Sushi Forest

terrible

Pretty good sushi, I love the party roll service is excellent! Opens pretty early that’s a plus!

Mark is pretty amazing! He is chef and owner of this amazing spot. first id like to thank him for all of the Real albacore. a lot of spots pass tilapia for it…
He wont sell you anything if it isnt up to his standards… My friends wanted osters for example. Mark poped it open and said no good! I cant sell it to you…
Awesome and honesty.
If you ever want to drink with him. buy a beer! My personal fav is the sashimi salad! It is huge! Best and biggest of anyone i have seen. please please visit!

This place is pretty small but I’m impressed with their lunch specials and half orders of sushi rolls! Perfect place for lunch. I love how they are truthful about the miso soup containing dashi which is not vegetarian! Most places lie about it. Almost all miso is not veggie friendly due to the dashi. House salad is big and cheap! And best of all this place is like a block from work!!!

First off, Mark knows sushi. He will only get the best fish to serve his patrons. I’ve come here once a week and find that he may not have a certain fish because they weren’t fresh. I have so much more respect for a sushi chef because of this. When he does get the unique fish, man oh man is it fresh. It’s just melt-​in-​your-​mouth good.
I just go in and ask, what’s good tonight and he will always tell me a straight answer. It is reasonably priced and the service is attentive. I have been trying to find quality sushi that won’t break the bank and Sushi Forest pretty much has everyone beat.

so good! their sushi is top-​notch and they have 20% their sushi and rolls everyday! the sushi chefs here are super nice!
they also have 50% off beer and sake on Saturdays and Sundays.

What a cute spot the Sushi chef was super chill and talks with you. I lost my voice so didn’t (couldn’t) say much but I’ll definitely be back for my next sushi craving! Thank you for your excellent service!
Sushi was also really good and the bill was extremely affordable haha.

We’ve been looking for a really good fresh sushi close to home and we have found it. We found the yellowtail and octopus were 6+ stars and the Milky Way was the best roll I’ve had in a long time. If you are looking for great sushi you should come to Sushi Forest.

No Bueno. Portions and price were ok, but the taste was so off I couldn’t even choke it down. If you know me, there wasn’t a Cali roll I didn’t like until today. The imitation crab meat tasted like my nail polish remover. At first I thought it was just my imagination, but it definitely tasted strongly of nail polish remover. So since fake crab meat is in a lot of special rolls, just be mindful when you order.
I also had the beef teriyaki. The meat was chewy. I can do without ever having that dish again. Sad face. I wish this was the «go to» local sushi place for me, but it’s not. I hate to be biased, but if there is an authentic Japanese sushi restaurant in this area please share it with me. I’m desperate, sorta.

My friend Darny S tells me «I found this great sushi spot in Hawaiian Gardens». I’ll have to admit that I had to pause a moment and erase all the stereotypes that went through my head about the area and then convince myself to venture out and try this place. It’s a small sushi place, located in a strip mall (near a Walmart, but facing the Bingo Club across the street). It has a few tables, and a small bar area. It’s decorated very nicely and has a good modern feel. I again have to admit that I was a little bit scared because there were a few sketchy looking people walking around the area.
But! Yes, But! I’m glad I tried it. We sat at the bar and chit chatted with the sushi chef/​owner, Mark. We shared great stories, a few beers, and some delicious sushi. Normally, I don’t order fried stuff from sushi places, but I came in with a hankering for some deep fried deliciousness. I think it was called the Shooting Star Roll. It was a mound of deep fried crawfish on top of a California roll. It was definitely a healthy helping of crawfish. I didn’t think I could finish it. We also had oysters that Chef Mark prepared for us the Japanese way, with uni, quail egg, gobo, masago and all kinds of other stuff. It was delicious! Every ingredient that it came with was incredibly fresh. I’m always afraid that uni and oysters will have a fishy smell/​taste to it, but we were in the clear. I’ll definitely be back for that! I also had the spicy salmon handroll. I watched as Mark sliced large fresh chunks of salmon and mix it with some spicy sauce. Everything is made to order and so fresh here. I love it!
The ambience is great here. It’s like the «Cheers» of the sushi world. It’s a place where everyone knows your name, and Mark makes a great effort at getting to know all his customers. We befriended a couple of people around us and were invited to try one of the dishes they ordered. It was the Cajun tuna sashimi. Delicious! It’s definitely a must try!
I left the restaurant looking forward to my next visit. It’s always great when you can pair amazing food with a fun atmosphere and good people. I can’t wait for my next visit!

Absolutely my only sushi spot in town!!! Chef Mark will take care of you, he is the chef and also serves your table when he has time! If you don’t know anything about sushi, just ask Mark and he will prepare you for a wonderful taste bud journey of fresh sashimi and sushi rolls! If it’s not in the menu, just ask and you shall receive! (Depends on season)
Definitely recommended!

Its pretty good! The sushi seems fresh and the chef is very kind! I think the «20%» off is fake though because they hiked up the prices so they can give the discount.
Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed the Milky Way. Love how they use crawfish! I’m probably going to be coming back here :)

If I was all alone in the forest, and I farted… would it make a sound?
Sushi Forest, a quaint sushi restaurant in Hawaiian Gardens, offers 20% off sushi & rolls daily and 50% off beer & sake Sat-​Sun. Always a fan of trying new restaurants, especially when sushi is involved, I made it my mission to stop by for lunch.
Owner & sushi chef, Mark, is the entire, one-​man army kitchen. He gave me recommendations on what rolls I should order, which I ended up selecting Mark’s Roll (named after the chef, himself).
Complimentary miso soup was brought out. Unfortunately, edamame is extra.
Mark’s Roll–
A spicy tuna roll, with green onion, yuzu wasabi sauce, Sriracha & wonderfully thick cuts of yellowtail, Mark’s Roll was absolutely delicious! Did I mention the meticulously cut slices of yellowtail were thick? A large size roll, I enjoyed the heat of the Sriracha pairing with the fresh tuna & yellowtail. Factoring the 20% off, the totat including tax was only $ 7.48. Not bad, at all!
For those that don’t care for fish, meat specials include–
Chicken bowl/​$ 2.99
Beef bowl/​$ 3.99
Chicken or beef plate/​$ 4.99
Service was good. A woman seated me & brought out my miso soup & lemon water. She was quick with refills and clearing plates. To reiterate, Mark is the kitchen, so while I was the first one there and my food came out quickly, I’d imagine there could possibly be a long wait for your food to come out.
A small dining area has 2 booths & 4 tables, along with the sushi bar. 2 flatscreen TV’s have the sports channels on. Booty-​shaking KPOP pumps through the in-​house speakers for your musical entertainment. Parking is in a private lot and not a problem.
Mark has plans to offer live chopped octopus in the future, which I’m ecstatic for because that’s one my foodie to-​eat list. Live sea cucumber is also on the radar. Currently, he has ginormous live shrimp, which for $ 9.99 each, will get you sashimi & soup made with the head.
Sushi Forest is a wonderful new, non-​franchise, hole in the wall sushi restaurant that I’m excited to put on my food rotation. The Mark’s Roll was constructed well & I could taste the flavor from the fresh fish & other ingredients. There may be a wait because Mark is running the kitchen all by himself, but I think you’ll find the food & service to be well worth it. Or, do like me & go when it’s not busy ;p
I highly recommend Sushi Forest next time you’re in the mood for sushi.
NOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOM

My dad actually recommended this place to me because he was just skimming through Unilocal out of boredom once. i booked marked it but wasn’t really on my priority of places to go because i don’t really love near it. (i live in down town long beach but my parents live right next door)
i went to visit my mom and we had a busy morning when we decided to get lunch. I LOVED IT! i got a sashimi salad and a forest roll and i know I’m always going to order it!
both of my items were not only tasty but really craftily done.
there credit card machine wasn’t working right and we had to go run to the bank. that was kinda a bummer but the manager felt so bad! he kept apologizing. lucky my mom and i are super patient and understanding that it wasn’t his fault so we didn’t mind.
great food and the service is wonderful!

Came down from Los Angeles to visit family and take my wife out for her birthday. Everyone was friendly and courteous and the food was amazing. Will definitely be coming back.

The owner Mark aka The Chef… Is the best! Great service, friendly people & amazing food! I just had TNT roll, Milky Way tool, salmon skin hand roll & jalapeño poppers! I would’ve taken a picture of all the food, but I finished it.

Very affordable cheaper prices of sushi. First off, Mark the owner is awesome and absolutely friendly. The service is superb!
I got the Aurora, which has jalepenos in it so if you like that, grab it. Its similar to a mexicali.
Sunset was very saucy, it tastes a lot just of the unagi/​eel sauce. It was okay.
The fish are fresh, it’s great quality sushi and presentation is great as well, however the deliciousness factor is missing a few bars. It could be more tastier.
Their hospitality and service is amazing, I felt so welcomed and comfortable! The ambiance is nice as well! Very clean!
About $ 8 – 11 a plate as price range. And you get a lot for a plate.
Miso soup is awesome too!
My experience here was great!

Plates for special rolls are large, piled high, impressive, and hella messy to eat. It’s hard to tell exactly what one is eating when it’s hiding under so much stuff.
It’s also hard to appreciate all the ingredients individually and collectively when everything’s falling apart as you attempt to eat it.
Also…the bites (individual roll pieces) are HUGE on the special rolls, and it’s impossible to take in two bites without it just disintegrating mid-​bite, so one must look like a chipmunk for about half a minute and hope not to choke or that one does not have a plugged up nose while eating, since you must stuff each piece mouth wards, sometimes with fingers occasionally needed as an assist in the operation, and try to chew without the food spilling out the tiny hole your lips are still making regardless of the fact you are trying hard to close it.
It would be nice to see a menu where there are alternatives to almost every roll under it’s ‘accent/​unique qualifier being a ‘California’ roll combo. K-​Rab/​Avocado/​Cucumber gets so generic after the first roll that uses it.
It would also be nice to not have traditional rolls, like the caterpillar, diluted and made extra-​ordinary (and definitely not extraordinary!) by putting a huge wad of K-​rab salad in the middle that drowns out the whole point of a Caterpillar roll: the roasted freshwater eel in the middle and the creaminess of the perfectly ripe avocado layered on the outside.
I think every single roll we ordered had a huge wad of K-​rab salad in it. Seems to be a new standard thanks to AYCE places using CA rolls as a base for everything so they can pump out the food fast and furious, and even pre-​make such rolls for such uses.
I believe this place did make everything fresh to order, but the tendency for American big food to be all about quantity first, quality second (or third) lets Sushi Forest sink neatly into the rut of being just another sushi place in a sea of OC food options because people don’t know what «old school sushi» was like, they accept this new standard, and are happy to leave stuffed instead of enticed.
Servers and sushi chef were very nice people though, prices are standard.
My honest advice to Unilocalers: try the rolls that do not have the CA roll innards, or ANY K-​rab meat inside, and toy with the idea of asking for your rolls with ¾ to ½ the rice they typically use.
My advice to the business:
1. Serve a tiny portion of sunomono with a half dozen thin cucumber slices, some spicy sprouts or daikon, and a single piece of shaved octopus meat dressed with a ponzu sauce as your complimentary salad and ditch the oily bowl of iceberg lettuce.
2. Explore making more rolls unique on the inside instead of over-​using the CA roll ingredients. Look to traditional combinations recipes noted in the 80s, and let the run of the mill places with are by the dozen in OC be the boring usual thing.
3. Make your special roll pieces smaller but more numerous, consider using less rice, and use less ‘topping’ so that people can see a bit more of the ingredients.
4. Keep classic rolls classic! Last time I checked, a caterpillar roll had avocado, cucumber, roasted eel inside (the main event) the rice outside sprinkled with sesame seeds and was covered with thin avocado slices, drizzled all over with real eel sauce, and served with the eel was still warm. Take out the huge wad of K-​rab from 75% of your menu items, and cut down on the rice for all rolls.
Sushi is about eating art and taking risks. Come here if you want to play it safe.

Love love love love love love love this place!
The fish was killer! Every single slice of sashimi and nigiri was Purrrfect!!! Big thick juicy slices of raw deliciousness. Oh my! It was awesome!
We were in this part of town and looking for some yumminess and found all the Unilocal reviews. So we stopped in. The service was slow because we were a big party and they were new. They gifted us a large Sapporo for the wait. We were HAPPY!
I will return the next time I drive through town. So legit ya’ll! :)

I think ive found my local hidden gem sushi place. This restaurant is truly a dont judge a book by its cover place. The sushi here is awesome and the staff is very nice. I would highly recommend this place to the casual sushi eater looking for good sushi at a good price.