Sushi Kuma, Monterey CA

I was in town for the weekend and stumbled upon the positive reviews for Kuma, so I decided to check it out. I'm 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. It's no surprise why.

Thank you, Dylan, for the great experience! Will definitely be coming back (and sending others your way) the next time I'm in town.

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 it's not to crowd my favorite place but I can't in good faith. Keep them from a wonderful restaurant and family!

A very poor experience from the start to the end. The service was ok. The food was terrible and left very little to be desired. The katsu was burnt. The sushi rice was very soggy and the tempura was cold. The table was sticky. The dining area is very spacious. The coke was stale as it likely came from a soda fountain. Will not be back. The miso soup was extremely salty.

Amazing dinner! The freshest and most delicious rolls. Give it a try when you are in the area

Very cool place with great food! They have a large assortment of sushi and non fish options. Our service was outstanding. Highly recommend.

Best sushi in Monterey! The chefs are extremely creative. We just let them prepare their specialties. Always great. Plus they have some Korean dishes that are fantastic!

They have a good system to wait-list you for seating. The food was good. However, it took a loooong time for them to serve our food and the waitress also forgot to punch in one of our orders, so we waited again.

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 small
Ono 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 TRY
Dragon roll 9/10 tho it’s fresh & clean it lack some character I’ve tasted in some dragon roll

Will I comeback? YES

Waited an hour to be seated, plus food came an hour later after ordering, then a waiter from another table chargers my card for someone else’s meal and doesn’t have the courtesy to tell me he made a mistake. Nor have I received my refund.

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 doesn't 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 that's 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.

Very delicious sushi at fair prices. When there is a lot of activity, the waiting times are long. But it's worth it.

This was an extremely pleasant experience during our stay in Monterey. The food was excellent, nicely presented and matched with caring and attentive service. On top of that, they did their best to help us celebrate our daughter's birthday, making it a really special night.

Sushi Kuma has become Andrea's favorite due to their imaginative menu and the freshness of their fish.

The bartender is an expert.

I love the casual atmosphere, but parking can be a challenge in downtown Monterey.

In prime dinner hour, there may be a wait for a table.

Wonderful modern Japanese restaurant combining creativity, fabulous flavours and first-rate presentations. Delightful and warm staff who went the extra mile to make our evening special. I recommend without any reservation. Highlights: Baaad Beat, Yama, Crunchy and Phoenix rolls. For the more traditionalists: very generous Chirashi!

What a friendly location! The moment I walked in, I was immediately greeted by multiple people and those multiple people were eager to bring me to my table of choice. Great start! Then we ordered a good ammount of sushi and every single roll tasted AMAZING! If I had a bigger stomach i would have kept ordering! Everything was so fresh and delicious! And throuout the stay of the resturant ALL staff were the nicest and the friendliest! DEFINITELY a stop to be made and can't wait to go back again!

Great sashimi, beautiful rolls, and the service is super welcoming. Impressive sake selection.
Save room for dessert!

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 don't 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 didn't have any flavour and was plain white rice. The Tempura wasn't anything special and I wasn't overly impressed. This restaurant seems popular with a younger crowd and there's definitely a lot of drinking taking place. Even the staff here seem to participate in drinking.
As for me it's 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.