Dakara is by far the best Sushi restaurant I have been to! Love to go with my kids menu has great variety of yummy food! Love it

I'd rate this place a 3.5/5 having been to extremely tasty sushi places this hits middle of the road--came in at 5 right after they opened and there wasn't any wait which was great, fairly quick service as well. I ordered a few things off their regular menu as a couple specials they had. Salmon sushi: Very good quality; tiny portion of fish Yellow tail: Very good quality; tiny portion of fish Spicy Tuna Roll: The color threw me off a tad, more pinkish and looked like imitation crab meat; however, it tasted very good. Smaller roll but I didn't mind the size as much as I did with the sushi. Specials I ordered were the A5 Wagyu Sushi and O'toro sashimi, both were very tasty; however, generally when ordering sashimi portions and cut are different than when you order sushi. This was no different, thin slices of O'toro (5 of them) that I had to roll into circles to get a solid bite. I'm used to the chef throwing extra chunks into the plate as well--this didn't happen. The Wagyu was tender and had a lot of flavor, no complains on preparation there. Would I come back? Yes, just due to the quality and lack of good sushi places in the area. Joy sushi in Whittier has better position sizes but this place blows it out of the water in terms of quality and taste. read more

I have had Sushi all over Cali and after reading the reviews on Yelp, I was very disappointed. Has no one ever eaten at a real Sushi Bar? First the service was not good, a little Japanese lady running all over (I felt sorry for her). The Sushi Chef took our order, but the lady got it wrong. And the food is way over priced. I order the Beef Teriyaki, which tasted list stew beef, horrible, brought it home for my dog and he wouldn't even eat it and he eats everything. The shrimp tempura was about as big as my little finger and the sushi was very small. Today we went to Joe's all you can eat Sushi on Beach Blvd. and enjoyed it very much, now that is Sushi, and we paid less than at Dakara. Won't be coming back her again! read more

The people were super nice! I was hoping to make this a regular pick up place for us... Unfortunately the food was not great.....

Love it!!!!! First time trying this hidden gem. Honestly I was turned off by the 2 $$ this place is quality sushi and so reasonable. This will be my new favorite place and only .5 mile away from my house! The service is amazing and very clean. A must try in Whittier read more

I don't care if this place has good food or not. The owner or workers there have no sense of community. Local x-county team stop in for water and the runners were turned away for wearing runners shorts. If This restaurant wants support from local patrons they should give support in return. I will never again eat at this place. They are prejudice against boys who wear running shorts. How petty. If anyone feels the same as I do. Don't eat at this place again. Step up and support our runners. read more

This restaurant has the best sushi I have ever tasted! The fish is fresh and melts in your mouth! The albacore with garlic butter sauce is especially delicious. I like the combo plates, which are a little small on the portion size, but make up for it in quality. The staff are friendly and attentive. read more

It's a little pricey at first glance, but you can tell by the taste that the price comes from the high quality of the food. The staff is really friendly and the chef exudes pride in his work that really shows up in the food. When I arrived it wasn't busy, but soon after large groups started filing it and were treated like family. It's a really welcoming atmosphere! I felt bad after reading they serve species of tuna that are very endangered, so I'm not sure I would want to go back and support that, but I really enjoyed the basic tuna and eel sushi I ordered. read more

The tostada was yummy and so was the crispy rice with spicy tuna was delicious, too. Four stars only due to the portion sizes.

This is amazing and authentic, chefs and owners Jason and Saori are gracious and knowledgable. They are Los Angeles and Japan trained chefs. Jason himself, is a La Serna Grad and a local boy who loves good quality food. The baby black snapper, miso, yellowtail jalapeno sashimi and green tea were authentic and superb! They have replaced the old restaurant and are in a different class! This is NOT an Americanized sushi place so EVERY bad review on here does not know what they are talking about. On top of that, they have only been around less than 5 weeks, so any bad reviews are not your 99% experience. You can tell by what the reviewers ordered: teriyaki, tempura, rolls , that they expect an americanized, excess bento box or something low quality with high maintenance customer service. CMON people! Get some culture! They just got their liquor license and are branching out. THIS IS NOT for people who want to get full or eat cheap cuisine other places CALL japanese. This is for the food lover, the lover of true Japan, the lover of subtle tastes and friendly, gracious owners who will take time with you. So basically, if you put soy sauce and wasabi on everything and want teriyaki or california roll, go get a fake americanized japan experience somewhere like all the major chains...But if you want real food and real tastes, come here. I will never go anywhere else for Japanese in Whittier/La Habra area but here again. LOVE IT! read more

Excellent dinner tonight. Daniel and staff were great, only thing better was the toro sushi!

I'm giving 4 stars because the food is fresh and delicious. Service is okay but they do try. The specials are great, but the serving sizes are a bit skimpy. read more

The sushi here was amazing! I definitely recommend the specials as the flavors were the best I have ever tasted ( and I have tasted from other restaurants from all over the country since I travel quite a bit for work). The service was top notch as they were very attentive to drinks and napkins and anything else we needed. To top it off, the location wasn't something you would expect a great restaurant to be at, however, that is what makes this restaurant special...it is a hidden gem among unpolished stones that are littered all over this small community. Parking shouldn't be a problem as they have spaces in the front but also to the rear as well as to the side which is a small distance away. Definitely my favorite new place for sushi as the chefs here, I have found out, have a reputable resume!! read more

Highly recommend. My most favorite sushi place. Their sushi is very fresh the rolls are not too big, excellent customer service. This is the spot! read more

Very quaint place, great service and very good and fresh sushi. You can also make reservations.

I feel my 3 stars are over generous, I wasn't really impressed with the presentation of the food, the flavor or feel of the over all restaurant. BUT the customer service was Great, they were very nice and attentive. This is my second time coming and the experience was over all mediocre. Plus my daughter and I ordered a strawberry Mochi desert and it upset our stomach. I doubt I will come here again read more

This was a great dining experience. As a previous poster relayed, the service is friendly, fish is delicious, and establishment is clean. The couple who runs the place are so down to earth and know the business. I know Whittier residents have a tendency to enjoy bigger, sloppier, flashy rolls with tons of sauce and tempura hanging out from every corner. This place however serves dishes sleek in presentation and fish that is delicate, fresh and tasty. Definite Hollywood/West L.A. quality. I wish they served wine and their prices were a little lower but I guess you get what you pay for, which is damn good sushi! I'm a sushi snob and I loved it so there you go. Definitely coming back. read more

The tuna sushi is really good. Literally melted in my mouth lol. Also I recommend getting the crispy rice w/ spicy tuna, that's really good too and the garlic zucchini as an appetizer. Overall this place is really good for a low key location. Should try it! read more

What can I say since I've moved to Whittier this has become my happy place! Chef Jason has a big bright colorful personality and is eager to please! Very fresh cuts of fish, simple menu with a hell of a Chef doing a hell of a a job. I'm not giving the full five stars due to the fact that I'm not impressed with the rolls, but then again your don't come here for rolls people. Stick with the Sashimi, or Sushi and you will leave a satisfied customer every time!! read more

We are creatures of habit ... our favs are Dakara roll, spicy tuna donburi, braised beef w/mushrooms over wasabi mashed potatoes, crispy rice w/spicy tuna, albacore crispy onions, apple ginger pork donburi, yellowtail collar, chirashi. Can't say enough about Chef Jason and staff! read more

Update: still amazing but to be honest, we are probably not going back anymore since the food just takes too long now. Really would recommend an additional sushi chef, especially on Fridays! read more

I didn't believe that this was authentic sushi but it's true... best I ever had hands down!

Very good authentic Japanese restaurant. I can always tell authentic Japanese restaurants as all their flavored are very different in each dish. Sushi was fresh and another tell tale sign if a good Japanese restaurant is that the rice is cooked perfectly. Both the sushi rice and bowl of rice was cooked perfectly. We will definitely come back. Only gripe ...wish pieces of fish were a little bigger. However their prices compared to some Japanese restaurants are lower. read more

This place is great! We ordered edamame, miso soup, California Roll, Dakara Roll, Baked Crab Roll, Albacore Shrimp Tempura Roll and Rainbow Roll. All were great! We wish they had a larger selection but are very pleased with everything we tried. read more

AWESOME!!! The wagyu beef sushi was INSANE!!! Melt in your mouth...garlic-ee goodness!!! Everything we ate was some of the best sushi I've EVER eaten!!! Well done!! read more

Bombest sushi/Japanese food around without a doubt! The fish is the freshest, the dishes are on point. I can't eat any other sushi now... thanks Jason. read more

Came here with my sister the other night looking for a quick grab dinner. I'm giving them 5 stars for the quality of food I've had. We ordered tempura and I must say it was cooked to perfection. Batter was crunchy and delicious down to every bite. Then I also had uni sushi which is sea urchin and it was hella good. Reminds me of the freshness and the goodness of the food I've tried in Tokyo years ago. This place a highly recommended. read more

Well, this is my first time trying out this place. I'm actually very impressed with the service and food. At first I tried the salmon and it was a bit chewy sushi chef gave me another and it was outstanding. Yellowtail was amazing. I'll be returning all the time. read more

Really clean place. Loved the green tea!!!! Reasonably priced!! Good happy hour and specials. Friendly staff! Will be back for sure!!

Been here 4 times since they recently opened and have thoroughly enjoyed the food. We've tried the Salmon Sushi, Chirashi, Uni, Tamago and Tempura. The fish are very fresh and of great quality . . . amongst the best Sushi that can be found in the SoCal. Highly recommend. It is a bit pricey but you get what you pay for and they are serving quality seafood in their menu. read more

If your idea of Japanese food boils down to chicken teriyaki, beef teriyaki, spicy tuna rolls etc. then this might not be the right place for you. Sure you can order that here, but then you'd be missing out on all the REALLY good stuff! I'm talking about the miso cod, braised beef, lightly battered tempura, fresh sashimi and so on and so forth. The owner is a highly trained Japanese chef who graduated from Serna back in the day so God bless him for coming back to his roots and elevating the food culture here. Show Dakara a lot of love and check 'em out! read more

Let me just start be saying that this is the best sushi restaurant in Whittier. For those who don't know, the chef had experience at Katsuya and they brought over some of the dishes. It's a really nice family-owned restaurant and you are truly catered to from the time you walk in to the moment you leave. The food is delicious and reasonably priced and it is my go-to restaurant. If you live anywhere near Whittier, stop in and get the albacore with crispy onion. read more

Great authentic sushi place and awesome chef. Ordered a simple cut roll, tasted great and fresh. The spicy tuna is a must order item, made from top grade tuna. read more

Great sushi!! Everything was fresh and the service is amazing. Jason is awesome! Love the small setting.

My husband and I wanted some sushi but didn't feel like making the trek and fighting the Friday night traffic to J-town. My husband searched and found Dakara and decided to take a chance. I'm glad he did! Everything we got was super fresh and delicious. The yellowtail and albacore sashimi was like butter. We also ordered the spicy tuna on crispy rice, sweet shrimp sushi and some spicy albacore & yellowtail handrolls. Minus one star because the service was pretty slow...there was only one sushi chef and they also forgot our edamame. The sushi chef felt bad and offered us ice cream on the house but we declined. We wanted to try the dessert place next door instead. We left satisfied and will definitely come back. read more

One of the best newer restaurants in Whittier! I've been here 5 times now in the last couple months and everything is top notch!! Jason and Saori really know their stuff! read more

Dakara Sushi - Saori doing what she does best! Jason may beg to differ.. - Japanese Near Me - Whittier, California

See all

It's the best Japanese food in Whittier! The fish is fresh and is a good quality. The typical sushi choices are done well and the specialty items like the crispy rice and tostadas are great! The other dishes have developed flavors and are made from quality ingredients. Staff is friendly and service is prompt! Prices are reasonable for what you get. For hot dishes we like the braised beef dish. read more

Sort of like a little hole in the wall but wow is this place tasty! I ordered the crunchy roll, the crispy rice with spicy tuna and an order of spicy edamame. All three were really tasty, and you can tell it's a little higher in quality than your average AYCE joints. My coworker ordered the spicy tuna soy paper roll and popcorn shrimp lunch special. The roll was really good, but the popcorn shrimp stole the show. Not quite sure what kind of sauce it's in, but it's delicious. Overall, it was so packed with flavor I would definitely be coming back. Don't come here expecting a bunch of rolls packed with crab meat and cream cheese. The menu is somewhat simple but the flavor goes a looooong way. read more

I feel like I finally found a good sushi place in my neighborhood. I don't enjoy Joy Sushi where more than a couple of my orders were gross. Like mushy sushi rice, brown avocado. What I really liked about dakara sushi was the quality and freshness of their food. My avocado was ripe but not overly so. Everything we ordered tasted great and the staff was very friendly as well. A plus is that they sell beer, too. read more

This place is SOOOOOO GOOD!!!! And the service is great! It was almost closing time and they were still taking our orders and being extremely nice!! Loved the food and service definitely recommending read more