Sushi California: special rolls takeout in Coquitlam

Sushi California is a casual Japanese restaurant in Coquitlam. They serve all the classic Japanese eats like sashimi, sushi and non-raw items (donburi, udon, etc.). One area I think they excel in is their “special rolls”. Now special rolls are non-existent in real Japanese sushi. For those who do not know what a “special roll” is, we’ve basically taken sushi and added a shit ton of other things like spicy sauce, mayo, tempura flakes, etc. It is not the traditional fish, rice and soy sauce combination. It is literally a bunch of other things.

I have many thoughts about special rolls. Sometimes I wonder if it’s super offensive to real Japanese sushi chefs. I’m referring to rolls that use mango, cream cheese, etc. Some special rolls are definitely just weird and they are named completely random things like “the canucks roll” or the “Crazy girl roll” lol.

Anyways, I do like certain special rolls and I believe Sushi California has some of the best special rolls for the cheapest prices. This review will be based on a takeout order.

Interior

The Sushi California in Coquitlam can actually seat a large number of people, which is surprising because the restaurant is not that big. It is a little cramped so expect to be closer than normal to other tables.

Their parking lot is very limited and also shared with other businesses in their little complex. I recommend parking somewhere else (residential side streets).

I have never seen Sushi California without a lineup. Usually it’s a 20-40 minute wait on weekend nights. I recommend ordering takeout if this is available to you because sushi in general stays pretty good even if you order takeout.

Food

Prawn tempura ($10)

I usually don’t order tempura but the prawn tempura at Sushi California always looks so damn good. They offer 7pcs for $10, which is an ok price. Their prawn tempura is larger than some other places I have been to.

Take-out version is not as crunchy as in-dining, but it’s not soggy.

Nigiri

Ikura ($2.35), Tamago ($1.50) and Salmon ($1.85)

My boyfriend loves nigiri so he makes sure to always order a few. Different nigiris cost different amounts, but all the prices are reasonable.

If you are considering ordering salmon, their salmon sashimi is amazing. Really thick cuts of fat salmon!

Mentaiko tiger prawn linguine ($12)

I wanted to try something not raw so we order the mentaiko linguine. It is a cream sauce pasta with cod roe, tiger prawns, scallops and mushrooms. It is a pretty decent Japanese pasta, although the sauce is more cream than it is mentaiko. If you re-cook it the next day, the pasta is still yummy.

House roll ($6) and Salmon mountain roll ($9)

The 2 special rolls we order is the house roll and the salmon mountain roll. The house roll has avocado, cucumber, crab meat, tuna, salmon, tamago, lettuce, mayo and fish roe (yes this is a lot of things in a roll). This is a pretty good roll and doesn’t have weird ingredients. It is quite big!

The salmon mountain roll is one of the most popular menu items at Sushi California. They dump a lot of mashed salmon on top with tempura flakes but the roll inside has avocado, cucumber, fish roe and prawn tempura. The sauce they add on is spicy mayo, wasabi mayo and teriyaki sauce.

Final thoughts

Some other things we love to order at Sushi California is their deep fryed oysters (HUGE) and crunch munch roll, but as you can see in the photo we already ordered too much food for this takeout lunch. Our total was around $45 after tax and delivery tip and we had the leftover pasta for a second meal.

Sushi California is a great choice for cheap, fast and convenient sushi. Their quality is anything like Miku, but I would have it stand on par with Sushi Town or Sushi Oyama in Coquitlam (local and casual sushi joints). They have a lot of special rolls to choose from and the most expensive roll they have is around $10 – definitely not breaking the bank with Sushi California!

Sincerely, Loewe