Service was really kind and provided the food in a timely manner. The food was really good and in a reasonable price range
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
R T
We have been coming to sushi bear since it opened for years now and not sure if there's been a change in ownership last few years but quality continually slides down with the taste and menu options have shifted from unique to basic. Kind of disappointed with our last visit, but the staff was nice. If you're a basic rolls kind of customer then this is the place.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
Steven White
Great food, great atmosphere, fresh sushi, friendly staff, and a cool vibe sushi Bear definitely lives up to its name, I couldn't bare to leave.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
May Tapia
We went during Monday lunch hours so it was not crowded at all, service was super quick. All our rolls were delicious, I personally liked the Sunrise and Spider rolls best. Portions were a little bigger than average compared to other sushi places I've been. The inside was cute, my only complaint is the booth seating was not very comfortable since there was a weirdly placed beam on the seatback. Music wasn't too loud so it was easy to hear each other. Overall would recommend!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sunrise
Michael Mccluskey
Baked sushi was over cooked and not flavorful, service was bad, never even got a napkin.... had to ask for extra eel sauce and Wasabi to make it flavorful.... restroom was gross and the step to open trash can was broken.... heart broken because my expectations were high....
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Elliot & Nancy
Come here on your birthday for a scoop of ice cream :)Kid-friendliness: High chairs
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Emma Aalders
Used to be my favorite sushi restaurant. Gave the restaurant one more chance tonight for takeout but it will be the last time. Slightly embarrassing but I love eel sauce and I don’t know why, but they have changed their recipe (hate it now). The food also just looked dull tonight. The size of their miso soup has shrunk to a thimble :( Everything is now just mediocre.
Karen Goldberg
We walked in and were greeted immediately by all the sushi chefs! The servers were attentive and the food came quickly. We ordered some rolls and garlic soy edamame...all were really tasty. We then ordered mixed tempura...so good! All the food was very fresh. And the bears are so cute! I'd definitely come back.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Randy Gomez
Amazing sushi, well crafted , generous ingredients and great service!One of the best rolls I’ve ever eaten!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Amazing
S
(disclaimer that I lived in Japan before so my sushi expectations are biased)Great spot for quality sushi. They have some premium fish here. The giant scallop and fresh uni were very nice. Recommend to pair with Ikura (salmon egg). Admittedly my first visit was questionable so do give this place at least two tries.Service was attentive, but they didn't seem to be very versed in sushi. For example they seemed confused when I asked about what items came in fresh that day.Atmosphere is dated. BUT... I'm giving them the full overall four stars preemptively since they are renovating right now. So I expect it will be much nicer next month.
We enjoy their sashimi with house made garlic and ponzu dressing, Aloha roll, Maui roll, EPA roll, and bento box.
N C.
This has been my #1 favorite sushi place in Orange County since 2018. Pre-pandemic, this place was PACKED for lunch and dinner service (the place has a capacity of about 35). People would wait outside for an hour to be seated for dinner. A large, impressive collection of teddy bears stacked on top of each other from floor to ceiling greeted you when you entered (hence the name of the restaurant), coupled with an enthusiastic Japanese greeting from the sushi chefs behind the counter. Service was fast and attentive, and the rolls were big, fresh, and flavorful. I even had them cater sushi for my birthday, and my friends devoured every piece!During pandemic lockdown, I was happy to order takeout from them weekly to support this small business, and I even added gratuity. The rolls were just as good and fresh as dine-in.Unfortunately, I'm not sure what's happened in the past few months, but they've gone downhill. New management? New food supplier? The restaurant is now generally empty for lunch and dinner and noticeably dustier. There are only 2-3 teddy bears lazily laying on their sides, as if echoing the general demise of this restaurant. The chefs give a less enthused greeting when you enter. The lone waitress is still friendly, but not very attentive and does not seem like she wants to be there.But most importantly, the food quality has decreased significantly. When I dined in 2 months ago, I got food poisoning from one of the rolls, and I knew I would get sick as soon as I'd eaten it. The fish did not look or taste fresh. Hoping it was a one-off, I returned last week and placed the same order. Again the fish did not look fresh or taste nearly as good as it used to, but this time at least I didn't get sick. Also, the plates they served the sushi on are all cracked and chipped (see pics). The benches in the booth are cracked and need to be replaced.It hurts to have to give Sushi Bear only 3 stars, but hopefully this can serve as a wake-up call for them to fix whatever seems to be ailing this once great establishment so they can return to their former glory.
Cris Cook
So delicious! We had the Dragon Crunch roll and Dragon Ball Z roll and they were AMAZING. Definitely worth a trip.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Dragon Ball Z
Supriya J.
Great little Japanese spot in Tustin. Reminded me of eateries in Tokyo. Came in for lunch and started with the spicy tuna over crispy rice and also shared the salmon bento box with tempura. Everything was flavorful & delicious!
SocalRaptor
This place is awesome! The fish was fresh and the waiters are very attentive. First time here and I will definitely be back.A couple of people waiting for their food by the front door also told us they love this place.
Service was really kind and provided the food in a timely manner. The food was really good and in a reasonable price range
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
We have been coming to sushi bear since it opened for years now and not sure if there's been a change in ownership last few years but quality continually slides down with the taste and menu options have shifted from unique to basic. Kind of disappointed with our last visit, but the staff was nice. If you're a basic rolls kind of customer then this is the place.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
Great food, great atmosphere, fresh sushi, friendly staff, and a cool vibe sushi Bear definitely lives up to its name, I couldn't bare to leave.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We went during Monday lunch hours so it was not crowded at all, service was super quick. All our rolls were delicious, I personally liked the Sunrise and Spider rolls best. Portions were a little bigger than average compared to other sushi places I've been. The inside was cute, my only complaint is the booth seating was not very comfortable since there was a weirdly placed beam on the seatback. Music wasn't too loud so it was easy to hear each other. Overall would recommend!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sunrise
Baked sushi was over cooked and not flavorful, service was bad, never even got a napkin.... had to ask for extra eel sauce and Wasabi to make it flavorful.... restroom was gross and the step to open trash can was broken.... heart broken because my expectations were high....
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Come here on your birthday for a scoop of ice cream :)Kid-friendliness: High chairs
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Used to be my favorite sushi restaurant. Gave the restaurant one more chance tonight for takeout but it will be the last time. Slightly embarrassing but I love eel sauce and I don’t know why, but they have changed their recipe (hate it now). The food also just looked dull tonight. The size of their miso soup has shrunk to a thimble :( Everything is now just mediocre.
We walked in and were greeted immediately by all the sushi chefs! The servers were attentive and the food came quickly. We ordered some rolls and garlic soy edamame...all were really tasty. We then ordered mixed tempura...so good! All the food was very fresh. And the bears are so cute! I'd definitely come back.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amazing sushi, well crafted , generous ingredients and great service!One of the best rolls I’ve ever eaten!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Amazing
(disclaimer that I lived in Japan before so my sushi expectations are biased)Great spot for quality sushi. They have some premium fish here. The giant scallop and fresh uni were very nice. Recommend to pair with Ikura (salmon egg). Admittedly my first visit was questionable so do give this place at least two tries.Service was attentive, but they didn't seem to be very versed in sushi. For example they seemed confused when I asked about what items came in fresh that day.Atmosphere is dated. BUT... I'm giving them the full overall four stars preemptively since they are renovating right now. So I expect it will be much nicer next month.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 3
Restaurantji Recommends
We enjoy their sashimi with house made garlic and ponzu dressing, Aloha roll, Maui roll, EPA roll, and bento box.
This has been my #1 favorite sushi place in Orange County since 2018. Pre-pandemic, this place was PACKED for lunch and dinner service (the place has a capacity of about 35). People would wait outside for an hour to be seated for dinner. A large, impressive collection of teddy bears stacked on top of each other from floor to ceiling greeted you when you entered (hence the name of the restaurant), coupled with an enthusiastic Japanese greeting from the sushi chefs behind the counter. Service was fast and attentive, and the rolls were big, fresh, and flavorful. I even had them cater sushi for my birthday, and my friends devoured every piece!During pandemic lockdown, I was happy to order takeout from them weekly to support this small business, and I even added gratuity. The rolls were just as good and fresh as dine-in.Unfortunately, I'm not sure what's happened in the past few months, but they've gone downhill. New management? New food supplier? The restaurant is now generally empty for lunch and dinner and noticeably dustier. There are only 2-3 teddy bears lazily laying on their sides, as if echoing the general demise of this restaurant. The chefs give a less enthused greeting when you enter. The lone waitress is still friendly, but not very attentive and does not seem like she wants to be there.But most importantly, the food quality has decreased significantly. When I dined in 2 months ago, I got food poisoning from one of the rolls, and I knew I would get sick as soon as I'd eaten it. The fish did not look or taste fresh. Hoping it was a one-off, I returned last week and placed the same order. Again the fish did not look fresh or taste nearly as good as it used to, but this time at least I didn't get sick. Also, the plates they served the sushi on are all cracked and chipped (see pics). The benches in the booth are cracked and need to be replaced.It hurts to have to give Sushi Bear only 3 stars, but hopefully this can serve as a wake-up call for them to fix whatever seems to be ailing this once great establishment so they can return to their former glory.
So delicious! We had the Dragon Crunch roll and Dragon Ball Z roll and they were AMAZING. Definitely worth a trip.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Dragon Ball Z
Great little Japanese spot in Tustin. Reminded me of eateries in Tokyo. Came in for lunch and started with the spicy tuna over crispy rice and also shared the salmon bento box with tempura. Everything was flavorful & delicious!
This place is awesome! The fish was fresh and the waiters are very attentive. First time here and I will definitely be back.A couple of people waiting for their food by the front door also told us they love this place.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5