Reviewing Sushi Fumi: Authentic Japanese sushi, rolls, and sashimi in Los Angeles.

One food I would eat every day if I could is sushi; therefore, I have been on the hunt to find the best sushi spot in Los Angeles. I am not talking trendy Katsuya or Nobu types, but more authentic mom-and-pop sushi restaurants that are well-known as well as not ridiculously overbooked months in advance or overpriced. Sushi Fumi has been on my list to try for a while now, so I am elated that I finally had the chance to try it out.  

They do not take reservations, so they are on a first-come, first-serve basis. They open at 5:30 p.m., and I was advised to go right at opening to avoid a wait. Although we did not make it at that time, we ended up getting there around 7:30 p.m. and only had to wait for about 15 minutes to be seated. I really appreciate the aspect of no reservations because Los Angeles reservations are outrageous at some places, with some restaurants booked months in advance or others only releasing reservations at midnight the week before. 

We were starving and wanted to experiment with the menu, so we tried quite a few dishes. First up, we obviously had to try the spicy tuna crispy rice. This dish is hard to differentiate from restaurant to restaurant because it is such a popular sushi menu item; however, what was special about Sushi Fumi’s version was the warmness of the crispy rice contrasted with the cold, fresh tuna on top. The ratio of crispy rice to tuna was perfect and easy to devour in one bite.  

Next up, we got the creamy rock shrimp tempura, which is also a classic across menus. This dish definitely could have used a bit more sauce, but the overall quality of the shrimp was excellent. It did not have too much breading, and each bite was ideally crispy.  

For our first rolls, we ordered eel avocado hand rolls. Eel is one of my favorite fish, and I think it is very underrated. I ordered this because it is hard to master eel sushi dishes. Sushi Fumi did it just right in that the eel sauce was perfectly allocated throughout the roll to where I did not need soy sauce, which I think would have ruined the dish otherwise.  

We also got the spicy scallop and the spicy salmon hand rolls. The spicy scallop is not something I typically order, but I wanted to try it because I love cooked scallops. This hand roll did not disappoint, and it honestly might become one of my new go-to orders for hand-rolls.  

Additionally, we got the Miu roll, which is a spicy tuna roll topped with albacore and crispy onions. This roll was super fresh, and the ginger made it even better. I could have had 10 more pieces of this roll because of how light it was! 

The star of the show was the crab dynamite roll. This roll is my new all-time favorite sushi dish. It was incredibly unique with the torched crab on top and soy paper wrapping. The roll itself was not only packed with flavor, but it was also topped with tempura flakes and plated with a deliciously tangy and spicy sauce combination.  

To recap my experience, the staff here is super friendly and energetic. You can tell they are truly happy to be there because they are quick to give recommendations and suggestions for different taste palates and preferences. I also noticed that Sushi Fumi is easy to miss from the outside because it is not overly flashy or anything like that. In fact, I drove by it twice before parking and realizing where it truly is. Again, I like the no reservation aspect for reasons previously mentioned, but also because it gives a very authentic Japanese feel to the sushi dining experience.  

I was in awe by the quality of the food and was impressed dish after dish. With that, I am one thousand percent going back, and I hope soon because I am already craving that crab dynamite roll again! I highly recommend this spot and feel that it deserves to be in the top three for sushi in Los Angeles.