Right when you walk into the restaurant the sushi chefs give a warm welcome right when you walk into the door which I have never had in a restaurant in my life before. Came in with a couple co-workers and sampled a little of everything. Umami Kani 2/4 didn't take a picture couldn't taste any crab just tempura. We then had the stuffed jalapeño great flavor and had a little kick 5/5. For dinner we had 5 rolls. Spicy tuna 4/5, spicy scallop 3/5 pretty basic and bland, shrimp tempura 4/5 great crunch, lobster roll 3/5 for the price and description written it was pretty lackluster. The highlight for the whole table was yellow submarine. Great flavor!!! read more

SOTA - Stuffed jalapeños - Japanese Near Me - Corona Del Mar, California

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The best in town! Beyond the customer service and fun staff....sushi grade Yumminess!! Happy Birthday Natsuko read more

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Their sushi is excellent. Very fresh. Love the Cabo roll and ono. The crispy rice was also amazing.

First time here. Ordered a little bit of everything. Got the snow crab sushi and kinmedai sushi. Crab had no flavor. Tasted like it was pre cooked then heated up in boiling water.... and the color of the kinmedai fish had turned grayish.... never seen it like that before. I ordered kanpachi sashimi. I didn't know it came with ponzu sauce on top. It was a lot of sauce. I went for lunch. I'll give it another try next time. I'll change my review if its better the next time around. read more

This place never disappoints. The staff is friendly and the food is beyond fresh and delicious. My favorites are the mushroom miso soup, the Sota pops, and my the reason why I'm willing to make the hour and a half drive at least once a year, the Jellyfish sashimi!!! read more

Best sushi ever. Love the staff and the food is 10/10. The burrito and Magede roll are incredible

Great food even though not very authentic and have never seen a Japanese person dining there. That being said the food is fabulous, the dining room is charming and service is good. I love their spin on sashimi, caprice!! read more

I have been going to Sota for almost a decade. Moved away but still come back anytime I am in the area. The sushi is fresh and unique. Try the fatty 5 and you will be hooked like I am! BEST sushi anywhere!!!!! read more

Best sushi rolls in town. Mag-a-de, Cabo Roll, Lobster roll, and spicy tuna crispy rice are top on my list. Also try seared scallops with truffle. Chefs and staff are friendly too! Also can ask for fun omakase sushi to try too! read more

SOTA - Omakase Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Corona Del Mar, California

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Sota is my family's favorite sushi restaurant! We go weekly and never get disappointed with everything.

My husband and I dined with friends at Sota while on vacation in Corona Del Mar. We were pretty excited to try several of their dishes including the Crispy Rice and Surf and Turf Roll. Though the food was delicious there wasn't anything that we had that would bring us back in again. The drinks were very strong but almost to the point of being difficult to drink in the case of their cucumber martini. We were also disappointed in the portion sizes relative to the price. read more

SOTA - Cocktail - Japanese Near Me - Corona Del Mar, California

Maybe an off night? I came in 20 minutes ago and was seated by the window. No one came up to my fiancée and I for 20 minutes. Once I ordered (3 rolls, 2 miso soups and an entree) I waited another 15 minutes just to get my misos and only received them after I reminded the server that I ordered them (he had already dropped off the rolls) Then they forgot to bring out my entree FOR THE DURATION OF THE ENTIRE MEAL so I just sat there and watched her eat. I asked him about my entree at the end of the meal and he had forgotten to get it so it was just sitting in the kitchen the entirety of my dinner. I unfortunately didn't get an apology or it taken off my bill either. I feel bad because the staff was really nice but Jesus it was one of the worst dining experiences I have had. I gave 2 stars because my fiancés rolls were pretty good. Wish this was handled better. read more

Came here on a Tuesday during lunch hour and it was surprisingly not busy at all! This place is VERY authentic in my honest opinion. We got seated by the bar so we had really attentive people tend to us! Got some dishes that we could share, but bear in mind that they serve quite small dishes. So don't plan on coming in here toooooo hungry! Everyone here is very nice, friendly, attentive, and professional! I loved the vibe here and if you enjoy Japanese, you'll enjoy the conversations the chefs have because it is for the most part in Japanese. Honestly their culture really is interesting! The one dish that stood out to me A LOT was the yellowtail neck (i believe that's what it's called). Every part of it tasted different, whether it was more meat-y or more melt-y in your mouth- HIGHLY recommend! Be warned though: Parking is a pain in the butt. They don't have a place nearby that has a lot. Just a lot of metered parking and neighborhood parking. If you're planning to come here, make sure to scout the area for parking spots! read more

SOTA - Yellowtail neck - Japanese Near Me - Corona Del Mar, California

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Sota, Haru, Ivan, I love you boys so much!!!! Missing my fave fun sushi spot w the best naughty oyster shooters hehe NEKO SAN WILL RETURN!! Haru, plz have my fat Uni hand roll ready to nom haha : read more

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Came here for a birthday dinner of 12 people and honestly should've just got pizza next door. Don't bother coming if you're coming as a big group, they will take forever to bring out the food, let it sit there until the seaweed gets chewy and then blame the chefs on the wait. Would have said it's decently priced if it was better in taste, but very small portions and could've been better. read more

SOTA - kasan roll and sota pop roll - Japanese Near Me - Corona Del Mar, California

SOTA has been a favorite of mine for many years and I haven't had a review for it. If you like omakase you are in the right place! The SOTA sake is very good for the price. If you like cut rolls you will be happy but I highly recommend nigiri or hand rolls. All the staff is very accommodating and friendly. SOTA is popular so be prepared to wait for a bit because they don't do reservations but it will be worth the wait! read more

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This was the worst Japanese food I've ever had. The tempura batter was like old fish sticks. And there was no variety of vegetables, either I don't recommend this restaurant. read more

This place is so amazing because it has really good food. And sushi is my favorite food! read more

Sota is a wonderful person and chef. The food is absolutely delicious and the workers are so kind. Everything we ordered was awesome especially the wagyu!!! The rolls are fresh and tasty as well. read more

The food and customer service was great. Very clean restaurant. Thank you for a great dining experience

The best sushi in CDM. Great chefs that are personable and can't say enough about the quality for the price point.

The best sushi in Southern California! Fish is always fresh and beautifully presented!

Come here all the time now since it has opened everyone is so nice and friendly and the sushi is so yummy. Sushi is very fresh and high quality for the price-point. read more

Very nice sushi spot we enjoyed the food and service good authentic sushi Will definitely go again. Lively atmosphere also. read more

SOTA - Soft crab prepared from scratch very tasty. - Japanese Near Me - Corona Del Mar, California

If you love sushi, omakase is always the way to go. If you love whiskey, Sota Sushi has over 30 bottles of Japanese whisky hand selected by Sota himself. If you're looking for a good time, I totally suggest you make a reservation for the bar and bring friends. It's a total party if you're down to let the night happen, but that really depends on the company you keep. Arrived to a corner seat at the bar for a 6:30 reservation with friends. Nothing special was being celebrated other than Friday vibes, but with Chef Ivan taking care of us for the evening, I was in for a special treat. Formally a sushi chef at Mizu in Tustin where I frequented for a bit, it was a pleasure to see him at his new digs. As we waited for another friend to arrive, we started with a round of beers to kick off the weekend and shishito peppers to snack on. Once we were all settled in, we all decided to do omakase for the evening. The opening sequence was absolutely amazing, which set the bar and expectations high for what was to come. Running down the list, we started with maguro, chu-toro and toro. Like, how does it get any better from here?! For the rest of our omakase, we had: Kanpachi, Ocean Trout with sakura no hana (cherry blossom paste), Tachiuo, Aji (Horse Mackerel), Kinmedai (Goldeneye Snapper), Hotate (King Scallop), Bonito and its bones fried to a crisp, Bafun uni flown in from Japan, Gindara (Black Code) topped with frozen foie gras shavings, Negitoro hand roll, Akamutsu and Cabo roll. As we started slowing down on food, the drinks appeared endless. Among the chefs and with our group of four, we shared several bottles of beer (large format bottles of Asahi and Sapporo) and sake (Yoshinogawa). The guys also indulged in a taster of whiskey, three choices recommended by Sota. I can't even remember exactly what we had, but there was Hibiki, Iwai and a coffee malted whiskey. By the end of night, we couldn't have left any happier. It was such a gathering of great vibes! read more

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What a gem! Was in town staying at Pelican Hills resort and was craving sushi. I didn't want a Nobu scene so opted for a locals joint. Was easy to get a last minute reservation and greeted with so much warmth and smiles from the sushi chefs. Ordered nearly everything but loved the Santa Barbara uni and the traditional sushi nigiri the most. The chefs also experiment and make some unique and tasty rolls. The friendliness and humor of the chefs was entertaining and fun! The fish was fresh and experience on point! Can't wait for another visit. read more

Very fresh fish, got a few items to go incl shrimp sashimi and a few other sashimi off their popular list along with tofu salad. Highly recommend this spot for takeout or to dine at read more

I'm giving this place 5 stars for the OVERALL experience that I had at this restaurant. My friend and I came to this place using YELP since we were in CDM and I'm so glad we picked this place!! My friend and I got rolls, I got the rainbow roll which was pretty good, maybe a bit pricey for the amount of fish I got on the roll but it was overall good. My friend got the shrimp tempura roll and it looks drenched in a dark brown sauce but I think she enjoyed it. (she's white so don't think she could really tell loll) We also got the garlic edamame and it was delishhh. Then we decided to get drinks, I don't usually drink and she hadn't tried a sake bomb before so we decided to go for it. It was SO FUN!! One server girl brought us through how to set up the sake bombs with the small glass and the draft beer. One of the chefs also joined us for our first shot and we got to do the "SAKE" "BOMB" "SAKE" "BOMB" "SAKE BOMB BOMB BOMB" and .... ya, it was pretty awesome. Loved the people who were working and would definitely come back just because of the great experience I had the first time. (: read more

SOTA - Rainbow roll $14 - Japanese Near Me - Corona Del Mar, California

We had a surprisingly below average night at Sota hence the stars. I would normally be inclined to rate a 4 based upon past experience so perhaps we can call this an overall 2.5-3. The downside to this experience was really slow service and some average tasting food. We arrived starving and so it taking 15 minutes to get 2 oysters seemed intense especially with a half full restaurant. They were tiny but tasty Kumamotos. We ordered some rolls as we were kind of craving certain flavors and there was a wide swing in quality. The first was the virtuous Sota pop - a cucumber wrapped roll on a stick. Cutesy gimmick rolls are usually less than good and this was pretty below average. Too many flavors coming together to provide the taste of a tuna salad sandwich wrapped in cucumber. There was no way to distinguish the salmon, tuna, shrimp and snowcrab in this roll. We also ordered the lobster roll which flavor-wise was good but I bit down on a sizable shell and worried that I cracked a tooth. I didn't, yay! Pretty sloppy work. The negi- toro, fatty tuna roll with scallion, was really good and finally the kampachi nigiri was excellent. Overall this was not our best experience with Sota however I have had some much better experiences before. I hope it was a bad night not a slide downhill for good. read more

SOTA - Sota 'Pop' - a mess of mushed up indistinguishable flavors. Good concept, bad execution. - Japanese Near Me - Corona Del Mar, California

The ABSOLUTE BEST Sushi we have ever had. The service, energy and overall experience is awesome! The chef's special he created for our group of four was amazing! read more

SOTA - Chefs Special - Japanese Near Me - Corona Del Mar, California

The absolute best! A must try! I've never had better sushi or a better experience. My number one place to go! My son who wouldn't even try sushi ate everything placed in front of him! Can't get better than that. Everyone is always really nice & accommodating too! Perfect date night spot! read more

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Being a person that is vegetarian, this isn't my first choice restaurant. However, my tofu salad was delicious, as well as my veggie rolls! This is the first sushi I've ever liked and enjoyed! I usually don't like the taste. The regular and spicy edamame was also tasty. I heard the mushroom miso was also good. read more

SOTA - Veggie rolls with no see weed - Japanese Near Me - Corona Del Mar, California

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This is easily my favorite sushi restaurant. I usually just eat the specials of the day but my favorites include the live octopus, cherry salmon, the live botan shrimp, bluefin with truffle oil and the live scallops. The restaurant itself is warm and inviting and service is attentive. They remember what you like to drink and how you like things. It's great! read more

Disappointed with my experience here and I would not recommend it. The service was bad and the attitudes we received from the sushi chef was not okay. We were the first customers in line and got seated first and put in our orders soon after. Being at the bar, they weren't attentive at all. We ordered the majority of our items in the beginning and at one point we sat idle with nothing. We asked for the check multiple times and never received it until we finally told a different worker we wanted to close out since it had been over 30 minutes from the time the order was put in. Immediately a chef interrupted and told us "you're not the only customers here". It was really uncalled for and unprofessional. We had waited for awhile, so I was confused when this chef said that aggressively to us and also because that's first contact we had with him our whole meal. He wasn't the chef we put our order in with initially. The worker and chef insisted they were working on it and pushed us out the plate to us after we said we wanted to cancel that part of the order. I understand it's a small business so we tried to be understandable but as customers, we felt uncomfortable sitting there and it wasn't enjoyable at all after the chef's comment. I'd be more understanding if it was a full house and we had just gotten there. We finally got the check and proceeded to leave, the workers didn't say anything. I wouldn't recommend Sota based on my experience. read more

Amazing spot! Gem of a location right on PCH in Newport. Amazing quality food. Worth the price! Good ambience and definitely a good place on a Saturday night. Staff was awesome definitely recommend 100%!!! read more

SOTA - Food - Japanese Near Me - Corona Del Mar, California

We were so lucky to get a table on Saturday night. Place was super busy and after you eat here you understand why. Great atmosphere coming from the staff at the sushi bar and the food is terrific. We really loved the crispy rice appetizer. They were kind enough to make it with crab for us. My daughter had the jidori chicken and said it was one of the best she has ever had. Since she is super finicky, this was a big deal. I had the yellow submarine roll and it was excellent. Small restaurant with limited seating so make reservations. Parking is pretty limited. read more

Very fresh cut rolls and sashimi tempura lightly battered and delicious! wonderful service we have been back 2 twice

Best and freshest sushi in town! They get super busy so you need to be patient. Burrito roles are my very favorite

Very yummy sushi!. They do not take reservations and it is usually hard to get in on a weekend but it is worth a little wait. The service is good as well! read more

They offer a great variety in their menu. Al items are made from the best ingredient available. Whether it's for lunch or dinner, this place will fulfill your sushi cravings. read more