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Sushi joints are a dime a dozen in Los Angeles. So I have to ask myself, what makes someone come back to the same spot time and again? The freshest of fish, prepared by skilled hands is obviously first on the list, but what about service, or ambiance? Sadly, in my opinion, this is often what is lacking when I sit down down for sushi. But Sushi Hirosuke gets it right on at least two of these important ingredients.

While the decor ain’t gonna knock your socks off, think very 80’s, this place is always packed so there is a good energetic vibe when you eat here. The service is also really friendly. From the moment you enter you get the sense that these folks working here care about your time. I always try to sit at the sushi bar, a gargantuan 25 seater. But if you are dining with a larger party and want a chance to chat, they also have booths that seat six and a variety of tables.

On a recent night, we started off with the Ozeki Sake, a dry, cold sake that I thought was really good. I prefer cold sake to hot and I don’t like it to be too sweet. To go with that we had a Sapporo as well.

We then munched on the Sunomono. It’s a simple salad made up of thinly sliced cucumbers, asparagus chunks, seaweed and sesame seeds topped with a simple vinegar based dressing. It was simple and light and the perfect starter.

From there we ordered several items for the table, including Dynamite. It’s a bit like a pot pie. This dish was full of fish, onions and mushrooms and topped off with colorful smelt roe. The scallops were perfectly cooked and the dish was creamy, but a little rich for my taste.

Much more to my liking was the clean lines of the Albacore Sashimi. The texture was velvety, the taste mild and buttery. It was complemented perfectly by the crunchy fried onions that came with it.

Too bad they missed the mark on the Spicy Scallop Hand Roll. First off, it was not even close to being spicy and second, any flavor there might have been was completely masked by the mayonnaise they used to dress the fish.

The Special Tuna Roll was much better. There was pretty pink tuna on the outside and rice and vegetables on the inside. This time the fish was complimented by the creamy, mayo based sauce, rather than overwhelmed by it.

Another dish we all loved was the Seared Tuna Sashimi. The fish was meaty and flavorful with excellent texture. We enjoyed the simplicity of it so much we ordered a second round for the table.

The Spicy Octopus Salad was definitely a winner. The portion was huge and loaded with lots of fish and fresh vegetables (unfortunately my picture turned out crappy…you’ll have to trust me on this one!)

The Unagi, Japanese freshwater eel, wasn’t bad at all. The cute little parcels were prepared just right and dressed lightly.

We finished off with the Spicy Tuna Roll. I think of this as a good “beginners” roll because there is nothing too adventurous about it. While the spicy factor seemed to be missing, again, the tuna was, again, very fresh and flavorful. It was a good capper to the meal.

If you go to Sushi Hirosuke for a “hip” dining environment or dishes that are overly exotic, you might leave feeling disappointed. But at this friendly mom and pop place, where the sushi chefs are competent, the wait staff caring, you will get great service and fresh sushi that is, at the end of the day, really tasty.

Sushi Hirosuke
17237 Ventura Blvd.
Encino, CA
818.888.7548

By Erinn (see more of her posts). You can find more of Erinn's writing at her own website Sunday Dish.