It seems every special occasion I have with the BF is celebrated with eating trips. Birthdays, Anniversaries, Three Day Weekends, Etc..

So BF and I celebrated our anniversary with an eating trip of course. We knew we wanted to eat in LA on one of the days and we’ve been wanting to check out more sushi places in LA. After reading great reviews about Sugarfish from two of my favorite LA bloggers, Dining with Catty Critic and Gastronomy, I knew I had to go check it out.

Sugarfish has four locations in LA. Their concept is an appealing one: serving high quality sushi at an affordable price, making the traditional sushi experience accessible to everyone.

Sugarfish was created by sushi chef Kazunori Nozawa. The menu is very simple. There are three fixed meals to choose from: Trust Me Lite, Trust Me and The Nozowa. There are also some other additional sushi items you can order,but most patrons choose one of the set meals.

It took me a while to decide which location to visit, but we ultimately decided on the Brentwood location because it a parking lot which is free with validation and we were hoping that this location would be slightly less crowded, especially since you cannot make reservations.

The popular restaurant is located in a nondescript plaza of Brentwood. Inside, there are less than a dozen tables, creating a very intimate environment.

We were very lucky with our timing. When we got there, there was only one table ahead of us. As soon as we were seated though, the guests were pouring in. Soon there was almost an hour wait.

Once seated, we were immediately greeted with a very friendly waitress who seemed ecstatic upon learning this was our first visit. I chose to go with the Trust Me meal and BF opted for the full Nozowa experience. You can view the full dinner menu here.

Our food arrived one by one, and very quickly. Our first dish was a plate of edamame beans.

Next we were both served a tuna sashimi mixed with house made ponzu sauce. I really liked the ponzu sauce created by the chef and I usually don’t care much for ponzu sauce. This was probably my favorite dish of the night.

Next, I was given the salmon and albacore sushi. One of the other things that  makes the sushi experience so popular at Sugarfish is because all the sushi is served with warm rice, which is already pre-seasoned with sauce, usually ponzu. The sushi stands by itself and is not supposed to be dipped in additional soy sauce or wasabi. The warm rice creates a melt in your mouth experience when eating with the raw fish slices. I really enjoyed the warm sushi rice concept.

BF received a similar plate but with addition of snapper.

Next, we were both given yellowtail and halibut. The habilut was my favorite sushi bite.

We were then each presented with a toro handroll. I was surprised by the look of the handroll, as I’m used to cone shaped rolls stuffed with rice and then sashimi. Instead, the handrolls here resemble an uncut sushi roll.

Normally BF and I enjoy toro, but neither of us enjoyed this toro. I also didn’t like how much rice was in the roll and how little fish there was.

For our final handroll, we had a choice between crab and yellowtail. I chose crab and BF chose yellowtail. We made good choices since I preferred the crab and he preferred the yellowtail. Again, I wished there was more fish and less rice in these handrolls.

BF got one final dish, the daily special, which was unagi that night. The unagi was served hot and was quite tasty.

Our meal was completed very quickly. I was surprised that the meal ended so quickly and was unfortunately, still a little hungry.

Overall, I like the concept of serving the sushi on warm rice. It’s unique, tasty, and I can see why Sugarfish is so popular. However, while they seem to market affordable sushi, I thought the price was a little high for what we received.

11640 W. San Vicente Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90049
Phone: 310 820-4477
https://www.sugarfishsushi.com/home.php
SUGARFISH Brentwood on Urbanspoon