Mako Sushi

This place is good but I would probably not come back. The sushi was way overpriced and the service was not the best since the server was missing my whole meal. The sushi chef had to get the servers attention for my water, extra orders, and the bill. 2 of my orders had no price listed and at the end the server wrote in 14.95 for 2 pieces of uni and also 14.95 for 2 pieces of giant clam. Shady lady.
Sat at the sushi bar and there’s a sign to the far right that says «minimum 3 orders per person to sit at the sushi bar», it was too late since I sat there already.
Scallop roll– it’s good, tolerable, and it had a kick because of some spice they added on top and it was not wasabi. 2pcs
Halibut roll– 2 pieces, so tasty and soft, loved it
Uni roll– 2 pieces, no price listed, wrapped in seaweed, it was generous for the size and tasted good.
Giant clam– no price listed, least favorite, thick, rubbery, and no flavor. It not taste like clam. 2pcs
Philly roll– the salmon, avocado, cream cheese, diced asparagus was good. The only thing is there was only 5 pieces, I felt cheated for $ 14.
Spider roll– soft shell crab was delicious with the watercress, avocado, stuff crab, little sliced cucumbers with fish eggs. The crab was so authentic and they use tempura for the crispy outer layer. The few things I did not like was it fell apart as soon as I picked it up, flimsy roll. Also disliked that they used plastic seram wrap to wrap it and then cut it. I was afraid I would accidentally eat hidden plastic wrap. You would think there’s 8 sliced rolls like most places but there was only 5 pieces.
Spent $ 75 not including tip. I was full and find this place interesting, but there are many sushi places in the San Gabriel valley that is better in value (one place is No.1 kazoku in San Gabriel).

Best fish ever! So fresh and very large pieces. The selection is fantastic and the staff are so friendly and attentive. Very authentic!

One of the best sushi I’ve had! It’s a hidden gem that I would not have found out myself, if my friend didn’t took me here. Very authentic Japanese food with reasonable prices.
~ Rainbow sushi have a mix of shrimp, salmon, yellow tail and tuna sushi. Very generous thick slice of fish on the sushi, most importantly it’s really fresh!
~ Fish soup is really good too! Fish is really tender and soup is full of flavor!
They served authentic Japanese food that melts in your mouth when you take the very first bite. Sounds exaggerating but I’m not! I’m a Japanese food-​lover and when I say it’s good, I meant it! =)

My boyfriend & I used to love going almost every Saturday to this place until 3 weeks ago we got there at 10:00pm. They told me: «sorry, the kitchen is closed» I told him that they advertise their schedule to close at 10:30. The Asian guy, just repeated again that the kitchen was closed. This, to me, was very humiliating because everyone was staring at me, but not only that, we were loyal customers & on top of that… my boyfriend used to tip them really good! Just so you know, you lost a few customers!

I have been to this place many times and the sushi has always been fresh. The place is small and tight, some tables in back and extra parking in back alley of building. Go for the sushi specials. That lobster roll is bueno.

Tried this place twice, the second visit was a worse experience than the first! Way over priced, sashimi didn’t taste fresh, and waitresses are pushy and not very friendly. Never going back!

The food here is okay, nothing to rave about.
The service from the older server ladies were pretty good! They were super sweet and I enjoyed eating here. The environment is great for conversation, but I’ve had better sushi for cheaper else where.
Would I come back?
Probably not.
Maybe if I enjoyed more authentic Japanese dishes I would be more inclined to coming back. I might give this place another try after exploring different sushi dishes, but for now, I’ll stick to my regular sushi place.

The service here isn’t the best but if you don’t want to wait for some sushi, this is the spot for you. It’s a small restaurant located in a pretty desolate area part of Arcadia. The sushi is good and decently priced. I like the chirashi bowl here.

Zomg. Spicy Scallop Handroll in Soy Paper. That’s all you need to get and you’ll be leaving in handroll heaven! Best. Handroll. Ever!!! Creamy ass avocado, silky ass spicy scallop, and soy paper that literally MELTS as you’re eating it! Not the kind of wrapping that you have to tug and pull to separate and eat, it was just. PERFECT!
Kinda pricey, but well worth the high quality sushi!

Chirashi was ok. Their sign says they close at 10 on Friday. We ordered about 9 and were rushed because the kitchen was closing. I hadn’t finished eating and they brought the check without asking if we wanted anything else.

Absolutely loved this place. I tried to go on a more busy night (friday?) and the parking lot and restaurant were packed, so I returned on a slower night.
This did not affect the service or the quality. Thick, fresh cuts of fish on the nigiri, absolutely loved the salmon. Had to get the salmon sashimi after trying the nigiri. Friendly, sociable chefs and my water glass was never more then a ¹⁄₃ empty. Can’t wait to come back here!

Oh my goodness! Please, if you like sushi, do not waste your time here!!! (Unless you’re fine with rolls then this review shouldn’t matter). Customer service wasn’t good at all and on top of that all the sushi just tasted like PONZU! Also it seems like most of their customers are people who come here a lot by the way they know each other’s names and how they hug right when they come in.
FOOD
First of all we ordered a plate of sashimi with 6 different kinds of fishes. Of those 6, 4 of them were all sprinkled with ponzu. This is outrageous! We couldn’t even taste the fish! Then we got our raw oysters, and what do you know– they were soaked in ponzu. The next thing that came tasting like ponzu was our fried sweet shrimp heads. But wait, there’s more. We ordered beef Tataki, and that was swimming in ponzu. I guess people who come here really must love ponzu! It’s such a waste that they soak ponzu in everything because the fish itself tasted fresh and good (tuna and tai didn’t have ponzu which is why I can say this.)
CUSTOMER SERVICE
There were two waitresses when I came here. The first waitress was nice, although she wasn’t very enthusiastic. The second waitress with the glasses was the problem. She came to grab the empty plate off of our table, but when she did my moms chopstick was still on the plate. What she did was she TOUCHED her chopsticks where the food touches and literally dropped them onto the table. My whole family was just in awe… First of all you don’t touch a customers chopstick. Second of all you don’t touch the part where food touches, and third of all you don’t drop them on the table! And trust me, it wasn’t on accident.
Anyways, if you really love sushi (not rolls or just uni/​tuna/​salmon) and if you eat variety of fishes then don’t come here. I was more than disappointed and I was just happy that we came hungry or else we would’ve hated the food here even more.

This is one of those «secret weapon» places, where you walk in, check the look of the joint and immediately adjust your expectations downward.
And then you start eating. And course by course, you can’t believe your luck. Because you’re having one of the best sushi meals of your life. A thought flits through your head — what is sushi this amazing doing in this dark, nondescript, almost industrial block of Arcadia?
But you have no time to ponder the issue, because you are being pounded by relentless deliciousness, proffered with great warmth and joviality (and emphatic, charming and hilariously unintelligible English) by whom I can only assume is the owner.
I ate here with a friend, and once we realized what a master the chef was, we ignored the menu and just asked him to give us whatever he wanted to make for us. GREAT CALL. DO THIS. YOU WILL NOT BE SORRY.
At the end of this miraculous meal, my friend and I asked for the check, then tried to guess what the damage would be. This was a meal that in Studio City would easily be $ 180. In Beverly Hills or Malibu, $ 250. We guessed, going by the neighborhood, that he would charge $ 150 — and if so, that it would be a steal.
When the check came it was LESS THAN $ 60. My friend and I stared at the bill in shock.
Seeing this, the chef, thinking we thought the price too high, began to explain apologetically. No kidding. This is THE KINDEST, NICEST MAN ON EARTH. IT’S LIKE HAVING AN UNCLE WITH THE GREATEST SUSHI BAR EVER — AND YOU’RE HIS FAVORITE NEPHEW.
I honestly hesitated to leave this review, because I’d like Mako not to get more crowded. And of course I’d like it to stay as underpriced as it is.
But fair is fair, and this place deserves a flat-​out, stone-​cold rave, and a line out the door.
Go. Let him make his choice for you. You deserve it.

This is my go-​to sushi spot close to home. Thankfully, Arcadia has many sushi bars and restaurants. That competition drives down the price and enhances the quality. My Japanese friends always agree that Mako is one of the best in Arcadia. They and I agree that the only close competition for ‘traditional’ Japanese cuisine in Arcadia would be Kiyosuza (on Baldwin ave.).
I love the people that work here. My wife and I have gone here enough that they know us and they always are great people. The sashimi (what I typically get) is always excellent. The traditional Japanese meals (i.e., Makonushi) are great here as well. I definitely recommend this place for people who want good sushi.

It truly breaks my heart that I had to update this review with a 1 star.
my recent visit was just horrifying experience. I am pretty sure I could have started litigation process.
First of all, one of the Japanese chefs is gone, I almost cried when I heard «he no longer works here» ja né, Tomosan.
The replacement chef, I had to try and at least give him a chance to show what he had to offer.
The sizes of the pieces were definitely shrunk down.
I had a mackerel sushi with a piece of glass. I could not believe the extra crunching between my teethes as I chewed a piece. I had to spit it out right away. I actually picked out the glass shards and saved ½ of them on my index finger (and used a scotch tape to get the glass piece on the tape and showed to my wife which later she confirmed as glass) and showed the other ½ to the chef. He said literally that «sometimes the fish scales are left there and gives crunch texture» — MY A$$ !!
I have enjoyed sushi from different countries, many many restaurants in a span of 30 years — never once, i had a glass shards in my sushi. Eff that.
I was trying to maintain my composure … yes people make mistakes, and yes sometimes you can have little rocks or other particles in your food that shouldn’t be there. But glass shards are too much for me. I could tell that the chef noticed that I was upset and he offered me another piece free of charge. Guess what, it had another glass shards. The other japanese chef (yukata san) was there and offered me other side dish free of charge. I’m keep thinking I should have gotten my meal free instead.
I love sushi because you can truly appreciate individual chef’s craftiness and mastery. The one offered me sushi with glass shard was extremely lacking and unprofessional — he tried to cover it up. I think I would have been less angry if he said «sorry» but I think he was already in doo doo that he couldn’t admit that he gave me glass shards or play dumb — and he chose to play dumb.
I will not be returning. ever. I really like yukata san as well but it’s shame that mr henry (owner) somehow let Tomosan go… I suppose I will never find out why. SO EXTREMELY SAD.

I don’t usually write reviews, but in this case I feel strongly about giving warning to others. This place is horrible! One of the waitresses was grumpy and rude to us right when we walked in. She handed our party of 4 one menu for us all to look at. When she finally returned to take our order I specifically pointed out and ordered the sashimi dinner. However, what arrived was the deluxe sushi dinner. When I inquired about this error, the grumpy waitress insisted I had ordered it, even handing me the menu as to somehow prove I had ordered it (when I clearly hadn’t). After my wife and I told her she had made an error, the owner (who seemed very friendly and warm) made me my correct order which arrived within 10 minutes.
However, the food quality was worse than horrible. My salmon and tuna sashimi both had ice crystals in them and the texture tasted like I was biting into a half-​thawed piece of frozen watermelon. The octopus was also extremely tough and gummy. The remaining fish on my sashimi plate were average to below-​average at best!
There was one waitress (the younger of the two) who was much more attentive and very nice, but overall service was pretty bad and the food quality was horrible.
I feel bad writing a negative review because I’m a business owner myself and I know what a bad review can do to a business, but in this case, I had to get the word out.
Try at your own risk… you’ve been warned!!!

I don’t understand the good reviews for this place. The quality of fish here is extremely subpar. Squishy and nasty. Not pleasant to eat, let alone good enough to justify the very high prices. The rolls are also not well made. Mine were droopy when they arrived, and didn’t hold together at all.
I don’t usually give one star, but I am giving one here because I ended up not really eating because I found the sushi so unpleasant. And I like sushi!
If this place was once good, it certainly is not anymore. Absolutely would not recommend.

A little better this time, but not by much.
The salt & Pepper shakers are dirty with hand prints and we are their first customers
For the evening.
I ordered a spicy tuna roll, two California rolls, two orders of tempura, snd the rainbow roll.
The tempura, California roll and rainbow roll was really good. Two stars for that!
The spicy tuna roll was SO fishy I couldn’t eat it. I think they used the old ends of the fish to make it. ;(
Thought the service was great! It’s always great, the young gal who serves is adorable.
Parking is easy. Lot or street.

I’m so happy to find a neighborhood sushi spot run by a Japanese family. The two chefs I met were so sweet and one drank along with customers. They holler at the waitresses to get tea or drinks. The sushi slices are huge and masterfully cut.
I loved that the spot is small and intimate. It’s not pretentious at all. I haven’t found a place like this since moving back to LA from SF. The locals know the chefs by name.
I enjoyed listening to the Japanese tango/​jazz that my grandparents listened to when I was growing up.
I ate to my heart was content and tummy full. Feels like a home.

My boss mentioned that there was this authentic sushi joint on the what you can call bad side of Arcadia for so long. I know I’ve passed by here so many times but never stopped to give this place a try. After missing the cutoff time to make it to an event with my grad school, I wanted to stay local and close for dinner. Sushi at Mako Sushi it is!
The parking lot is super small and shared with at least 3 other businesses, so if you don’t find any spots, look for a lot behind the plaza or street parking.
We arrived at 8 pm and snagged the last table (the bar was practically full too). Since it was our first time time here, we tried to sample a variety of items.
THE NIGIRI…
* Uni nigiri — very fresh. Generously sized piece. It was the largest uni nigiri I have ever seen and eaten. I should’ve ordered another!
* Salmon nigiri — very fresh. Also a generously sized piece. Good, but not as buttery as others I’ve had. I would order this again though.
* Unagi nigiri — pretty good, not too fatty.
THE ROLLS…
* Blue crab roll — shame on me. I was expecting something that looked like the blue crab roll (hand roll) from Sugarfish. Didn’t realize this would come infused with quite a bit of mayo. The flavor from the blue crab wasn’t really there. Comes with thick slices of avocado on top. I would skip out on ordering this next time.
* Tiger roll — pretty big sized roll. A lot of rice. Not a lot of flavor.
THE SASHIMI OVER SUSHI RICE…
* Chirashi bowl — loved this. The only gripe was the mackerel. I usually don’t like mackerel, but this one was pretty fishy (in taste) and there were bones in it when I ate it! Ewwww. Other than the mackerel, the other slices of fish were deliciously good.
May return since it’s so close to where I live. Definitely a strong 3.5 stars.