The best sushi in San Clemente!
The chef, Nobu, is a wonderful sushi chef and you can tell he takes a lot of pride in his work. If you really want a treat, ask him what his favorites are! The salmon surprise is amazing and we also had fish cheeks, which were buttery and wonderful.
You may happen upon some regulars and I mean regulars! We met two couples who had been visiting Nobu for over 20 years and drove all the way from Temecula.
Nobu is the "Cheers" of Sushi restaurants. Tiny little gem hidden in a strip mall off of Pico. Hard to see, almost invisible but worth looking for. Everybody seems to know everybody there and that's kinda cool. I felt like I should introduce myself to everyone as we were the only patrons (not sitting at the Sushi bar) and not talking with the other people in the restaurant. This is obviously a family run business. I think a husband & wife team that appears to have built a loyal following.
We tried many different rolls, some Sushi and a couple of hand rolls and they were all good. Not overly unique (like Sushi Gallery in SC) but all were fresh. This is not elite Sushi, but was good and consistent. Fish was fresh and service was friendly, if a bit slow. I cannot fault them for that, as the waitress (wife) was handling the entire restaurant solo. In a setup like that, my tolerance is higher.
I will go back. Cool local place!
The best sushi place in Orange County by far. The fish is always fresh, everything tastes amazing. My husband and I enjoy coming here for date nights every few months.
It's a little pricey, but we always get the specials (yellowtail, tuna, salmon) that cost extra. The quality surpasses the competition in the area and it's always filled with locals.
Another Yelp recommendation, and the sushi was fresh and flavorful.
We picked up an order to go at lunchtime, and there was only one other customer in the restaurant at the time, so I can't speak to the "Cheers" environment, but I would like to return in the evening and experience it for myself.
It's a sushi only place, so if you're looking for teriyaki for the non-sushi eaters in the group, you're out of luck. Â But if you want sushi, you've come to the right place!
Remember Cheers? Remember the soup nazi on Seinfeld? Put them toegether and you have Nobu. Most of the customers know each other and help you to order if you are a newbie because most of what they are having is not on the menu. Just Nobu and his wife work the place and they are so stinkin cute! My teenage daughter just loves it, Nobu has a way of just getting her to eat whatever he feels like making. The customers are serious to the point of one couple having their own chopsticks at the ready (fancy). Sushi/Sashimi is always fresh.
Review Source:I've lived in San Clemente for over 20 years. This place has been there the whole span of that time. And the thing that baffles me about this place is it is almost never open but it's still there. And when it is open I hardly see anyone in there. I do NOT know how this place is still in business. Their sushi isn't anything special either. It's not bad but there's way better sushi places around here.
Review Source:The sushi was about as good as you could buy at Albertson's, or make at home yourself: nothing special, but not bad either. The selection is limited, and the Maguro wasn't even cut correctly. Â Date night? NOT! Â That is of course unless McDonald's is your idea of good food. Â Certainly not the worst sushi in SC, but not the best either, not by a long shot. Â
It's an intimate little place run by Nobu and his wife Amy with about enough seating for a dozen at the bar and another dozen at three tables.  It has very limited hours, and sometimes closes early (like last Saturday night which led us to Mahé) slower than normal service if they are busy since it is only Amy on the floor and Nobu behind the counter.
The atmosphere is very intimate--in the way that as one guy at the bar put it when we walked in and crashed their little blue hair party "like Cheers where everybody knows your name." Â Intimate conversation is quite difficult.
All in all, this is the type of place you run out to grab sushi as a quick bite after work, or for take out.  For date night Sushi, avoid this place and go across town to Miyako, or Mahé in Dana Point.
Love this place! Â So lucky we found Nobu. Â Not only do we enjoy going here for date night but we also take advantage of taking out sushi! Â We have 2 small children so always easier on everyone to keep kids at home and bring the sushi to us! Â
We were just there on Saturday night and Nobu had some new specials. Â I can't wait to go back again.
Love this place!!
----- Taste: 2 stars ----
- did not taste BAD at all. Â Just very bland, as if anyone could have made the roll even without any sushi training
----- Quality: 2 stars-----
-rolls are very "skinny"
-fish tastes fresh (4 stars)
-skimpy fish on rolls
-very thin slices of fish
---Cost: 3 stars----
-Most specialty rolls (crunchy, rainbow, etc) are $11
-Nigiri prices seemed within market value
---Service: 1 star ---
came in at around 5pm, the place was sparse and no one said hi. Â The wife finally asked us if she could help us after about 2 min.s of us just standing at the door waiting to be seated. Â they only had two front employees working, Nobu (was busy making sushi and the wife who was cashier, server, etc). Â Upon walking in and waiting, the wife ignored us and then continued to weave around the restaurant chatting with patrons before finally greeting us. Â the owners are by no means rude, just aloof.
---Other recommendations ---
-9 style, Taka-O and Genkai (dana point) blow this place out of the water.
Don't be afraid to walk into this sushi restaurant. Â It is located in the same strip mall as Pier 1 off of Avenida Pico. Â Nobu prepares fresh traditional sushi. Â The hours are unpredictable, have dropped by and found it closed when it was supposed to be open. Â May want to call ahead first. Â You may meet some friendly local surfers who frequent this sushi place. Â Great casual place for good sushi.
Review Source:Don't go here.... I don't want anyone else to know about it.. okay whatever but keep it hush hush....
My GF and I were on a romantic over night getaway to San Clemente and a friend who used to live in San Clemente had recommended a few places for us to visit. Â One of them being Nobu Sushi. Â Our friends have good taste and we definitely wanted some sushi so we tried it out.
What a great little find. Â Such a hole in the wall and totally in the middle of no where. Â To tell you the truth I was a little nervous when we first walked in. Â It was a little early but not that early and there was only three other people there (all sitting at the bar), the place is very small and in some strip mall. Â
The GF and I joined the others at the bar. Â The man behind the bar (sushi chef which we came to find out later was Nobu) handed us a menu and a pencil each. Â You just check which one and how many you want and he makes it for you. Â So we ordered our drinks, a few rolls, and then sat back and started to chat.
Our drinks came, along with a little salad. Â The salad was good, just enough to get your ready to eat some real food. Â Our rolls came, they were all very good. Â We had a crunchy roll and I can't remember the names of the other two but all were very good.
Another couple showed up and sat at the bar next to us, they new all of the other people in there by first name and every talked back and forth. Â Soon they asked us to join in the conversation. Â What a small world, turns out the guy next to me had golfed with his buddy and that guy was a friend of the guy who recommended the place to us.. Kind of confusing I know but it makes sense..
By the end of the night people were buying us different rolls to try since we were newbies to Nobu's. Â We tried a fried shrimps head, a raw shrimp, and some other things.. All were good.
Over all this place is awesome.. not so much because of the food. Â Don't get me wrong.. the sushi is good but it's not the best I've had. Â Nope.. it's the people who go there and the family like vibe that comes from it. Â When we left we felt like we were part of the family.
We had a great time, loved the food, and can't wait to come back and visit Nobu (who barely talks) and the rest of the gang..
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