A broken promise forgiven, Sora Sushi, Hermosa Beach

Sora Sushi doesn’t exactly live up to its name, but that’s not a problem

by Richard Foss

Almost every cuisine changes over time with the introduction of new ingredients, new techniques, and to adapt to changing tastes. Especially in a globalized era, it’s what they do to stay relevant. Sushi has undergone one of the most drastic transformations, from its origins as a simple snack of just a few ingredients – originally fish, vinegared rice, salt, and seaweed.

Flavors like wasabi, sesame, and green onion gradually became part of the Japanese tradition. In the 1970s, an explosion of creativity in California changed the sushi world. Avocado, cream cheese, mayonnaise, chili sauce, crisped onions, and other items started showing up in increasingly baroque rolls. Sometimes the fish seemed almost an afterthought.

When a staff member explained the name Sora Sushi, it made me think that this place might be a haven for the old Japanese tradition. Sora literally translates as “empty sky,” but is also a metaphor for “simple, clean, or innocent.” That’s an apt metaphor for old-school, uncomplicated sushi, which you can get at this little spot in the shopping center at Prospect and Aviation in Hermosa Beach. It’s not all they do, though, because some items here push creative boundaries.

There are also some standard Japanese items on the “kitchen menu,” so someone who doesn’t like seafood does have options, but the focus here is obviously on the fish. We did try some cooked items, such as agedashi tofu, veggie tempura, uni shooters, a crispy eel appetizer, and an item referred to as a sushi taco. This wasn’t a taco by the most liberal interpretation of the term, but was a flat piece of fried nori seaweed topped with fish cubes, onion, tomato bits, jalapeno, and a dash of green onion and seasonings. It’s closer to a tostada, but in its own category. Don’t try nibbling it because the seaweed will shatter and dump the toppings – you might get two bites out of each one, but those two will have an amazing variety of textures and flavors.  

The agedashi tofu is a good companion dish, a representative of the simple tradition – take some firm tofu, dust it with potato starch, and fry it. Traditionally a warm sauce is poured over it just before serving. That sauce adds flavor but softens the crisp tofu. At Sora it’s served on the side, an innovation I thoroughly approve of. You get to enjoy the contrast of crisp exterior and creamy-soft interior in every bite, not just the first one.

The tempura appetizer was conventional — a small portion of crisp-fried vegetables, adequate but not essential. The crispy eel was the only item that just didn’t work – the eel wasn’t crisp, and had been drowned in layers of avocado, mayonnaise, sweet sauce, and ginger so that the actual seafood flavor was obscured.

On one visit I was with a friend who had never tried the Japanese sea urchin called uni, and as she was in a daring mood I suggested an uni shooter. This is sea urchin roe submerged in a shot glass of sake, with a raw quail egg added. My companion seemed to be reassessing her choices when it arrived at the table, but drank it gamely. Her eyes went wide, and I’m pretty sure mine did too. There was a lot going on in that glass, the ocean breeze flavor of uni, unctuousness of the egg, and floral alcohol all vying for attention. If I go back to Sora with someone who hasn’t tried this before, I’m ordering it both for my own enjoyment and so I can watch their face as they experience it.

We moved on to sushi rolls, which are a major focus here. High points included the Hermosa Beach roll, which my companion compared to an In-N-Out burger, but sushi. It’s weird that I understood what she meant, but I did – the avocado, pickled radish, and mayo all had some equivalent in one of those burgers, and they complemented the omelet slice and crabmeat. The toasted coconut on top was the surprising finish. I would want to serve this to someone with them not knowing what they were getting just so they try to figure it out.

The moon roll was another success, deep-fried eel and avocado paired with salmon, mango slices, sweet eel sauce, and spicy mayo. It had a nice fruitiness and hint of heat balanced with fruit tartness that accented the seafood. If they keep this item on the menu, it will taste different in a few months because mangos have a lot of seasonal variation. Those flavors were fresh and distinctive, which was not the case with the heartbeat roll, an overly complex concoction that was dominated by cream cheese.

Another roll was more of a novelty, but a really interesting one – the apple-salmon roll included ketchup and a drizzle of white sauce. We had ordered it because it sounded weird, but it was oddly successful though sweet. I’d order it again as a dessert, as unlikely as that sounds.

We also ordered two nigiri sushi items from the specials board, ankimo (monkfish liver) and a Japanese snapper called medai. Medai has a light, sweet flavor with delicate richness, while ankimo is a fish pate, rich and meaty. The medai had a dusting of seasoning and a bit of crisped seaweed on top, an unusual preparation, but one that suited it well. While we were at the table we observed a 10-item sushi combo being delivered to an adjacent table on an elaborate platter that looked like a spiral staircase, and based on the quality of the negiri this is an item for future exploration.

A short menu of beer, wine, and sake is offered, and the sake menu includes an oddity called funaguchi. This sake arrives in a can because it is said to be light-sensitive, and it’s unlike any that I’ve tried before. There are earthy, almost mushroomy undertones beneath floral and melon characteristics. My companion also noticed a hint of mango. Conventional sakes are offered, but if you enjoy experimenting, try this one.

Dinner at Sora Sushi is modestly priced – dinner for two with sake ran under $110, modest for a meal of this caliber. Sora Sushi has been serving since May but still has the “soft opening” banner up. If this means they have still more surprises to offer, it’s a good sign indeed.    

Sora Sushi is at 1121 Aviation Boulevard in Hermosa. Open daily at 11:30 a.m. – close 9:30 p.m. Sun-Thurs. 10 p.m. Fri-Sat. Free parking lot. Wheelchair access good. Volume level moderate. Beer, wine, and sake. (310) 374-6019. SoraSushiCa.com. ER