Banzai Sushi
23508 Calabasas Road
Calabasas, CA 91372 (818) 222-5800
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Valet
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Good for: Dinner
37 reviews
Neighborhood: Woodland Hills
"Any Kabuki restaurant would get 5 stars in my opinion (except for the Burbank location, which seasons it's spicy tuna salad differently than…" read more »
13 Reviews for Banzai Sushi
There is allot of hype over this place in Calabasas but honestly you can find better sushi in other places. The dishes here are somewhat pricey with very slow service. I think the only good thing from here has to be the salad and I'm not even a veggie person. It is in a nice area of town and the place is interesting with an outdoor patio. If you are looking for good sushi, I suggest driving further down the street by the commons area. There is not much street parking available so I suggest valet.
Since I don't eat fish, I can't really rate this place on the food. (Lame-o, right? I know.) But I have two words - Banzai Bomber! Maybe it was the fact that all I ordered was a measly cucumber roll (which was quite good) but after plunging halfway through my drink, I was in fact... bombed. I don't have the slightest clue what was actually in the drink - some kind of wine infusion with alcohol-laden fresh fruit sitting at the top - but a friend recommended it to me, and it was in fact amazing. You must try it!
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I stopped here with a friend for real nice, casual dinner. I left the ordering up to my dinner partner. I was happily surprised by their awesome albacore...whatever it was. It was a platter of albacore with someawesome "frazzled" onions. The onions were fried but not in batter. They were crispy and carmelized almost. It was so good we ordered two. I really wish I knew what it was called. Good stuff. Good service.
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After trying to get reservations at Roy's, Ruth's Steak house, and Fleming's (no dice) we ended up going here for the first time. It's in a good lo-cal, but's it's not suit and tie. Parking suks, but I lucked out and found an awesome spot. It was pretty empty for Xmas Eve. I thought it would be more packed, but it wasn't. We ordered the Lobster roll, Caterpillar roll, and the Twin dragon Roll. For the Entree, Black Cod. Lobster Roll was 3 stars, Caterpillar roll is my favorite roll. It was pretty damn good here... 5 stars. Dragon was 4 stars. They packed on the crab meat. Cod was 4+ stars. Nice and tender, crunchy on the outside. Service was pretty good. Rolls came out quick. We finished licking plates. $60 for 3, not bad at all.
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Banzai Sushi was the first restaurant I've been to in Calabasas, and a pretty good one. I must have eaten here about 5-6 times, mostly for birthday occasions. First off, their sushi is pretty good. I've pretty much had every nigiri from the basic tuna to the uni. All fresh and tasty (my most memorable impressions being yellowtail, uni, scallops, albacore, and eel). As for the entrees, the tempura was respectably good as was the steak teriyaki.
In conclusion, I recommend this restaurant. Not exactly Nozawa or Urasawa outstanding, but still good. The restaurant is Japanese owned, traditional, and the food is very filling. My 4 star rating goes to food taste/quality only.
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I am a Calabasas local, and I have to say -- I can't agree that Banzai lives up to it's hype.
The decor is nothing to write home about. The eating areas are ridiculously cramped unless you're lucky enough to get a seat outside on the minuscule patio - and even then, it's a bit of a tight squeeze.
The sushi rolls are pretty good - I've tried various rolls and have never been disappointed. However, if you plan on eating anything besides a classic sushi roll, steer clear of this place. The fried calamari is gummy and chewy, the "Cream of Carrot" soup is so gingery it clears your sinuses immediately, and their edamame (even when hot) is a disappointment.
I am dragged to Banzai continuously because my friends seem to enjoy the food, but I have been unimpressed. Don't bother taking a trip out to Calabasas to eat here if you don't need to - chances are your local sushi bar will be more satisfying.
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One of the best sushi restaurant you can find in the Los Angeles. All sashimi are so fresh. You have to try their spicy scallops hand roll, we give it a nick name "ice cream cone" cauz the scallops pile up like an ice cream cone. The best scallop hand roll I ever have. Toro also very good too. Price is all worth the quality of the food
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Their special rolls like their Malibu Roll, Crunchy Roll, and others are what make this restaurant good. Their sushi is good. This is one of the few sushi restaurants I know of that's good for groups.
Oh, and the service. The service is good, they even remember my name when I come in. That's always nice!
Their tempura is a little too greasy, but other than that, the food's good. They have really good portions, especially their handrolls, which are giant. A good place to take a group of friends if you want some good food on a weekend night.
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You know Banzai isn't my favourite. I've been here a few times. It's great for star-watching. But the circulation of this name in the valley isn't worth it. Simply it has a nice atmosphere, but terrible parking, expect to valet or walk. The fish isn't super-fresh, but hell it's alright, I guess normal standard. I don't know.. I simply don't care for this place.
I was here on a sat night and it got quite crowded just to park. Plan on valet as its the only way to go. Inside its a nice quaint place. I sat at the sushi bar and my date and I quickly became friends with our neighbors. Before I knew it we were doing oyster shooters all around. Fun bar and great sushi. The menu is small but tasty. I think the specials were fun and original. I highly recommend the Spanish mackerel, yellow tail, tuna sashimi special and the oyster shooters. This place was delicious. I will most definitely be back.
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Banzai can be a bit expensive, but their food is truly interesting. I suggest trying it out once, you might even see someone famous there! We were once there and Rebecca Romijn Stamos bought my sister a saki for her 21st birthday! Try it out.
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Love the tuna here.. I know the basic roll everywhere around the world is spicy tuna, but for me this is how I measure a place.. if the consistency is right, and it melts in my mouth, then I love it!
I get to walk to this place, it's so close to my house, service could be a little better.. we got charged for our miso soup, but never recieved them.. still giving it 5 stars!
Don't go there...I don't want to have to wait for a table!
This is by far the best sushi in town...and I mean the whole of Los Angeles. I've been to Nobu, Matsuhisa, Katsuya, etc. I've had blowfish, uni, critters I don't even know from where they came. I now live far, far away from Banzai, but I make the schlep across over the hills and through the canyons to get my fix. I don't care that celebrities eat there. I don't care that it's in cute little "Oldtown". I care that their spicy tuna hand roll is outstanding and sized like a sno-cone. I love that I can get just about anything I want and it's always fresh, fresh, fresh. The staff are lovable and I can watch the Lakers or Clippers while enjoying the finest fish available.
Like I said, don't go...it's crowded enough already.
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