GOT SUSHI

ADDRESS: 9345 Reseda Boulevard, Northridge, CA 91324

WEBSITE: https://www.kingsgotsushi.com/

As we were walking out of an evening showing of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (which is a really great film, by the way), my friend Kevin posed the question: “what do you think about trying a burger spot that also serves sushi?” It took me a moment to process what he had said, since burgers and sushi are not normally two items you’d expect the same place to be serving. But, I’m generally pretty open-minded when it comes to trying new places, so we hopped in the car and started heading over.

Got Sushi and King’s Burgers (the name of the burger aspect of the restaurant) use the same dining room. When you get seated, it looks like the host / hostess asks you what are you planning to eat and gives you the menu based off that. Kevin couldn’t get over our sushi experience with Goldfish Japanese Restaurant the day prior, so we were on a quest for sushi redemption.

Kevin and his girlfriend Emma had been to the restaurant a few times before, so I leaned on their menu expertise for some recommendations of what to get. We put in an order for truffle fries to start things off, and then worked to nail down four sushi rolls to occupy our main part of the meal. The real trick was to get rolls that represented a nice variety of flavors, and I think we did a pretty good job in our selection.

Presentation-wise, all of these sushi rolls looked great, each with its own visual flair. I’m always a big fan of the long, rectangular white plates, which I think make perfect canvases to arrange rolls and get that “wow!” factor when they are first placed on the table.

It was tough to choose a place to start, so I decided to first dive into one of the rolls I picked out: the Albacore Lovers Roll. Spicy tuna and crab on the inside, coupled with cucumber, with more albacore tuna over the top, garnished with crunchy onions, sesame, and a ponzu sauce. This roll definitely looked the busiest on the plate out of the four. But the aspect that I enjoyed the most about it was the textural play between the crunchy onions and spicy tuna mixture inside the roll. The flavors were balanced just right between savory and spicy.

Next up was the 911 Roll: spicy shrimp and crab, along with cucumber on the inside, with avocado on the top, finished with spicy mayo, a splash of soy sauce, and a dab of Sriracha on each piece. The avocado helped give the roll that extra creamy texture, with the spicy flavors really coming to the forefront as well. I’m not sure if I’m too accustomed to spicy foods, because I didn’t think the roll itself packed too much heat.

I set my sights on trying the Rainbow Roll next, which I thought had the nicest visual aesthetics out of all the rolls. The tuna, yellowtail, albacore, shrimp, and salmon layered over a traditional California Roll had an amazing transition of color as you looked from one end of the plate to the other. It was also great in the sense that each piece gave you flavors from the various types of fish.

Last, but not least, the Baked Salmon Roll was the final one I had left to sample. Cooked salmon on the top, crab and avocado on the inside, topped with salsa and garnished with honey Dijon mustard, yuzu aioli, and a dose of soy sauce. A lemon slice was also served on the plate for you to squeeze fresh onto the roll. The combination of the salsa, honey Dijon, and lemon juice helped give each bite that acidic punch to really accentuate the flavor.

After we finished scarfing down the sushi, Kevin and I turned to each other and said, “You know what? I think we’ve got room for one more plate of food.” We broke the menu back out again and started looking at the cold sashimi section, thinking those items might be light enough to be a good finisher for the meal. We put in an order for the seared albacore sashimi, which arrived tableside not too long after.

Thin slices of seared albacore, dressed with salsa, avocado chunks, thin slices of pickled radishes, garnished with ponzu and cilantro. The dish, as a whole, was definitely light, just what we were looking for to close out the meal. Each slice of fish showcased the natural flavor of the albacore, with the salsa and avocado complementing it well. My only observation was that I think the ponzu might have been slightly heavy-handed, with some pieces having more of that savory punch than others.

My initial skepticism of a place cooking burgers and making sushi turned into belief after getting to sample their sushi menu. Each roll that we had represented a dynamic array of flavors and had great overall balance. I’ll certainly be asking Kevin to take me back the next time I’m back in town to sample more of their rolls.

Let’s now take a look at the Got Sushi Dish Spotlight. Asterisks (*) below mark my recommended dishes.

** Truffle Parmesan Fries **
French fries tossed with truffle oil and garnished with finely shredded Parmesan cheese.

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** 911 Roll **
Spicy shrimp, crab, and cucumber on the inside, with avocado on top. Finished with spicy mayo, splash of soy sauce, and Sriracha.

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** Albacore Lovers Roll **
Spicy tuna, crab, and cucumber on the inside, with albacore on top. Garnished with crunchy onions, sesame, and ponzu.

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** Rainbow Roll **
California Roll base, layered on top with tuna, yellowtail, albacore, shrimp, and salmon.

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** Baked Salmon Roll **
Cooked salmon on top, crab and avocado on the inside. Topped with salsa, honey Dijon mustard, yuzu aioli, and a splash of soy sauce.

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** Seared Albacore Sashimi **
Thin slices of seared albacore, dressed with salsa, avocado chunks, thin slices of pickled radishes. Finished with cilantro and ponzu.

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** Roasted Jalapeño Roll **
Spicy tuna and cucumber on the inside, topped with Korean escolar, thinly sliced jalapeños, garlic chips, and finished with ponzu and spicy oil.

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** B.S.C.R. **
Crab and avocado on the inside, topped with baked scallops, green onions, smelt roe, spicy miso aioli, and soy sauce.

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** Red Shrimp Tempura Roll **
Shrimp tempura, crab, and cucumber on the inside, topped with spicy tuna, avocado, spicy miso aioli, and spicy mayo. Finished with sesame seeds.

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** Got Sushi Roll **
Tempura whitefish, asparagus, and avocado on the inside, topped with salmon, tuna, cilantro, pickled onions, rice crunch, and yuzu miso.

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** Alex Roll **
Snow crab and salmon topped with flying fish roe, red onion, spicy miso aioli, and ponzu dressing, placed on top of a cucumber slice.

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** Spicy Crunch Albacore Wrapped in Avocado **
Albacore wrapped in avocado and topped with crispy onions and spicy mayo. Served on top of a spring mix.

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** King’s Special Roll **
Eel, crab, and avocado in a tempura-fried roll, topped with langostino, crawfish, smelt roe, scallions, sweet soy sauce, and spicy miso aioli.

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** Crispy Rice with Spicy Tuna **
Bed of crispy rice topped with spicy tuna, avocado, sweet soy sauce, and sesame seeds.

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** Hawaiian Tuna Roll **
Spicy shrimp, crab, and cucumber on the inside, wrapped in soy paper. Topped with bigeye tuna, scallions, and sumiso.

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** Yellowtail Jalapeño Yuzu Sashimi **
Yellowtail sashimi slices topped with jalapeño slices and cilantro, with an onion yuzu dressing.

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** Fireball Salmon Roll **
Crab, avocado, and jalapeño on the inside, topped with salmon tossed in spicy chili oil and creamy sesame sauce, garnished with toasted sesame seeds.

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** Shrimp Tempura **
2-piece shrimp tempura, with assorted vegetables.

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** Golden Eye Snapper Nigiri **

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** Toro Nigiri **

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Spider Roll
Soft shell crab, crabstick, avocado, cucumber, and gobo, topped with smelt roe. Served with ponzu.

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** Crunch Eel Blue Crab Roll **
Tempura eel, cucumber, and avocado on the inside, topped with baked blue crab, capers, sweet soy, and creamy sesame sauce.

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** B.L.C.R. **
Crab and avocado on the inside, topped with langostino and crawfish, green onions, smelt roe, spicy miso aioli, and soy sauce.

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** Spicy Albacore Chili Roll **
Spicy tuna and cucumber on the inside, topped with jalapeño slices, red onions, Sriracha, and garlic ponzu.

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** Spicy Halibut Special Roll **
Tempura white fish, asparagus, avocado, and shiso leaf on the inside, topped with torched halibut, yuzu pepper, and yuzu soy sauce.

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** King’s Special Burger **
Beef patty with pastrami, red onions, lettuce, and tomatoes. Pictured with no cheese.

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And finally, here are my rankings for Got Sushi:

Food: 5 / 5

Great array of both types of rolls and flavor combinations on the rolls themselves. Every bite tasted fresh and left me going back for more.

Atmosphere: 4 / 5

The dining area itself was a pretty standard space, with arrangements of tables and booths spaced out enough that you didn’t feel like you were cramming into each other. The 8-person sushi bar also provided another seating option as well.

Service: 4.25 / 5

Our waiter bordered slightly on the eccentric side, but frequently stopped by to see if we needed anything throughout the meal. The food itself arrived relatively quickly, too.

Price: 5 / 5

Factoring in both the quality of the food and the presentation, I thought the prices for the rolls were certainly more than reasonable.

Overall:
18.25 / 20
(91%)

Categories: California, Restaurants

Tagged as: California, got sushi, japanese, kings burgers, northridge, restaurants, sushi