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.........How is this place VIETNAMESE? LOL ! Anyways I came here last night with a friend of mine who has a friend who WORKED here, but she left a few weeks ago apparently. BACK TO THE STORY, my friend and I didn't really have a place in mind for sushi so he went on to suggest that we go to Sushi Gesshin. I was like "OK ! I'm down to try any new places." We got here around 8: 30, and first off, this place is hard to catch at first because it's slightly angled in the plaza, and second, it was empty. SKETCHY ? perhaps.
We got greeted with tremendous amounts of warmth and friendliness by the chefs and hostesses / waitresses. My friend is a regular here so they're obviously going to spoil him with a bunch of stuff. We got seated, opened up the menu, and skimmed through.....the.....WAIT...there's not a lot of options to choose from. Hmm wonder why. They did have their daily specials and a few special rolls on the menu. We ended up ordering the spicy tuna crunch roll, rainbow roll, and the sashimi combo (which consisted of 3-4 pieces of salmon, tuna, and yellowtail EACH).
It didn't take long for our food to come out (which is good because some restaurants take FOREVERRRR to deliver your food), and the first thing to come out was our SASHIMI combo. *Sniffs sniffs* Yuppp ! It's definitely fresh ! Like they say..."IF IT SMELLS FISHY, DON'T EAT IT"...cuz you don't wanna be throwing it all up hours later. YUCK !! Anyways, all of the fishes were good ! They were tender, juicy, and flavorful ! Second to come out was our RAINBOW roll; it was good as well. Everything from the shrimp to the fish to the avocado was FRESH and delicious. They were again tasteful, flavorful, and mouth-watering....too bad I can't order another one because my friends paying. LOL
Third to come out was our DELICIOUS, MOUTHGASM, VAGINAS SQUIRTING spicy tuna crunch roll. Man this was THE BEST roll out of the 3. If you wanna win my heart, you should always order a roll where the california roll is fried. ;) The spicy tuna crunch was fried and consisted of fresh tunas on top of the fried cali rolls. To top it all off, it was decked out with eel sauce & spicy mayo sauce. OMG YUMMM ! One by one, the rolls melted slowly and fantabulously in my mouth. MMMMM !
The staff here are so nice | friendly | homely which is very very important. I hate going to sushi places, especially the big franchised ones, where the staff only cares about taking your orders and raking in money. Anyways, we got to try their new special roll "tuna capperone" for FREE ! Yayy. and Boy was it delicious !! It was wrapped w/ seaweed and consisted of tuna in the center. The sauce was bittersweet which is DIFFERENT but GOOD !
Our bill came out to be like..oh nevermind. I wasn't paying. ^__^ LOL. COME HERE for fantastic sushi | REALLY GOOD SERVICE | and a warm & nice atmosphere.
Pros:
-Super good sushi...I'm talking MELT IN YOUR MOUTH good.
-The chefs were great, they gave us lots of freebies since it was our first time.
-Quaint atmosphere, everyone there seemed to be regulars and gave us tons of suggestions.
Cons:
-INCREDIBLY EXPENSIVE. I paid $15.00 for Toro. Holy crap! Tekka Maki $6.00 OH SHIT.
- Very small. In fact too small. Definitely wouldn't come here on a busy night, you'd never get seated!
All in all very tasty, definitely a place I would come to on special occasions but it hurts my wallet too much to be a regular.
Oh Gesshin, I admire how you have withstood the test of time and sagging economy. You must forgive me for neglecting you for far too long. I was an unappreciative ignorant teenager when we last met. Please welcome me back with that adrenaline inducing "Hai irashaimase!' I promise never to leave you again.
On a fly, I decided we should go here for some sushi and sake. This place caters to the less discerning palate and to the more traditional form of sushi fans. The interior is fashioned with your basic japanese deco. Framed tiny kimonos and oni masks. It's far brighter than from what I remembered. It's not a big place so you may want to get there early since it will get full quick.
For all you rookies and first timers, don't worry, the menus do have pictures of all the crazy concoction rolls they have available. 99% of the time I skip those. Rolls just have just way too much stuff going on. I prefer just your basic nigiri sushi. But it's good to see that this place caters to all. Not at all pretentious. That night we coupled our nigiri with a bottle or two of Kurosawa sake. It's a good entry to mid level sake. Dry when it hits the mouth and a slightly sweet finish to it.. The toro was a bit of a letdown though. Usually toro (fatty tuna belly) looks similar to uncooked beef. The toro here was stringy and wasn't holding it's form. And a at a market price of $15, butthurt is an understatement. Not enough to hurt my meal though. We also split the beef teriyaki and tempura meal. Their tempura is great. Not heavy on the batter and has got a good crunch to it. Not soggy or oily at all. The beefo teriyaki was tender and delish.
The servers were a delight. $80 on dinner for two which include, sushi, sake, beef teriyaki, and tempura made for a much needed welcome home meal.
Ive been coming to this place a for a long time now. The prices are average prices for a sushi place. Rolls are awesome and the fish is usually fresh. I recommend the 911 roll for anyone that wants a spicy roll. Also when you order a sushi ask for the Karpachio sauce, better yet order the sashimi platter with it on, its amazing. Service is great and the people are really nice here!
Downside? small place but then again what sushi place isnt.
Service - Average food, great service.
Reservations - Decided to try this place since every other place was either closed on Labor Day or closed on Monday's. Service was amazingly good. Do make reservations ahead of time. I made reservations two hours before our reservation time. We came in and got seated immediately before a couple of groups waiting.
Food - Went with a couple of non-sashimi people, so we tried:
1. 911 roll - Spicy! Jalapenos are on the side, but spicy tuna and scallops already provided heat.
2. Crunchy roll - Huge
3. Hawaiian roll - Fish wasn't very fresh.
4. King cobra roll - Tasted like a combo of the 911 roll (minus scallops) and the crunchy roll.
5. Albacore carpaccio - Not very good. Again fish wasn't fresh.
6. Salmon Sushi - Didn't melt but decent cut.
7. Salmon/Tempura combo dinner - Decent portion, salmon was a bit dry and charred.
8. Hot sake, hot green tea and green tea ice cream
Four people were stuffed for $112 which includes tip. Probably bc everything had a lot of breading and crab meat in it.
Pros - Lots of food, rolls are huge and stuffed with imitation crab meat. Great service.
Cons - Sashimi/fish wasn't the most fresh, food was a bit salty (especially edamame), rolls were too filling.
The first time I went to Gesshin, I really liked the food and the service was good. So I decided to take other people here to eat and the following two times, the food was just so-so and the service horribly slow, we all decided to not go back again. I gave it 3 stars because to be fair, the food was decent, not the best I've had (and I've eaten at a lot of Japanese restaurants, including frequenting the ones in Little Tokyo West in West L.A). We usually order the bento box meals and some sushi and I can't complain that the food was bad but service lately seems to be and that's enough for me to stay away.
I've finally found my go-to sushi place. Me and my friend were starving and always have delusions of grandeur when it comes to our stomach capacity. Tonight was no exception.
Took their recommendations and ordered the toro and sweet shrimp (both amazing) along with my usual favorites of albacore and yellowtail (also both amazing). Also ordered a few rolls to see what they have to offer and was not disappointed one bit. Many samples were given out over the course of our meal, the spicy yellowtail carpaccio was to die for. Great service and way too much excellent food put us out $100 (with a couple giant beers) but was worth every penny.
I will definitely be back for more.
I really like this place, and yes, hachi is always so nice.
But what is his deal with always saying "it was so busy in here earlier." Or,
"you missed it, this whole bar area was totally full an hour ago."
It's like he's trying to make up for not having enough people there. It's OK hachi, we still love you!
The food is always fresh, and I trust hachi to steer me another way if what I want isn't the freshest that night. Service is always fast and friendly.
Decent lunch spot. Lunch specials are defintely on the cheap and tasty! Supplement your Bento box with a roll of choice and you are under $20 and leave full. Nice service and yummy Philly rolls. Crunch roll is yummers too, but they want to serve everything else with a Cali roll. I don't want mayo meets crab on my sushi, its just not soosh that way, man. I'm just sayin'.
Go here for lunch, not dinner or a date. Did I mention it's in a mini-mall? Nuff said.
Gesshin, my favorite local sushi joint since my freshman yr of college. I haven't been there since my bday last year because I don't live in the area anymore but I will always have good things to say about this place. I love how the servers remember me and actually remember what I like to order. Yep, that's how often I ate there! I love the decoration inside Gesshin, I feel like i'm dining in a traditional Kyoto building. They have an extraordinary menu even though it can get pricey, i believe it to be worth every penny.
oh, their spicy tuna contained rolls are uber spicy!! just the way it should be.
they give you a bit of dessert also, usually they would give me oranges but i think they switched to yogurt drinks! biocool anyone?
yea its pretty good
but nothing too special or memorable lol
best sushi place in /around HB hands down. I have never had anything that was less than awesome. The fish is fresh and the pieces large. If you are regulars you get extra perks.
My husband took me here for dinner after work. He had to go back for a meeting, so we were in a bit of a hurry. The sushi chef (I think his name was Hachi, if I'm even spelling it correctly) was extremely friendly and tried his best to meet our timeline. It was our first time, so we decided to sit at the bar. Everything was delicious! Here's a list of what we ordered:
Spicy Yellowtail Sashimi
Toro sushi( not the best I've had)
Aloha Roll
9-1-1 roll
another roll I fail to remember...
and a complimentary dish made with blue fin tuna
Our bill came out to 65 before tips. We left them a nice tip and left.
A very recluse spot that always packs a full house. This little room boasts a long sushi bar and several booths. You can come twice and you'll already be a regular because the waitresses remember you, they're sweeties. I usually get a box dinner or "Kokoro", their scallops and Cali-roll mix. Be mindful of their hours, they close between lunch and dinner. This is a perfect spot for a non-fanciful night, the kind of night where you just wanna eat and chill the f out.
3.5 Stars
Came here last night at around 7:30PM. I guess due to the shieety economy, it wasn't as busy.
My gf and I wanted to catch up on things so we didn't sit at the bar. (probably mistake on our part).
FOOD:
Toro Sashimi - $30
Salmon Sashimi - $15
Calamari - $6
Hawaiian Roll - $9.50
Green Tea Ice Cream $2.50
TASTE:
Toro - Cut really thick. It was VERY chewy. It wasn't old, but it was really chewy. SHOULD it be that chewy? I thought I was eating rare steak. Hehe.
Salmon - Fresh, didn't melt in mouth, but certainly was fresh.
Calamari - I initially thought this was a "salad" from another yelper, but the lady brought out this. It was pretty damn good. Lightly tempura battered but not heavy. Calamari was just tender. Eat it fast because the sauce at the bottom makes the batter soggy!
Hawaiian Roll - Of all the rolls, we chose this one because it had tuna on it but it wasn't anything that would over power the taste of it. It was a California Roll with asparagus in it and Tuna on top. Let me say, that was actually a fave of mine, can you believe it?
Green Tea Ice Cream - It was ok, though I kept smelling a hint of rose water fragrance.
SERVICE:
Impeccable! I kept trying to eye the sushi special menu behind the chef and I think he mistook me eyeing him =X.
Overall, it was good, but as for great, I just didn't think so, maybe we should have sat at the bar?
The place is very well kept, food is always good. The fish is fresh. Also, Hachi gave us a few complimentary stuff which is nice. You have got to try the 9-11 roll and crunchy roll.
Priced around $30 for two rolls... price may vary depending on selection...LOL
Since to me there seems to be a lack of good Sushi in Huntington Beach some friends and I decided to try Gesshin after work one day. To see if we could finally find a better place then Matsu. The decor is cute, actually very welcoming yet casual. We were seated prety quickly and my friends and I got the rainbow roll and the spicy tuna roll. The rainbow roll was huge and well worth the price.The fish was average to a bit better then average depending on what you are used to. What really stood out was oddly enough the spicy tuna roll. It was super caliente and had some spicy onions mixed in that gave it a nice tang. The only downfall was the awkwardly large size of the rainbow roll and the loose wrapping of the spicy tuna. Both those things drive me crazy. I hate to be that person with food spilling out of my mouth and the roll going everywhere. Other then that if I am in the area and craving sushi this will be a place I hit up.
So I came here with my best-friend to grab a bite. She comes here a lot and said it's been a while so we stopped by here after. I've been to this place only once before, and I thought it was decent, but then again I went that time with friends who consider california rolls and crunchy rolls sushi, no offense to the folks who can't eat the raw stuff. Anyways, we were greeted immediately by a very friendly waitress as well as the sushi chefs. We opted to sit in a booth, with the waitress asking us our beverages immediately which was cool. We ordered the green mussels which came in a pair, with a mayonnaisey sauce and I believe a green pesto like sauce which quite a hint of garlic. It was okay, rich and buttery, who doesn't like that. I just thought the garlic was a bit overwhelming in the dish. Then we ordered there cucumber roll special, and there 9-1-1 roll with soy paper wrap rather than seaweed. The cucumber roll had no starch in it, came with tuna, I believe yellow-tail, tamago, sprouts, and I don't remember what else wrapped perfectly on a bed of ponzu sauce. The presentation was beautiful, kudos to the sushi chefs, and the roll was very good. The dish was so light, yet so filling. The only thing is since it's wrapped with cucumber rather than rice, it's a bit hard to eat with a chopstick, I had to break it up in pieces bc it wasn't tightly packed, but it's not there fault, it's just because the cucumber couldn't uphold the filling very well. Afterwards our 9-1-1 roll came out, on top of a spicy mayonnaisey sauce, I opted for them to use soy paper rather than seaweed because I just like it more, the roll was filled with spicy crab, on top was spicy tuna, along with tempura crunch around, and on the side were jalapenos. This is probably one of my favorite rolls now. It was definitely spicy with the jalapeno, so you can opt to go without it but I loved it. Afterwards we cleansed our palettes with green tea ice cream, a perfect way to finish a meal. Definitely will come back here again soon :) !
Been coming here for years. Great sushi and awesome staff. Been searching for sushi places to top this and overall it cannot be beat. I drive all the way down to Surf City USA from Carson just to eat this food. Maybe I'm crazy, but this place is awesome.
There is no other place like it. I've been searching for sushi all over Orange County that has good food, good service and is still not going to break the bank. This is the only place I've found. Mostly because of Hachi.
Go in, sit at the bar and let Hachi make whatever he wants.
It's always fresh and it's always good.
Ok, I feel bad being the first person to leave a relatively bad review for this restaurant, but honestly, it is based on the experience I had here. My partner and I went to eat here and were SO excited to have some great sushi. We heard about this place through friends, and it has a sensational reputation. Maybe this set our standards too high. When we walked in the place was packed. We had a short wait of about 20 minutes, and were eventually seated at a table. The decorations of the restaurant are very plain and non-inspiring. Place mats are hung on the wall as decorations, and the place just looks blah. Nonetheless, we didn't come here for the decorations- we came for the sushi right? We ordered several sushi rolls off the menu. Our order was taken by a server who was very friendly and efficient- overall service was excellent. And after a few minutes of waiting and guzzling down some great edamame, our order arrived. We ordered a rainbow roll, and in all honesty, this was THE BEST rainbow roll I have ever had. It was fresh, tender, and just perfect. However, the rest of the rolls we ordered were very uninspiring and nothing special. One roll in particular was very disgusting- the crunchy spicy tuna roll. It made my partner and I physically sick that evening. It is a spicy tuna roll that tastes like it is smoothered in mayonnaise and deep-fried...We couldn't taste the fish at all, and like I said, ended up leaving feeling sick. So ultimately, Rainbow Roll= great, Decor=plain, Fried Spicy Tuna= very very bad. We probably won't be coming back.
The sushi here is just ok...not the most fresh in the sea...nothing too memorable.
A true sushi aficionado would fall in love, and think they have gone to heaven after eating here.
Kabuki was my chain restaurant favorite.. but i think Gesshin takes the mom and pop sushi award by a landslide. We opted for the sushi bar (tip: you get the best service from your sushi chef, if you sit at the bar) and immediately we knew this was the real deal.
Scallops are not removed from their shell until you order. Octopus was so tender and flown in straight from Yokohama Fish Market that morning. It was never flash frozen, so the texture was so soft and delicious. Octopus tends to be a bit chewy, but not here at all. Tuna was standard, but the Yellowtail was simply amazing. The freshness and brininess of the sea, just complimented the meat. We also got amaebi, it was simply wonderful. If I recall, we also had an amazing salmon skin handroll.
Hachi, our sushi chef was great, he even gave us samples of the chef's creations. The sea snails were very amazingly good. The carpacchio was AMAZING! The flavor was just spot on and made my mouth water for more. Fiance and I LOVED it.
We usually order rolls, as fillers but we simply ordered sushi at its finest. We plan on going back really soon!
I was first told about Sushi Gesshin by one of my friends, but I had never really gotten around to trying it out until my boyfriend and some of his med school buddies invited me out to dinner.
I had an overall good experience at SG as we all shared a variety of sushi ranging from regular old California rolls (which admittedly aren't the best) to crunchy rolls (soooo frigging gooood) to the dragon rolls to whatever else sounded interesting on their menu. We didn't bother eating any of their entrees (seriously, who eats teriyaki chicken and rice at a sushi place), but we made multiple orders for the calamari salad (which I have, time and time again, raved about).
I'm generally a very routine sushi eater, always sticking to the same thing (my crunchy rolls + calamari salad), but I would definitely be more willing to try out other kinds of sushi here if my boyfriend was around to convince me to. Man... now I'm craving some calamari salad. Anyone game? :)
This is my favorite place for sushi! This place is small and can get packed easily, so call ahead. The price is reasonable for sushi, unlike The Block, rip off! I like the sushi here because it seems plentiful. I get enough pieces for each roll I order. I love the King Cobra, Crunch, and Dragon Roll. The waiters are friendly and sometimes give us sushi on the house to try. Talking about this makes me want to go there now!
Price vs. Value, this place is good for a cheap sushi dinner. Hachi is really sweet and has a great memory. I don't get to come by often but any time I do visit, he remembers me (and sends a complimentary dish).
This was one of the first sushi places I went to before I started to go out and explore and I still love it. The thing that keeps bringing me back is the spicy scallop rolls because I have not found another place that makes it like this chef. The sushi chefs are also really cute and friendly. There's a lot of regular customers because most sit at the sushi bar and chat with the chef like they're best friends.
I haven't ventured and tried different dishes because I've just stuck with what I loved. My friends and I have tried various meals such as the teriyaki beef/chicken w/ tempura or sashimi. It's good but just normal nothing too special. The sashimi is not that bad but I only like the salmon here. Oh, the crunchy roll is also a favorite and I usually don't eat california rolls but I have to say the chef makes it perfectly. The food is probably a 3 at best compared to other sushi places but I like the service and always feel like I'm at home when I come here so one more star! The price is very affordable and you will surely be full with the combo meal.
This was my second time to Gesshin. Dinner was going well. The service was good. We ordered a King Cobra roll, Crunch roll, and the Cucumber Special roll. The Cucumber Special was tasty. However, the night was ruined when we found a suspicious looking hair in our crunchy roll. It was nasty. The waitress was very nice about it though. She discounted the roll for us and was very apologetic. While I really liked the Cucumber Special roll, I'm not sure if it's enough to negate the "suspicious" hair.
Absolutely love sushi, and this place comes pretty darn close to some of the better sushi establishments I've visited in SF, NY, Honolulu...and of course, Tokyo. First of all - nothing can come close to Tokyo for freshness and variety of sushi, not even some of the 5-star LA, NY, or SF establishments. That said, Hachi-san can deliver some pretty good treats. You need to establish a rapport, and unfortunately (or fortunately for me) speaking Japanese helps. He will create some unique items, and provide many tasty samples 'on-the-house'. For the really adventurous, get there by 5:00 pm before it gets busy, and Hachi can pull out some special treats from under the counter (not in the display case) that he doesn't have a lot of. One night, he presented us with some o-toro-hamachi!!! We've had Oo-toro sashimi - the meat was so full of fat, it was almost a transluscent white. The last time I had this was in Honolulu and Tokyo. Of course, you pay for it, but what a taste of home! Hubby and I are sushi freaks, and Hachi knows that. I think a newbie-beginner can get out of the sushi bar paying under $30-40 a person plus tip, but once you move past the California rolls and other typical items and move on to the ise-ebi (lobster), anko-kimo (liver), etc. you may find yourself hit with an easy $75-100 per person tab...but well worth it.
It is a small restaurant, but the workers there are very nice and friendly. I don't usually eat at the sushi bar when I eat sushi, so I'm not sure if their service there is good. I love their sushi so much that I went many times for dinner, and now I'm kind of tired of eating it. If you're wondering, I ordered a lot and had to stuff myself and that's why I'm so tired of it.
But if you go, you should definitely try:
Kokoro rolls
Shrimp Tempura rolls
Crunchy rolls
and of course you can't forget California rolls.
=) Those are the main 3 dishes I order and they are delicious.
As Lisa Simpson would say... M... E... H... Meh. The meal was ok. Soft Shell Crab appetizer... not bad. If you're looking for great quality Japanese sushi, skip. There was a decent crowd however and they offer 27 different rolls so if you're into the weird sushi-roll thing (King Cobra Roll... Calamari Roll... Hawaiian Roll... Aloha Roll... etc..., it's worth a stop in I suppose. Cajun Squid? Never heard of that at a sushi bar, and I gotta admit, I wasn't up to the challenge to find out what that was all about... I haven't tried any of their cooked meals yet which consist of chicken or beef teriyaki, salmon, tempura, or any combo. Party platters numbered 1-5 are also available. Prolly won't be back due to all the other killer eateries in the area. On a plus note, the service was great. =)
A friend that lives in the area introduced me to Sushi Gesshin several years ago and I was instantly hooked. Hachi (sp?) the sushi chef is not only the nicest guy ever but a comedian! So funny and entertaining. He does a great job of making you feel welcome(remembers you even!) and making the customers laugh. Seats at the sushi bar are a must, and leave it up to Hachi to give you whatever is fresh and tasty (omakase) at an extremely reasonable price. It won't break the bank and may actually shock you at how low it is. I've never been disappointed. Halibut carpaccio is WONDERFUL. I love this place and apparently so do a lot of locals. Really surprised it's not already on Yelp ... Go early (after 5pm because the place is closed til then) because the sushi bar fills up quick (mostly with locals that frequent the place that know what's up).
Gesshin Sushi is very good! I know Hachi for like 5-6 years now, and everytime I eat there, he makes me something different. Don't eat the rolls here...you have to be a sushi lover like me to enjoy this place. Also, if you're a regular here, they seem to treat you better. Hachi, the sushi chef is really funny! Love this place!
Westminster, CA
Category: Japanese
Westminster, CA
Category: Asian Fusion
Westminster, CA
Category: Sushi Bars
Stanton, CA
Category: Japanese
Huntington Beach, CA
Category: Sushi Bars
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