Supper great sushi normally great service unless they're busy. But consistently good food.

Came here for my birthday and it was the Best time ever!!! Service was on point and so was the food and drinks! Our waitress was very knowledgeable about sake. Thank you to my family for choosing the perfect place to celebrate my birthday!!! read more

I lived in Japan and this is one of the few actually authentic Japanese restaurants in San Diego. Their sushi and Japanese burger are so fresh and tasty. read more

My husband and I stopped by for a midday coffee. I got regular black coffee and he got ice coffee! We also ended up getting their lunch special with spicy tuna roll with edamame. The coffee smelled wonderful and tasted as good as the fragrance! This truly may be the best coffee I've had in America!! What a great find:) The sushi roll was also fresh and tasty! It was simple but everything was carefully prepared and had the true Japanese touch! We will definitely come back!! read more

Tanuki - Sushi Bars Near Me - San Diego, California

My husband and I visited for the first time and can't wait to go back. All of the food was amazing, we're hoping to try everything on the menu eventually. We had the pork katsu, wagyu ponzu, spicy garlic edamame and Japanese corn. Everything tasted great read more

Beautiful and tasty food. We got the Tempura appetizer and several rolls, and finished off with the Toro tapas. Service was very attentive, even though the restaurant was full. Delightful experience. read more

Forgot to leave this review sooner, we celebrated my sisters birthday here and there was quite a few of us so we didn't fit inside but they were very accommodating . I really loved the food tasted delicious and authentic, we were just bummed they did not have dessert that night ! AND the service was excellent! read more

Update: I have to add the 5th star. Have visited a couple more times and am more convinced of the quality/attention to detail. I am mostly pleased with their use of flavors, salt/soy and sauces - does not overwhelm. Recently, we had the wagyu roll, rainbow roll, a colorful and delicately sliced salad (sesame dressing NOT overdone) and again the karaage (this is one of the best i have had with a crisp but very light batter and tender/juicy chicken). Tanuki continues to impress us. Original: We ordered a variety of items to get a feel for the quality. Karaage, seabass that melted in your mouth, caterpillar roll and a couple of nigiris. The creations are balanced, tasty and not over-salted or sauce'd. Excited to have Tanuki in the neighborhood! read more

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Beautiful ambiance. Staff managed a busy Friday night so well. The food was fresh but personally could have used more flavor. Will come back to try the sake! read more

This review is for to go food. Tanuki is one of my weekly stops even though we live no where near. Chicken Karaage might be the best in town and there is a lot of good Karaage in San Diego. We love the Sake Wasa and the sauce is great with the Karaage too. The yellowtail nigiri is fantastic which brings us to what they do best. Sushi rice. Tanuki has by far the best sushi rice we've tasted in San Diego and in our opinion is their secret ingredient in all of the dishes that include rice. As we eat at our favorite places around town it always comes back to Tanuki's sushi rice. read more

Tanuki is an exciting addition to the corridor of cool restaurant options in Kensington! Since they just opened (June '18), they don't yet have their liquor license but you can byob in the meantime which is pretty cool of them. We enjoyed the whole fish, tempura shrimp roll, sunomono salad (cucumber and seaweed in light refreshing sweet vinegar dressing), and the fish came with a side of house salad, macaroni salad, miso soup, and rice (white or brown). Their morning caffeine menu also looks intriguing with items pricing between $3-$8. It's a charming place, nice vibe, with bar seating, booths, a few small tables, and outdoor patio as well. For those docking stars for service (or lack of), keep in mind all new restaurants go through this inaugural service confusion. It isn't intentional, so give them time. Our service was attentive and friendly. read more

Easily one of the most impressive meals I have ever had Wagyu Ponzu Tataki - delicious combination of flavors Pork Katsu - thickest cut of pork katsu I've ever had, but also the most moist and most delicious Karaage - Cooked perfectly with the perfect cut of meat Stay for dessert, the eclair I was offered is one of the best read more

Tanuki - Vanilla Eclair - Sushi Bars Near Me - San Diego, California

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I come here often with my grandma and we both love it so much, great service and yummy food. One of my favorite kensington spots!! I also got the spicy edamame and the chicken teriyaki bento with a pot of tea, of course. Cant wait to come back! read more

Tanuki - Crème brulee - Sushi Bars Near Me - San Diego, California

Great sushi! Waitress was super friend so where the chefs :) definitely recommend!!!!

Food and service were fantastic. The sake flight was a nice surprise. I loved it and will be back soon!

Amazing service, amazing fresh fish! Perfectly crafter sushi rolls and sake!! Truly a wonderful experience!! Definitely come here!! We had a variety of rolls, sashimi and sake. We loved the crispy rice is a must try!! So so good!! read more

The deserts were absolutely incredible. I'd highly suggest trying them - whether that be after eating some delicious sushi or making a special visit specifically for them. They were next level good. read more

Very good sushi and sake. I loved the ambience and recommend sitting inside over the outdoor area in their parking lot (at least in the winter). This establishment will let you make reservations over the phone which was greatly appreciated! The roll I ordered was good but the selection of sushi options was relatively small. read more

I don't typically leave reviews but this place was amazing! Great service and the food was extraordinary. Coco was very attentive & knowledgeable about the Saki. Definitely recommended! read more

best sushi in SD. I order a lot of take out but dining in is also a wonderful experience. and they are open on Mondays!

After not being able to go out for awhile due to COVID-19 restrictions, this place was a breath of fresh air for a contemporary sushi restaurant. Our server was slammed from being triple sat but she did an excellent job at making sure that our orders came out accordingly. She hit every point of steps of service and was very professional. Although the food may be priced higher than average it's more than worth it. The presentation and flavor was executed very elegantly. I have served and bartendeded for fine dining venues and this place has what it takes but with a humble atmosphere. I highly recommend giving this place a chance you will not be disappointed. read more

Good izakaya's are hard to find in the states but Tanuki's items are so tasty and reminds me of home. The corn is something I keep thinking about. Will be going back very soon! read more

This is a great little spot in Kensington. The menu isn't extensive, which I'm fine with as I'd much prefer a smaller menu with great dishes than a giant menu with so-so food. They have an awesome selection of sakes, and I suggest asking your server for suggestions. read more

They no longer have the sukiyaki burger sadly :( My boyfriend and I came here for a light lunch, but after finding out the burger is no longer on their menu we just had some tea and eclairs. Hojicha tea- served in a beautiful large mug. Very full-bodied and enjoyable, like the cherry blossoms blooming in Japan in the spring (that's how people describe tea right? XD) Eclairs- After just coming back from France (huehue I'm so snobby lol) I was a little worried. However, the eclairs here are awesome! I got the green tea one. I was sad that the matcha was only on the outside glaze, and the inner cream was just vanilla, but it was very creamy and filled nicely. My boyfriend got the flourless cake which was good as well. Overall, I'm not sure about lunch, but this is a great place to get some tea and desserts and chat with your girlfriends. They have a lot of interesting matcha drinks (matcha marshmellow?) so will be coming back for those! read more

This is such an authentic Japanese restaurant! It looks so nice from outside to inside, I love the whole decoration and atmosphere is great! When I arrived here it totally reminded of me a restaurant in Japan! The lightning is warm and felt comfortable. There are few Japanese workers here were very helpful and friendly. I asked a lot of questions about sake they let me try a couple of them and was able to decide what I like. I ordered a lot of dishes from the menu, I wanted to try them all!! Everything was very tasty and really authentic Japanese flavor yet unique. The dessert pasty is so cute and yummy too. It's still quiet because it's new place but definitely worth to try them out. I will for sure be back again!!l First of all ...love the logo!!!! read more

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I was really excited to come here seeing their menu has Japanese on it. But... Not authentic Japanese food at all; it was definitely gentrified and the flavors lacked that Japanese taste. I ordered their tempura lunch special because I noticed it included white fish; usually Japanese places that have white fish tempura (or tempura other than shrimp and the usual veggies) are legit. The tempura's texture and taste were awful; it was like it was frozen and fried. Their bentos are illegitimate as well; it came with rice, a salad, and a tangerine... LOL. My friend had salmon teriyaki; I had to dip my tempura in the sauce for more flavor. The salmon, on the bright side, had a very nice melt-in-your-mouth texture, with crispy skin. Perhaps I should have ordered sushi, but I seriously love tempura and was hoping it was legit. Oh well, I'm never coming back because I don't want to taste their food again. On the bright side, service was good. read more

Way better sushi around town than this spot. Nothing we ordered was really great. Everything was very bland missing flavor. The Hojicha latte was the best part. Does not get my vote. read more

The service and sushi were very good. came for lunch and had one of their boxes with fish tempura and a shrimp roll. definitely will be back

Just come and eat here no need to explain more The food is AMAZING the service is spectacular Say no more! read more

Favorite restaurant in San Diego. Have been coming weekly since we found it, always a great experience

Such a great find! I love this neighborhood and this sushi restaurant is the perfect compliment to the other restaurants on the block. We were greeted immediately as we walked in by a charming hostess who also made sure we had everything we needed throughout the meal. For lunch they have a great special that includes some fantastic rolls with your choice of miso or edamame. I took my employee in and we had 3 rolls to share including the rainbow roll, scallop roll and shrimp tempura roll. Yum! These were delicious with no shortage of meat to complain about. I also was able to talk them into serving us a 5 piece sashimi plate of Salmon which wasn't on the lunch menu (It is in the dinner menu). They use very fresh and high end fish that we thoroughly enjoyed. We were stuffed! But it didn't stop there! As you walk in they have some type of refrigerated desert bar with eclairs, macaroons and a few other things. Since we were out of time we each got one éclair to go. I got the chocolate with sprinkles and my employee got the peanut butter bar. We snacked on those towards the end of the day and it was the perfect pick me up before heading home from work! They were delicious. I'm so excited about this place, I can't wait to bring my wife here and try some of their dinner menu items. My mouth began to water when I saw there "Tanuki" roll on the menu. Definitely give this nice restaurant a chance if you're in the neighborhood! Everyone in there was so friendly! read more

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Very ordinary/generic Japanese food. Came here with high expectations but the food was just ok. The menu was fairly small with selective choices. I ordered tempura shrimp, pork belly, wagyu beef tataki ponzu, crispy rice with spicy tuna and baked crab roll. The highlight for the dinner was the tempura shrimp, it was really crispy and fresh. However, other items were pretty disappointing. The ponzu sauce for the wagyu beef tataki was too tangly and the meat was too chewy as well. The spicy tuna was bland and not spicy at all. Overall, my experience was mediocre and I will suggest to go somewhere if you want authentic Japanese food. read more

Tanuki - Photo food quality - Sushi Bars Near Me - San Diego, California

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This place has become one of our favorites! Each time I go I make myself try something new. Tonight we had the chance to order off the happy hour menu. First of all you choose 2 at the price of 3 dollars if you order a glass of wine, beer or Sake. We opted for a bottle of wine as there were 3 of us. We got cucumber and seaweed salad, crispy chicken, shishito peppers, shrimp tempura. Followed up with a delightful vegetable ginger miso soup, udon soup, spicy tuna hand roll, and a spicy scollop roll. All very delicious and fresh! We ended with the silky chocolate mouse... all fantastic! read more

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Always a great selection of sashimi....delicious. Love the touch of selecting sake glass....

Great food. Best part was JP. He helped us pick out our meal and was a fantastic server. His recommendations were amazing and will always ask for him and his recommendations. Crème brûlée was absolutely amazing! Will always order the next time we come here read more

I have been to Tanuki twice for lunch which was adequate if not great. The average lunch price for a sushi roll including either soup or edamame is $10. Tonight I took my daughter there for her birthday dinner and the exact same just ok sushi roll was $15 with no soup or edamame included. The experience was completely underwhelming and I will not eat at this restaurant again. Jump Tokyo on Mission Gorge is way better!!! read more

My boyfriend and I came here for dinner. The food was amazing. Good quality and fresh. His favorite was Unagi Nigiri. Honestly, we ate sushi in so many places, including Japan but here, the taste was the best. Highlight recommend this place! read more

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Best mid-city heights sushi in SD. Wish it was open Sunday but what're ya gonna do.....

Cannot say enough about my date nite experience at Tanuki. Giant sake menu with plenty of details to help you decide, and if you don't know, the server will gladly help you choose. We got 3 types of sake in a flight (from most polished to least polished rice) all served chilled. They also have warm, unfiltered, plum wine, and soju (that they can make a cocktail with tea of your choice.) tons of selection when it comes to drinks. Lots of food to choose from, but we didn't try much. That will be for our next visit! We did, however, get a small plate with fish for our sake, and a crispy rice appetizer/tapa that was so satisfying. Our little to-go eclair was the perfect way to finish the meal. We can't wait to return to this spot in our neighborhood. They went above and beyond in costume service! read more

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Awesome sake place!!! I stopped by this place on Tuesday night with my friend. Food and service are amazing . I love their special "sawagani" and sake flight. Definitely will go back here and I can say that this place is highly recommended! read more