Jugem Japanese Restaurant

The only way you anyone could be pleased with this place is if they have never had real sushi and never experienced real service at a Japanese restaurant. My wife and I went here a few years ago and were treated quite shabbily by the chef and wait staff. My wife is Japanese and she was very annoyed by the attitude towards her on the part of the chef. A «local» had just received a special order with no complaints by neither the chef nor the older woman who manges or owns the place. My wife asked for something much simpler, but also a «special order» and the chef grumbled unhappily to the manager in Japanese– even though he knew my wife is Japanese and as we were sitting at the bar 5 feet from him could here everything he said. The sushi was adequate at best. No better than what we could eat at one of the half off places.
. Overall my wife and I both came to the conclusion that the staff does not like tourists. Good luck with that in a town like Monterey which thrives only so long as they can draw tourists in.
We were very disappointed because we came here several years before and we had liked the atmosphere and the sushi was satisfactory, and we were really looking forward to eating there again for the atmosphere.
It’s too bad someone lost their business through a fire, but I cannot understand how it remained open in the first place.

We used to go to Jugem sometimes – BEFORE IT BURNED DOWN.
Not much point in writing more until it comes back – if it comes back.

UPDATE: This restaurant is not longer here. It was destroyed by a fire in July of 2009.

As Roy put it out there, a fire that started in the basement burned this restaurant clean inside and out if you get my gist. So sad. The street is home to quite historically old buidlings too. No word on the street about whether Jugem will be back yet but I know that the building owner is looking to rebuild the actually space asap.

Very good specialty rolls. Their jugem2 had was probably the best roll we had. Great miso soup, it had a lot more flavor than other sushi restauraunts. Decent pricing compared to other fancier sushi places.

I ordered the lunch bento, and I thought the pork was OK, but the sashimi was very poor. I could taste the ice crystals on the fish. I guess they must have to resort to freezing the fish since the locals must not order enough sushi for them to have FRESH fish.
The waitress was pleasant. I noticed that the table next to me complained that one of their orders was wrong. I think there might have been an English comprehension issue between the waitress and the customer whose order was wrong. Mine was fine except for my frozen fish.
Next time, I’ll order something cooked. I’m picky about my sushi. I like it fresh, not frozen. Maybe tonkatsu?

We went here because the other place in Monterey wasn’t within walking distance and it was raining.
We waited 5 minutes for someone to seat us. The place was packed and looked understaffed. When we were seated we found ourselves on VERY uncomfortable chairs. Upon looking around the chairs were supposed to have 4 vertical bars going up their backs. Mine had two and my fiancé’s had 3. Even with 3 they looked horrid.
We ordered sake, edammame, and 3 different rolls. The sake was served promptly. I won’t comment on the quality since it was the house sake, what were we thinking? The edammame came out after the rolls (which took forever) but it was piping hot, but we did order it as an appetizer.
The rolls were okay. They weren’t rolled very tightly, the fish didn’t seem very fresh (it was kinda chewy). At this point since we had waited so long I wanted to order another roll because I was starving, but my fiancé was worried about it taking forever.
We did tip our waiter well because it did look like he was busting his ass, but the business itself needs to improve.

It’s not bad, but nothing great. The place is quiet, service was adequate, and the food was decent. We had sushi; the kamikaze roll was our favorite, the dragon roll was decent as well. The portions are pretty small, but the fish seems to be pretty high quality. $ 40 for two people bought us enough food, but I could have easily eaten more. Do youself a favor and go to Oh! Sushi instead if you’re looking for better (and bigger) sushi rolls.

I take it all back. I finally convinced my boyfriend to go with me to Jugem last night, and our experience was less than stellar. We waited for 5 minutes without even being greeted before we were finally shown to the only remaining table in the place. The small restaurant was PACKED and was clearly understaffed.
We paid $ 9 for the smallest sashimi appetizer I have ever seen, and the fish was nearly tasteless. Our 3 rolls (American, Monterey, and Real California) were small and pretty disappointing. Overall nowhere near worth the $ 35 + tip we spent on dinner.

I was in a sushi mood (surprise!) when I was in Monterey. I asked the concierge at my hotel for a recommendation of a good sushi restaurant. He flashed me a big grin and without skipping a beat recommended Jugem.
I loved that it was within walking distance to my hotel and the convention center as I didn’t have the time, nor the desire to drive anywhere for lunch.
The restaurant was quite busy on when we arrived for lunch. The server was very helpful and friendly. I had difficulty deciding between two rolls and she helped me make a decision. My dining partner and I loved the rolls we ordered. They definitely satisfied that sushi craving I was feeling. I would like to try some of the lunch specials, but for some reason, I can never bring myself to stray from sushi! ;)

$ 5.95 for a chicken teriyaki lunch bowl??? I’m there!
Actually, my SO had that. He said it was pretty tasty and filling. I had the bento lunch special of chicken teriyaki and tempura with salad and soup. Very good tempura and teriyaki!!! I’d like to come back to try their wide selection of sushi. From what I could see, it looked pretty good.

This is my favorite local sushi restaurant. I always get the Maui Roll, and the Spicy Chicken Tempura Roll and then add Cream Cheese and Green Onions. You won’t regret it! Something about their sushi rice here is just better than other sushi restaurants! And I like the atmosphere, its a little darker than most restaurants (which I appreciate), and the cool samurai costume is fun to check out! Sometimes they get a bit busy and service can be rather slow. Otherwise — this place is great.

I’ve lived in Monterey for 8 years now, and Jugem wins my vote for the best Japanese restaurant by far. Their combos are excellent, the food is always fresh and really flavorful. Their teriyaki beef is so tender, you feel like someone slathered some teriyaki sauce on a fillet mignon. Their shrimp tempura rolls literally melt in your mouth. AMAZING.

While this is the only sushi restaurant I’ve eaten at in Monterey, I wouldn’t recommend it. With the exclusion of the sushi chef, the people working there weren’t friendly. The rice wasn’t cooked all the way (or might have been some odd variety of rice). The sauce they put on the rainbow roll (and possibly also the shogun spider roll) was a tad too sweet. The nigiri (we had tuna and salmon) was bland. The dragon roll was pretty much the only thing I liked.
Overall, not the worst sushi, but far from the best.

Fantastic fish. Not a big roll selection, and the prices are a bit high, but the fish is always quality. The atmosphere is very nice and quiet.

this place is pretty good.
there’s nothing extraordinary about the place, food, or service. but there’s really nothing i can complain about either.

I started visiting Jugem when it first opened… I don’t want to even think how many years ago…
bottom line — always funky, great service and great sushi. my best friend used to pick up ‘orders to go’ for her siamese cat!
so…when we’re back for a visit in another week… I just might have to drop in for a roll or two and see what’s changed (hopefully nothing, but maybe we’ll give it 5 stars?)

I have visited this restaurant on many occasions and keep coming back for more. Yes, I agree with what Joseph H. said about this place as their dishes are Americanized… but what’s wrong with that when the food tastes so good!?! I don’t agree with him that the service is bad because I have always been impressed with how quickly I get seated and that my order gets taken right away.
Some of my favorite rolls… Jazz Roll, Alvarado Roll, and the Kamikaze Roll! Yummy!

Good ambience, better than Koto or Ocean Deli. However, food here is «Americanized.» For instance, miso soup comes first when ordering a combination, which is a big no-​no, as most Japanese tend to have miso soup with their rice. As for taste, there are many «teriyaki» and «tempura» dishes betwen $ 13~15. They also have typical «Americanized» sushi rolls that range from $ 7~$ 15. The reason why I gave it a 3 stars is because of their service. The waitresses (who are Japanese) never smiled and gave people this «leave-​me-​alone» face. I have been there several times, and the service has been the same. It is truly a shame since Japanese often place «customer service» on top of everything else.
UPDATE (June, 2007)
I went to Jugem on my last evening in Monterey before moving to Ohio, and I got serious food poison from their food. And I didn’t order anything raw (I ordered sukiyaki)!

this place is okay. it has a nice selection of rolls.
for the ambience, i expected higher quality fish. i found that too many of the specialty rolls were drenched in unbearably sweet teriyaki sauce.