SUGARFISH by sushi nozawa

I love KazuNori so I decided to try their sister restaurant Sugarfish. The hype, it’s well deserved.
The fish is melt in your mouth soft, the rice is warm and sticky, and everything tastes delicious. The décor is nice and the ambience is fancy. The only thing I was disappointed about was we couldn’t receive everything we wanted because some things were out of stock (surprising for a Thursday around 6:30pm). That being said, they were very apologetic about it.
In my opinion, it’s not worth the money to come all the time but for special occasions, I would highly recommend sugarfish. Otherwise, go to KazuNori! It’s the same sashimi and handrolls but cheaper.

Since I was only able to do take out from here before, I wanted to withhold my thoughts on this particular Sugarfish location until I was finally able to have a proper sitdown experience. The time for that finally came.
Having been to the Pasadena location previously for a sitdown experience, I had an idea of what to expect. Again, gotta get the Nozawa Trust Me. Even at $ 37, it’s still the best value on the menu. Seems like all the Sugarfish locations have the formula down: bring the food, bring it at the right pace, and make sure the sushi is super duper fresh. The one variant I didn’t know you could do until my friend asked for it: yes, you can ask for cut rolls instead of hand rolls. It makes for better pictures anyways. :P
I don’t have much to go on since the only other location I’ve been to is Pasadena. But according to my friend who frequents the Santa Monica and Marina Del Rey locations, this location was WAY bigger in terms of available seating. I definitely second that, the Pasadena location is quite small in comparison.
Only downside of this location? Unless you already work here during the week or are lucky to find free parking at night, you’re probably paying for parking.

Best sushi ever, hands down.
No other comment. Nothing else matters. Who cares about the ambiance or the service when the fish is just this good. Make sure you have a scallop.

Too over priced and they charge you a service fee. Skip the hype and don’t go here. The minute you walk into the restaurant, it smells… fishy. Service was decent, our service was nice, friendly and attentive. Came for lunch on a Sunday and it was pretty dead but I’m pretty sure I saw Kendall kardash sitting in the corner. Anyways back to the sushi. Ordered a few piece to see if anything was worth ordering more of and the only thing that was decent tasty was the salmon. Everything else was meh. I recommend to get the hand rolls instead of the cut rolls because it’s more crispy and haves a good feels of temperatures. It was warm, cold and crispy etc. Unagi was so disappointing in my opinion.

One of my favorite sushi spots! Don’t come during dinner time on a weekend or be prepared to wait for a very long time. Even if you get togo, the wait time will be around 30mins.
This is the only sushi spot that I’ve been where the rice is served warm. And it’s absolutely amazing. Each sushi they serve with a different sauce giving it a unique taste which I love. Plus the price isn’t too ridiculous for a sushi spot.

Now I understand the hype. Before I was like it’s just another sushi spot in LA how great can it be. Uh, no. There IS a difference.
Get there early even on a weekday for dinner. While I was waiting for my friend that was running a bit late, within like fifteen minutes the place went from roomy to full.
Interiors cute and classy. Probably not the best place to come with a big party. The food’s exceptional. Life changing? Haha we ordered the regular Trust Me each, it’s plenty of food. The tuna in ponzu literally just melts in your mouth. Their yellowtail super good too. Their service is amazing, I liked how the waiter actually seems to care about your experience while dining. They also have really good teamwork between the staff is what I noticed. But there was one guy like super fast walking the whole time trying to get everyone’s plates to the tables ASAP which is good but at the same time makes someone sitting down feel uneasy for some reason. Lol sugar fish gets A++!

I’ve been here 4 times already and I just can’t get over how much ponzu and vinegar they use. Being of Japanese decent, this is not traditional sushi and something you do not commonly come across at a sushi restaurant. I want to taste the true flavor of the fish, and I can’t when there’s loads of vinegar or mirin in the rice and ponzu on top of the fish.
Unfortunately the last time we were here on Valentine’s Day night. The host forgot about us and gave away our table to a couple that had just waltzed through the door. So we ended up waiting another 20 minutes. Very frustrating. The meal was also not on point, the sushi rice was overly wet and one set of hand rolls has not been made fresh to order so the seaweed texture was very chewy.
Will not be back for a long time.

So we decided to try this restaurant out because my friends HIGHLY recommend it when visiting LA. It’s only been about 6 mos since I fell in love with eating nigiri’s! I was always eating rolls.
The staff was amazing. We brought my daughter and we asked if she could eat her McDonald’s there, they were super accommodating and said yes of course! They are a pricier restaurant so I was very pleased that they let her, because she’s 6 years old and she’s not gonna eat raw fish. lol. But overall their service was amazing! Food came out super fast too!
Now to the food And I wish I knew the names of the nigiri that we chose but there’s so much to choose from. Our course came with edamame and that my daughter ate lol. I uploaded pictures of which course we chose but I love that their nigiri has warm rice and you could just tell the fish was so fresh! I loved the crab handroll and the albacore nigiri? Not sure if that’s the right name but it’s pretty close to it! Def will come back and eat here next time we visit LA! They have several locations all over LA!

The sushi here was good, that’s about the only thing that’s good here.
First, I need to preface my review with my opinion on Sugarfish.
I normally go to more authentically Japanese sushi places. I’ve heard of Sugarfish for a long time, and I know it’s hugely popular on the west side. Sugarfish basically takes the concept of omakase, and simplifies the menu so it appeals to the middle/​high class Caucasian audience that is unfamiliar with traditional sushi (aka anything not cut rolls). To add to that, they tout how sustainable they are and how healthy and low-​fat and low-​calorie their food is. It was basically a GENIUS business decision by Kazunori Nozawa. He was able to mainstream high quality sushi and charge a premium for it.
I got the «trust me» menu which I enjoyed. The fish was fresh and soft, the rice was warm, and I enjoyed the vinegary sauce they added to some of my sushi. My favorite thing was actually the blue crab hand roll! The sweet crab flavor really stood out and it was absolutely delicious with the crunchy seaweed.
BUT, the service was SERIOUSLY lacking. I noticed that the table next to us was seated around the same time we were, but they were not served anything after the sashimi appetizer while my table had finished the entire meal (post blue crab hand roll). They finally asked a waitress about it and it seemed like their table was just forgotten about! I also noticed they didn’t come around once offering to refill our waters even though they were low.
However, the worst part is that they actually forgot to serve my friend (seated at a different table so I didn’t know) her blue crab hand roll! She didn’t realize until after we had left the restaurant and I was talking about the blue crab hand roll, and she didn’t know what I was talking about. SUGARFISH TOTALLY JIPPED HER ABOUT $ 5.
It’s clear the waiters/​waitresses don’t have any motivation to provide good service because tip is automatically added onto your bill. For how much we’re forced to tip them, I expect really good service, so it’s so frustrating to basically give them my extra money when they don’t even need to try.
Don’t think I’ll come back. I know sushi places with same or better quality fish and better service.

Solid sushi joint. Nice atmosphere with very nice staff. Was able to get a seat at the bar without reservations and ordered the «trust me» along with some additional sushi pieces.
The fish was nicely flavored. The rice tasted well, but fell apart when you touched sushi to soy sauce.
While the place seemed to aim for the «high end/​authentic» sushi joint. It was a little too stiff for me. The sushi came it in exactly the same order, you were told what sushi to dip in soy and what not to. The staff was surprised that I understood what they meant about a flat service charge rather than tipping.
Still, the sushi was good. I’ll be back when traveling to LA.

Finally had the opportunity to eat here this past weekend while on the way to the Shrine. We were a bit rushed and the wait was longer than I had planned so we ordered a Trust Me Lite, and a The Nazawa Trust me to go! This is a little silly, but I actually was excited to get the orders to go because I’ve seen how cute the togo boxes are. They even come with a little information card on how to devour each piece. Anyway, our orders came out quicker than expected so we were on our way in no time.
If you like traditional sushi options with no surprises: salmon, tuna, (melt in your mouth!) scallop, shrimp, etc… this is the perfect place. The menu is simple, and you can’t go wrong with any of their Trust Me combos. I love that I don’t need to make any decisions other than how hungry I am. The Trust Me Lite was more than enough food for me, and I eat a lot. Very minimalistic approach to sushi, simple and elegant. Now they just need to open on in the OC!

The perfectly warm sushi rice! Sure, fresh and quality fish are critical in the world of sushi, but without the perfect sushi rice… It is just sashimi. Their menu is small but mighty… No fancy rolls, but down-​to-​earth sushi, hand rolls and sashimi will earn your love at your first bite.
I consider Sugarfish by Sushi Nozawa the minimalism of the sushi world, simplicities at best. Although my heart has been broken twice by Sugarfish (at this location and in Hollywood) because they were out of uni when I visited, it was quickly crazy-​glued back with their lobster hand rolls and blue crab hand rolls.
The service… Gratuity is included in your bill no matter the size of your dining party. Perhaps, this policy is a good policy because I haven’t had a bad service at this location and in Hollywood.
Nearest Metro Station: Red/​Purple/​Blue/​Expo Lines at the 7^th Street Metro Center

Thinking about that salmon over warm rice… My heart is melting.
Friends have talked about this place forever, thought how good could it really be? It’s really good.
Had the ‘Trust Me’ at lunch (with a few extra orders of salmon sushi and blue crab hand roll after). Everything you’ve ever had just tastes so much better here. Even the edamame. How does it taste so perfect?
I didn’t want the meal to end honestly. I could have sat and ordered all day.
Parking is free in the garage next door with validation. It’s close to Bottega Louie for a little dessert after :)

4.5 stars!
This is my favorite Sugarfish location. Ok, I’ve only been to 2 but this one was amaaaaazing! The parking situation– apparently there is validated parking but I’ve never found this (DTLA driving can be a little nutty), so I usually do meter parking on the street or find a parking garage with set rates.
I usually order the Nozawa Trust Me ($ 32), which comes with:
+Organic edamame (⁴⁄₅ stars): fresh and delicious-​salted just right, it’s the perfect appetizer to get the meal started.
+Tuna sashimi (⁵⁄₅ stars): Omggg… the tuna is so so good, no «veins» and very soft and fresh. The ponzu sauce they use compliments the fish perfectly!
+Albacore sushi (2-​pc) (⁴⁄₅ stars): Very delish.
+Salmon sushi (2-​pc) (⁴⁄₅ stars) — The salmon was good quality and melted in my mouth. Unfortunately for me, they put sesame seeds on top of the salmon. I know most people actually like this, but I personally don’t like sesame seeds on my food unless they’re the sweet sesame rice ball dessert. The seeds covered up the beloved creamy salmon taste :(
+Yellowtail sushi (2-​pc) (⁴⁄₅ stars)
+Halibut sushi (2-​pc) (⁴⁄₅ stars)
+Snapper Sushi (1-​pc) (⁴⁄₅ stars)
+Toro hand roll (⁵⁄₅ stars): Loved this. Can’t go wrong with fatty toro wrapped up in delicious sushi rice & fresh seaweed.
+Blue crab hand roll (³⁄₅ stars): Not a big fan of blue crab hand roll, ever, so this was just okayyy.
**They also have ala-​carte menu where you can order from; I’ve gotten the uni and it is SPECTACULAR– so creamy, so fresh and melts in your mouth :)
OVERALL
I heart Sugarfish. I really do love their sushi and the fish is so fresh and delicious, every single time. The biggest difference between this location (DTLA) vs the other one I’ve went to in Sherman Oaks is the quality of RICE and FISH. The rice is too soggy at the Sherman Oaks location, causing the sushi to fall apart the moment I pick it up with chopsticks. The fish also was a little discolored at that location and doesn’t taste quite as fresh. I’ll be back!!!

While Sugarfish unfortunately isn’t a Japanese candy confectionary like the name implies (just kidding, although that would’ve been amazing), if you’re looking for a classy and delicious sushi experience, Sugarfish definitely fits the bill!
Located in DTLA, it is on the smaller side yet we were lucky to have no wait for a table on a Sunday around 5pm. They don’t take reservations, so coming early would probably be a good idea. The interior has an upscale, classy feel with dim lighting, nice for a date atmosphere.
The menu is mostly comprised of 3 omakase courses (dinner prices listed) — Trust Me ($ 32), Trust Me Lite ($ 22), and Trust Me Nagawa ($ 42). Each set has essentially the same dishes, with Trust Me Lite having less pieces and rolls, and Trust Me Nagawa having the most. There is also sushi available a la carte if you want to try something outside of the courses.
My boyfriend and I both ordered the Trust Me, which came with edamame, tuna sashimi, albacore, salmon, yellowtail, halibut, and snapper sushi, as well as toro and blue crab hand rolls. All of the fish was absolutely amazing and light, so light that it seemed to MELT in your mouth — literally. Some of the fish came with sauce (you were not supposed to dip these in soy sauce), and others did not. I thought the sauce was a nice touch and added good flavor without going overboard with sauce and toppings like American restaurants typically do. The sushi rice was also quite tasty and the warm rice contrasted well with the cold fish.
While it may not seem like a lot of food, especially because the pieces come out only several at a time, at the end of our courses, we were reasonably full and satisfied. The only flaw that I noticed was that the dishes were not very… aesthetically «pleasing», just very simple and not very picturesque. This was a small matter, though, when compared to the actual taste. It also would’ve been nice to conclude the course with some sort of dessert, but that’s just my inner sweet tooth talking…
Overall, while the Trust Me courses are a bit on the expensive side, the quality is worth it! It’s more so a place to have a nice meal at every so often and not somewhere I’d frequent daily. Service was attentive and we got several refills on our green tea without even asking. If I lived closer, I would be back to get a FREE birthday meal. if only!!!

There’s not enough stars to say how much this place rocks! I have high expectations for sushi and they met all of it and then some! It was really a surprise with each bite regardless of how simple it looks. I know this place gets crazy busy so we decided to beat the rush and got here around 5pm on a weekday. There was no wait and we were seated right away. We read the menu carefully because it tells you a few great pointers on how to best enjoy the experience at Sugarfish.
Three of us ordered the Trust Me combo. Each and every piece of sushi was OMG, melt in your mouth, DELICIOUS! I wanted to savor each and every bite but their menu does state to not wait to eat once the sushi is delivered. Halibut and Snapper is usually a bit fishier but they masked it with a lemon flavored zest or something that took away the fishiness. I can taste it as Im typing **drools**. WHY DON’T WE HAVE THIS IN MN!!! Ugh! Definitely a good reason for me to make more trips to CA. 1 person in my party is pregnant so she could only eat cooked sushi so our server suggested the lobster hand roll, blue crab roll, and eel sushi. She loved each and every one of them. She wanted to go back the next night for more. We all did but we had to board our flight. I miss you Sugarfish!

This is probably the best sushi I’ve ever had!
My first visit here was with coworkers for DineLA 2016. We arrived 10 minutes before opening and there was already a long queue to get in the door. It looked like they were crowd controlling to lessen the orders and the wait time. It took us approximately 20 minutes to get inside with a party of 6.
Inside the restaurant, they took our orders pretty quickly. I was the only one in my party to get the DineLA lunch special, because I also wanted to try the Oyster Shooters. The rest of my party got the Trust Me. Waiters were attentive on refilling our water and taking away our plates. However, there were some logistical issues because our food all came at separate times even though most of use ordered the same items. They also brought us some items that we didn’t order — we ended up sending some back to the kitchen when they confirmed with us. The ones that they simply placed on our table ended up being on the house.
Aside from some order issues, I really enjoyed my lunch here. I was told that Sugarfish is known for serving their fish with warm rice and thought it sounded a bit weird. However, upon having my first bite of the sushi, I can see why this restaurant is always so crowded! The sushi/​sashimi really melted in my mouth!
Although this is a pretty pricey sushi joint, I definitely look forward to returning! The sushi is fresh, delicious, and is definite well worth the wait and price!

I ate here last night, and literally woke up wanting Sugar Fish for breakfast!
First off, I have to say I love that Sugar Fish (this location, at least) is not the least bit snooty or pretentious! Perhaps the downtown locations yields an eclectic mix of diners — whatever it is, the restaurant and servers weren’t pretentious — and I am all about that!
P A R K I N G:
Metered street & paid lot parking. Luckily for us, we found parking off 8^th street in front of Wholefoods and got 4 hours free parking. Yay! The wholefoods underground lot offers 90mins free parking with a validation, which you get at wholefoods with a purchase at the register.
* N O. R S V P’s.
First come first served basis only. Come before the dinner rush and you’ll have a minimal wait. Tables turn over pretty quickly. Came in just after 5pm and had a 10 minute wait. When we got seated, we noticed the que at the front built up.
F O O D:
Trust me when I say, GET THE TRUST ME! I really enjoyed that they offered set menus. There is a Trust Me Lite, if you’re not all that hungry and a Trust Me Nozawa if you have a bigger belly to fill. The Trust Me made me feel like Goldilocks and thought the meal size suited me ‘just right’. The fiancé opted for the DineLA set menu which had just 1 more course than the Trust Me; had there been no DineLA, I’m pretty sure he would have gone with the Trust Me Nozawa. The selection of fish was absolutely delicious! Surrounding diners at neighboring tablea were all raving about how amazing the sushi was. Overall, the sushi quality and sauces were exceptional. However, personally, I thought the sushi could have used just a smidge less rice — but next time, I’ll know to ask.
My favorite course overall was the Blue Crab Hand Roll! Delish!!!
S E R V I C E:
Gratuity of 16% is automatically computed into your bill regardless of your party size. I wouldn’t have minded that, however, I noticed that our waitress did not indicate which sushi the chef had pre-​sauced; she simply dropped the dish, said what fish was what and walked away. A table next to us had the same order and we had the same timing on our courses, so I only knew which sushi had sauces from overhearing that table’s waiter informing them. (They are supposed to indicate which sushi has been sauced by the chef, as it is recommended that you do not add soy sauce to those so that you can enjoy the intended flavor). Having to be informed about a dish by way of eavesdropping definitely affects tip on service!
Totally sucks that diners have no control over tip!
Overall, the quality of the food alone would definitely have me coming back. Of course, I’d make sure to ask for less rice and expect to be informed as to which sushi has been sauced. Also, MAKE SURE TO FILL OUT THE BDAY CARD IN THE CHECKBOOK. Fill it out at each visit. In order to qualify for a birthday promo for a free Trust Me or Trust Me Lite meal, you need to have 2 card check-​ins within the same birthday year.
(15÷100, 2016)

First Impression:
Probably would’ve ranked Sugarfish higher if they didn’t choose to seat us next to another couple in the corner of the restaurant when there were so many other tables open. Made the entire experience uncomfortable at the start. But overall, the restaurant is very dimly lit, which makes it great for a more romantic atmosphere.
Food:
I ordered the «Trust Me Lite» set for $ 22 because I definitely wanted to get a good variety of their sushi. In addition, my friend and I ordered the cut salmon roll and the 2 pieces of unagi (eel) nigiri.
I’ve never had sushi melt so quickly in my mouth. It was AMAZING. But at the same time, I was a bit sad cause it melted so quickly that I almost couldn’t taste it. Definitely probably the best quality sushi I’ve ever had. If you’re in LA, you should definitely try out Sugarfish! I would love to go back and try the sets with even more variety. Delicious!

Oh man… I go to Sugarfish at least twice a month for lunch and this past time I went, I had the worst experience ever. There is this new Hispanic waitress and she is absolutely the worst!
1. We had a party of 7 and we all ordered hot tea. When we got our cups, half of the cups were hot and the rest were lukewarm. We asked the waitress to replace the water and without even touching the cups, she says that the water temperature is what it is and that it is the hottest that it gets (with an attitude). Later, when we notified the manager, she told us that their water heater was not plugged in.
2. I found a piece of paper in my sushi. Again, I notified the manager and she promised that our meal will be to our satisfaction from here on out…
And then…
3. My mom found hair on her sushi.
I really enjoyed sugarfish til this past experience. I really hope they are able to address and resolve this issue.

Vaya tela con el Japo, recomendado con fila de ½h con gente de oficina, moda de Downtown! Pequeño modernizo conjuntado con lamparas singulares blancas y cemento en columnas, el trato esmerado del personal, gente guapa.
Si quieres sorprender a tu pareja fan de los Japón, este es un gran acierto !!!