Saijo - Los Angeles - Culver City
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I really enjoyed my lunch at Saijo. I had the lunch special and added a couple of items ala carte. My favorite bite is the Hokkaido Uni and the Beef Skewer. Connor gave excellent recommendations and the service was friendly and professional. Great space! I'll be back!
When my friend suggested this restaurant, I didn't even look at the menu because I was like, well, it's Los Angeles. Even though I have dietary restrictions, I'm pretty sure there's going to be something on the menu that I could eat. Now when I got there and I saw the very brief menu, I was stunned and I was like, oh my gosh, I should've looked at the menu before I came here This looks like I'm about to be eating a bunch of raw fish. But to my surprise when I looked closely, I was able to see that there was a whole section of grilled foods and appetizers that I could eat. I ended up ordering: - the miso soup - the edamame - the cucumber salad (for appetizers) - sea bass - oyster mushrooms - shrimp - the ginkgo nuts Every single food item that I ordered was delicious. I was genuinely surprised by how flavorful everything was and I was particularly impressed with the sea bass and oyster mushrooms. These two dishes were phenomenal. I don't know how they made that sea bass so flaky and moist and just melt in your mouth but it was so good. I don't know what sauce they put on top of it but that thing was amazing. The oyster mushrooms were so good that we ordered two more orders of it. For the edamame, the only thing I didn't like was that it was served cold. I don't know if that's like a traditional way of serving it or something but I'm used to having my edamame be served warm or hot so that was unusual for me. The server was amazing, super attentive and very kind. He always made sure we had what we needed and there was even something that was mistakenly served to us but he took it off the bill and allowed my friend to eat it anyway so we were grateful for him. He was also really good at explaining the menu and the dishes that he liked. The vibe in here is social but a little classy. There were these ladies that were sitting to the left of us and one of them just randomly started talking to us and asking us if we were from the neighborhood, which was a little odd because... why are you asking me those questions??? Other than that the vibe was fine and I would definitely come back here again. One thing to note though is that the food is served kind of like tapas style so if you're expecting massive portions and to be stuffed to discomfort, this is not the place where that's going to happen.
I was really pleasantly surprised at the set menu options and their fairly low prices and went with the highest end one for more food. The seaweed of the hand rolls were perfectly roasted and fragrant. The fish was fresh (wish they didn't dice up the Toro and salmon so much though). The skewers were really delicious and flavorful! A couple were a bit salty, but there was a ton of umami. I feel like the whole dining experience was fun, and I didn't have to wait so long between each thing like I've had to at other hand roll places that were busy. I'm glad my party of 4 got a corner of the bar since that way we can talk to each other.
Saijo does handrolls in combo with yakitori which I think is an interesting concept. The fish was fresh and sometimes they have seasonal uni which is delicious! I do think that there should be an option for either the handrolls only for the yakitori only because I didn't think either was that amazing. The seaweed could have been grilled a bit more for crispiness. Service was fast and casual like any handroll bars. The ambience is also nice.
I got the 4 hand roll for lunch and chose: - salmon - spicy tuna - albacore - bluefin tuna It was pretty good, lunch menu is a pretty solid deal. I can't remember exactly how it compares to Kazunori but I want to say comparable if not better since it has minimal wait. Seaweed was crispy, rice was good. Ambiance was nice and much larger than Kazu so you don't feel as cramped. Of all the hand roll spots, would probably come back here as a go to
This is the Wegovy of hanroll restaurant...! It started ok... the wait wasn't too bad and the service was quite pleasant. There are 5 different types of prefix menus. The 4x4 was the most reasonable one... The rolls are quite tasty and the nori is perfectly crispy... I was impressed... However... as soon as I got home... I was VERY ill... something is not right.. and I can't tell what... All of the fish in the rolls were minced... so maybe something in it was bad...? Maybe the cucumber? The yakitori skewers were all well done.. I don't know... my spouse also has similar symptoms (maybe not as bad)... ... feeling chills... this is one expensive way to get sick...
A friend and I came here spontaneously this week for an impromptu dinner. It was lovely! The staff was really friendly, and the food came out quickly and tasted delicious. I only got photos of a few of my items, but everything I had was delicious, including the spicy tuna, hand roll, the oyster mushrooms were incredible, I really enjoyed the shrimp and chicken skewers as well. Great spot! I'll definitely be back.
Agree with an earlier review that overall the food is fine but nothing special, and that the pace of the meal is rushed. They would serve the next course while I had 2 courses still being worked on. The couple good bites I had were the smoked toro roll and signature but would rather have just had it untouched. Maybe this is just me but I also thought it was gross that the chefs would hand you the sushi directly while also handing other customers sushi directly without glove changes. There's a chance that other customers touch the chef's hands on accident and those gloves go on to make and serve so much other sushi. They already are in the practice of placing the hand rolls on the counter for you to grab, but not the "one bite" ones despite having the specific serving dishes for those to keep them together.
We loved Saijo and would absolutely return! The wait was a bit longer than the 25 minutes we were told but it was worth the wait (plus, they let you order wine or sake while you wait)! Service was very friendly, attentive, and the space was meticulously cleaned with a relaxed vibe. Staff were consultative on the menu and had great recommendations as well! For the food: Miso was great, a little smoky, I could've drank 5 of them. Cucumber salad was light, savory, and delicious, highly recommend. Edamame was the right amount of salt, tasted fresh, really great. Lobster & blue crab hand rolls were absolutely delicious, I don't always order hand rolls and these changed my mind, can't wait to try these again! Kushiyaki - chicken wings, beef were fabulous but the A5 Wagyu was the winner, cooked perfectly, melts in your mouth! The potato left a little to be desired, it tasted pretty plain. Overall a great experience, would love to try the rest of the menu!
This is definitely in my top 3 handroll places that I love in LA. Plus they serve some yakitori/izakaya dishes. They have a variety of menu choices from 2x2, 3x3 and also an omakase menu. If this is your first time here, I highly suggest you start with the 4x4 menu. It's the right amount of food for 1 person and if you're still hungry, you can add maybe 1-2 other dishes or hand rolls. The 4x4 set comes with 4 hand rolls and 4 Yakitori/izakaya dish plus a bowl of miso and edamame. It's only a counter bar seating so may not be good for large groups but you can definitely bring a couple of friends or a good spot for a date night as well!! Service is quick and the front of the house lady is very accommodating. Also, Tatiana is my favorite server. She's very pleasant and treats her customers very well. Loves how she knows how to interact with people and not just take your order. She's just a lovely person!! If you happen to be in the LA/Culver City area, this should be part of your dining experience. Also a good spot to either have a quick lunch or dinner before heading to LAX as it's only about 15 mins from the airport.
Perfect Solo Date Spot in LA... Saijo Handroll in Culver City is the perfect spot for solo dating with delicious bites and atmosphere where I find calm and relaxation. The one bite uni was my absolute favorite along with the salmon and tuna handrolls. The grilled sausage on the stick caught me by surprise because it was so juicy and flavorful. There are many surprises at Saijo and I wish my stomach was a lot bigger to enjoy more of the menu. The service was fantastic and enjoyed eating solo because the environment made me feel relaxed. I can't wait to come back when I am in the Westside.
I really wanted to like this place, but I feel like I'm missing something. It's rare that the food I receive looks A+ but actually tastes like a C. I placed a to-go order and upon opening it, everything was nicely packed and looked pristine. Unfortunately, the good experience ends right there. First of all, it's absolutely a sin to serve sushi rice that hard/tough. I mean, this was literally some of the worst sushi rice we've tried; it tasted just like regular supermarket sushi straight out of the fridge. On top of that, the sashimi was sliced so thinly that it felt like a joke for such a highly-rated place. I had high hopes given the reviews and the branding, but this was a letdown. Maybe the quality is better if you dine in, but I wouldn't recommend the takeout.
Great new sushi spot on the west side. I like the concept of including kushiyaki to sushi as it gives more variety. The absolute stand outs of the menu though are the one bite hand rolls which are more like 2 of fish on standard amount of sushi rice presented to you in a half rolled piece of seaweed. I think getting several of those is the best way to go. I'm also a big fan of salted chicken wings so was quite happy to be able to add that for some extra cooked protein. Definitely worth a try! Seating is all countertop so definitely more of a casual spot similar to kazu nori
2 months ago
Went here for a date night and we really enjoyed ourselves. It's a very small and intimate restaurant where you sit at the bar top so I'd only recommend going in small groups as I imagine it's hard to talk to people unless they're sitting next to you. I loved that it was a mix of raw hand rolls and cooked skewers. While the place is pricey and the wait can be long, we thought the food was great. The handrolls were exceptional and so fresh. I loved that each dish came out freshly made and handed to you but do wish they didn't come out so quickly. As someone who is a slower eater, it was a bit overwhelming how quickly the food came out and the skewers would get cold as I couldn't eat fast enough. However I assume they want to turn around tables quickly so I don't think it's a grazing type of date night spot. We really enjoyed both the handrolls and skewers and look forward to coming back soon! read more
First time at this spot and was not disappointed. They have a super affordable lunch special (but it doesn't include the skewers, which are a must have.) Their typical lunch or dinner combo (not the special deal) has skewers as well but is a bit pricier. we ordered the skewers separately this time, but with how good it was, I will definitely get the regular combo next time. read more
28 days ago
I really enjoyed my lunch at Saijo. I had the lunch special and added a couple of items ala carte. My favorite bite is the Hokkaido Uni and the Beef Skewer. Connor gave excellent recommendations and the service was friendly and professional. Great space! I'll be back! read more
When my friend suggested this restaurant, I didn't even look at the menu because I was like, well, it's Los Angeles. Even though I have dietary restrictions, I'm pretty sure there's going to be something on the menu that I could eat. Now when I got there and I saw the very brief menu, I was stunned and I was like, oh my gosh, I should've looked at the menu before I came here This looks like I'm about to be eating a bunch of raw fish. But to my surprise when I looked closely, I was able to see that there was a whole section of grilled foods and appetizers that I could eat. I ended up ordering: - the miso soup - the edamame - the cucumber salad (for appetizers) - sea bass - oyster mushrooms - shrimp - the ginkgo nuts Every single food item that I ordered was delicious. I was genuinely surprised by how flavorful everything was and I was particularly impressed with the sea bass and oyster mushrooms. These two dishes were phenomenal. I don't know how they made that sea bass so flaky and moist and just melt in your mouth but it was so good. I don't know what sauce they put on top of it but that thing was amazing. The oyster mushrooms were so good that we ordered two more orders of it. For the edamame, the only thing I didn't like was that it was served cold. I don't know if that's like a traditional way of serving it or something but I'm used to having my edamame be served warm or hot so that was unusual for me. The server was amazing, super attentive and very kind. He always made sure we had what we needed and there was even something that was mistakenly served to us but he took it off the bill and allowed my friend to eat it anyway so we were grateful for him. He was also really good at explaining the menu and the dishes that he liked. The vibe in here is social but a little classy. There were these ladies that were sitting to the left of us and one of them just randomly started talking to us and asking us if we were from the neighborhood, which was a little odd because... why are you asking me those questions??? Other than that the vibe was fine and I would definitely come back here again. One thing to note though is that the food is served kind of like tapas style so if you're expecting massive portions and to be stuffed to discomfort, this is not the place where that's going to happen. read more
I was really pleasantly surprised at the set menu options and their fairly low prices and went with the highest end one for more food. The seaweed of the hand rolls were perfectly roasted and fragrant. The fish was fresh (wish they didn't dice up the Toro and salmon so much though). The skewers were really delicious and flavorful! A couple were a bit salty, but there was a ton of umami. I feel like the whole dining experience was fun, and I didn't have to wait so long between each thing like I've had to at other hand roll places that were busy. I'm glad my party of 4 got a corner of the bar since that way we can talk to each other. read more
Saijo does handrolls in combo with yakitori which I think is an interesting concept. The fish was fresh and sometimes they have seasonal uni which is delicious! I do think that there should be an option for either the handrolls only for the yakitori only because I didn't think either was that amazing. The seaweed could have been grilled a bit more for crispiness. Service was fast and casual like any handroll bars. The ambience is also nice. read more
I got the 4 hand roll for lunch and chose: - salmon - spicy tuna - albacore - bluefin tuna It was pretty good, lunch menu is a pretty solid deal. I can't remember exactly how it compares to Kazunori but I want to say comparable if not better since it has minimal wait. Seaweed was crispy, rice was good. Ambiance was nice and much larger than Kazu so you don't feel as cramped. Of all the hand roll spots, would probably come back here as a go to read more
2 months ago
This is the Wegovy of hanroll restaurant...! It started ok... the wait wasn't too bad and the service was quite pleasant. There are 5 different types of prefix menus. The 4x4 was the most reasonable one... The rolls are quite tasty and the nori is perfectly crispy... I was impressed... However... as soon as I got home... I was VERY ill... something is not right.. and I can't tell what... All of the fish in the rolls were minced... so maybe something in it was bad...? Maybe the cucumber? The yakitori skewers were all well done.. I don't know... my spouse also has similar symptoms (maybe not as bad)... ... feeling chills... this is one expensive way to get sick... read more
Business owner information
Takeshi K.
Thank you for sharing your experience. We are so sorry to hear about…
A friend and I came here spontaneously this week for an impromptu dinner. It was lovely! The staff was really friendly, and the food came out quickly and tasted delicious. I only got photos of a few of my items, but everything I had was delicious, including the spicy tuna, hand roll, the oyster mushrooms were incredible, I really enjoyed the shrimp and chicken skewers as well. Great spot! I'll definitely be back. read more
Agree with an earlier review that overall the food is fine but nothing special, and that the pace of the meal is rushed. They would serve the next course while I had 2 courses still being worked on. The couple good bites I had were the smoked toro roll and signature but would rather have just had it untouched. Maybe this is just me but I also thought it was gross that the chefs would hand you the sushi directly while also handing other customers sushi directly without glove changes. There's a chance that other customers touch the chef's hands on accident and those gloves go on to make and serve so much other sushi. They already are in the practice of placing the hand rolls on the counter for you to grab, but not the "one bite" ones despite having the specific serving dishes for those to keep them together. read more
We loved Saijo and would absolutely return! The wait was a bit longer than the 25 minutes we were told but it was worth the wait (plus, they let you order wine or sake while you wait)! Service was very friendly, attentive, and the space was meticulously cleaned with a relaxed vibe. Staff were consultative on the menu and had great recommendations as well! For the food: Miso was great, a little smoky, I could've drank 5 of them. Cucumber salad was light, savory, and delicious, highly recommend. Edamame was the right amount of salt, tasted fresh, really great. Lobster & blue crab hand rolls were absolutely delicious, I don't always order hand rolls and these changed my mind, can't wait to try these again! Kushiyaki - chicken wings, beef were fabulous but the A5 Wagyu was the winner, cooked perfectly, melts in your mouth! The potato left a little to be desired, it tasted pretty plain. Overall a great experience, would love to try the rest of the menu! read more
This is definitely in my top 3 handroll places that I love in LA. Plus they serve some yakitori/izakaya dishes. They have a variety of menu choices from 2x2, 3x3 and also an omakase menu. If this is your first time here, I highly suggest you start with the 4x4 menu. It's the right amount of food for 1 person and if you're still hungry, you can add maybe 1-2 other dishes or hand rolls. The 4x4 set comes with 4 hand rolls and 4 Yakitori/izakaya dish plus a bowl of miso and edamame. It's only a counter bar seating so may not be good for large groups but you can definitely bring a couple of friends or a good spot for a date night as well!! Service is quick and the front of the house lady is very accommodating. Also, Tatiana is my favorite server. She's very pleasant and treats her customers very well. Loves how she knows how to interact with people and not just take your order. She's just a lovely person!! If you happen to be in the LA/Culver City area, this should be part of your dining experience. Also a good spot to either have a quick lunch or dinner before heading to LAX as it's only about 15 mins from the airport. read more
Perfect Solo Date Spot in LA... Saijo Handroll in Culver City is the perfect spot for solo dating with delicious bites and atmosphere where I find calm and relaxation. The one bite uni was my absolute favorite along with the salmon and tuna handrolls. The grilled sausage on the stick caught me by surprise because it was so juicy and flavorful. There are many surprises at Saijo and I wish my stomach was a lot bigger to enjoy more of the menu. The service was fantastic and enjoyed eating solo because the environment made me feel relaxed. I can't wait to come back when I am in the Westside. read more
I really wanted to like this place, but I feel like I'm missing something. It's rare that the food I receive looks A+ but actually tastes like a C. I placed a to-go order and upon opening it, everything was nicely packed and looked pristine. Unfortunately, the good experience ends right there. First of all, it's absolutely a sin to serve sushi rice that hard/tough. I mean, this was literally some of the worst sushi rice we've tried; it tasted just like regular supermarket sushi straight out of the fridge. On top of that, the sashimi was sliced so thinly that it felt like a joke for such a highly-rated place. I had high hopes given the reviews and the branding, but this was a letdown. Maybe the quality is better if you dine in, but I wouldn't recommend the takeout. read more
Great new sushi spot on the west side. I like the concept of including kushiyaki to sushi as it gives more variety. The absolute stand outs of the menu though are the one bite hand rolls which are more like 2 of fish on standard amount of sushi rice presented to you in a half rolled piece of seaweed. I think getting several of those is the best way to go. I'm also a big fan of salted chicken wings so was quite happy to be able to add that for some extra cooked protein. Definitely worth a try! Seating is all countertop so definitely more of a casual spot similar to kazu nori read more
1 year ago
My friend attended dinner with a prix fixe menu, I was fortunate to be her Plus 1. The food was delicious, freshly made. The service was outstanding from beginning to end. We were seated at the Sushi Bar where we had a clear view of each handroll made individually and placed on a mini plate our place setting. MENU HIGHLIGHTS: Starter - Edamame Soup - Miso soup Cucumber Salad in a tangy sauce Entree - 1 Salmon Handroll and 1 Bluefin Toro Sushi - 1 Bluefin Tuna and 1 Albacore Kushiyaki - Grilled Chicken Skewer and Chicken Meatballs I highly recommend this classy restaurant. There was 6 of us in our section and we all loved the service and high quality of each dish. Sincerely, Rosemary read more
7 days ago
5 stars for the west sideeee, and some of the best handrolls and yakitori in LA. You wont often find me on the west side of 405, but for one of the best lunch specials in the city you might from time to time. Saijo has some handrolls that exceed the likes of Kazu with the freshness of the fish, but even more the size is about double the protein than that of Kazu. My favorite here is the specialty with the blue crab, seared salmon, and shrimp. Its a flavor bomb for sure . Also love the scallop handroll! The lowkey thing about this place is they offer Yakitori, and its shockingly and possibly the best on the west side. Everything is grilled proper and their Tare sauce is the king here. Service is always on point and quick, and the vibes are definitely neighborhood vibes. Check this place out, come for the handrolls, but also stay for the yakitori. This is my top spot on the west side for both handrolls and yakitori. read more
1 year ago
My current favorite Japanese restaurant. I've never been to a place that serves both meat skewers and sushi. If you come here for lunch, it's cheaper, but they're only open from 12:00-2:30 and then again for dinner from 5:10 (closed on Mondays) . The yellowtail sashimi is insanely good, and so are the beef skewers. Not only is everything I've tried delicious, but even the things I wouldn't usually order have been good. I like the sushi chefs a lot, and all the food comes out very quickly. It's a nice place to eat by yourself or with a friend. When I first saw a specialty tuna on ice in the middle of the room, I was impressed! read more
Saijo specializes in handrolls and kushiyaki, and both are delicious! I came for a special tasting night with the Franki Social App, so the meal we had was a preset one. The sushi bites and handrolls were so delicious and flavorful! The fish was literally melt-in-your-mouth! My personal favorite was the ahi tuna sushi bite, but everything was so good! The kushiyaki is also very good - I tried the chicken thigh and the chicken meatball and both were great. The chicken thigh was my favorite of the two since it was so flavorful and so juicy and tender! The cucumber salad was nice and fresh as well, but in my opinion it was just a bit too salty for my taste. Service was really efficient all night and they were all so nice! Parking is also available on the second floor of the building. Otherwise parking in the neighborhood can be a little tricky. read more
2 months ago
Came here 20 min after it opened and it was already busy. All bar seating and I enjoy watching the chefs making the food. After we sat down the entire place filled up quickly! Ordered the omakase to try a bit of everything and highlights were the bluefin tuna, special hand roll, and miso soup!! Can't wait to come back! read more
Tried the 2x2 set and addrd couple other things. * 2x2 Set: * Edamame + Miso Soup * Handrolls: Bluefin Toro*, Salmon* * Kushiyaki: Negima (chicken thigh with green onion), Tsukune (chicken meatballs) * Appetizer: Salmon Sashimi * Signature One Bite Hand Roll: Blue Crab, Shrimp, Salmon Belly * One Bite Uni Handroll (Saijo Special) The sashimi was fresh, the handrolls were tightly made and flavorful, and everything came out super fast. The quality-to-price ratio was great, especially for how premium the ingredients were. Also loved how clean and calm the space was, great for casual dates or a quick lunch/ dinner. Service was fast and friendly! Definitely coming back read more
22 days ago
Food is mediocre at best, farm raised salmon. They tipped themselves on my card. Second time and last time. Service is poor. So confused with reviews fish is not of good quality. Read other reviews about food quality. People eat anything these days. They were preparing larges trays of wasabi and ginger during dinner not paying attention to customers. Doesn't taste fresh read more
Business owner information
Takeshi K.
Hi Sherry,…
6 months ago
Came in on a Friday night and waiting around 20 minutes for a spot for 2. It was our first time there and the service was great!! They walked us through their menu and told us what was popular. The ambiance was lively for a Friday night as it seemed like a great place to catch up with friends or a late date night spot. The food was fantastic!! The one bites were a unique addition. I also tried the Tsukune, which was a chicken meatball skewer, and it was so delicious!! I would definitely come back to try more skewers. read more
1 year ago
When you can't decide between handrolls and kushiyaki so you get both! Saijo is the newest handroll bar in Culver City! We got the 2x2 set, which came with a bluefin toro and salmon handroll, along with a tsukune skewer and chicken thigh with green onion skewer. If you're hungrier, then I definitely recommended getting their 4x4 set, which also comes with edamame and miso soup. They have small sashimi plates too and we got their salmon which was super fresh and topped with truffle. The A5 Wagyu skewer was cooked perfectly and it melts in your mouth with how tender it is. It's a great handroll concept that includes kushiyaki which most other places don't have, so if you're craving fish and meat then this is the place to go! The quality of the nori was great since it stayed crispy when you ate it, and the pace of your meal is pretty speedy as well. They have some options for beer and sake to pair with your meal, and overall it was a great quick bite to eat. read more
Was craving some hand rolls so me and bf called at 12 pm and they had walk-in availability until 2:30 pm. We got seated immediately and service was fast. It was a nice and clean little spot with a special lunch menu and hand roll combos. We tried the 3x3 for $34 which came with 3 hand rolls and 3 appetizers. The salmon and blue fin tuna hand roll had a fresh crispy nori but I felt was lacking on the fish. The blue crab hand roll had a piece of shell inside which I was not too pleased about :( . I did enjoy their complimentary miso soup and edamame appetizers. The 3x3 also included chicken meatball, chicken thigh with green onion, and shrimp garlic butter soy. These were all tasty and flavorful! My fav was their perfectly cooked, juicy shrimps. A very filling order, perfect if you're really hungry. TLDR; hand rolls were lacking in fish, but pretty fresh. Found a shell in my hand roll :( 3x3 is a bit pricey but good variety of appetizers and yummy shrimp. read more
It's a small place with bar seats by only so get there early to grab a seat quick or you might be waiting a bit. Love the semi open kitchen concept. The rolls are being made fresh to order and handed directly to you. The tasting menu is always good and fills you up. By the end I was so full. Love the combination of fresh seafood and hand rolls with cooked skewers. There's something for even your non sushi/seafood loving person. They have smaller tasting menus available and it's well priced. read more
Saijo was recommended to me as a contender for top handroll bar in SoCal. This is a big deal because I think many people can agree that that accolade goes to KazuNori. Unfortunately, I don't think that Saijo usurps the throne for best handroll bar, but it is a great meal. I got the 4x4 Taste of Saijo meal, which features miso soup, edamame, 4 handrolls, and 4 skewers. It's a lot of food or $44. I would recommend this set you can try a wide variety of what they have to offer. Saijo's handrolls are good. The fish is fresh and the rice is nicely seasoned. When I dined on a Tuesday evening, they had a large tuna carcass in the middle of the bar to display the freshness of their fish. I appreciated it, and it was cool to see. I wish I would've gone a little bit earlier in the day to be able to see them butcher it. I think what lets their handrolls down really is the seaweed. It's very chewy and difficult to bite through, compared to KazuNori's flaky, roasted seaweed sheets. The best part of the meal is when the skewers start coming out. The pacing of this meal is a bit clunky, like sometimes handrolls and skewers come at the same time, or maybe you'll get all three handrolls before your next skewer. The service is really fast, almost too fast. Either way, eat your skewers first. They are delicious and they're best when they're hot and fresh off of the grill. The seaweed on the handroll is going to be chewy no matter what, so you can let those sit for a minute. The skewers really are the best part of the meal. My favorite was definitely the shrimp skewever. It was plump, succulent, smoky, and really meaty. The maitake mushroom, and chicken skewers were good too. Saijo is a great meal, I would recommend it for a date night. It's not the best handrolls around, but the skewers definitely elevate the experience to make it memorable. Parking is available on the street nearby, which is really difficult, so be prepared to walk. read more
Seriously wishing SALMON told me about @saijohandroll earlier! This hidden gem hand roll bar and kushiyaki serves up incredibly fresh sushi hand rolls, sashimi and nigiri, which are prepared and served up fresh to order by their sushi chef as you're seated at the round table sushi bar. Their hand rolls are a bit more similar in concept to Kazunori, with simple flavors and garnishes that retain the focus on the incredible quality of the fish and the preparation of the sushi rice. Arguably even more impressive are their perfectly grilled skewers, which include chicken, beef (and wagyu), seafood and vegetarian options, and literally remind me of the ones I've had in Japan. Highly recommend ordering their 2x2, 3x3 or 4x4 sets, which include both selected hand rolls and skewers. If you're in the Culver City area, this hidden gem, authentic Japanese restaurant is definitely worth a visit! Featured here: salmon sashimi 2x2 set: bluefin toro handroll, salmon handroll, negima (chicken thigh and green onion), tsukune (chicken meatball) signature handroll: blue crab, shrimp, salmon belly sweet shrimp hand roll read more
2 months ago
The food was alright. It's good for 19 dollars. I didn't like the miso soup tasted like water. The sushi was good quality for the price. They put spicy powder on the side so that's nice! It's good just wouldn't drink the miso soup! It's not something to brag about however for the price it's a great deal! read more
Business owner information
Takeshi K.
Thank you for sharing your feedback. We're glad to hear you found the…
I came here with my friend for dinner on a Tuesday. We had a reservation and were seared immediately. I've been on a mission of trying different handroll spots around LA and was super excited that Saijo opened up. The interior is typical of a handroll bar, with limited seating at the bar. But that's what makes it feel special and more intimate. I ordered the 2x2 which is two handrolls (bluefin toro and salmon) and two kushiyaki (negima and tsukune), served with edamame and miso soup. I also added on the signature handroll and the two specials, which were uni and nakaochi. The miso soup and edamame were great to start off the meal. Bluefin toro is always yummy, and it came with a mini salad. 8/10. The salmon handroll was reminiscent of the one from Kazunori. The texture of the fish was really nice. 8.5/10. The Negima kushiyaki is a skewer with chicken thigh and green onions. Super flavorful and tender. 9/10. The Tsukune was chicken meatballs and was also very delicious. They definitely know how to cook their skewers. 9/10. The Signature handroll consists of blue crab, shrimp, and salmon belly. Such a good combination - no wonder it's the signature. Lovely textures and flavors all together. 9/10. The Uni handroll and Nakaochi handroll were also delicious. I've had better uni that tasted more fresh and briney but it was still good. 8/10. They also scraped the nakaochi right in front of us, which was fun. 8.5/10. I'm usually not a stickler about service but our server was very forgetful. We had to ask for our diet cokes after we already mostly finished our first round of food because she forgot to bring them. I also asked for a straw twice. And then we had to ask about the specials that we ordered because we had finished eating everything else for a while, and it turns out she forgot to put the order in the system. She was also extremely soft spoken and it was hard to hear her answers when we asked questions about the menu. However, I understand that they had just opened so maybe some of the staff was still training. Just something to be aware of. Overall, a lovely dinner and the food was very good. Great quality fish. It's pretty good if you're craving handrolls with options for specialty meat skewers, but I would still pick Kazunori or Iki Nori as a go to over Saijo. I would recommend this place if you like trying different handroll spots though! It's fun to sit at the bar and the food is delicious! read more
11 months ago
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More info about Saijo - Los Angeles - Culver City
12473 Washington Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90066
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(424) 479-7977
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https://saijohandroll.com
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How is parking?
Do they offer their lunch specials on the weekend?
Yes they do! I went on a Saturday :)
Can they accommodate a gluten allergy?
yes, but we don't have an exclusive gluten free kitchen so cross contamination is possible.
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