Good sushi without the 200 dollar omakase, where are you going?

So over the omakase thing. Sometimes I just want really good fish, a cold beer and to actually talk to the person I came with. Where do you go when you want proper sushi for like 40 or 50 dollars a person? Westside preferred but I will drive for a good one.

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Sushi Gen in Little Tokyo!! The sashimi deluxe at lunch is around 28 dollars and it is the best value fish in the entire city, I am not exaggerating. Get there before 11:15 to avoid waiting in line.

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Hide Sushi on Sawtelle. Cash only, no reservations, usually a line outside, which tells you what you need to know. The combos land right around the number you are describing and the quality has not slipped in all the years I have been going. Bring actual cash, people still show up with a card and get very confused at the end.

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I started to get most of my sushi at Yama Sushi Marketplace (National Blvd). Was the best decision ever. Always fresh and huge selection .

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Uzumaki in Culver City is my answer and it sits right in that range. Order a la carte instead of the set menu, that is where the value is hiding. It is small and low key and nobody rushes you out.

I will also say Kura is not a crime, I go when I am tired and just want to watch the little train.

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Sushi Ike on Hollywood Blvd is the one I send people to. Small counter in a strip mall, the chef takes it seriously, and you can eat very well for under a hundred if you order nigiri a la carte instead of a set.

For the lazy version, Kazunori hand rolls. Sit down, five hand rolls, out in half an hour, around thirty dollars. The WeHo one is easy from your side of town.

Both are the opposite of the two hour ceremony, which is exactly what you asked for.

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Counterpoint, the Kura near me in Koreatown is a perfectly respectable dinner and the tablet means I never have to speak to a human. Judge me. :winking_face_with_tongue:

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Echigo on Santa Monica Blvd just west of the 405 is my long time pick. They serve the rice warm, which sounds like a tiny detail until you have it, and the lunch set is one of the better deals on the Westside.

Do not sleep on Taiko in Brentwood either for a casual weeknight. Not fancy, not trying to be, just consistent, and you can usually get a table.

Way to go asking this, by the way. Half my friends think the only two options are 200 dollar counters or grocery store rolls, and there is a whole lovely middle nobody talks about. Adding Uzumaki to the rotation ^^

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They have better quality sushi than most restaurants. I go there at least twice a months.

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