A great option for a quick Japanese meal while shopping at the outlets…read more We had the avocado, tuna and salmon rolls. We also had the salmon lunch special. We appreciated the size of the rolls. The rice could have been seasoned a little more but for the price it was a good deal. The salmon was a little on the dry side but they had extra teriyaki sauce at the counter. The staff members were all nice and the restaurant was fairly clean and spacious.

Super affordable spot for some casual Japanese food but it does close early in the evening so I…read moreusually come for lunch! Portions are a great size and I always get the chicken teriyaki bento with asian green salad. Good spot if you are in the area!

We have lived in the Carlsbad area for 20 years and never went to Hooked on sushi. A friend told me…read moreit was her favorite sushi place. My husband and I went and was very much impressed. First of all cleanliness and restaurant design. The food was delicious and our server Graciela was excellent. We will definitely be going back.

One of my absolute favorite sushi places! They have such a great variety of sushi, and everything…read moreis always fresh and delicious. Even my little one, who was 3 at the time, loves sushi here! The atmosphere is really nice and welcoming. Lunch is usually calm and relaxing, while nighttime can be more lively with a louder atmosphere. The service is always great, and everyone is so friendly. This is one of my go-to sushi spots whenever I'm craving sushi!

My first time at GONZO, and I absolutely loved it! The food was delicious, the service was…read moreexcellent, and the atmosphere was wonderful. Everything about my experience was enjoyable, and I had such a great time. I'll definitely be returning, and I highly recommend GONZO to anyone looking for a great place to eat. Can't wait to go back!

Gonzo is our goto favorite place each year when we visit Carlsbad. We love the retro 80s and 90s…read moreJapanese posters of multiple ads, anime posters like Captajn Tsubasa or Conan's future world. Their menu us straight forward and simple, you go up order what you want and get a number and wait for food to show up. We always order back garlic tonkotsu ramen. Flavor profile is great deep thick pork bone broth with black garlic oil infused in. Their small fried snack items like chicken karage is good, tasty, on point. They do also sell all kind of snacks with the restaurant as well as having a separate place for the claw machines for prices!! The restaurant itself is not big, lots of 2 and 4 tops with one big booth in the corner for larger group of guests. This is our must go places annually and love that their broth is not as greasy as other we had tried in Goleta or Las Vegas ramen shop. A definite 5 star place

We came in for a late dinner while in the area. I've had it bookmarked for a while so it was…read moreserendipitous that we happened to be in Vista for a birthday party just around the corner. The restaurant is small, cozy, welcoming and aesthetically pleasing. It isn't well suited for larger parties as most tables are tables for 2 unless tables are pushed together. They do have patio seating and heaters outside, but it didn't appeal to me being so close to the street/loud traffic. Gabriel checked us in, seated us, took our order, served our food and waited on us for majority of our visit, I would give him 10 stars just on his impeccable service. The food though? The food was AMAZING!! Everything we ordered was the best we have ever had anywhere. The buns were very kawaii (and we ordered ever single one to try). The fillings were savory, but we also loved their seasonal panda bun with ube filling while the kids preferred the nutella bunny. Best chicken karaage we've had by far, the coating almost tasted like it was rolled in kinako powder. The ramen broth was "chef's kiss" with so much flavors, the crab rangoon were jumbo and the filling was delicious, but the chicken katsu was also the best we have had anywhere (including Hawaii). The breading was just top tier crunchy while the chicken was thick and juicy. There isn't one bad thing I could say about this place, from the service to the food, I would make the drive out here again. Super duper, highly recommend, don't sleep on this little place, you'll regret it!

Okay, I found out Harumama Ramen + Sushi was in my neighborhood so I had to check it out. I wanted…read moreto see if it's the same as another one I've been to about 20 minutes away. Since I'm a lover of information, I looked up "Harumama". It's a combination of two words: the Korean word haru, which means "day," and "mama". Together, it translates to "mom's daily food". The name reflects the restaurant's mission to serve dishes prepared with the same love, care, and attention that a mother gives to her family's everyday meals. How lovely is that?! Anyhow, I was able to find street parking and walked into a clean dining space with a nice atmosphere. It wasn't too busy. Again, the staff was very attentive and provided stellar service. My food came out pretty fast. I loooved how my Drunken Noodles had the right amount of chicken and peanuts. Overall, another fun flavorful time. I'm still a Harumama fan. I can't wait to try more dishes. I highly recommend this location to the Yelp Community!!

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.

Ok ok I'll say it, this might be my new favorite sushi place! They were poppin on a Sunday night…read morebut our party of two was seated quickly. The staff was moving quickly but stopped to check on us in passing. I'm all about two specific dishes. The TNT was so tasty. I loved the fried onions on top of the roll. I've never had anything like this. The onions weren't soft in the middle and fries on the outside. Such a great addition. As for the TROPICAL SEARED CARPACCIO, just woooow. It's not what I expected! It's like a nigiri but instead of rice it had imitation crab on the bottom. To top it all off it had cilantro and a tiny slice of lime on top. Yum, it was so fresh and delicious. I keep craving these guys! Can't wait to come back.

Visiting from out of town, and we enjoyed this place a year ago so we came back again. We came…read morehere for an early dinner on a Monday and it wasn't crowded. The outside patio was nice. It wasn't too sunny and had a breeze. I don't know if it is everyday, but the bar downstairs had karaoke. The food was delicious and portions were big. The Beach Bum is their version of a spicy tuna on crispy rice. Each bite was a mouthful and it was delicious. I ordered their salmon skin roll, thinking it would be a small roll since I wasn't that hungry. Well, I struggle to finish it all. It was just too much for me. My daughter order the Tasha Combo 1. It says substitution, but my daughter is allergic to shrimp. They were able to swap it out with another salmon for an up charge. She enjoyed it a lot. We also got two Udon soups, which my wife and son liked a lot. My other daughter got the Salmon Teriyaki, which she loved. For the vegetarian, there is a good variety. The udon soup is vegetarian and we just got one without the fish cakes. We also got the fried tofu without the bonito flakes (which is fish). Overall, a very nice place for Japanese food. We definitely will come again.

I wholeheartedly agree with a lot of the yelpers on here. I got to take the team out for a great…read morelunch here today. It was absolutely amazing. For $25 you get a starter (think edamame, marinated cucumbers, dumplings, etc.), a choice of Chicken, Pork or Beef, and a soft drink. It also includes all the dipping sauces, broth, rice and vegetables. Everyone loved that you could customize it to their own liking and it was just a fun experience cooking together with everyone. Definitely will come back and it was an awesome value at only $25 a person.

I want to start by saying that I very much enjoyed eating at Tabu Shabu. It's very fair to state…read morethat my three star experience is mostly my own doing more so than the restaurant itself. Our server was fantastic, the setup clean, and the menu was fairly easy to navigate. Where it fell apart for me all came after that. This is not my style of cooking. So many places I've been to, where you cook your own food on a grill or hot plate at your table, you're mainly dealing with thin cuts of meat, salt and pepper, and possibly a dipping sauce. This makes the cooking simple, a quick sear, a light crust on the beef or pork, and the finished product is basic and delicious. Shabu, though ... it's boiled meat. That's not to say that Tabu Shabu isn't good, but unless you're really adept at making soups, it's easy to be completely out of your element. And I can safely say I was a bit over my head at this restaurant. You start with your broth, where I am ashamed to admit that instead of opting for the Tonkostu with its deep and rich fatty flavor, I chose the basic umami of the White Miso. Because of that, I spent most of my meal mistakenly chasing flavors I would normally find in a Ramen Shop. They give you a plate of chopped herbs to add and some basic instructions ... I like garlic, so I added the whole thing, radish sound alright, so add in the whole ball, what was the last thing I put in? They give you a few squeeze bottles of oils with paper labels ... this one makes it more sour, this one makes it more spicy, this one has sesame, and I'm too timid to add enough of any to truly add to the flavor of the broth, so it just keeps that basic umami flavor without being as salty as it should be. Then you have a plate of vegetables to steep in your creation. Cabbage, broccoli, spinach, bok choy, tofu ... all of it serves as a way of soaking up that broth you've made. Other options, like the carrots, mushrooms, and squash, become sweet and tender after taking their turns in the pot. And they're nice as they offer a different flavor other than that umami. And then there's the meat. A wide variety of options ranging from salmon, to chicken, to pork, all the way down to multiple versions of beef. But, all of the meats we ordered seem to differ only in texture after spending some time in that broth. Some fell apart on the tongue, some still had a nice chew, but all shared that umami from the pot, with an aftertaste of beefy flavor before swallowing. After a few initial pieces, I found myself thankful for the dipping sauces to distract me from how boring I had made my broth to be. You also get a choice of rice, which I don't think you really need. You get a choice of noodles, which they give you a good amount where it doesn't fill you up with carbs. And anything left over is readily bagged up to eat at home after the flavors mix together and mature. In the end, it's a very filling and fairly healthy meal. I think it's difficult to not compare this to eating a bowl of Pho or Ramen. All the ingredients are there, just instead of eating it with a spoon, you pull out the individual bits with some chop sticks and pretend you're not eating boiled beef and spinach. If I were a better cook, or had another ten visits worth of practice, Tabu Shabu could easily be 4-5 stars. As it is, though, I think I would rather just go to GONZO and get another chef's creation to be sure of the flavors I want. Regardless, I want to come back here and try again one day. The variety of options and the wait staff alone are enough for me to learn more and expand my Shabu options, as well as recommend this place to others.

The restaurant is so beautiful. They made the inside really nice and have really nice green clam…read moreshell looking chairs. We went during lunch time so got the lunch special with sushi and a roll. It also came with miso soup and salad. I really thought it was delicious and a great price

We tried Fish Boon looking for a different sushi place in the area. Restaurant is newer with a…read moremellow decor and atmosphere. Had a variety of rolls and an appetizer of toro tartare. Rolls wise had rainbow spider, yellowtail mania and bachata crunch. Of the 3 yellowtail mania was my favorite. Sadly bachata crunch just didn't do it for us and had a weird texture and flavor. The toro appetizer was really good. A couple highlights was the hamachi kama and cucumber salad. Loved those pickled cucumbers. Drinks wise they had a good selection of drinks, sake, wine and soju. We had soju which was pretty typical for most local sushi places that was good. Service was ok but not great. We sat at the counter. The tables get much better service and felt like content was an afterthought. Overall not sure I would go back unless I happened to be really close. A bit mixed feelings with some good and some forgettable things.