) but with success comes problems, and you just can’t keep every customer happy.
For the quality of fish and the price you pay there are numerous spots (even within walking distance!) that can do exactly what Hama Sushi does, BUT BETTER.
DECOR — 3
FOOD — 3
PRICE — 4

Extremely expensive but very good quality! You enjoy what you pay for! The regular sushi, such as salmon, tuna, and yellowtail, are between $ 4.5 to $ 5.5 an order. The toro grade sushi are pricy — tuna toro sushi cost $ 13 an order! Check out the price before you order! Hand rolls are $ 4.5 each. They are made fresh! Recommend the grilled yellowtail collar! Very delicious!
For 3 orders of sushi, 2 hand rolls, and one yellowtail collar, bill comes to be $ 41.

For the price its one of the best Sushi places in LA!
place is not fancy but they are very busy because of their good sushi so there is always a line!

This place is okay, not the best. but on a Friday Night at 6pm, it will do.
We waited 5 mins to get seated at the sushi bar. This place is very small so seating is limited. They only offer sushi, so no tempura, no teryiaki, no udon.etc.
All the wait staff was very tentative. Atleast 3 around waiting to be called upon. The sushi chefs were nice and also tentative. They would serve one item before going to the next customer.
We loved the fried soft shell crab! we ordered two of them, we would def order it again! overall this place was A-​OK!

I was brought here by a friend who highly recommended it and I left with a satisfied tummy.
Environment:
The restaurant is very small and the wait is more than an hour. First seeing the signs No Pictures, No Phones and many other «friendly» reminders, I’m like you better be hella good. And I was not disappointed.
Food/​service:
One of the best sushi was the tuna toro. It was creamy and flavorful. Salmons & salmon bellies were also spot on. However I didn’t notice a huge difference between the two. The quality of the yellowtail was also beyond expectation. Other sushi such as uni (sea urchin) & sweet shrimp was fresh and pretty good as well.
The only fish I didn’t like was tuna. The texture was a little bit weird and it didn’t have any taste to it.
Service was ok. Servers weren’t very friendly, but not rude at the same time.
Overall: this place offers a unique and authentic Japanese sushi dining. It is pricy, but you get what you pay for. I will definitely recommend to a friend and come back for quality sushi.

**This rating is strictly for quality/​freshness of fish (especially considering the prices).
(I will return after a few months because I really do love this place, but not if they have sacrificed on quality and even quantity [see below]).
*TL;DR: Salmon belly is good. Albacore, Yellowtail, Spanish Mackerel were disgusting.
I used to love Hama Sushi, until last night. For two reasons: the quality of fish and quality of customer service.
First, the fish… I am no sushi guru, but I have tried a lot of sushi in Los Angeles. Hama’s salmon belly was the best we had ever tried, and we have kept coming back for it. Last night it was good.
But the albacore and yellowtail were gross. They had this old, fishy, repugnant smell. They were drowned in sauce, so they tasted like rotting, lemony fish. I had to force them both down. The Spanish mackerel was rubbery and chewy. I forced this down, too. It’s wrong to waste food, or I would have left it. Plus, it’s expensive.
The scallop was soft and tasty, we liked it.
We didn’t order any other fish. I was put off by the fish we already had so we stuck to salmon the rest of the meal.
The portions were so small. From the two pieces of salmon belly, mine was smaller than usual, and my friend’s was even smaller! One was about ¾ inches (19mm) thick and the other less than ½″ (12.5mm) thick. The salmon belly is 50% ($ 2) more expensive than the salmon, and we received less.
Second, the customer service. My friend and I had an agreement — if the wait was more than 30 minutes we would eat elsewhere — ramen or another sushi restaurant. They told us 30 – 40 minutes, so we decided to wait. After 35 minutes they told us it would be another 30 – 40 minutes. It ended up being exactly 1 hour. I would not have minded waiting this long had they been up front about it. When I brought it up with one of the waitresses she was very dismissive. I get it, there’s nothing they can do about the wait — it depends on how fast people eat. But don’t be mean about it. And they’ve been seeing the pace all night. and for years… they should have a better idea. Or maybe they just didn’t care.
Also, we had to wait a long time for our sushi. The place is small, and they have 3 chefs. People who came after us received their fish first. Maybe this is how it is supposed to work, who knows. But I didn’t appreciate it.

We were visiting from out of town.
Dinner was excellent –we tried a lot of different items/​all excellent.
We paid –left the restaurant and went next door to buy some t-​shirts.
When we left the t-​shirt shop 15 minutes later, we saw our server. She was outside the restaurant looking for us.
She informed us she had discovered she had overcharged us and was looking for us to apologize and issue a refund.
AMAZING!
She brought us back in — she, and her colleagues all apologized.
Immediate cash refund.
What integrity.
This place deserves your patronage!

I’ve walked by this place so many times and never realized it was here. This time what grabbed my attention was the sign that was on the front door. So hilarious! Also, a chef was outside smoking and he walked around with a complete attitude of of a total bomb of a sushi chef.
Super fresh ingredients. No fuss, no muss. Eat and get out.

Oh, Hama. My first true love in Los Angeles. I discovered Hama back in my college years and it has remained one of my all-​time favorite sushi places to this day.
Every time I go back to Hama I am reminded of what sushi is SUPPOSED to be. This is eyes-​rolling-​back-​in-​your-​head, make-​you-​want-​to-​punch-​your-​friend-​in-​the-​face-​out-​of-​pure-​ecstasy sushi. It is that good. It is simple, under-​stated, traditional, outstanding sushi. No fancy rolls, sauces, no techno music or neon lights.
Rarely in LA have I experienced salmon as flavorful, hamachi as rich and creamy, uni as sweet, hirame as bright, unagi has buttery/​crispy/​hot-​and-​perfectly-​sauced as I have found at Hama. Their spicy tuna hand roll is also out of this world, containing just a hint of sesame oil.
There WILL be a wait (usually about at hour at peak time), but that’s because they are tiny and amazing. It’s worth it.

Albacore sashimi was to die for. Salmon sashimi was THE BEST I’ve ever had. literally melts in your mouth. There are plenty of sushi bar options in Little Tokyo but this little whole in the wall sushi bar has my vote– authentic and delicious. Sit at the bar for the full experience!

Yikes, Hama missed the mark for me. To be fair, 1.5 would be a more accurate rating. Also bear in mind I am factoring in other options in the area. After all, this is little Tokyo.
The positive — very good hamachi. come early, and the wait is not bad.
The negative — rest of the stuff just wasn’t all that. From Spanish Mackeral, to kanpachi, to snapper, it was all very meh and unimpressive. Cuts are also on the stingy side. You’d probably have to eat a good 20 pieces or more to get full.
For a joint like this to operate like sushi snobs (no phones allowed, very strict at the table, unfriendly wait staff), you’ve gotta produce better stuff than this. Very disappointing and not recommended.

Review #200!
TL;DR — Hama Sushi serves stellar sushi at its peak freshness. If you like traditional style nigiri and sashimi over the fusion style of Sushi Zo, eat here.
(Read FOOD #‘s 3 and 6 down below if you want to know why I love Hama so much.)
When I hit review #100, I had to choose between my first love (steak), current love (sushi), and naughty mistress (ramen). Sushi won — I reviewed Sen Nari Sushi. For review #200, sushi wins again!
I’ve always imagined what great sushi would taste like, and I didn’t quite get that feeling 100% at Sushi Zo, Mori Sushi, etc.
In the past year I have been to:
Mori Sushi
Sushi Zo
Tamon Sushi
Mako Sushi
K ZO
Sugarfish
Kanpachi
Ishi Sushi, and many others.
Knowing what you want makes a world of difference in the world of sushi. After Sushi Zo, something wasn’t quite right, and I forced myself to try Mori Sushi. I’m so glad I’ve found Hama. I prefer Hama over the likes of Sushi Zo and Mori Sushi. This really is the journey of a lifetime (that will hopefully culminate one day with a sushi eating spree in Japan).
Three disappointments:
1. They ran out of albacore toro!
2. They told me three times not to take pictures
3. The sushi chef doesn’t serve you the fish from lightest to heaviest. He goes down the order form from top to bottom. If they’re so strict about no pictures, why aren’t they as diligent about serving the fish in the proper sequence?
I love nigiri, which is comprised of the fish and the rice. The sushi rice was excellent. It was served slightly warm, with a beautifully chewy consistency. The flavor was immaculate. Each order comes with two pieces of nigiri.
The 19 seat sushi bar is the feature attraction. There are two small tables in an adjacent room.
Oddly, they don’t offer omakase. So I chose my own lineup of fish.
FOOD:
1 toro — not mind blowing. Good, but not that melty. I thought it would be the showcase item, but it was disappointing. I’ve had better toro at Mori, Zo, Tamon, and Ishi recently. So why the five star rating? The toro and uni were the only «not mind blowing» orders. Hama sushi is great. I want to try Komasa to make a direct comparison, but until then I am a firm believer in Hama. Sure, Zo and others have fancier, rarer kinds of fish. But Hama executes quality, freshness, and simplicity like no one else.
2 uni — just ok
3 tuna — There are times when simple, regular tuna is exquisite, delicate, and sensational. You don’t need chutoro (medium fatty tuna belly) or otoro (highly fatty tuna belly). I was really surprised that I enjoyed the regular tuna here more than the toro.
4 yellowtail — excellent, melty
5 halibut — soft and spicy. Lingering kick.
6 tuna –second round. I want you to notice the color of Hama’s tuna. There’s much debate on this issue. It’s estimated that 30% of all tuna is sprayed with carbon monoxide in order to maintain the bright red color. I don’t like the way those tuna taste. The tuna here at Hama does not have this bright red characteristic popular at so many other places. I’m not sure if this is the reason it’s so good, but it’s surely part of it. This tuna tastes natural, the texture is heavy, there’s a real chew to it, yet it’s also tender. This is what tuna should taste like, instead of the bright red pieces elsewhere.
7 salmon — very good
8 red snapper — marvelous. Meaty, soft, delicate — best snapper I’ve ever had.
9 Spanish mackerel
10 spicy tuna handroll — best spicy tuna handroll I’ve ever had. Perfectly portioned tuna, rice, and crisp, fresh seaweed combined into something pristine. Get this.
11 scallop — excellent
12 sea eel — quite good
13 sweet shrimp — You can get fried shrimp heads or miso soup with the heads. I chose fried heads because I like to eat the whole thing. (I’ll try the soup next time.) The head was packed with rich, bursting flavor. There really is nothing like it. You must try it. It’s crunchy, crisp, and delicious.
They validate parking in the Japanese Village Plaza garage if you spend a minimum of $ 20.
Props to Shelley Z because Hama uses her photo of amaebi and toro as their profile photo on the Unilocal page. (Does anyone know how that photo is determined? Do businesses choose it?)
Disclaimer: I had to rush and quickly take each picture without being noticed. The result is sushi photos that are not up to my standard. My apologies.
To Hama Sushi management: I know you have your policy. Just consider, a lot of customers use Unilocal and won’t try a business unless they look at pictures and reviews on Unilocal.I came solely because I had friends who have reviewed your restaurant and posted good looking sushi pictures. Without those pictures and information, I never would have spent $ 100 at your restaurant. Just food for thought. It’s your right to say «no pictures,» just the know the effect it will have on your business.
To Hama management part 2: Your nigiri is phenomenal. Nothing can dispute that. 5 stars.
Hama, I love you. Forget steak, forget ramen, you are the best.

I just can’t get enough of this place hence an updated review!
It’s a nice local restaurant with just quality fish and very consistent service and menu. I can always count on my sweet shrimp, spicy yellowtail handroll, yellowtail, scallop, and tempora cut roll.
There’s no pictures really … And no chicken teriyaki type food :)

I’ve been curious to try Hama ever since people have talked about it rivaling Sushi Gen, which is my favorite. What I would say after finally trying it is that the nigiris are okay, but the sashimi is what really stands out. We ordered sashimi plates of the salmon and yellowtail… they were delightful. We also got nigiris of uni, sweet shrimp and toro and a spicy tuna maki — all good, not spectacular.
Got there half an hour before they opened on a Saturday and we were the first ones in line so the wait was not bad at all for us four.

Das alte Traditionelle japanische Küche schmeckt exzellent .
Der Koch verarscht mal gerne deine Gäste aber bei seinem Humor nimmt man das nicht so ernst.
Bin Schon seit Jahr hier ein Sushi Fan komme aus Österreich aber bin extra wegen seinem Essen gekommen. Sehr empfehlenswert.
Quality of the Fish: 5 stars points
Service: 5*
Interior: 3*
Organizations: 4,5*
Hygiene behind the sushi bar: 4,5

It’s like a Japanese speakeasy in the sense that it’s hidden in between other Japanese restaurants, and if you didn’t know what you were looking for, you could easily walk right by.
There are signs telling you to have your party together and not to ask about teriyaki or tempura. This simply isn’t that kind of place.
Purist sushi or sashimi, ONLY.
No reservations.
Was about a 35 minute wait.
Here are my thoughts:
–Blue Fin Toro at $ 13 great value and flavor
—Ankimo was a let down, old tasting and not fresh
— Spicy Tuna roll wasn’t very spicy and had a weird pureed taste to it, like they blended the tuna and some spices together in a blender, but still couldn’t get that great balance
–Rock and Roll was good
–Softshell crab was excellent
—Softshell crab roll was even better, super hot and tasty
–Hamachi was fresh
—Sake (Salmon) was just okay
—California Roll was disappointing, not very tasty and rather plain
–Unagi very tasty
–Albacore good
For sushi purists, I can see this as being a 4 to 5 star place.
The spicy tuna and California were a let down, and so was the ankimo big time.
But everything else seemed to be great, and the service was spot on, hence the 5 stars.
P.S The bill was more than $ 200 for two people. So your sushi will add up fast!

Sushi here is very good, but I will never go back because we were treated so terribly. I actually started a Unilocal account just to Unilocal about this horrible experience. I was with my grandmother who was shown no respect by the snobby waitress/​hostess, my grandmother was having trouble hearing her and the waitress rolled her eyes and barked at us «ok, everyone who wants miso soup raise your hand»… we are not deaf or stupid and we didn’t come there to eat chicken. Felt a little racist, like just because Im caucasian I am going to want to order chicken and will have a hard time following their strict «sushi only» rule. Seems like their ego has grown with all of these good reviews. I have honestly never been treated so badly, i don’t know how everyone puts up with that kind of treatment. Tuna roll was good, but very pasty. Definitely not the place to go for your birthday. Thanks Hama.