Shimbashi Izakaya — Restaurant in Del Mar

As a Japanese food connoisseur living in SF Bay Area for over 30 years, I came with high expectation due to its high rating of 4 stars but walked away disappointed. The Hamachi Kama was mushy in texture which is a sign of improper cold storage prior to grilling. The chef sashimi Omakase was $60 for 14 pieces and I boosted it to $100 since I had two friends with me, but it was a pitiful thin plate of 5 kinds fish; salmon, steelhead trout ( waitress described it as “trout” but the only red meat trout i know is steelhead which is a cheaper substitute of salmon used in hand rolls, never served as sashimi), tuna, hamachi, and tuna near belly ( but it is not belly fat toro). Each piece was only 1.5” X 0.75”X0.20” thin slice, the steelhead trout which has no texture could not even stand by itself as individual pieces and collapsed into a soft pile. The deep impact shooters with uni had uni the size of a small pea and none of us could taste the uni. Other orders were so so too. The waitress was attentive but strangely the hostesses was really cocky and rude for no reason. The only thing met my standard was the Asahi draft beer! A disappointment of my Del Mar trip. Would not recommend this...

Very unprofessional. They have way too many tables for the servers to handle. I noticed many tables around me waiting forever for their food. One table was particularly unhappy because their order was very late. One of the classic mistakes this restaurant makes it seating people as they come in even though they cannot handle the volume at all. Even the sushi chefs seemed stressed and overworked. Every employee I saw here was disorganized and the environment overall was chaotic. I don't even blame them entirely since the hostess should not be seating more than they can handle.

The tables are also way too close to each other. It seems pretty greedy tbh. Then again, the rent at that location is probably pretty high. Their menu is also too large. Any restaurant with a massive menu is a red flag. The pictures beside the dishes were also all pretty bad. But still, I prefer to have a picture than not.

The location is pretty nice though. Decent ocean view from the outdoor seating. There's a parking structure underneath which was almost completely full when I got there. It's free for the first hour.

Overall, the cons heavily outweigh the pros but it could be nice on a weekday when its...

I came here in August with my friend for a 1:00 PM lunch on a Saturday, first time here. The restaurant has both indoor and outdoor patio seating with a nice view. The patio was fairly busy. We were able to get the last table for 2 in the shade. The hostess/server, Kyoko sat us and took our drink order. She was very rushed, but still attentive, maybe understaffed? The poor women was running all over the place.

We ordered a couple beers along with Sea Urchin, Yellowtail, Tuna, Salmon, Eel, Masago with Quail Eggs Nigiri, and a Fried Soft Shell Crab appetizer. All the sushi was fresh and presented well. The quality of the fish was very average as compared to other Del Mar competitors, but for the prices which was very reasonable it was good. Take note, my favorite part of the meal was the Soft Shell Crab appetizer...that was fantastic. I could of eaten a whole appetizer myself! I would definitely come back for lunch.

Atmosphere: nice, great patio. Service: good. Food: good (I would come...