Sushi Kuma in Monterey

Made reservations on Yelp for 6 people on a Saturday. Only a day before so it was 5pm or 9am. Got there at 5 when they open. By the time we finished, they were getting full. There is street parking so it can be tough if there are events going on.Everything we had was really good. The veggie tempura roll was my daughters favorite. She doesnt eat fish. It was only $8! She said it was so good and wants to go back tomorrow. She also had the vegetable udon and added the $3 tempura which is a really good deal.I always love baked rolls. I saw they had a lango roll online and thats why I wanted to try this place. It was so good. I will get it next time too.My son got the Heavenly roll which was also very good.The Agedashi tofu is also something we try at most restaurants. It was perfect. Came out super hot.Hand grenade appetizer was super good too but for $10 for 2 little bites is a little pricey.

We just waited 10 mins to be seated and among the first 5 in line.I would have rated this 5 except food came in long…45 mins !!If your not in a hurry to eat, this is absolutely a value for your money Japanese place.Tempura mix 9/10 ; dip a bit bland & shrimp kinda smallOno THE SUPERSTAR hubby loves it!Chefs Platter 10/10 clean fresh DEF rockstar !!!Don’t have many photos, so hungry hahaha!!!!Hand roll salmon skin 10/10 def a MUST TRYDragon roll 9/10 tho it’s fresh & clean it lack some character I’ve tasted in some dragon rollWill I comeback ? YES

By far one of the best restaurants on this great strip. The chefs are attentive and amazing. While the weight staff takes great care of you. I want to tell everybody to stay away so its not to crowd my favorite place but I cant in good faith. Keep them from a wonderful restaurant and family!

Really good sushi spot in Monterey. I wish I could only take a half star off but we don’t have that option. The food was fantastic but the service was lacking a little. Granted they probably are not as busy on a regular Wednesday night as they were with our conference in town so that’s why I am a little lenient. I would definitely go back again when we are in Monterey. My only suggestion to the owner is to see what conferences are in town and staff the restaurant accordingly.

Excellent sushi and service!! Sashimi was served beautifully and was easily the best we’ve had from Monterey to the west side of Santa Cruz! Cold, fresh, and literally butter!! We ordered chicken katsu, sashimi (tuna, salmon, scallops), and two rolls (aspen and North Star), as well as cold and hot sake. All food was excellent and came out quickly. Dessert was a very cool green tea and rice paper “ice cream sandwich”. Highly recommend and we will be back asap! Thank you to the team at Sushi Kuma!

I was in town for the weekend and stumbled upon the positive reviews for Kuma, so I decided to check it out. Im so glad I did and felt compelled to add to the positive reviews so that more people can experience this place.I ended up sitting at the bar and was lucky enough to be served by Dylan (he and his brother Dominic opened up Kuma just over a year ago). I was having a difficult time choosing which role to go with since all of them sounded so good (they have a great selection of uniquely assembled roles). Dylan recommended the Spicy Paula, which was excellent. I was also blown away by the depth of flavor in the miso soup. It was well beyond your traditional miso, highly recommend that. I also had the albacore nigiri, which was fresh and delicious.I also ended up hitting it off with the other folks sitting at the bar, all of whom were locals, and they let me know that they quickly became regulars at Kuma. Its no surprise why.Thank you, Dylan, for the great experience! Will definitely be coming back (and sending others your way) the next time Im in town.

This was a nice little sushi restaurant we happened upon while walking around our hotel in Monterey. Overall, it was a good experience with the sashimi platter as the main highlight. The fish was very fresh and tasty. The crunchy roll was also good. We also got starters of mixed tempura and agadashi tofu, which were decent. Service was excellent as our waitress was attentive and refilled our tea and water often! The vibe was nice if you like loud music and disco lights. I did like the fact that they asked if it was ok to turn on the disco lights knowing that we had a baby with us. I would definitely recommend this place if youre in the mood for fresh sushi and sashimi.

Fish was super fresh and high quality. I sat at the sushi counter and service was quick and friendly. The sushi chef even passed me a couple small bites to make up for the delay in my order (which I hadnt even noticed). Highly recommend the toro, it melts in your mouth and was worth every market price dollar.For drinks, the Japanese Cocktail was delicious, especially if you love tart/floral flavors.Photo: Nigiri is everything I ordered (toro, scallop, hamachi belly and salmon), and the fun appetizer with sauce pipette was complementary from the chef.

Decided to give Kuma Sushi a try. The place is pretty crowded and somewhat noisy. Customer service is not the friendliest and it took sometime before being noticed. I dont eat seafood so I opted to try vegetable Sushi rolls and the Tempura. The Sushi is pretty pricey and the portions are on the smaller side. The taste was not what I am use to from eating Sushi in authentic Japanese restaurants. The rice didnt have any flavour and was plain white rice. The Tempura wasnt anything special and I wasnt overly impressed. This restaurant seems popular with a younger crowd and theres definitely a lot of drinking taking place. Even the staff here seem to participate in drinking.As for me its not really my type of vibe and I would not return. But the young people seem to have been having a good time. Two stars is what I am giving them.

Amazing sushi! I had take out but sat at the bar to buy a drink while I waited for my food. The drinks were amazing, even got one to go. The service was 10/10, the owner was there and recommended some sake to me and made conversation while I waited for my food. Will definitely be back