Katana Sushi and Ramen

Brian = best sushi chef who ever lived. The food is always on point and so fresh and the service from everyone was absolutely perfect!

It is my 5 year anniversary and I walked in without reservation and the wait was 10 minutes so I preferred to go across the street for some drinks and make a reservation for 8 pm. When I get back for my time they tell me that the wait is 45 minutes with reservation for a table outside when 10 tables were empty … Each table for 4 had 2 people and they couldn’t accommodate us with reservations??? Unbelievable !

Friendly service, happy hour available with decent prices.
Very small spot but not bad.
I’d go back there with friends. Worth a shot is say.

First time here. Showed up on a Saturday fit the lunch special 17.99+ free drink all you can eat sushi. Our server Matt was the bomb. We were not sure of what to order, being our first time here, he recommended the best of the best. Super friendly environment. Definitely coming back. Thanks for the great service Matt!

Matt the server was great! He knew exactly what kind of sushi to recommend to me and my brothers. He was also super friendly and provide extraordinary service! This is definitely going to become my go-​to spot for sushi! Especially for all you can eat sushi at $ 17.95!!!

What happened to this place? I had fond memories of eating here but our recent visit left a bad taste in my mouth (figuratively and literally).
My friends and I walked into an empty Katana around 5 o clock. There was no receptionist and we were wondering if they were closed of not. We stood at the front of the desk for a good 2 minutes and just watched the staff talk to each other in the kitchen. We cleared our throats and said excuse me but no one noticed us. So we resorted to yelling HI!!!
We were finally seated at a sticky table and noticed that the price has gone day. Yay I guess? We ordered a slew of items but when our order came out, they were missing a lot of items.
Service was horrible. Food was C+ at best. Sad faces all around.

The waitresses were nice, and our rolls were served to us within 10 mins! My faves was the Tiger roll and I think it was the Las Vegas.
Def coming back to try this place out again !

UPDATE! 7÷6÷14 — tried this place again. Pumping it up half a star from my last review just because the sushi chef, Brian, is awesome. They’re still really fast and treat you well :)
Came here after a long day at Universal Studios (yee yee!) and we were all famished. We came in at 9pm, they close at 10pm, ordered our rolls and they were out within the next 10 – 15 mins. I loved that they are quick and have pretty good service, but I can’t get over the rolls. I ordered a tuna roll and a philly roll. Simple. They were delicious at the time because I was so hungry but now that I think about it, they were ok.
I’d definitely come back though. Great service.

I had a really good time here, the service was fast and very attentive. I got the all you can eat buffet for 20 bucks, had about 10 different kinds of rolls, they were all pleasing. They have beer and the place is kind of small but that’s okay and the parking is cool because you can see where you park your car.

I came here the other night with my cousin. We weren’t really sure what to eat but he suggested coming here. Living in Orange County (and being Japanese), I’m pretty lucky to have a lot of good Japanese places at my disposal so I was pretty stoked to see how Katana compared.
We came in during Happy Hour which consisted of a bunch of rolls priced half off, but I was pretty set on ordering a bento box off the menu. Typical choices to choose from like California Rolls, Beef Teriyaki, etc., but my cousin persuaded me to get AYCE sushi.
Unlike other AYCE sushi places I’ve been to, Katana only offered 2 rounds to order food. We ordered a variety of rolls like Dynamite, Hawaii, Rainbow, Salmon Skin, and they were all typical. My favorite by far was the Dynamite. What made the other rolls ‘typical’ was probably the quality of the fish. Nothing seemed too fresh but then again I can’t blame them since they’re located pretty inland. Miso soup wasn’t anything special and seemed to come out of a pre-​made package or something. I was hoping for big pieces of Tofu (because everyone hopes for that in their miso soup) but they had tiny ones.
It’s located in a pretty small strip mall that shares a small parking lot with a Liquor Store, some sort of martial art studio, and some other smaller businesses. Pretty glad I didn’t drive since I felt the parking lot spaces were tiny.
Service was pretty good. The waitress was quick refilling our drinks, but the sushi took a while to come out. Wasn’t that crowded but there was only one chef which probably made it slow.
I might come back out here again if I visit my cousin.

I am updating my review of Katana, better late than never… I want to say that my first review was a bit harsh, the quality of the sushi is great and I stand by that and the service has improved tremendously!!! The servers and chefs are very accommodating and will do what they can to customize the dishes you order (no sauce, more sauce, spicy, etc).
The décor and environment has truly grown on me as well. I’m also glad to see that Katana has garnered more interest, I’ve probably have been there a good handful of times so far this year (BULK MODE!!!) and it’s good to see they are beginning to get the business they deserve.
LONG STORY short what I’ve come to realize is when my wife asks me if I want sushi I always go back to Katana: Service improved greatly, and for the price of what you would probably spend for average/​good sushi (we’re not talking extreme high end here) you get ALL YOU CAN EAT: D

The location is in a very small shopping center and parking can be tough. Especially if the Tae Kwon Do school has a large class in session. Inside is cozy but cool. Staff seems friendly. There is a TV that usually is on sports. Cool spot to get a sushi fix and throw a couple cold ones back.
The sushi is good. Think you won’t be disappointed. However, it’s surrounded by other sushi spots that are better. I just stopped by since I pass it in the way home. It’s simple and it will hit the spot. Can’t say anything really stands out but it will do the job. If you’re looking for something more tasty or is more lively try another spot. If you need something that will do to get your sushi fix this place will do. Enjoy!

I can’t believe this place is still in business! Maybe I should have ordered the Sushi or Ramen instead of the bento boxes, but the food is really sub-​par. The ingredients aren’t particularly fresh and the service was non-​existence. I can understand that maybe because we’re in an Asian dominated part of Los Angeles but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to have crappy service. In fact, other successful establishments in the Hacienda Heights, Rowland Heights, Diamond Bar area definitely have better service over restaurants in Chinatown or Monterey Park, Alhambra.
I usually overlook the service when it’s very casual and low-​key as long as the food is good. Well, there’s nothing to write home about in this department either. The bento boxes were mediocre and for the price, there are way better choices around.
Maybe I’m being a bit harsh with my review and if I return to try the AYCE, maybe I’ll have a different opinion. If that happens, I will certainly update my review. In the meantime though, this place is going to be a 2-​star place for bento boxes.

It’s seriously not a bad AYCE. Most places cut the fish really thin and pack in the rice. However, this place serves the sushi as if you were to order it off the menu. Quality wise is not terrible, but if you consider the price for the quality, it’s superb.
I don’t really quite understand the «3 sushi per person» that’s write on the AYCE menu. Not quite sure if it means 3 sushi orders each round or 3 sushi orders per person. We ordered more than 3 orders per person so that probably isn’t true.
AYCE selection is more kitchen prepared foods and rolls than sushi. You would think that they would pack on the rice to fill you up more, but nope. The rolls also come out in what I would call «normal» size.
It also comes with one free drink (ice tea, lemonade, soda, etc). Beers are cheap here too ($ 2).
I’d rather come here, pay the $ 20 and eat the all you can eat instead of going to another sushi place like Niko Niko and pay $ 15 for one roll that is often packed with a thick layer of rice.

Terrible, just fucking terrible.
Came here on a Friday night, I have never been to a restaurant with worse service than this. If you don’t want to serve us, please just don’t even work. The service was just so slow and forgetful. They’re also very unprepared. We sat on our table with nothing on it, no utensils and no napkin. We had to ask for it from both of the young workers because they keep forgetting!
Honestly, I don’t know if they’re just slow in the head or purposely being forgetful. There were 3 waitresses working that night (2 young girls: one with short hair and one with curly hair. Also an older Asian lady) I literally asked napkin from all three of them and it never came. No napkins. What did they expect me to wipe myself with? The chopstick wrapper?
To make it even worse, we literally had to ask for our salmon SIX times because none of them brought it to us! We asked both the two young ladies for it, so one of them should at least remember right? NOPE, forgot. They have memories of a fish or something. You can tell them and don’t expect to get anything. Finally, the sixth time, we asked the older lady and she brought it to us about 15 minutes later. The whole dining experience was about an hour and 30 minutes because it was so damn slow. I don’t understand how they can just keep forgetting since the restaurant is not even that big.
Skip this place, scroll down on Unilocal and find a better Sushi restaurant.

My friend and I went to go check out the Buddhist temple a few blocks away from this restaurant and then got hungry. While waiting at a red light, we spotted this restaurant and decided to try it. That was an excellent decision. Sushi is a fairly simple type of food. In my experience, it tastes about the same wherever you go. The only difference will be the level of pretension in the restaurant, which will determine the price. This isn’t a fancy restaurant, and it doesn’t pretend to be. It’s a place for people who want some good sushi without having to be fancy.
I’m vegetarian, so I only eat the very basic stuff they make. I ordered the avocado roll, cucumber roll, and veggie roll. Each roll includes 8 pieces. All three of them were delicious. I can’t decide whether I like sushi, or whether I just enjoy dipping things into soy sauce with wasabi. But it was fun, it was tasty, and it filled me up. My friend, who eats meat, ordered far more impressive items than me. There was shrimp and lobster and all kinds of other things in his order, and it looks extremely colorful and appetizing.
The entire bill came out to $ 23, which seemed like very little money for a great deal of food. The waiter was also a very nice guy. This place has an AYCE menu for about $ 20, though I don’t see how I could have eaten much more than I did after those three vegetarian rolls. Overall, this was a great place and I would come again.

I used to like this place back in 2011 but this experience is very different.
The service: the server with the pony tail was very helpful and was chill.
The food: The amount is same as all AYCE places and tastes around the same, with the exception of Sushi Asahi which tastes far far superior.
The AYCE: This was by far the worse part of this place. It is NOT really all you can eat. I repeat if you want all you can eat do not come to this place. We were a party of FIVE HUGE JUICY SWOLE GUYS on a winter bulk. That’s right folks, we wanted to eat. But the establishment refused to serve us enough food. They put an limit to three orders a person. That means in the TWO rounds you get, you only get to eat 6 pieces of the sushi you want. For your 25+ dollars you get 12 pieces of the sushi you want. TWELVE PIECES. The establishment told us the 3 per limit rule was just there to prevent people ordering too much and they would allow us FIVE GUYS to order more than 30 pieces of salmon between all of us. However when the second round came around they refused to serve us more than the limit. They pretty much tricked us into staying and then refused to let us leave.
Would we come back again? Probably not. I was starving by the time we got out. Since we only wanted salmon, we got 30 pieces of salmon. We paid over 140 dollars for 30 or so pieces of okay quality sushi.
I ain’t even mad though. But why you gotta trick a brotha like that man. Swindlers and thieves.

Parking: plenty of parking in the lot
Free parking in this small lot. This corner doesn’t seem very busy, so there’s usually a spot available.
Pricing: moderate
They have different deals, but it all depends how much you can eat. They have $ 24 dinner, $ 20 lunch AYCE rolls. I, personally, cannot eat more than two rolls, so this deal is not a good value for me. If the AYCE included sashimi, it would be a completely different story.
I ordered the combination sushi plate for $ 16; includes 8 pieces of crunchy roll and 10 pieces of sushi (chef choice). The entrée was good, but the sushi pieces were petite. If the sushi was a little bit more plump, I would’ve been satisfied.
Oceanside Roll: Very refreshing! The combination of their spicy tuna and seaweed on top of their California roll is tasty! Tip: starter roll before anything heavier
Philadelphia Tempura Roll: Very different from the Oceanside; this roll is heavy, but good. The entire Philadelphia roll is deep fried and served fresh. Love the crunchiness on the outside and gooey Philly cheese in the inside. Nom!
Overall, the food was good, but petite in portion. I wouldn skip their sushi (not impressed) and go for the rolls. Would I come back? Yes, there’s still a lot of rolls to try!!! Perhaps, a group dinner for AYCE, so I can try a little of everything!
Service: attentive and quick
They were generous with their miso soup and gave us two instead of one for our combo order. Nice! Our tea was constantly refilled and they also recommended some delicious rice wine. The restaurant is Korean owned and operated, so the flair is little different. Still good, but just different since it is a Japanese restaurant.
Décor: Simple, think mom and pop!
Drinks: The regular bottles of beer are $ 1.99 each (Sapporo, asahi, bud lite, Guksoondang), so cheap!!! I ordered the Guksoondang for the first time and it was smoooth. It’s a white rice wine and easy to sip, only 6% ALC .
It seems like they have Happy Hour All day and their pricing is moderate. Expect to pay $ 18 – 20 per person, unless you’re ordering AYCE. I would not go out of the way to come back to Katana, but if the craving for some petite sushi rolls come along, I’ll be there!

All I remember is having way more sushi than I am meant to consume in one sitting for less than 20 bucks.
ASSORTED NIGIRI
Ummm…raw fish? the albacore wasn’t horrible.
SPICY TUNA HAND ROLL
Spicy, crunchy happiness.
MORE RANDOM RAW FISH
sorry. no idea.
SALMON
Good stuff, fresh thick slices.
ROE
I eat fish eggs. don’t judge me.
SCALLOP
Pretty damn tasty.
URINAL ON THE ROCKS AND HALF NAKED HITE CHICK
What? I told ya so. Peeing in ice is weird.

I love my KIM. I need to go back there. I use to go there for the AYCE Sushi once every two weeks… it was my treat to myself. But now… no time and plus, I can’t eat that much… so I try to go at least once a month because I love the food and service.
SERVICE:
Excellent… probably because I was a regular. I got to know one of the waitresses KIM — Awesome little Korean woman, I love her. Everyone needs to know her. She remembers me every time I go and asks how my family is and everything. Honestly, she makes going there worth it. I enjoy the food and ambiance more when she’s there.
One time, I was having a horrible stomachache (BEFORE I GOT THERE– — I DIDN’T EAT THE FOOD YET) but I really wanted to go there and my stomache got worse (not from the food) and I wanted to go. Kim packed me my leftovers because she knew I could had eaten them all if I wasn’t sick. So sweet!
LOCATION:
Tons of parking.
AMBIANCE:
This place is a Korean owned Japanese place but they do a good job with the Japanese look. They do have some Japanese sushi chefs there, so it’s not «wannabe» Japanese. It’s pretty laid back and AYCE sushi.
FOOD:
I love the AYCE menu. The rolls are large, so you’ll feel full. It’s great. It’s a good deal if you could eat a lot. I always found the food to be fresh and made when you order.
Just give this place a try. It’s pretty good and you’ll LOVE Kim.