Sushi Tari

Directly north of Orange County in Azusa, the restaurant Aloha Sushi spent a decade building a great reputation for itself, pairing many traditional and Americanized sushi rolls with shorter lists of Japanese appetizers and sometimes Korean dishes – notably including tteokbokki and rabokki rice cakes. Similar to Irvine’s Fukada, Aloha’s “no server, no tip” model kept prices fairly low: Guests sat in a largely unattended dining space and placed take-out-style orders that could be consumed inside or outside, then marveled at the quality and portions they received. But in 2025, the restaurant’s owner, chef, and key server (“Chef Jacky”) closed Aloha and relocated from Azusa to Orange, opening Sushi Tari one year later in a plaza near Chapman University.

Azusa’s loss is Orange’s gain: Sushi Tari is truly great, and unexpectedly so for anyone not already familiar with its predecessor. With seating capacity for 25 or 30 people, the small restaurant is typically staffed by only two people – the chef and a server, who attends to guests enough to undo the prior “no server, no tip” policy. Unlike any other sushi restaurant we’ve seen locally, Sushi Tari pairs a digital tablet-based ordering system with a QR code to access a YouTube-hosted livestream showing each sushi item being made by hand in the kitchen. Guests (and any interested internet-based viewers) get an overhead view of the entire process from fish slicing and ingredient assembly to final rolling, which in our experience will only make you hungrier and more excited for the food to arrive.

On our first visit, we focused mostly but not entirely on sushi rolls, ordering a soft shell crab appetizer ($11) simply to see how the kitchen handled hot items. Though there was only a single crab in the order, and it wasn’t the largest we’ve had in recent times, the flavor and delicate texture of the crab were both excellent, with just enough tempura batter to accentuate the soft shell’s natural crispiness without going overboard. It turned out to be a very good sign of what was ahead.

We ordered one “specialty” roll – albacore delight ($14 discounted to $10, albacore, spicy tuna, ponzu, sriracha) – as well as “premium” rolls named mango tango ($17 – spicy tuna, crawfish, tempura shrimp, mango sauce), king crab ($16, spicy crabmeat, crunch flakes, tempura shrimp, eel sauce), samurai ($17, cajun tuna, spicy tuna, onions, rayu, sriracha), and sexy woman ($18, cucumber wrapping, salmon, spicy tuna, avocado). Rather than plating each roll individually, the chef delivered all of the rice-based rolls together on a large wooden plate, their thickness and varities instantly making clear that there was no need to order more. Sushi Tari’s rice-less sexy woman received a separate plate and more elaborate layout that was equally appealing.

While none of these were cheap sushi rolls, they were each delicious and substantial enough that we audibly oohed and aahed throughout our meal, truly enjoying every bite. Unlike many local sushi restaurants today, their ingredients and sauces were different enough to eliminate any feeling that we were just getting light variations on the same basic recipe.