Monster Sushi

Walked in without realizing they’re no longer Monster AYE. The owner said he changed the name about a month ago & sushi is 50% off. No thanks! Walked out and went to SAKE 2 ME SUSHI AYE IN TUSTIN

This place was good. Its closed now. Now it’s a Korean restaurant and the main reason we came here, which was for the all you can eat sushi, is now gone. Sucksss

The sushi is creative, fun, and interesting. The quality of their sashimi is surprisingly good too. If you’re not feeling sushi, they have other options for you too. I like that you can order with a paper menu, to help eliminate some confusion on what you want. They have a lunch and dinner menu, but you can upgrade to dinner during lunchtime if you want.
Came here on a Sunday later in the afternoon, so it was fairly empty, but for some reason service was still a little slow. That being said, I still like this place, and would come back if I were in the area!

I was a little apprehensive about trying this place, seeing as how it had 3.5 stars, but it was the only sushi place open on Black Friday.
Let me just say: the lower stars are not because of the food. It was completely fresh, creative, and delicious. The service is where people get snagged, and I understand why. The place was completely packed and there was one server. We were patient, but not everyone is. The management should stop trying to be cheap and hire another server, especially on a holiday weekend.

Service was pretty good for a busy summer night! Servers came to check on our table and take our orders, and also came to refill our waters a lot. They were very helpful with our questions as well.
I like how this place has udon, gyoza, and other miscellaneous foods on their all you can eat menu! However on the night that I went, the quality of the fish was not that fresh. I love raw fish so my table ordered a lot of it but it was disappointing to see how «unfresh» it was. My mom got food poisoning the next morning from it.

This place is amazing for all you can eat sushi. Sushi is fresh, tasty, and comes out quickly. Would highly recommend!

I was really excited after finding this place! It’s close to my house so I’ll definitely be making this my sushi spot. I’ve only tried the rainbow and shrimp crunch roll and they were delish! I’ll definitely be coming back with my fam.

Showed up for 1130 lunch.
They opened… but turned me away.
They did not have rice cooked.
How are you open at 1130
Advertise ur open at 1130
And don’t have stuff ready?
You think you would have rice ready to make dishes when you open.

This was not the experience I was expecting.
On ⁸⁄₂₉ I came in with a party of about 12, I had made the party reservation a week prior to coming in. When we first arrived the hostess that greeted us was very kind and let me know that the room would take a few minutes to prepare for a party of that size. This wasn’t a problem and I waited outside while the rest of my party showed up. Once we were all seated the hostess explained how the all you can eat menu worked and were then given sheets for each table. I told her at the beginning that we were going to split the check between each group of people as if they were ordering as individuals and she said this was just fine. After the first 45 minutes is when things began to go sour.
We realized that our previous waitress must have gone on a break and we had an older woman begin waiting on us. It was at this point that orders started getting messed up or were not showing up at all. Even drink orders had to be asked for multiple times before the drinks would finally show up. Wrong sushi orders would arrive and at one point when she brought us one of said wrong orders and she left the right order on an empty table as we all wondered what exactly she was doing. One of my party members had to ask her if the order she had left on the table was one of our or just one she had forgotten for a different table before she realized she had left it there and gave it to him.
After about 2 hours we figured we were finally done and people began getting ready to ask for their checks. Before the checks began arriving my final party members arrived, my wife and mother-​in-​law along with my two children, she was late due to work which was unavoidable. This apparently did not sit well with the waitress we had and she began telling them that they needed to go sit in the normal dining area because our table was being used. This did not sit well with my wife and Mother-​in-​law and they decided that they were just going to find something else to eat at another location because they felt as though they were unwelcome despite the fact that I told the waitress they were part of my party and were just fine to join us at the table.
After we had all put in our cards and cash to pay for our respective checks and left I was alerted via a bank notification that I had been charged roughly $ 45 for my meal and personally I had only ordered the Dragon roll, a single order of fresh water nigiri eel and lemonade to drink. My mistake that I assumed the bill was going to be properly divided among all of the guests and did not look at what I was paying for before I paid for it. Especially after I watched as one of the members of my party had to sit and explain to our waitress what each card was paying for at her table for almost 5 minutes.
This was not the first time I had dined at monster sushi but I feel like it is now the last time I will have dined there which is a shame because despite all of the issues we encountered, the food there is quite good. I understand that we only had one waitress for a party of this size but all in all I feel like the entire situation was not handled well at all.

Service
My server was very attentive. Sushi chefs were very friendly. They did forget to bring me my hand rolls at first. I think because they were on the backside of the AYCE menu slip. Certain items are only available for the $ 20 lunch although you can upgrade to the dinner AYCE for $ 5 more which is the back side of the menu. No biggie. They did bring them out once I showed them on the paper though.
Décor
The sushi bar has lots of chairs and a tv for your viewing pleasure. Otherwise, the place is just basic table seating. As you walk in they have tons of beer bottles on shelving. Kinda unique looking.
Sushi
For $ 20 you have a wide variety of cut rolls, hand rolls, and sides like edamame, chicken wings, miso soup, etc… For $ 5 you can upgrade to the dinner menu. Which in my opinion has better options; especially the no rice rolls. The green muscles had no taste to them.
I’m not a big fan of sauces on sushi so I didnt care for a lot of the rolls although I’m sure I could have asked for them without sauces on them.
Drinks
$ 2.50 draft beers all day!
Parking
Plenty of parking
Not bad for an AYCE establishment.

After trying out some other AYCE sushi spots, it’s safe to say this one is my favorite.
With my first review, I had given them only 3 stars but that was when I was still a noob when it came to AYCE sushi spots… so here is my updated review.
With AYCE, there are kitchen items like udon, chicken wings, tempura, agedashi tofu, baked mussels etc, nigiri, and rolls. My rule of thumb is to always eat as much nigiri and no rice rolls as I can before I start ordering other items. Get your moneys worth, you know?
Be mindful with how much you are ordering though; they can charge you extra for any left over rice/​sushi/​rolls at the end.
A couple of recommendation items are:
–Salmon nigiri,
–Cajun beef nigiri
–Yellowtail nigiri
–Ex GF roll
–baked mussels
–Oysters (1 per person)
The fish to rice ratio here is extremely generous. The fish cuts are HUGE compared to most places and theyre super fresh. I also really like their vegetable tempura, udon and baked green mussels. There is no limit to the mussels but for oysters, it’s 1 per person.
In my opinion, Monster over Sake 2 Me. There is hardly ever a wait as well but that’s because I would consider this a «hole-​in-​the-​wall» AYCE spot.

Well it was OK.
The menu was totally confusing
Overpriced, but the Sushi was fresh.
Took forever to get service.
All in all the short version, will not go back again
But as a one time deal. OK.

Service: Amazing. Our server, Calvin, was really kind, helpful, and cheerful. Our drinks refill, sauce, etc was being taken care of asap.
Food: The food was really good. Quality was better than the usual AYCE Sushi restaurants I’ve been to.
Ambiance: It’s a medium sized restaurant with good volume setting on music and diner slash sushi restaurant feel.
Surely, if I’m ever in the area, would come to eat here again.

THE FOOD:
The nigiri was good, nothing impressive. The sushi rice had too much vinegar. My favorite nigiris were salmon, FW eel, and scallop. The rest was good except for a few items.
–oysters: these had a sloppy presentation and were room temperature… Won’t order those again
–hirame (halibut): really tough consistency, not sure if it’s because it’s not in season or just the cut of the halibut but I wasn’t a fan of it here.
THE EXPERIENCE:
My friends like it here and wanted me to try it. Service was bad. We waited about 30 minutes before asking about where our food was, and the servers were a little annoyed that we asked. But after waiting an additional 10 minutes, our first plate of AYCE sushi finally came out. We had ordered a roll. But it never came out. We reminded the servers 3 times and each time they said the chefs were working on it and that it would come, but it never did. We were full so we told them to cancel it… It should have been out by then though. So they probably forgot and didn’t even start working on it.
Oh and I threw up a good amount of my fish the next morning… So I’m not sure if I’ll be coming back. But my friends think it was just an «off» day for Monster.

Ehhh not the best…
Every time I’m craving AYCE sushi, I opt for sake 2 me but that place is sometimes way too packed for me to wait. So I venture down to Monster. The first couple of times I was able to be okay with their AYCE, but the last several times I was just really disappointed.
First off, the seating is completely off. There were plenty of open tables in the restaurant but for some reason the lady made us wait a good 10 minutes before getting seated. When we got our waters, for some reason it had a weird tempura taste to it. I had to order a beverage after that bc I was so turned off with their waters. The quality of their fish in their sushi seem to be off as well. It wasn’t as appetizing to eat their sushi my last time here.
Ugh by the end of the night, the lady, the water, and the sushi just turned me off from the place. I decided after that that I’ll just either wait or opt for another spot if I want sushi. Not worth the AYCE and the price.

I’ve been here 3 times, and each time my experience got worse, the service and the food. The first time was okay, and I would have given the place 3 stars, but with each additional experience, I decided to give this place 2 stars.
The last time I came here, the cups were dirty and the bowl of miso soup had leftover rice on the inside of it, stuck to the bowl. We had multiple servers helping us, including one young gentleman probably in his 20’s who was helpful. The older woman, on the other hand, was rude and seemed annoyed with us. We were afraid to tell them about the dirty bowl, so we waited to tell the young gentleman since he seemed friendly. He agreed that the bowl was gross. When he took it to the back, the older woman asked who complained and he referred to us. She acted like we purposely made it dirty ourselves or something, which we did not.
The food is mediocre. There was nothing memorable about the food. Maybe the mussels were okay. I’ve heard so many times that they have a good rice to fish ratio, but so does another AYCE joint in the area. Had we gotten the complimentary green tea ice cream, that could have possibly saved them, but probably not and we didn’t get ice cream.

I have a huge thing for sushi and in OC, for AYCE, I believe this is the place to go.
Lunch is $ 19.95 and dinner is $ 24.95 and for dinner, there are more options. The «Ex-​Girlfriend» roll is delicious! No rice, everything is fish. Mmmmmmmmmmm.
I also really like their Chicken Wings. Must I warn you, it is extremely spicy. Their Sashimi Salad is also good. I like their Tempuras and their Udon as well. Their fish selection is amazing, you get your money’s worth for the quality and the taste. Service is great here, I haven’t had trouble yet.
I would recommend this place over Sake 2 Me.

Death, the one fear that all of us face, yet none of us admit to. It comes from nowhere, taking the ones we care about when we least expect it. Whether it was when our turtles passed away from over-​tanning, or when our friends drank too much and tried to drive, it seems to follow us everywhere, reminding us that we are but mortals, the sands of our life slipping away as the reaper watches our hourglass.
Today, I faced death and I won. It was the second round of our order and we were foolish, naïve, too young to know the humility that we should have had. We ordered eight rolls between an Indian girl who counted calories, a skinny asian guy, our tank and me, the guy who starved himself yet suddenly found himself ironically full too early in.
Rolls. The mostly carb heavy item you can order at an all you can eat sushi place… eight of them we ordered. Four and a half we battled until it was obvious… death was here. It was in the half nibbled Dynamite roll, the bruised yet still standing Spicy Tuna roll and it was definitely in the California roll that was more roll than plate.
There comes a point in your life when you have to give up. When the fear of failure is so strong you scurry away, like our waitress after seeing us stare at our half eaten sushi for minutes, hours, seemingly days.
«Eat us» it said.
«We can’t» we replied, «we’re too damn full».
«The eel sauce was too heavy.»
«The calamari wasn’t cooked right.»
«The rice was too sticky.»
Excuses. We failed. Death laughed at us as our stomachs threatened to give into its demands. Eating too much can lead to death, I’m certain of it. If you don’t believe me, come to Monster Sushi and tempt it. Order the rolls and feel the fingers of death curl around your stomach. Just like memories, we seem to fade away, like little pieces of wasabi dissolving in the soy sauce of life.
Although the food was fantastic, I almost died from over eating so I must warn the weak amongst ye, this place is not for the faint of heart. Come ready warriors, and prepare to meet your maker.
PS: You can’t take home any sushi you don’t eat. Let this sad reminder serve as a warning to the weak: this is not your home fools… ye have been warned.

I’m one of those happy go lucky people who always try and have a big smile on their face. When I know I’m about to go eat, I’m even happier!
I really wanted to give Monster Sushi a higher rating but I just can’t. I’ve eaten there 3 times for the all you can eat sushi. It’s $ 20 for lunch and $ 25 for dinner. I love the sushi but the Owner of Monster Sushi is such a Debbie Downer. If I was the Owner of a restaurant and customers were coming to eat at my place, I would feel completely humbled and grateful.
The first visit I had been excited to try the new place, especially after reading all the good reviews on Unilocal!I actually shared my excitement by trying to have small talk with the owner and telling her I was happy to be there for the first time. BIG FAIL! All I got in return was a half smile and the menu. Nevertheless brushed it off and ordered the food.
Here’s what’s good :
— Surf and Turf
— Blue Lobster
— Rainbow Shrimp
— Super Mexican
— Texas Cowboy
— Sexy
— Calamari Tempura
— Baked Mussels
OMG! Fell in love with everything and immediately Monster Sushi had become one of my favorite AYCE! Seafood fresh and tasty. The rice ratio was perfect and just right. Quality at its best.
Fast forward to second visit. The owner seated us again and My bubbly self told her the sushi was sooooooo good last week, we were back so soon. This time not even a smile. Could I at least get a fake smile?!!
Anyways, moved on and ordered the same rolls as last and tried some new dishes
— Playboy
— Playgirl
— Rainbow Spider
Surf and Turf, Rainbow Spider and Texas Cowboy top favorites!
Although there were no other customers, service was a bit slow. Had to ask for refills and the check twice.
The third visit place was a little more packed. Waited about 20 minutes. The owner seated us and didn’t come back for our drink orders for another 10 minutes. Afterwards, we had to ask for the piece of paper to mark down what we wanted for sushi. Our first order didn’t come out for almost 25 min after placing the order. The owner dropped off our plates and we had to wait again for our ginger and wasabi. Our second order took even longer then the first.
When it was time to pay the bill, I had to stand up and ask for it.
As I waited for the bill, a family of 4 had come in and were seated behind us. They arrived 3 minutes after lunch ended. The dad asked the Owner if they can get the lunch price of $ 20 instead of $ 25. I had thought it’s only 3 minutes so why not just say yes, but the owner said no. The man said they had to change the babies diaper and asked again and Owner said No. The family walked out.
Good food is one thing and good service is another. Although I love this place, I couldn’t continue coming here with such bad Ownership. Literally leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
If you can get pass bad service, then it’s worth coming here. If not, at least there is other AYCE restaurants that will appreciate your hard earned money :-)

Monster Sushi is AYCE (All You Can Eat) Sushi. When I visited a few weeks ago, the server mentioned that the menu has changed with a few new rolls added to the menu. Sorry in advance for not knowing the names of things. The order processing was really quick, not to mention the time it takes from order to table. It was pretty instant.
Started off the first round with lots of nigiri ranging from salmon, white tuna, albacore, tuna and seasoned (salt/​pepper) sushi. It’s great that the rice amount is very small, like a 3:1 ratio of sashimi to rice. Better to fill up on fish than rice!
Some other premium selections like sea urchin (uni) is an additional $ 3.00. I was skeptical, but decided to order one to try. One piece was a total miss and the other was acceptable. Eat with caution.
For sea bass, halibut, salmon roe, oyster and jumbo scallop, there is a maximum of one order per person for the table. The sea bass is my only complaint in this selection. It tasted a lot more fishy, so it’s probably best to skip. The jumbo scallop — not sure if they do this for everyone because we got two variations — is quite the show! They set the scallops in shell on fire. Everyone whipped out there phones for this. duh! Cause it was awesome! Everything else was good so max out if you want to get your money’s worth.
The sushi rolls were great. We went with the Rainbow Spider, White Tuna tempura and Psy. Because the rolls are seasoned with ponzu or eel sauce, you won’t notice if the cut is bad or not. haha. Very filling and pretty large in portion.
Second round had a couple special rolls — Fantastic Four, Ex Boyfriend (white tuna), a salmon roll thing and Poke. And of course, more sushi was included — Cajun Beef, Cajun Salmon, Octopus.
To end the meal, you get a complimentary green tea ice cream.
For someone who prefers quality over quantity when it comes to sushi, most were acceptable. Some things were a hit and others, a total miss. I’m not a huge fan of rolls, but Monster Sushi has some pretty good ones. If I come back, it may be the only thing I really stick to with a few exceptions for some nigiri like salmon and cajun beef.
NOTE: It’s $ 25 AYCE + additional $ 6 for AYC-​Drink draft beer (Sapporo). Not bad if you want to get ratchet. It doesn’t seem like there’s a time limit on dining so cheers!