Soko Sushi

Sushi restaurant · Santa Monica

Soko Sushi

Sushi restaurant · Santa Monica

101 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401

Highlights

Soko, a sushi bar experience at Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows and an Eater LA "Best New Restaurant." Everyone loves sushi, but few know the culinary delight dates back almost 2000 years. Well before refrigeration, Japanese fisherfolk preserved fish by wrapping it in fermented rice and salt, calling it “Narezushi.” Kept in darkened storerooms, Narezushi was perfected over the centuries until now, when modern sushi has been elevated to an art form. Soko, the latest sushi experience at Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows, is a literal tribute to the origins of sushi. The name “Soko” means “storeroom,” and Soko is, in fact, set in a simple storeroom on our main-floor lobby.

101 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401 Get directions

sokosantamonica.com

$$$$$

Reserve

@eater

"A hidden gem tucked into the Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica, this sushi destination from chef Masa Shimakawa offers a reasonable 12-course nigiri omakase for $120, or a more well-rounded six-course omakase for $185 that offers some prepared dishes. The tiny alcove sushi bar feels convivial and playful compared to some more stoic sushi counters around town. Soko also offers beautiful bento takeout and delivery for those wanting quality sushi at home or in the office." - Matthew Kang

The Best Sushi Restaurants in Los Angeles, According to Eater Editors

View Postcard for Soko

@eater

"One of Santa Monica’s most exciting sushi spots, Soko, features an eight-seat counter and a smattering of tables where chef Masa Shimakawa prepares stellar nigiri, sashimi, and other raw Japanese fare. Meaning “storeroom” in Japanese, Soko feels like a literal hole in the wall, but with the quality of a destination omakase spot." - Eater Staff, Matthew Kang

15 Superb Santa Monica Restaurants

View Postcard for Soko

@eater

"Located inside the Fairmont Miramar hotel, Soko is serving sushi dinners on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. With just eight seats, the intimate space allows everyone to have a full view of chef Masa Shimakawa showing off his knife skills. Book a table via Resy." - Mona Holmes

Where to Eat on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Los Angeles

View Postcard for Soko

@infatuation

"If you’re a Westside sushi head, add Soko to the to-do list. This Japanese spot attached to the Fairmont Hotel was built into what used to be Bungalow’s storage closet. Once you’re seated at the hushed eight-seat bar, you’ll forget you’re sandwiched between a hotel and the bro-iest bar in LA. You could casually swing by for some fatty tuna cut rolls and a couple of nigiri, but the quality of fish here is so good, it’s worth upgrading to the proper omakase or the “Dream Box.” The latter is 18 pieces of sashimi (two slices of each fish) and rice served bento style—perfect for sharing with someone you’re trying to impress who has adopted the term “aesthetic,” but also appreciates really good sushi. photo credit: Fairmont Miramar" - Arden Shore

Soko - Review - Santa Monica - Los Angeles - The Infatuation

View Postcard for Soko

@eater

"Soko opened this week on July 28 at the Fairmont Miramar from Masa Shimakawa, who was the chef of Nomi at the Park Hyatt in Chicago and later at Onyx at Four Seasons Westlake Village. The veteran sushi chef has a gorgeous array of nigiri, rolls, and appetizers served at the semi-hidden bar for now, though the Fairmont eventually plans to expand Soko into sidewalk seating and throughout the lobby area." - Matthew Kang

Sushi Bar From Veteran Chef Masa Shimakawa Pops Up In Santa Monica - Eater LA

View Postcard for Soko

Drew M

Google

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).

Danya Alrawi

Google

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

Vivian Cheng

Google

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!

Haley Z

Google

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!

Jonathan Kim

Google

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.

angelina shih

Google

Absolutely pure, simple, fresh & delicate! Be sure to inquire about daily off-menu items- the white salmon was sublime! No reservation. First come, first serve.

Uyen Nguyen

Google

best sushi place in Santa Monica! Some of the dishes we ordered are Ankimo, Assorted Amuse Bouche.

Karla Paola

Google

Masa pop up at Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica, Chu-toro and yellowtail were our favorites! Akihiko is Amazing, We highly recommend !

Avi K.

Yelp

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

Ramsin Y.

Yelp

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

Erin T.

Yelp

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.

Christine F.

Yelp

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.

Deb T.

Yelp

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.

Henri V.

Yelp

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!

Karen W.

Yelp

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!

Rusto S.

Yelp

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.

Marina M.

Yelp

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.

Ryan S.

Yelp

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.

Daniel M.

Yelp

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.

Darius S.

Yelp

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!

Kelly S.

Yelp

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!

Michael F.

Yelp

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.

Helen K.

Yelp

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.

Amanda B.

Yelp

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!

Neil A.

Yelp

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

Alfredo R.

Yelp

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!!

Jennifer H.

Yelp

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.

Jordan P.

Yelp

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...

Cindy F.

Yelp

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.

Michael P.

Yelp

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

Ben A.

Yelp

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

Ed B.

Yelp

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

Gene G.

Yelp

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.

Katie P.

Yelp

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

Kelvin O.

Yelp

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!!!

Heather D.

Yelp

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

@eater

The Best Sushi Restaurants in Los Angeles, According to Eater Editors

View Postcard for Soko

@eater

15 Superb Santa Monica Restaurants

View Postcard for Soko

@eater

Where to Eat on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Los Angeles

View Postcard for Soko

@infatuation

Soko - Review - Santa Monica - Los Angeles - The Infatuation

View Postcard for Soko

@eater

Sushi Bar From Veteran Chef Masa Shimakawa Pops Up In Santa Monica - Eater LA

View Postcard for Soko

Drew M

Google

Danya Alrawi

Google

Vivian Cheng

Google

Haley Z

Google

Jonathan Kim

Google

angelina shih

Google

Absolutely pure, simple, fresh & delicate! Be sure to inquire about daily off-menu items- the white salmon was sublime! No reservation. First come, first serve.

Uyen Nguyen

Google

best sushi place in Santa Monica! Some of the dishes we ordered are Ankimo, Assorted Amuse Bouche.

Karla Paola

Google

Masa pop up at Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica, Chu-toro and yellowtail were our favorites! Akihiko is Amazing, We highly recommend !

Avi K.

Yelp

Ramsin Y.

Yelp

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

Erin T.

Yelp

Christine F.

Yelp

Deb T.

Yelp

Henri V.

Yelp

Karen W.

Yelp

Rusto S.

Yelp

Marina M.

Yelp

Ryan S.

Yelp

Daniel M.

Yelp

Darius S.

Yelp

Kelly S.

Yelp

Michael F.

Yelp

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.

Helen K.

Yelp

Amanda B.

Yelp

Neil A.

Yelp

Alfredo R.

Yelp

Jennifer H.

Yelp

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.

Jordan P.

Yelp

Cindy F.

Yelp

Michael P.

Yelp

Ben A.

Yelp

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

Ed B.

Yelp

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

Gene G.

Yelp

Katie P.

Yelp

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

Kelvin O.

Yelp

Heather D.

Yelp

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

Soko Sushi

Photos

Highlights

Postcards

You might also like