Waraii Sushi — Restaurant in Oceanside

This place should be called Eel Sauce/Ponzu Sauce sushi because 21 of the 50 special rolls have Eel, while almost the entire other half have ponzu sauce.

Ask for it on the side, they don't mind too much and they are aware of the over abundance (diabetes can't handle the sugar, not be but an excuse you can use)

I liked the old location because it was quaint, perfectly staffed and just a hair closer to my house. Now it's much bigger which makes food coming out slower. Parking is probably a little worse, but much better visibility. The change did not have an effect on the quality of food though.

The rice isn't overly sticky or acidic, maybe a little loosely packed. Chef's are happy, but not overly friendly. The new larger space demands more attention, but they haven't figured out they need extra staff with all the phone in orders they get. I saw a lemon roll take 3 minutes to go while my 2 HR's and 2 specialty rolls took 20 minutes, and they order to go after me. Normally it's not that long, but the new location has new problems. All 3 of the waitress will inevitably ask if you've ordered while you wait for your pick up, while you may wait 4 minutes to see a menu. They need sugar on the table since they offer iced tea

Yellowtail is rich and buttery, salmon is firm and fatty, good color. Oysters were not memorable. Scallops are a tad watery and a bit too firm. I've asked where they procure their fish, but they've declined to ask. Shrimp used in tempura are on the small side, not as much crunch as i'd like. Sushi bar could use 1 less seat, a little cramped. Rather than go through half the menu my favorite rolls are I love you, fire cracker, hot temptation, lemon flush and amazing and popular green tender (something about the cream cheese, shrimp and avo combo)

This place is still a great value if your willing to wait, even with the "discount" I'd eat here out of proximity. I've eaten at the best and no they don't compare, but there are things we have to overlook. We can't always live in the clouds.

People...

We've been here many times. Often enough that I'm sure the staff recognizes us, yet, they are very unfriendly. We've made small talk with them, my kids have tried to engage them, and yet, they seem to hate the job of serving. I wish I could say it was only one of them, but it's not. The thing is? I know I can be picky. But not horribly so. I've served way worse people than myself. For instance. I don't think it's too much to ask for the kid's chopstick attachment, or to expect to be greeted by our server. I'm a server. I get it I also tip 20% no matter what. So why did I come back so many times? The food is GOOD. But I simply can't take being made to feel bad almost every time I dine there. There are other sushi restaurants. I hope you learn from this review.

Edit: 2 years have passed. We've ordered to go many times. We've eaten here many times. All the food came out good and in a timely manner, but your abrupt and rude servers are still making for an unpleasant dining experience. I've had OK service here over the past two years, but never exceptional. Today was passive aggressively terrible. Rude. Extremely rude. I don't know who trains your servers but wow. Nothing says "I can't wait to come back here" like someone being hostile to you when you spend $90 on what you want to be a nice pleasant lunch with your daughter. Dropped my review to one star since you've had so long to better train your servers to be nice or hire...

I’ll start by saying that we’ve been customers here for a long time as we live right up the street. The merchant put our order in wrong. We paid for a Dragon Crunch Roll and received a regular crunch roll. 3 out of the 5 rolls we ordered were supposed to come with spicy tuna inside. NONE of them did. When we called back about the order the guy on the phone was cold, unapologetic and unhelpful. We had to ask him, “So, what are you going to do to correct this” and he stayed silent. Offering nothing. We asked if the roll we paid for could be made and he responded with a short “Ok”. Never in my life have I received such bad service. Even McDonalds is extremely apologetic when they make a mistake. Now my husband has to drive all the way back for the roll we should have received in the first place. This is the last thing I wanted to have to deal with on my birthday. Not to mention that when my husband initially arrived to pick up the order he was greeted with no hello or warm welcome. The guy who packed our food and processed the transaction didn’t even say “have a nice day” or include a single soy sauce!!! We will NEVER give them our business again and I’ll make sure to turn friends and family members far...