I went for lunch at noon on a Wednesday for my first visit. There were things I loved and things that disappointed. Upon entering, I was faced with a young woman behind the hostess stand and a young waiter. They stared at me until I finally broke and said«um… just one for lunch?» Awkward. I asked him to seat me at the sushi bar and was greeted by one of the two chefs with a very genuine smile. While I perused the menu, they brought water. I then ordered a hot sake, which came VERY quickly and was super tasty. I then ordered the sushi/sashimi plate. The miso soup came fast and was about a 7⁄10(a little too much grain that wasn’t «soft». I was handed a small plate with wasabi, ginger, and lightly-pickled cucumbers(OMGSOTASTY). And then I waited. I finished my soup and had to request another water before my plate arrived. When it did, WOW. It was beautifully arranged with large slices of delicious fish on beautifully constructed balls of rice. All the things that turn me on about sushi. I reveled. I ate. I ate. I was happy. A server(middle aged female?) asked if I wanted to order any more, and when I declined, she brought the check. I promptly inserted my credit card, then waited. and waited… and waited… I was so MASSIVELY ready to leave by the time she brought my copy, it was a little crazy. But the food rocked, the sake is good, and I enjoyed the chill atmosphere.
Kyrstin G.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Rancho Bernardo, San Diego, CA
Best sushi ever! The staff is amazing and nice! This is my go to sushi spot & I will keep going here!
Athu8089 ..
Rating des Ortes: 5 San Diego, CA
Came here for lunch with my cousin today. My favorite is Crunch Dragon roll. It is fresh, flavorful and satisfying. My cousin love garbage roll with everything on it. Overall we had a great experience. Good food and good service. We live in Poway so this is definitely the sushi place to go.
James P.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Sun City, CA
A small little sushi restaurant around Carmel mountain in San Diego with friendly workers and an awesome chef! I didn’t get a chance to sit at the sushi bar with a larger party but the sushi menu(especially Love Boat) is fairly priced for fresh, quality seafood. I’d highly recommend coming here if you love good quality sushi.
Lindsay Y.
Rating des Ortes: 5 San Diego, CA
I came here for dinner with my husband. We ordered, ‘dinner for two’ and crunch roll. After all, we were already full but i was contemplating on ordering another roll(baked salmon roll) because it was so tasty! Wonderful customer service And great sushi for decent price! Very friendly, attentive & talkative! Portion are good(the roll was huge width wise), price is good(what a good deal)! The atmosphere is casual and food is nice! I only go to few sushi spots in san diego and this one has made the list!
No S.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Poway, CA
Great food and friendly family ran service and atmosphere. However, some negative press lately as they have been found to sell mislabeled lobster rolls. The facts are majority of the sea food in US is imported and up labeled with less then 1% of it ever been inspected. Then passed on to wholesale distributors that up label again and often«process» before distribution. Unless, you catch something out off water yourself and eating in in US, and even then with all the polluted waters we got your asking for it. However, at least the imitation lobster and the crab meats are made of something from the sea. Google the calamari and some other items to see where they come from. There was a reason we had costume and FDA inspectors and pay for them.
Christopher Q.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Encinitas, CA
They were one of many restaurants that were found guilty of jilting the«truth-in– menu» law: - SANDIEGO(CNS) — The operators of eight sushi restaurants in San Diego were convicted of seafood fraud for serving«lobster rolls» that didn’t have any lobster in them, the City Attorney’s Office announced Monday. The«truth-in-menu» investigation was launched last year. Investigators from the City Attorney’s Consumer and Environmental Protection Unit purchased advertised«lobster rolls» from various sushi restaurants throughout San Diego, then sent them to a laboratory where DNA testing confirmed that no lobster was found in any of the rolls. Instead of lobster, the testing revealed the substitution of various types of less expensive seafood such as crawfish or pollock. Follow-up inspections by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the city’s investigator found no lobster at any of the targeted sushi restaurants in Carmel Mountain Ranch, El Cerrito, Hillcrest, North Park, Ocean Beach, Point Loma, Rancho Penasquitos and Tierrasanta. The restaurants were identified as Little Tokyo on Carmel Mountain Road; Edamami Sushi & Roll on Santo Road; Wonderful Sushi on Black Mountain Road; Kim, Sun Young on Womble Road; OB Sushi on Newport Avenue; Riki Sushi on 30th Street; Wonderful Sushi on University Avenue; and RB Sushi 2 on El Cajon Boulevard. The undisclosed substitution of the cheaper seafood is a criminal violation of California law that prohibits the adulteration of food and the false advertising or misbranding of food items. Along with fines, the law also requires the offending businesses to reimburse all of the investigation costs, authorities said.
Sarah E.
Rating des Ortes: 1 San Diego, CA
Just read about an investigation done by the city that caught this restaurant using lesser fish than advertised. Shame on you! You will not be getting my business. Yuck!!!
Erica M.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Glendale, CA
Convicted of using lesser quality seafood than advertised. Specifically, having no lobster in rolls advertised as lobster rolls.
Norma O.
Rating des Ortes: 4 San Diego, CA
This little place is delicious and quick! Excellent sushi choices and all the other dishes are yummy too. lots of flavor. Just a tad pricey but still worth a stop here if you’re shopping in the center
Eric E.
Rating des Ortes: 4 San Diego, CA
Good for lunch. Quick service. Excellent food. Sushi is top notch. Appetizers are great. Only reason I gave 4 and not 5 stars is just due to so many competing restaurants in the area. When I find a Japanese place that absolutely blows my mind, I’ll release the last star. I will definitely come back here!
John H.
Rating des Ortes: 5 San Diego, CA
Great sushi. I had a yummy Crunch, steak entre and stir fried shrimp yakki udon. It was everything delicioso!!! Thank you mei and James.
Sharon L.
Rating des Ortes: 2 San Diego, CA
I was looking forward to eating here because I’ve heard good things about this place, and other Unilocal reviews seemed pretty good as well. When we first entered, staff was not very friendly and very detached from customers. We were seated and we ordered: a chicken katsudon, a philadelphia roll, and a baked salmon roll. SOMUCHRICE. Each dish was overloaded on rice. We had to scrape off most of it on the rolls to eat them. Katsudon also came with a ton of rice. Overall food taste was okay, but again, just too much rice. Miso soup was too salty, and edamame was just not tasty. It was literally just defrosted edamame sprinkled with kosher salt. When checking out, the service was meh. I’m not sure that I would go back anytime soon.
Judy K.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Berkeley, CA
Okay service. Not bad food. Sushi chefs are nicer than the hostess and the waitresses. This area is general lacks decent Asian and South Asian restaurants. Considering those factors, this place is not bad. I ordered a spider roll, and yes, it was too big. It would be way too big for anyone’s mouth. Taste was okay. I also ordered the chicken bowl off the lunch menu. No description of the food. I should’ve asked questions about it. Ordered the wrong food… not exactly what I typically order. Anyway, food was a bit bland for the typical Japanese chicken teriyaki bowl. I will continue to come here when I feel like eating rice and I need a nearby place. Would I recommend this place to anyone? Probably not…
Vicky O.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Mentone, CA
Best sushi. It’s usually pretty quiet and they always have the best rolls with big portions. I end up spending less here with my hubby than getting all you can eat some where else and getting full quicker. Love this place
Chetan C.
Rating des Ortes: 1 San Diego, CA
So so service… Topped off with 3 inch Sushi that can’t fit in the mouth … Very oily chicken udon noodles and my god… as bland as it can get veg fried rice :( Not coming back to this place…
Sam A.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Escondido, CA
Okay this is an update review ! At first I have it 3 stars but now 2. I placed an order for pick up two rolls. As I was waiting for the cashier to come help me I was watching the sushi chefs. One of them blows his nose with a napkin. Near the food counter. I was in shock he didn’t go somewhere else. Worst thing happened he didn’t wash his hands. He simply splashed water on his hands for like two seconds and then scooped up rice with bare hands and continued to work. Never eating here again
Ruby M.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Torrey Hills, San Diego, CA
The restaurant looks modern inside with an atmosphere that’s serene. The servers don’t interact much with you, which I personally don’t mind. They work quietly but are very efficient and attentive. The food is delicious. The sushi portions are huge and worth the price. Tonight we ordered the baked salmon roll and the dinner for two. The dinner included miso soup, edemame, salad, shrimp and veggie tempura, fried gyoza, chicken and beef terriyaki. Sooo much food. Left stuffed but happy!
Trang N.
Rating des Ortes: 4 San Diego, CA
Located in the same shopping center as sports authority, California pizza kitchen, and the movie theater. Lots of parking space. The restaurant is pretty spacious. Décor was average, dim lights setting, and a bit more modernized than your average simple sushi joint. The atmosphere was bit depressing if you ask me. Free edamame& miso soup. Large portions for sushi rolls! Ordered the Baked salmon roll and Lobster roll, both were very satisfying and each bite was delicious. The price for those rolls each was $ 9 – 11, which to me is the same as other sushi restaurants I’ve been to – but I’ve never had such big portions like how this restaurant does it! Service was average here. Order your sushi, water refill, and two check ups on us. Overall, first time here was a good experience. The sushi gets you full because of its large portions — worth the money. However, I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat here — only if I was ever in the area and am ever craving for sushi.
Kimberly T.
Rating des Ortes: 5 San Diego, CA
My go to sushi place! I will go drake on the Calamari the best I ever had. Salad dressing is my fav. Still trying to figure out the secret recipe. Missing the smoothies with the boba! LT please bring it back.