Sushi Shunka

Sushi Shunka is our go-to spot for celebrating special occasions and also our fave sushi spot in OC. Located in a strip mall at the corner of E. 17th Street and Tustin Avenue in Costa Mesa, the restaurant specializes in authentic sushi and Japanese cuisine. "Shunka" means "Flavor of the Season", so they of course select their fish depending on the season and in addition to customer favorites. The sushi chefs are veterans and the wait staff are polite helping to provide an unforgettable dining experience to their customers.I highly recommend sitting at the sushi bar and ordering one of the omakase options. On our recent visit, I ordered the Chef's Omakase which included 10 pieces of sushi including sea bream, Japanese sea bass, mackerel, amberjack, toro and bluefin tuna among others. The sushi is always top-qualify and practically melts in your mouth. I have a big appetite so I also supplemented my meal with a toro hand roll, blue fin tuna hand roll and fried Hamachi Kama. Everything is made to order and is so oishi! Having said that, this is fine dining so expect to pay a high price but know that it's worth every penny. As I mentioned before we only visit on special occasions, so I'm already hoping we'll have a reason to celebrate again soon!

This place is such a hidden gem! It is a small place, but very authentic. I came here on a Saturday night with my partner and we decided to try the Shunka omakase. It was out of this world! The chef was super engaged and perfected the omakase experience. The fishes we experienced were:Sea bream: one of my favorites with a light flavor and texture.White snapper: flavorful and come with chili oilKanpachi: a little chewier and sweet and mildKing mackerel: blowtorched slightly and tenderHalibut with shiso pepper: this was amazing with a smokey flavor from the peppers.Barracuda: sweet and tender and smokey flavor balanced well with the noriStripped jack: clean and good umamiBlue finned tuna: a classic red tuna flavorAnd a hand-roll which you had a choice of blue crab or toro. The toro was so tender and the chef let us try both!We will definitely be coming back!

Small sushi joint with tables inside, outside, and counter seating at the bar. Highly recommend sitting at the bar and getting omakase to fully experience what Shunka has to offer!What I like about Shunka is they have a variety of fish to choose from, even those that are not typical, sourced from Japan. It was around $85 for omakase which consisted of: sea bream, striped jack, medai, barracuda, ocean trout, engawa, buri, japanese sea perch, uni, and toro. Very affordable considering that you're getting uni and toro! Besides omakase, I recommend getting the live scallop if it's available. Since it's live, the scallop has a firmer texture and tastes more sweet. This also comes with baked bay scallops sauteed with mushrooms and onions. The chicken kaarage is also a good choice if you want something fried to munch on in between your sushi meal. Service has always been friendly and attentive. They can get busy since it's a popular local sushi spot, but you can always put your name on the list. They'll call you when your table is ready.

Pretty good!! Came here right when they were open and they were pretty busy. For a reason, it's pretty good sushi. I have been on a hunt for good sushi in OC and it's difficult so I was happy to come here. I recommend the crunch roll!

Been coming here for years and never disappoints. Always a large variety of different and delicious fish which is not typical for your average sushi bar. Service is always good.

Loved this sushi restaurant! My bf and I got the chef's omakase, which is very reasonably priced. Fish was so fresh - we don't usually like uni but it was so delicious. Service was great - very friendly sushi chefs and attentive servers! Will definitely be coming back ご馳走様でした

Came for omakase with my family for my birthday! Ordered shunka omakase and was fun to tasting so many new fish that I'd never heard before. My brother got the chef omakase that included uni and Toro. He doesn't like tuna that much but enjoyed it and I loooooved the uni that was part of the chef omakase. It tasted sooooo refreshing. There was no wait which was amazing! And price was very reasonable!

One of the best sushi spots in Orange County! We love this restaurant and have been frequenting it for many years. The fish is fresh and they know how to make sushi rice the way it should be made! We also really like their rolls, in particular, the Shunka roll and the Sumo roll. The restaurant is pretty traditional and the chefs are Japanese which we appreciate because we feel like they are closer to a mom and pop restaurant focusing on high quality food.Their fish gets shipped from Japan and we like that it doesn't taste fishy. My husband's favorite is the scallop nigiri. We always make sure to order the salmon nigiri, yellowtail nigiri, eel and tamago. This restaurant is on the smaller side and it's in an outdoor plaza with various restaurants so it can get busy, but even if there is a wait, it's well worth waiting for.

If you're looking for a bargain Omakase experience, this spot is friendly, fast and has an overall great variety of unusual cuts of fish to try. Just don't expect super high quality cuts of fish like from omakase spots that are in the $150-$300 range as you get what you pay for. Definitely upgrade to the more expensive omakase at $85 as it includes uni and toro that is very tasty and good quality. The sushi chef and servers are very nice and the space was super casual.

Great service, nice ambience, and most importantly excellent sushi. Best meal I've had in a long time.