Buddha's Favorite

This is the best sushi spot in Orange County. Period. The vibe is everything you want in a Newport Beach restaurant - being right on the water. The bill never scares me - which is a rarity when dining out for sushi. I would honestly pay more for the food at Buddha’s Favorite because it is that good. Another thing - the owner is literally the sweetest and the staff is always super friendly. We bring Maddy with us often and the staff is obsessed with her - I mean, who could blame them.

As for what to get, I will be honest. I am not a huge fan of sticky rice, so I am a boujee and love to get sashimi and rolls packed with different fish and veggies sans white sticky rice. Most sushi places, that leaves me with like one option - the rolls wrapped in cucumber. At Buddha’s Favorite, I have options. Really good options.

For starters, definitely get the salmon candy and the albacore candy. They are balls of perfection - with crab meat wrapped in either salmon or seared albacore topped with a slice of avocado and served with a housemade garlic citrus ponzu sauce and housemade wasabi mayo. The crispy rice and spicy crispy rice are standout starters too. Ryan and I always get an order of blue fin tuna sashimi and albacore sashimi too.

Now for the rolls, my favorites are the Oasis Roll and Yoshi’s Spring Roll. The Oasis Roll is red snapper, salmon, avocado, spring mix, cucumber and Japanese shiso leaf wrapped in rice paper, served with a special housemade yuzu citrus sauce. The Yoshi’s Spring Roll is my number one. It’s tuna, salmon, seared albacore, crab meat and avocado wrapped in rice paper, topped with eel sauce, housemade wasabi mayo and tempura flakes.

The cherry on top, they serve Rombauer Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay - the perfect accompaniment to some goooood sushi.