Very mediocre food. The menu is both overwhelming in volumes and underwhelming somehow... The sushi felt like sushi you'd order at a restaurant doesn't have a sushi chef. Kinda like ordering burger at a Mexican restaurant. The curry was odd... I can't put my finger on it but it tasted off. Too much sugar? Too much coconut milk? Not sure, but it was not what I'm used to (I've tried over 20 yellow curries in the LA area). Also the prices are wild, higher than most places in LA proper. read more

I gave an extra star for the service which was nice but food itself is really just 1 or 2 stars. This place has an expansive menu, as it has both Thai and Japanese food to offer. However it doesn't quite do either very well. Portions are small and cost is expensive. One of the things we ordered was udon and it was $10 for literally soup and plain udon. No garnish or anything added. It definitely caters to people who don't care about authenticity or don't know what Asian food really tastes like. Sadly I will not be returning. read more

Best beef sukiyaki in LA let alone Pasadena, CA. Good customer service and if you're a regular they know what you want! VIP

Our go to! Awesome sushi and great cooked dishes, fantastic service. Owners and drivers know you after a couple of visits and are siways accommodating. Try the Richie Rich roll! read more

Best yellow curry in town!! Do not sleep on this place just because they also sell sushi. Very good quality fish. I have been coming here for years. Great beer selection too, friendly service and large portions. Try the fries too read more

Outstanding service. We are visiting Pasadena and just decided to stop by. Cozy place. Friendly, great tasty food. Will definitely be back next year when we will have our convention again. read more

This place is amazing! I love coming here for sushi and drinks. We also DoorDash from there a lot. They have top quality fish and super delicious sushi! Highly recommend! read more

This restaurant is amazing! Their food tastes wonderful and they have so many options between sushi and Thai dishes. We can't wait to go back again and again! read more

Super fresh and tasty!! Very creative with their menu!! It was a family dinner with nine of us.

Decided to try this place after seeing how cute it was on the outside! Love going somewhere with a good vibe! It's a bit pricey but that seems to be most restaurants in this area with this type of food. Really really good sukiyaki! read more

Oba Sushi Thai Tapas - Beef sukiyaki - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

Oba is the combination of what used to be 2 separate restaurants, and it shows from the name down to the menu. Several pages of sushi and Japanese options follow a full suite of Thai-style tapas, and while I didn't try either restaurant before they combined, it's easy to imagine that few items were cut from either menu after the merge. Though pricey, the Thai dishes are the clear standout between the two menus. Tapas like larb, thai asada, and papaya salad offer a mix of traditional flavors with some creative twists, and each one I've tried has been bright and well-balanced enough to be worth it despite the smaller size. The Japanese dishes, while solid, don't generally stand out the same way. Items like the sukiyaki and teriyaki are more or less an average rendition of these recipes, making it hard to justify the higher than usual price tag. None of these have been bad, but they don't really stand out the way the Thai dishes do. After trying Oba a few times now, I can say that you'll have a pretty satisfying meal I'd you stick to the Thai dishes and allow some of their more unique ideas to shine. read more

Oba Sushi Thai Tapas - 3 Flavor Calamari Plate - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

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Lots of food choices! Love the tapas selection. Customer service was great even though one of our orders was forgotten but we were stuffed already and didn't really need to eat more. Ordered the only sashimi platter they had on menu which didn't impress me. You are better off ordering the individual sushi items. Sushi was good but had better. I'd still come back to eat here thoughtA few plates were missing and wasn't able to post them. Enjoyed the energy in this place and loved to see a lot of regulars coming in. read more

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Great place and they have a variety of food items on the menu. Perhaps a bit pricey compared to other sushi places with everything considered but stil a good option to come and visit and try. read more

The food was amazing, the variety and portions were great. Will definitely be returning. Servers were welcoming and efficient.

Trekked an hour to try this restaurant after being recommended by a friend and was not disappointed. We ordered an array of dishes and all were amazing! Service was fast, friendly and accommodating - we will definitely come back! read more

We just moved to the area and we were excited to explore the surrounding restaurants. We kept our eye on Oba because the wife and I love sushi. We would drive by and notice how busy the place looked from time to time and that gave us confidence that food would be good. One things about us is we love spicy garlic edamame, when we ordered we got excited because there were levels to the spiciness of it. We asked for their top level and it was freaking amazing. Not only was it spicy but it just had a great taste, we'll balanced. Over all the staff is very friendly and helpful, they're attentive and easy to talk to. We ordered 3 rolls and the one thing we immediately noticed was how fresh the food tasted. This is a place I would recommend to anyone and bring my friends and family. read more

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My family and I have been coming here since 2008 and it's one of our favorite restaurants. The staff are so kind and the food is always delicious. The space has big windows and is bright, and the place is almost always busy (because it's so good!). When my brother and I went to college, we would always make a point to go to oba when we came home for the holidays or break. read more

We went to Oba restaurant for lunch on June 13. The waitress was extremely rude. Our feelings immediately went way down to unpleasantness. It's not worth dining there. We left before she spoke to us again. read more

The service is extraordinary. The superfriendly staff made excellent recommendations and were very accommodating for our large party with kids. The best time to come here is during happy hour from 4:30 to 7pm. The large selection of Izakaya items (basically appetizers) and specialty rolls are 15% off. My favorites are the crispy rice spicy tuna and the shishito (peppers with bonito flakes). I've been here a few times now and the sushi has always been fresh, but I still prefer the assortment of appetizers and rolls over anything else. I had the soft shell crab roll, dragon roll, spicy yellowtail roll, rainbow roll, shrimp tempura, and even tried an order of spicy fries for the kids. Definitely one of my favorite places for Japanese in Pasadena. There's plenty of parking but come early of call ahead for reservations. There's usually a 15-20 minute wait during peak lunch and dinner times. read more

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Wow! The Richie Rich Roll is one of the best sushi rolls I've ever had. So fresh and delicious. Oba is a great spot! read more

Been going to this restaurant for many years now. This is by far some of the best fresh sushi in the area. I always recommend that if you love great sushi, order off of the special fresh menu on the wall. Always fresh, always attentive, just a fantastic family run business. Not all of the options are "traditional" Japanese, but their twist is so freaking clean and tasty, your mouth will thank you for it. Truth is, almost none of the Local sushi places are actually traditional, it's all westernized. This just has an amazing flavor and flare. This is my 1# choice for sushi and tapas in Pasadena. They also have awesome Thai. I know that sounds strange, but they used to have two different restaurants and merged them together. Both are fantastic, but I personally prefer the Sushi and Izakaya. read more

My first time here & will definitely be coming back! I love that the Edamames came out fresh and piping hot because some places give you cold ones. Sakana roll - 5 piece roll of salmon, tuna, albacore, yellowtail, wrapped in soy paper. Very fresh and filling, love all the different types of fish in one roll. Blue crab handroll with soy paper - big plus that they dont mix it with gross mayo. Simply just delicious blue crab meat read more

Oba Sushi Thai Tapas - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

One of the best sushi places in Pasadena! The food at Oba is fresh, creative, and most importantly delicious! The sushi chefs come up with new flavorful concoctions for their signature rolls but still execute things we've all come to love like California and spicy tuna rolls perfectly. Another major reason to come here is that they also serve great Thai food! Classic dishes like Pad Thai or Pad See Ew are great and more modern dishes like the Tamarind Shrimp (my favorite here) are all sure to please any palate! They also have great, friendly service and have basically partnered up with any food delivery service you can think of so feel free to enjoy some of the best sushi and Thai food in town directly from bed. read more

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we have known this team since 2002! Lilly is like family to is and we same with the whole staff! we have been bringing our kids here since my 14 year old was born and the staff would hold him and care for him while we ate! we have raised our three kids on this food! we love all of them and this place is always our #1 spot for sushi! ama ebi and Miko hotate are to die for! we love u guys! XOXO the Kisers! read more

I got the Unagi Don ($16), Salmon sushi ($5.50), and Uni sushi ($7). For a restaurant that has 3.5 stars on Yelp, I was surprised to see the place full on a Tuesday night. Had a regular dining experience here, nothing negative and nothing super amazing. The fish was good despite what other reviewers are saying, but I'd recommend against getting the Uni sushi since it was just two thin slices (I usually get more at other places). I was a bit surprised at how the Unagi Don was one of the expensive entrees given its regularly-sized portion size and how its doesn't take expensive ingredients, but it was good, so I'll give'em that. The waitresses/hostesses are friendly and I saw they greeted a lot of regular customers. read more

Oba Sushi Thai Tapas - Salmon sushi ($5.50) and uni sushi ($7) - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

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This was our 1st experience bringing our kids out since COVID began and Oba was our choice after going to the Americana to eat at Din Tai Fung and being overwhelmed by the crowds. I called to make a reservation within 30 minutes and they gladly accepted us. All of the food was delicious! We felt safe in their outdoor dining space. The staff was lovely and even gave our kids an extra packaged treat. Overall I hope to come back more often and encourage others to support this small business. read more

Oba Sushi Thai Tapas - Dining area - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

I came here when the restaurant was Rice and now it's Oba. I ordered my old fav, yellow curry medium spice and it was pretty good. I had to take it to go because I was getting my hair done at a nearby salon. The customer service was interesting (more and the prices are a little more than the average Thai dish at a comparable restaurant. I had the shrimp yellow curry with brown rice (no drink) $20. The portion size was decent. Would I go again ? Probably, this time I'd go with somebody to compare experiences. read more

Absolutely loved Oba! Came for my daughter's birthday and the service was amazing, the food was fresh and delicious, and everyone that works there is so nice and kind! My favorite dishes were the chirashi bowl, jalapeño yellowtail, garlic noodles, sashimi plate, shrimp tempura and red curry! It's so great to be able to pick from a Japanese and Thai menu! Will definitely be back and highly recommend!! read more

This review is for delivery via DoorDash! We took a gamble ordering delivery from this spot and surprisingly it did not disappoint! - albacore roll - salmon roll - yellowtail roll - shrimp/veg tempura - crispy rice spicy tuna - lotus chips (v small portion) + delivery fee + service charge + tip = $53 Was well worth it to have a good spread of Japanese food in the comfort of your own home! Was tasty, fresh and packaged well. I look forward to checking this spot out in person one day! read more

The people working here are wonderful. I love their food too. Awesome neighbor gem. I've been coming here for years. Thank you.

Oba is hands down my favorite sushi spot in LA. My gf and I had friends recommend this place and when we first looked thought no way is this going to be as good as Sugarfish or other specialty sushi spots. We were way wrong, it was much better. The fish is amazing and price is even better, but the best part of Oba is their service and attention to detail. Each server helps out and stops by but our main server Lily has become a friend. She makes us feel welcome, remembers all our favorite orders, and we usually just ask her what to eat tonight and she always has great recommendations. You'll always see the owner Kunche on site and she will be just as busy as the rest of her staff making sure her guests are happy. Thank you Oba for making us a part of your family read more

Been coming here for years and don't know how I am just getting around to this well-deserved review. Sushi and Thai are two of my favorite foods. And they do both so so well. The sushi rolls and nigiri are fresh and well executed. The thai tapas are flavorful and balanced. The staff are the best people. We always feel like family when we walk through the door. They love my kids and my kids love them. #foreverpatron read more

This place was soo good, we had the paradise roll, the popcorn shrimp roll and we had to the try the crispy rice and i have to say it was all sooooo good. For dessert i didn't think i could eat anymore but the cheesecake our server recommended was 10/10. I would recommend this spot to anyone AND it was our first time here!!!! read more

One of my absolute favorites!! I'm so glad that they stayed afloat through the pandemic! I love their HH choices and their food/drink options in general! read more

High expectations, but Oba Sushi was a complete disappointment. We attempted to order online, called the order in for pick-up, we were told it would take 45 min. Then decided to walk in because it was not crowded. Sit down service ridiculously slow too! We ordered the Richie Rich Roll, dynamite roll and Popcorn shrimp roll. All three disappointing and overpriced. Pasadena has great Sushi restaurants, this is not one of them. read more

Oba Sushi Thai Tapas - Dynamite Roll. - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

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The staff is awesome, the service is fantastic and I always get the Larb which I love with green beans spicy but delicious. And we're neighbors my clients also love Oba it's so nice to have the Restaurant In the complex there able to grab lunch or dinner . There truly consistent with there dishes. read more

This is our go to local sushi joint. My family and I have been coming here for over 10 years. It never disappoints.

Time to UPDATE my review! First I should tell you that I work right next door at Pro Fitness, as a massage therapist. I can smell the food while I'm working and it makes my stomach very noisy, lol. This place is family friendly, which is lovely *but* I wish they didn't seat small children along the wall that's under the TV. It is literally the other side of the wall from my massage table. When children kick the booth seat or hit the walls with hands, we can hear and feel every movement on the other side. Went for date night with my wife last week, to check out new menu and location. Oba used the be on the end of this strip mall but swapped places with sister restaurant Rice, now in corner. We had: Oba fries - holy moly, is that crack in the seasoning? Couldn't get enough of that flavor! Asian short rib - delicious, tender, delicate flavor Beef kushiyaki - ditto from above Bacon wrapped scallop - not as good as last time. The scallops are small even for bay scallops and were overcooked and therefore tough. Tempura veggies and tempura shrimp - Geez, probably the best tempura I've ever tasted. Light, crispy and served piping hot. Spicy tuna on wonton crackers - so good, we ordered a second plate. "Pretty In Pink" cocktails. Yummy, will attempt to make this at home. read more

This used to be the old Rice Thai Tapas, and then they combined it together with Oba Sushi. Now you can get Thai food and Japanese food in one place. Both the Thai food and the Japanese food are pretty good. The Thai menu is a lot smaller, some noodles and rice dishes, curry, and some appetizers. The Japanese menu has a much larger variety in terms of rolls and sushi. Overall, the food is pretty good. They also have happy hour for those who want to get some discounted food and drinks. Service is decent. The place is somewhat divided in half so it might be a bit difficult to flag down a waiter at times. Parking: Free parking in strip mall. read more

I absolutely Love this place... Food is always perfect and the customer service is amazing. Particularly the lady name Kat... she's very helpful and delightful. read more

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