The Very Best Sushi Restaurants in San Diego 🍣
San Diego boasts 70 miles of beaches, offering a bounty of fresh seafood. Its alluring array of top-notch family attractions, combined with its idyllic climate, makes it a great destination for visiting (and eating!). Gastronomically, the area is renowned for local fare like pork sandwiches, carne asada fries, and fish tacos. However, fabulous sushi can be found everywhere! These are our top picks for San Diego’s freshest sashimi and most delicious sushi rolls.
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Sushi Ota
4529 Mission Bay Drive, San Diego, CA 92109
(858) 868-0925
Sushi Ota is chef-owned and is situated in a modest strip mall between car dealerships. Although the location is not the most ideal, this Japanese outlet offers great food, making it one of the best sushi restaurants in San Diego. The Tuna O Toro is beautifully presented and Instagram worthy. It tasted as good as it looks, and we would highly recommend it, alongside the Sweet Shrimp and Crunchy Salmon Roll. Their ingredients are freshly sourced, ensuring quality sushi. As the restaurant is fairly busy, we recommend a reservation to avoid disappointment.
Photo credit: usarestaurants.info
Azuki Sushi Lounge
2321 5th Ave, San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 238-4760
Azuki stands out not only for its amazing food but its impeccable service, too. It provides an authentic Japanese-like environment that’s unique and inviting. Our favorite dishes were the crispy, spicy rice tuna, sake steamed clam, and tuna firecrackers. The sushi nigiri combos and the salmon were uniquely textured and undoubtedly tasty. Another delicacy was the California roll, made with king crab. We found Azuki great value for money despite the slightly above-average pricing. Consider visiting after 6:00 pm, so as the metered street parking is free at that time.
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Sushi Kuchi
4637 Convoy Street Ste 104, San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 430-6003
Sushi Kuchi offers Asian Fusion and Japanese cuisine alongside their Sushi Bars. Our absolute favorite was the Baked Dynamite Roll – a generous serving of crawfish and crab, topped with dynamite sauce. Their rolls were fresh and tasty. The nigiri was also tastefully pleasant, as well as the salmon skin hand roll. The service personnel were really friendly and welcoming. We enjoyed great discounts the day we opted to dine in – our previous visits here have been take-out. Their ordering system is quite convenient, and you place your order on a paper slip in the menu, indicating the quantity you desire. Though somewhat pricier than its competitors, we got great value for our money.
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Wa Dining OKAN
3860 Convoy St Ste 110, San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 279-0941
Known for its freshness, Wa Dining Okan offers an authentic Japanese cuisine experience. The dishes are unique and tasty, and the presentation is lovely. It is undoubtedly one of the best sushi restaurants in San Diego. Ordering a combo is a great move – we got two pieces each of yellowtail, tuna, and salmon. We would also recommend the sea urchin and scallop carpaccio – lovely presentation and great tasting too. You’ll also be keen to check the Special Menu each time we visited Wa Dining as it is updated constantly. The layout at this restaurant had us feeling like we had time-travelled to Japan too! The service staff even greeted us in Japanese. Overall, it is worth every dollar.
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Full Moon Sushi & Kitchen Bar
926 5th Ave, San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 310-5571
Full Moon is among the best sushi restaurants in San Diego. The third quarter sushi specialty roll was delicious, a combination of mixed crab, shrimp tempura, Serrano, spicy tuna, and cucumber. Another recommendation is the Eclipse Roll. We also had filet mignon and crispy rice, but the sushi was unforgettable. It was all full of flavor and worth every penny. They offer sophisticated flavors of a range of seafood. The ambiance is chic, and their service is exemplary. Full Moon may give off a luxurious vibe, but it is affordable. The setup is lounge-like, and we got to enjoy our selection of drinks as we ate. This outlet is definitely worth another visit.
Photo credit: usarestaurants.info
Soichi Sushi
2121 Adams Ave., San Diego, CA 92116
(619) 677-2220
The ambiance at Soichi is captivating and the atmosphere authentic. It is an Omakase-style restaurant, and the meal presentations are artistic. We enjoyed the Japanese hospitality as we savored our food. Our favorite was the Special Futomaki Roll (a reasonably sized sushi roll with tempura shrimp, cucumber, tuna, sushi rice, Kanpyo and Tamago). It is wrapped in Soichi’s Nori. Others in our group preferred the Nigiri Box C, though this meal is only available for take-out. It includes Tamago, Kanpachi, tuna, salmon, shrimp, scallop, and halibut. It is accompanied by the soup of the day and three pieces of cucumber roll.
Photo credit: Thrillist
Tajima Mercury
4411 Mercury St Ste 110, San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 278-5367
Tajima is quite spacious and can seat almost a hundred guests at a time, and they have parking to match. We opted for one of the small booths as we wanted to enjoy an intimate meal. The music was soothing, and we had local craft beers with our meal. This restaurant offers Izakaya, Ramen, and Sushi. Service is on a first-come basis, and reservations aren’t currently accepted. What stood out the most for us was the superior cleanliness of the restaurant, with emphasis on the restrooms. The spicy tuna roll tasted way better than it looked. The mochi ice cream was great for dessert. We accompanied our meal with Japanese craft beers.
Photo credit: sandiegoville.com
Harney Sushi
Old Town 3964 Harney St, San Diego, CA 92110
(619) 295-3272
Harney offers curbside pick-up and take-out or delivery options, alongside dining in. Their menu provides a blend of Japanese and Asian cuisine alongside sushi. The atmosphere is that of a dimly lit bar and very homely. We got to enjoy their happy hour, which extends to both food and drink. We found watching the sushi chef quite entertaining from our last visit here, so we selected seats at the bar. Although the outlet is a little small, they do not compromise quality. The sesame-bacon edamame was a good start for us. We followed this with the yellowtail ceviche and the Unwritten Law Bacore (sliced sashimi albacore tuna). It was all so flavorful. Harney has two locations in San Diego – Oceanside and Old Town.
Photo credit: usarestaurants.info
Ikiru Sushi
2850 Womble Rd., Suite 105, San Diego, CA 92106
(619) 221-1228
Known for its fair pricing, we placed Ikiru among the best sushi restaurants in San Diego as it offered the best value for money. The nigiri was of superior quality and the accompanying specials, sourced from Tsukiji Fish Market (Japan), were a tasteful addition. The sashimi was quite a delight too. Our all-time favorite was the Panko Special Deep-Fried Roll. It is a combination of avocado, shrimp tempura, gobo, tuna, Masago, and crunchy Panko, all topped with their tasty eel sauce.
Photo credit: usarestaurants.info
Mikami Bar and Revolving Sushi
7319 Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 278-2166
We sampled the sushi at Mikami, one of San Diego’s few revolving restaurants and one of the largest in California. The ambiance was lovely, and the staff was very hospitable. Offering over seventy sushi types, we found it fresh, flavorful, and of superior quality. The plates are color-coded to differentiate between entrées, appetizers, rolls, and sides. Our favorites were the Spicy Tuna Roll, Philadelphia Roll (cream cheese, avocado, and salmon), and garlic fries. Other delicacies were the Shrimp Tempura Roll (cucumber and shrimp tempura) and the Spider Roll (cucumber and soft-shell crab topped with eel and Tobiko sauce).
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