201 Arizona Ave, Santa Monica CA 90401
(310) 451-2076
Parking: street parking and parking structure nearby
Last Visited: February 22, 2004
Food: 4 to 5 stars
Atmosphere: 4 stars
Service: 4 stars
Price: $$$
The Light House Buffet is known for its Royal Seafood Buffet and ranked amongst the nation’s top five buffets by the Food Network. During my visit, lunch buffet was available for $11.95 per person and dinner buffet was $18.95 per person. Considering the quality of sushi and sashimi, this is an excellent bargain for sushi lovers.
The restaurant is medium sized raised seating in the center of the room. Here you’ll see a large fish hanging from the ceiling with fluorescent lighting and black lighting creating an interesting blue tinting in this area. The tables are black and the chairs are wood.
When you enter the restaurant, you immediately notice the array of sushi available. The sushi chefs stand behind the counter making unagi sushi, maguro sushi, ebi sushi, and salmon sushi amongst other standard sushi offerings. There are also long rows of California rolls that are rolled in toasted sesame (which I found scrumptious) and similar California rolls rolled in shrimp roe. The California rolls are cut thinner than usual, but you may take as many as you wish. There is also a large heap of salmon sashimi, maguro sashimi, and other items. All were excellent. You can’t get this variety at better prices elsewhere. Note that there is an additional cost for beverages.
Adjacent to the sushi table is a long steam table of hot seafood. This includes salt and pepper shrimp, seafood egg patties, crab legs, large jumbo shrimp with the head still on, pan fried fish, as well as sautéed vegetables. There is a good variety of what is offered from fried oysters to teriyaki chicken to fried rice to tempura to steamed clams, you’ll find a number of choices to select from.
The cold table contains a large poached salmon covered with tartar sauce, large salmon roe over lemon, salad, desserts, and a variety of fresh fruit, including melons, bananas, mango, and papaya. All the accompanying sushi sides such as wasabe and pickled ginger are located here.
The other cold table contains a bar of sides. This bar included seaweed, sunomono salad/pickled cucumbers, seasoned spinach with sesame, and edamame. The last table contains miso soup and egg drop soup.
Of all the things I tried, the miso soup was the most disappointing, lacking in flavor and being colder than I like for my soup to be. All the sushi and sashimi was wonderful. The sushi is endless and you can go back for more. They also offer sushi to go.
The hot dishes ranged from average to better than average, but the draw for me was the sushi bar. The cold bar containing sides typically served with sushi is also great since you can go back for enough edamame to fill your heart’s desire. The fruit bar is fresh and simple.
The friendly servers frequent the tables often to remove dishes and fill your drinks. You’ll also like the automated towel dispenser in the restroom.
The Light House Buffet lives up to its Royal Seafood name. It’s an excellent value if you love sushi, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the quality of sushi you receive. If you don’t like sushi, you’ll probably still enjoy the selection of seafood offered. I would definitely return for more! The Light House Buffet is a must try!
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