Sushi Ippo — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Late 2022 - we went again as friends wanted to go:

I was a real fan and have been 50+ times. I recommended it to all my followers - even at a time where in my opinion the rudeness of the appearance - making us wait outside for 15 mins even though our table was ready, rush rush - you only have 90 mins and all this for $40+ pp weekdays.

Yesterday, we went, and we had a weird taste, so we all (a party of four) did not dare to finish the meal (we did not order more than usual).

I tried to explain - no one bothered. They eventually charged us only 50% of what we had left as we did not dare to eat. We ended up

leaving unhappy with a $200+ check (before tip) me throwing up all night.

This is where my former love story with Sushi Ippo ends. I will never return. And sadly, reading the other reviews, others won't, too. So dear reader: be warned.

2022:

WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT! To avoid misunderstanding, I was (and still am) a fan of their sushi. However, nowadays, they allow you 90 mins max in the restaurants. Yesterday, we went with two friends to meet at 6:00 pm. We were 10 mins early, facing an almost empty restaurant. They offered they would seat us and wait at the table while possibly enjoying a drink- but waiting for our friends would already knock off the 90 mins we would have. Sorry, I hate to be rushed. Not at $200+ per check.

I have been 50 times and more over the years, but since it is a massive detour from our home, this was the final drop to make us go and explore other Sushi options. Dear Reader, I will keep you posted :-)

2021: We have been here many times and it's always a blast. Someone​ here compared​ to Nobu - well that's simply not fair. This is - in every aspect - an all-you-can-eat place (not all of my readers understand the AYCE bit ;-) and it serves an amazing variety for a relatively small amount. It's not cheap - but you can not sell fresh sushi for pennies. It does not have the Nobu decor and especially not the views of the Malibu one - but hey, let's stay fair - in Malibu you may get ONE starter for what you pay here for the entire meal.

I brought a lot of guests, we always enjoyed it, and if there was a little wait... well, that's how it is. Make sure you bring nice friends so you will cover every wait with nice conversations.

Will I return - mandatory for four stars? Can't wait. Would I drive a 30+ min detour to go? I sure would - and there are quite a few AYCE places in my immediate neighborhood, one even being within​ walking distance from our home.

Highly...

i dont understand the hype, when i ordered some nigiri and some rolls, people kept saying they have a huge amount of fish and have less rice. are you kidding me?? they must be fed by skinny people!! either that, or mostly sushi places in riverside offer more fattest and huge fish with less rice as size as a dime. im serious!!

and get this, there were 3 sushi chefs, the place wasnt even that busy, and our last rolls took more than 15-20 min. and we're in a hurry too, they would return our paper to fill them out while the rest of the rolls are still coming in.. we were there for almost 2 hrs., so my cousin got even more upset and cancelled our rolls and asked for the bill.

while my cousin went to the bathroom, the waitress asked us if there was something wrong so they could improve. i honestly told her, you guys were so slow, i was told when they go on break, things get a little slow.. yes i understand that, but comparing the sushi restaurant in riverside, there were places like 3 sushi chefs (ie. sushi asahi) can hold 30 people, and they work really fast! i know all sushi places are different but the faster you work, means your business is successful!

although the waitress was nice enough to offer us to-go on our left overs, this is from an AYCE order! i had to turn her down cause we're going to an event, and keeping the sushi in the car for hours, might spoil everything. well, at least we know we're not coming back anymore. the place was a disappointment, paid $34+ for myself with this kind of experience. -_-

and ohhh, one of the yellow tail nigiri had bones or something, or whatever i ate, had like a hard bone. and their mackerel tasted like sardines, it was kinda salty. then they also ran out of green tea ice cream... well, why do you have "offer green tea ice cream to check-in on yelp" on your blackboard, if you dont...

How this sushi restaurant has 4 stars surprises me. If I could rate it 0 stars, I would. Let me outline my experience below:

Welcome service was non-existent and unfriendly The plates set on our table were dirty and so we asked for new ones. Honestly, they should throw away their current ones and just invest in some new ones. Why they are cheaping out on old plates that are chipped is beyond me. The assorted tempura that we ordered was probably one of the worst tempura I had. They cheap out and use the thinnest prawns and it literally just tasted like batter. There were 3 times that a different server came to our table and placed a dish that we did not order and we had to constantly let them know that we never ordered it. The interruptions was quite annoying. The sushi that we ordered took forever to come. No server came around to check up on us and our waters This one is the WORST point. I have never seen a restaurant where the cleaner did not have the awareness of placing the dirty tray table right BESIDE our table. That was extremely gross and unappetizing to have this dirty table beside us where we can see the dirty plates and smell the trash, while we still had our own food at our table and still dining We waited so long to get our check, where to the point we just went up to the front desk to pay. And when we did arrive, the lady there completely ignores us and continues to socialize with her colleague.

I don't know who the Manager is at this restaurant, but you need to do better. I hope people don't waste their money here, when you can get a way better experience elsewhere. The 4 stars here is not reflective of the food...