If you’re solely on the hunt for great sashimi, head to Hama. You’ll notice signs around this busy Little Tokyo bar that warn, “No teriyaki, No tempura, No noodle, No rice alone,” so don’t bring your non-fish-eating friend who orders four rounds of gyoza. A la carte and set menus are available. The a la carte menu offers more wiggle room for sampling, including buttery uni nigiri, a seared albacore sashimi platter with citrusy ponzu, and some excellent toro.

Come any day of the week (except Mondays when they’re closed) and you’ll find a sizable crowd of parents, hip Gen-Zers, and grandmas running errands waiting in line outside Sakae Sushi. It’s a cash-only, family-run shop that’s been open since the ’60s, hidden behind an office building in Gardena that serves simple handmade sushi. Get a box of seven pieces for about $10, wrapped up in beautiful white parchment paper and a green bow, so you can try each kind of sushi on the menu.

Lunchtime sushi bargain-hunting is a game that is not easily won. Unless, of course, your path ends at Sushi Gen. You’ll be hard-pressed to find anything about this Little Tokyo institution you’ll dislike, but if you go for lunch and don’t get the $23 sashimi platter, you’re doing it wrong. Just get there early—lines form well before opening. At dinner, said sashimi platter bumps up to $32, but we’d recommend you head right to the bar and go to town on their a la carte sushi options instead.

Just when you think you have LA figured out, remember that there’s a sushi bar inside a fast-food burger joint in Northridge, and it serves some incredible raw fish. Right next door to the CSUN campus, Got Sushi? is a pilgrimage everyone should make, solely to realize that it doesn’t take hundreds of dollars or a prime spot on La Cienega to get first-rate sushi. There’s no omakase here, but the menu is large and full of every sashimi plate, cut roll, and daily sushi special you want.

Walking into Chiba, the massive sushi restaurant in North Hollywood, is like walking into a sushi social club. No matter what time of day you come, this multi-roomed restaurant will be filled with birthday parties housing specialty rolls, solo lunchers making their way through the omakase, and booths of little old ladies sipping tea and complaining about their husbands. But Chiba is more than just a scene—they serve some of the freshest fish north of Ventura Blvd.

The phrase “affordable sushi omakase in Beverly Hills” may seem like an oxymoron, but Sushi Tama isn’t here to mess around. Nigiri hovers just under the $6 mark, and for $60, you can order their 10-piece omakase sashimi set. It’s a heavenly mix of fish, including ikura that bursts in your mouth, silky scallop hotate, buttery otoro, and uni so creamy, we thought we might need to bust out a Lactaid.

LA’s South Bay has a number of great, affordable sushi places, but one of the best bang for your buck is at Sushi Chitose, an omakase spot in Redondo Beach. It’s $75 for the 15-piece omakase, which includes high-quality cuts of fish, a piece of toro, and a great miso soup appetizer. Be sure to call ahead for a reservation—this place fills up quickly.

If you don’t live in the SGV, making the drive to Arcadia can be daunting. But strip mall spot Sushi Kisen warrants a trip. A relative newcomer, Kisen is run by a chef who spent years at Sushi Gen and Shiki in Beverly Hills. Dedication to detail is apparent in the balanced vinegar-seasoned rice and pristine seafood that has been aged in traditional Edomae style, highlighting lots of seasonal fish like skipjack tuna and goldeneye snapper imported from Japan.

Sushi Tsujita is a great option if you want to do omakase on the cheaper side without sacrificing quality. This Sawtelle spot from the people behind Tsujita Artisan Noodle offers three omakase levels—$49, $69, and $89—all of which include three appetizers and a little scoop of sake ice cream for dessert (a nice touch). We recommend the priciest tier (the Tokyo) which includes premium items like a toro hand roll and buttery wagyu nigiri. An a la carte menu is also available.

One of our favorite spots for straightforward, high-quality omakase, Sasabune is pretty old-school. But in the LA sushi way—which means warm rice, stern instructions not to dip in soy sauce, and everything else you’ve experienced at Sugarfish. For around $100 or $140, you get a bunch of tuna, salmon, hot butterfish wrapped in nori, and a crab handroll to finish things. Sasabune is our sushi old reliable—we keep coming back.