Nice place for Mother's Day…read more The yellow tail sushi nigiri was the best. The wings are excellent but the size of them has really shrunk. So probably won't order again as there was not a lot of meat on them. The Gogo roll was good but it was a lot of rice. More than I remember. Love the ambiance here and will still Come back

I have a hard time reviewing this place because I expected more service from a place one spends…read more$600 at. There were only a few of us in the restaurant because it was raining. We booked a 1:30pm reservation for 7 (4 kids). Nobody told us that they were closing at 2pm so when they told us it was last call for food and drinks, I was shocked and to be truly honest, angry. This place is not cheap. It seemed they were more interested in closing their books than giving my family (serious sushi lovers) the respect and patience we deserved. Frankly, they lost out as we would have purchased more sushi, but were pressured to order before last call, when we got our first order at 1:45. I won't be returning because as good as the sushi was, I prefer better service and not being rushed out the door.

This place was absolutely amazing! Fresh and delicious. The service was impeccable. We bought beers…read morefor the chefs and they blessed us with some amazing sake as a return gift. The restaurant is cozy but clean and tidy. We had a special, the "Fresa" roll. "Fresa" means strawberry in Spanish and at first, I was totally turned off because fish and strawberries did not sound good but holy moly! This was the BEST roll I've ever eaten in my life. Would definitely visit again, and look forward to visiting in the future.

First time trying Kai Ola Sushi, and it definitely lived up to the hype, 10/10 high quality fish…read more The food was outstanding, but the tuna was the star of the meal. Incredibly fresh, flavorful, and some of the best I've had. Great food, friendly service, and I'll definitely be back. low key and hole in the wall type vibes. Small intimate dining experience

This place was SO delicious and great quality. The workers were super nice and the food was…read moredelectable. The service was excellent even on a friday night the workers are so fast! Arigato gozaimas i had SUCH a good dinner today.

Gonzo Ramen is literally the best restaurant to ever exist. Their atmosphere offers unique decor,…read morenot to mention they have the best food, and the employees there are really nice. I always enjoy dining there with my family because they have good food that we can all enjoy together. Every year for my birthday I go to Gonzo! I simply love eating at Gonzo. First of all, I can't get over how scrumptious their food is, it is so tasty and packed with flavor. If you stand in line to order, as soon as you sit down you will have already been served. I don't know how Gonzo prepares their meals so fast, yet so delicious. Also the fact that they cook their food fresh daily is crazy to me. I've been to many ramen restaurants and no one compares to Gonzo's. My go to on the menu is the tonkotsu ramen with gyoza and chicken karaage. Gonzo also offers a very unique atmosphere that makes you feel like you're in Japan. They have waving cats, a big banana neon light, posters and a floating ball on top of the water station. The ball is so cool but I am still puzzled on how it works. Their decor can not be matched. They also have a TV that is always playing Anime. You can also sit inside or outside so if you feel like sitting inside, sit inside but if you want to sit outside, sit outside. Gonzo also does not offer reservations so there is always a place to sit. If there is nowhere to sit just get It to go, truly there is no other ramen stop better than Gonzo. Lastly, the people there are super nice, and always check up on you, they are very polite, and they always say your welcome. While you wait, you can enjoy your appetizers until your main meal arrives. Also if you ask them for a free ticket to their store, they will give you one, each member of the family gets one. You can go next door and trade them in for tokens, these tokens can be used to play claw machines so you can win stuff. But what tops that off is that all of the employees are welcoming and happy. Gonzo Ramen is the best restaurant in the world. They offer good food, an amazing atmosphere and the people there are super nice not to mention the location is very conveniently located near my house. I seriously think about Gonzo all the time. Gonzo is that go to place for me and my family.

My friend and I came here for lunch after a Pilates workout in Carlsbad Village. It wasn't too…read morebusy, and we decided to try the Sushi Omakase Box. It was beautifully presented, fresh, and delicious! For the price, I thought it was a great deal. It came with three thick slices of seven different types of sashimi, plus uni and seaweed salad. My favorites were the albacore, salmon, and yellowtail. We also tried the caramelized eggplant as an appetizer, and it was so good and addicting! We were completely stuffed by the end of our meal. We sat outside on the patio and loved the bright decor and chill atmosphere. Service was quick, and our server was super sweet and attentive. It was the perfect lunch after a good workout. I would definitely come back!

Blue Ocean deserves the right to go into my Top 10 list of Sushi restaurants. Everything we…read moreordered was amazing. Each plate had its own design, everything was so beautiful. It's a little more expensive here compared to other Carlsbad sushi restaurants. But with your very first bite, you'll immediately realize why this sushi is a bit more expensive. It's worth it! It was a great day. The sushi melted in your mouth. Each plate of sushi was decorated by a sushi master. I've had my fair share of sushi in my life. I stated eating sushi in 1984, I'm 66 now and I still love a sushi restaurant with a bit of flare. Blue Ocean checked all of the boxes. Nothing, not one thing we ordered disappointed us. It was just the opposite, everything we ordered was absolutely delicious. It really was perfection on a plate. The service here was a level up from other sushi restaurants. It's an amazing day when great food gets combined with stellar service. Then and only then, you know it's going to be a great night out. It only takes one bad bite to send you reeling. The ambiance and the decor of Blue Ocean is top notch. I don't think anyone else can truly compete with them. We moved East 18 months ago. We have not found a sushi restaurant that can even boast reasonable sushi. But Carlsbad can. Well done Blue Ocean, you all made my day! From start to finish, your team was spot on with whatever we needed. It was the perfect storm. Sushi for everyone! We ordered the Earthquake cut role, Padres, 3 cuts of Blue Fin belly sushi, Sweet Shrimp, spicy Yellowtail cut roll, Albacore sushi, and there's more that I can't even remember right now, but we enjoyed every single bite. I highly recommend Blue Ocean. You will not be disappointed.

Ken Sushi Workshop is one of my favorite sushi restaurants in San Diego. Their sushi rolls are a…read morebit pricey at $25 - $32 per roll, but the rolls are unique and the fish quality is fantastic, so they are certainly worth the price! The restaurant gets pretty busy, so I would definitely recommend making a reservation beforehand. My favorite sushi rolls are the hula (has matcha crunchies on top) and the twister (wrapped with fried potato). The crispy rice is also a delicious appetizer! For dessert, the matcha tiramisu or the lava cake are both solid options. There is indoor, outdoor, and bar seating, and lots of golf decor. Would definitely recommend checking this place out!

This is one of the best sushi places in SD! It's definitely a best kept secret. The food and…read moreservice is on point! It's in a business office complex. The crispy tuna was ridiculously gold! The rice is crispy, the tuna and avocado is so delicious. Has the perfect rice and tuna ratio. This is a must get. All the sushi here is buttery and just melts in your mouth. I loved the salmon belly, toro, and tuna cheek. You can taste the quality and freshness of the fish. The A5 wagyu is insanely good! It's smokey, buttery soft, and rich. This was our favorite dish of the night. The bring the tuna cheek in this cool smokey container. I used my chopsticks to split it in half and it's so soft it just cuts through so easily. For rolls, I really liked the workplace roll. It had a little hint of coconut, crispy, and creamy texture. The ice cream was interesting! I'm not an uni person, but the uni ice cream was creamy and really good! The black truffle is pieces of black truffle with vanilla ice cream. It has a strong truffle flavor, but somehow works lol The matcha creme brûlée has a strong matcha flavor. I thought it could've had a more balanced, creamy flavor.

This was her first time coming here. We've driven by this place so many times on our way to other…read moreplaces that I never realized it was here but yesterday when I was looking for a sushi place in our area, I sorted by the top rated, and this was one of the top ones so I thought it would only be fair for us to give it a chance when we arrive to the parking lot I realized that it shares a parking lot with a motel so parking can be a little bit tricky. We had to park down in the far end in front of a Starbucks that looked closed, so I'm sure there are some peak times that this shopping center is very hard to park in so just a heads up. The restaurant itself is very beautiful inside the bar looks really great. They've got some beers on top and there's also a sushi bar that you could sit in front of. I don't know if they take reservations, but we didn't have any. It was just the two of us and we were seated at a high top right away. I think they were a little bit busy so it took a moment for somebody to come by and get our drink order we ordered a couple of beers and a little bit of sake and a couple of waters. I do want to add a sidenote that those waters never appeared, but I realize that everybody was a little bit busy that night so I'll always forgive a slight oversight. Onto the ordering, we started off the evening with the Hamachi with jalapeños over a cucumber salad, and that was delicious and then we had some sashimi, which was really good as well. My husband had ordered the crab croquettes when we got there, and it was at the end of the meal when our waitress came over after I asked about them that she said that the kitchen had just informed her that they no longer have them so a little inconvenient when like 30 minutes had passed I realized they weren't coming so it wasn't too big of a deal, but my husband was very excited about those and he didn't get them lol. My husband, I think had their namesake role and he really liked it. I had their salmon skin handle. It was all right. I really liked their avocado maki roll, but I like that everywhere. I think it was the owner or maybe a manager who came by and asked us how everything was. I let him know. It was our first time and they were gracious enough to give us a free dessert which was deep-fried Biscoff cookies with vanilla ice cream many other delicious things that I'm sure I'm not naming and everything about it was really good. Five stars for the overall experience I think we'll be back another time.

Came here on a Sunday evening in a group of 3. The restaurant is in a plaza so there is plenty of…read moreparking. When we got inside, we were able to pick our seats. The restaurant has bar seating, where you can see the chefs prepare the sushi rolls in front of you, or regular table seating. It's spacious and clean, and they have some TVs on the wall where they were playing golf and soccer games. They offer traditional sushi offerings, such as nigiri and sashimi, and rolls, but also have hot appetizers, ramen and rice dishes. We opted to get sushi rolls this time. We ordered the spicy salmon roll, the rainbow roll, dragon roll, limitless roll, truffle shuffle roll, karaage and the 3x3 sashimi combo roll. The rolls didn't have too much rice on it and had a lot of the ingredients inside. There were about 8 pieces per roll. Our favorite ended up being the truffle shuffle roll. The fish was fresh. The karaage was lighter than I'm used to, I believe they used white meat instead of dark meat and it wasn't as oily. The staff are very friendly and attentive. They came by to ask us how we liked our food and brought us water refills. Would come here again to try the other rolls!

Family brought me for early Mother's Day Dinner and I had no idea such a place existed here in…read moreOceanside. The unassuming exterior and simple but elegant interior greeted us with low lighting and quiet atmosphere. We sat at a table of 6 and immediately knew we were in for a treat. We all had the 10 course meal and although I can't do justice to describing each item- let's just say every bite is a treat for the tastebuds. You could do substitutions and add ons. I added wagyu for additional 55$ but I'm sure the duck would of been just as good. The pork too surprised me as my family raised pigs as a kid and I don't usually eat but the pork dish- with pigs that were raised with special diet and spa-like treatment/ well... the stories added to the dish. Things like pine were unexpected delights. The drinks were all amazing and we tried mixed drinks, sake, and something I rarely see and is worth noting- great mocktails. The service was outstanding and everyone was friendly, polite, knew their job, and quietly was there between each course with fresh silverware. All was completed with a sense of effortlessness. My daughter mentioned to her dad she was waiting on a drink and the manager heard and without hesitation said it was on the way/ and on the house. We chuckled as the bill of course was more than we had ever spent on a single meal, but enjoyed every minute. What struck me about ambiance is we felt as if we were the only ones there although I saw several tables on other side of restaurant. In addition although 6 of us in a circle - we were able to converse with each other with ease. Come with an open mind and be prepared for the best meal you may ever have. Pricey but worth it if you want to create a memory sure to please.

3.5 stars We came here because they're closing at the end of…read morethe month. So, Yes it was a bit pricy but i wanted to try it before it closed. Made reservations online for the tasting menu $225. The place is in the middle of nowhere, from the outside you'd never guess it was fine dining. We started off with a trio of little bites, a tile fish gungakn roll, fried mochi threads, and an acorn cracker filled with camembert cheese. The raw tile fish gunkan was ok, the mochi threads were nice and crunchy, the camembert cheese was too pungent for me. Hamachi/Raspberry - slices of Yellow tail and raspberry in a ponzu sauce. The ponzu stood out most and gave it a salty profile i couldn't really distinguish between the hamachi and the raspberry as the textures were similar. Artichoke Kohlrabi gyoza with a bri sauce. This dish was very good though i thought it was more like ravioli than gyoza. It even looked like ravioli. I think they just called it gyoza to make it fit the Japanese theme. Shrimp tempura was delicious! it was lightly battered and fried and put in a shallow bowl of shrimp broth. They said it came with dynamite sauce but i think it was just kewpie mayo. Very good and one of my favorites of the evening. Chicken wing stuffed with scallop, part of the wing was deboned and stuffed with a Hokkaido scallop. It was very tasty, the scallop was very sweet and tender. I wish the skin of the chicken wing was crispier. It was quite charred but did not crack when bitten into it and a little rubbery. Tile fish had a very crispy skin and came with a beautiful sauce of i think apples and apricots and a walnut butter. I really liked the sauce that was spooned on the plate. another one of my favorites of the evening. Duck done 2 ways; roasted and a fried tsukune meatball. They both came in a light carrot sauce. The fat on the roasted piece was nicely rendered and the duck meat very tender. The tsukune was nicely fried and crispy and still rare inside. The palate cleanser was a pine ice cream with Aloe Jelly, The pine ice cream was quite refreshing and smooth i thought the aloe jelly was a bit strong tasting. I think flavor came from the geranium but something had a strong taste to it. The dessert was also one of my favorites White chocolate with hokkaido milk powder on top of miso ice cream and slices of tangerine. It was supposed to be reminiscent of a creamsicle. The Hokkaido milk power was magic on the shards of white chocolate, the miso ice cream was very smooth and dense and when eaten together with the pieces of manderin orange did remind me of a creamsicle. They gave us a trio of finishing dishes a trio of bites; Castella cake, Kokuto jelly and raspberry mochi. The castella cake didn't really stand out, it wasn't the sweet dense cake that im used to. The kokuto jelly had that deep brown sugar taste but was too stiff in my opinion. The raspberry mochi had a strong raspberry flavor which i loved and had a good chew to it. Service was exceptional, water was filled many times almost every time the water glass went down 1/4 it was filled to the top. Each course was preceded with the proper utensiles and were cleared after each dish. i must have had at least 4 forks and 4 spoons. Definilty 5 star (Michilin style) service. Food was very good maybe 4 stars. Value was ok maybe 3 stars. If you divided the courses by the price it came to $25 per course. If you looked at the ala cart menu, many of the items were there and could be had for less than $25, of course not all the dishes on the tasting menu were available ala cart. But i feel if you sat at the bar and ordered a cocktail and maybe 5-6 dishes you't still pay a hefty price but it would be much less than $225. I feel like thats the way to go instead of the tasting menu. Come here if you want exceptional service.

When you see lettuce/greens and a lemon served with a tantem ramen you know the place is either not…read moregood or is trying too hard. Average at best when compared to Menya Ultra.

Food and service were exceptional as always. Chicken paitan DX is my go to. I always think it…read moreis a duck dish because it is so rich.

Every time I visit Samurai the food is so good that I make a mental note that I need to visit more…read morefrequently, and my last visit was no exception. It was my birthday so I got to pick the restaurant. Samurai has been dishing up some of the freshest catches for decades, and they still have it running perfectly. The full bar, teppan yaki room, huge sushi bar and dining area are all excellent. We sat at a table and started with cold unfiltered Sake and a stuffed red tomato, but with scallops instead of tuna inside. I had forgotten how much I love them and my mouth is watering as I type my review. Next up, Dynamite which is one of my favorites and my family loved this dish. Each of us ordered a cut roll to share and we had a fantastic dinner. Give Samurai a try and thank me later.

We had a Tepanyaki dinner at Samura…read more Food was very good filet mignon was excellent but prawns were kind of meh. I would stick with steak. The soup, salad, and vegetables were very good but the quantities were on the small side. We picked regular white rice but having fried rice might be a good idea for variety. Service was good. Chef Aki was very cordial and professional. Ambiance was good, but I guess it can be hit or miss depending on the groups you're sharing the grill with.