I had two friends recently move to santa monica, and they have begun to explore the surrounding restaurant options. One of my friends was really excited to find this all you can eat sushi buffet right near his house, and I agreed we should try it out.
We went last night, and while the initial presentation looked appealing... the fun stopped here.
Everything we ate was completely lackluster. I think people who praise the quality of this sushi probably don't eat decent sushi regularly, and mostly eat california rolls from Vons. All three of us basically made a joke of the experience, feeling like we lost a bet and were being forced to eat at least $23 worth of food to break even. They couldn't even get the vegetables right. The cauliflower seemed to have been steamed a few days ago and set out to get cold; soggy. Another review mentioned the lack of claw crackers for the abundant crab legs. Same in my experience; I had no idea what to do with them once I had them on my plate. All of the seafood smelled fishy. The best part of the evening was taking photos of each other looking very upset about the bite we are taking.
Guess what? The beer was good. But I guess I attribute that to Kirin's bottling plant, and the manufacturers of the fridge that cooled it at the restaurant.
If you like good value for the money, try going to Daichan, upstairs at the corner of Olympic and Sawtell. Its a revolving sushi bar with excellent prices.
Pros: Its on the 3rd street promenade. It looks like it could be good
Cons: lientery for $23
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