We came out here for an appointment & was stayin across the street & was determined to try some good food which there's ALOT of lil gems out there but found this one. What's good is this place closes at 10pm & we did come in lil late. It a small place with a lil sushi bar which we'll try next time. I got their house sake which was very tasty. Hubby got tea but forgot what it's called. I got green tea ice cream & hubby got red bean ice cream which we HIGHLY RECOMMEND!! So good! The service was excellent! The vey nice lady was vey informative & takes great care of her customers. It's cute clean & very chill. We can't wait to go back! read more

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I honestly don't understand why this gem of a place isn't more popular. The food is consistent and good, the service is great even though it's a one woman show, and the prices are LOW for this area and quality. read more

The hubby was working out here & stayin across the way from this lil jem & he wanted to bring me here & it's so cute! It's so original & unique very comforting. The lady that waited on us was so friendly & informational very nice. The food is really good the ice cream goes so well with the sake! Yummy! I can't wait to come back& enjoy this lil place. read more

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The California rolls here are the best! Sweet lady running the restaurant by herself so come out and support! She's takes your order, makes the sushi and is the cashier. Prices are fair for bento boxes. read more

Amazing japanese home cooking! The woman that helped us out was very kind and attentive and made sure our drinks stayed full. Small, cute restaurant that has a pleasant and cozy atmosphere. I can't wait to return and try out the rest of the menu. read more

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Neat cozy place. It's so amazing and the lady is the sweetest. It tastes like a home cooked meal, every bite was delicious. Definitely coming back every chance I get. I would be here everyday if I could! read more

Sushi Sai - Salmon sashimi plate - Japanese Near Me - Monterey Park, California

This is one of the few Japanese restaurants that is Japanese owned. The owner/waitress has always been accommodating. She has one cook in the back, and it is a small hole in the wall restaurant that is easy to miss. The prices here cannot be beat, service may be a little slow when they are busy but worth the wait. Now about the food... I really enjoy the teriyaki chicken and tempura. The tempura is perfectly cooked and the chicken is not doused in teriyaki sauce and is always tender. The sushi is also great and you can get that with your combo. It is definitely not like other Asian restaurants that serve Japanese food and want to up charge you for everything. I always get a second bowl of rice because of all of the great food and they do not try and charge me an extra dollar or two like everywhere else. read more

Sushi Sai - Teriyaki chicken and tempura combo - Japanese Near Me - Monterey Park, California

Delicioso, authentic Japanese food. Not chain Japanese food. Everything was wonderful and the services was excelente.

Amaizing!!! I can with my bottomless pit boyfriend. We had mixed sashimi , tuna handrails, and spider roll and he was actually full. Thank you for a lovely meal. read more

Sushi Sai - Mized sashimi - Japanese Near Me - Monterey Park, California

Mom run business consistently providing good food in a modest space with nice artwork on the wall. Come for the food, stay for the people and art. You'll find friendly and personable service here. *addendum(10/26/23): since the passing of the husband a few years ago, the wife has been operating the restaurant along with a single person kitchen staff preparing hot dishes. Given the limited staff, of just two people, they run front of house, sushi bar, kitchen/back of house. read more

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Small, cozy family restaurant. Plenty of parking behind the restaurant. No wait. Staff are attentive and nice. Everything tasted good. Rolls are on the cheaper side but still pretty fresh. Perfect for a quick, budget friendly meal with no fuss. read more

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Second visit delicious and freshly prepared and friendly service. Tables are space nicely apart. Ordered Teri chicken and beef and was so tender and appeared to be grilled.over coals. The sushi and sashimi was fresh delicious perfection. Tempura brought to table piping hot. This is a hidden gem in Monterey Park. Parking in the rear. My new location for authentic japanese food. highly recommend and try it out read more

Best best best traditional Japanese teishoku in LA. They have sushi too. It's very simple but it's authentic. This is the same service you can expect for in Japan. They have shake, saba, etc. hit the spot read more

Chirashi what a great price and good sharing portion!! Their food is so good! Dinner menu, chicken teriyaki, beef teriyaki Cold soba noodles Just amazing, tempura is fried to order Shrimp is amazing and taste super good read more

Sushi Sai - Chirashi - Japanese Near Me - Monterey Park, California

Great food. It's simple Japanese food and tastes great. The couple that runs it were very nice and attentive. Food came out at a reasonable time frame. Would def come back read more

Is you want authentic Japanese food prepared the proper way, you need to come to Sushi Sai. The proprietor, Mariko, is very hospitable and her dishes are amazing! The sashimi combo is so fresh and well cut. The small side dishes are simply delectable! read more

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I love this place!! The food is delicious every time and the owner is very nice. I like to order teriyaki chicken with shrimp tempura which comes with soup and salad (really good and fresh). I really like the Kiran beer it's always really cold and serve in fancy clear glasses. I have also tried the ramen which is very good!! I totally recommend this place!! read more

Back here again for this amazing sushi I grew up with. I always love coming here to of course eat but it's a great quiet place to unwind! The sushi is the best and the beef teriyaki is the best teriyaki I've ever had, nothing had beat it. Will always come back to the place for more. The owner is very nice and such a hardworking lady. read more

Sushi Sai - Alaskan roll - Japanese Near Me - Monterey Park, California

Excellent traditional Japanese restaurant in Monterey Park for very affordable prices! If you prefer sushi and sashimi that doesn't rely on heavy sauces, this is the place for you. The chirashi bowl is a huge portion with fresh cuts of fish. The mackerel and yellowtail were especially tasty. I loved their miso cod appetizer and steamed mushroom soup as well. The restaurant is easy to miss since it's in a quiet suburban part of Monterey Park, but definitely worth the visit! read more

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Been here twice now and I think I've discovered the best place for Unagi! It's really a local joint owned by a Japanese lady and she's super nice. If anything, come support local business! First time I came here and had tempura, some nigiri varieties and mix sashimi. All were legit and I'd say good enough for a Japanese joint in the area. Second time, I had the Salmon shioyaki bento box. I thought the salmon shioyaki was a little on the bland side and required some added pepper and soy sauce to bring out some flavors. The skin was flaky and crispy though, along with retaining the moisture of the fish intact. But the hidden gem here is the Unagi (eel) dishes. That unagi is something else here Good spot if you want simple Japanese local dishes and skip the crazy lines of Kaiba and Shinano across the street. I'd say go for the bento boxes and sashimi! read more

As much as I love contemporary restaurants and places with a massive variety of sushi rolls, nothing beats intimate mom and pop shops, they're as authentic as it gets. The food is simple, clean, and straightforward, it's not overdone or overwhelming. My go-to is their spicy scallop roll, spicy salmon, and eel avocado. So good! read more

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My husband and I were looking for somewhere to pick up sushi to take home. Once we stepped in it felt comforting and there was no wait so we decided to sit and eat. We ordered 3 sushi rolls each and they were all delicious!! Super fresh!! The tiger roll was one of my picks and I can literally taste how fresh it was ! We ended our meal with the green tea ice cream and it was perfect! Turned out to be a great little date night... read more

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Authentic Old School Japanese Food. Done well. Fresh ingredients properly prepared with consistent quality. Tasty. read more

Sushi didn't taste fresh. Gyoza was very good though. Probably won't be coming back. Staff was nice. read more

Sushi Sai - Street View - Japanese Near Me - Monterey Park, California

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Smoky charbroiled teriyaki chicken, fresh tempura, salmon and sashimi. They have a family boat option, I love boats and family style meals. Small quiet mom and pop ambiance. Good service, I think the restaurant owner doing her best to be prompt Would go back again. read more

Sushi Sai - Combination Dinner menu July 2023 - Japanese Near Me - Monterey Park, California

I am always on the hunt for authentic food and I am so glad I found this local treasure. I ordered the Beef Teriyaki Lunch special and it was DELISH! The beef was cooked perfectly and the Teriyaki had the right amount of sweetness. I know ya'll will think I am silly, but the MISO SOUP! I tend to rate a place by the quality of the Miso especially when I get seaweed AND tofu. I know some places cut corners on this, but the Miso is what gets me excited for the main dish. I also had the pleasure to meet the owner, Mariko, and she is so sweet. She's been in the business for a while now (about 20 years) and the quality of her food shows how much she loves food. I want to echo my fellow yelpers when I say the food is very authentic. Prior to COVID, their specials were potato croquettes and Takoyaki. I don't know how much more authentic you can get, but I can't wait to try them when things go back to normal. Sushi Sai is open for takeout so, if you're looking for simple, unpretentious, Japanese food, I highly recommend Sushi Sai. read more

The Japanese food here is awesome. The staff is extremely friendly and accommodating. Will definitely continue to dine here. You will not be disappointed. Enjoy read more

Everything was amazing,service,food,I would comeback with my,we all love sushi and love oriental cuisine and culture,it feels like traveling back on time,my respect. read more

I only consider yelping a restaurant when it deserves my time and effort to praise their establishment. This restaurant has been our family spot for over 10 years!!! Many wonderful memories;) Haters here do not understand that a good meal will take time to prepare. For our family is a time well spent as we wait for our dishes, We have our Sake, beers appetizers etc. The dishes are prepared with care and detail and are made fresh. This is NOT A FAST FOOD OR DRIVE BY RESTAURANT! If you are in a rush it wont be for you. Come with friends and be ready for great conversation as your dishes are being prepared in front of you. Table seating and counter. Mariko is a SUPERWOMAN Give this restaurant your own star you wont be dissapointed read more

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A hole in the wall!!!! The best place in monterey park for some good sashimi and drilled salmon. I love getting the combo that includes a side of miso, salad, and rice. The grilled salmon is perfectly grilled where it's not dry and the skin is crispy. The sashimi is nice and thickly sliced for a great price. I believe they gwt really little business due to covid so on Saturdays it's very empty. I would call ahead to double check when they're open since I the hours are incorrect. read more

I heard many great things about this place and I had to try it out. The food was delicious and the service was great. I definitely recommend this place and will be coming back! read more

This seems like a friendly old time mom and pop little sushi joint but everything took soooo long, even trying to get some attention from the waitress... Sorry but we had hungry kids waiting to eat. There was only one server so we totally didn't get the attention we needed. Food took too long. They forgot to give us one of our orders and before we can cancel it they seemed to quickly start making it to avoid the cancellation. We didn't want to wait another 15 minutes for a single dish. It was even hard to get the waitress to give us our check because she was way too busy doing other stuff. The food itself was just mediocre, it was not worth the wait. We probably will not return. read more

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Originally planned to go to Kaiba but it was way too packed. Yelped around and found Sushi Sai and it was not packed. We were hungry and gave it a try. Ive been here before and there is nothing great about this place. Its a small sushi spot. It was 8pm Friday night and I walked in for a party of 6. There was only one server but not all the tables were occupied so I thought ok. Ordered Udon noodle soup for the kids and California rolls. The rolls were a little salty. The udon was very bland. Edamame took about 15 mins for our first order to arrive and when we ordered a second order, it did not come out until we asked for the check -_- I felt really bad for the server because she was none stop on the move. As the night progressed, more customers started coming in. We ordered: Salmon sashimi which arrived at our table as salmon sushi, yellowtail sashimi which came out at the end of our meal (think they forgot about it and decided to give it to us at the end) Also came out as sushi. Yellowtail collar, dynamite appetizer (not enough flavor), 4 different rolls. -They need to put more servers on the floor especially on a Friday night. -Maybe get another sushi chef as there was only one behind the bar. -Food needs to come out in a timely manner because it was all over the place. Ive been here before but I don't remember it being this bad. They need to step up their game. I guess I cant complain because this was not in our original plan. read more

Update 3.08.19: I've heard they have lowered their prices. I haven't been in recently so I can't confirm but hopefully this isn't because they're trying to bring in more customers. Sushi Sai deserves all the love they can get--bring your friends and your family if you're looking for hearty, comforting, and delicious Japanese food! :) --- It's funny - it's true that the things you expect to like the least usually end up being some of the things you like best. This was one of those places for me... call me judgemental, but the lack of livelihood in sushi sai the first time I came here made me question it. But as I read through the reviews, I couldn't help but feel the same love that many of the regulars here feel for this establishment. If you look past appearances, the food here is actually really good. Portions are just right and the quality is great! They serve really good sashimi for a really great price - especially when you get it as a combo with your choice of entree. But beyond sashimi, I think they have some of the best spicy tuna / california rolls I've ever had! Who knew something so simple could be so good... Salmon shioyaki is also good as it is always moist with a nice slightly crispy skin. The woman who runs the restaurant is clearly hard working and I think she deserves more credit than people give here.. yes, service is slow because there's only two people running the place.. but I think the care that they put into their food speaks volumes about what Sushi Sai is supposed to be about, and more than makes up for the amount of time you spend waiting. On that note, definitely don't come if you're impatient or short on time, but this is a great place for people who don't mind filling the silence of the restaurant with their own conversations. read more

Food was great, as was service. Feels like a little hidden gem, will definitely go again.

Excellent sushi, lovely little family restaurant. I recommend the big boat of sushi. Yum. read more

It's so hot now, so the cold udon noodles, sushi and beer are perfect! The prices are very reasonable too, and the staff are lovely. The space is very clean, with a sushi bar and tables that can sit couples or large families. read more

Why is it so empty here? I know most of restaurants get less customers during weekday dinner time, but come on! Not a soul except us? Now I think about it, I think the reason probably has to do with their restaurant location - no pedestrian on the street at all during night time. Not only that, it doesn't have the sexiest food selection (chicken/beef teriyaki, mixed tempura, short ribs, approx 10 different types of sushi rolls, etc). Spicy tuna rolls ($5.75) - Very good spicy tuna roll. Too bad that it wasn't spicy at all, or this dish has the potential to be a 5-star dish. I liked the miso soup, pretty flavorful. Overall a solid 3.5-star restaurant. Service was pretty friendly and food was decent. read more

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Keeping the family tradition going! Good food and good place to eat sushi in Monterey Park. Highly recommend. Sad that the chirashi bowl is not on the menu anymore. However, everything else is good! Keep it up Mariko! GO GET TOGO RIGHT NOW. THEY HAVE TOGO. read more

They have to go bento boxes ! I usually order their salmon bento box with spicy tuna rolls on the side. The spicy tuna is so good and they do not overwhelm the amount of rice surrounding the sushi rolls. They are always on time when we order to go. Definitely a great place for sushi and bento boxes from my experience. read more

Sushi Sai - Store front of Sushi Sai - Japanese Near Me - Monterey Park, California