I give this place a 3 star because it is not my idea of a Japanese sushi restaurant. It's more Americanized so that people who aren't into more traditional Japanese food can accept it. A traditional restaurant will feature the freshness of the fish they sell. At this restaurant, all the natural taste of the fish is drowned out by too much seasoning. A lot of sesame and ponzu sauce used in each sushi, that you can't taste the actual fish. That might mean, the fish isn't as fresh as their menu claim to be. We wanted to try the uni but they were sold out that day. Their saving grace, good service and decent taste from the seasoning. Definitely not worth one hour wait to try the quality of fish they offer. There's definitely a lot more similar quality sushi restaurant in the 626 area. Unless you're a hipster, then this place is a must! read more

Yummy!! The trust me is definitely enough food. I would say the trust me lite is probably enough too, and I would definitely get that next time. My faves are large scallop, salmon, and snapper with brushed salt, and blue crab hand roll! Least faves are albacore (I liked it, but the ponzu soaked through my rice and was overwhelming) and toro hand roll. read more

Me and hubby ordered the "Don't think. Just eat" set for $52 a person. Omg was so much food I could barely just finish. And trust me I eat more than my husband so that's saying a lot. We couldn't believe the price was so reasonable for so much food. Cost would have been $100 per person easily if it was in NorCal. Overall was satisfied with the quality of fish. Location is located behind Williams Sonoma on Lake. Ordering was a breeze...used Postmates. Personally I like this location more than the Beverly Hills one. read more

Sugarfish is one the best sushi restaurants in Pasadena. Great, parking food and service. I would recommend parking in the structure located on Shoppers Lane. Parking on Lake Ave is always a challenge. read more

SUGARFISH | Pasadena - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

This SUGARFISH in Pasadena is excellent. Quality of their fish is absolutely the highest. The incredible packaging for the takeout boxes is created with the attention to detail of a Louis Vuitton boutique. Service was good. But the food was among the best I have had at any SUGARFISH. I highly recommend this SUGARFISH. read more

Honestly, I just love this Sugarfish location. The staff is friendly, attentive, and professional. The food is always great in terms of freshness and consistency. I have zero complaints about this establishment. Thanks to the staff for being so wonderful! You guys really give the experience of dining here that extra bonus of enjoying tasty sushi. read more

Amazing service and indoor experience. They kept running out of the things I liked most, so get there early!

Hands down best sushi I have ver had. Sugarfish is a must try place for any sushi lover. The fish quality is great and it is reasonably priced. I got the Nozawa trust me set and it was the perfect amount of food. The food came out quick and the service was great. Every piece was incredible! Highly recommend. read more

Love this place. Always fresh and delicious. Favorites are the salmon , yellow tail, and toro rolls. We also love the albacore and salmon sushi . read more

I love love love Sugarfish, nice tiny small restaurant holds maybe a total of about 20 tables. I understand the praise this place gets now. Had a wonderful experience of very classy dining. Not to boujee were its like super fine dining and not crazy omakase price, but gives you the experience of a decent one. Parking not the easiest especially if you don't know how to parallel park, since most of it going to be on the streets. I believe theres a parking lot behind it, but not sure if you can use it. Service there is amazing every time I've been so far, very friendly and very helpful. Super nice and was able to explain the menu and the different styles of fish and omakase set they offer. There a 15% surcharge if I remember so, basically a tip thats already pre included with the meal to accommodate for the service, so be aware of that. But that doesn't deter me away from the place at all. I usually would add a little extra for the wonderful people and service I receive there. Well deserve of the extra charge. I usually go for the Trust Me, fills me up pretty decently but most importantly you get to try all the wonderful sashimi they offer there. Gives you alot of variety of sushi to taste and enjoy, but not an overwhelming amount. There are other options, but I haven't been able to try out. As well as for the omakase sets your able to sub out somethings to for other fish. Such as the crab hand roll for a more preferred one. My personal favorite from them is the Toro hand roll, definitely best hand roll I've ever had. With a little dab of wasabi such an amazing goodness in my mouth. A wonderful experience to have on a nice relaxing event with someone special. I personally wouldn't come here dressed in my gym clothes, dress to impress personally. read more

My boyfriend and I came here for lunch and both ordered the Nozawa sets, which includes: Edamame Tuna Sashimi Albacore Sushi (2 pc) Salmon Sushi (2 pc) Snapper Sushi (2 pc) Yellowtail (2 pc) Hirame (2 pc) Toro Hand Roll Blue Crab Hand Roll Daily Special (2 pc) (It was scallop that day) Needless to say, we were super full! I think the prices are fair ($42 for this set), and I like how tip and tax is included in your bill. I'm not a regular, but I'm not opposed to returning! read more

I dream about sugarfish. A must stop when we travel down to Southern California. Basically anything you get will be fire and delicious. The sushi melts in your mouth, just like sugar. Obviously the fish is extremely fresh, but the rice is warm and adds another level of amazingness to the experience. Expect a wait, but we all know all GOOD things are worth waiting for. read more

Nice place for Sunday lunch. FCFS no reservations. Pretty set meal with 12-16 pcs of Sushi Sashimi and hand roll. All with warm rice. Fresh. Fish portions is not big but it allows you eat 12-16 pieces. Tips included. Not cheap but compare to other Sushi places this place is easier to understand. read more

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Came here for the DineLA special 10 piece sushi with 2 hand roll and edamame and salmon sashimi for $39. Not bad for what you get. But their regular menu similar price as well. The albacore highly recommended and sweet shrimp. As for the toro hand roll and blue Blue Crab Hand Roll both okay. read more

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My friend and I ordered the "trust me" off the menu. If you are not familiar they give you specific sushi and there are no substitutions or modifications that can be made. The sushi was very fresh and delicious. I did dock one star because one of the severs (a female) was rude the entire time. It seemed like she didn't want to be there and was very short. I normally don't care about these things but she wasn't even trying to hide it. We felt uncomfortable anytime she was around. Just quit your job if you hate it that much, no ones forcing you to be there. Everything else was great though. read more

The menu is very traditional and very simple. It was difficult to read the menu because of poor lighting. The fish was fresh but the rice fell apart. Our server was awesome and parking is very close to the restaurant. It's a bit overpriced and 16% gratuity is included. The wait is horrendous as they do not take reservations. If you are willing to wait a very long time to dine here for dinner plan on arriving early. The food was okay but the wait is not worth it. read more

Friday night - 6:30pm No reservations, only first come first served. About a 30 min wait for 2 people. It was an OK wait time as they take your number and text you when the table is ready. It's perfect as it allowed us to walk around. We ordered the "Trust Me" and some a la carte items. Everything was amazing! The rice was slightly warmed and it surprisingly paired well with the fresh fish. Seaweed was also very fresh and crispy. Automatic service charge 16% added on all bills. No additional tipping required. Service was good. They validate parking. Would go again! read more

SUGARFISH | Pasadena - Sapporo! - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

Some people say this place is overly hyped and over priced, but you get what you pay for. And I think this place is one of the places that is worth $$ considering food quality, ambience etc. Freshness and quality of the food is still one of the best in LA I feel like. I usually get "trust me". The appetizer tuna sashimi in ponzu sauce is my favorite. And freshly made hand rolls are usually the best compare to other mediocre Japanese place. Highly recommend. read more

The quality of food is always consistent and impeccable when I come here! I would recommend ordering ahead of time and picking up fo avoid parking but if you want to dine in they have a validated parking behind the lot. read more

Second trip to a SUGARFISH establishment. Last time I went to the dtla one. This time I came for the DineLA which had approximately: salmon sashimi, albacore, yellowtail, halibut, sweet shrimp, toro hand roll, blue crab hand roll for $45. They don't take reservations so there can be quite the wait. I think I waited approximately 1.5 hours to be seated. (It's packed since this location is new). My first trip didn't seem to really fit the bill for me. But this time it was really delicious. I'm not sure if it's the cook/day/ or just the company I was with; but this experience was much better. That day they didn't have sweet shrimp and asked if we would like unagi or some other fish instead. Boyfriend and I opted for the unagi, and I'M SO GLAD WE DID. My first trip I had the sweet shrimp and didn't like it. But the UNAGI. SO GOOD. lightly charred, warm, and scrumptious. Unagi. I'm always aware. (highfive to other Friends lovers) read more

At this price point and with a mandatory service charge, there are expectations set when two people can run you $35+ per person when you're getting a quarter of what you'd find at Akasaka. 3.5 FOOD QUALITY: Superb. The quality of the fish is fresh and their flavors are are spot-on delicious. For example, the tuna sashimi comes in a bowl with tuna sitting in a small-bed of sweet, tangy & light ponzu sauce. The ponzu works really well with the tuna by complementing the tuna notes with its own flavor, then the green flavor gives a bright, earthy bite that makes the tuna flavor pop out even more. The classic nigiri sushi comes with warm, perfect-tasting sushi rice; there's a right amount of acidity and the rice texture is soft. The one thing that I can't figure out why is that for some of their nigiri sushi that comes with a ponzu-like sauce is that they put the sauce at the bottom of the nigiri sushi rather than on the top... and then what happens is when you try to pick it up some of the rice grains fall. SERVICE: Is kind of where this establishment primarily is flawed; it's not so much that the wait staff is rude but rather how the restaurant kind of runs. Timing of the food has consistently come out on terrible times; if during the lunch rush what happened to us was that there was two orders that came out on spot time, followed by a 5 minute wait, then a rush of two more orders followed by another extended pause .. then for our last handroll we waited for about ten minutes before it came out. YET.. coming at an off hour led to having orders coming out fast; At the beginning when we had three orders came out and there wasn't really enough room on the table to fit all the dishes (tiny sushi, biiiiiiiiiiiiig plates..) without having to rearrange and remove the table decorations and water cups, but afterwards it was more normal. Either case, both times we had to ask for our waters to be refilled. ENVIRONMENT: It's a modern look that gives off a high-end feel, but you don't really need to dress formally here. The seats are comfortable but the tables are so. cramped. together. I really don't want to overhear conversations from the table next to us, let alone whispers .. Regardless it's clean and comfortable, can get really loud. Good when empty. Overall, I'm mixed about this place and it really fell short of my expectations. I'd rather just order to-go. read more

I've been to sugar fish in downtown, but recommend this location because the service is excellent. My friend and I came on Saturday at 5:30 and there was no wait, we both got the "trust me" so we got to taste a little bit of everything! At $35 per person, I thought it was a great deal for all the sushi we got. The quality is great too. The crab roll is delicious, they definitely saved the best for last. The only down side is there was no desert included. But I can't wait to come back. read more

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You have to know what you are getting into here. Best hand rolls I've ever had. Menu is crazy limited. If you want raw fish and rice for dinner this place is the best. If you bring Simoens who wants cooked fish- maybe a side seaweed salad this place will fail you. At this location- I think they posture a bit with the wait- to make the place feel more crowded/important than it is. Again. Crazy good Japanese style (not american) sushi. read more

Real high quality sushi unlike some other places around here. The only problem is the wait is ridiculous, but worth it if you're not starving or have the time to wait. read more

Love Sugarfish and have been going there for ages. Fish is always fresh and delicious. The only downer is that there are no reservations and wait for your table can be for over an hour. Last time we went there the service was super slow. When we asked our waitress for an explanation, her reply was that there was only one chef currently working... how that's possible? I understand that it was before the dinner time.... but we had to wait unreasonable long time for each item to arrive while being very hungry.... by the time we were leaving- place filled up... hopefully they had more people working in the kitchen by that time.... read more

I'm so happy they are open for take out during the "Safer at Home" order. The Trust Me take out box is excellent. Best if you live or work close by so you can enjoy while the rice is still warm. read more

Garbage, garbage, garbage service. Came in with my family of 6(plus one kid not eating) we got four of the fancy "trust me", one regular trust me, and one trust me lite. First of all, we asked for waters that were never refilled ONCE, and our hot tea was never refilled. I left thirsty. Second, they kept mixing up our orders. Two of the "special" trust me meals definitely didn't get all the sushi they ordered. Then they tried to double charge us for the sake, charging for 4 vs 2. What should have been a pretty simple and relaxing family moment turned out to be a stressful meal. The sushi I got, whether or not it was actually mine was fairly delicious, but the terrible service will have me never, ever coming back. read more

You win SUGARFISH, perfectly plated and exceptional strategy. Everything good in between. Trust me and get the trust me And get the signature aka largest one! It's perfect. Anything smaller and I'd be still hungry! No substitutes because it's so great to try fish that you usually wouldn't order. It's exceptional. read more

I have heard lots of great things about SUGARFISH and this was my first time coming here. They do validate parking but they only validated 20 minutes or parking oddly enough. There is a parking lot close to it that isn't on the main street in Pasadena. The place is small so there could be a wait if you want a table. The staff is helpful and informative about the products. It was sad they ran out of the salmon sashimi. But I tried the tuna sashimi, crab roll, unagi, lobster roll, and scallops roll. The soy sauce they offer has a complex flavor profile and is fairly salty but compliments the fish well. I loved the unagi, it was extremely soft and flavorful. The scallops and lobster rolls were accented well by the sauces they made with it. But the crab and tuna sashimi were good but didn't feel like they warranted the price that came with it. I felt like some of their products were overpriced. But something I did appreciate was that tipping would just be automatically included in the bill. I understand and have experienced how important tipping is to pay the bills and some people don't understand the minimum there is to tipping so the fact that they just put it in the bill is great for the employees. read more

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Used to love this place but didn't have the best experience last night. Tables were SO close together. I felt like I was the third wheel on our neighboring table's awful sounding date. Service was crazy slow and sloppy. The bathroom was disgusting - trash on floor and waste can overflowing. No thanks. I'll stick to take out. read more

Food so good it made me cry a bit. The sushi is so fresh and amazing. They bring out each order one at a time, and every bite just left me in awe. You know that feeling when you're eating something so delicious that you also get sad because you don't have any more? That's my experience at sugarfish. read more

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This is the best sushi I've had to date. The location is in this little courtyard across from the red telephone booth. It makes it seem like it's tucked away in some quaint hideout. It was our first time coming and we were told by the server that it would be a good idea to try the tasting menu. There are three options for the tasting menu (Trust Me Lite, Trust Me, and the Nowza). The options range from a smaller sampler meal to a bacchanal event (for one person). Since we weren't sure if we'd like everything given (but we wanted to give the place a fair shot) we chose to split the Trust Me amongst the two of us. The server did warn us that it might be too small for two people and she recommended to get two of some of the choices offered like the toro handroll. I can't even tell you which dish was my favorite because they were all divine and devoured promptly. Everything was savored. And this is surprising since I am a picky eater and I'm not inclined to like everything. I recommend that each person get their own Trust Me sampler since you won't want to share, even if you really care for the person you're lunching with. The dishes are just that good. read more

Ok real talk, I didn't like Sugarfish originally. Hub and I splurged and went for the the trust me nozawa for our first time here and I wasn't impressed. Mostly bc they put a lemony yuzu sauce or something on a lot of their fish which completely ruined it for me. Sushi is meant to be eaten the way it is - in it's rawest form so we can taste the fish, not a sauce. It didn't enhance the flavor for me, it did the opposite by masking the fresh fish flavor. The blue crab was overly mayo-y, and it got sickening really fast. However, I decided to give Sugarfish another shot. The place is so hype for a reason. So we went a la carte the second time around and only ordered what we knew we would like. That's the thing, the trust me sets did help in deciding what not to order. We ordered mostly salmon and toro. We had yellowtail, unagi and snapper as well. The salmon is sooo buttery and fresh. They put sesame seeds on top of it which compliment the flavor, but really isn't necessary imo. There's a method to their madness and they always like to serve various fish in a certain order. Salmon usually comes first. Which makes me sad bc I wouldn't mind having it end on a good salmon note. The toro is pretty damn amazing especially in a handroll. Hub describes the flavor of the toro as multidimensional. The yellowtail was drenched in that lemon sauce I mentioned about before so I was put off by that unfortunately. The unagi was delicious, but the sauce on it was overwhelmingly sweet. The snapper was recommended by our lovely server and it was quite good. The herb they put in it was a little too much for me and it made the fish taste similar to a spring roll (lol) but by all means it wasn't awful. I think the fish itself was quite good. All in all, I'll stick to the salmon and toro though. The only thing, and a big thing sugarfish is known for is their warm rice under the cold fish. It's good at first but over time it gets old fast. It falls apart too quickly too. I actually prefer my fish on a bed of regular room temp or even cold rice oddly enough. We also thought we didn't order enough, but they pace it out which prompts you to eat slower haha so we actually did get full after everything. Service is good. Nothing to complain about there really. Our server in particular was very sweet and sociable. Just an FYI, they do charge an automatic 16% service fee following cultural standards. Tipping is actually rude in some places. Overall the fish is fresh, but also very subjective. Some people absolutely LOVE everything about Sugarfish. Honestly though, it's good sushi for sure, but it's a bit overhyped and I've had higher quality elsewhere for a better price. read more

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This first visit to Sugarfish was for my Son's birthday. His wish was for traditional sushi, no frills. Sugarfish delivered. The one and only time we had fresher fish was for breakfast at the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo. We ordered the Trust Me (Omakase) which included Organic Edamame, tuna sashimi, Albacore sushi, Salmon sushi, Yellowtail sushi, Halibut sushi, Toro hand roll and Blue Crab hand roll. My mom ordered a la carte, Unagi, Albacore, Tuna, Yellowtail and Sweet Shrimp. That ended up being more expensive but she was happy. Every piece was melt in your mouth and seemed like the belly of each type of fish. Simple and delicious! The atmosphere is modern and servers were friendly and attentive. The only experience that I miss at Sugarfish is the interaction with the sushi chef but I'd definitely come back. read more

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OISHIII! That means delicious in Japanese. This restaurant offers the finest tasting sustainable seafood at an affordable price. The difference between Sugarfish and other sushi bars is the amazing freshness of the fish, warmth of the delicious rice, and crispness of the seaweed. We always order the top omakase and it never disappoints. The super attentive service makes this dining experience 5 stars! Don't forget yo sign up for their birthday club and dine 3 times prior to the date and get a free Omakase! read more

Never had Sugarfish before. With this quarantine going on, the fiancé and I felt it was time to give it a try. Their takeout boxes looked too irresistible! We ordered the Nozawa Trust me with some extra sushi from their limited menu. If you plan on ordering, I suggest calling earlier in the day. I called on a Sunday afternoon to place a dinner pick up and they were already sold out on most of their limited sushi. They only had albacore belly and unagi left. Special shout out to Paul who helped me over the phone. Great customer service, he really took the time to explain everything. Pick up went smooth. Right away, the presentation was excellent. Clean and organized, with cool instructions on how to eat what with what condiment. It's not just a boring Styrofoam box like other places! There's a statement here. They got a standard. From beginning to end, everything was high quality. Very fresh with the very best texture. Flavor wise on the other hand, it was slightly hit or miss. Luckily, there were more hits! The unagi was superb. The scallop sushi was a delightful surprise (not really a scallop guy). The salmon looked deceptively basic, but it was far from it. It had the flavor profile of salmon belly. It was that good. The most impressive though was the tuna sashimi, believe it or not. It just looks like a sad pile of fukujinzuke but I promise you, it will leave you with a smile. It was simple and delicate, nothing more. The rest (sea bream, yellowtail, albacore) were solid. So with everything tasting so great, we had high expectations for the toro cut and crab cut rolls. Texture was great, but flavor was passable. The toro was bland, the crab was salty. We could have done without them. Actually, I wish they had an option where you could sub out the rolls for something else (maybe they do, I didn't ask). Really wanted to try their "pink lobster," but they ran out. Heard great things about it, so call in early guys! Oh, we also got a bottle of their Nigori sake. It was milky and refreshingly sweet. Thanks for the recommendation Paul! After this quarantine is over, we plan on coming back. We want the sit down experience. Hopefully, it'll be even better. read more

I've had Sugarfish bookmarked for a looooong time on recommendation from so many Yelpers who I know know their stuff. I'm not in LA often but got super lucky to be staying in beautiful Pasadena and to be really really close to Sugarfish and my friend was kind enough to surprise me (literally make me close my eyes while she held my hand and led me to the storefront) by taking me here for lunch. We both had a bit of a time crunch, with flights later that day but we got super lucky that there was no wait that afternoon for lunch, which I hear is not normally the case. We were sat right away at the sushi bar, got water, and right away had service. The menu has some a la carte sushi items but my friend went with the 'trust me lite' and because I don't have access to Sugarfish on the reg, I splurged on my stomach real estate and got the largest 'trust me', the Nozawa trust me ($37) with... Organic Edamame Tuna Sashimi Albacore Sushi (2-pc) Salmon Sushi (2-pc) Yellowtail Sushi (2-pc) Hirame** Sushi (1-pc) Snapper* Sushi (1-pc) Toro Hand Roll Blue Crab Hand Roll "Daily Special", which was sweet shrimp that day (2-pc) Everything was so fresh and light and clean and while I was a little gut busty after lunch, it ended up keeping me full until the next morning. Such a deal! read more

The atmosphere was good and that was it. We were there first, but the waiter lead others in first, we told him that we were there first, and he act like he didn't care and told us something like "we have plenty of room, cut it off" The sushi was so so. Service was bad. read more

Amazing food, great service --shoutout to Paul! My friends and I all ordered the "Trust Me Lite" menu. It was a good amount of food for us 3 girls. The tuna sashimi was delicious, as were the sushi pieces. Even though Sugarfish normally does not allow outside desserts, Paul was able to work with the manager to let us eat the birthday cake inside. All the other staff members were very courteous as well. Highly recommend checking out this place if you're in the Pasadena area. read more

I was really looking forward to my experience here since I had heard many good things. My partner and I got two Nozawa Trust Me sets. The Hirame was yummy and so was the seabream. The salmon was okay, but unfortunately I had to pass the rest to my partner because I'm sensitive to fishy flavor, and it did not meet my expectations. The blue crab roll had grounded up shell in every piece which was really unpleasant. I really wanted to love this place since it is in the neighborhood. I'm open to coming back and trying some other things they offer. read more