Sushi Roku

I come here for lunch on a semi regular basis and I’m never disappointed. Today we ordered the kurobota brussel sprouts which was wonderful with the bacony bits. We also ordered the chirashi which gives you a good assortment of sashimi. Alex was our server and was great. Always remembers our order and very attentive and friendly. Will be coming back soon.

I never knew food had such a capacity to instill hope and inspiration within the confounds of my fragile soul. Dreams and aspirations… what a wonderful thing. Especially so when you can enjoy and obtain them from the pit of your stomach. I’ve always loved sushi, but Sushi Roku opened a whole new world. Sushi Roku Pasadena is the place that’s constantly on my mind whenever I decide to try another sushi joint. The place I compare every other sushi joints to. It’s quite magical.
There’s nothing else that can beat their quality to price ratio. Every piece just melds and melts so naturally to your tongue. Every bite gradually releases the full magnitude of flavor locked into each slice. The freshness and depth of flavor is out of control. It has most definitely proven itself to be OVER 9000!!!
Aside from how amazing the sushi is, the presentation is cute and traditional and the ambiance and service is beyond appropriate and timely. Sushi Chef Manzo by far has set the bar and standard at its highest peak without a doubt. The manager Justin is always attentive to every guest, collectively Manzo and Justin are to be commended for setting the standards and the bar so high for the susi industry and Roku itself. Sooooo come on by and treat your self. This place has secured its spot as my favorite sushi joint for about five years now. You won’t be disappointed TRUST ME!!!

I love sushi roku. By far one of my favorite sushi restaurants. I used to goto the Santa Monica location and that’s where I first fell in love with this place. My boyfriend and I went to this location on my birthday and I loved the lounge area. This place was fabulous and the food was just as amazing as the Santa Monica location.

First time coming here and let me say I was very impressed. I eat sushi a lot and have tried it from so many different places and this place by far had the best sushi I have ever had (maybe the reason being I eat cheap sushi). Everything tasted so fresh and well prepared. The atmosphere is the restaurants was very mellow and the service was phenomenal. I really wish I could remember our servers name because he was awesome and offered great suggestions on what to order. I didn’t want to stop ordering even though I was full. Everything our waiter suggested was delicious and left me curious about everything else.

First time coming here and let me say I was very impressed. I eat sushi a lot and have tried it from so many different places and this place by far had the best sushi I have ever had (maybe the reason being I eat cheap sushi). Everything tasted so fresh and well prepared. The atmosphere is the restaurants was very mellow and the service was phenomenal. I really wish I could remember our severs name because he was awesome and offered great suggestions on what to order. I didn’t want to stop ordering even though I was full. Everything our waiter suggested was delicious and had me curious about everything else.

Delicious sushi and dessert. Excellent service, the manager came over to our table several times. The Uni and yellowtail were to die for. Would definitely come back.

Awesome sushi! Awesome service! Eunice is a doll, and would come back for her perfect service! Sushi Roku is definitely my go to in Pasadena!

Haven’t been here in a while, I’m not sure why because the food was excellent. Had the Katana Roll and the chicken wings. I love bread pudding and the banana bread pudding here was outstanding! Loved every bite of it. Service was excellent. Our server, Victoria was very attentive. Justin the general manager stopped by the table and was extremely nice. Will definitely come back again.

I was very impressed by the ambiance-​modern, very nice table settings and edgy. We ordered the lunch specials-​sushi six with California roll and the Bento boxes of chicken teriyaki with tempura and beef teriyaki with sushi combo. The sushi was excellent. The chicken and tempura were very good. The service was outstanding!

Wanted to write a quick note because I thought the ambiance of this place was killer.
Dropped by after dinner on a whim as we passed by it.
Dim interior with accented lights and a cool, modern vibe.
Hanging paper lanterns, flowing rock fountain, roomy lounge tables for groups. Pretty nice.
Grabbed some hot sake, rock salt edamame. Standard stuff.
Also had the crispy rice with spicy tuna… ugh, I love this stuff haha. Just the right amount of crunch. Although I like mine a tad bit spicier with a sliver of jalapeño :)
Didn’t try much of the other eats, but for the space itself, great place to hang out over drinks.

Wow! Tonight my cousin visiting from San Diego and I decided to go for happy hour. Upon arrival we requested outside. We were told that all the outside seating was reserved for a party of 15 people. We inquired about the opposite side of the restaurant seating and were told the area was not available for happy hour, restaurant patrons only. We asked to speak to the manager and she came right over with an explanation. Eunice told us that a customer had just come in and reserved seating for 15 guests. She told us that the restaurant operates on first come first served basis. She said she was sorry but corporate rules say we have to order dinner on this side of the restaurant. No happy hour! We felt we were being forced to pay dinner prices when we came for happy hour. Eunice put the blame on Corprate and said there was nothing she could do. We were mistaken and thought she was the manager. We left and went to another sushi spot. By the way, the party of 15 still hasn’t arrived. One more thing… She made it clear to us that the larger party was guaranteed $ 35 per person and they were more valuable.
GO TO: OSAWA SHABU SHABU & Sushi. We left Sushi Roku and walked to Shabu Shabu. AMAZING!

I excellent indoor /​outdoor seating. I had the garden salad and green tea. Looks like a nice place for happy hour.

To be honest, the 5 stars is for seating us at a table right away.
Now, the food. Considering its location, expect to pay $ 2-​$ 3 more per sushi.
You can’t deny it, everything on the menu is fresh. I especially enjoyed the sashimi.
I wasn’t impressed with their ramen. I’ve tasted better. Usually ramen has a nice soup base, but theirs tasted very plain.
Now, if you want bang for your buck, get the bento boxes. A bit pricey, but they have big servings.
I didn’t feel as well taken care of by our server compared to other restaurants in Pasadena. Maybe because it was a busy day and he had a lot of tables to tend to. Although once in a while, someone else would come and ask if we found everything ok.
Overall, I enjoyed my time. If you want to chill and just hangout with a friend, this is a good place.
I’d definitely be back.

Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect from Sushi Roku Pasadena. However, I have been to Sushi Roku Las Vegas (had a great experience there), I know Japanese cuisine well, and I’d like to call myself a sushi connaisseur. Usually when I go to sushi restaurants I’ve never been to before, I always order chirashi because that’s how I compare the freshness and presentation. A restaurant could hide the taste of unfresh fish underneath sauces and by frying it, but sashimi on a plain bed of rice — can’t cheat on that.
It was Saturday at 7:30pm, and my friend and I decided to come to this restaurant because Café Santorini across the alley had a 90-​minute wait. We weren’t sure about the portion sizes but looking at the prices (
), we believed that they would be reasonable.
Our waitress didn’t seem knowledgeable about sushi. When I asked for chirashi, she didn’t know what that was. When I asked for sashimi, she asked if I wanted sushi. No, I want sashimi — sliced fresh raw fish from various species of fish and shrimp. That isn’t rocket science, and this is something that all servers at sushi restaurants should know about.
Anyway, so I gave up on asking the waitress and I ordered their sashimi sampler — the Roku Crudo ($ 25) and a glass of plum wine (not on the menu, but on the receipt I believe it was $ 10). My friend ordered a beer and king crab fried rice ($ 16).
It took awhile to get our meals — the king crab fried rice came first, followed by the Roku Crudo about 15 minutes later.
The fried rice was, according to my friend, very mediocre. The size was the plate was rather small (about two fistfulls of rice), there wasn’t any visible crab in the rice, and it seems that this dish could have been just leftover rice tossed with some frozen crab in oil. The presentation was unspectacular.
The Roku Crudo was also disappointing, as the fish were placed in tiny little glass bowls drenched in sauce. The dish came without wasabi and I had to ask for it. The glass bowls were placed on top of a platter of ice. This is exactly how restaurants hide unfresh fish as I’ve mentioned before — drench it in sauce and place it on ice!
The restaurant was rather crowded with guests while we were there.
For the price we paid, we won’t be a part of this crowd next time.

This was my fourth time dining here and I always have had a good experience while eating in this restaurant. Yes, I’m not a sushi fan and sushi is one of my last craving options when it comes to food but this place, the food, exceed my expectations. Our waiter was very knowledgeable and attentive. Fast service. The atmosphere of this place is casual but cozy at the same time. It could be perfect for a date :) Cute décor. Nice drinks menu. Fresh ingredients too. 4 stars because I think they don’t have enough personnel working in the restaurant. I saw our waiter running back and forth between tables trying to help and serve everyone *~* not good. But definitely a good place to go!

Came here on a Tuesday night for the Pasadena Happy Hour Week. We walked up to the hostess station and she sat us as a table. We asked about happy hour and she directed us to the lounge area where they serve from both the happy hour menu and main menu.
Location:
Located in Miller Alley, it’s hidden so you won’t see it when you’re driving around. Just find parking off of Fair Oaks and Union and there will be a small alley to walk through.
Restaurant Ambiance:
It was a Tuesday night but it was very empty when we got there between 6:30pm-7pm. Asian inspired modern décor. Everything looked very nice, sleek, and clean. We ended up sitting in a booth area with tons of pillows. I do think the silence was very awkward, there weren’t many people there. But that was quickly interrupted by a group of screaming children next to us. They were so loud that the security people made a complaint… lol
Food:
Food wasn’t bad. I ordered the Blueberry Sparkling Sake, it tasted like a wine cooler. $ 5 not bad. We also ordered the Spicy Tuna Hanabi, one of my favorites that evening. The Albacore Tataki was really good, the crunch onions were a good touch. We also ordered a spicy salmon hand roll and a cut roll, not bad. In addition to those happy hour choices we ordered a spider roll, simple. Baked lobster roll had soy paper wrap. It had actual chunks of lobster! We also had the Crab Dynamite roll. It had a curry mayo sauce, that was interesting. Overall, I thought the food was alright. The prices definitely skewed my judgement. Happy hour pricing was fine but the rolls off the regular menu are not worth it.
Service:
Service was fast, food came out very quickly after we made our order. Staff was pleasant!
Would I return? Maybe just for happy hour. I’ve had better rolls/​sushi at a lower price in the area.

We came in on Valentine’s Day with no reservations
The lady in the front was really nice and polite and accommodated us
We waited in front so another girl can walk us to our seats she was a bit rude with saying idk if I can seat u without reservations and I explained to her the host had already accommodated us lol
So I guess there was miscommunication there
The server we got was so nice and polite and wished a happy Valentine’s Day
He recommended steak wrapped asparagus with some kind of sauce on the side it was so delicious !! The asparagus was crispy and tender and the thin steak was so mouth watering def must try if u visit this place
Now for the sushi I wasn’t all the impressed
I ordered the crab dynamite and my rice was falling off the sushi wrap
Basically everything was falling apart -.-
My bf ordered the eel sushi roll
Those were pretty good but nothing out of the ordinary
Overall very nice place for a date very romantic also have a bar and outside seating
The chefs greet new customers being seated in their language

For the amount that was ordered 12 – 13 dishes, I thought there were a lot of misses than hits unfortunately. I won’t mention the misses because personally I can’t recall. But I’ll compliment on the hits!
Truffle Butter Edamame:
Yes, it’s just edamame but the truffle butter definitely elevated it. I was afraid that it would be too oily, but it was lightly dressed and added a punch.
Toro Sashimi:
Fresh and fatty. YUMS!
Makoto Roll:
I opted for this specialty roll because it had a lot more sushi elements in it and was not the typical cali roll. There was yellowtail, seared tuna, and shrimp tempura. Although the raw aspects were fresh, I was pretty disappointed with the shrimp tempura since it was not crunchy at all.
Service:
The food came out super slow… so slow that we almost didn’t get the chance to receive our last two dishes. I am glad that they have integrity to tell us that there were still dishes that were coming out but this was first dining experience that the bill was paid for before receiving all the food.
Final Verdict:
I’ve had better…

I came here this past weekend for the first time to celebrate a birthday, and sadly I left disappointed. At first things seemed like they were going well, we showed up at 7:30 without a reservation and were seated pretty quickly. We all placed our drink orders and ordered their spicy peppers as an appetizer. All of which came out nice and quick and was delicious.
Next we ordered our entrees. I ordered their wings, the chicken sliders and a spicy tuna roll. My wings, along with another order for the homie came out right away. Along with a tempura plate, and virtually everything else we ordered. About 20 minutes into eating I noticed I and another person at our table’s sliders didn’t come out. We flagged down the waiter and he said they were out and he forgot to let us know. We both decide to switch to their pork wrapped asparagus, a few minutes later they bring out one order and assure us the next is on the way. Unfortunately that, nor the spicy salmon roll came out. ²⁄₃ things I ordered and I happen to be the only one in our party that Unilocal.
All and all the food I got to try was great. I definitely expected better service for the price tag and considering the places parent company but eh.
We all had a good time tho, so much so in fact we forgot to make sure all the stuff we never received we weren’t charged for. Oh well.

Sushi Roku. If you don’t mind a nice venue but paying high price for mediocre food. I came here at their 50% off food promotion in their anniversary. I was having high hope since the this is a kinda well known franchise. Their food price is $$$ and I could dine here for $$ because of the promotion sound like a steal.
Reality isn’t the case, food was mostly mediocre some were awful such as Grilled Octopus. The best thing was thing that don’t require a lot of work such as toro and yellowtail, both fish were tasty. The dish were not good were the one require more work from the chef. The lobster sushi roll was horrible. It look like a baked cheese roll. I wonder if there isn’t lobster meal on there. Same goes with the Alaska King Crab Fried Rice, I need a microscope to see the crab is that few.
The venue is nice and has romantic feeling especially in their lounge area which there’s pillow very unusual for this type of restaurant. Usually lounge or area has happy hour is not very romantic at all. This alone will make me wanna come back next time and give them a happy hour a trial-​run.
Service were pretty good except they give mean a strange look were we complain of the octopus were place in different section of the table. They were back microwave which ruined the octopus even further…
Overall is a place I might come back for their happy hour, but for full price dinner. No Thank you.

We came here for their 10^th anniversary! They had a 50% off special for all their food, how can I pass on this offer?!
As expected, reservations were full so we opted in sitting at the bar.
I got a sake that was the second one from the list. I completely forgot the name but it is absolutely delish!
I got the assorted sushi and spicy tuna roll.
My boyfriend got the filet mignon and that was 50% off as well. :) I would come back for happy hour!

Had no intention of going out on a Sunday evening, when Wham, power goes out. Time to go out…
Made reservations thru OpenTable for a party of 2, plus had a coupon, so we decided to try Sushi Roku.
Located in Miller Alley, across from iPic theater. This is a great little date spot area in Pasadena, just steps away from Colorado. We parked at DeLacey Garage and walked over.
When we arrived, I saw they had patio seating, but considering it was so warm, would rather sit inside in the air conditioning. We were greeted by hostess quickly and taken to a table in back. Perfect.
The décor is modern & had some unique seating areas. For example, there were a few tables for 2 located in a circle of rocks. Tables were well spaced, so no problems with hearing your date.
Server greeted us quickly and we started with a round of drinks:
Ozeki Nigori Sake-​waiter suggested I try by the glass first. So glad I did. Sweet, but wasn’t what I was looking for.
Far East Mule-​Bombay Sapphire East in this one. Husband ordered and thought it was refreshing and told me he thought I would like it. I tasted it and for my next round, had one of these.
As for food:
Kimchee Cucumber Sunomono-​Average. Wasn’t flavorful or spicy enough
Yellowtail Diced Chilies-​Very Good.
Hanabi-​Husband loved this one.
Sushi Combination for 2-​pretty standard selection. The blue fin, eel & yellowtail were the standouts.
Volcano Cake-​husband liked this one.
Mochi-​I had 3, but my favorite were Strawberry & Red Bean.
Good service, great ambiance & good food for a date night. I do think its a bit overpriced, so happy hour is probably a good deal.

In 11 years of working in Pasadena, I’ve never once had lunch at Sushi Roku because people have said it’s expensive. I’ve been working some overtime lately, so I decided to have a splurge lunch & see for myself. The restaurant is a really beautiful space, altho I don’t really get the point of the stones they have in the back of the dining area. They are kinda strange. The place settings are really nice, with slightly dim lighting. This seems like an ideal date place (assuming you like your date.)
They have make-​your-​own bento lunch where you can choose 2 out of 9 or 10 items. I got the chicken kara-​age and the miso eggplant, and both were *excellent.* It was served at the correct temperature (hot, but not burning) and this meal reminded me why one dines out. I could never make this kind of food at home. The miso eggplant has a slightly syrupy sauce that you makes you want to keep eating it. The chicken kara-​age was bite-​sized pieces of fried chicken with a dipping sauce that looked like wasabi mixed with mayo. Just for fun, I got a California hand roll, and it was pretty good but what really set it over the top was the wasabi. WOW is that stuff strong. This is how you know you’re at a proper Japanese restaurant.
Sushi Roku has a lot of positives going for it, and I might have eaten my last meal at Kabuki since Sushi Roku is on an entirely different level. It’s about a $ 20 lunch, but I got a sandwich at Subway this week, so it all balances out, $-wise.