Restaurant Kiyosuzu

This small Japanese-​owned restaurant has become my favorite sushi place in the SGV. In addition to the traditional items, they have a number of tasty dishes and rolls, some that I haven’t tasted elsewhere. These are my family’s favorites:
Uni Rice in Soup (listed on the board above the sushi bar): Get this if you love uni. Get this if you like uni. Get this if you’re on the fence about uni. The flavor of the broth is just incredible. And they don’t skimp on the uni portions. Takeout not allowed on this dish.
Hi 5 Roll: A refreshing twist on a spicy tuna roll. See pic.
Maki-​Chan Roll: Scallop on top of CA roll. See pic.
Arai Special Roll: I love the taste of monkfish liver, but this might be an acquired taste. See pic.
Nikaido Roll: Salmon and sticky yam. The stickiness of the yam might bother some people though but it’s supposedly very nutritious.
Chirashi: They are generous with the sushi slices — hurray!
Salted Boiled Mackerel (as part of a combo)
Frank’s DUI: Baked sea bass over rice. Excellent.
The service is quite friendly, though sometimes when it’s busy you do have to flag them down for tea refills, etc.
For families with young kids, note that they only have 2 high chairs so when we come here, we make sure our fisher price booster seat is ready in the car just in case. Parking in the cramped parking lot behind the restaurant or on Fairview. We do takeout from here pretty often as well.

I love sushi. More than anything.
Only reason I did not eat much in so cal is that I just couldn’t find a restaurant that offers decent sushi at decent price. If they are good, super expensive. If they are affordable, crappy, lots of rice with so little thin cut of fish.
So you can guess how happy I was when I took my first bite. And it’s walking distance from my home.
I had 9 sushi assortments then we have a few rolls that were also great. Then we ordered one more roll because we just couldn’t leave without trying it!
I was passing by this place and the outside wasn’t really attractive. But now I regret not trying this place earlier. Only drawback of this place is old-​fashioned and dingy restroom. But I mean, you don’t have to go every time you go to restaurant, right?

I LOVE this little hole in the wall sushi joint! I come here not for sushi. But for amazing sushi and the chef! Always go for the bar seating cause the chefs take good care of you and are actually fun to talk to! You can actually learn a lot about Japanese food and fish from them. They like giving out little snacks and concoctions they make too! That’s always fun and it’s free!
I always order the cut rolls and nigri (most are $ 1.50 a piece)! Im not a fan of their cooked rolls. Their fish to rice ratio is the best, not to much and not to little. Their salmon consistency is top notch and it’s lightly creamy. THE BEST IS THE TUNA! Wow no place I’ve been to has topped their tuna nigri. It’s the most beautiful red I’ve seen and the flavor is so refreshing and rich. All nigri are eaten with only wasabi, no soy sauce. Let’s you enjoy the full spectrum of the fish and appreciate it!
Overall, really good sushi joint! Fresh and delicious fish and reasonably priced!

Super friendly staff that will recommend what’s best, just ask! The food is reasonably priced, especially given how good the fish is. Make sure to stop by on the weekdays during lunch hours – their lunch specials are amazing! Jaja udon and ginger pork are on the top of my list. I can’t stop coming back to this place; I’ve been a regular for years and plan to be one for many more!

I’ve been coming here for years. My favorite place to eat after a workout, a protein packed sashimi mix please. I recommend the spicy tuna cut rolls, sashimi mix, salmon collar (only available at lunch), and grilled marinated mackerel. Also, I noticed that the salad served with meals has been upgraded to leafy greens instead of just iceberg lettuce. Finally, the place is a bargain for the quality and freshness of the seafood.

It was my first time here. I only ate the sushi here and it was all delicious! The customer service I received was great!
I ordered the yellow tail cut roll, spicy tuna cut roll, uni sushi, crab sushi, halibut sushi, toro sushi and the Gorilla roll.
Everything I ate was fresh. I will come back again and try the other foods in the menu.

Came back recently and still solid Japanese food (: the sashimi mix was good portion. The udon didn’t have as many toppings as before but it tasted good.

Kind of a small place with a calm feel. Standard menu items. Choice of sushi bar or tables. Tables on the Baldwin Ave side seem too close for comfort, especially when it’s busy. Had an indifferent server who didn’t really make our visit particularly memorable. Miso soup lacked flavor… nothing special. Food came out fast and nicely presented. Tempura lacked salt and didn’t have that light/​flaky crispiness. Sashimi was fresh and had great color and texture. May be back if in the area but wouldn’t make a special trip. Parking lot (shares with other businesses) is kinda bad… a lot of cars were ridiculously parked over the lines!

Great spot! I will say that this place is second on my list for ‘traditional’ Japanese cuisine. Mako (also in Arcadia) is my number one favorite. Not that you should trust me; but all of my Japanese co-​workers at Caltech go to Arcadia for Mako or Kiyosuza. That should tell you that they are great if you are looking for Japanese cuisine.
Enjoy!

Great place to eat for sushi and soup and mak fish
A little bit pricey but tastes good

Love this place very wallet friendly and helpful staff… not to mention the fresh sushi which you can order off the menu or tell them what you want on the inside and outside of your rolls… again I say I love this place

I LOVE THIS PLACE!!! The people are soooo nice and the food is so good! It’s a bit overpriced but well worth every penny. The chirashi is delicious and includes tons of sashimi pieces and the sushi rice is yummy! The sushi chefs are very nice too and they communicate to you while they’re prospering your food (: definitely 5 stars!!!

Delicious authentic japanese food at a cozy place.
The seafood is fresh and never frozen which is nice to know.
The chef and servers are nice and friendly.
One thing to know is that their sushi is 1pc instead of 2.
You should ask how much it is for the live uni, toro, and sweet shrimp since it changes.
I love the sushi special since its a good price and you can eat many types of sushi!

Japanese food is good. The sashimi chicken tempura combo is good. The sake n beer combo is delicious! Def come here again… Best dessert here is the ice cream with pineapple!!! Seriously try it!!!

Solid sushi place for a quick bite. Impressed? Not really
Inattentive servers.
This place should improve their menu and add the ingredient list to sushi rolls. Please, not everyone know what «caterpillar roll» is and every place does it differently. With that said, the caterpillar roll is at par. Fulfilling? Yes. Westernized? Absolutely.
Also market price should be clearly marked, I was surprised by the $ 8 1 piece toro that I paid for. Not worth it. It was stringy and eh, even though the piece is HUGE, the overall is not impressive. Need to improve on quality of sushi rice.
Sesame ice cream was smooth so okay that’s the only good thing?

This is a small mom and pop owned restaurant. Their food is homemade Japanese. For appetizer, we got fried tofu which was crispy and came with a ginger, onion sweet soy sauce dip. I ordered the teriyaki chicken and sashimi dinner entrée. They serve a generous amount of sashimi as a side dish not to mention it was fresh. The teriyaki chicken was tender and Juicy. All dinner entrees come with miso soup and salad. The soba noodles came in a cute display and was also a generous amount. We also ordered, udon noodles which came in a cute stone pot that helps soup remain at a warm temperature.
Service was good. Staff spoke Japanese and English. They were friendly and courteous. Parking is available in the back lot. Overall, this is an authentic Japanese Restaurant and liked it.

One of the few Japanese owned Japanese restaurants in the area.
My favorites is their teriyaki… their sauce is homemade. The selection of sushi is better than most.

Comfortable, cozy, and homestyle would be the words I use to describe this place.
It is a mom and pop shop feeling making a great place for catching up with friends, quick bite to eat by yourself, or simply to fill a sushi craving.
The prices are decent. For 2 girls catching up we ordered Spicy Tuna Roll, Spicy Scallop handroll, albacore sushi, rainbowroll, and an udon, the total came out to around 35 dollars.
The waiter was polite and chefs were very nice. The food has a home made style to it and is very lay back. The menu is to the point and simple selection of rolls that are easy to see. I am sure if you had a special request they can make it as well. The portions were nice as you can see in the pictures, and the food was delicious.
The items were served on one plate so if you don’t plan on sharing you should let them know ahead of time or else your handrolls may be on same plate as someone elses rolls.

Usually this place has been enjoyable for me, but I had lunch there with my family the other day and now have a very different opinion…
I’m not sure what planet this owner lives on or where he/​she learned their business practices but how can you possibly justify a $ 5 difference between the lunch and dinner prices especially when the only difference between the two is an extra piece of tuna and an extra piece of shrimp tempura. How can you possibly justify paying $ 5 for two pieces of food? I could just spend an extra $ 3 and get two lunches!
Extra $ 2 charge for not finishing my rice? Ridiculous.
Not going to eat here again now.

= RAW FISH PARADISE =
Or should I call it the «Sushi Heaven for Those with Tight Budget»?
Who would think there is a sushi restaurant hidden near Baldwin and Duarte between all those Chinese restaurant? I discovered this place when I was impatiently waiting at the Dumpling House and playing with my Unilocal application for nearby restaurants. And boy, I was glad I found this place.
For less than $ 20, they gave me a large serving of Sashimi. True, they are not the top quality fish, but they are fresh and portions are generous. For those of you that don’t like raw fish, they also have various selection on udon or cooked sushi rolls. I split an order of sushi platter and sashimi platter with my girlfriend and can’t believe I walked out of the restaurant without putting a dent on my wallet.
Yes, I am a happy Unilocaler when I get quality food for low prices. Definitely recommend Restaurant Kiyosuzu for everyone that have sudden sushi cravings but on a tight budget like me.