Azuki Sushi Lounge — Restaurant in San Diego

After hearing good reviews from friends and seeing the mass amounts of reviews on Yelp, I finally had a chance to try out Azuki Sushi for myself. We booked a reservation on Yelp just a few days out, which was surprising that it wasn't filled up already. However, the rest of the times were gone by day of. Would highly recommend making a reservation and not take any chances!

PARKING - Street parking only, although there are several adjacent streets that are walking distance from the restaurant.

SERVICE/ENVIRONMENT - There was tons of traffic so I called ahead to make sure it would be ok if we were a few minutes late, and they let us know there's a 15 minute leeway time. We got there 5 minutes before the cut off and were seated in the upstairs area. Once we sat down, I saw there was a bug in my water cup which definitely wasn't the best impression to start off on. We got our orders in and food came fairly quick, although some appetizers were oddly spaced out. The rest of the meal went well, and service was attentive. My friend did notice one of the employees scaling down the stairs without any care and almost hit her in the face while he was swinging down the handrails... not sure if work is the best place for that type of behavior?

FOOD/DRINK - Tranquili-Tea ($14.00): Such beautiful presentation!!! I was in love with the drink right when it came to the table with the gorgeous flower in a elegant cup. The drink wasn't too strong taste-wise which is honestly perfect for me! Loved the mix of flavors, was super easy to drink and enjoy.

Miso Glazed Eggplant ($12.00): 3 halves of Eggplant, all fairly small in respect to normal sized Eggplants. I do think the flavor was very tasty, but the portion size left me wanting more. Worth a try though!

Hamachi Kama ($18.00): This has got to be the biggest Kama I've ever gotten! Was honestly shocked at how big the piece of Kama was, but I did not complain. The meat itself was very juicy, and easy to pick off pieces.

Miso Black Cod ($19.00): Similar to the Eggplant, portion size was disappointing but the flavor was top notch. Cod itself was super moist and flaky, not dry at all. Wish they gave more Gai Lan too!

Crispy Rice + Spicy Tuna ($16.00): Pretty large chunks of Spicy Tuna on top of the Crispy Rice. I do think the Crispy Rice seemed a bit stale, not sure if they had it waiting to be served but it did not give a great crunch - rather a sticky chew.

Sushi + Sashimi: We mainly ordered a la carte and got the following fish:

Ikura ($10.00 - Sashimi, 5pcs): Served on top of a Shiso Leaf and Cucumber. We did order some rice on the side in case it proved to be too overwhelming, but the Salmon Roe was very fresh and delicious!

Hamachi Toro ($9.00 - Nigiri, 2pcs): Similar to the Sake Toro, very buttery and fatty. This did have a bit more of a fishy taste than I'd like.

Engawa ($9.00 - Nigiri, 2pcs): I was surprised to see this listed as it's usually a "if you know, you know" type of deal where you have to specifically ask the chef for this. Chefs in the past have let us know how limited this is, and it proved to be true as Azuki had to let us know they only had 2 pieces left to serve. Very interesting texture - I would try it at least once and see what you think of it!

Hotate ($7.00 - Nigiri, 2pcs): Surprised at the price of this, as they're usually more expensive! They have excellent quality of Scallop here, no resistance at all when you bite through it!

Spicy Scallop Roll ($11.00, 8pcs): Similar to their Scallop Nigiri, the Scallops in the roll were amazing quality. Usually when a restaurant says "spicy" anything, it's very mild - however here, the togarashi spice on top definitely gives a kick!

OVERALL - Pleasantly surprised at the quality of fish that is being served here! If a friend were to ask for a recommendation for a casual sushi spot with sharable plates, I would give Azuki as an option! However, for more traditional and Omakaze experiences, I would have to suggest my...

Azuki Sushi is an elevated sushi restaurant located in Banker’s Hill by Balboa park. I visited this restaurant twice within a month and I had a great experience each time. We had an indoor reservation the first time and for the second, we only were able to snag a patio table. Try to get your reservations early so you can get a table inside because it was super cold outside (thankfully they had heaters). Also try to come earlier than your reservation time because parking can be a nightmare in that area depending on when you go.

Ambiance/Service: The inside looks elevated with modern decorations and lower light. There are two levels inside. The outdoor patio gave the same vibe but it was just so cold and the tables are on a slanted hill. Service both times were great. Our servers were attentive and made sure to check up on us periodically. Food and drinks came out quickly.

Food: -Crispy Rice and Spicy Tuna ($18): 4 pieces; perfect appetizer, I’d get this one again. -Karaage ($15): our waiter recommended us a different kind of karaage other than the Salt and Pepper listed on the menu. I forgot how he described it but it was delicious! He mentioned that it’s a little spicy but I didn’t notice the spice that much. Chicken was crispy. -Classic Sashimi ($38): came with 12 pieces and each piece was a good size but honestly, I wouldn’t order again. -Kobe Roll ($28): the seared A5 wagyu on top really gave it a nice flavor and texture. This is my favorite roll -r u kidding me? Roll ($28): served much differently than other rolls— in a bowl and topped with a biiggg heap of flash fried leeks. The leeks were delicious but once we got to the roll itself, it was kind of meh in my opinion. -Sunshine Roll ($22): salmon roll with avocado and salmon on top. It tasted pretty good but I didn’t like that some pieces had mostly avocado on top and others had mostly salmon. I would have appreciated that it was more even on all pieces. -Scorpion Roll ($21): loved the crispiness of tempura soft-shell crab on top. Comes with 6 large pieces. This is my 2nd favorite after Kobe. -Uni Toast ($25): only 2 pieces; uni with chopped toro, prosciutto, truffle aioli. There was so much toro on the toast that it overpowered the uni. I’d skip this one next time, as I don’t believe it was worth the price.

Overall: After my two great experiences, I know that I’ll continue to come back to...

Overall: 3.9/5 (takeout)

Ordered to go over the phone on a Thursday night. Was put on hold for almost 5 minutes. We asked if the food could be ready in 35 minutes (instead of 50-55 minutes if you order on their website) so they had to check with the chef to confirm. They were able to do it and had the food packaged and ready by the time I got there. I love how they label the sauces with the associated roll's names. Do I think their sushi is worth it? Absolutely not. There's way better sushi for less. Also the sushi roll size is small.

The set-up isn't that great as well. They have the check-in station outside since there's no room inside so people are gathered around on the sidewalk in a non-orderly fashion. They only have one person checking in who's responsible for seating and taking calls so when I got there, the person was taking another party upstairs then a bunch of groups showed up after me and you couldn't tell who was next. A server helped checked in guests but they couldn't seat or hand over my package; the host had to do it. Another lady handed me my food and had me signed the receipt so it took me about 5 minutes to pick up my food.

Super Dragon ($23): It's just a regular dragon roll with sweet potato chips on top. You can't really eat the chips with the roll as well since the pieces are too big. It's interestingly but the unagi was too fresh for my taste.

Kobe ($26): The best roll of the 3. The seared wagyu beef was actually soft. The tiger prawn was succulent. Definitely better than the wagyu roll at Cloak & Petals.

R U Kidding Me ($27): This roll looked like the most popular roll on Yelp but it ended up being the most disappointing. The seared tuna was a funny color that made it look unappetizing to be honest. The first piece was okay but the second piece was really fishy. The tempura asparagus was not crunchy at all but really soft. Didn't even know it was tempura until I looked up the roll on the menu. The best thing was the flashed fried leeks on top of the mixed green with the garlic...