Kaiju Sushi

Delicious sushi! Atmosphere is lovely too

Lovely place. Nice décor and great service. We ordered a variety of nigiris and they were all delicious. We wanted to order one more thing and tried a carpaccio, which neither of us had tried before. Our server went out of his way to explain and recommend things to us when we were indecisive, and even went to the sushi chef to be sure we were ordering something that fit our tastes. I had never eaten Seabream before, but our dish with plum sauce and spicy greens was beautiful. Prices are fair enough. it was a very enjoyable meal!

the best sushi in LA, this is by far the best crafted sushi in LA. The fish is super fresh, chef is always in with new ideas with big smile.
Nothing comes close to Kaiju in LA.

For sure not coming back, had a urine smell from outside, and inside. Not a good service at all. Unfriendly and rude host. I had to cancel my order after 30 minutes of waiting. never coming back.

We came in with our children and were told the wait won’t be long, no more than 20 minutes. Over half an hour later we approached the host who had this melancholy smile. He simply told us that we don’t have to wait if we don’t want to. It’s ok to be an immigrant and barely speak English. It’s ok to be a host with poor English. But it’s not ok to be rude .
Will never come to this place again.

Quality is unreal. The restaurant is so cute inside. The fact that they put warm rice in all their handrolls is soooooo good.

Wow! Cute small sushi spot. Loved the ambiance. They have a small menu because they like to keep it traditional but so good. This place has become my favorite sushi spot. It is conveniently located at the corner of Woodman and Ventura Blvd. nice little gem in the SFV area. I we tried almost everything in the menu and didn’t disappoint.

All around best Sushi in the Valley. The service is outstanding. The fish is very fresh and consistently delicious. Very reasonable prices. Love love this place!

This place is awesome! The ambience of this restaurant is really cool traditional style! The food is really good and probably top 5 sushi joints on Ventura! Clean fresh traditional sushi place! Recommend to everyone to try it out!

Each time I come down to Sherman Oaks, it feels brand spanking new since there are so many new restaurants popping up! I also feel like I can’t fall in love with anything, because if I do it might not be here the next time I visit. Time for me to cruise down here every other month!
Ok– where did crispy rice come from?!? A-​M-​A-​Z-​I-​N-​G! We started with the spicy shrimp and spicy tuna, and pretty much forgot about the shiso ceviche (it was good, but paled in comparison to the crispy rice dishes.)
The tempura was good, a hint of sweetness in the batter that gave it a different kick, but wasn’t off putting.
The service was ok, I felt bad for her since it looked like she was the only one there working. So we skipped desert.
If it’s still here, I’ll be back next month!

Perfect «hole in the wall» suShi restaurant.
My new fav kickback and enjoy my sushi place!
Great ambience for that romantic low key night out. Service was a little on the slow side, but food is fresh and good.

Not bad sushi and cheap. .
Pretty — was easy to get seated…
I won’t say it’s authentic but the atmosphere is adorable and if you don’t mind a little Americanization this place is cute! …
Ig a pic for edamame !!!

My new go-​to spot for sushi in Sherman Oaks!
We dined here on a Friday night and luckily we were able to snag a seat before the crowd arrived. I love the simplicity of their menu. As others have mentioned, there is a 1 page menu, and they don’t offer those crazy over the top rolls like most sushi joints do.
What to order:
— Edamame
— Cucumber Seaweed Salad
— Crisy Rice Spicy Tuna
— Yellowtail Carpaccio
— Grilled Black Cod
— Uni Nigiri
— Spicy Tuna Handcut Roll
— Oysters
All I’m going to say, is if you choose to eat here, you MUST order the Grilled Black Cod & Oysters, my mouth is watering just thinking of both. Their prices are reasonable but not cheap and the quality of fish is on point. They have valet & street parking.

For more traditional, great quality fish, Kaiju satisfies. If you’re looking for Californiazed Sushi with many cooked cut rolls and sauces, this is probably not the place. What you’ll get is fresh and straight forward. It’s popular, but not yet crazy, over the top busy, maybe due to rather low key location. There’s also plenty of seating unlike some smaller establishments. Not having to wait and getting good service from wait staff and sushi chefs is also great. Definitely recommend.

There’s so many options of Sushi places to choose from in the valley all on Ventura Blvd, but this one stood out to us for a few reasons. My hubby is picky with his sushi, but he remembered he had tried this place a while ago so took me this weekend. We actually tried to go to Katsuya but the wait was 45 minutes there.
So glad we ended up here, it felt very authentic Japanese with the cute lanterns all over. We really liked the Albacore with crispy onions… we saved the extra crispy onions to put on top of other dishes too :) I liked how the spicy tuna crispy rice was served in small bite size portions– made it easier to just pop in your mouth. We also liked the ceviche a lot– tasted very fresh. The chicken skewers were average– next time we’ll try the salmon.

I tried this sushi place last night and was pleasantly surprised. The décor is beautiful, very inviting, and overall the restaurant is quiet. It doesn’t get very loud like most sushi bars which is nice, especially if you want to have a more intimate dinner.
Kaiju’s menu is simple — it is one page, making it very easy to pick what to order. They don’t have fancy and Americanized rolls. Their sushi is simple and pretty good. The fish is pretty fresh, but I have definitely had fresher fish at some higher end sushi bars.
Some of my favorite things we ordered were the shishito peppers, salmon and avocado cutroll/​handroll, and the crispy rice. I hear the fried chicken is also amazing.
Overall, I liked this place and would come back again!

Omakase. Pronounced «Oh-​mah-​KAH-​say» it means «I leave it to you.» In a fine sushi bar you use it to convey to the chef, «I honor you and trust your judgment to provide me with a meal of your choosing.»
We’re down here on vacation from Portland, OR for the Holidays. My 14 year old son (who has spent several years on his own learning and becoming nearly fluent in Japanese) wanted me to take him for omakase as his Christmas gift. Tonight was the night.
Wednesday night, around 6:30pm. Son N and I sat down at the bar. Master Chef Go Nakabayashi greeted us and my son ordered (in Japanese) Omakase for the two of us.
Now, a bit about what omakase looks like for those who haven’t experienced it before: Omakase is a very slow, methodical, deliberate style of sushi eating. It involves being served your meal in small bits, one at a time. You don’t just get a plate with ten pieces on it.
Never for those in a hurry (typically 60 – 90 minutes in duration), it is meant to be savored bite by bite, as soon as each single piece is set before you. Each piece is placed in front of you, along with a recommendation on how to eat it (for example, just as it’s served, or he’ll tell you when you should dip a piece in soy). You are relying on the chef’s interpretation of how he wants you to best enjoy each individual piece. The chef masterfully creates each piece as its own unique piece of art.
And you can’t rush art. We watched as Chef Nakabayashi meticulously and precisely employed his Yanagi (sashimi cutting knife) to slice each piece, cutting some to the left, and others to the right depending upon the artistic effect he desired.
Omakase is not for everyone. If you have allergies, aren’t an adventurous eater, or don’t appreciate the unknown, you probably need to just sit at a table and order some rolls or order off the menu. But if you want a sushi experience, a culinary journey, and like to get to know your chef, omakase will change your life.
Because fish selections naturally change with the seasons and even week by week, you’ll get varying selections with each visit. Tonight, Chef Go started our meal with a pickled cucumber salad (sunomono), with fresh octopus and crab. It was vibrant, refreshing and most excellent as a culinary apéritif.
Then came a sashimi plate of Maguro (tuna), Kampachi (amberjack) and I believe Hirame (Halibut). The halibut had a lovely dressing with a touch of Yuzu (a citrus fruit similar to a lemon) and some pickled Wasabi. It was cool, clean, tangy and spicy all in the same bite. The Kampachi and Maguro were flawlessly cut and arranged carefully with hashi (chopsticks) on a shiso leaf and bed of finely-​shredded daikon radish.
Next, the nigiri proceeded, one piece at a time. Scallop, Albacore, Salmon, Golden-​eye Snapper, Spanish Mackerel and more. Over the hour, we had perhaps 15 – 20 different selections, each getting slightly heavier than its predecessor, through Bluefin Tuna and Toro (fatty tuna), and ending with a lollipop of lamb on a bed of truffle mashed potatoes, another of Chef Go’s creations and a wonderful climax to the procession of food.
We wrapped up with a most delightful finale of lychee sorbet which was fantastic, palette cleansing and just an awesome finish to the evening.
I have eaten sushi up and down the west coast, from Seattle to L.A. and I can honestly say that most of it I can’t remember. I will remember omakase at Kaiju for the rest of my life. Chef Go is so friendly and has such a great character, an awesome laugh, and really takes enjoyment in his artistry and in chatting with diners.
My only regret is that I live a thousand miles away, and I’m not in this area more than once every few years. But we will absolutely be back to Kaiju for omakase should the opportunity present itself again.
Thank you to Kaiju and to Chef Go for such a fantastic evening.

Unfortunately, very disappointing. I was forewarned but wanted to try it myself.
Service was very hit and miss. Either overly attentive or underly. Seemed disorganized.
Atmosphere was a little cold. Dark. Not warm or inviting. Which went with the service and the unwelcome feeling.
FOOD: it’s okay. The sushi was good although the portions are small by American standards. I understand that’s not who they’re trying to be. Quality was there. Problem: other dishes were not good. Salmon cut roll was dry and unappealing. Crab roll was small and all soy paper. Spicy tuna on crispy rice was bland.
Bummer. Overall not willing to give it another try.

I read the reviews before going, so I knew they didn’t make «fancy» rolls. But, their basic roll (salmon & avocado) may have been the best roll I’ve ever had!!! Their rolls (4 pieces) are very well priced. Most are between $ 5 and $ 8.
We also had the albacore carpaccio with garlic and onions. It was very good, but maybe a little heavy on the toppings.
Our least favorite was the crispy rice with spicy tuna. At $ 10 the serving was small and I’ve had better.
We ended the night with the black sesame ice cream. It really does taste like sesame and though it doesn’t seem to have a lot of sweetness, it was tasty!
Service ⁴⁄₅
Décor ⁴⁄₅
Rolls ⁵⁄₅
Other sushi ⁴⁄₅

Wait so you just make sushi here…
This place opened on Tuesday, brand new, clean, classy, and fun. I stopped here after work and saw that the lights were still on, and feeling a bit adventurous pulled around to grab a spot out front of the restaurant and strolled in.
Like many sushi restaurants there’s a little skepticism that I have when entering a new sushi bar, but when welcomed by the hostess to joyful choose the seat at the bar I want, I knew this was going to be good.
The menu is simple, no fancy rolls with spicy mayo; no over sized monstrosities, just sushi. They have a one page menu that makes it easy to pick– and this is not a sushi bar to get full at, it’s one to go and enjoy the meal with friends and loved ones, but if they’re all sleeping buy the chefs a drink and see what happens next! They have a short list of specials, but don’t let that stop you from asking the chefs to make something «off menu». I was lucky enough to sample a few tidbits that were not on the menu that make me want to go back as I right this.
Overall a great sushi bar and restaurant, if you want a mixed drink with your roll, go across the street, if you want a mess of a roll go further down Ventura– but if you want honest, fresh sushi, stop here and say hey to Master Chef Go and order the Gozen two– you’ll be happy you did!
Enjoy!