We can’t go anywhere else. He’s spoiled us, authentic, fresh and none of the fluff saucy sushi. When they first said no edamame, we almost walked out and now, we count the days to get back to nishi ya!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mason Ross
This is my favorite sushi place. Small unassuming location in a strip mall. There’s no Cheetos and bacon roll or whatever, if that’s your kind of thing. This is a sushi master serving simple, fresh, perfectly prepared, traditional sushi. The toro, the uni, the oysters, the mackerel, it’s perfect. The server let us know which plates they didn’t want us to use soy sauce on. I thought it was beautiful and I didn’t use that stuff on a single dish anyway.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
jeff ruggels
Amazing omakase dinner. Always
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Toro, Red Snapper, Sushi, Marbled Tuna, Tuna
Cam
The server is not attentive and takes forever to get anyone’s attention to even order a drink much less ordering food. Kinda on the ride side.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 4
Service: 1
Yoga With Eliza
The sushi is simple, delicious, and very authentic style. It’s my new favorite place in town. Seats are limited, so make reservations if you want to secure your table.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sushi, Roll
Alyssa H.
Real sushi. REAL sushi. No rolls. No avocado. No bacon or curry powder or bittersweet chocolate or whatever new thing the fusion restaurants are putting into their sushi rolls. Fusion is fine if that's what you want, but sometimes you just want REAL sushi and it can be hard to find. This place delivers. Yes, your bill can add up. Did I mention this is real sushi? Don't expect a $17.99 dinner special with California rolls. I go as a special treat and when I do, I savor it. It's worth the price. PS it's clear that the sushi chef puts great care into each piece, so it can take a while when they get busy. Don't go if you're in a rush. In fact, maybe don't go at all because this place is tiny and I don't want you taking the last table and making me wait. Just forget you ever read this review and go find a California roll...somewhere else.
Bill Adelson
Excellent, highest quality fish- very generous omakase. Wonderfully friendly and amiable owners/chef. Don’t let the location and low frills location fool you: the atmosphere is casual but the sushi is serious.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Rosetta S.
An unassuming place in a strip mall in Glendale. Just an older Japanese pair serving up some of the freshest, most delicious sushi I have eaten outside of Japan. It is hard to stop eating...it adds up! It is my first stop whenever I travel to LA.
Jacqueline G.
Hands down the best sushi around. In a class if it’s own. Don’t let the strip mall or modest interior fool you. The fish is extremely fresh and perfectly cut. My 9 year old son (who is a young sushi connoisseur) loves it and it’s our favorite sushi restaurant. Be sure to order the Toro, Snapper, and halibut. They are the best (though my son will tell you that the blue crab hand roll is his favorite).Don’t expect rolls or American style sushi. This place is legit Japanese. It’s a hidden gem. I’m almost hesitant to post this as I don’t want my favorite sushi spot to be over crowded. You are in for a real treat!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Red Snapper
Randy Sanoff
The fish was good but each peice was very small. I was not full when I left.
Best sushi I've ever had in my life, quality is outstanding! Highly recommend Nishi Ya for the best omakase
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jasmine H.
For someone that has high standards for omakase this has to be one of the best places I've been. They serve omakase chefs choice and you just let the waitress know when you're full. Everything was sooo good I kept forgetting to take pictures because I was just enjoying the food.We had about 14 dishes and I was stuffed. The items that really stood out were the smoked salmon kelp nigiri, scallop (so buttery), and the Santa Barbara uni. SO GOOD. The sea bass was similar to Nobu's miso cod and was a 10/10.The only thing I didn't quite like was the halibut but I think it was a personal preference of halibuts texture. All their fish was fresh and buttery, definitely coming back. Just wish I had room to try the crab hand roll. Our bill for two was a little over $300 but this is definitely a great place to go.
Shahin Chandrasoma
Sushi Nishi-ya offers one of my favorite omakase dinners in the city. The preparations are delicious. Chef Kenji will just ask what you don't like and then stay away from that as he prepares the meal. The opening dish is a house specialty, tuna with a small bed of seaweed and sprouts drizzled with a velvety miso sauce that hits like an umami bomb. The closing dish is a crab hand roll. Everything in between is just wonderful. Chef Kenji is really good at augmenting the flavors of the fish with specific sauces (snapper and saba are standouts) or a thin piece of translucent seaweed draped over fresh and smoked salmon. The rice is well done - slightly sticky but still granular - and the ratio of rice to fish is excellent and biased in favor of the fish, allowing flavor to speak with the rice as a scaffold that does not overdominate. If available the uni dish allows comparison of the sweetly oceanic flavor of Santa Barbara uni with the more intense Hokkaido version. Snow crab and shrimp are lightly glazed with a sweet syrup and rested atop a slice of lemon. Massive oysters are serve in the shell, bracingly cold and submerged in ponzu and green onion. You will never leave hungry, because once the standard meal is done he will keep preparing plates until you tell him to stop. On the furthest iteration I have gone with the menu, I ended up eating catfish eggs, which I had never tried before. The sake list is small but serviceable: 300 ml bottles of producers like Onikoroshi, Kikusui, and Hakkaisan. Wine by the glass and ice cold beer also available. Sitting at a table allows you to order a la carte, but bar is omakase-only. I have never sat anywhere other than the bar and I don't plan to...I'd prefer to leave myself in the hands of the master.Kid-friendliness: My wife and I took our three kids - aged 12, 10, and 8 - and sat at the bar for a full omakase. Our kids eat everything and totally loved the meal ("best of my life" was heard multiple times on the way home). There was no issue with bringing the kids, except for Chef Kenji asking if there was anything they didn't like. This is probably not the best way to introduce kids to sushi, but if they are already fans, they'll love it and the place will welcome them.Parking: The place is in a small strip mall with a liquor store, nail salon, and Russian Cuisine restaurant. I somehow have never had a hard time finding a parking spot. For omakase I tend to prefer a 630 reservation and it is always easy around that time.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Smoked Salmon Topped
HW Chang
Scallop and Spanish mackerel were superb. Truly authentic Japanese sushi place. If you like rolls, this is not the place for you.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lulu Z.
Old school charm, five tables and sushi bar seating serves only sushi/sashimi. Local neighborhood vibe, friendly staff. Enjoyed the real crab roll and the yellowtail sushi. Everything else were pretty basic. Saw all the good reviews and the photos, order myself some fatty tuna. And it was the saddest item ever. Between three people, a la carte menu, it was about $150 total. I don't get the hype.
We can’t go anywhere else. He’s spoiled us, authentic, fresh and none of the fluff saucy sushi. When they first said no edamame, we almost walked out and now, we count the days to get back to nishi ya!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This is my favorite sushi place. Small unassuming location in a strip mall. There’s no Cheetos and bacon roll or whatever, if that’s your kind of thing. This is a sushi master serving simple, fresh, perfectly prepared, traditional sushi. The toro, the uni, the oysters, the mackerel, it’s perfect. The server let us know which plates they didn’t want us to use soy sauce on. I thought it was beautiful and I didn’t use that stuff on a single dish anyway.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amazing omakase dinner. Always
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Toro, Red Snapper, Sushi, Marbled Tuna, Tuna
The server is not attentive and takes forever to get anyone’s attention to even order a drink much less ordering food. Kinda on the ride side.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 4
Service: 1
The sushi is simple, delicious, and very authentic style. It’s my new favorite place in town. Seats are limited, so make reservations if you want to secure your table.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sushi, Roll
Real sushi. REAL sushi. No rolls. No avocado. No bacon or curry powder or bittersweet chocolate or whatever new thing the fusion restaurants are putting into their sushi rolls. Fusion is fine if that's what you want, but sometimes you just want REAL sushi and it can be hard to find. This place delivers. Yes, your bill can add up. Did I mention this is real sushi? Don't expect a $17.99 dinner special with California rolls. I go as a special treat and when I do, I savor it. It's worth the price. PS it's clear that the sushi chef puts great care into each piece, so it can take a while when they get busy. Don't go if you're in a rush. In fact, maybe don't go at all because this place is tiny and I don't want you taking the last table and making me wait. Just forget you ever read this review and go find a California roll...somewhere else.
Excellent, highest quality fish- very generous omakase. Wonderfully friendly and amiable owners/chef. Don’t let the location and low frills location fool you: the atmosphere is casual but the sushi is serious.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
An unassuming place in a strip mall in Glendale. Just an older Japanese pair serving up some of the freshest, most delicious sushi I have eaten outside of Japan. It is hard to stop eating...it adds up! It is my first stop whenever I travel to LA.
Hands down the best sushi around. In a class if it’s own. Don’t let the strip mall or modest interior fool you. The fish is extremely fresh and perfectly cut. My 9 year old son (who is a young sushi connoisseur) loves it and it’s our favorite sushi restaurant. Be sure to order the Toro, Snapper, and halibut. They are the best (though my son will tell you that the blue crab hand roll is his favorite).Don’t expect rolls or American style sushi. This place is legit Japanese. It’s a hidden gem. I’m almost hesitant to post this as I don’t want my favorite sushi spot to be over crowded. You are in for a real treat!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Red Snapper
The fish was good but each peice was very small. I was not full when I left.
Restaurantji Recommends
Best sushi I've ever had in my life, quality is outstanding! Highly recommend Nishi Ya for the best omakase
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
For someone that has high standards for omakase this has to be one of the best places I've been. They serve omakase chefs choice and you just let the waitress know when you're full. Everything was sooo good I kept forgetting to take pictures because I was just enjoying the food.We had about 14 dishes and I was stuffed. The items that really stood out were the smoked salmon kelp nigiri, scallop (so buttery), and the Santa Barbara uni. SO GOOD. The sea bass was similar to Nobu's miso cod and was a 10/10.The only thing I didn't quite like was the halibut but I think it was a personal preference of halibuts texture. All their fish was fresh and buttery, definitely coming back. Just wish I had room to try the crab hand roll. Our bill for two was a little over $300 but this is definitely a great place to go.
Sushi Nishi-ya offers one of my favorite omakase dinners in the city. The preparations are delicious. Chef Kenji will just ask what you don't like and then stay away from that as he prepares the meal. The opening dish is a house specialty, tuna with a small bed of seaweed and sprouts drizzled with a velvety miso sauce that hits like an umami bomb. The closing dish is a crab hand roll. Everything in between is just wonderful. Chef Kenji is really good at augmenting the flavors of the fish with specific sauces (snapper and saba are standouts) or a thin piece of translucent seaweed draped over fresh and smoked salmon. The rice is well done - slightly sticky but still granular - and the ratio of rice to fish is excellent and biased in favor of the fish, allowing flavor to speak with the rice as a scaffold that does not overdominate. If available the uni dish allows comparison of the sweetly oceanic flavor of Santa Barbara uni with the more intense Hokkaido version. Snow crab and shrimp are lightly glazed with a sweet syrup and rested atop a slice of lemon. Massive oysters are serve in the shell, bracingly cold and submerged in ponzu and green onion. You will never leave hungry, because once the standard meal is done he will keep preparing plates until you tell him to stop. On the furthest iteration I have gone with the menu, I ended up eating catfish eggs, which I had never tried before. The sake list is small but serviceable: 300 ml bottles of producers like Onikoroshi, Kikusui, and Hakkaisan. Wine by the glass and ice cold beer also available. Sitting at a table allows you to order a la carte, but bar is omakase-only. I have never sat anywhere other than the bar and I don't plan to...I'd prefer to leave myself in the hands of the master.Kid-friendliness: My wife and I took our three kids - aged 12, 10, and 8 - and sat at the bar for a full omakase. Our kids eat everything and totally loved the meal ("best of my life" was heard multiple times on the way home). There was no issue with bringing the kids, except for Chef Kenji asking if there was anything they didn't like. This is probably not the best way to introduce kids to sushi, but if they are already fans, they'll love it and the place will welcome them.Parking: The place is in a small strip mall with a liquor store, nail salon, and Russian Cuisine restaurant. I somehow have never had a hard time finding a parking spot. For omakase I tend to prefer a 630 reservation and it is always easy around that time.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Smoked Salmon Topped
Scallop and Spanish mackerel were superb. Truly authentic Japanese sushi place. If you like rolls, this is not the place for you.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Old school charm, five tables and sushi bar seating serves only sushi/sashimi. Local neighborhood vibe, friendly staff. Enjoyed the real crab roll and the yellowtail sushi. Everything else were pretty basic. Saw all the good reviews and the photos, order myself some fatty tuna. And it was the saddest item ever. Between three people, a la carte menu, it was about $150 total. I don't get the hype.