Sushi Sasabune

If you are serious about sushi or seriously like sushi, I recommend trying the OMAKASE at Sushi Sasabune. It’s a cost-​effective way to try new sushi and allows the chef more artistic expression. Pacing of dishes, the selection of fish, and even the explanation of each dish now shape the rhythm of the meal. The chef curates a taste experience for you, and oh my it’s decadent.
All the dishes served are expertly prepared with finesse, fish still cold rice perfectly warm. The butter fish (black cod) and halibut are my favorites.

Sasabune is simply sensational! I love to sit at the long sushi bar and order Omakase. The fish is so fresh and the fish to rice ratio is right on. I am truly impressed by the chef’s knife skills and their preparation is incredible. The waitresses are very attentive and the staff is all around wonderful. The wasabi is creamy and the variety of fish is excellent. The atmosphere is casual yet chic and the venue itself is very nice and bright and clean. The uni and salmon roe are sweet and delicate and are a must in my book but the clam was my favorite with a tender crunchy savory flavor that is just divine. Also, the trio of oysters, one fresh with ponzu and one baked with a creamy mayo and the third in a rich green sauce just blew my mind! Oh and for dessert the lychee ice-​cream has chunks of lychee in it that add just there right amount of texture. Definitely success at Sasabune!

I would’ve given Sushi Sasabune five stars had it not been the hand rolls… so close… but I couldn’t.
$ 75 for 10 delicious omakase courses was a great price point. I loved every single dish (see some of the pictures shared). However, when I tasted the very last course, the toro and blue crab hand rolls, my excitement wore off. For some reason, they were fishy, and just not up to par. We talked to the manager and was glad that they were very apologetic about it. They didn’t give us anything to replace the bad hand rolls and I am sad to say that the last course was what made a solid five star experience just a four star. I will go back again and hopefully, I will have a great second experience to update my review.
Other things I liked about my dining experience at Sushi Sasabune: 1. making appointment was easy. 2. The waitress made sure we knew which sushi to use soy sauce, and which sushi not to. 3. Overall service as great.

Located in a strip mall I would say Sasabune is definitely unassuming. Upon arriving I was sat promptly while I waited for my friend. We both ordered Omakase style and enjoyed every delicious bite. The fish is so fresh it melts in your mouth. Service continued to be top notch through out dinner. Will definitely return.

The omakase here is great! At $ 75/​person it’s actually a pretty good deal for the parade of deliciousness you get to eat. We had:
cucumber/​seaweed
tuna, ankimo, scallops
seared tuna and belly
mackerel and snapper
mussels and oyster
amaebi + head
uni and ikura
anago (or was it cod? I don’t remember)
blue crab handroll
tangerine sorbet
We were especially crazy about the mussels. They were so good they made me wanna go all Oliver Twist — Please, sir, I want some more…
Two omakases plus one beer and an iced green tea, our bill came out to be $ 173 bucks. Not bad!
Highly recommend if you’re a serious sushi eater.
If you want a deep-​fried roll with cream cheese, this is definitely not the place for you.

My favorite neighborhood sushi restaurant. This is classic sushi at it’s freshest and best. The omakase dinners come at 3 levels for ladylike, hungry to voracious. I always wish I can fit more in my tummy. Alas, I can train up for it I guess.
Omakase starts with salad to sashimi to oyster and mussels 2 ways to a few rounds of sushi to handroll of choice and yuzu ice cream to end. Every item is carefully prepared and presented using the freshest ingredients available. Service is exemplary with finished plates leaving your table with precise and stealth. Servers are extra polite and kind. They also have Kirin Lite beer, which makes me very happy.
Parking lot in the mini-​mall. Yes, mini-​mall.
I love Sasabune.

I usually come here for the lunch special. This consists of a sashimi salad, miso soup, 7 pieces of sushi, a hand roll and dessert. The fish is all very good. You can tell it’s very fresh and great quality. They slice the fish pretty thin which is kind of annoying. When I sit at the bar it’s great. The chef makes sure your meal runs accordingly. However, if you get stuck at a table, the timing of the meal can be very slow. They bring out about one or two pieces at a time. The chef isn’t watching you eat so he does not know when to start the next two pieces. Therefore you have to wait for the waitress to clear the plate, then tell the sushi chef to start the next course, wait for it, and then finally you get your two pieces of sushi which are devoured in seconds. I had to ask the waitress to speed things up a bit which did help. The staff is very nice and the food is very good with quality ingredients. The last time I came here I was told 10 – 15 minutes wait time and requested sushi bar. As the seats were available regulars walked in with no reservation and were given the seats right away. We ended up waiting about 30 minutes and were sat at a table. I get that regulars tend to get priority but myself and the people i were with have been there many times and were a little irritated by that.

Amazing sushi/​sashimi! Perfection!
Omakase best! Friendly sushi chefs. I sit in front of Yuji san & he’s great!
Their sushi rice is warm and fluffy! Again perfect! I will come over and over again!

Delicious and beautifully presented sushi! From the outside, you really don’t expect much. The restaurant is located inside of a random strip mall and is the diamond in the rough.
FOOD:
Traditional sushi. You won’t find any California or spider rolls here. You are eating authentic sushi and eating great quality fish.
The overall experience here is really personal and traditional. Each sushi chef is preparing your food right in front of you. It is basically a dinner and a show! We got the omakase which is so worth it. For $ 75 a person, you get 10 pieces of nigiri sushi, a sashimi plate, one hand roll, and a dessert. Each item is prepared perfectly with just the right amount of vinegar in the sushi and the perfect portion of rice.
I was a huge fan of their sashimi plate which came with several pieces of scallops, octopus, and this really good tuna. OMG! It came with a side of yuzu and a light soy sauce. Each bite was absolutely wonderful. Seriously, the best way to start the meal. The scallops were sweet and tasty. My favorites of the night were the mussels/​oyster plate, uni, baked cod, and the blue crab hand roll. Although everything was so good and memorable, these items really stood out to me.
The mussels/​oysters plate had a trio of the items on one plate. Each item was seasoned differently. They had a garlic and mayonnaise mussel and a kumamoto oyster. Who would have thought that mayo + mussel = heaven on a plate?! Just so you are aware, Japanese mayonnaise is WAYYY better than your typical American mayonnaise. It’s also healthier too. But the garlic one blew the mayo mussel out of the water. That pungent punch of garlic was an awesome kick to the mussel but it didn’t stray away from the natural seafood flavors. Of course, the kumamoto oyster was fatty, creamy, and GOOD! Topped off with a light dressing, it was amazing.
Presentation here was spectacular too. The plates were all from Japan and the sushi was placed on so delicately. I basically scarfed all the food down immediately though.
SERVICE:
Everyone here is so friendly and nice. They constantly kept refilling my green tea without me asking, which is always a plus. I am willing to spend that extra denero for amazing service. BUT my only concern was how the sushi chef was hovering over us during our meal. He was definitely listening intently to our entire conversation which made me feel awkward/​weird.
I get it, it’s a small restaurant and they are basically our own personal chef but they should give us our space too… Other than that, this place is worth the price! Great sushi in LA!

AWESOME SUSHI!
I HIGHLY recommend going during lunch, where you can choose between two lunch specials: either the Masake Lunch Set for $ 35 (miso soup, albacore sashimi, 7 pieces chef’s choice, hand roll, and dessert) or the Omakase Don for $ 25 (miso soup, basically a mix of chef’s choice of fish on top of warm rice in a bowl — kind of like a sushi salad, hand roll, sunomono salad, and dessert). Two of us had the Omakase and one had the Masake and we were all super full and satisfied at the end! (Personally I think the dinner menu prices are exorbitant, which is why I’d stick to lunch.)
The fish is divinely fresh and melts in your mouth like butter, and the service is impeccable — very polite and attentive. The ambiance is pretty classic for a sushi place (beyond the fact that it is in a strip mall…) in that it’s clean, white, and sterile.
My one complaint is that once we finished our food they actually said «We don’t mean to push you out, but we have other reservations…» — I understand that it’s a small restaurant with high demand, but how awkward to be ushered out of a restaurant! It’s not like we stayed an extra hour or anything. Just know that if you’re the kind of person who likes to sit around and chat after a meal, this is not for you!

Outstanding experience during lunch. I had the lunch special which came with 7 pieces of sushi, hand roll, albacore salad, miso soup, and dessert. I chose the blue crab hand roll. All of it was just superb. Lunch took about 30 minutes.
Service was great with the sushi chef explaining each piece when serving it.

Fabulous. The fish melts in your mouth. I hope more people do not come here for my own shellfish, ha reasons. However they do take reservations. The combo they have come with delicious fish, cooked miso salmon, soup cucumber salad and a scoop of sherbert.
The service here was perfect, and to me felt like some of the best I have had in a long time. However it was not busy when I was there.

Finally tried Sasabune for lunch. Made a reservation for two the day before and didn’t have to wait for a table when we came in. Ordered the Ume omakase lunch special with an extra toro hand roll and two uni pieces. Fish was fresh and flavorful. I enjoyed the presentation and especially the uni. Chef was able to accommodate my companions no rice request. Will definitely be back to keep my sushi game strong.

Had a great dinner experience here last night. We sat at the bar and our sushi chef was the cutest. He was very smiley and friendly and carefully explained each piece of our omakase and which nigiri pieces should be dipped in soy sauce.
Trust the chef and do omakase for sure (it’s Tokyo style btw). The pieces of fish are carefully selected, some sauced some not, and all were fresh and delicious. Read some bad reviews about the service here but we personally received amazing service, the waitress was friendly and prompt in taking our orders, refilling our drinks, and clearing our plates. It’s an upgrade from Sugarfish but not as expensive as some of the top tier sushi places in Los Angeles.
There are a few different omakase sets you can choose. Unlike other places where the omakase keeps going until you tell the chef to stop, here it is pre-​designated. If you’re still hungry though they have an «add-​ons» menu with a full list of sushi that you can order. Omakase begins with sashimi, then nigiri, then ends with dessert (albeit some differences depending on which set you choose). Restaurant is located in one of those strip malls/​mini-​plazas and they have plentiful and FREE parking!

Had lunch here last Tuesday and I was so glad it lived up to the Sasabune name. I have been to the old Sasabune on Sawtelle (still the best location, imo), the one on Wilshire and the one in Honolulu. This location seemed more non-​descript than the others but the food is so good.
Pros:
— easy and free parking
— very friendly and fast service
–amazing chirashi bowl! Their version had more fish than rice!
— and you can’t go wrong with the warm rice!
Go for lunch and get the lunch specials so you can try it before committing to the omakase! Still one of LA’s best sushi spots.

Just like pretty much everyone else who has said it before me, Sasabune is incredible. If you want to have the best sushi, with a great atmosphere go look no further. Yes, it is more expensive than Sugarfish, but it is worth every penny because you are paying for a handcrafted omakase. This is easily one of my favorite restaurants.
If you have not tried it, do yourself a huge favor and go eat there today! Lunch or dinner, this is the best sushi!

The way my friends were hyping up this place, I expected it to be on par with other high end sushi restaurants. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case.
I can see the appeal of this place. Omakase is a little cheaper than other top notch sushi places like Nozawa Bar, Yamakase, Sushi Zo, Urasawa Etc, yet the sushi is still very fresh for what you pay. So it’s an AWESOME deal and they do have good service hence the four stars but being that I live and Breathe sushi.
I’ll tell you that it wasn’t a mind blowing orgasmic experience that I was yearning for.

This. Place. So. Delicious.
Located in an unassuming location on Olympic, I had seen it tucked away but didn’t really think to go there. Clearly I was not ready for this life changing experience.
I met a friend I hadn’t seen in a while and we were both ready for some high end sushi. That is exactly what we got!
A cute, quiet atmosphere — especially on a Monday night. We made a res and sat at the end of the sushi bar — you can order dinner sets or a la carte at the bar. We both ended up ordering the Dinner set ($ 50) that night. It came with sunomono and miso to start. Already drooling.
THEN — THE ALBACORE SASHIMI. Like butter. I thought my friend was choking but when I asked her what was wrong. she stared into her plate and said. it’s just… so…GOOD.
The sashimi was followed by a ton of nigiri served in pairs. Chef let us know when to use soy sauce and when no sauce was necessary. Two different tuna, halibut and snapper, salmon and yellowtail, we chose the grilled salmon with a bit of sweet egg over the oysters, black miso cod, and… one of my favorite things of the evening — a toro scallion hand roll. Good selection of hand rolls (choose one with the dinner set).but really who wouldn’t go for the toro…
Our dinner was topped off with a bit of pineapple sorbet with a couple of pineapple chunks.
Everything divine.
And, quite frankly, the best sushi I’ve ever had. Quite a deal for $ 50.
Wonderful service.
Parking Lot and street parking is free after 6pm.

This was my review for their Brentwood location back in ’09: «This restaurant really doesn’t need anymore detailed 5 star reviews so I will keep mine short. After eating Sushi Sasabune’s omakase, I felt closer to heaven.»
The reason why I love Sasabune’s omakase is because of its variety. Their taste and quality is unbeatable but it’s really the variety offered in their omakase experience that makes it such good meal. I like that they start off with sashimi, then move onto sushi where raw, seared, and fully cooked fish is served. Then it’s finished off with a delicious blue crab hand roll. The complimentary yuzu sorbet is yummy too. Service is impeccable and now that they’re closer, I’ll be back more often. If you have not tried their omakase, you must try it and then you can thank me later :)

I’ve followed Sasabune from the old location on Sawtelle to the old location on Wilshire and now to Beverly Hills. I understand the old Wilshire location has closed down and now there are two locations, one on another part of Wilshire and one in Beverly Hills.
To me, it’s the OG omakase restaurant that gave me the eureka moment for good sushi, so it will always have a special place in my heart.
Price: $ 65 and up, they didn’t have a choice between Japanese omakase and regular omakase at this location.
Food: We were given Spanish mackerel/​scallop/​Bluefin tuna sashimi to start, mussels and oyster as the second course, then for nigiri we were given chu-​toro, maguro, halibut, golden eye snapper, amaebi (with fried head), salmon, yellowtail, ikura, uni, butter fish, and to finish blue crab roll and negi toro roll. Everything melted in my mouth, and it was very good. I did miss some of the items from the Japanese omakase at the Wilshire location such as abalone, kanpachi, etc., but from what I remember, it was more expensive as well. Oh and we had the yuzu sorbet dessert, and it was SO good! We literally licked our bowls.
Service: The wait staff was ok, but our favorite part of the night was that we ran into Yugi San from Ohshima! He was our favorite sushi chef from Ohshima (and what made that place 5 stars for me) but he had left a year ago, and I was wondering where he had gone… and we found him here tonight. So excited, he is the nicest sushi chef that delivers exceptional sushi.
Parking: No valet and very small lot, we had to find street parking, but make sure you read the street signs! Parking ticket in Beverly Hills is something I don’t ever want to get.
It’s located in a little strip mall, and it looks über casual from the outside. Inside is pretty casual too, even more casual than the older location. I’m glad the food is still up to par though, and I’d love to come back sometime soon. As long as I don’t go bankrupt feeding my sushi addiction… recommend!