Saito’s Sushi

Freshest fish I’ve ever experienced. Simple and well done. It’s beyond me how anyone rates this place poorly. One bad moment with a waiter doesn’t justify rating this place any lower than the perfection it is. I get the feeling that people think the fish being cold means it’s fresh. Which is not the case. Learn how to use chop sticks and the warm delicate rice will fall apart in your mouth as it’s designed to. I celebrate the regular ambience in knowing I’m paying for flavor, purely.

I am disappointed in everyone leaving less than 5 stars. You can not find a sushi restaurant with the quality and skill that Saito offers anywhere else in the neighborhood. If you are a real sushi person you will enjoy anything he serves you and have a great experience!

See Sean N’s review. Pretty much sums it up. This place is a gem and I feel lucky to have it in the neighborhood. Saito is the man. The sushi is without frills and eyes-​rolling-​back-​in-​head good. Love this place.

If you complain about this place then you’re the asshole. Just come in, sit down at the bar, let the chef give you what he thinks is good, knock back the sake and beers, talk baseball with the owner, forget about how expensive it is, and enjoy the fish. Oh, do you want to have your ass kissed? Fine, go to the west side and get charged too much for meh fish. Actually, you know what? Don’t come here. If you’re bitching about the place, stay out. You’re not needed since enough people with brains will eat here all the time.

You have to spend $ 30 a person or they won’t let you eat there. Cool idea. Got up and left, making the empty restaurant even emptier.

You come here for the sushi, not the atmosphere. It’s a small spot, hidden in a strip mall, very unassuming.
If you want fancy rolls that are served in flames, this place isn’t for you. If you want California rolls, keep moving. If you want authentic sushi, this is your spot.
We ordered snapper, salmon, Spanish mackerel, and toro. All of it was amazing, but the toro was especially delicious. Like butter. I can’t wait to come back.

I rate Saito’s 3.5 stars but Unilocal doesn’t allow half stars. SO that being said, Saito’s is a pretty traditional sushi restaurant. I really like that, I hate crazy rolls I feel it takes away from the flavor of the fish. The menu is pretty straight forward it’s either sashimi/​sushi or rolls. The roll selection is small, maybe 6 options. No appetizers unless that’s hidden.
We ordered the following:
1. ikura sashimi
2. salmon sashami
3. yellowtail sashami
4. tuna sashami
5. eel sashami
6. cucumber eel roll
7. tuna roll
It’s very simple, I liked the ikura and tuna roll the best. Not the most flavorful sushi, doesn’t compare to Sugarfish. But if you’re in the area and want traditional sushi, no frills then Saito’s is a good option.
I took 1 star off because the server was kinda unpleasant. She was not very friendly, seemed annoyed every time we ordered. I also asked for a water which never arrived but she did give me green tea refills.
There’s a large parking lot, not sure if it’s free. I overheard one customer ask for validation. I found street parking in front at a meter which is free after 8pm.

I have eaten here a few times and while I thought it was expensive the food was pretty good. Very unfriendly service though.
Just tried to get takeout, and the owner says «no to go». I have done takeout here before.
Will not be back. Very rude owner.

This place is the best. The freshest fish. Always consistent. That’s what you pay for. If the price isn’t listed maybe you should ask or maybe you just can’t afford it. The service is great, anyone who says otherwise is cry baby and probably loves the Cheesecake Factory.

Incredibly authentic, delicious, fresh sushi. Not for the California roll lover. I would live here if I could.
Sit at the bar, let the chef decide what you’re going to eat. Eat it, say nice things. Have a beer. Pay the bill, don’t scoff at the price.
Lather, rinse, repeat.

Really surprised by some of these low reviews! This place has the best sushi that I have ever had BUT I don’t think this place is for everyone… It is a super authentic sushi experience (as in no California rolls)
If you like a lot of cooked sushi items or crazy rolls, this probably isn’t your sushi place. The sushi here is simple, authentic and oh so amazingly tasty! The fish will melt in your mouth. We usually just do sashimi and the 2 piece sushi items. Or the omakasa if you can swing the price.
The ambiance and service is very basic and no frills. I think most servers don’t speak English as a first language. They are polite but not the regular chatty, engaged American style server.
If you aren’t on a budget definitely do the omakasa, you will be so thrilled. But be prepared for it to run you $ 100+ per person, especially if you are having saki.

DO NOT GO HERE!!!
I wouldn’t even give it one star but need to to write this review! After a long day of moving we were getting hangry and sushi sounded amazing! So we walked in and were seated right away. We were given the appetizer menu on cardboard wrapped in packing tape. And the waiter walked away. Then came back with the paper to order. I have eaten a lot of sushi but was confused by the menu. We got 3 rolls and 1 sashimi, edamame and some hot tea. The rolls were warm when they were supposed to be cold rolls. The edamame was good but then the bill came. $ 55 bucks?!? When I called the waiter over he rolled his eyes at me. Apparently 2 of the rolls were market price and was not labeled that. One roll was 15 for 3 pieces. It was ridiculous! Then when my friend went up to ask him about it, they seemed put out to have the conversation. He explained he wouldn’t have ordered a roll for 15 and asked about the price discrepancy. My man asked if he can do something for the bill which he didn’t and asked if they really expected him to pay all of it when the price wasn’t stated nor was it labeled market price. The waiter just smirked at him and said yes please. Then when my man came back to the table he heard the employees laughing and turned around and they were looking at him laughing. We paid the bill and walked out. I was a manager of a restaurant for over 4 years and a server for close to 6. I will not go here ever again because of the treatment and won’t advise anyone else to ever go here! Save your money and go somewhere else!

No stars!
I walked in and as I walked to the bar, an old man yelled and said I couldn’t sit there.
I said okay, because I was hungry and wanted sushi.
As soon as I was done, the check was on my table.
Never coming back.

Not a great experience.
The only customers, we were only attended to for our bill after we ordered.
The sushi was poorly constructed and fell apart almost immediately. It didn’t taste fresh and was overpriced.
I wouldn’t recommend it and I won’t be returning.

We used to go here quite a bit but then discovered Nishi-​ya. After a five-​year absence we returned because Nishi-​ya was on vacation. My last memories of this place were that it was very good but overpriced. Now I would change that to just OK, poor service, and still overpriced.
In particular, the rice was far too salty. Since rice is the soul of sushi this is really inexcusable. The execution was sloppy as well. Rolls were split along the seam, and the nigiri rice was poorly formed. Service was spotty. I was patiently waiting for 5 minutes to get the waiter’s attention while he was focused on counting the cash and joking with the kitchen staff.
That said, I like the way Saito composes his sushi. Liberal use of shiso, jalapeño, yuzu, and some simply with lemon and salt. This is much more inventive than Nishi-​ya, but still with a traditional flair.
At least they seem to have gotten rid of the unwholesome types who used to hang out in that mini mall. Once I had to step over a guy lying down next to a trail of his urine. So I guess there are some improvements to the Saito experience after all.

Quality of Sushi: Excellent
Customer Service: Had a really odd experience where they told me that I hadn’t ordered enough food, so they were not going to make my order. My order consisted of a drink, 4 plates, and edamame. This was just before the dinner rush, so I was the only customer.

WORST SUSHI EXPERIENCE EVER!!! The people in there are racist and have no respect for their customers. Me and 4 of my friends went there after a long day of filming and expecting to have some great sushi.
Right after we walked in, no host comes to serve us and we have to find our own seats. After 10 minutes seating there don’t know what to order so we ask if they can help us to order, then they told us we have to pay $ 40 minimum EACH or we have to get out.
Seriously?! This is the worst experience of being in a Japanese restaurant. If you want to experience shity customer service with absolutely no help of ordering, I HIGHLY recommend you to go and get spit in the face.

Saito’s Sushi is hands down the best sushi in the area. Run by the same man for more than fifteen years, Saito hand-​selects his fish every morning and it shows. Instead of masking the flavors of each cut with lemon or wasabi, he is free to serve the fish with its own extraordinary flavors intact. Because it’s fresh.
This is not a place for dragon rolls or mayonaise-​crammed Godzilla bakes. This is a sushi restaurant, a sashimi restaurant; its hidden, unassuming strip-​mall location keeps its secrets well-​preserved. If you like fish that doesn’t taste like «fish,» but rather has sweet, surprising overtones and buttery texture, this is your place.
I go once a week, and will until it closes. Thank you, Saito.

I’ve been here a lot since I last discovered it. This is my favorite sushi place and if you look at my Unilocal I think I’m about 80% sushi places.
I get what some of the bad reviews are saying with this place. Maybe it comes off as uninviting and when it’s empty it’s weird if they don’t seem thrilled to serve you.
The fish is so good here though that you just need to be one of those nagging friends that won’t stop until you hangout with them.
I went in here several times alone and with friends and I think they recognize I’m in their life now and there is nothing they can do because they are super nice to me ha!
$ 20 for 2 pieces of toro is yes expensive but once you’ve had whatever toro for $ 10 – 15 $ 20 for THE BEST doesn’t seem so bad.
The rest of the menu is pretty fair prices in my opinion — cheap even for the quality. Except for the two special items, the sea eel and the toro price mentioned above.
BEST DEAL $ 25 for Omakase
Also the handwritten menus are adorable.

(Dined 08÷09÷13 F @ 8:00pm): Sushi options in Silver Lake are sorely lacking!
I’ve lived in the area for almost a year and bemoaned the fact that there were hardly any sushi places in Silver Lake, my friend and I finally walked over to Saito’s Sushi and gave them a test drive. We were both leery of the three-​dollar-​signs this place had on Unilocal and couldn’t fathom how just based on the outside appearance alone (more on this later). But it was payday and we wanted to try something new (we’ve gone and liked Koda Sushi down the street) in the neighborhood, so our love for sushi ultimately led us here. Plus, it was right next door to my favorite donut shop and recent boba find, Tang’s Donuts, so if we wanted dessert, boba was there for us.
As we entered, the place was eerily empty at 8:00pm on a Friday night (NEVER a good sign), but we made the effort and the mission needed to be completed. A older gentleman seated us and placed menus on the table. The menus where three individual strips of paper — two of which were hand-​scrawled of their beer, soda, saki, and wine list, and the other was their sushi, sashimi, and roll menu which consisted of no more than twenty-​five items (more if you counted double for sushi and sashimi). After being frazzled by this, here was our order:
Large & Small Bottled Sapporo ($ 7.00 & $ 5.00) — A must for any sushi or cut roll meals… especially when the weather is warm. Good price for the large bottle.
Spicy Tuna Roll ($ 6.50) — This 6-​piece cut roll had a lot of tuna but was hardly spicy, lacked flavor, and wasn’t as chilled as you’d expect. I needed some extra wasabi to kick this up a notch.

Plum Roll ($ 6.50) — Neither of us ever heard of this before so we had to order it; bad idea. I wouldn’t figure out what exactly this 6-​piece cut roll was suppose to taste like because it didn’t taste like plum. I was also disappointed that there was no fish in it (yes, I should’ve asked first). I was totally uninspired by it.
Yellowtail Roll ($ 6.50) — This 6-​piece cut roll was also short on flavor and rather bland. Again, the fish wasn’t as cold as expected.
Halibut Sushi ($ 6.50) — This 2-​piece sushi was probably our favorite of everything. The fish was fresh and I really liked the small chopped green onion on it. The portion was kind of small — both the fish and the rice.
Yellowtail Sushi ($ 6.50) — This 2-​piece sushi was bland just like the cut roll I ordered. And yes, the portion lacked size.
Service — The service was great since we were the only patrons in the joint. We were greeted immediately and we had our choice of anywhere to sit. The menu (more on this later) was given as we sat and the kind younger gentleman was ready to take our order — almost dying to was more like it, like that «Seinfeld» episode where Jerry helped Babu Bat with some restaurant ideas yet no one came to eat… until Elaine did and the dude was on her like a hawk! The sushi chef was an older gentleman (eventually another patron came in and I think I heard him call him Saito), you efficiently prepared our food.
Parking — Located in an outdoor strip mall with several businesses, they had their own parking lot. Otherwise, there was ample metered street parking along the main drag of Sunset Blvd. (please make sure to check posted signs and feed the meter as needed).
Atmosphere, décor, ambience — The outside was really unassuming and deceiving. Once inside, it was a dimly-​lit den with covered front windows, a space no larger than my apartment (if the interior walls were torn down), with a handful of tables, chairs, and bench seating along the right side, a couple more tables to the left, and the sushi bar somewhat in the center. There was hardly anything anything on the walls except for a «sushi» calendar hang near where we sat. I believed I heard some background audio but no TVs.
Attire — It was totally casual so I was in a t-​shirt, boardshorts, and flip-​flops.
Overall, I’m glad to have finally tried Saito’s Sushi, but I probably won’t return. I found so-​so value based on the prices, service, and experience noted above (total bill was around $ 49.00 before tip), but no «everyday value menu» like Ichiban and others I’ve gone to, which was a must for me. But the main issue I had was that the fish wasn’t cold, the portions were small, and everything was simply bland. And, they accepted my credit card of choice… AMEX! 2.5 stars