by Amanda Knoles

HIBACHI SUSHI AND GRILL
Marina Shores Shopping Center
6440 Pacific Coast Highway
Long Beach, CA
(562) 799-0278

Located near Mimi’s Café and the Wild Oats Market, Hibachi looks like a fast food sushi joint from the outside, but once guests pass through the front door they’re treated to a special dining experience with friendly service and an extensive selection of sushi and sashimi. While the atmosphere is a bit on the bland side, tasty appetizers like soft shell crab with ponzu sauce and specialty rolls like the Volcano and Crunchy Spicy more than make up for it. Several sushi and sashimi combos are available at reasonable prices along with tempura, noodle and teriyaki plates. There’s a premium sake list and several Japanese beers to choose from.

by Amanda Knoles

HARU HARU JAPANESE RESTAURANT
The Marketplace
6257 E. Pacific Coast Highway
Long Beach, CA
(562) 596-5272

Tucked away in the Marketplace Shopping Center, this Japanese restaurant offers an upscale atmosphere with two levels of seating inside and a cozy patio for those who prefer to dine al fresco. Dim lighting and an exotic ambience make it a perfect spot to take a date or spouse for a romantic evening. Along with a wide selection of sushi appetizers and sashimi dinners, the restaurant features Korean style barbecue beef ribs, tempura, jumbo prawns and several udon and yakisoba noodle dishes. (Most dinners come with miso soup and salad.) The house special Dinner Boat featuring sashimi, sushi, rolls, teriyaki and tempura is great for sharing.

by Amanda Knoles

BAMBOO TERI HOUSE
3391 Atlantic Avenue
Long Beach, CA
(562) 595-6049

Located in a small strip center in the Bixby Knolls area, this locals’ favorite began as a take-out sushi place but has expanded to offer a comfortable dining room and extensive catering services. Servers are attentive and friendly, and the menu offers an impressive variety of sushi, sashimi and specialty rolls as well as salads, soup, noodles, and teriyaki dishes. House specialties are shrimp tempura, crunchy spicy tuna rolls, and sesame chicken. Reasonably priced party platters feature generous assortments of California rolls, sashimi, chicken katsu, gyoza, futomaki and inari.
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by Amanda Knoles

TOKYO WAKO
310 S. Pine Avenue
Long Beach, CA
(562) 435-7600
This glitzy Japanese restaurant near the Pike Pier offers cocktail service with specialty drinks like the Samurai and Geisha, plus more than 50 wines, including 20 by the glass. There’s a waterfront patio with a killer view, and the swanky indoor dining room features a sushi bar and teppan room. A crowd favorite is the beef roll, thin slices of filet mignon rolled around slices of cucumber, gobo and radish sprouts, then grilled in butter. More traditional sushi choices include the Firecracker roll, a spicy scallop and albacore mix in a garlic citrus sauce, and Dragon roll, a variation of the California roll with eel. Other popular entrees include salmon-wrapped scallops, crisp fried chicken panko and yakisoba.

by Amanda Knoles

AKI SUSHI BAR AND BAI PLU THAI RESTAURANT
1626 East Seventh Street
Long Beach, CA
(562) 436-8180

Located near Long Beach State University, this laid-back restaurant features a sushi bar with chefs who delight in creating off the menu specialties for patrons who can’t decide what to order. Fresh fish is served up in myriad sushi, sashimi and roll selections, and there’s an extensive list of Thai dishes for those who prefer vegetarian or cooked entrees. Deep fried whole fish is featured frequently as the house special. Happy Hour offers select rolls for $5 plus discounted beer, wine and sake.