RA Sushi Bar Restaurant

We go here often, happy hour is definitely the way to go. The sushi is awesome, the servers are friendly and accommodating. Happy hour offers $1 sake!!

Pros: Great food and happy hour

Posted 10/28/09

I have been once but had a great experience and our bill was low...we purposely went for the happy hour. I would like to go next Sunday with some friends but it looks like they do not have a happy hour on Sundays. I will definitely be going again sometime soon!

Pros: good food/drinks at a reasonable price

Cons: limited to going only during happy hour

Posted 08/29/09

It's a shame that the service here is so bad, because the sushi and starters are so good. I have eaten here when it's busy and when it's not, and the service is always extremely slow. You have to constantly wave down the servers. I actually had to wait 20 minutes for my bill on a recent visit. I personally won't be back any time soon. I'll just have to find another sushi spot.

Posted 06/22/08

The restaurant itself is lively and picturesque, but the food is below average. I've been to many sushi restaurants all through-out California, but Ra did not strike me as anything amazing. To be honest, I've been to buffets that serve better sushi than Ra. I've heard of getting what you pay for in terms of food, but here you will not see that rule applicable. You will get a rich and divine atmosphere, but the quality of food is very poor (pieces will fall apart as you try to eat them; the sushi's shape is rectangular and barely holding shape due to lack of structural integrity, the flavor escapes you and all you can taste is the unflavored rice.

I will not return to this place, even if I am invited by friends.

Pros: Service, Mood, Eye-candy

Cons: The most imporant thing: taste of food and presentation

Posted 05/25/08

I've been to this place twice and both times were disasters. The first time I went for dinner, the wait time for our food was ridiculously long considering that there were only about 3 other tables being served at the time. From reading the menu, their rolls sound really exotic with all these exciting ingredients...the results were just overpriced mediocre plain rolls with fancy names. I couldn't really taste half the ingredients they listed in the sushi roll descriptions.

The second time I went there was for happy hour. It started off bad from the beginning. It took about 10mins before someone actually came to wait on us. It took another 10 mins for our drinks to come and then we were in for the REAL WAIT for the food. We just ordered simple tuna rolls (just tuna inside with rice) off the happy hour menu. Finally when we saw our rolls coming out 20 minutes AFTER our drinks, we were shocked to see them served to the table next to us. The ppl at the table looked confused too since they were done eating, so we told the server that it was probably our order and the stupid waitress waved off our comment and just left the food there!! So we told our waitress, she insincerely apologized and said our food was almost ready. The food came out 10 minutes later...if i knew i was going to wait an hour for 2 tuna rolls, I definitely would never have gone there. It wasn't even on the house! We were charged for everything without even an apology.

DO NOT WASTE your money!!!

Cons: long wait time for food, rude service, plain sushi w/fancy names, overpriced for what you get

Posted 01/01/08

Thank God, there's a sushi restaurant that rocks! We have been waiting for a long time for RA to come to Torrance. If you want great sushi, drinks, service and atmosphere go to RA in the Del Amo Fashion Square. Their unique rolls kept me entertained with an impressive bite every time. I have a soft spot for Sake and their own personal brand is excellent. I would recommend this to anyone who has a craving for sushi and fun.

Pros: Great Patio

Posted 11/25/07

If you are going with friends to hang out, I recommend this place because of the atmosphere, but if you are going to have good sushi... this is not a good place.
First of all, I took my wife to sushi bar, and sushi man wasn't very nice, and sushi wasn't fresh at all. In fact me and my wife woke up at night and had funny feeling in stomach. I am a sushi lover so I know the good sushi and bad sushi.
Also, we found dead fly inside of sake bottle and still got charged fully.
I liked the roll and tempura, but not sushi.
If you like teriyaki or roll, you might like the place.

Pros: Ambience

Cons: Bad Sushi

Posted 11/02/07

I went here for lunch and was disappointed by both the food and service. It's a bit expensive considering that the quality of food is pretty low. It tastes like a fast food kind of sushi place (low quality fish, gyoza that was cold on the inside, etc.). The service was the worst. I went at an "off" time and there were only 3 tables occupied, but it took forever to get the check (I saw another person walking around looking for her server, too). I asked the hostess, who ignored me while talking to her friend on the phone about what she did over the weekend. I gave her a $20 for a check that was $13 and she was shocked that I wanted change back. Also, when I did get change (from another person who took forever), it was the wrong amount. Overall, a very bad experience. I definitely would not recommend this place.

Cons: food, service

Posted 09/12/07

My friends and I went to RA to meet for my best friends birthday. We had the best time! Great food, awesome music, and excellent service. Our server was amazing, and it's hard to impress me as a former server. Even the manager came by to say hi and he kept us laughing until we were almost in tears. The sushi was phenomenal and my brother was happy because they have a full kitchen; he doesn't eat fish. They definitely have something for everyone. I can't wait for the next reason for a celebration. I may just have to pretend it's my birthday just so we have an excuse, not that we need one. But you do get a free desert if it's your birthday!

Pros: Great food, service, atmosphere, music

Posted 05/18/07

Before going to RA I had always been terrified of trying sushi. My boyfriend finally convinced me to give it a try, and now we go to RA at least once a week! Since then I have been more adventurous and have tried other sushi restaurants but am usually disappointed. RA's specialty rolls are so flavorful and delicious...the crazy monkey rolls have smoked salmon, avocado, and mango in them with mango sauce drizzled over them, and cashews and tempura flakes to top them off...soo good! Other favorites are the lobster shrimps rolls, atlantic rolls, and zonie rolls. If you're not into sushi they have a delicious apple teriyaki salmon entree with wasabi mashed potatoes. Pretty much everything on the menu is perfection.

Pros: delicious, lots of flavor, no wait

Cons: parking, unpredictable service, loud music

Posted 05/01/07

This place tries to be "cool" with the loud music, mirrors, and lighting. However, everything else is fake. There is good sushi, and there is RA sushi. They are trying too hard with this "fusion" stuff, with sushi combinations that no one has ever done before. Please!

The service is terrible. We were actually going to eat at P.F. Chang's, but the wait there was too long and we were starving. We decided to go to RA instead and were seated immediately (this should have been a sign). This was our second time here. They weren't even busy and took FOREVER to bring out the food. The dumplings were pale and tired, like they came from a bag, which came from a freezer, which came from the store. The chicken teriyaki had ZERO taste (Teriyaki Inn is WAY better). I had to drown my food in soy sauce to have any taste at all. The pieces were charred - it's like they were going for that charbroiled look, but it made the chicken taste like charcoal. The waitress attempted an apology but didn't do anything to show she was really sorry at all. The people at the next table were complaining and they got a free meal out of it. Oh well. We should have stayed home and cooked our own teriyaki. It would have tasted better, cost $50 less, and taken about two hours less.

Don't waste your time.

Pros: It's at the mall

Cons: Food, service, wait time, pretty much everything

Posted 04/11/07

The other week was the first time going into ra sushi, ever since it opened ive been meaning to go.. so me and my friends on our lunch break decided to go and try it. Right when we walked in we thought the place was soo beautiful and artisy. Its nice and dark inside and the choice of music they play is GREAT! So right away the hostess greeted us and seemed soo cute and friendly, she talked to us as if we were friends. She asked if this was our first time eating here and asked where we wanted to sit, it was such a nice day out we decided to sit outside.. She than told us some of her favorties there and then told us to save room for dessert, because the cinnamon tempura ice cream is to die for. Our server came over to us shortly after, very friendly and outgoing also. We ordered some of the sushi rolls, my favorites were the viva las vegas and the gojira roll. We also ordered a couple of appetizers they were soooo delicious! Than ofcourse we had to try the dessert which the hostess was right, it was to die for.. We were soo excited to eat it! The atmosphere, the service and the food was amazing.. I truely advise ALL SUSHI LOVERS TO GO EAT THERE, its so fresh and generous amounts. After we ate we all said it was a good choice eating there and before we left we chatted with the hostess abit and took a happy hour menu and some candy and went back to work.

Pros: service, food and atmosphere.

Cons: parking

Posted 03/22/07

last tuesday afternoon was the first time that i have ever been to this place. i was a little sketchy on going but i thought that i would give it a try. so i took my boyfriend and when we went we were the only ones in the whole entire resturant! i guess not alot of people know about this place yet. anyways, there wasnt a hostess at the front door, but we were immediately welcomed by the bartender, and he kindly sat us in the back where it was nice and romantic. we were then welcomed by our server and she suggested several items. we tried them all! (viva las vegas, chili ponzu yellowtail, lobster spring rolls, chicken teriyaki and thier cinnamon tempura ice cream) DELICIOUS!! the food was amazing and the service was even better! she was warm and friendly. then i guess it was happy hour and she welcomed us to stay at the bar and to try their tsunami drink, AMAZING! we absolutely love this place and all the staff! we will definately be back soon!

Pros: service, food, music, and drinks!

Cons: parking

Posted 02/14/07

I had an amazing time at RA on Saturday night. The DJ was full of energy, and the bar staff seemed excited to be a part of creating the vibe. there seems to be great chemistry among the servers and staff here, seeing as most of them hung out at the bar with my friends and I after their shift. I will definately come back this week for happy hour!

Pros: music, staff, price

Cons: mall security too uptight

Posted 02/04/07

Once a year all of my college friends and I get together to party like we did when we were in school. This year it was my chance to host the party. I decided that RA would be the best place. Their patio had ample space and the staff helped me plan everything. I would highly recommend RA for the Best place to party with a lot of freinds!

Pros: Great Sushi and Staff

Posted 02/04/07

with the horrible service, the crazy parking situation, and the pricey chain sushi in, of all places, Torrance California?!??! The South Bay is simply loaded with fantastic mom-and-pop Japanese restaurants, so why go here? I don't understand. Don't get me wrong, I gave them a fair shake and tried the place, but as I should have known, I ended up dissapointed. Don't bother, save yourself the headache and some cash, and head elsewhere.

Pros: food was okay, not great but not horrible.

Cons: service, price, parking

Posted 01/28/07

The ambience, the sushi specials...always good, fun and they're consistent at every RA we've been. Worth a try!

Posted 01/14/07

I have been here twice, the first time the service was good and the food was great. However If my 2nd visit had been my first I would never go back. They need to get their act together soon. No one knows what is going on. Poor or little service, order was wrong, and the food was nothing you would go back for.

Pros: Wide selection

Cons: Terrible service and it was not that busy

Posted 12/29/06

Service: Horrible. They started off very well, but went downhill fast. After we placed our order, we were asked 10 minutes later if we wanted our miso soup or not. That seemed odd, as lunch includes it, so why ask--just bring it.

About 15 minutes later, I asked our server for the status of our box lunch. He said it should be coming up. 10 minutes later I asked again. He seemed perplexed this time. I told him to go find out. He came back and said he forgot to turn in the order. Even stranger, my wife and I could not understand if we were asked about the miso soup, which came with lunch, how could they have forgotten our order?

It took another 20 minutes to to get our lunch, we had to have boxed up immediately, as we had not expected lunch to take 2 hours.

Food: Below Average. The Pacific Roll was OK, yet nothing extraordinary.
The box lunch itself was one of the worst I've seen. The salmon was bite size, yet included enough teriyaki sauce to cover the entire fish. I certainly know you get what you pay for: $7.25 for the lunch. But this portion was way too small. They should raise the price to $9.25 and include a decent portion. Lunch items are almost always less than dinner- but don't reduce the portion size by 75%.

Back to the service. A Manager said she would buy us our box lunches. Having been so thoroughly frustrated, I asked my server to throw in another order of spicy tuna toll ($6.25). He said he would. When he brought me our to-go order, he asked me if we had wanted some crunchy spicy tuna. Exasperated, I just said give me the check. This was beyond ridiculous.

With so many other choices, there is no reason to deal with mall traffic and sparse parking for such poor service and below average food. Although our neighborhood sushi joint lacks plasma TV's and hip music, at least the food is good and service is professional. Even if RA improves their service, I do not recommend RA as the food is below average.

Pros: Free soft drink refills

Cons: Service was terrible and food was below average

Posted 11/19/06

Even in their practice dinners this last weekend, this place was awesome. Not a place for sushi traditionalists, but it was fun, tasty, and there was a little something for everyone. The appetizers were great- we shared the pineapple cream cheese wantons, the lobster spring rolls, and the coconut shrimp- all were fantastic. My favorite rolls on the menu were the Viva Las Vegas and the Crazy Monkey rolls. We didn't have enough room to try the entrees or the desserts, but I am definitely going back. Drinks were good too- try the Banzai martini and the Blue Fin.

Pros: Great appetizers, sushi, and drinks

Cons: A little loud music-wise... and it's in Torrance. (no offense, it's just kind of a hike.)

Posted 11/12/06