Buddha’s Favorite

Let’s just say the Dalai Lama would probably steer clear of Buddha’s favorite. It is anything but zen like and is more of a typical non-​traditional sushi bar then every before. I recall this place having all of those silly AYCE style rolls but the quality of the fish being better and the portion size being a bit more generous. Kudos for the location and the view, you are sitting among Newport Beach’s yachts on the Lido Peninsula. That only goes so far and I think even the 3 stars is a bit generous but I rounded up.
Blue Fin and Red Snapper, decent and probably the best of the lot. The Blue Fin was quite good.
Jamie’s Cryin’ half roll, not as spicy as advertised. Just another flavor washout.
Yellow tail roll, half order, let’s just say I have had better at the local Ralph’s grocery store. A bit too long in the tail.
Back Flip Roll, I wasn’t doing any backflips, just average at best.
Lobster Roll, hard to get too excited, this tasted mostly of mayonaise and the «lobster» was seemed to made from the small little langostinos which aren’t actually lobsters at all. I could be wrong but either way this lacked the star ingredient being the shining component.
You are definitely paying for the location, they would do well to up the ingredients and charge more for their fish. The service was decent but they did not order the check in offer which apparently had expired but had yet to be removed from Unilocal.Parking is valet only in the adjacent lot unless you get lucky and score some metered street parking. I would hit this place up for Happy Hour and call it a night. Average to below average quality of fish at best.

Came here on a date. Great food! Great chef. Shoutout to Justin. Super fresh sashimi. Uni was my favorite
It’s a small restaurant right by the water. Waitresses were all really nice and super sweet. Great atmosphere here.
Love. Would come back if I was ever back in the area (:

LOVE THIS PLACE! Bummed they are not open for Lunch anymore though. I come here often to grab a quick bite to eat while on break (I work at Bluewater Grill next door). The service here is always quick and friendly! Their rolls all taste fresh. and I am a harsh critic of seafood! I would recommend trying anything from their menu. Definitely sit outside on their patio and enjoy the view from the harbor.

I was very disappointed. Not a local but was not impressed at all with this joint and the service. The servers spent more time chatting with their friends instead of serving. In fact, they were drinking shots with their friends while on the job! One of the servers was seen lifting up her shirt to show her back to one of her customer friends. It was really appealing and unprofessional. While we were waiting to be given the check, the server was standing around just talking with her friends until we had to call her to get her attention. Don’t think we will ever be coming back here.

Really good sushi, really nice service, really nice view of some yachts while you eat. We kept it simple, Philly rolls l, crunch rolls, rainbow, some yellowtail sashimi, jalapeño roll could have been better it wasn’t really baked into a jalapeño it was kinda tried to but just fell apart when you tried to pick it up off the table.
Tempura green tea ice cream is surrounded with pound cake then deep fried. It was tasty but probably could have done with just he ice cream.
Crispy rice was really good. Fish felt fresh and I liked all the rolls except the baked California. Again server was awesome, she was a medium height Asian girl and I wish I remembered her name because she definitely earned them the 4 stars.

Aside from the green haired waitress slipping my boyfriend her number at the end of dinner under the guise of sharing her art stickers with customers… this place was great.
Yes — this actually happened.

Who the heck would ever guess that there is a Sushi hideout behind Bluewater Grill???
So my brother of another mother «Fred» says… Lets go to dinner and have sushi… I know a great place… Fred is the type that could be the mayor of any city…
I’m driving and we are greeted by the valet parking guys… once they notice Fred… They waived us thru…
Now get this… This place is small with a Sushi Bar seating of about 12 people… but plenty of seating outside on the patio…
I had some really good Sake… which made the food really stand out… We had the Yellowtail Collars… Soft Shell Crab Hand Roll… Seared Albacore… and my favorite… TORO!!!
Everybody here is really friendly and the service is top notch… and Ashley is an awesome artist!!!

Sushi is definitely not on my list of favorites (foreign to my palate). I’ve tried numerous places but this is my spot. It’s a little drive from North OC but well worth the Trek. The Chef’s are friendly and help to provide for a Great experience. They even got me to try some new items! Buddha’s Bomb and The Beagle are my favorite (s)! Can’t wait to go back!

The food was amazing. Hidden little place and great place to take a date or small group. I’d definitely come again.
Only downside is that they should serve a little bit faster. We kept ordering food thinking we’re still hungry but we got full because we were sitting and waiting for the rest of our first order.

Most amazingly fresh sushi. So reasonable priced. The sushi chefs are my favorite such fun and personable service.

It’s a huge bummer how the poor the service is. It’s a tiny place so not permitting to groups at all. It’s in an adorable spot but the restrooms are attached to the back of the restaurant next door.
One of my biggest pet peeves is when restaurants bring out food at completely different times. I’m here with one other person and I got both my half rolls almost 15 minutes before him… There’s two guys making sushi and I heard them saying the names of our table neighbors’ rolls then got to my friends roll after. That’s the third time this has happened to me here.
It’s one of those places where drinks, food and answered questions take a while so if that doesn’t bug you too badly or if you’re not in a big rush then this place should be fine! The sushi is pretty good: nice presentation and fresh ingredients but tiny portions and small selection.
So unfortunate because if this place could improve upon their service they would kill it.

Awesome location, decent sushi, subpar service.
I’ve been here a handful of times now and really held off on a review because I was hoping to make Buddha my go-​to sushi spot. Located off Lido, tucked away on the dock next to Blue Water Grill, you’re literally on the water for a casual, affordable sushi meal!
It’s rolls are pretty standard with not many unique options. Their sushi isn’t the freshest, but it gets the job done. For its location, prices are affordable and not much different than your run of the mill sushi joint.
Unfortunately, service here is very hit or miss. I’ve had a few good servers, but there have been a number of times service was less than expected. Server lacked knowledge in dishes, disappears from time to time and our check took FOREVER to get and just as long to pickup.
Just a bump in service and this place wouldn’t be too shabby.

Really fresh sushi here. Great service! Sushi chef Justin treated it’s like celebrity!!!

I have to admit, being of Japanese ancestry, I was a little put off by the name «Buddha’s Favorite» at first. The over-​the-​top ethnic ring of the name had me thinking this must have been pre-​conceived by a non-​Japanese national trying to capitalize on the popularity of sushi like you see in so many of those AYCE crapholes – always sacrificing quality for profit. Imagine my excitement and surprise when I found that it’s actually ran by authentic Japanese folk lol. When you hear the chef and his counterpart speaking to each other in Nihongo, it’s normally a very good indication that there will be attention to detail and passion for their food. Politically correct or not, it is the truth and definitely the case at Buddhas Favorite.
I’ve never waited too long to be seated nor for my food the many times I’ve frequented this place. And when it comes to freshness, attention to detail, taste, and presentation, these guys never fail to nail it every time! The MOST important detail to sushi is the quality of the rice. Everything from preparation to flavoring is critical to good sushi. I’ve heard people say, «fish quality is the most important thing», and not disagreeing, but that’s absurd. Why? Because fish quality should never be compromised and should always be a given. And if a restaurant serves less than perfect quality fish, they should be shut down and put in jail and then beaten with the wet belt and possibly a coat hanger.
Tonight like I do every time I’m here, I order the chirashi. And, as usual it came out spectacular, possibly better than before. I think they may have even buffed it up because it was New Years Eve.
What elevates this place to the next level is that their prices are more than reasonable. For the taste and quality of what you get at this restaurant, to call this place a deal and a hidden gem is a total understatement.
Did I forget to mention that the valet parking is only three dollars? Unbelievable!
The ONLY reason I am deducting one star is due to the fact that I have a shellfish allergy and somehow they slipped some into my sushi which left me swigging Benadryl to stop my eyes from swelling later that night. And it’s not like my eyes are very big to begin with so I don’t need help making them smaller. But you know what? I’ll be back again, even if it kills me, it’s just that good!
Mata kondo, Mark

This is a great sushi place for a fair price. It is a small place so larger parties will have to sit outside.
I’m not a sushi expert so I usually go for the basic tuna or crunchy roll, but this restaurant has a board with their «favorites» and the waiter even suggested a few dishes that I ended up really enjoying. Definitely going to make a return trip here.

love love love this place! I enjoy sitting outside with the heaters.
Food is great, seems a little over priced for some things, but overall great quality and service.
Ambience is one of the main reasons I go here.

I really love the food here but the service is always slow and terrible. If you have *plenty* of time check out the salmon & tuna ‘candy’ and the lollipop roll.
To the management, it should not take 45 minutes to get a carry out when you are only half full… and your hostesses should not leave people on hold for orders for 10+ minutes then not answer the phone when they call back… for 25 more minutes. Had I written this review the day it happened you would have got 1 star because quality of service is just as important as quality of food.
Hoping the service catches up with the sushi soon!!!

I went with a rather large party and I can understand that food will take longer because of the larger party but this was pretty slow. I have gone to sushi establishments with much larger parties and received the food in a timely manner.
The food was okay. Very salty and they drench it with sauce. The only dish that I though that stood out was the Tropical roll, but there’s a catch, it only comes with 4 pieces! The food is also not cheap.
On a brighter note, I have to commend the servers. They were very friendly and truly cared about our concerns and would even try to throw in a joke or 2.
In conclusion, I would not recommend this place due to their prices and the quality of food. It’s not worth it.

I was pleasantly surprised by this low key sushi restaurant that is tucked away adjacent to Bluewater Grill in Newport. Located directly on the water with an entrance found only through the rear of the parking lot, this little sushi spot offers a pretty peaceful outdoor patio where you can enjoy some very decently priced food and drinks while enjoying the view.
We ordered a few pieces of nigiri as well as some cooked dishes while enjoying a bottle of unfiltered sake. I can’t really say that the sushi was great, as it resembled something you would find at a Korean owned place. But everything was prepared fresh and tasted satisfactory. The cooked dishes like the agedashi tofu and the stuffed peppers lacked the refinement of a good Izakaya, but still had some pretty good flavor. But the best thing about this place, are the reasonable prices. This is probably the only waterfront restaurant in Newport where you can have a decent meal and feel like you got a good value. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the bill, even after ordering a fair amount of food and drinks.
So if you are looking for some waterfront dining that is different from the typical overpriced Newport restaurant, this place offers a casual and intimate space to enjoy a pretty good meal. The sushi might not have been San-​Shi-​Go or Ohshima quality, but I still kind of liked this place. Maybe it was the peaceful setting on the outdoor patio, or the company of a very attractive date. But I ended up having a good experience here, and I guess that’s all that really matters.

I’m really picky with sushi. It’s to the point where I’m afraid to go to places because it may ruin my experience. I sometimes rather buy my fish from the market to guarantee the quality.
I agreed to come here because my boyfriend insisted. Justin, our sushi chef, took care of us and made us a variety of different things to try. Among some of the variations were seared salmon topped with yuzu, scallop topped with yuzu, sweet shrimp, and others I cannot remember. I normally don’t like sweet shrimp but it was really good here. And I am now a fan of yuzu. We also requested yellowtail and salmon boats which were amazing.
Came back again the next day and justin took care of us again. This time with different items except 2 repeated which were the ones with yuzu on top. So good! Also had the fried banana with ice cream. For the price and quality it’s really good deal for Newport.
Overall I would recommend it to friends. Only gripe is the waitress is somewhat slow.