Gurume Sushi In Irvine Offers High Quality Sushi in the OC

The Background

Found in the corner of a shopping center in Irvine, CA, Gurume Sushi offers gourmet style sushi (Gurume means “Gourmet” in Japanese after all) and other signature dishes. There’s also an Omakase menu which is a nice option to see.

The menu is pretty hefty and diverse. In addition to some inventive rolls and sashimi, there’s classic Japanese dishes like Suki Yaki, Udon, Tempura, and Japanese meal sets . There’s also fusion type offerings like Yellowtail w / Jalapeno Carpaccio, Amberjack Miso Ceviche, and Uni Pasta.

There’s so many items on the menu that sound appetizing it’s certainly tough to decide on one single item!

The Experience

I came here on a Friday with family around lunch time and got seated immedietely. The restaurant was pretty quiet on this day, which was nice. The atmosphere overall seems like a very chill vibe with a sleek modern look to it.

We ended up ordering the Shrimp Tempura ($13 for pcs) and Vegetable Tempura ($10) for appetizers. I also ordered the Rainbow Roll ($18) and shared a Spicy Tuna Roll as the main course.

The tempura comes with a side of grated daikon (it’s a type of radish) along with a dipping sauce (tentsuyu). Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to grab any photos of the shrimp before it got devoured. But the shrimp was delicious. You’ll have to take my word about it.

The batter they use for the tempura is outstanding. Light and airy, with an incredibly satisfying crunch on the outside contrasting with the tenderness of well cooked shrimp. Best part is the lack of grease. At some places the tempura may be a tad soggy due to the excess grease. Not here!

The vegetable tempura consisted of onion, I believe shishito pepper, yam, and zuchinni. Equally as delicious as the shrimp, the batter coating the veggies really shines through again. My favorite was the shishito pepper. Definitely very tasty especially when dipped into the tentsuyu sauce.

Starting with the Spicy Tuna Roll: I thought this was good. Tuna was solid with decent spice. Rice was well seasoned and tasted good.

There wasn’t really anything about it that stood out to me. It’s a solid roll and what I would expect at a restaurant like this. With Spicy Tuna rolls it’s a little more difficult to truly stand out as exceptional and unique. There’s only so much you can do with it in my opinion.

Now the Rainbow Roll on the other hand, was quite exceptional. Consisting of bluefin tuna, yellowtail, salmon, shrimp, and avocado on top of snow crab roll, the presentation was fantastic and the roll was well made. What really stood out was the freshness of the fish. This was very good quality. Some of the best I’ve eaten in Orange County. Combined with the snow crap mixture, avocado, and well-seasoned sushi rice, each individual piece was a treat to eat after a quick dip in soy sauce and wasabi.

The Verdict

Gurume Sushi offers premium sushi at fairly reasonable prices. The service was great and attentive and food came out quickly. It may be a little pricier than similiar sushi joints, but the higher prices are easily justified with the quality of the food.

Specifically talking about the fish. I really wasn’t expecting it to be as fresh as it was. Definitley the good type of surprise! And certainly not something that can be said at many sushi places in the area.

I’m looking forward to my next trip to try something else on this expansive menu!