Sushi Ajiwa - El Monte

Definitiw has to try a special while its $59.99 anomkase is still in power. it is a small place, but good for small groups. I celebrated a birthday with friends. if a person requests the omakase, then everyone else must select the same and they can also order additional elements in the menu. it is on a lonely road in el monte, but go early so they don't feel alone when they go to the road.

Food 5 stars Service 4.5 stars Ambiance 3 stars They give generous portion and the price is good. Before we entered the restaurant, one of the servers was smoking right outside of the front door and just went into the restaurant right after we got out of the car. So the first thing that greeted us upon entering the restaurant was the cigarette smell lingering all over the restaurant. Not very pleasant , especially for a sushi restaurant. Maybe the owner should think twice about hiring a smoker as server for a sushi restaurant? Or maybe the server is one of the owners? Servers are very attentive and they do a good job serving the plates. This is basically it. I feel they can be a little welcoming but they were very quiet and avoid to have a conversation. The whole restaurant was like quiet and the ambiance is awkward in my opinion. People avoid making conversation and making noise. This is why the servers are important and they can make our dining experience is little more fun.

Easy street parking for dinner because all the businesses are closed around dinnertime Chirashi bowl- the star of the show, cuts of thick fresh fish alongside sweet egg and salmon roe. A hearty meal on it's own or 1.5 medium meals. The salmon roe in the chirashi was fresh and not fishy. The salmon roe I've had at another highly rated place tasted like the oil in fish oil supplements and I have avoided it ever since, until now. They're known for their omakase, make reservations well in advance because the restaurant was mostly full at 6:20pm on Sunday. The inside is quiet and dimly lit with soft music inside, good for a date night

I gave this establishment a try a few weeks ago and left with a mixed feeling. On one hand, it was insanely value for the variety and quantity of fish that I had. But on the other I left unsatisfied with how the omakase operated. We paid around $120 for two omakase making it one of the most affordable options out there. However when the pieces came, the server a younger looking gentleman didn 't even bother explaining what the cuts of fish were. It was simply tossed into the table and the server immediately left. The worst part was when he didn 't know what the fish were when we asked and he had to go back to the chef and still wasn 't really sure. Out of everything, the fried fish was more for aesthetics instead of fully edible. Another issue that I encountered was how the moment you walked in during our visit the first smell that I noticed was of cigarettes. A horrible first introduction into the restaurant. I would definitely look to improve with servers being more informative on the dishes and perhaps look to reduce the smell of cigarettes as many including myself finds it toxic. It 's very important to note that the food quality was great and the proteins were very generous compared to the lackluster service/environment.

SGV Eats (a Facebook Group) and Yelp did not fail! Sushi Ajiwa was such a delight. My coworker took me out for my first omakase. She wanted to treat me out for surviving Tax Season! Everything was so delicious. As I was trying to savor every bite, I couldn't keep up as the server brought more dishes. Could this be my new standard in sushi!? I hope not because I would go broke! Well, the prices aren't too bad. The Omakase set was at $60. I always thought there wasn't too much of a difference in sushi/sashimi between restaurants. I've reasoned that's it's mostly marketing or you're paying for better atmosphere. Ajiwa has proven me wrong. Chef Chai Neang delivers and I can't wait to celebrate my next milestone at Ajiwa's. The servers were very friendly and attentitive. The location of the restaurant isn't glamourous. I would have totally missed it. It shares a building with 101 Karaoke. The area looks empty a true hole in the wall in the SGV.