Sushi connoisseurs and those just beginning to enjoy the culinary adventure of Japanese cuisine may choose from trendy sushi bars featuring karaoke, upscale restaurants suitable for a romantic dinner, or family-friendly spots perfect for grabbing a quick bite.
AKI SUSHI BAR AND BAI PLU THAI RESTAURANT 1626 East Seventh Street Long Beach, CA (562) 436-8180 Hours: Daily 10am-10pm
Located near Long Beach State University, this laid-back restaurant features a sushi bar with chefs who delight in creating off the menu specialties for patrons who can’t decide what to order. Fresh fish is served up in myriad sushi, sashimi and roll selections, and there’s an extensive list of Thai dishes for those who prefer vegetarian or cooked entrees. Deep fried whole fish is featured frequently as the house special. Happy Hour offers select rolls for $5 plus discounted beer, wine and sake.
Estimated cost per person for dinner: $18-$35
Holiday Schedule: New Year's Day-Closed, Valentine's Day-Open, Easter-Open, Thanksgiving-Closed, Christmas Eve-Closed, Christmas Day-Closed, New Year's Eve-Closed.
BAMBOO TERI HOUSE 3391 Atlantic Avenue Long Beach, CA (562) 595-6049 Hours: Lunch: (Mon-Fri) 11:00 am-3 pm; Dinner: (Mon-Fri) 4:30-9 pm; (Sat) 11:30 am-9 pm
Located in a small strip center in the Bixby Knolls area, this locals’ favorite began as a take-out sushi place but has expanded to offer a comfortable dining room and extensive catering services. Servers are attentive and friendly, and the menu offers an impressive variety of sushi, sashimi and specialty rolls as well as salads, soup, noodles, and teriyaki dishes. House specialties are shrimp tempura, crunchy spicy tuna rolls, and sesame chicken. Reasonably priced party platters feature generous assortments of California rolls, sashimi, chicken katsu, gyoza, futomaki and inari.
Estimated cost per person for dinner: $15-$39
Holiday Schedule: New Year's Day-Closed, Valentine's Day-Open, Easter-Open, Thanksgiving-Open, Christmas Eve-Open, Christmas Day-Closed, New Year's Eve-Open.
HARU HARU JAPANESE RESTAURANT The Marketplace 6257 E. Pacific Coast Highway Long Beach, CA (562) 596-5272 Hours: Lunch: (Mon-Fri) 11am-3pm; (Sat-Sun) 12-3pm; Dinner: (Mon-Fri) 5-10pm; (Sat) 3-10pm; (Sun) 4-9pm
Tucked away in the Marketplace Shopping Center, this Japanese restaurant offers an upscale atmosphere with two levels of seating inside and a cozy patio for those who prefer to dine al fresco. Dim lighting and an exotic ambience make it a perfect spot to take a date or spouse for a romantic evening. Along with a wide selection of sushi appetizers and sashimi dinners, the restaurant features Korean style barbecue beef ribs, tempura, jumbo prawns and several udon and yakisoba noodle dishes. (Most dinners come with miso soup and salad.) The house special Dinner Boat featuring sashimi, sushi, rolls, teriyaki and tempura is great for sharing.
Estimated cost per person for dinner: $20-$40
Holiday Schedule: New Year's Day-Closed, Valentine's Day-Open, Easter-Open, Thanksgiving-Closed, Christmas Eve-Open, Christmas Day-Closed, New Year's Eve-Open.
HIBACHI SUSHI AND GRILL Marina Shores Shopping Center 6440 Pacific Coast Highway Long Beach, CA (562) 799-0278 Hours: Lunch: (Mon-Thurs) 11:30 am-2 pm; Dinner: (Mon-Thurs) 5-9:30 pm; (Fri-Sat) Lunch: 11:30am-2 pm; Dinner 5-10pm
Located near Mimi’s Café and the Wild Oats Market, Hibachi looks like a fast food sushi joint from the outside, but once guests pass through the front door they’re treated to a special dining experience with friendly service and an extensive selection of sushi and sashimi. While the atmosphere is a bit on the bland side, tasty appetizers like soft shell crab with ponzu sauce and specialty rolls like the Volcano and Crunchy Spicy more than make up for it. Several sushi and sashimi combos are available at reasonable prices along with tempura, noodle and teriyaki plates. There’s a premium sake list and several Japanese beers to choose from.
Estimated cost per person for dinner: $14.95-$29.95
Holiday Schedule: New Year's Day-Closed, Valentine's Day-Open, Easter-Closed, Thanksgiving-Closed, Christmas Eve-Open, Christmas Day-Closed, New Year's Eve-Open.
MITAKI City Place 200 East Fourth Street Long Beach, CA (562) 432-3220 Hours: (Mon-Sat) 11am-9pm; (Sun) 11am-8pm
With a convenient location in the City Place complex in downtown Long Beach this popular Japanese eatery attracts shoppers and businesspeople in droves. Offering an informal atmosphere that’s perfect for a quick lunch or dinner with friends and family, it provides indoor and outdoor seating, plus hefty portions of reasonably priced favorites including yellowtail, salmon, spider rolls and eel. Non-sushi eaters will find plenty to choose from including many vegetarian dishes, seafood salads, noodles, soup, teriyaki and tempura. Wash it all down with Japanese beer, wine or sake.
Estimated cost per person for dinner: $16-$35
Holiday Schedule: New Year's Day-Closed, Valentine's Day-Open, Easter-Open, Thanksgiving-Closed, Christmas Eve-Open, Christmas Day-Closed, New Year's Eve-Open.
SUSHI OF NAPLES 5470 East Second Street Long Beach, CA (562) 434-1122 Hours: (Sun-Thu) 11:30 am-9:30pm; (Fri-Sat) 11:30am-10:30pm
This haven for sushi lovers attracts locals from Belmont Shore and Naples plus hungry tourists who descend on weekends. High arched windows framed in neon give the eatery a contemporary look that complements the spirited atmosphere. A wrap-around sushi bar with high-backed chairs facing the chefs has patrons clamoring for seats, but table seating is also available. Portions are quite generous and reasonably priced, particularly if you take advantage of nightly half-price specials. The menu features a broad selection of sushi, sashimi, and specialty rolls, plus soup, salad and cooked entrees like shrimp tempura. Sushi trays and specialty entrees are also available for takeout and catering.
Estimated cost per person for dinner: $25-$40
Holiday Schedule: New Year's Day-Closed, Valentine's Day-Open, Easter-Open, Thanksgiving-Closed, Christmas Eve-Open, Christmas Day-Closed, New Year's Eve-Open.
SUSHI SAURUS 5260 East Second Street Long Beach, CA (562) 439-1950 Hours: Daily (Sun-Thu) 11:00 am-10pm; (Fri-Sat) 11am-10pm
Situated in the heart of Belmont Shore, this unpretentious sushi bar is known for its fun atmosphere, gregarious chefs and high quality fresh sushi at affordable prices. Fans rave about the beautiful presentation, fast service and wide selection of specialty rolls. Eel and salmon are menu favorites here but you’ll also find tasty vegetable rolls, squid, scallops, spicy tuna with jalapeno and asparagus, and a variety of salads and appetizers featuring fresh fish and sashimi.
Estimated cost per person for dinner: $17-$32
Holiday Schedule: New Year's Day-Closed, Valentine's Day-Open, Easter-Open, Thanksgiving-Closed, Christmas Eve-Open, Christmas Day-Closed, New Year's Eve-Open.
SUSHI STUDIO 917 East Pacific Coast Highway Long Beach, CA (562) 498-9008 Hours: (Mon-Thu) 11:30 am-9 pm; (Fri-Sat) 5-9pm (check hours)
Small, casual, and colorfully decorated, Sushi Studio offers a family-friendly atmosphere where the staff makes everyone feel welcome. Located near the traffic circle, Brooks College and several office buildings, it gets quite busy at lunchtime when regulars stop in for daily specials. Happy Hour begins at 3 pm. with a variety of Japanese beers to complement the two-page selection of tasty rolls. Crowd favorites include the Spicy Yellowtail Hand Roll, Spider Roll and Red Snapper Sushi. There is also a selection of tempura and teriyaki dishes for those in the mood for traditional Japanese entrees. Estimated cost per person for dinner: $20-$30
Holiday Schedule: New Year's Day-Closed, Valentine's Day-Open, Easter-Closed, Thanksgiving-Closed, Christmas Eve-Open, Christmas Day-Closed, New Year's Eve-Closed.
TOKYO WAKO 310 S. Pine Avenue Long Beach, CA (562) 435-7600 Hours: Lunch: (Mon-Fri) 11:30 am-2:30 pm; (Sat-Sun) 12-3pm; Dinner: (Mon-Thu) 5-10 pm; (Fri) 5-10:30 pm; (Sat) 3-10:30 pm.; (Sun) 3-9:30pm
This glitzy Japanese restaurant near the Pike Pier offers cocktail service with specialty drinks like the Samurai and Geisha, plus more than 50 wines, including 20 by the glass. There’s a waterfront patio with a killer view, and the swanky indoor dining room features a sushi bar and teppan room. A crowd favorite is the beef roll, thin slices of filet mignon rolled around slices of cucumber, gobo and radish sprouts, then grilled in butter. More traditional sushi choices include the Firecracker roll, a spicy scallop and albacore mix in a garlic citrus sauce, and Dragon roll, a variation of the California roll with eel. Other popular entrees include salmon-wrapped scallops, crisp fried chicken panko and yakisoba.
Estimated cost per person for dinner: $25-$40
Holiday Schedule: New Year's Day-Closed, Valentine's Day-Open, Easter-Open, Thanksgiving-Closed, Christmas Eve-Open, Christmas Day-Closed, New Year's Eve-Open.
WASABI 200 Pine Avenue Long Beach, CA (562) 901-0300 Hours: Dining (Mon-Wed) 11:30 am-10 pm; (Thu) 11:30am-11pm; (Fri-Sat) 11:30am-Midnight; Bar Happy Hour: (Mon-Fri) 3:30-6:30pm; Sushi Happy Hour: (Mon-Fri) 5-6:15pm; Karaoke: (Thurs-Fri) 8:30pm-12:30am
Want some rock’n’roll with your sushi? This lively restaurant in downtown Long Beach features two sushi bars, seven teppan tables and karaoke on Thursday and Friday nights. (There’s a DJ on Saturdays to keep the wall-to- wall hipsters rocking.) Daily Happy Hour offers a variety of drink specials, an impressive Japanese beer list, plus all-you-can-eat deals on sushi and popular appetizers like shrimp tempura. If you reserve ahead of time the chefs at the teppan table will prepare a customized meal for your special event. Groups of five or more may also arrange for complimentary limo pickup service.
Estimated cost per person for dinner: $30-$45
Holiday Schedule: New Year's Day-Closed, Valentine's Day-Open, Easter-Closed, Thanksgiving-Closed, Christmas Eve-Open, Christmas Day-Closed, New Year's Eve-Open.
The Top List of Sushi Restaurants - Long Beach, CA