Japonica Hermosa Beach — Restaurant in Hermosa Beach

I really did not like this spot and would not recommend going out of your way to go here. Went with a party of 5. We all found the sushi to be bad. One of their most popular rolls tasted like they had just poured and soaked in butter. All I could taste was a buttery ball. Needless to say it didn't make my stomach feel the best. Other ones were oily tasting like eating alfredo pasta is what came to mind. Another one was soggy soaked in rice vinegar given the name bluefin and throughout all of these rolls we couldn't taste any fish. We ended up waiting for over 30 minutes for our last 2 rolls we ordered. When they asked if we were waiting for anything I reminded them. Another 10 min went by and I asked again they brought out one of the rolls after that. The lady who was going around informed us that their kitchen manager had left with the kitchen being all new people so that they were slower than usual. Keep in mind it's not a huge location and she said they had gotten really busy but you could tell this was just an excuse. She then told us how she had a hard day at yoga and some more nonsense no one asked to hear about. I spent a little over $100 for my girlfriend and I to have 2 beers and 4 rolls and took at least 2 hours. The server seemed snarky at the end when we asked to split the bill between us and the group of my girlfriends friends. She said she couldn't itemize but could split. She did not offer me a receipt just shoved the tip section in my face. When our friends decided to just split their bill through venmo she made a remark that indicated I was inconveniencing her by having her come out and charge us with a split bill instead of using their QR...

While the food tasted good, service was both slow and poor. Upon our arrival, we were seated inside at the window. That's the only service we got. We were ignored after we were seated. No menus. I tried for several minutes to attract some attention. Again, the waitress never came back to take our ordwr. I had to endeavor to attract someone's attention in order to place our order.

Our order was delivered by a runner and the waitress never came around to ask if everything was ok.

To make matters worse the ambience created by the head-banging heavy metal music that was way too loud was terrible! I appreciate heavy metal but I don't care for it blasting while I'm trying to have something to eat. When I brought up the music and how loud it was to our waitress she looked at me with a blank stare unable to comprehend what I was complaining about. Not only did she do nothing about it, but she didn't even think to mention it to her manager or if she did nobody else came around to check in on us.

We were unable to order another drink or anything else without having to spend a lot of effort to attract the attention of our waitress. All of this was pretty ridiculous given the small size of the restaurant. We waited, and waited, and waited for our waitress come around to see if we were ready for the check. But of course she didn't. After I was able to attract her attention she brought the check. Do you think she came back for payment? Of course not! So once again lots of effort to attract her attention so that we could pay the bill and go.

While the food was good, the service and ambience was terrible. We will not...

Japonica Hermosa Beach is a decent spot for Japanese food, especially if you're in the area and craving sushi or ramen. The location is great—just a short walk from the beach—so it's perfect if you're looking for a casual meal after some time by the ocean.

The sushi is fresh and the rolls are creative, which is definitely a highlight. However, the menu can feel a bit pricey for what you get, and the portions are on the smaller side. The ramen was flavorful, though not particularly memorable compared to other places I've been to.

Service was friendly and efficient, but the restaurant can get pretty busy during peak hours, which might mean a bit of a wait. Parking is also a challenge, so be prepared to hunt for a spot nearby.

Overall, it's a solid choice if you're in Hermosa Beach and looking for Japanese food, but I wouldn’t go out of my way for it. It’s good, just not...