Soko Sushi

WOW! I was absolutely blown away by the 7 course Omakase dinner. Very fresh fish and ingredients, so much flavor in each dish. The food is just as good as you’d get in Japan, and the tiny/intimate setting reminds me of how the restaurants are in Tokyo. I felt like I was briefly transported back to Japan! Very special shoutout to the wagyu beef course- it actually melted in my mouth! My only “complaint” is that I wish the chefs explained how to go about eating some of the courses, but they were ready to help when we did ask. I would definitely recommend coming here, it’s such a cute date night gem.

We tried the Omakase which was an amazing experience. Soko Sushi is located within the Fairmont Miramar and Chef Masa is very personable and creates the most creative and authentic dishes. The bluefin platter really hit the spot. Will be back.

This was an amazing experience! We had the omakase, which was prepared meticulously. Each bite was a revelation. We paired it with a Japanese whiskey flight which I highly recommend. Make a reservation to ensure that you can sit at the counter and get to witness the sushi chefs in action. Highly recommend!

Some high quality sushi, but highly influenced by the other guests in there since it is so small. Given that it is in the Fairmont, that can be a crapshoot (like the day we went where two of the female guests were a bit tipsy, super ornery, and loud - overshadowing our experience).

Exquisite cuisine. I had the omakase menu, which was 6 courses of perfection. The restaurant is a tiny, 8 seat counter with two tables outside. Chef is welcoming and truly very kind. Service was prompt and friendly. First course was a chilled egg custard. This had a wonderful balance between salinity and sweetness of the lobster buried in the egg. A dollop of uni on top added just the finish. Next was a bowl of ankimo. Sweet, rich, with a nice contrast with acidity and a bit of spiciness. Third course was a soy cured tuna. This was finished with a quail yolk, mountain yam, and daikon sprouts, and black truffle. Truly decadent with perfectly balance flavors and a nice contrast in textures. Very creative, beautiful to look at, and a delight to eat. Next came a rather pretty bowl of sashimi. This may be the best raw shrimp I have ever had. Of course the toro and salmon were superb. This came with freshly grated wasabi and a rich soy sauce. Fifth was a parade of nigiri. Highlights included a fabulous uni, but each selection was top notch. Last but not least was a crab miso soup with mushrooms, bok choy, and a nice accent of spice from gochujang. A perfect way to end an exquisite meal. This rivals some of the top sushi restaurants I’ve been to. Truly a fabulous visit!

I was staying in the fairmont and visited soko sushi on my first night in town. The fish was amazing quality and the menu had a great variety of choices both omakase and a La carte. I got the bluefin tuna platter and the toro was incredible and it was a lot of food. Masa and Donna were a pleasure to chat with and they guided me through the menu. The sushi bar environment was very intimate and enjoyable. I definitely recommend!

This new pop up from Chef Masa is a must try. Located inside the Fairmont Miramar hotel, it is top-quality sushi in an intimate, 8-seat setting. The blue fin tuna platter is the must, then pick your favorite fish because it’s all fantastic! The menu is simple & classic—as said by the restauranteur dining next to us (Jeffrey from Heroic Italian), “A simple menu allows you to do every dish better,” and that is perfectly true for Soko.

I was really excited to have some really good sushi and it did not disappoint! We had the 12 piece nigiri and omakase menus. The fish was fresh and delicious and the seasoning was on point, the rice was the best I've had! Omakase had a good flow and looked beautiful and delicious. Both the chefs and host were really nice and I had a lot of fun watching the chefs craft the meals in this cozy spot

This is the best sushi place in Santa Monica!! The food was delicious, I loved the twist the chef did, the place is very intimate and you feel like in Tokyo ambience was very nice and fun and the service was great

Plating was nice Food was good Chef's special was a great $90 option.....but cost twice that The sushi portion of the meal was great, the rest was just not up to par

The freshness of the sushi is something that no where else would be able to beat. The restaurant is located inside the Fairmont Miramar Hotel. I went with my friend who is in a wheelchair, and they were so kind and accommodating. They had us seated in the cozy, wheelchair accessible room located next door, and it was such a great experience. The waitress provided us with such great service. Pricey, but excellent quality.

I came all the way back here because this roll was possibly the best thing I have ever had, ever. I don't normally care for uni but I like Masa's toro uni roll and ...this incredible thing. Don't sleep on the more bespoke selection of white fish too like engawa. The quality and elegant simplicity of masa's creations are always better than the best.

Worst omakase I have EVER had!!!!! The chef seemed uninterested and nothing was nicely sliced, tuna looked like a piece of stew meat. And the bill was NOT equal to the fish. The female server could not have been nicer though.

Soko Sushi is the latest restaurant located inside the Fairmont Miramar Hotel and Bungalows Ocean/Wilshire in Santa Monica. Limited street and valet parking available. 'Soko,' literally means storeroom in Japanese. Over 2000 years ago, Japanese fisherfolk would wrap their fresh catch with fermented seaweed and salt and store it in darkroom to preserve freshness called 'Narezushi.' This sushi restaurant pays tribute to the Soko but now with refrigeration and advance techniques chef Masa Shimakawa, is skillful and artful in the presentation and quality. The 'Soko logo with the infinity symbol pays tribute to the timeless art of making and enjoying sushi.' This small restaurant has 7 seats inside and 6 seats outside in the hotel lobby corridor. Interior decor mainly features playful art of two faces, which represents the two brothers and fishermen that pays tribute to the fishermen of Narezushi. The menu is very limited and currently only open for dinner. Service was attentive. Mostly ordered Sashimi and Nigiri. Everything ordered was indeed fresh and of high quality, but a tad spendy for the minimalist quantity. The uncomfortable tight seating indoors; it felt like a claustrophobic fish bowl and super busy lobby corridor, no windows or ocean view from inside or the lobby. I am a frequent diner at Nobu Malibu, Matsushisa and Katana and the sushi here at Soko is at par. I do prefer a larger menu selection and the expansive space seating with the unobstructed ocean views. If you can't make it to Nobu Malibu, don't need to dine with an ocean view and want high quality sushi, I recommend the Fairmont Miramar's Soko Sushi!

Masu is very skilled and personable. I had a lovely solo omakase here and it was beautifully plated, every bite was absolutely delicious. I appreciate the quality and beauty that went into it. Everyone was nice (the waitress was a little star struck by another guest at the bar with us and very chatty, which stung a little, but It's in a hotel, so...) - Music selection could be fine tuned too, but I'm probably in the 2% of nerdy folks who want a flow with sound. The food was so creative and the art selection fun and modern. The best piece of art is a little hand painted fish across a sign on the furthest right wall though. So detailed and gorgeous! Normally I like Morihiro and this was an enjoyable change of pace. 5 stars!

Exceptional in service, freshness of ingredients, and overall presentation. The omakase is pricy af but it is to be experienced at least once. Donna as a waitress brings authentic charisma and kindness. In a sea of good servers in LA she ranks in the top 3 for me.

Tiny sushi bar, sushi quality is just OK for LA and very expensive for war you get. You are sitting near the exit area of a hotel so not super appealing. Would rather spend that $ at Matsuhisa. The positives: Good selection of sake and great service.

The sushi is incredibly great quality and prepared beautifully. However, it is criminally overpriced. $10 for 1 piece of salmon is a bit extreme. The chefs are both incredibly friendly and we had a great experience. Other than the price point, it was a good time.

If you book, make sure it's not the communal table. It's literally in the middle of the hotel lobby hallway, directly next to a high-traffic door leading outside. Guests were walking past the entire night, some drunk, while cold gusts of wind hit us every time the door opened. The sushi itself was good but not amazing. Hard to judge when the atmosphere was so poor. I'm sure the experience at the counter is entirely different.

I love this little gem! Tucked away in a corner, off the lobby of The Fairmont hotel in Santa Monica is this sushi boutique with maximum of 20 seats. Chef Masa is back there working hard and creating his magic. I'll be back for more and so should you!

A tiny hidden gem inside the Fairmont in Santa Monica. Worth a visit even if you are not staying at the hotel. The sushi was inventive but authentic. The service was friendly and helpful. I went two nights in a row and had to force myself not to go a third. You will not be disappointed!

Decent though not spectacular food, good service but if you don't get a seat at the bar terrible ambiance, in the hallway of a busy noisy hotel by the entrance.

Quite possibly the worst sushi I've ever had. Still trying to figure out why the fish on the sushi were all tough. This is the first time I couldn't bite a piece of sushi in half, I literally had to stuff the whole piece in my mouth to chew it because it was that tough. Miso soup was terrible,, couldn't finish it. Giving two stars instead of one though because the service was good.

Truly exceptional meal! We went to visit Chef Masa and he did not disappoint, everything was beyond delicious! Soko Sushi has a very intimate and authentic atmosphere, centered around your experience with the Chef. I highly suggest doing omakase & letting Chef Masa send out his choice of delicious appetizers, sushi and sashimi. We started our meal with a chilled sesame asparagus salad with cherry tomato and golden pea shoots, so flavorful & refreshing! The perfect start to the meal. Next was ankimo, marinated with seaweed & cucumber, just perfectly prepared! Next was zuke sake or marinated sea trout, I can't remember exactly, but it was so tender and flavorful, the marinade was perfectly salted! I loved the ikura and crunchy mountain yam with it. Then we had the bluefin tuna platter, with different cuts of hon maguro, chu toro and o toro & toro taku roll. We also had a variety of delicious nigiri & sea eel. OMG, everything cut perfectly, so fresh and tender and just melted in your mouth. We finished our meal with two rounds (one wasn't enough after tasting!) of Japanese uni with toro, quail egg & tobiko. The best uni I've ever had & I've had a lot of uni! It was the perfect ending to the meal. The cocktails were great as well, I loved my Negroni, my friends had some tasty sake as well. Thank you Chef Masa and team for a truly exceptional meal, we will be back very soon!

If you want a nice sushi dinner I highly recommend sugarfish which is practically next door. This place costs 3x as much: maybe I'm uncultured but it really wasn't a special dinner for what we were paying

Excellent excellent excellent! This is the best sushi I've had in Los Angeles and by far the best experience at a sushi restaurant. Chef Masa and his crew made it feel as if I were in Japan. This is a spot for genuine sushi lovers. You may think that the food is overpriced but you're paying for quality. This isn't your run-of-the-mill sushi spot, this is the highest quality you can get. What a treat!!

Best meal we had in Santa Monica! Unique experience inside the beautiful Fairmont Miramar hotel. I am a sushi lover and this was the BEST sushi I've ever had.

While much of the sushi was good to very good, the whole experience was basically ruined by the check. 4 people eating moderate amounts of sushi, only one toro order, and only two people drinking moderately. Over $500? No way, not for this quality. Save your money and time and go hit somewhere that will achieve the same quality for half the price...

Wow, I went there for the first time and was expecting great sushi and the food was beyond my expectations. The fish was so fresh and we had butterfish that just melted. I live in Northern California, but I will definitely fly back down just to eat at Soko Sushi. The service was impeccable and Chef was catering.

Soko is Japanese for storeroom and Soko Sushi is a small sushi bar, seating 8 at the Fairmont. It could be intimate but our experience was ruined by another guest who was loudly-- telling long boring stories to no one in particular about other restaurants he ate at. His volume was more appropriate for a hundred person lecture hall than a 10x10 room. Halfway thru the meal, a heavily perfumed woman came in. What could have been quaint and intimate was spoiled by loud and reeking. Okay, on to the food. The Japanese cucumber salad was delicious. They use real wasabi, not horse radishes dyed green like 99% of the sushi bars Most of the sushi was bland and tougher than it should be. A major problem was the o-toro tuna that should melt in your mouth, but was chewy. Obviously, this didn't live up to the hype and wasn't worth the price. The crowd and food at Japanese Sawtelle is better

Great little sushi spot, really fresh fish, great service. Didn't even know it was there, will be my new go to place!

Absolutely incredible quality of fish and topping it off with an incredibly friendly group. Our new favorite Santa Monica sushi spot!

This is the first time I felt compelled to write a review. Top 5 dining experience of all time for these jaded foodies. The omakase from Chef Masa was thoughtful and masterfully executed and the service from Donna and Brian was first class from start to finish. A real local gem and we can't wait to experience it again.

Second time here. Sushi is so fresh. Excellent quality. Masa the owner and chef so kind and thoughtful. Love the intimate nature.

Everything From Master chef Masa Shimakawa was absolutely amazing. From the fresh Japanese cucumber salad, the yellowtail nigiri, down to the Toro roll!! To any sushi or seafood lover, stop in and experience Master Chef Shimakawa's excellence!! You will not be sorry!!!

Sooooo good, creative, tasty, and beautifully plated. Sooooo expensive. $300 for two of us. Won't be back, but did enjoy the experience!