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Sakana Seafood Restaurant
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Lunch, Dinner
20 reviews for Sakana Seafood Restaurant
The best Japanese restaurant in the Arcadia area. Sakana has great deals for lunch, but come early or else they might run out. I've been coming to Sakana for many years since its first opened with the original owners. Even with the new owners now, they have kept the menu pretty consistent and good quality. Service is good, food is good, but can get a bit pricy depending on what you order.
And to the reviewer below me (Paul), i think you make it a little too obvious that you are the owner, Paul "Kenji". Giving all your competitors 1stars and 5star for yourself. Come on, you know better than that.
Service was slow. Portions were small. Food is pricey. Stomach ache after eating here.
Not going to waste anymore time on this review, the other people who gave it a negative rating summed it all up already.
Must try is the fresh shrimp in the tank , either fry or make a soup out of the head are both good choice . My husband love their Uni sukiyaki. Chef really know his way around the fish . Ask him for that day's fresh fish and have him recommend something for you. The Price is varied with what you order . but if you let chef know your budget first , I'm sure you will get more then you expect .
I think it's my favorite place to eat Japanese food around Arcadia.And now they are getting better and better and the price are reasonable.
I love the spicy sashimi salad. The sashimi and sushi are very fresh too. I recommend the sweet shrimp,it's very big and fresh and taste super good.Dont forget to tell them cook the shrimp head with soup,cuz it will let the miso soup have a special taste too.The lunch special are the best the price arent too much and the food are great.
All the food there are deliver from japan, so it wont taste like american japanese food. If u dont have time to drive to Little Tokyo,this place it's good to go.
Gotta give it a 5 star because it's my mom's favorite place. When it puts a smile on my mom's face, it deserves a 5 star!!! Great sushi, friendly staff and reasonable price!! All this in a city where my family lives in. What more can you ask for??
Came here for lunch with the madre today. The restaurant has approximately four tables for groups and then a bunch of seats lined up at the sushi bar. When we were seated, the sushi bar was completely deserted. As we left, the entire restaurant was PACKED. It's a well patroned business from what I could tell.
I had a miso soup, dragon roll, and spicy tuna cut roll.
I've had much better miso soup...there was hardly any tofu in it and it tasted more like a lighty flavored broth with two or three pieces of floating seaweed in it.
The spicy tuna cut roll was a big disappointment. Tiny cut roll pieces that weren't that great, and for the price, a bit of a rip-off.
Best thing I had there was the dragon roll, which was very beautifully presented. Wasn't spectacular, but it was enjoyable.
Service was rather quick and very friendly.
Mako Sushi will still be my choice of sushi bar in Arcadia.
[Be careful when reading the reviews for Sakana as this restaurant has had at least three owners in the last few months and the reviewers may not be talking about the new Sakana.]
The current owner, Paul (aka Kenji), has been running Sakana since June 6 and in that short time has developed a number of fanatical customers who frequent his establishment. Paul/Kenji is the main chef behind the bar and his brother Hugh seems to run things in the table area. Any opening month kinks appear to have been worked out and I can wholeheartedly recommend you try out this establishment under the new ownership.
I first visited Kenji's Sakana yesterday, though our family had also been occasional customers in past years with a previous owner. My experience yesterday made a sufficiently good impression on me that I returned again this evening and requested omakase (chef's choice).
I was thrilled with the freshness, flavor, and texture of every variety of seafood presented to me. Chef Kenji chose to serve me mostly sashimi, allowing me to experience more selections (by not filling up on sushi rice). He even gave me an item that I had not previously experienced.
On both evenings Kenji greeted several customers by name and more than one of them sitting at the bar raved about this chef and his fine sushi.
I'm always impressed by sushi chefs who remember names. Of course, it's not likely that anybody forgets patron Johny's name after meeting him. Sicilian Johny is quick to make friends with everybody; tonight he shared sake with all around him and we celebrated the new Sakana.
I don't know if Kenji has built up this following here in Aradia in a few short weeks or if they have followed him from his restaurants in Encino and South Pasadena, but either way such fandom is a good sign and after my two excellent experiences, I also may be drawn in.
Update: Went back a third night (in a row) and had another fantastic time. They have picked up sushi chef Alfonso who is also great (14 years at Sushi of Naples).
They get five stars for the fake fish on the counter that looks real. (from far away atleast)
This is a japanese-owned place with 5-7 tables and a sushi bar. Their menu offers variety of food for great price. You may not like this place if you're more accustomed to americanized japanese food. You won't see any teriyaki stuff on the menu.
We got the sushi and fried chicken combination. They give you enough food to fill you up. The fish is fresh and melts in your mouth. The karaage is perfectly crisp, with very tender moist meat.
This is a nice local place that isn't too loud. Just be careful when you're going there for the first time because it is kind of hidden behind all the big businesses.
I guess lunch is still the best deal for this place... I was craving for sushi so I came here with my gf last night. Sushi's okay.. not super fresh, cut of the fish in my opinion is slightly small. Salmon skin salad is decent size, but the salmon are kindda old.. not the fresh crunchy type. The steam sake clam was a mistake...the clams are tiny and dry... udon soup was slightly too sweet for my taste. But service was great.. the waiter keeps filling up our hot teas and super friendly (maybe b/c my gf is cute??). I remember they used to be better at least in the food. The bill came out to be around $100 for two of us, I was full but I didn't feel satisfy at all... =( disappointed. It's actually pretty pricy for the quality of food I had.
This place is pretty decent for lunch. Although portions are not big i think it is worth it since americans have a habit of over eating.
I went with my sister, and i ordered the Sashimi with Tempura for $8.95, and she ordered Sashimi with wild vegetables sushi rice for $8.95 as well. I ordered an order of Hamachi sushi.
The fish was quite fresh, and i thought the tempura was very good. I would definitly go back, and sit at the sushi bar. It is about the same quality as Sushi Gen, but the portions are way smaller. If you live around Arcadia, and don't want to drive somewhere far then this is the place to go to.
Definitely had a horrible experience. 1.) overpriced 2.) sushi was mediocre but I gave it one star for the excellent service. The clam teapot soup was tasty. But I believe that's about it. You could eat everything else definitely for a cheaper price. Thoroughly disappointed. We ordered the salmon sashimi/sushi, yellowtail, california roll, and the fried chicken combo. I guess this place would be worth it if you get the combo because it's cheaper. But overall experience... definitely is "Meh, I've experienced better" as for my usual bathroom comment, I could not comment on this place because I did not use their restroom.
Sakana used to be one of my favorite Japanese restaurants. And then they sold it to people who can barely manage the restaurant.
The prices haven't changed, but the quality has gone down dramatically. I used to love this place since I could shell out $30-40 per person and get really good sushi without having to drive all the way to Little Tokyo.
The sushi chefs are clueless and cannot keep up with the orders. I saw the guy leave one of the fish compartments open with fish lying out while he ran to go get something from the kitchen. The service was never great, but it's gotten worst with the new staff. Orders were either left out or came after we were done eating.
I miss the old Sakana.
UPDATE: I just heard that it has already been sold and the owners are moving back to Japan for health reasons. =(
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One of the best sushi places I've ever been to in my life. Their secret menu is out of this world. The sushi is amazingly fresh and the owners are outrageously nice. Try the sweet shrimp and the toro. Rumor has it that the owner will be selling soon....that makes me sad.
It could get loud and surely will not make any list for cheap eats. EXPECT TO SPEND! $$$$$$
So, better go before they change!
Great sushi! The sushi chef was very sociable and offered great advice (especially on the sake). Not a true sushi eater but the rolls were great although too much smelt for my taste.
I live around the corner so I've always been curious but based on the reviews I was hesitant. I"m glad I went and I'll go back:)
4 1/2 Stars
Just as arrive we find ourselves in the midst of a crowded sushi place, however my better half and I were seated almost right away. This is our second nightly appearance here at Sakana. Once again the owner, Hugh was such a delight. This guy must teach anger management classes or something because his mannerisms are SO Polite!! Hahah
It was a rather lively night. The tables were pretty much all full. The sushi bar, lead by head chef - Kenji was quite entertaining cuz a cute litte 4 yr old was trying to converse with him. Our service THIS time was prompt (Cue Blurry background for Flashback: We've been here once before and it was a rather unfortunate visit. We were starving and were excited to find this place because my sidekick found Sakana with great reviews on Yelp. The place was slow. The service was slow. It was only the 1st month that the owner took over the local so chef/waiter shifts lacked coverage. We waited beyond starvation for our food and ended up going somewhere else. BUT Hugh who also waiters there was still super kind and apologetic. No ones fault.)
So back to the food. We ordered an array of fresh fish: Albacore nigiri, White Tuna nigiri*, sashimi salad*, and spicy tuna roll. (*=Chef recommendations). IT was all good. the White tuna ran out because everyone had devoured it - bummer. But Kenji hooked us up with SWORDFISH?? We were kind of apprehensive. I know I was b/c I've have swordfish steak and it's like eating a rubber tire. But obviously this was sashimi so i guess we were safe. That plus, why would the sushi chef give us crap..... It was SOOO freaking GOOD. It was lightly flavored with light soy sauce and a dense hearty texture. Great stuff. the other items were good as well. The sashimi salad had a potpourri of fish. Yum! The albacore was good also. My vote still goes out to Yoshida on this one.
The service in kindness is rivaled by no other. Hugh is super nice and the rest of the staff I guess still get honorable mention. The price for this place isn't too bad. It's nice and quaint in a very hospitable ambiance. Good for a low key night of good sushi or maybe you can find more entertainment at the sushi bar. We'll be back.
Sakana is an easily overlooked restaurant hidden in a small plaza. The sushi chef said we were lucky because he just received lots of fresh fish that day. We ordered a few items like toro and uni, and then asked the chef to make us whatever he recommended. I had lots of sushi that I never tried before. All were very good, but my favorites of the night were the uni and deep fried sweet shrimp head. Mmmmm.
The only negative comments I have are for the toro. It was too cold and needed to sit at room temperature longer. The piece was also cut too big for my liking.
Overall though, it was a great experience. 4.5 stars but only because of the toro.
Great food, taste like they just deliver from japan couple hrs ago, everything serve so fresh and clean. I go there very often
This place used to be my favorite Japanese spot in the SGV until it changed ownership. This korean couple took over and the quality just went from 5 stars to 3 stars. I probably won't return unless they improve the quality to what it was before.
Arrive on Jul 9th approx. 7:20pm. It was another craving of mine to have sushi for dinner. We were seated promptly. There was two rolls I had questions on. Their Sakana Roll did not have a description, therefore I asked what was in it. The server, she had no idea. She stated "well its a roll" (I laughed of course, well in my head) I told her if she could ask someone. She came back and said "Its a roll with tempura, salmon and tuna." Since I'm allergic to Shrimp I ask "Shrimp Tempura? or is the roll fried with tempura batter?" She said "No its vegatable tempura" I of course familiar with most type of sushi rolls knew of course she did not know what she was saying.
So I asked the next server. He did not know as well. But he did ask the chef and the chef responded loudly which was great. And yes that roll did have shrimp, she could have killed me. (hahaha)
I was really hyped up about this place but after that scenario my hopes went down. The hot tea tasted great. The service was great in the sense that both of the servers was really friendly. We order 2 sushi, sashimi salad, and a crab roll. We sat there and sat there. Half hour passed and I was getting restless. I asked about my ordered twice already, still nothing. Approx 50 mins waiting there we got two pieces of sushi, and on top of that the order was wrong. We ordered super white tuna and they gave us regular tuna. So what would you do after 50 mins? We were going to just eat it and stay quiet about the wait. But then the table next to us sat a total of 20 mins received their entire order including their sashimi salad. So how is it that we still have not received ours? Of course now we're frustrated. One of the server gave us a small dish to munch on while we continue to wait it was squid and seaweed quite tasty.
The server asked the chefs plenty of time about our order. The chef was the one who actually got me irritated. He shrug his shoulder as if we're not important and just continue making orders for other tables. We're they busy? Nope there was a total of 7 people equals three table. So if they can't handle three tables with 2 sushi chef they should hire more experience chefs or at least those who actually cares.
We asked for the bill they gave us some steamed fish that we didn't order and said it was on the house. Hungry and just disappointed we left five dollars for the tea and rushed out the door. The server ran after us and apologized many times. He tried to make us stay and offer to have our whole meal on the house. Althought tempting it wasn't worth it because the two chefs still have not started on our order. we knew it would be another half hour before we got to eat.
So as we walked away we knew which restaurant to go to and of course it was Maru and Yakitori Bar. Left Sakana at 8:35pm. Been at Maru before and I knew somehow it would not let me down. Plus it was one minute away from Sakana.
So should you go to this place? Well I didn't have the greatest first time experience but as always its two strikes then I'll cut the restaurant out from my list. So I guess I will try this place again in about a few months.
I could of died from a roll or starve to deaf. Wow this place knows how to kill a sushi craving. On to Maru and Yakitori Bar..and of course there's a review there too.
Hiro ROCKS! He's the new chef. Excellent fresh seafood..old style!
