Just came here for lunch again today, I've been coming here for sushi lunch abut 8 more times since my first review. Each time has been really good and fresh. I usually order the hand roll set + miso soup and the fish is pretty good. I've ordered spider rolls and assorted nigiri and they are really good too! Every time I went I had fantastic and fast service. Today was especially memorable, the waiter took someone's order and I looked over to ask for something and he happened to have missed it. The sushi chef behind the bar called him to come back. He didn't have to do that, he was busy making sushi! read more

Sagami - Large spicy tuna bowl - Sushi Bars Near Me - Irvine, California

Scary good Japanese food. It's akin to being back in Japan. The sashimi platter was all super delicious. The Nagoya chicken wings I think you can't get at very many places in the states. The hitsumaboshi is out of this world good. Especially if you get the one with Japanese eel instead of the Wuhan eel. The price premium is totally worth it. Cold soba and udons are properly done. Would eat here everyday if I could. read more

Sagmi is one of the many Japanese places I enjoyed my visit. Along side with Taiko on Jeffery and Walnut in Irvine, Sagmi is pretty decent. The space inside of Sagmi isn't that spacious but it is fairly good. I ordered the vegetable curry and compared to the other types of curry I have tried, I would say sagami has curry that is not too thick or too watery. It is just about right. The service is nice and we were able to get our food in a reasonable time. read more

Sagami - Sushi Bars Near Me - Irvine, California

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They have added quite a few new items on their menu in 2011. This was my first visit to Sagami in 2011. Quite busy on Tuesday nite. I tried and enjoyed their new item Maguro Yukke and popular item Oden as usual. read more

Sagami - Great Costumes on Halloween Night - Sushi Bars Near Me - Irvine, California

I've come here a couple of times if I feel like getting a quick bite of Japanese food to eat but this is my first time drafting a review. Things ordered before: Poke bowl: fresh, pretty ensemble, consistent in taste Sansei udon: TOO SALTY, udon is a bit hard. Overall nothing too spectacular about it Sushi: freshly made to order California and crunchy rolls: fresh, crunchy bits sometimes come out stale and sometimes come out great so it's a hit or miss Based on the wide range of inconsistency in the taste, I have given it 2 stars, but add one more for the freshness of the sushi read more

I came here for my first visit today for lunch with my family. The place is uncomfortably small, which made it difficult for them to seat my party of six. As hesitant as I was about moving tables to inconvenience the servers, they were willing to accommodate to our seating needs. Their warm and earnest service when we were being seated was impressive to see half an hour before their closing time. It didn't feel like they were rushing us to get our food and get out at all. YOU HAVE TO TRY THE CHICKEN KATSU CURRY. I've been trying to get comfortable with eating curry after a bad experience with Thai curry a few years ago, and this was definitely a great transition dish. The portion that you get for the meal is worth the $10.95 you're paying for it. With the chicken katsu curry, you get sweet potatoes, rice, and salad on the side (which is decent). The chicken was cooked well. The curry had just the right amount of spiciness to it. Have some rice with the curry if you don't handle spicy that well so the flavor isn't too concentrated. Once I became too full to eat anymore, it was too difficult to leave the small bit of curry-soaked rice I left behind. I know I'll be having dreams about this dish. read more

Sagami - Chicken katsu curry. This shit is life-changing... - Sushi Bars Near Me - Irvine, California

This location is pretty close to authentic Japanese food. They have many menu items! This is definitely not a very fancy restaurant but rather a more casual sit down restaurant. They is is pretty good and is pretty close to authentic that you can get in OC without getting too expensive! I got a couple different things on the menu here and everything tastes great! The service is quick for the most part with the exception when I went when my chicken took over 20 mins. Overall I like this place. It is a casual and easy place to go eat if you're looking for an authentic but cheaper side sushi!! It's hard to find especially since many non Japanese people can't tell the difference between authentic and Americanized Japanese food ! read more

Sagami - Tebasaki. SO GOOOOD. 10/10 recommend - Sushi Bars Near Me - Irvine, California

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Came here on a Saturday for dinner and the wait wasn't bad! It was about 15 minutes! It's not AYCE, so it was quite expensive. We ordered salmon nigiri, seared salmon nigiri, and unagi nigiri! They were all delicious. We also ordered Japanese chicken appetizer, and a unagi bowl. The appetizer was a miss for us. We didn't enjoy it, the combination was a little weird. The unagi bowl wasn't bad though! read more

Hubby and I were introduced to Sagami through a friend of ours, but we don't come here often due to us two are too lazy to drive 0.5 mile further to the center of Irvine for food @ night. We usually go to Sushi Kappo Suzumaru at Tustin which's near our place. Today we got Nabeyaki Udon and Sansai Udon. They are both good, the broth are not too salty for our taste. You'll feel healthy after you finish a bowl of udon there. read more

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Small hidden mall authentic Japanese restaurant. The fried oysters were wonderful, hot, crisp and briny. The agedashi tofu that came with my bento box was a nice treat! Service was on point. Attentive and quick. Definitely will go again. My best friend recommended this place, and she is Japanese. read more

This place has really gone down hill. We've been coming here for years, but not anymore. There were three of us at lunch. We basically ended up eating our meals one at a time, and they forgot the last of the three meals. They gave us a small discount and then after waiting even longer for them to make the last meal to go, they got it wrong... Drive 10 minutes farther and go to Kitayama. Way better food, service and price. You'll even save time, by not having to wait so long for your food. read more

Sagami is one block from my house, needless to say, I've had been there several times and they never disappoint. I am not an expert on Japanese food, but I have tried many Japanese/sushi restaurants and I can say the food at Sagami tastes better to me. read more

Sagami - Sushi Bars Near Me - Irvine, California

Is this a joke? Two sashimi platters and a hand roll and a beer for $100. It is stupid. They charge you for the platter and then they charge you for every piece of fish again. They are thieves. Unbelievable. read more

Was really looking forward to trying Sagami. unfortunately, food was not particularly good. The udon was nice and hot-hit the spot. The chirashi bowl was rather meager, especially the tuna piece-the size of a small eraser. You can get a better chirashi bowl at a supermarket like Matsuwa (or H Mart) Attn: manager (or young guy with longer hair managing the register) It is not cool to rush your customers out when they are trying to eat a meal. It was bad enough you plopped the bill before the meal was finished, but to come back 1-2 minutes later saying "are you finished?" when i was still eating? unbelievable. live within walking distance of Sagami, but wont ever be back again. sorry. read more

Sagami is such a hidden gem in the Irvine neighborhood! I stumbled upon this place via Yelp and I am surprised it's not more popular. I've never had a difficult time getting a table here but every time I come, no matter what time of day, there is always a steady stream of customers in this restaurant. The crowd is eclectic, with regular sushi lovers sitting at the sushi bar drinking with the sushi chefs, and families seated at the tables. The restaurant is small but cozy and has a nice, comfortable ambiance. One thing I like about Sagami is its authenticity. I've sat at the sushi bar multiple times and noticed that all of the chefs are actually Japanese! This is difficult to find in this day and age with many Korean and Chinese owned sushi shops. I also like the mom-pop feel, and it doesn't feel like I am dining at a cold, lifeless, sushi chain. I have noticed a lot of Japanese families eating here, which is always reassuring. First time I came, I tried their chirashi bowl. I feel it is a little on the pricey side (~$20) but the sushi was fresh and portion size decent. Last time, my husband and I tried an assortment of rolls, handrolls, and nigiri from the sushi bar and everything was stellar. I don't want to advertise this place that much because I want to still be able to get a seat here without a wait, but I definitely think this place is a hidden gem and it will remain on my regular sushi favorites list! read more

Came here on an afternoon- thought it was cheap sushi since it's in the middle of a strip mall but it wasn't... actually quite pricey. The fish was Ok and there was a lot of specials written on the board and in the menu, denoting that they do have special (hopefully that means fresh) fare regularly. My main problem though was the price, considering the couple of the top end fish ($15-20 per nigiri order of two pieces) wasn't that impressive. Solo lunch with plenty of raw fish ran about $100. I would probably prefer to spend twice that down at Ootoro. I think the main issue for Sagami is that it just needs to find its identity, high priced but mediocre fare won't cut it. Service though was great - cliche Japanese "ojichan" chef and some chirpy hosts. No issues there.... just isn't priced right. read more

We have been coming here for some time and love the food and service!! Food is amazing and you feel like you get a piece of Japan here. Love the sashimi and sushi here. We had omakase a few times as well. Price is reasonable for the quality! The picture we posted is largest sashimi combo we got! Wings are surprising good too! Service is great and super friendly! read more

I had high hopes for this restaurant. I normally go to Nanasan but tonight I decided to try Sagami because it had relatively decent reviews. I read other reviews and it looked like the premium Chirashi was the best thing to order. When I got the chirashi box I felt like there were very skimpy pieces of fish. The box wasloaded up with rice. There were large pieces of sweet egg and cucumber but very few pieces of fish. The fish was folded in half to make it look more plentiful. Happy hour only goes until 6 PM despite reviews that say that it goes until 630. Draft Sapporo was decent but it was not at happy hour prices when I got the bill. Service was pretty poor. I feel like they were trying to rush me out. I only spent about 10 to 15 minutes at a back table eating the chirashi but the waiters kept coming by to take plates off my table and see if I was done. They placed the check down in front of me before I finished my meal, trying to rush me out. I did not appreciate that. Normally Japanese restaurants pride themselves on hospitality and service but apparently this place does not. The poor service combined with the poor quality of fish make this only a one star restaurant. I am not coming back. read more

I arrived lunch time and was greeted with friendly service as I entered, the wait times are a bit longer than normal but understandable due to their small shop size. A bento box is a great option for lunch if you want to try a bit of everything that they have on their menu! read more

Sagami is my go to place for Japanese food. You'll learn real quick that it is visited by mostly those who appreciate Japan cuisine. It says a lot about the food! Delicious! The menu, showcases a lot of traditional dishes and is written in both English & Japanese. I typically go for the chicken curry and nigiri. The fish is always fresh and the staff is so friendly. A+++ for service! read more

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They do seem a little understaffed, like other comments have mentioned, but this was a good dinner and lunch experience overall. If going for lunch, try the tori namban - the juiciest chicken I've ever had. read more

Enter a tiny little restaurant hidden in an Irvine strip mall and find some real good Japanese food. Sagami is one of my favorite sushi places in OC. Not sure why the average is so low. Some of the best lunch deals I've come across. Out of the many lunch options, my favorite is their chirashi. All the fish inside are fresh and generous in portion size. If I'm feeling fancy, I like to go for the premium chirashi. Tuna and uni and sweet shrimp mmm. Cooked bento boxes are also tasty and a lot of food for the money. In addition, they have many traditional Japanese small plates and a la carte items. Yellowtail collar is delicious, but not as big as some other restaurants carry for the price. Udon did not win me over, being that there are places that specialize in it. Katsu and teriyaki dishes are yummy. read more

I started going to Sagami about 10 years ago when I was in high school. I recently came back this week and was amazed at how good the place still is. With my recent diet, I've been reduced to eating brown rice and chicken, and Sagami makes a mean brown rice and teriyaki chicken bowl. The chicken is all white meat and very tender, and the sauce is tasty... not overly sweet at all. I've also tried the donburi bowl and the sesame chicken bowl in the past, and those were delicious as well. I usually take my order to go, but for those that dine in, you will have access to a pretty decent sushi bar and a wide variety of sake to choose from. All in all, a pretty good "quick" Japanese place to grab a bite!! read more

we ordered the 70$ highest set and it came with three type of fish three piece each, small sweet shrimpx3, and some smudged uni that is suppose to be for 3-5 people not fresh I don't know how to hat is 70$ at all not recommended! read more

Amazing Japanese Restaurant They got great food, several sushi combo selections, bento box, nakotsu chicken joint was best and really amazing japanese food. I dont know why but my mouth keeps watering! Fresh tasty sashimi is very delicous. The service was excellent as they were quick, professional, dependable, and fair in price. You must go check it Out read more

Haven't had anything less than superb here. Traditional, authentic Japanese food. My favorite dishes: Chicken Kara-age (as good as it gets, even rivals my mom's!) Coroquette (sometimes beef, sometimes corn, always good) Yakiniku Salad (light and tasty) Cream Anmitsu (I must have this no matter how stuffed I am. SO GOOD and refreshing!) Mizu Yokan (also dessert, homemade by sushi chef) Obviously, the sushi is mindblowing. I am a sushi snob and this place gets an A+... or 5 Yelp Stars. They offer Toro regularly. Please be smart and get that immediately. I love the warm, melty Unagi and Anago. This isn't the type of place to get rolls (and I would urge you not to), but if you decide to go that route anyway the portions are very generous. Daily changing specials menu. Extra notes: service is great, limited seating. read more

Probably the top 3 best sushi places in all of OC. Their rice is on point. Perfectly al dente and flavored spot on. If anyone tells you they had good sushi because the fish was good, you have my permission to back slap them. Good sushi is all about the RICE, cooked al dente and flavored with the right balance of flavor. Good fish is a given wherever you go. Please don't say you had good sushi because the fish was fresh. Sit at the sushi bar but please don't order 1 roll and sit there for 2 hours; that's not what the bar is for. If you do that in Japan they would kick you out. Common sense and courtesy rules. Enjoy read more

This place is ok when you order cooked food. Pretty good actually. However their sushi is not really safe to eat. I ordered Toro and Uni nigiri- the two things i love- and their Poke bowl (pronounced po-kee),which is raw dice salmon (and/or tuna) with dice avocado,cucumber on sushi rice. I wanted to save my sushi for last so i ate the Poke bowl first. pretty good. It's basically just like salmon nigiri but instead of shaping it into a sushi, they just put everything in a bowl. I finished it and was excited to make a grand finale with my toro and uni. Fail big time. The Toro was so bad I had to spit it out. Tasted like rotten fish (which it probably was).A thick cut of rotten fish. YUCK. They were "kindly" enough to put extra wasabi hidden under my toro (between the fish slice and rice) so maybe it would kill the bacteria and the taste from that bad fish they gave me. Worst of all, they charged for $9.75 for two pieces of rotten fish. The Uni were fresh enough but they were $7.75. (those two items were shown "MK" (market price on the menu).Talked about overcharged! I could have gone to Kula or Sushilicious and ate the fresh and delicious toro they have over there for $4. So this is a fail experience for sushi. Will return for the similar Fukada items (cooked stuff) but for sushi: Never again. read more

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"...and on the seventh day, God rested and ordered sushi from Sagami" This fish on rice will change your life. If you enjoy the good things in life, you won't let another moment go by without trying Sagami sushi! read more

Sagami has come a long way since more than a decade back. It gives people the impression that it is an express japanese restaurant, but it's actually one of the most authentic japanese sushi joints. Their pork cutlet curry rice is surprisingly much more tasty than the ones from CoCo Ichibanya (sorry coco), miso nikomi udon and kishimen noodle soup are both served in ceramic hot pot and they are so so so unique and flavorful, I bet you you cannot find them anywhere else in OC. They have the freshest sushi / sashimi in town as well. read more

Sagami - Miso Nikomi Udon - Sushi Bars Near Me - Irvine, California

It's one of my favorite Japanese restaurants in Irvine. Great quality of sashimi and wasabi.

Ugh this place is NOT GOOD! I don't know who these people are saying this place is good but shame on you! I came in looking for a quick bite to eat and was craving Japanese and since it was nearby, I decided to check it out. I only ordered the poke salad and GoGo roll and ended up waiting FOREVER for a freaking salad and ONE roll.I think I waited more than 30 minutes for my meal and kept asking the waiter and he kept telling me "it's on its way". Finally when I ended up getting my slow meal, the poke salad tasted REALLY fishy. The salad was soaked in this gross fishy taste that my salad really was inedible. The tuna and fish did not taste fresh at all and I was so grossed out by the salad I only could take few bites of it. When I moved on to the GoGo roll, there was so much sauce drenched in the roll that the rice was breaking up every time I tried picking up a roll and it'll literally disintegrate on my chopsticks. Ugh never again. read more

Came here with some friends during my work lunch break. My "Yay! I'm a fan." is more for the meal I got. Everything else (service, place) is more of a 2.5 - 3 star. The FOOD and PRICE: I ordered the Noodle Lunch Set, which is your choice of Udon or Soba (a little extra for soba) and a mini rice bowl with select choices of meats or mini order or sushi. I got the Sansei Udon and Mini Sesame Chicken Rice Bowl. Sansei Udon is a vegetarian bowl with supposedly lots of mushroom. Mmm, not that much mushroom, but the udon and flavor was PERFECT! And my sesame chicken was really good. I was really stuffed! AND, for $8.45, I thought it was well worth it. Not super cheap, but a deal compared to other Japanees noodle places. Another friend got the same deal, but with a mini order of sushi... bad choice. He was still very hungry after. And I felt like the sushi there is NOT fresh, AT ALL. The PLACE and SERVICE: This place is TINY! And, upon first walking in, it reeked of FISH. And not the "oh yummy i want some fish now" but the "oh dear god where is the dead fish hiding?" That really turned me off, but my Noodle Set made up for it. But that smell made me think twice about ordering their sushi. Service was sub-par at best. Our waitress was not very attentive. When she dropped off another Udon bowl for our still hungry friend, she took away his chopsticks and didn't give new ones. Ummm what is he suppose to eat with? All in all, I think I'll be returning for the Noodle Set. My meal was delicious, the price was fair and it's pretty close to my work. read more

Sagami - Noodle Set: Sansei Udon and Sesame Chicken Mini Rice Bowl - Sushi Bars Near Me - Irvine, California

This restaurant serves authentic sushi. Not the best one I have ever in OC (sushi wasabi is better, but also cost more) but given a set of 12 pieces is either 34 (with uni, ikura amaebi, toro) or 27 (normal set), I think they are fairly priced for the quality of fish serving. In terms of skills, the chefs are skilled. Very well balanced portion of fish and rice. Rice spread out in mouth. 5 stars is given for what the restaurant at this price. I am sure one can find better quality sushi, but not at this price. read more

I have no idea why this place is so highly rated, but the majority of reviewers must not be coming here for the sushi. Sagami boasts terrible sushi, terrible service, and my girlfriend and I were *asked to move* within 10 minutes by the same server who seated us, and then wanted to make sure their table for "table for large parties" was available. There were 3 servers working and 6 other people in the restaurant, and no "large party" was seated before we finished our meal. The sushi did not taste or look very fresh, the texture was mushy, as if it had been frozen and thawed. Everything we were served was sub-par. Even the soft drinks were obviously poured out of a machine that needed to be brixed, and was running low on syrup. This is the 2nd time I've been to Sagami, and thought I'd give it another shot. Don't waste your time or money: go to the nearby Mugen or Maizuru, and get a far superior meal for about the same price. Better service, too. read more

I dont know why sagami has so many bad reviews. the food is good. Sushi is better than most places and the last few times I have been there the staff has been awesome. For what it is, which is a $$ japanese sushi bar that is not stuffy, its a 5 star. Its perfect for its category. read more

One star only because apparently there is no option to go Zero star. I had Hitsumabushi (eel on rice) because today is a day in Japanese tradition for eating eel. Supposedly brings good health for the rest of the year. (or, something like that) Service is awkward as always (because many customers order to go, therefore they are not geared for greeting eating-in customers well) Food was fine until I found a big piece of bone in eel. I have eaten eels hundreds of times and I know there are small bones, but this was big, hard and razor sharp. I showed it to a server. He said he would show it to kitchen people. I expected the owner rushing back to me to apologize. Some discount or offer of free dessert. Nothing. No apology, No discount, No nothing. The bone was big enough to potentially cause internal injury, had I not spitted out. It shows the total lack of customer care. I will stay far away from this place because I value my life. read more

We used to frequent Sagami before they remodeled and turned into a "sit down restaurant" and we used to love it! We visited them this past weekend for dinner and were gravely disappointed. Their mixed tempura was BEYOND greasy and the few pieces of veggies were a JOKE. They are no longer than two inches in length...to give you an idea. It was mainly zuccini and broccoli. No potato, no squash, no onion ring...nothing! Ohhh, but they DO serve tempura CILANTRO (or some kind of weed) as one of their veggies. Are you kidding me??? The tempura dipping sauce was room temerature, which is not acceptable. Their sesame chicken was leathery and had lots of chewy skin and cartilage still on it. Also very greasy. Didn't even swallow my only bite. The California roll was mainly all rice. And they only give you like 4 tiny pieces in the bento box. Also not up to par. The salad was mixed greens (like the one from Costco that comes in a box) with an obviously store bought THICK ginger dressing. Not light and fresh at all, but rather overpowering and just not good. And this is usually my favorite part of the meal... The service was HORRIFIC. He took our order and NEVER came back. No joke. No quality check on our dinner, no refills, no dessert, nothing. We had to get up and go pay the tab because we never saw him again. And they weren't even that busy! The food price was a bit on the higher end, but had it been good, I would have happily paid for it. The place was clean, but unfortunatley, they still smell like fish when you walk in the door. I was hoping this smell would go away after they remodeled, but I was wrong. Oh, I almost forgot. Their rice is good...but we are for sure not coming back for some sticky white rice! read more

I've drived past this place for years w/out trying. Figured any Japanese restaurant in the middle of a strip mall just isn't authentic. BUT, a family member who had lived in Japan x 7+ years referred us to the place. Emphasized that the owners are from Nagoya, so order what they do best: the miso. i.e. anyone basing their take off a spicy tuna bowl, CA roll, & other off the wall sushi that doesn't exist in Japan needs to get a clue, he furthered. So, we try the place. Was virtually a throwback from my last JP trip. Japanese-speaking personnel (hostess, sushi chef, more) & customers from Japan. The service could've been faster, but the food was GREAT. I was wary that this might be too sweet, but the miso udon was absolutely delicious. & the nigiri sushi was fresh & delicious! We returned the following week & loved it again. Many more visits to come! read more

After a long day at the office with hardly any energy to satisfy my craving for Japanese comfort food, I wandered over to Sagami around 8:00, located conveniently between the now-closed Mervyn's and Target along with La Salsa and Pasta Bravo. Sagami used to be this super-small, hole-in-the-wall walk-in counter that served rolls, hand rolls, and sushi to order, packed away in plastic and taken to-go. It has changed since then, now a legitimate sit-down restaurant serving tempura, curry, ramen, udon, and other Japanese traditional fare. I ordered the Potato and Beef Sukiyaki and took a ready-made Spicy Tuna Roll to-go. The total came to $25 including a $1.50 tip, definitely had to do a double-take on the receipt for that. The sukiyaki was $13.99 and the Spicy Tuna Roll took the rest of the bill. Yowzas! That's an expensive night in. Too bad I wasn't all that impressed. The sukiyaki broth was a little sweeter than I expected it to be, the beef was nicely sliced super thin and melted in my mouth, the carrots were al dente - wish they would have cooked them a little longer, and unfortunately the same with the potato. They gave a nice pint sized amount, but I wasn't about to eat all 100 grams worth of sugar in soy sauce broth with a mediocre amount meat and undercooked veggies. What can I say about the Spicy Tuna Roll that can make it exciting? I can't do that without any material to work with. The sushi rice was underseasoned, the seaweed was soft and soggy, and the tuna was loaded with spicy mayo so that all I had was the squishy texture of the chopped up tuna mixed with gloshy, siriacha mayo. The roll just had the tuna in it; no cucumber, no avocado, no sprouts. Can you believe a roll like that for $11 bucks? OUCH. My overtime hours spent at the office for food like this... quite disappointing. End verdict: wouldn't go here again! read more