Genki Sushi — Restaurant in San Diego

Majorly disappointing. I came in for lunch with my son, and while we were seated promptly, we were given no menus and let to sit for a while before I had to flag someone down to give us menus. The restaurant was not busy as it was on the later side of the lunch hour, but service was incredibly slow. I ordered handrolls, among other things, and they brought me cut rolls and then tried to blame me for the miscommunication/ wrong order when I not only wrote on the space provided for HANDROLLS, and told the server HANDROLLS. After explaining that they order was incorrect, the server walked over to the sushi counter and started talking shit about me to them. I could hear the whole conversation, I was not seated close to the sushi counter. How rude and unprofessional! I received the correct order. My son had not gotten any of his food yet, and I tried one of the handrolls. There was a really weird and off-putting taste to it. I could not eat it. No one bothered to come by to check on us. I always had to flag them down. It was clear that the service was not great. We ended up getting our food to go. My son's chicken had no spices or seasoning on it, bland bland bland. Such a waste of time and money. And one more thing, the card check out automatically puts 20 something percent as the default for tip! What thee actual FK?! That's a solid no for me. Bad service, bad food, rude wait staff, and you think a 20 something percent tip is warranted?? Nope. Nope. Nope. I won't...

This was my second visit to this sushi restaurant, and I want to make it clear that these three stars go entirely to the sushi bar — to the chef behind the counter who is kind, professional, and extremely skilled. The sushi itself is fresh, beautifully made, and clearly prepared with care. He alone is the reason I came back.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the service staff, particularly the woman who seats and serves guests. On our first visit, we were greeted with a cold, unwelcoming attitude. Anytime I asked about an item on the menu, I was told it would “take too long,” even for simple requests. I placed my order anyway, but her energy made the whole experience feel tense and uninviting.

Our second visit was even worse. When we asked for water, she didn’t serve it — she simply slammed the pitcher on the bar next to me, my son, and his friend. Later, when a dish came out from the kitchen — meant for my son’s friend sitting directly across from me — I let her know it was for him, but instead of handing it to him, she just dropped it in front of me and walked away.

The quality of the food and the sushi chef's professionalism are the saving grace of this restaurant. But I hope the owner or management takes a serious look at the service. One team member with a bad attitude can ruin what others work so hard to build. Again, the 3 stars are strictly for the sushi bar — not the host, not the kitchen staff, and definitely not...

I visited on April 2, 2025 at opening time. I was the only person there. I had never in 25 years experienced this with the previous owners. There was always a line and on weekends the crowd would fill the entire long sushi bar, some arriving an hour before. After dinning there, I understand why. Upon being seated, I received my water with lemon. The 3 lemon slices were tiny from the end of the lemon and provided no flavor. The chef Andy served their cabbage salad which had too much mayo. He also placed a hideous marked tip box 4"x 4" x 7" in front of me. Guys if you provide great food and service, the tips will follow. During this time, both the chef and the owner were watching the golf channel, ignoring the 3 customers at the bar. I believed I looked at the chef's back 75% of the meal time. I ordered 2 rolls and sashimi. The no pressure roll which they claimed they had Akai Hana's secret sauce was far from the original. It tasted soy based and the chef drowned the entire roll to the point it was soggy. The small scallop slices were not the freshest. The spicy tuna in my other roll was a tiny amount, ground way too fine and lacked a spicy flavor. At the end, the owner, never introduced himself or asked how my meal was. Had he interacted with me, I would have shared this review with him instead of writing it!! He just took my payment and returned to watching the women's golf game along...