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Yagumo Sushi
Rating Details »
Category: Sushi Bars [Edit]
Neighborhood: Van Nuys14554 Vanowen St
Van Nuys, CA 91405
(818) 787-9383
- 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
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
15 reviews for Yagumo Sushi
By far the best sushi I've ever had- in the world-- literally. I've lived in NYC, Chicago and England, and nothing that I've had has ever held a candle to Yagumo (originally Sushi Aki, which to me, it always will be).
Originally located across the street in an equally unassuming strip mall location, little has changed-- the large wooden swordfish still adorns the wall, and their famous "spicy rolls"-- numbers 1-10 in "spiciness" is still a staple-- as it has been for at least the past 25 (?!?) years that I've been going there (you used to get a free t-shirt if you ate ONE #10 spicy roll- now you have to eat 2!!).
The sushi is to die for-- fresh, expertly prepared and delicious. Their specials of the day are always worth trying, but I find myself falling back on old favorites-- particularly the scallop and ninja (a super-secret "suprise" combination of the freshest fish of the day). Plus the "L" roll-- named for "Larry" who was a patron who we often sat next to at the original Sushi Aki across the street-- a yummy eel and avocado cooked roll. Another must have is their "squid rings" which is accompanied by a mayonaise / roe sauce that you want to lick from the plate.
Part nostalgia, part amazing food experience, this hole in the wall is definitely well worth its 5 stars. They are usually closed the week between Christmas and New Year's (which is when I'm usually home visiting my parents), meaning I only have a couple of days to eat there before they are on holiday (and which I will gladly-- and frequently-- eat there three days in a row if need be). Oh, and the prices? I challenge you to find anything as good for the price.
This is a must visit-- don't let the somewhat shady neighborhood deter you. The food is MORE than worth it.
SHORT review: Do NOT go.
LONG review:
Fellow yelpers, please, I'm not being dramatic when I say, please, please, please do not go. It's just not worth it. And I'm not trying to be a sushi snob, I'm just sayin...
Let me begin by explaining that it had all the things going for it: 4 stars from yelp, corner location of a random strip mall in the valley, pictures of people who have eaten their food on the wall, a history of first being Sushi Aki before Yagumo, sushi chefs that were Indian and Latino I(something different and I didn't want to judge), halloween decorations, one large flat screen tv to watch important sports games, cheap prices, a packed restaurant on a Saturday night, a spicy tuna challenge and even what appeared to be karaoke machine!
Alas all those seemingly cool qualities my fellow yelpers were just mere distractions. I don't care about the people who say they've been going there for 10 years - maybe they need to get out of the valley once in a while.
I don't have sushi/sashimi just for trendy modern stuff, but I do appreciate sushi/sashimi that has decent quality fish and at least a well formed roll folks. And neither of that happened. Sloppy. And I should have expected that when I spied the sushi chef just chuck the fish back in the case instead of lay it down. For me it's about cut, formation, taste and presentation and it just seemed like cheap imitations of the real thing.
That being said, the fish wasn't so bad that it made me sick. And even thought it's affordable, it's not worth the drive. The service? Mixed bag. Nice and friendly, but it took a long time to get the bill. And I've got to give it to them in regards to the portions. They do give a lot.
The spicy tuna challenge? Interesting. For all of their "spicy" handrolls you can choose a level of 1 - 10 in terms of spice. Eat two of their 10 spice handrolls and you can brag. We had three men in our party that took that challenge. Three up. Three DOWN! One guy, barely even had it in his mouth when he threw it right back into a napkin. The other guy took a nibble and just let it sit there. The last guy? Happened to be my hubby. He ate one whole one and said, "It's not that it's spicy. My lips and tongue aren't even burning, the problem is, it just tastes like SH*T!" With that, he didn't finish. But kudos to the guy at the sushi bar that finished his for the SECOND time.
Wow! Surprising experience. Looks like a hole in the wall... Tastes like heaven. Accidentally stumbled into this place while visiting my brother in Van Nuys, will go back everytime. Chickened out on the number 10 contest, but will attack it next time. Great price for great quality sushi.
I eat raw at least twice a week. If I made more money I would eat it 5 times a week - gotta leave room for beef and pork - the one I love. My bro wanted to come here to try the spicy roll challenge. They rate their spiciness on a 1 to 10 scale. If you can eat 2 #10 spicy rolls then you can have a t shirt and your picture on the mall. He and 2 of his friends did the challenge. It seemed like a really dumb thing to do. I told my bro if you let me kick you in the nuts, I'll give you a T shirt and take your picture because that is basically what you are signing up for. You could smell the rolls coming, they were so stinky. No one finished the challenge. Our table ordered about 30 different things and I didn't enjoy any of it, although it was dirt cheap. I am pretty sure that all 5 of us ate for the same price that I would have paid for just myself if I had gone to Katsuya or Koi. It was crowded so it must be popular, but then again crowds do not equal good taste. A lot of people eat Velveeta not because they are poor, but because they don't know better. Service was slow. Two things that grossed me out were the little fully formed octopuses in the salad and the bathroom. The bathroom was scary.
This is my #1 go to sushi place if I have the time to drive out to Van Nuys. The prices cannot be beat. The quality is average with the exception of the yellow tail and albacore - they are both to die for. I could seriously eat like 10 orders of the albacore sushi, and at their prices, I could afford it.
Be careful when ordering any of the spicy rolls. I usually just get #2 spicy. Anything more than that is for people who really really like super spicy food. I'm a wimp!
Right after reading this review, I hopped in my 4runner and went for what I was sure would be a delightful sushi eat. I was not let down. Granted im not particularly picky when it comes to "the sushi dining experience", after all I do enjoy the little packaged sushi's they sell at Trader Joes, but I will say that this place was definetly pretty nice. I found it a little hard to find. the people should know that its right across the street from the most authentic looking Taco Bell I have ever seen in my life. Im talking Mission-Diego status here.
So the walking inside was interesting, when you open the door, you can not see inside, because their are blinds blocking your view, and you have to split them apart with your hands, and then walk into a darkness, that makes you feel slightly like its some kind of magic carpet ride to Compton and you are about to get jumped for all your money, but then you come inside and the first thing you see is probably the single most naturally cute asian waitress in the valley, probably even the greater Los Angeles area, but like I said I dont do this very often. So the ghetto fears drift away nicely at the sight of a cute asian waitress.
I sat down at the bar, at which some couple was discussing their sexual fantasies very quietly, and the woman kept saying, "I can only say one thing to that. no way", I looked at the sushi leeflet thing, and realized that this is really cheap, and that with the 17 dollars I had on me, I could go ape shit and still tip nicely. 5 rolls were 2.95, so I ordered two orders of California Rolls and a coke, came out to about 8 bucks, I left 11.
The rolls were great, they were large, but easily fit all together in your mouth, so not incredibly large. They didnt fall apart at the touch of chopsticks, which was a nice bonus, because I really didnt want to start eating with my hands in front of the sparkling asian waitress.
I ate 10 rolls, was more than full and ended up paying around 8 bucks, including the coke. The chefs were really nice, yelled some psuedo japanese stuff at me, and gave me a wet hot towl.
Overall it was a very nice experience, and I will probably make this my default sushi place from now on because its close to my house, cheap, delcious, and there is a cute waitress.
From Sushi Aki to Yagumo Sushi, besides the name the food has not change. Yagumo Sushi get their fresh fish delivered daily to insure their fish is fresh everyday. My favorite if their Spicy Ninja #4. I could do more spicy but I would like to taste my food. There are also other favorites like yellow tail collar, dynamite hand roll, special california roll, wormy hand roll, spicy tuna roll. This is a great find in Van Nuys. I have been going here for over 20 years. The menu is good value and has good selection too.
This review is for the majority of raza out there who doesn't really like that crazy sushi that we can't eat.
Its a good lunch place. The spicy shrimp level 6 is hot enough to tolerate and have with a beer. The philly roll is far better than most places except for Monster Sushi in Montrose. Chicken and shrimp tempura is the best.
We went there for the sushi challenge (2 spicy hand rolls on the #10 spice level).. A waiver had to be signed! Anyways.. the challenge is doable (i didn't do it) and you get a picture on the wall and a shirt....
The food itself, other than the hand roll, was pretty good.. I had the usual sashimi and rainbow rolls and both were good. We came in with a group of ten and they were able to seat us right away.. Service was good. parking was good. Prices were good.. I'd go back if it wasn't so far...
This review is only for the sushi challenge. I give it five stars because this sushi challenge (eat two spicy tuna rolls on #10 level, complete with signing a liability waiver), reduced me to rubble.
Its like eating fire. No its like setting your tongue on fire, then gargling gasoline, then having fire ants crawl on your tongue. Then you destroy bathrooms for the next two nights.
Anyways, if you ever have a friend who says, "oh i can eat spicy food, nothing is ever TOO spicy", take them here, as I did and watch them cry like a child.
Other than that the food is okay. Challenge (5 stars), Food (3 stars)
pretty good, the prices are very decent, spider roll for $7, that is pretty cheap...from what i could taste after and during the challenge was pretty good
now the Ninja Roll Challenge...man....that was death....it was expecting more of a habanero spice burn but i surprised after my first bite that it was full of wasabi mixed with some red spices....to me it wasnt spicy mouth burning, it was just the wasabi nose burning n gagging, but i fought through and got my picture on the wall and my free t-shirt
This review is about as much as "You get what you pay for" in every sense. I went to this place based on a rec of my co worker...it's right behind El Pollo Nortenito.
First things first...It's cheap. That's what you notice first when you look at the menu. "Special Rolls" Soft Shell Crab roll...6.95 or eel and shrimp tempura, 7.95..and you begin to get excited....but be prepared...expect something not very well made that falls apart in your chopsticks and with a lot of rice. (Chris made mine) A speciliaty roll is also smaller than you might expect if you are paying a little more. Good if you are a nibbler but I am not and found myself being disappointed at every step, and blowing through each roll that seemed rice filled and not with the ingredients we wanted.
Here's the good....Normal Sake and Beer prices. Great spicy tuna, with the option of increasing or decreasing the "spiciness" and good Green Mussels. That's about it. I have tried about 5 of the Special rolls without being really impressed.
I took my wife the second time I went and the first thing she said when she looked in the small counter top refrigerator (for the fish) that you can see...was , "that fish looks gross". She was right. I looked and there was small pieces of fish scattered around the container and some of the fish looked browned. When the Yellow Tail came for her it looked red and she actually asked the chef if it was Yellow Taill (She is also a big Sushi aficionado) No big pieces in there or anything that appeared fresh. There was scraps scattered around the unit. After ordering a few rolls when we sat down, I felt that she was right...the fish we got represented the quality.
I really liked the spicy tuna, but the rest was VERY mediocre. I would come here again if you are into fried rolls, or tempura but for pure fish and freshness - I'd look elsewhere. Good for low budget and if you have been here a few times you might go back to drink or for only for what you know is good there.
Staff is nice enough and the place has a decent atmosphere but the food lacks big time and its not the best "sushi" experience, but if you are hungry, or maybe want to watch the game and don't care about the quality, you can have fun here, especially trying all kinds of different combinations. There are a few good things here you can latch onto, but outside of that you will be looking for more.
oh heavenly prices!
sure, i love great, melt-in-your-mouth sushi. but having a chronic sushi addiction with my measly wages, i can't just go to sushi zo whenver i want. heck, i can't even go to my usual sushi karen.
this is where this comes in! 2.95 for 2 piece nigiri?! 2.95 for spicy scallop hand roll?! alcohol prices that are almost store-bought?! un-friggin-believable!
i've been here twice, once with a friend at a table, and once by myself at the sushi bar. both have been on a weekday. (i've learned that sundays are bad for sushi) both experiences have been pleasant. the fish quality was decent, not great, but surely enjoyable. the presentation of the fish on the rice was a little lacking, but hey, i'm just gonna eat it anyway.
i can't say much about the sashimi, since i've never (nor will i ever) order it here. i'm here to get my grub on and fill my sushi needs, not to indulge my epicuriosity. you just don't get sashimi at a place with prices like these. however, last time i went there, they had ankimo as one of the specials, and it was pretty damn good! (and i've had a LOT of ankimo, cuz i get it whenever it's available)
i ordered albacore sushi, yellowtail sushi, ankimo sushi, spicy ninja roll #4, spicy scallop roll #4, and my total before tip came out to like 12.77! granted, i didn't get charged for the ankimo cuz i'm such a hottie *wink wink* but what a deal! the hand rolls are a generous size, so you'll definitely get full.
i'm definitely coming back whenever i'm in the area!
Pretty decent sushi considering it's in the heart of Van Nuys. The lunch specials are great and you get a good amount for what you pay. Don't expect quality sushi, just good prices.
Since I work in the Valley, this is a great lunch spot. The prices were just about right and for some reason they are always playing 80's music.
I highly recommend the octopus and squid sushi.
