Sushi California

I recently dined at Sushi California and I must say, it was an exceptional experience from start to finish.

The restaurant boasts a modern yet cozy atmosphere with tasteful decor that perfectly complements the dining experience. The lighting was just right dim enough for a relaxed evening but bright enough to see the beautiful presentation of each dish.

The staff at Sushi California were attentive, friendly, and knowledgeable about the menu. Our server took the time to explain the specials and make thoughtful recommendations based on our preferences. The service was prompt, and our water glasses were never empty.

Unfortunately I have to update my 5 star review to 2. Before the new management this was our go to sushi place. But our last visit will be our last. They made the rolls smaller and kept the price the same. As well as substitute a lot of the fresh large pieces of fish for imitation crab filling. The rolls we ordered in the pics i posted a year ago look nothing like this.

49er roll had no salmon on it at all and no lemon. When called and complained said they ran out of lemon... we picked our order up 30 mins after opening.

Sushi California never disappoints !! The nigiri sushi we ordered were all fresh as always!! The fish were cut at the right thickness, right level of moist. The sushi rice for the nigiri is plumped and balanced with the right amount of sweet and vinegar, thus bringing out the natural umami in the fresh fish. Every bite is to die for. My most favorite (my husband's too) is the Hokkaido nigiri, and amaebi and then hamachi, saba, hotate, in that order, but we love everything here. The Hokkaido is salmon sake on Shiso leave topped with a mountain of Ikura--it's their special. The amaebi is big and sweet; comes with the head fried tempura style and you can eat the whole thing. When you bite into the shrimp's head covered in the fried tempura batter, you get hit with all the shrimps yummy insides (which maybe isn't for everyone, but for those looking for that, come here now!) My two kids love the fresh dungeoness crab California roll and purple potato croquette the most, but they love everything!
The service is just awesome! You'll always be greeted by the chefs and everyone working there when you walk in. The ambiance is perfect with the lights dimmed and relaxing beautiful live music, even my three year old boy was relaxed and happy to sit through dinner! My seven year old daughter loved the food. She was eating and humming to the music. It was a great night!!

This place has gone downhill badly under new management. To put it mildly, food is not prepared with love, more like haste and cheapness, If you want a quiet Japanese vibe don't bother coming here.

The definition of a hole in the wall. Or maybe hole in the ground is more apt. Half-embedded in concrete, flush with the sidewalk, Sushi Cal might be mistaken as an abandoned lot-- nope, this humble restaurant is fully open and has been for the past 30+ years!

After visiting both pre- and post-pandemic, I still think this is the best spot for budget sushi. Prices have somehow stayed low without undermining quality. Their cooked dishes tend to run a little bland; the sushi is what you should be coming here for. I've had a variety of rolls and nigiri here with no complaints-- Fish is good quality, veg is fresh, portions are good. And the service is excellent, their staff are always welcoming and highly attentive. Every so often, they have live musicians playing to add to the cozy atmosphere. Very pleased that this local favorite is still going strong.

Sushi California has been sold. I called them and asked if Ryoji was still present, but he is no longer there (the transition period was about 2 months). They told me the menu has changed, and is not currently updated on the website, so I'll have to find out how different the new owners are doing things in person.
I do worry the distinct and fine flavoring from Ryoji will be revamped under non-Japanese owners, changing the menu, trying to establish themselves as a unique and different restaurant and the place will no longer have the same level of quality as they used to. But that will have to be discovered in the future.
UPDATE: The new chef's sushi leaves a great deal to be desired. The sushi I ordered, had pretty underwhelming flavor as far as seasoning on the rice. It mostly had a vinegar base without any subtle sweetness or depth of flavor. The spicy tuna was overwhelmingly flavored with sesame oil and while many places create their spicy tuna with that oil, there was not much to taste beyond that. The wasabi is now given out for takeout in a packet, and it tastes quite awful and made the roll 1000% hotter than it should be. The spicy tuna now contains avocado. Nothing was inherently bad about the avocado, but it didn't do much to enhance the enjoyment of it. A random sprinkling of tobiko was spread across the rolls and again, it felt more like a visual decoration rather than paying attention to taste and enhancing the experience.
Overall the fish was fresh, but true sushi has as much care behind the preparation and flavoring of the rice as the fish and I found the balance lacking. I'm updating the review to 3 stars, OK but sadly I really miss the sense of taste from Ryoji's many years of experience. The place has departed from many of his recipes and is trying to create their own.
The ohitashi, boiled spinach, flavored with soy, mirin and maybe a touch of rice wine vinegar was ok, and pretty close to the old menu's recipe.
I'm sure the new ownership is going to stick with their new menu and new pricing (most items actually seemed cheaper than the menu prices on the website) so it didn't break the bank but I didn't feel like I got the same quality as before. I'll probably give the place another try but I don't think there is a true sense of vision from their new head chef.

I'm very disappointed, as they're very highly rated in the previous reviews but serve very nasty food. Sashimi is not fresh at all and is not properly made. It tastes as if they just freeze the rotten fish and bring it to the table.

The food was not fresh at all. My friend and I came there because of the previous reviews, but we were disappointed at the sashimi. They were neither fresh nor served at the right temperature, making it the worst experience among those Japanese restaurants I've ever been to. Do not waste your money on this restaurant.

I use to love this place until new management. The sushi use to be really fresh. The quality of taste and presentation went down. The Karage was dry and the rolls barely had any fresh fish. The new base for the speciality rolls is imitation crab but the price is still the same as real crab. One of the rolls I ordered was missing half the ingredients and they didn't tell me they were out but still charged me the same price.

Great hidden gem in Berkeley with authentic Japanese food. Great sushi bar and friendly owner