sushi ii — Restaurant in Newport Beach

It is not often that you get the experience of dining at a sushi restaurant recommended by a Michelin star sushi chef. Tonight, I had the pleasure of dining at Sushi-ii, a relatively new, high-end sushi bar located in Newport Beach.

Sushi-ii is tucked away past residential areas of Newport Beach, which makes it a much more pleasant experience to find parking and enjoy the dining experience. The interior of the restaurant draws inspiration from a clean modern Japanese sushi bar, with about 10 seats at the main bar and 3 or 4 tables.

There are three main dining choices: Bizen, Oribe, and Karatsu. Tonight, I chose Karatsu, the nigiri omakase. This course advertises a starter, 12 nigiri, miso soup, and a dessert.

At the sushi bar, you are seated with place setting consisting of a hand towel, a napkin, and a pair of chopsticks. This particular style of chopstick is gaining in popularity, as they combine a clean splinter-free design, while also still being disposable and clean.

Right off the bat, we are served some tofu with dashi broth and egg yolk on top. This was a very soft but still surprisingly flavorful tofu, much better than any packaged tofu.

The nigiri I was served, in order, include: Red Snapper Amberjack Bluefin Tuna Spanish Mackerel Sweet Shrimp Baby Snapper (with sea kelp) Hokkaido Uni Salmon Salmon Roe Scallop Yellowtail Fatty Tuna (Toro) Gizzard Shad Eel (Unagi) Egg Sushi (Tamago)

To finish off the night, a choice of dessert is presented. Panna cotta, tiramisu, or various ice cream flavors. I chose the panna cotta.

If you are ordering a nigiri omakase, the aspect that matters the most is the quality of the fish. And this restaurant delivered. Every single cut had the traits of a high quality fish flown in fresh from Japan, with their distinct and welcoming flavors.

The two notable nigiri of the night are the amaebi and unagi. What makes amaebi excellent to me is the sweet creaminess and soft flavors of the shrimp. This sweet shrimp was full of flavor and sweetness, and came served with the head, prepared to your preference. I selected tempura fried, and it was very well done -- perfectly crispy, and full of flavor.

The unagi is something special, and I will be thinking about this for days to come. Taken out of its marinade when you are seated, the cut eel is set aside until it is ready to be served. At that time, it is cooked on a special cute small Japanese grill and it is grilled right then and there. No blow torch eel. Cooked over a grill in a very Japanese fashion. Then it is topped off with eel sauce, and the result is sublime. You get the jam packed flavor bomb of warm unagi, with the melt in your mouth butteriness of fresh eel. This piece is truly something sublime and was the most notable bite of the night.

I love finishing off dishes with tamago, and their egg is a no nonsense sushi. No rice, no seaweed, just a block of tamago chopped and served.

Some other highlights include the excellent japanese sencha green tea, and the care and attention of the waitresses explaining every element of the...

If you want to be thoroughly disrespected during your meal, feel free to come here! This was the worst Japanese meal I have ever had.

First, the sushi rice was as hard as undercooked rice, making it very unpleasant to eat.

Second, Japanese cuisine is typically served in courses, but my friend was served three dishes at once. This is extremely disrespectful to the guests, as if they were telling us to hurry up and leave.

Third, when serving my dish, they carelessly tossed it onto the table, showing a complete lack of respect for the customer.

Fourth, before ordering, a slim server mentioned something about a 'corkage'. As a foreigner, I didn’t understand the term. When I asked what it was for, she said it was for providing refrigeration or glasses for our drinks. I specifically confirmed with her whether there would be an extra charge if we brought our own drinks, and she clearly answered 'No.' However, when the bill came, we were charged $50 per bottle as a corkage fee. Her response contained incorrect information and was misleading. This not only made me feel disrespected as a foreigner, but according to California law, all products and services must provide transparent pricing to allow customers to make informed decisions. This server was not only unprofessional but also deliberately misled foreign customers, which is absolutely unacceptable.

Fifth, their fruit was poorly cut, with pieces of varying sizes, which is far from the standard of a high-end Japanese restaurant. After giving feedback, the second plate of fruit they served was even more haphazardly arranged, showing extreme contempt for the customers.

Sixth, we were forced to pay a 20% gratuity after the meal. The staff told me that this was mentioned on their website. First of all, not every customer will see the website (for instance, I booked through a credit card dining service). Secondly, tipping is a way for customers to evaluate the service. This practice robs all customers of the opportunity to provide feedback on their service.

This was the worst Japanese dining experience I’ve ever had. If you want to be thoroughly disrespected during your meal, feel free...

We have been looking for authentic sushi places in Newport Beach. A friend of mine whose husband is Japanese highly recommends this place. From the price, you can tell it’s a high rank sushi place but we are happy to pay more if the food quality is justified.

I like places that you can make reservation online especially during Covid. They take deposit $50/person for dinner and so we decided to try their lunch first. If it’s good, we will go back for the omakase.

The patio seating is actually very nice. Service was good and quick. I ordered the sushi lunch set $60 and my husband ordered a la carte nigiris.

Green tea was from high quality green tea powder. The appetiser was very different. Miso soup was one of the best! And the nigiris were an absolute WOW! The toro maki roll was surprisingly outstanding! The salmon was best I have tried! The toro... OMG!!! The sea eel was very different! I loved the new sensation!! And the best for me was... the amaebi!!! $18/piece but it’s totally worth it! Best of the best!!! My husband liked the Saba so much (very traditional)! Everything was just so good!

The dessert - green tea red bean ice cream. A must try!!!

Without a doubt, the best sushi place in Newport Beach. Chef ii brings his years of experience from Osaka in each piece of nigiri that he serves. It’s totally...