My go to place in the OC is Nana San, fantastic fresh fish with a really good sake selection (Senshin & Manjyu sake…yum!). Great vibe and since we’ve been going for years now, know the owners and staff well, plus reasonably priced. Just went to Sushi Wasabi yesterday on a recommendation (epitome of hole in the wall) and while the sushi was impressive, so was the bill. Been to Bluefin and Hamamori and while both are quite good, also quite pricey. Am I missing any diamonds in the rough for sushi in the OC? LA people, yes I know you have great sushi up there, but I ain’t driving up there on a weekday date night with my wife.
Now that I’ve moved to San Clemente, I’ve already spotted a few sushi restaurants I’m going to enjoy trying…
In Laguna Niguel, Jizake is fantastic - the original owners/sushi chefs from Gen Kai moved there when Gen Kai was under new ownership. Good Choice Sushi is also in Laguna Niguel, and is pretty good, very casual. Up in Huntington Beach, there’s Sushi on Fire which is really awesome.
Been to Sushi Murasaki a couple times for omakase style at the bar. Great quality and variety. Mid-priced. @ Fairview and MacArthur.
Kitajima in Tustin @ El Camino and Newport is very good. Been some ownership change over the last few years but the current ones are great. Very inventive rolls and best to just have them surprise you. Affordable compared to the sushi nazi (sushi wasabi) at least half.
Their Spanish mackerel is the best!
We liked Bluefin but it has been maybe 4 -5 years ago. Anyone been lately?
if you think Sushi Wasabi is pricey the top joints in the OC are even more than that. But I do think the quality is significantly better to justify the price. I’m talking no california rolls and stupid names for the other rolls… just straight up good Japanese food/sushi, Omakase onlyplz.
My favorite Japanese restaurant in the OC is Ikko. They do a blend of sushi and cooked dishes at the bar. I was actually thinking of driving to Costa Mesa and eating there tmrw as the new Sushi Ike place in Pasadena is booked solid =(.
Slightly below Ikko in price/quality is San Shi Go in Newport. I think they take a few more chances with cooked dishes than Ikko does… the emphasis is more on cooked than sushi but they do a great job with sushi.
Best sushi (no frills) is Sushi Shibucho in Costa Mesa/Newport. Really tiny, 3 tables, 8 seater bar. You gotta call ahead. They do one seating at the bar a night. Just the sushi chef, his son and the chef’s wife working. Once they open the doors you see the steamers steaming the sea eel, freshly folding tamago… and just consistently good fish. Last time I went… I think I had… sake/beer about… 16 types of sushi and it was $80 after/tax/tip.
Another no frills sushi place is Ohshima… probably the “cheapest” out of the bunch. You can do about 20+ types of sushi (1piece per order) for about $80.
You’ve already gone to Nana San which is a great no frills sushi place, if you like it… I think Shibucho and Ohshima should fit the bill.
Try em all! Let me know what you think 
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Thanks for the recs everyone! Gonna try some of these places.
My favorites right now are Ikko and Sushi Wasabi. Have not been to Nana San yet, but I have it bookmarked.
Went to Kitajima last night and was firing on all cylinders again. We didn’t order anything, just asked him for his favorites. Fantastic.
They also had Kirin Brown beer. Never heard of it but was pretty good.
KOI in Seal Beach. Amazing fresh fish, great wine and Sake program.
I remember that place. Used to go a lot when I lived in Long Beach. Haven’t been in years. Great to hear that it’s still doing well. Got Ikko on deck for my next date night.
Just got back from Ikko. Did Omakase. Started off really well, with a mixture of cooked and fusion dishes along with fantastic sashimi. They also had Manjyu sake which I love. The chawanmushi with crab with crazy amazing. Halfway thru, my wife and I were saying, this is our new fav sushi restaurant. Then came the sushi. Hmmm…I dunno. We felt the sushi wasn’t on par with the stuff that came before and definitely not as good as Sushi Wasabi or Nana San. I don’t get it, everything was so amazing before the sushi. Sushi wasn’t bad per se, just not as mind blowing as the other stuff and we were right in front of Ikko. Maybe the wrong fish for us? Plus, the bill was a good $100 over Sushi Wasabi and that place was expensive. Gonna try the other places.
I don’t think sushi is their forte, as their cooked dishes are so impressive it outshines the fish.
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LB and I ate at Ohshima in Orange this past weekend. This smallish mom-and-pop restaurant gets raves on Yelp (a 4 1/2 star average from 418 reviews), and while I do like the fact that they don’t do rolls and do bring in some interesting species direct from Japan, we weren’t terribly impressed with the actual quality of the fish. Our favorites were the alfonsino and japanese scallop. The amberjack, whelk, and halibut were decent. Was not crazy about the cherry salmon, even though it is supposedly a “must try” according to Yelp. And the toro and hamachi were downright disgusting; never before had I had a piece of toro that was tough and chewy (frozen maybe?). Now I don’t know whether it was because it was a Sunday, or because we weren’t sitting at the bar (the wait was way too long) but a lot of their fish just did not seem all that fresh. Our total came to $160 before tip, which I think is too pricey given the quality, and we didn’t even order any alcohol! Corkage is $18 btw.
OOF. never eat sushi on a sunday. That’s a rule.
That’s really more a myth than a rule, I feel. I’ve had good sushi on Sundays, great even, provided the place is getting its fish deliveries regularly and on the standard days – Tuesdays and Fridays. But my guess is that Ohshima is not consistent with this practice (as I suggested, the alfonsino and scallops were great, whereas the toro and hamachi were terrible), or that the chef is not exercising enough quality control with his product.
I generally avoid Mondays over Sundays. Unless I know the place well at least.
That too.
Just had lunch at 9 Style Sushi in San Clemente - excellent. I will return for certain