10 Great Sushi Restaurants in Orange County

Edwin Goei

​You don't put out a Top Ten list of sushi joints in OC and not inspire some discussion. I'd be disappointed if this one didn't. So the comment board is open for objections, inclusions and even agreement on the ten we've chosen.

Without further ado, the list:

10. Kaisen Sushi

Edwin Goei

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Sushi purists should not regard the revolving sushi bar as a threat against tradition. Rather, places like Kaisen Sushi should be considered as stepping stones to eventual sushi enlightenment. Kaisen will familiarize you with the basics before you sit in front of a master. There are morsels here that you don't often find on a revolving belt joint. Take these lessons not just as a sushi primer, but as Japanese Cuisine 101. You are liable to see a sea urchin roe gunkan maki as you are likely to encounter a seaweed salad, inching you ever closer to someday attempting omakase. 3855 S. Bristol St., Santa Ana, CA 92704, 714-444-2161.

9. Yosuke Sushi

Meranda Carter

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Yosuke's clients prefer to feast on teriyaki, tempura and California roll combination dinners, which are simultaneously economical and comical given the size of the gigantic bowl-like serving vessels that come with lids as big as hubcaps. Also popular are rolls such as a so-called Mitsy #2, for which a soy-paper-covered tube is filled with shrimp tempura, crab, avocado and cucumber, with an outer spackling of spicy tuna, is bent into an upside-down-U-shaped bridge. But the thing to get is the amaebi, which comes with deep-fried shrimp heads and, sometimes, their roasted egg sacks. 136 S. Fairmont Blvd., Anaheim, CA 92808, 714-921-4002.

8. O Fine Japanese Cuisine

Todd Barnes

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O Fine Japanese Cuisine operates on the assumption you really like California rolls. In fact, it counts on it. Rolls make up more than half the menu. The California is just a start; there are some that don't employ a single grain of rice, a single sheet of nori, nor a single drop of soy sauce. There are also teriyaki combos, tempura this, sesame that, dishes that come with names involving the words "dynamite" and "volcano." 30872 S. Coast Highway., Laguna Beach, CA 92651, 949-715-5551.