Sushi Ota — Restaurant in San Diego

Sushi Ota — Overhyped, arrogant service, and mediocre quality.

The sushi itself was very hit-or-miss, which was disappointing considering Sushi Ota’s reputation. A few pieces were fresh and enjoyable, but several were surprisingly mediocre. My albacore — which is usually my favorite — tasted unpleasantly fishy. I had to spit it out. For a sushi bar of this price range, that should not happen.

All of the items that involved seaweed — salmon roe nigiri, tuna rolls, eel sushi, and the bluefin ribmeat — were particularly underwhelming. The nori was stale, thick, and chewy in an unpleasant way (almost leathery). Several pieces felt closer to convenience store sushi than to a high-end sushi experience.

But what really ruined the meal was the attitude of the head server.

At the start, we were asked what we’d like to drink. I said “hot water”, my friend said “hot tea”, and she simply acknowledged and moved on — no mention of any additional charge. Only at checkout did we realize green tea was $4. I pointed out that most sushi restaurants clarify such charges upfront, especially when directly asking for drink preferences.

Rather than acknowledging this reasonably, the head server immediately became defensive. She shot me an annoyed glare and snapped, “I didn’t say that." When I said we should have been informed beforehand, she interrupted me and said, “It’s written on the menu.”

When I mentioned that other sushi places we go to — such as Ootoro Sushi in Walnut and Irvine — offer complimentary tea, she gave a short, condescending scoff and said she had never heard of them.

When I realized there was no point arguing further, I simply paid the bill. She took the payment, turned around, and walked away with a scowl on her face, without saying another word — not even a simple “thank you” or “have a good evening.” What kind of service is that?

I fully respect restaurant policies. But if a simple and polite question about transparency is met with arrogance, it says more about the staff’s attitude than about the customer. Good service isn’t about whether you charge for tea — it’s about how you handle the conversation. Not every customer who comes with a budget and cares about details is being “cheap.” Respect should not be tied to how much money you assume your customer is willing to throw at you.

Sushi Ota may have its reputation, but clearly some of its staff have grown too comfortable with the hype — ego fueled by rave reviews — to the point where a server feels entitled to give attitude to customers over a simple question. Treating customers differently depending on their perceived spending class is low.

Quite an embarrassing display for a place with this much “hype.”...

FIRST OMAKASE EXPERIENCE! I had a reservation, we checked in and were seated right away. We told them we wanted to try Omakase ($130 per person), originally we were seated at a table but they moved us to the sushi bar area. In the meantime we ordered a Hot Otokoyama Sake for the table and a Large Asahi Beer for myself. This was great to sip on as the courses were rolled out. First our chef introduced himself and started on the courses. It was great because he explained everything we were eating, where the fish was sourced from and just personal stories. It went like this:

Omakase Course #1 (Zensai): Tuna Poke Salad Omakase Course #2 (Sashimi): Sashimi (Ootoro, Uni, Amberjack, Yellowtail) Omakase Course #3 (Yaki): Roasted Duck with Onion Miso sauce and Fish/Bok Choy with broth Omakase Course #4 (Agemono): Fried Items (Squid, Shrimp, Leaf, Grapes) Red Wine Vinegar Powder and Green Tea Powder Omakase Course #5 (Sushi): Nigiri (Amberjack, Conch, Salmon Belly with Roe, Cherry Salmon, Ootoro, Snapper with Uni (Sea Urchin) Omakase Course #6 (Soup): Miso Soup Omakase Course #7 (Dessert): Black Sesame Ice Cream

My favorite was course #3 which was the Roasted Duck with Onion Miso sauce and Fish/Bok Choy with broth. First of all the Onion Miso sauce was incredible, never had anything like it, just had the right amount of everything. The fish was incredibly flaky and the broth tasted amazing with it. I also liked the course #4 the fried items were really good but the best part was the Red Wine Vinegar Powder, wasn't expecting how much I would have liked it. I really liked the Cherry Salmon in course #5. Lastly the Black Sesame Ice Cream was amazing and the texture of the Sesame was definitely there. What I didn't like was the Uni and the Conch Nigiri in course #5 and #2. Impossible to like everything though! Overall this was a great experience, glad I got to do it at Sushi Ota and I would recommend this to my friends/family...

Last we visited this restaurant was 1 year ago. We just visited again last week, and things have gone downhill…

While the sushi is still excellent and definitely 5 stars, the other aspects of the restaurant have declined dramatically, brining the overall rating of this restaurant down to a 3 star.

Before, we could overlook the bad location, but now there are other things that really bring this restaurant down. The service, to start, while attentive and friendly, was not the service of a high end restaurant, but more like going to a Denny’s. Also, it seems they changed something about how the rice is made, as the taste was just “off”, and did not compliment the otherwise excellent sushi. We ordered a fried chicken dish (karaage) for our child in addition to sushi, and it was shockingly bad - I even thought it may have been spoiled. The interior of the restaurant is now very old, and again, instead to feeling like you are eating at a high end restaurant, it feels like a very worn chain den.

Below is my prior review, and I had before rated OTA as a 5 star, but they have fallen, and now only a 3 star given everything as a whole. I am sad this place has fallen so far. We used to come here for special occasions - but that won’t happen anymore. There are a number of much better Sushi restaurants to go to in San Diego.

Amazing customer service and wonderful sushi. Not in the best area of San Diego, but the sushi is probably the best this side of Japan. Best to make reservations...