By Igor Colonno
After studying for long hours at Cal State Long Beach, students might want to take a break and eat something off campus. At Sushi Kinoya, they can relax and enjoy a traditional Japanese dish.
Located at 5521 E Stearns St., Sushi Kinoya was voted as the “Best Place for a Midday Break” in the 2023 Student Choice Awards.
The restaurant not only offers sushi, but tempura rolls, salads, baked rolls, hand rolls and sashimi are on the menu as well.
Among the clients, favorite include the salmon, albacore and yellowtail sushi and for those who are looking for specials, there’s a lunch sushi or roll special for $11.95.
11/7/2023 - Long Beach, Calif: Sushi Kinoya's California rolls. It contains crab, avocado and cucumber. The roll lunch special comes with Miso soup and two rolls, a tempura roll and a regular roll of your choice. Photo credit: Igor Colonno
Restaurant owner Iris Gi has kept the spot open for 16 years, and said she chose the city of Long Beach for her restaurant because of three reasons.
“Good weather, good people and Cal State Long Beach,” Gi said.
Sushi Kinoya features a calm and jazzy ambiance, all while decorated with plants and traditional East Asian in a dimly light setting. She said she chose this ambiance because it reminisces the city of Long Beach.
Students aren’t the only customers coming to satisfy their sushi cravings. Gi said that many CSULB administrators and professors come by as well.
11/7/2023 - Long Beach, Calif: Sushi Kinoya's tuna sushi, is one of the most popular options of the restaurant. The sushi lunch special comes with a miso soup, 5 assorted pieces of sushi, and one roll or salad of your choice. Photo credit: Igor Colonno
Jozlyn Gardner, a 21-year-old server and communications major student at CSULB said she’s been working at the restaurant for two years and likes the place because for her, it is considered a family.
“They treat you like family, they treat all their customers like family,” Gardner said.
Gardner said what sets them apart from other sushi restaurants is the food itself, with lots of options and high quality of the items.
She also recommended the 911, a roll with avocado on the outside and spicy tuna on the inside.
Sushi Kinoya is open Tuesday to Saturday from 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. lunch time and dinner time from 4-7:30 p.m.
