Hatsuzakura — Restaurant in San Diego

I visited this cute place on 9/30/23. Originally I was little hesitant to visit due to the mixed reviews from yelp. You know how Yelp reviews are.... But I am so glad that I did it. Per reviewed and search, I did "wait list" a week before. I was not sure how the "wait list" works but I did it anyway. As soon as I arrived the area, I got a text then walked to the door to wait my friend. I planned to wait outside seating area until my friend arrival but then started raining harder. Sooner later, restaurant staff greeted me and invited me inside. I arrived early enough to relax but also my check in was little early but I am very appreciative of the Restautant consideration.

Immediate stepped inside, I felt good vibes with cute and warm comfy setting. I decided to enjoy a hojicha latte while my friend arrival due to the traffic issues. The Hojicha latte was so good! It was little cold outside but I did iced hojicha.

Once my friend arrived, she asked what I was enjoying, told her about hojicha latte. She did try hot hojicha latte, she was so pleased with rich nutty flavor.

We ordered, karaage, doria and omu rice. Karaage was so good! I could not stop enjoying it. Highly recommended.

Doria - looks good. My friend enjoyed it. Her first time having doria.

Omu rice - I enjoyed it. I do not know when the last time was, I enjoyed omu rice.

We got full even though non of us finished our plates so no sweets to try.

Next time, Id love to try some dessert menu along with hojicha or matcha latte.

This restaurant is small. Wait is expected. If you planned to enjoy your dining experience, highly recommend to join the wait list a week advance for your time slot.

Street parking was very easy for us but it may be different scenario per...

Hatsazukara is a very intimate restaurant located in a quiet neighborhood in University Heights. When driving to the place, at first I thought I had the wrong address but it’s just a little hidden. Once you enter, you’ll see how amazing the decor and ambiance is inside. Our party of 2 ate here for lunch on Thursday and there were still many seats available, though I can see how a long wait can form during dinner/busier times. There were a few 4-person seats, a few 2-person seats, bar seats, and 1 bigger table on the patio that can maybe seat around 6 people.

Our server was very attentive and our food came out fairly quickly. There’s a separate tea menu that featured milk teas (all iced) and loose leaf tea (hot or iced). I opted for the Okinawa Brown Sugar Milk Tea ($8.50) and it was delicious! My friend ordered hot Matcha Latte which also tasted great. We ordered the Full Set + $7.50 for 1 entree, soup, salad/rice, and 1 small dessert. -Guratan ($17): creamy baked macaroni casserole that was bigger than what we had seen in the pictures. It was so creamy and delicious and was pretty filling -Yakisoba ($15) + sub shrimp ($3): it was filling and had a generous amount of little shrimps in the dish though I think it could used just a tad bit more flavor -For the small desserts as part of the full set, you get an option for either regular mochi or mochi ice cream. We opted for Matcha Mochi Ice Cream which had 1 piece cut in half. It was pretty delicious!

Absolutely loved the vibe inside this restaurant and would come back again for their teas and to try out more things on their...

I had a salad which was perfect except the chicken I ordered with it was excessively salty. Nobody seemed to apologize or even try to make things right. I tried one piece of chicken and it felt like I was eating a salt pack. I tried another in case I just happened to get the saltiest piece, but each of the pieces of chicken were very salty. After I told the waitress, I ordered it next with a side of shrimp. It was kind of disappointing because they give you a few baby shrimp and some of the pieces were also pretty salty, but I didn’t want to call them out on it. My daughter had the curry udon. The taste was great, but because they put the beef on top of it, it was quite oily. The salmon onigiri was fantastic and well worth the price. It was my favorite savory item we ordered.

The best part was dessert. We had strawberry and mango shaved ice. It was enormous and they use fresh fruit. I think they make their own flavored sauces too. It comes with whipped cream which adds a nice touch.

I also tried the 3 mochi sticks. It was not what I expected. I got it to go, and the three skewers of mochi were very puny soggy and wet. They packed the sauces on the side. It was not very appetizing for the price that you pay. You can get better mochi in the Japanese markets.

Overall, I think it’s a really great place to go for a beverage and dessert. The shop is very cute and beautifully decorated. It is like stepping into Japan and savoring the beauty of the cherry blossom season. It’s definitely worth trying as an...