SUGARFISH by sushi nozawa

Second trip to a SUGARFISH establishment. Last time I went to the dtla one. This time I came for the DineLA which had approximately: salmon sashimi, albacore, yellowtail, halibut, sweet shrimp, toro hand roll, blue crab hand roll for $ 45.
They don’t take reservations so there can be quite the wait. I think I waited approximately 1.5 hours to be seated. (It’s packed since this location is new). My first trip didn’t seem to really fit the bill for me. But this time it was really delicious. I’m not sure if it’s the cook/​day/​or just the company I was with; but this experience was much better.
That day they didn’t have sweet shrimp and asked if we would like unagi or some other fish instead. Boyfriend and I opted for the unagi, and I’M SO GLAD WE DID. My first trip I had the sweet shrimp and didn’t like it. But the UNAGI. SO GOOD. lightly charred, warm, and scrumptious.
Unagi. I’m always aware.
(highfive to other Friends lovers)

Why is Sugarfish so popular? I don’t have a problem with warm rice, but I do if the fish is ice cold and so contrasting in temperature to the rice that eating the sushi is pretty «meh».
On top of that, the fish isn’t tasty, and the albacore was mushy (tender is one thing, but it was straight up mushy). And for $ 75 for two of us, it was definitely a disappointment. Maybe lunch is a better bet in the future?
I MIGHT go back if someone drags me, but definitely not of my own accord. This place is «SO LA».

Sugarfish DTLA has been my go-​to location for so long, but it is nice to finally have a shorter drive and better parking options with Sugarfish Pasadena. They’re located pretty close to Green Street Restaurant and The Counter and as I found out, right across from Lemonade. My, I didn’t remember the area that Sugarfish is in being as populated with businesses as they are now. It looks pretty nice!
The food does come out faster here. Normally, there’ll be a lag as I’ve finished one set of nigiri and am waiting hungrily for the next. Here, we would be finished and only a minute later, the next one is up! Pasadena had plenty of uni nigiri that night, unlike the other locations I’ve been so I made sure to get two orders. Hopefully it’s not an anomaly, but more the standard to have plenty of uni in stock for future visits. It’s the first time I’ve seen unagi as the daily special for the Nozawa, which has been usually sweet shrimp at all my prior visits, and it comes out dead last, even after our uni side orders. I was starting to wonder if they forgot about it! It was not fatty and was seared to perfection.
I think they have just as many seats as the other locations. They just look smaller because the walkways aren’t as roomy and spacious as DTLA. Service is pretty good here. It wasn’t too hard to flag down someone if we needed something, but that may have been facilitated due to the smaller room size. Hehe. Even though the place seems smaller, the wait for two on a Tuesday evening wasn’t too bad — just 15 minutes!

Lunchtime! It gets busy especially during lunch — so try to make sure you give yourself ample time to park, enjoy the yummy yummy food, and try not to order even more than you were expecting! The space is not very big, so you will cozy up to your neighbor.
There is a small parking lot that is designated specifically for Sugarfish customers — probably should park there so you don’t have to pay as much as the structure and deal with getting in and out of it.
My best friend and I ordered…
TRUST ME
Organic Edamame
Tuna Sashimi
Albacore Sushi (2-​pc)
Salmon Sushi (2-​pc)
Yellowtail Sushi (1-​pc)
Halibut Sushi (1-​pc)
Toro Hand Roll
Blue Crab Hand Roll
$ 27.00
Good solid set for lunch and for the price. We also got an a la carte order of scallop and albacore belly. My favorites had to be the albacore belly, toro, blue crab, and scallop. Those are musts! The price difference between the Trust Me Lite and Trust Me definitely makes it worth your while to go all out.

DINELA menu is not worth it!!! So don’t waste your time going during DINELA for this!
First sushi restaurant I’ve been to where the bar table doesn’t have chefs cooking in front so you can watch. It’s literally a bar lol
TRUST ME:
Edamame: super lightly salted. Cool temperature. Yummy. Nothing special. Refreshing. Tastes like it’s cooked in salt water
Tuna sashimi: it is very chewy and more soft compared to other tuna. Not that fishy. Drenched in this tangy like shoyu sauce and topped with thinly cut green onions. It’s yummy! Small thick slices
Albacore sushi: super soft fish! Smooth texture and the shoyu sauce is Delish! Softer tangy flavor version from the tuna sashimi. Thick fat pieces in triangle shapes!
Salmon sushi: square rectangle cut shaped salmon. Yummy and smooth slick texture. Sweet warm rice! It’s yummy :) topped with sesame seeds!
Yellowtail sushi: delicious! I’ve always loved yellowtail! Doesn’t come with a shoyu sauce but good with the sweet rice.
Halibut sushi: the whiter fish next to yellowtail. It’s kinda a bit spicy I think it’s from the sauce! None of the sushi have wasabi between the fish and rice. A bit harder and stringy in texture
Toro hand roll: delicious fresh fatty tuna belly! Can’t go wrong with this roll
Blue crab hand roll: I LOVE this roll! Tastes like tuna kinda. And creamy. Texture is kind of like tuna too! Real crab all smushed. Not much mayo which is perfect!
Bay scallop 8-​cut piece: a bit disappointing. Couldn’t really taste the scallop and it’s be as good as other places :(but still good! Just wouldn’t recommend it to anyone
Pros:
–very friendly and considerate service! He noticed that we were eating slow and asked us how we would like the pace of our sushi brought out to be!
–Our server also told us that the rest of the sushi brought out doesn’t need soy sauce cause there is already sauce on it!
–the rice is warm and sweet!!! For all the sushi and hand rolls! Great contrast to the cool temperature of the sushi
–service is so nice! And they’re all young boy waiters. Looks like from college haha or straight out of college
–they even asked us at the end if we needed parking validation!!! I would have totally forgot! They’re all so nice! Their names are Sam, Jeff and blah blah etc
Cons:
–can’t think of any! Just that it might be on the expensive side but once in a while is okay!
–don’t order the scallop
–might be a bit hyped. Omakase at other places are much better and for more worth the price too
–specialize in its simplicity
Tip: parking is located in the back of the plaza! So once you pass sugar fish on your right (hidden behind lemonade) make two rights and follow signs that’ll show you to this common place parking area for sugar fish!

SuGOI
Really no complaints for Sugarfish; I always leave w a happy tummy and impressed taste buds. The fish melts in your mouth and the warm rice is a perfect complement. The albacore belly sushi and blue crab hand roll especially stood out to me, I’d def recommend ordering them a la carte if you don’t get it with your course.
Service is amazing here! Workers are friendly and efficient — they explain the contents of each plate as it’s set down.
This location isn’t huge and is always packed. Come during off hours to avoid a 5 yr waitlist. Street parking is practically a myth so park in the structure behind the restaurant — $ 3 after validation.

SUGARFISH IS A M A Z I N G ! I’ve been working in sushi restaurants for 4 years now and I have been deprived!!!
I had heard great things about this place and I always ignored them. Finally, I decided that it was time.
The Pasadena location is pretty small and you have to sit pretty close to other tables. The table next to us were obnoxious and I couldn’t help but eavesdrop the whole time, but it was kind of entertaining. ANYWAY–
My friend and I both went with the Trust Me. They time each item so that it comes out perfectly!
Once you’re done with let’s say the tuna sashimi, they’ll bring out the next fish right on time.
So they first give you edamame. My friend says this is the only place she actually likes to eat edamame.
The first fish dish was the tuna sashimi, and I was like o m g. But then the sushi came out and I was like O M G. The rice was warm and seasoned with vinegar. My mouth is watering as I type. I think my favorite sushi that night had to be the albacore belly. I’ve never had that before and it was spectacular. The Trust Me included a toro hand roll and blue crab hand roll. I thought both were great, but I wish they had either less rice or more fish.
The dish that took the cake was the lobster roll. At that point I had died. It’s so plain, but SO GOOD. That’s a must to order!!! You won’t regret those $ 12.
Service is attentive and I can tell that they definitely know their menu.
Gratuity is included in the bill so no need to tip!!! We paid about $ 40 each. A little high, but completely worth it!!!
I’ll be back!!! I’m going to try to come once a month. At least.

When it comes to sushi in Pasadena, there are only 2 spots you need to try:
Osawa in Old Town and Kimagure near the Metro Gold Line.
So when Nozawa-​san brought his culinary delights to the city of roses we had to drop by for a try.
Very small establishment located in the same plaza as Lemonade, Williams-​Sonoma, Soul Cycle and across from Green Street Café /​The Counter. You can park at the structure on Shoppers Lane next to Green Street Café (Sugarfish will validate). It is $ 1 per 20 minutes and I believe they validate up to 60 minutes? as we ended up paying $ 2 for parking while staying for 90 minutes.
The establishment itself has about 10 – 12 tables with a 12 – 15 seat sushi bar. Expect quite a long wait for a table but the sushi bar moves fairly quickly. There are no sushi chefs serving the bar area, it is manned by waiters and waitresses who take your order similar to bar seating/​happy hour dining. The décor was nicely put together. They had vintage style metal art lighting with wood contrast interior. The service was stellar OTHER than our waitress who seemed rushed and placed an incorrect order for us. The hostess, assistant manager, manager were all very attentive and constantly asking how the dining experience was.
Menu ordering is fairly simple; they have 3 selections
–Trust me/​lite
–Trust me (above + yellowtail sushi, halibut sushi, blue crab handroll)
–The Nozawa (all of the above + snapper sushi, «daily special»)
*some have 1pc vs 2pc, lite has shrimp sushi
I wouldn’t really call this omakase but more like chef’s selection as it is a predetermined menu. You can also order various «a la carte» items depending on fish selection for the day. I normally run through each individual item’s taste/​texture but I will just highlight the things I noticed.
— They use warm rice. If you’ve never tried this I’d consider giving it a try. You might just end up liking it. Asanebo in Studio City was the first to do this.
— Scallops were very mushy and substituted halibut that day.
— Everyone mentions how creamy and «melt in your mouth» the fish taste. I noticed this for every single fish on the menu. Personally I like tasting the different textures of fish and comparing/​contrasting what to taste for. The albacore tasted like the yellowtail which tasted like the salmon. I don’t know how Nozawa does it but wherever he sources his fish, or possibly the preparation method, he’s got people going crazy over this.
I honestly believe you’re better off getting a chirashi bowl at a less trendy place for $ 18-​$ 30. Other than being a «cool» place to get some sushi I really don’t see the appeal of eating mediocre sushi at a mediocre prices. Any semblance of eating Nozawa-​sans so called «purity of basics» (as written by himself) will have to be reserved for the ultra-​elitist Nozawa Bar or a time machine to the original in Studio City.
Décor — 4
Food — 2
Service — 3.5

Sugarfish — I love you. And I love that they now have a location in Pasadena, I can get delicious sushi for lunch! Which I did today. We came at the early end of lunch and sat at the bar so we didn’t have to wait too long. The service was attentive and quick. We all ordered the Trust Me because I don’t have trust issues with Sugarfish. Started off with edamame and followed up by the tuna sashimi — perfect amount of sauce. Next came a plate of Albacore sushi and salmon sushi. Beautiful cuts of fish — the albacore was also perfectly seasoned. The next plate was yellowtail and halibut. Each piece of sushi perfectly melded with the slightly warm rice and light seasoning. My favorites were the albacore and yellowtail — these felt like they melted in my mouth. The sushi was followed up by a toro hand roll and blue crab hand roll — the nori was crisp and the rolls were nicely balanced.
They serve the items at a good pace so you can enjoy each bite without feeling hurried. It’s also a good pace so that the food settles in your stomach and you end up full at the end (maybe not if you have a huge appetite). There’s validated parking that still ends up being about $ 2 for an hour and a half. Can’t wait to come back!

WHOOOOOOOOAH!!! I took a bite of my first sushi at SugarFish and wowness God almighty, I’ve never had sushi in Los Angeles made traditional style, like they make in Tokyo. I’ve had this style at Shiro’s in Seattle a few years ago. It was one of the chefs at Shiro’s who told me about Jiro Ono’s sushi joint nestled in, of all places, inside the Tokyo subway.
SugarFish is a typical Edo-​style sushi joint and is my favorite kind to have. You start with the fish at its purest freshest state, serve the right cut of fish at the perfect temperature, over specially made sushi rice, still warm packed loosely; serve it two or one at a time to your guest. If a hand roll is served the nori is still crisp, the rice warm and the seafood melding the rice and nori to give you a unique experience. All sushi must be eaten immediately or within seconds. What ensues is the most euphoric, sometimes erotic, experience to your palate and mouth unlike any other piece of sushi you’ve had. It doesn’t get any better. Trust.
Sushi served at SugarFish is poetry for the senses and the soul. SOOO happy you’re in Pass.
Visits: 1 and many soon.
Tip: They don’t use mayo or cream cheese here. Edo style is about the freshest fish minimally processed and lightly seasoned except for nori, yuzu, vinegar, wasabi. If you like this style you will looooove it here.
Thank you Nozawa-​San and DineLA for the experience. Had it not been for DineLA, it would have taken me some time to get to Sugarfish.

Consistent quality is what you can expect. The joint is tiny, the price is on the higher end, the prices don’t include an automatic service charge in lieu of tip, the to-​go is more costly than if you eat it there, the to-​go doesn’t include the hand rolls, instead replaced by cut rolls. The true #1 ITEM HERE IS THE HAND ROLL, WHATEVER FLAVOR, IT COMES OUT CRISPY AND WARM.
The management team is very attentive and really make people feel welcome. Highly recommend in pasadena area for a tasty treat.

Top quality sushi. Some of the best I’ve ever found. Service #1. I’ve been here before and had an amazing experience. Today they impressed me even more. Was craving Sugarfish sushi and I only had about 30−40min for lunch. They got me in and out in about 30min and were super sweet about it too. Had the salmon sashimi which is my favorite … Server who was so nice suggested Albacore belly sushi and it melted in my mouth!!! I ordered another albacore belly sushi (was able to snag the last order they had :))))
I was in food heaven and can’t wait to come back. Absolutely Love you guys, thank you!

Came for our anniversary, and happy we came on a weeknight given this place is known to be packed. We came around 7pm and there were a couple of parties ahead of us, but we were seated after only 5−10min of waiting. As we were finishing up, we noticed the crowd build. Tip: come early to beat the dinner rush!
The boy and I both ordered the Trust Me omakase, and even though other Unilocalers claimed that was the perfect amount of food, we went all out and ordered a bunch of other a la carte items as well because we had a gift card, and wanted to get the best experience at SUGARFISH.
So glad we did, because my boyfriend (typical dude that eats enough for a small village) claimed it was not enough food if we had just got the two Trust Me’s.
We started off with some oyster sashimi, they fish out the meat for you and serve it with some ponzu. Simple, fresh, and super delicious. Kind of hefty of a price tag though for like 2 little slurps. I also like seeing my oysters presented on their shells, cause it’s prettier, but this is less work. So that’s cool, too.
Other items we ordered off the omakase entrees, were the uni, unagi, and the lobster roll recommended by our waitress. All three were hits! I loved every bite.
The pieces of fish at SUGARFISH seriously melt in your mouth. It’s so buttery and delicious! I even took some of the rice out so I could taste the fish better.
A few points made already, were that they do run out of items– halibut and sweet shrimp on the night we went.
Service is spectacular from start to finish. SUGARFISH is one of those contemporary, trendier spots, and definitely a place that will impress and deliver.
Gratuity of 18% is automatically added to your total, but don’t worry about having to remember, there’s no place on the merchant copy for you to add any tip.
I’ve always wanted to go to a sushi spot that suggests you eat your handroll right away to avoid limp seaweed, and you get that at SUGARFISH! #sushinazis
Also cool: Chef makes his own wasabi and soysauce!

Pasadena has just about everything in terms of dining, with the exception of good sushi.
There are a lot of mediocre joints around with decent ratings, but none of them have truly good sushi or sashimi. You’ll find the obligatory dressed up rolls marketed to the masses with names like «crazy» or «volcano» included in the titles, but I hardly find that authentic or appealing to say the least.
To say that Sugarfish is the best sushi I’ve ever had would be a lie. But I’m surely glad to have an alternative to traveling to Little Tokyo or elsewhere to placate my sushi cravings.

I’m sure many of you have heard of Sugarfish so I’ll just give you the important information.
1. No tipping required. 16% gratuity is already included into your bill.
2. You’re gona want to try one of the three Prix Fixe dinners
3. Ambiance is nice! Classy but still casual.
4. Mostly metered street parking, or there is a structure behind this place for a charge as well.
5. If you’re going to order a-​la-​carte, get the Albacore. It is ridiculously good. It just melts in your mouth!
6. Hand-​Rolls are a beech to eat, and I found the blue crab a bit salty so skip that one! Toro was good though!
7. Don’t go crazy on the soy and wasabi, people. If you’re like that stuff, at least eat the first one without anything. This stuff is perfection and is made to be enjoyed as is!
8. Enjoy! You won’t regret it!

*** OMAKASE TAKEOUT ***
I can get Trust Me Omakase takeout???
W-​O-​W!!! =D
before i thought, sugarfish is good and has fresh fish. now that i don’t have much time to dine out, i appreciate you sooo sooo much. you have no idea what it means to us that you do OMAKASE TAKEOUT.
not only do you get fresh fish… it is all separated — the sushi and the sauces. it comes with a card that shows you which sushi goes with which sauce (if any was needed). they pack the fresh wasabi too. even the scallions that you put on the tuna sashimi is separate. everything was delicious. the blue crab roll was a lot better than i remembered.
we thank the heavens for you.
definitely put you in my contacts on my cell.
LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! =D
we thank the heavens for you!!! =)
p. s. i wonder if i was the first to order takeout at this location. hmm… well, now you know that you can get takeout — knowing is half the battle.

I can finally say that I’ve tried the ‘trust me’ omakase at Sugarfish. Not sure if this place was over hyped but I don’t really understand why people love the the food here. True, I am a little biased as I’m fortunate to have eaten at some pretty awesome restaurants in Tokyo but after dining here, I can’t say I was impressed.
Some pieces of the omakase were decent (large scallop along with the tuna sashimi) but other pieces like the blue crab hand roll (really tasted like canned tuna) and the so called toro hand roll were less than desirable. For the price of the meal, you do get a decent amount of food but the whole warm sushi rice didn’t do much for me. I actually thought the sushi rice was a bit underseasoned.
Unfortunately, Sugarfish only ranks as a decent sushi restaurant in my books. I’ll make the 2+ hour trek down to SD for my sushi fix at Kaito.

***Sugarfish is consistent and reliable though I did not like the sushi here as much as I have had at other locations; it could just be that I am looking for more interesting fish choices now and Sugarfish, as always, features mostly mainstream choices***
Sugarfish is a good, consistent and safe name in sushi. They have multiple locations throughout the Los Angeles area, and Sugarfish focuses on a small selection of the most popular sushi. This small, safe menu allows Sugarfish to consistently have fresh fish regardless of what you order as well as allows the restaurant to offer the type of sushi experience that is going to satisfy both sushi lovers and novices.
There is something a little boring with Sugarfish though. All of their locations feel the same – small, clean, nice looking, modern, but simple dining rooms. The menu is the same too, which is comforting but also means you are not likely to leave surprised or wowed.
Sugarfish features a variety of sushi combination experiences and the Nozawa option provides the best value and most fish though it has gotten more expensive over the years. At lunch, the Nozawa experience started with chilled edamame, which was surprisingly salty. Then came some fairly good tuna sashimi. It was not the best raw tuna I have had, but the sashimi was cut with more care than what I have seen at other Sugarfish locations and the sour acid of the ponzu was nicely contrasted by the sharpness and subtle sweetness of the scallions.
Sushi followed and all of it was moist and soft though a lot of the fish started to blend together and taste similar. There was yellowtail (2 pieces), albacore (2 pieces), halibut, snapper (surprisingly soft for snapper), and salmon (2 pieces). I actually enjoyed the salmon quite a bit. It had a better flavor than a lot of salmon nigiri I have had elsewhere in the city and the nuttiness from the topping of toasted sesame seeds really worked.
The Nozawa menu always features a daily special and today’s option was scallop (2 pieces) and it was quite good – very moist, fresh and soft. I also ordered some toro nigiri and it was on the average side. It was definitely fatty but did not have that great and rich melt-​in-​your-​mouth experience that exceptional toro delivers. Sugarfish pre-​dresses a lot of their sushi and I think they went overboard on some of the pieces. The rice, which was nicely cooked, was also not packed that well though that is often the case at Sugarfish where they tend to lightly pack the sushi rice on purpose.
The Nozawa also came with two hand rolls – a toro hand roll and a blue crab hand roll. I love the crispiness of the seaweed here as well as its salty and savory flavor; I felt both hand roll fillings were good but nothing really memorable.
Service was good – very friendly and quick.
Prices are high, especially if you order a la carte. You do get a lot of fish with the Nozawa experience though it is almost $ 40 at this location.
Sugarfish is a very safe choice for sushi. You are bound to have a good and satisfying experience, but you are also not going to have a truly interesting and unique experience that you would get at Nozawa Bar, Sushi Zo or Q Sushi (though to be fair, those places are much more expensive than Sugarfish). For a more interesting and in-​the-​same-​price-​range-​as-​Sugarfish sushi experience, try Kiriko for weekday lunch in West Los Angeles.
Street parking is available (I believe it is metered).

There’s a reason Sugarfishes are sprouting (schooling?) up all over LA… they’re modeled after well-​oiled machines. Well-​oiled machines that produce the finest of sushi dining experiences. While the Pasadena location is a bit on the smaller side, the ease of ordering (Trust Me Lite, Trust Me, etc.) and the swift execution of bringing out the dishes make for a speedy turnover… you shouldn’t wait long, but you should expect to wait.
I trust them. I trust them lite.

Pasadena finally has a decent sushi joint!
Warning: gratuity is already included on your bill
You won’t find Americanized (i.e. spicy tuna, California roll, dragon roll, etc.) Sushi here.
Nonetheless, the sushi is served the way it should be with warmed sushi rice and a clean cut piece of fresh fish on top. Dousing the sushi in soy sauce is discouraged, especially with sushi that is already served with ponzu.
It runs on the pricey side so your best bet is to go with the «trust me» options so you can have a taste of several cuts of fish.
No reservations and you cannot be seated until your entire party has arrived.
This is a nice treat and a great addition to the neighborhood.