Shaab

casual affordable sushi in old town pasadena

Raymond Ave, just north of Union, Pasadena, CA (map it!)

This is a surprisingly good and relatively unknown sushi restaurant in old town pasadena. The food is authentic, as far as my non-asian sensibilities can detect, and the restaurant is pleasant and casual.

The sushi chefs are entertaining characters, so if you can find space try the sushi bar.

created: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 (PST)

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Food / Service

Shaab serves a variety of sushi and sashimi. They're definitely aiming at "everyday sushi", and so they tend to be optimized for economy rather than flashiness. Nonetheless, the fish has always been quite fresh and I've always been happy with everything I've ordered.

The cut rolls in particular are quite cheap in comparison to other sushi restaurants; I don't know if they have some secret that I don't want to know, or if they are just more honest with their pricing of rolls than other restaurants. For the moment, I'll pretend I don't care :)

They have very good (and quite cheap) lunch specials. You can get a pretty sizable portion of sushi, along with rice and soup for under ten dollars.

Environment / Ambience

Casual and relaxed. They're definitely targeting an audience of people who already know it and like it, rather than trying to attract new people (you can barely even tell it's there if you don't know about it).

The sushi bar is fun, and you can watch the chefs do their thing while you eat. I guess that may not be as entertaining for other people as it is for me, but I rather enjoy it :)

Overall, this is my favorite "sushi comfort food" restaurant. For something a little more upscale, check out Z-sushi.