Little Tokyo restaurant delivers cheap eats

For those who crave sushi, but don’t want to pay $8 for a small hand roll or $14 for a few pieces of sashimi over special crispy rice, Oomasa is the perfect venue.

Authentic grub · Oomasa features many classic Japanese dishes, and in large portions. Some options include bento boxes packed with terriyaki chicken alongside vegetable tempura and a bowl of miso soup. - Nicole Morrison | Daily Trojan

Located in the heart of Little Tokyo, right beside the giant red tower marking the entrance to the Japanese Village Plaza Mall at First Street, Oomasa is a haven for Japanese tradition and cuisine.

Inside the two large wooden doors that make up the entrance is a quaint restaurant with booths lining both the sidewall and the center aisle. Off to the left is a sushi bar, where fresh fish and meats are displayed for customers. Behind the counter, a sushi chef prepares order after order.

At meal times this place is packed, with lines forming along the back wall of the restaurant as customers scan the menu for the day’s specials and new dishes to try, or wait patiently for a table and their turn for a meal.

One cannot go wrong at Oomasa, where lunch specials provide a smorgasbord of Japanese cuisine at very reasonable prices. One option is the Teriyaki chicken special, which comes with tempura vegetables, pickled cabbage, miso soup, salad and more for only $11. There are many variations of main dishes and specials, and each one comes with the same array of sides — if not more.

If sushi is the desired choice, the options available are nearly endless. Oomasa has all of the basics — California rolls, spider rolls and spicy tuna rolls — but the rainbow roll is one of Oomasa’s most memorable dishes.

A rainbow roll is a California roll and tops it with an assortment of fresh fish and seafood, including shrimp, tuna, yellowtail, halibut, eel and salmon. The fish is arranged atop the roll in a way that is both visually appealing and delicious. With this new and improved version of an undisputed classic, the customer not only gets six pieces of a large cut roll but also six pieces of thin, lean and fresh sashimi — all for only $12.

Another prime example of popular sushi at an affordable price is Oomasa’s shrimp tempura roll. A favorite among many American sushi consumers for its mixture of traditional sushi rice and seaweed casing combined with pieces of fried shrimp, the shrimp tempura roll at Oomasa is easily within most budgets at  $5.50.

If the idea of inexpensive food, a variety of specials and quality rolls and dishes to choose from is not enough to make the drive to Little Tokyo and try Oomasa firsthand, then the clientele should be able to quell any ideas that this place is just too good to be true.

Although the showy and artful dishes of Japanese fusion sweep through Downtown Los Angeles, putting popular places like Katsuya at the top of charts and polls for best sushi around, Oomasa remains a hidden oasis of true sushi the way the Japanese intended.

Only a short drive from campus, it is well worth the trip to experience this food and atmosphere. Here it is possible to have a good meal and a good time — and save some money while doing so.