SOTA

super pretty food!! tastes great, great service, and beautiful presentation! we walked in about half an hour before close and surprised they were still seating people!

rolls were good, fresh, and not too heavy.

tempura ice cream was perfect and not melted at all, super crispy on the outside!

Loved this place. Small, intimate setting, friendly sushi chefs with great recommendations, FULL BAR, great Japanese whiskies, and most important, great food. You see them breaking down the fish in front of you, everything tastes fresh, not a massive menu, but each thing was done well.
Cocktails:
Zendricks- gin martini with muddled ginger and cucumbers, strained into a chilled glass. not sweet, very complimentary to the delicate fish.
Japanese Manhattan- Christmas in a glass. great Manhattan.
Starters:
Crispy rice with choice of fish - we got tuna. staple on most oc sushi places, this was the BEST i've had. super small bites, rice is soft but crispy. perfect little morsels.
Hamachi sushi- fresh and buttery.
Hamachi Jama- sashimi in ponzu with jalapeños and cilantro - even better.
Rolls:
Ma-G- De - favorite roll. shrimp tempura, snow crab, avocado topped with spicy tuna and jalapeño. Spicy aioli and sweet soy. BOMB.
Cabo - big eye tuna, cucumber, gobo, sprouts, red onion, topped with albacore and red jalapeños, cilantro, cilantro, serrano ginger dressing and chili oil. FRESH. might add lemon next time.
Surf and Turf - I never order this but it sounded fun. It was done well (not well done), but it was my least favorite. I would love this as an appetizer at a steak house, rather than when I'm in the mood for sushi. I would skip and try something else next time.

New favorite local sushi spot.

Food - creative- innovative - fresh
Service - professional - fun - attentive
Ambiance - clean - chill - good sounds
Love this place. Followed the owner from Laguna here and he and his team are committed to their craft. Arigatou gozaimasu Sota san.

IMHO, we tried a few things and all served up a delightful flavor profile that leaves you dreaming for more. Like turning the pages of a good book wondering what's next. A must:

- Gindara: Saikyo miso marinated black cod.

- Cabo Roll: Big Eye Tuna, cucumber, gobo, sprouts, red onion, topped with albacore and red jalapeños, cilantro garnish. Drizzled with cilantro serrano ginger dressing and splash of chili oil

Will return for chapter 2.

Sooo I'll be honest, my friend and I actually tried to go to Sugarfish but the wait was 3 hours!! So my friend told me about Sota and said it was just down the street so we walked over and I'm actually really glad we went here instead. Sota definitely has more of a traditional sushi vibe and the sushi chefs were all so nice and attentive. I feel like we ordered everything off the menu lol the food is amazing! Sota is a must try and I can't wait to come back

Come here all the time now since it has opened everyone is so nice and friendly and the sushi is so yummy. Sushi is very fresh and high quality for the price-point.

Very good sushi spot! I love the creativeness of the whole menu! The sushi chef actually owns the restaurant which is a plus. I love to hear sushi chefs running the show. He was working behind the bar when we visited. His last name is Sota like the restaurant! Service was very smooth and everything came out in a timely manner. We tried so many new fish here. There wasn't anything that we didn't enjoy. I would say portions could be a little bigger on fish to rice ratio but that's it. It was a lovely experience coming here!

Our favorite Sushi in Newport Beach. Never ever been disappointed. The quality is absolutely the best. Sota and entire staff are awesome.

food: 50/50
service: 25/25
ambience: 25/25
delish, quick and friendly place for sushi in cali! visited here and sat at the sushi bar. made pleasant conversations with our visitors and enjoyed watching the sushi masters preparing the sushi :) ordered edamame, tuna roll and miso soup. everything was delishhhh!
when im back in cali i would come here again.

True Japanese Sushi, Sashimi, Chirashi and Poke Bowl without the fake rolls with cream cheese made by the True Japanese Sushi Chef in the heart of Newport Beach's downtown business district. The place is big for a traditional Sushi restaurant, since the rent at Newport Beach must be quite high. The ambiance was old Tokyo feel with wooden chairs and semicircular bar facing the main chef and his associates working behind the glass case with freshly prepared high quality fish and octopus, shrimp etc. the $25 lunch sushi combo came with extra California Rolls and $38 lunch Deluxe Chirashi came with perfect Japanese rice with so many special sashimi that I was in heaven! The seaweed laden miso soup was perfectly delicious and not salty at all. The temperature of miso soup was so great. I loved it.

Great food and service. It can get a bit noisy here, but I typically will put on my headphones or ear plugs of sound gets too overwhelming for me.