 This entry refers to a departed business that has closed or left town. All information here is for historical reference only. |
| Osaka Sushi was replaced by Monticello Seasonal Cuisine. |
| Location |
| 630 G Street (in G Street Shopping Center) |
| Hours |
| Lunch Daily 11:30 AM - 2 PM Dinner Daily 5 PM - 9:30 PM |
| Phone |
| (530) 758-2288 |
| Web site |
| osakasushi.com |
Osaka Sushi was a Japanese restaurant and sushi bar located in the Davis Food Co-Op shopping center. As of December 15, 2009, the doors are locked, no one is answering the phone, and it appears the business has been abandoned. The Davis Osaka Sushi was the first one of five in this regional chain (co-owned by Koichi Mizushima from about 1998-2004). Alan owns Osaka Sushi, and was also a co-owner of Duke's. It looks a little sketchy from the outside, but it has one of the prettier interiors in town. The brilliant red makes the food extra yummy. Their website is pretty nice too. Recently, they began a delivery service with a $30 minimum order amount, and a $3 delivery charge offered 5-9 PM.
The King Roll, an item on Osaka's Secret Menu. That's soft shell crab on top of a whole lot of goodness. They have a sushi bar with boats, which can be quite entertaining.
Special Nights:
- Mondays are $1 beers, $1 off on rolls, and $1 for the blue plates that go around on the boat. One dollar plates consist of either: salmon on rice, 3 cucumber rolls, 2 pieces of inari, or 2 pieces of tamago, among other things. It's generally not busy so you can request something and get it right away.
- Wenesdays a chef who speaks Japanese works from 5-9:30. At least two of the other chefs speak Mandarin and/or Cantonese.
Lunch is approximately $8 and dinner $13.
There is also an Osaka Sushi in Woodland.
Older Reviews
Current Reviews
2006-02-07 14:35:21 One of my favorite sushi places in town! The service is always fast and friendly, the restaurant and tables are clean, and the sushi is very good. I recommend the Osaka Maki roll, which is excellent. The rice and the tempura shrimp is always warm, which makes for very fresh and delicious sushi. The only drawback is that the prices are kind of high, but you pay for good sushi, right? —LauraChan
2006-02-07 17:19:19 anyone know when the fish delivery for this place comes in? I've always thought it was the freshest in town...haven't been to zen toro yet. —ApolloStumpy
2006-02-14 15:12:17 Been here a handful of times. Average at best. I've been served some pretty mediocre fish here. Bleh. —RyanLeverenz
2006-02-20 02:34:19 The quality of their sushi ranges from mediocre to not bad, depending on the day. Many of the rolls are similar in price and quality to Fuji's. Don't come here for the rolls, the nigiri, or the maki. Come here for the bento boxes with chicken teriyaki and tempura (about $13 during dinner, and much cheaper for lunch hours). —CurtisLim
2006-03-19 18:06:39 The sushi bar is pretty expensive for dinner but it's some of the best sushi in town. —KevinRollins
2006-04-10 22:54:13 We had dinner here tonight. Apparently they've cut back on the amount of sushi you get for your money - e.g. one piece of fake crab+rice instead of two. The quality was OK, but I think I'll start checking out the other sushi places in town. —GrahamFreeman
2006-05-08 22:08:19 The sushi and sashimi platter ($15+) lacked variety- I expected the sushi to be different from the sashimi! C'mon, how about a little variety? The sashimi was fresh and the whole thing was very filling. Service and ambience were pretty good. I think it's funny that they served my friend water in a Coke glass and the Pepsi in a water glass. —JennaChan
2006-05-26 21:11:12 The sushi I had at lunch here wasn't bad, but expensive for the quality. The sesame chicken lunch, though, was excellent. —JuliaCallaghan
2006-05-27 22:21:54 I love Osaka, prefer it to even some of the Sac sushi joints (like Nishiki). Especially the soft shell crab-roll-thingy. I could eat those until I start to walk sideways. —LeightonHinkley
2006-07-16 09:27:46 Over all the sushi here is not bad, just more expensive to the other resturaunts in town that offer similar quality sushi for way less $$. i thought osaka's eal rice bowl was below average. i think Nobu Hiro has the best bento dinner boxes $9.95 (your choice of 2: salmon sashimi, tuna sashimi, chicken teriyaki, beef teriyaki, salmon teriyaki, grilled mackrel, grilled squid, gyoza, tuna roll, cucumber roll, california roll, mixed tempora, all of which are served with sunomono, rice, miso soup, salad) —MattHh
"2006-08-03 20:48:50" I love going here! This place has some bomb sushi. :) The Osaka Maki roll is really good. Their fatty tuna roll is really damn good - unfortunately, the last several times I went there, they didn't have it. I like their eel rolls, though I've had equal or better quality in most places. I would totally recommend it. —ArielaHaro
"2006-10-27" The spicy tuna is amazing here. —TomHinds
2006-11-08 12:46:15 Best japanese restaurant in Davis, I believe. I say this because their sushi rolls (the Big Ben) and their dinners (Nabeyaki Udon) are both very good. At most restaurants, it's one or the other and someone's bound to be unhappy in your group. The rolls are pricey at $13-14 but they're massive compared to most other restaurants (i.e. Moshi Moshi) but just as good or even better than Zen Toro depending upon your mood. —LiRic
2006-12-02 19:39:06 Great food! Taylor rolls ARE really good! Thank you for the comment Sienna! I took your advice and tried it. —JanetLee
2007-01-07 13:02:13 I love their Big Ben roll. This place is DELICIOUS. My favorite Japanese place in town. The customer service is great! Good customer service goes a long way and it just adds a great vibe to the environment. —BeeBooBee
"2007-01-07 21:05:05" I had their Saba Shioyaki tonight and it was very dry and burnt. I would've tolerated it if it were cheap but it wasn't. For $15, I expect a nice piece of juicy Saba. That's not too much to ask. In San Jose's Kaita in Japantown has the same meal cooked to perfection at a much lower price($8). If you can't be better, you should at least be cheaper. On the upside, the service was fast and the spicy tuna roll was nice. —SoyoungLee
2007-01-18 01:41:42 They slather sauces over every single roll which makes me afraid to try their sashimi...You can get cheaper sushi at fantastic places in San Francisco. Prices aren't warranted —MissBelomy
2007-03-31 09:20:42 We went to another restaurant of the same name in Woodland on Main Street. We will try the Davis location because in Woodland, the food was really pretty tasty, but since we had our 6 year old with us (who was well-behaved - loves tamago), we were seated in the crappiest section upstairs near the service with all the dishes clanking. Also, the waitress was extremely surly and clearly did not want to serve us. I had to complain about her attitude to the owner/manager, who listened politely but did not validate our concerns by talking to the employee. In this business, it's all about the service. I don't think we will go back, not sure yet. —DianneAppel
- Three of us went to the Woodland restaurant on April 7, and had a completely different experience. It was a Saturday night, but there was a very mellow, comfortable atmosphere in the place. I didn't have high hopes because the hostess seemed to ignore us, until I got right up in front of her and she greeted me with a flat, "Three?" We were seated at a table on the first floor (there is a second floor). Our server (a young, blonde woman with glasses) must've been a different one than Dianne's, because she was upbeat, had a good sense of humor, was attentive and seemed to know the menu pretty well. We ordered a sashimi "boat" (an assorted selection of 30pcs of sashimi) and had a few large Orion beers. The sashimi tasted fresh, the beer was good, and service was quick and friendly.
"2007-04-29 01:31:51" I love Osaka Sushi! My boyfriend and I have rationed our sushi consumption to once a month, otherwise our budget would be shot! We have "sushi money," and for the past several months we have been going exclusively to Osaka. For a sushi joint in Davis, they are really good. Their Osaka Maki roll is the bomb, as well as their fresh salmon. Their unagi (eel) is okay, as I've had much better in my life. My boyfriend really likes their spicy tuna roll - but always has to suffer the consequences of eating sushi with too much Sri Racha sauce on it! All in all, Osaka Sushi has good sushi. I think their sushi is of better quality than Fuji's (I know a lot of people who wait in line for a hours to eat at their buffet are going to disagree with me on this! :)) —ArielaHaro
2007-05-02 12:55:21 I LOVE OSAKA SUSHI. their Y2K roll kept me coming back for more and their entrees are very good also. This place can be quite pricey but worth it if you're willing to spend. —trambajuice
2007-07-13 11:43:35 if you are vegetarian, order the Yummy Yammy Roll - it's not on the menu. It's a roll with yam tempura in the middle... DELICIOUS! —maxlovesfood
2007-07-16 12:36:12 pretty good for vegetarians, and the udon is very tasty. Sort of expensive, but it is a good sushi joint. The waiters were efficient and fast. like ninjas. —JillBenciWoodward
2007-07-19 01:02:15 I ate here last week for lunch. I was very DISAPPOINTED with the quality of the seafood. The fish tasted stale (particularly tuna and hamachi). I took a friend and he disliked it as well. We won't be going back every again. —Surfnoc
2007-07-22 18:21:08 Good sushi but expensive. It really just depends on what you value more, quality or price. —AlexandraDeGrange
2007-08-21 09:34:30 Good quality sushi, reasonably (at least by Sushi standards) priced. Osaka Maki and Y2K roll are hella good. —ArlenKwong
2007-09-23 10:28:02 6 out of 10.
I dined here last night because I was desperately in the mood for sushi. I have only been in Davis for 2 weeks and this is the first sushi place I have tried. I took one of the California Roll appetizer from the sushi boat and had a Rocky Roll. The rolls had too much rice, WAY too much. The Rocky Roll and other special rolls that I saw were HUGE and impressive size-wise, which I suppose gets the best "bang for your buck", but it consists of around 70% rice!
Is there a big difference between east and west coast sushi? I think I saw the King Roll which was a monstrous mound of food (mostly rice). I'm accustomed to sushi rolls that you can fit into your mouth in one bite; this came nowhere close to that. I had to eat the tuna/rice from a roll in one bite and avocado/rice from the same roll in another, usually with a full bite of rice leftover. I was very fully after that meal, but not the good "sushi full" that I'm used to which is a good combo of fish/veggies/rice in the stomach that leaves you feeling very light and comfortable. Otherwise, the quality of the ingredients was very good, but the rice was very unappealing in such large quantities; it ruined the quality ingredients in the center.
My girlfriend ordered the teriyaki chicken box which I think is slimy no matter what Japanese restaurant you eat at. But here, there was also some kind of fatty layer surrounding the chicken, which may or may not have been the skin of the chicken breast.
I hope better sushi exists here... —NickStrand
2007-11-08 10:27:20 There didn't seem much room for rice in the King Roll when I got it. —KarlMogel
2007-11-08 10:52:08 It's my understanding that Monday nights are $1 per item. is this true? —JessicaRockwell
- Partially. Monday night is a dollar of beer, and a dollar off of rolls. All of the items on the small, blue plates on the bar are $1.
2008-03-30 19:17:59 the food is ok...but compared to any of the other japanese restaurants in Davis (zen toro, sushi unlimited, fuji, moshimoshi, etc) THEY HAVE THE BEST SERVICE! the servers are very friendly, quick, and even when it's extremely busy, my server at least came up to us to introduce homeself and to notify us that we will be taken care shortly. when i went to one of the other restaurants in town, i had to wait 25 minutes at my table and none of the servers even came to offer us water. we got up and walked out, guess where we went instead? Osaka Sushi =D and btw, although they were also busy that night (i believe it was a 15 min wait to be seated) the host at least brought us some beverages as we waited in front for our table near the fish tank.
eat here, it's a good overall experience.
2008-04-02 15:31:43 They FINALLY got rid of those punk ass asian kids that work there. They used to be all from the same frat and just hired each other. I've never been greeted by a kid in a backwards hat with an over sized striped polo shirt till I ate here. Seriously, its about time they got their act together with their servers. —JoeBudden
2008-04-15 22:45:02 This is possibly one of the worst sushi restaurants I've ever been to in my life. We ordered a roll that was specifically advertised as "king crab", no mention of crab/whitefish "kani" salad. Yet lo and behold we were served a roll with 2% real crab for $12. A california roll, which is the same thing, is much cheaper. The off the menu uni (sea urchin) was the grossest thing I have ever seen. We refused to eat the uni as well as the roll and asked for them to be taken off our check. Although we will agree that the service was impeccable, even to the point of agreeing to remove the disgusting food items from our bill without even a modicum of argumentation, both my partner and I would advise all potential diners that you may well find this service is serving you - food poisoning. I would highly recommend Zen Toro. They are so busy, as a result of the quality of the food, the service might take a few minutes. Skip Osaka, go to Zen Toro. —unipeg39
2008-04-18 11:00:54 Osaka's is by far the best sushi restaurant in Davis. It's pricing is fair for it's quality of food and service. I will always eat and recommend others to Osaka's. —Fuellenbach
2008-04-19 01:44:17 This place is expensive. I love sushi and am used to throwing down cash for good sushi, but this place isn't really worth it. Sushi isn't bad; just not great. It's one of those places where you have to either pay $100 for sub-par sushi or walk out hungry. The picture above looks good, but I've never had that or anything that looked like that. I should probably go and try it, but after having been there a bunch of times, I'm just not motivated to go back. I'll stick to Fuji's buffet or head out to Sac and score some good sushi at Mikuni's, Samarai, or Taro's. Downtown Sac also has some good sushi spots. —CurlyGirl26
2008-05-17 21:05:06 just ordered some food from here....way too much much, wasn't even cold. should raw fish be kept cold? annnnd there wasn't much fish in my rolls. don't know which is worse warm fish, or no fish at all —Ngooyenc
2008-06-06 23:30:23 I work at Osaka's! I have been working there for a little over 2 years now. Great job, great place to eat! I can understand why some people think its pricey, for me.....I don't feel that way at all. I watch the chef's prepare the fish, rolls, etc. They put care into it, they put attention to detail when it comes to making rolls. I still eat there just about 5 nights a week, and have yet to get tired of the food. That holds a lot of sway for me when it comes to liking or disliking a place as a favorite, or just so, so. It's no buffet, you will leave full for the same price you pay at the buffet though. I have tried Fuji's, the new Davis Sushi Buffet, Zen Toro, Sushi Unlimited and Moshi Moshi. I thought Zen Toro's rolls are very creative and delicious, the service was so bad that I haven't been back, Sushi Unlimited is in the same boat, except the service was worse. The buffet's are good for people who want to get stuffed to there gills and leave with a big happy hard to walk grin on their face. That is not my thing personally, I would rather have a smaller meal that was prepared with more consideration and quality in mind. Moshi, Moshi is great, I just find it hard to eat there since I would rather go to the place that is familiar and where I know exactly what I am getting on many levels. I personally served the table of unipeg39. It sucks that I didn't know our Alaskan Roll has SOME Kani in it. It is actually a 50/50 split between Kani and The Alaskan Crab. I have been happily eating the Alaskan Roll since discovering this on that fateful day and I still think it tastes good...... As far as the Uni, it wasn't on that day, it looked like it was past its prime, which happens quick with Uni, as far as food poisoning goes. No. I have never had it, been eating here (including the older Uni the Chef's are going to toss) If you want Uni come on Friday night for the freshest, thats when it is delivered, and any other weekend day. It isn't ordered enough to make it cost effective to serve all week long. You should not have been served that Uni, I take responsibility for bringing it to your table. Like I said, I have been eating here for a long time, since I was little actually, its a good restaurant, with the some of the best, and fastest service I have had. —MattHarris
2008-06-08 22:23:55 I am a huge fan of Osaka Sushi! The Spider Roll is scary to look at, but delicious to eat! The Chicken Karage/ Teriyaki Chicken dinner combo is my goto meal when I can't decide what to order. I really enjoy this restaurant. —AynReyes
2008-06-30 19:40:59 Awesome! The food and sushi were great! —sweetsoni
2008-07-13 22:04:41 Went to Osaka the other day for dinner with the family. It's been the "go to" place when we want Japanese food in town, and has been for the last 9 years. While it is relatively pricey, the food has always been very good, and the portions have not diminished. Our experiences have been generally very good except for the last time we went. The waitress, I believe she was Vietnamese, gave very poor service. Initially the wrong order, no refills on water (unless asked), had to be reminded to get the roll we ordered, didn't bring a requested plate for a child to use. What irritated me the most was she seemed distracted and responded to all our requests with a "yeah, sure". It wasn't even busy, as it was a Tues night with UCD students out for the summer. She may be a bad seed, so maybe this is more of a rant than a review. —UsetheForce
2008-08-26 10:40:27 Visited for the first time last night, a Monday. There was no evidence of $1 beers or any other Monday specials, but we weren't sitting at the bar. Took the kids and found it kid-friendly. Appetizers were large enough for a kid meal (yakitori, tempura). Asked for tsukemono (not on menu) and they brought me a small plate of daikon tsukemono without charging me. Meal took FOREVER to arrive and waiter didn't check on us frequently. The other waitress in our serving area seemed much more on the ball and noticed that we were waiting for our check and got our waiter to come. I thought the big rolls ($12-$14) were terrific; the nigiri sushi and maki combos less so. Highly recommend the spider roll, with nice daikon sprouts and tons of roe. Osaka Maki also good. Fabulous special "sake surprise," which was salmon sashimi wrapped around deep fried jalapeno rings. I would never have ordered this in a million years, but my mother was intrigued, and it turned out to be sublime. Waiter said it's even better with hamachi. All told, $100 for two adults and two kids (two appetizers, three big sushi plates, udon, tempura, a sushi combo, two beers, two sodas,extra rice, tip); this was way too much food and we ended up taking home the udon, half the yakitori, and a fair amount of the sushi. I'll be going back for sure! —Virginia
2008-10-10 20:43:02 Sure the place looks like a hole in the wall from the outside, but inside has a very chic and warm ambiance. It was busy on a Friday but we had no wait and the staff was very attentive. Amazing service was friendly and fast.
The quality of food was very good. I had a bento box and two ala carte sushi. This turned out to be too much food so I left very full. Their portions are very generous without being too overwhelming or wasteful.
The teriyaki chicken was a bit fatty and lackluster in my opinion, California rolls had barely anything in them, and the salad was a little more than garnish, but that's all the negatives I could think of as I enjoyed my meal. Dinner was very reasonably priced: $13.00 for a bento box.
I'll definitely come here again! —GeorgeDrake
2008-10-12 10:26:09 The service was really friendly. I liked the atmosphere. Their sesame chicken was really good. The sushi was not as impressive. —feichu-huya
2008-11-15 20:02:08 Been here a few times since I moved into my apt on 8th. Great service, not sure about the sushi, but the Tonkatsu and the Katsudon were tremendous, while the shrimp shu mai was kinda mediocre. Regardless, I had a great experience here, can't beat a great katsudon for $9.95. —AlexChiang
2008-12-15 12:30:34 I went here for their Monday night special ($1 blue plates) and I'll just say that you get what you pay for. I'm sorry to say that I was underwhelmed. We also had a rather expensive cut roll and for $12 it was not that great. I only had their sushi so I can't comment on their cooked dishes. Just for reference, I've eaten at quite a few sushi places in Southern California. Maybe this is par for the course in Davis? —DrWang
2008-12-24 21:07:02 I LOVE THIS PLACE!...but it is pricey but well worth the money! I ordered the Y2K Roll ($15) but it was HUGE, I was stuffed along 3/4 way into the roll. I don't recommend the ramen noodle dish, maybe bento boxes during lunchtime is more worth it (since its slightly cheaper than dinner time)and their sashimi is fresh and sliced quite thick. The King Roll is a definite order too! Service was good, waiters were friendly and informative of the menu items. Very cozy seating and good atmosphere. —MissAmyQ
2009-01-11 14:25:52 I went here today for lunch and was terribly disappointed by the service. The food was alright (I had a tempura bento box and my boyfriend had the chicken katsu bento box) but the service was just downright atrocious. We were ready to order a minute after we sat down but were ignored for about 10 minutes until the hostess noticed and took our orders — not our server, but the hostess! I can be quite understanding when its busy and the servers have to take of several tables at a time, but c'mon. There were only 6 other tables aside from us! I had to ask for 2 cups of water twice — the couple next to us had ordered water as well, which no one seemed to remember until much later. What I got from this restaurant was a lack of organization and understanding of how to see to the customers' needs. The servers seemed nice enough, but when service is that lacking it really reflects back on the restaurant. Maybe it was just today because we went for lunch on a Sunday, but I don't think I'll be coming back to Osaka anytime soon. —AliceW
2009-08-15 21:19:49 I lived in Davis for about 28 years. I haven't eaten at Osaka Sushi in many years since I moved to the city of West Sacramento. I do remember great food, and I loved the "Sushi Boats" that would float by at the sushi bar. I'm about to go back, and I certainly hope that they haven't dispensed with the sushi boats. Atmosphere is half of the experience of dining out, and I loved that touch of kitch of the boats. I hope I won't be disappointed. —Darren22
2009-11-18 14:22:16 In my opinion, this is the BEST sushi place in town! I wish I came here before my last year at UCD rather than wasting my time and money at Sushi Unlimited, Zen Toro, Fujis, etc. The Y2k Roll and the Big Ben roll are delicious. The staff is very courteous and friendly. They replaced my boyfriend's dish when it was overly burnt and even took it off the bill. The man in the front is very nice too. Overall a great experience. I always come here to satisfy my sushi cravings when I'm in Davis. —ElizabethLee
2009-12-11 00:57:17 Does anyone know what's going on w/ Osaka? My roommate went a few days ago and said she saw a sign saying they'd be closed Monday/Tuesday unexpectedly. Without knowing that, I tried to call in an order yesterday and the phone just kept ringing and ringing. She went by again today and said they're just closed...flat out closed w/ no sign on the door or anything. I didn't ask her what time she went so hopefully they were just closed btwn lunch and dinner, but I've been kind of concerned for them since every month since October they've had some kind of crazy special (buy one get one 50% off, etc). Anyone know what's up? It'll be quite the tragedy if they shut down :( —AliceCheng
2009-12-12 10:16:07 yeah, my friend works there and she said they're closing due to lack of business. :( good bye, osaka —jeum
2009-12-16 20:34:33 As of 12/16/09, there is a letter taped to the window that says something about a notice of abandonment. I'm really bummed out about this! I've been going there since I was student back in the early 90's!?!? It's a huge loss for Davis. I wish all the great people who worked there the best in finding new jobs! We'll miss you! —MichaelMacIntosh
2009-12-17 10:34:52 Does anyone know if their other locations are closing, or just this one? —AmLin
2009-12-24 08:50:19 Dropped by for dinner last night, and we were greeted by a closed sign, and a notice of abandonment from the county. Seems as though their fish were just left there, so animal control had to come pick them up. Sad. I loved their sushi. —Zippypickle
2009-12-25 22:07:46 The Woodland location is still open. We ate there Christmas eve. —ScottWong
2009-12-25 23:38:18 I'm going to miss the yummy yam rolls. :-( —CovertProfessor
2010-03-18 12:53:44 Sorry to see it go. I loved their spider rolls. They probably closed because they gave you too much food for your money. Sigh...I guess it's Zen Toro for me now. Good food, but so expensive. —Virginia
2011-08-05 10:19:17 Used to be a Straw Hat Pizza before Osaka came in, early 90's I believe. Used to be they had a projector (a big deal back then), and you could take in the whole kid's (soccer, basketball, whatever) team... they'd show the footage any parents shot of the game on the big screen. The sushi boats were very cool at Osaka, salmon was oishi. —OldDavis73
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