Seaward Sushi — Restaurant in Ventura

This place is the truest definition of the phrase hidden gem.

Having enjoyed sushi from a wide range of restaurants while visiting Tokyo, this spot is my pic for authentic Nigiri, atmosphere, and, most importantly, service.

Being a lifelong county local, I've always known this establishment has been here forever, but would tend to frequent my fave spot until the owner pulled up stakes to move home (RIP Kojyo). However, on a whim I decided to try my luck here and was blown away by my experience.

First of all, the restaurant is set up with 2 entrances: one for the very small (like 10 person max) dining room/ bar well and another for the even smaller sushi bar, with the chef's microscopic plating area separating the two rooms. Very reminiscent of the Izekaya style and a huge plus in my book.

I put in my Sushi Litmus Test Order: Salmon and Unagi Nigiri with a bonus Dynamite Roll as I'm a sucker for anything with baked scallops.

I do not exaggerate when I say this was the BEST sushi I have had in years: Salmon like biting into firm cream cheese, Unagi that melted in your mouth with just the right amount of char from the grill, and the Dynamite was everything I've sorely missed from Kojyo's Baked Scallop Roll. So much so, that I went back maybe 5 days later to repeat the experience.

This is where the exemplary service begins. The charming young lady who took my order both visits would graciously offer me a seat at one of the tables to wait, but I would decline and go for a short walk so as not to take up space that another patron could occupy.

Upon my return on the second visit, the young lady asked me to come inside as the chef wished to speak with me. They softly insisted that I have a seat and as settings were being prepared at the bar, the chef was very apologetic, explaining that my order was "complete" but that he had forgotten to add cream cheese to the Dynamite Roll and was making a new one.

As he was speaking, he plated up half of the first roll and added all the final touches, asking me to try it and render a verdict. I was beyond stoked to be asked for my opinion on this, so I enjoyed the hell out of every morsel and confirmed what he already knew: the roll was near perfect as it stood but the cream cheese was needed to round out the medly of flavors going on in the dish to make it a perfect 10.

We talked a bit further while he finished the order and it was clear that this was a man of integrity; he professionally owned the mistake, rectified it before I knew there was an issue, and even shared the roll he could have just put aside or thrown away with me being none the wiser. It was evident beyond words that he took pride in his work and, by proxy, the complete satisfaction of everyone who gets to enjoy the culinary delights he provides.

With all the above added together, I think I've found my new favorite local spot. The only downside I can think of is the lack of parking, which I will...

So I picked this place for our first night—we are all in town for a conference and this place looked great. Ugh, I failed them.

My coworker can be a little picky (because she knows good food) and said her sashimi/nigiri was a bit off and the rice was off. I offered her some of mine and said I’d pay for it and have it for breakfast and I didn’t think much of it until my other coworker said his rice had way too much vinegar too. I tried the rice…it was awful. Too strong to even be rice vinegar almost, and all of them already had soy sauce? Then I smelled her fish.

Oh. My. God. ALL OF THEM STUNK. Sashimi doesn’t smell, and if it does it’s like a clean fresh smell. This smelled like nasty fishy fish. 🐟 All.Of.Them. We took a closer look, and they were all clearly discolored, oxidized, lighter, grey, brownish, and even mushy!!! You can tell from the photos! The bottom one looks unrecognizable? My friend is pretty quiet so I went to tell the manager so no one else would get sick, and he first blew me off by telling me he wasn’t the manager, then he told me he was busy (he wasn’t, it was 5 and they only had one other table), and when I felt the fridge and said it wasn’t cold he then said “I had no where else to put them”—he clearly knew they weren’t fresh—and the vinegar rice was clearly meant to mask the fish.

He then accused us of trying to get free meals, and we were like no, we will pay, though she shouldn’t have to since she ate none of it, (only I also had raw fish and didn’t notice because it was covered in eel sauce but you’d better hope I don’t get salmonella bud or you will see me again bc you clearly knew) but we just wanted to warn you so no one else gets sick—he let us sit there for a half hour so he could pretend we just wanted a free meal. We then tried to pay again on our way out, and he yelled at us again for US being rude and wasting HIS time when he was so busy (again only one table) while we could clearly see more very discolored fish in front of him.

Left money for the server.

Edited the review to add, my coworker wanted to point out he was not even using a sushi knife 😂😅🫠 “I watch a lot...

I’m honestly blown away that this place has such a high rating…. It can only be explained by the sheer lack of competition in Ventura’s utterly abysmal market for quality sushi. I would describe the sushi and various menu items I ordered as average at best, and the average food was honestly the best thing about my experience here. First, the seating arrangements make you feel as though you’re as cramped as a hermit crab that has outgrown its shell and the table was an absolute sticky mess… Second (and I mean this in the least offensive way possible), but when the sushi chefs and servers have a hard time communicating in English and it’s not because they are mostly fluent in Japanese…. It’s not a good sign. Third, when you order a bottle of sake for two and they only bring one glass and it’s covered in filth… no bueno… Fourth, when the bento box we ordered said it came with miso and white rice… and the miso and white rice never actually showed up because apparently you have to request the miso, which we then did when the rest of the food came out 45 minutes later and were then told they were out of miso… and the white rice was simply forgotten…. And I had to ask for wasabi and a soy sauce bowl about 5 times…. And the menu prices didn’t align with the charges on the bill… I mean the list literally just goes on and on…. In sum, def won’t be back. Domo arigato… errr...