Meh. If I could give a 2.5 I would. Sushi is pretty decent for the happy hour price. From the three times I've been here I've gone twice for HH bc I personally wouldn't pay full price for the sushi quality. What's knocks it down from a 3star is the customer service. Not welcoming environment at all. This visit the waitress had my bill ready before I actually got my food.. and when I was ready to pay I was stuck sitting there waiting for someone to pass by to flag them down to pay. So overall, wouldn't really recommend. read more

This is a great place to get great sushi for a reasonable price the best times to come are at happy hour, 3:pm to 6:00 pm. It's nice to come to because it's not too loud and can enjoy your food with friends or family. the staff here is really friendly and can tell they work hard. I've been coming here for a while and don't usually go anywhere else. read more

Yi Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - El Cajon, California

I love coming here ! Especially during happy hour. Sushi is good for the price ! I'd recommend coming here with friends or family !

We live for Yi Sushi Happy Hour because it's available everyday so we will never starve. Where else can you get top quality sushi at a discounted price? My wife and I have been to a lot of Sushi restaurants and we are pretty particular. This is one of those restaurants that raises the bar. Irene, the owner, is always there taking care of her clients making them feel right at home. I can't say enough good things about Irene and her restaurant. Bravo! read more

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This place is absolutely killin the game. Best happy hour, great service, great food

It always amazes me how American restaurants in strip malls and shopping designated areas work. Food tends to be pretty good, not special or great but there's nothing to complain about. It's vanilla ... a beige. Nothing you'd recall unless pushed . Not unpleasant but not joyous - yet filling. The atmosphere and decor always tends to be really odd. No exception here , basketball on the TVs , music in another area , easy to clean surfaces, bright fluorescent-like spotlights. And the owners Knick knacks all over the place. Certainly not a place for the customers to enjoy. A place that is functional . It's like a takeout that grew up. read more

I love this place for 2 reasons: 1. It is good sushi in my hood. I no longer have to drive far to get a delicious roll and some sake. 2. Most importantly, I can take my kids here. I like that I don't get "a face" or attitude by having small children. Yes, my kids are very well behaved in a restaurant and no, they dont just eat chicken fingers. They love them some cucumber rolls, edamame, and california rolls. Nice people, good food and close by. Just what Rancho needed. read more

Recently moved to Rancho San Diego, and have been trying to find a decent sushi place in the area. Went to Yi Sushi last night based on the generally positive reviews, but our meal was a huge disappointment, and I felt like I wasted both my time and my money. The garlic edamame we had for an appetizer were dripping in what I think was teriyaki sauce, with hardly any garlic to be seen. My nabeyaki udon was really bad -- it actually had carrots, broccoli, and zucchini in it, which should NOT be in this soup. The chicken was tough and the broth flavorless. Really bad. The sushi was okay -- a step up from what you would pick up at Ralphs or Vons -- but the hamachi kama was way overcooked. My wife and I won't be coming back to Yi Sushi. read more

I LOVE sushi,,, here's the deal with this place. First off we were greeted by one of their Sushi chef smoking next to the entrance (I know cooks and servers smoke, but a bit unprofessional and kinda gross to see it). Too expensive for small rolls with not enough fish on them and slow to medium service time. I've been to many sushi places (some which I haven't reviewed,, sorry), and I've had plenty of good quality with generous servings for a lot less. My girl and I ordered a Rainbow, Spider, Philadelphia, and Spicy Tuna rolls. We waited for a considerable amount of time for our rolls (considering the place wasn't full or busy). The disappointment came when we saw the small rolls that took so long to make,, really? It seemed as though someone didn't fillet the fish properly and used the sliver that got stuck to the skin on our roll. The taste was good,,, but I don't understand how they justify the price other than having to charge more for less to pay the lease and utilities in a nearly empty restaurant. I hope to maybe come back someday and see if they have changed anything. Good luck. read more

I can't say enough great things about this place! The sushi is amazing, amazing, amazing! My family and I have been to many sushi places around town and this place is by far the best! Not only is the atmosphere great, service is stellar! My hubby and I have 3 kiddos, who are very loud, and they cater to us and help us along. Anyone with kids knows taking them to dinner is a task all in itself. But this place is great to them. Recently, my husband surprised me with a sushi chef for my birthday! They agreed to do it- their first time ever- and were fabulous! All my friends were very impressed at how great the sushi was. This restaurant has become a favorite to myself and my family. If you have not been here you need to go:) P.S. Happy hour is our favorite. Get there before 6:) read more

The best sushi I had ever have Delicious Defiantly I will go again and again I would suggest rancho san Deigo roll, and spicy girl roll.. With Saki And also philly roll is good. Everything read more

Hands down the best sushi in Rancho San Diego. My overall experience was amazing, the service was great, and above all my food was delicious. Since it is reasonably priced I will be frequenting this spot! read more

Yi Sushi - so delicious! - Sushi Bars Near Me - El Cajon, California

Found this place through Yelp. 4 Stars at the time of this review. I was excited to try something new and I was hungry! Upon arrival, the restaurant was somewhat full but not too bad for a Friday evening. We were told to choose our own seats. We sat ourselves and patiently waited. We were later greeted and were asked if we wanted to start with drinks. I told the waiter we would love a drink, but would like to see a menu. (First sign of trouble). After receiving a menu, we waited quite a long time for someone to take our order. We decided to put our menu's away so it would appear that we were done reading. We placed our orders and started with appetizers and then each individual placed their entrée order. The food began rolling out and the first thing I notice is we were receiving entrees. If its one thing I can't stand is not getting appetizers first. Isnt that why they call them appetizers? So now 2 out of 3 people received there entrees and appetizers no where in sight. Finally, one of the appetizers would show up. Then all our entrees show up minus one of my orders (Rancho Roll). We begin eating and im slowly forgetting my frustrations. We finally receive both our appetizers mid meal. The frustration returns when i realize we are getting toward the end of the food we have on the table and I still dont have half of my dinner. I alert one of the waitresses and ask to check on my Rancho Rolls. It turned out that they never put the order in. I was disappointed since it was the first dinner item that was placed after ordering appetizers. I decided to skip dessert and asked for the check. I really feel bad for the long tough review, but this was our experience. read more

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Not the best and not the worst sushi place. First of all you need to know that most of the rolls here are 6 pieces and not 8. The rolls themselves are just average but nothing to write home about. I've gotten the yellowtail,Spicy tuna,salmon and eel as well as a few special rolls. Nothing really pops in your mouth and make you scream AMAZING! So that's why I'm rating this place three stars. Tabu Sushi down the road is slightly more expensive but well worth the extra few dollars for the quality. read more

Worst sushi I have ever eaten. I had a spicy tuna and a toro scallion. The rolls were mushy and bland. I spent twenty dollars to get grossed out. Threw the whole thing in the trash. I'm not even sure it was fish. YUCK. Don't waste your time or money read more

I dont know how this place isnt more well known! Traditional style Japanese dishes and sushi. I had the Tri-color plate and damn near died. It was amazing. Salmon nagiri was on POINT! The Tri Color comes with 2 rolls of salmon, tuna, and yellowtail, and then 2 slices/sashimi of the same 3. Honestly not a fan of the yellowtail but thats not their fault, just the fish for not being tasty. My brothers had the Boston, Dallas, and Alaskan rolls as well as chicken teriyaki bowls. All of them absolutely amazing. The only possible negative thing i could say is the seating for the middle tables we were at were a little close to the table next to us. Maybe only a foot of space despite there being more room on either side of or tables. That AND all the other tables behind us were emtpy.. Stagger people more plz? read more

We will not be back.... Service is crap. Sadly, the only reason this place is getting 2 stars from me is because of their garlic edamame. Everyone knows, as a server, your tips depend on if your customers LIKE you! We came here and were pleased to see the place was pretty empty at 5:30pm on a Wednesday. We had our 2 month old with us and are still getting comfortable with taking her out. She slept the whole time. :) Our server, some girl, came and said, "Oh how cute. Boy or girl?" (She is wearing hot pink with flowers.... hmmm....girl!) "Girl..." Server says...."Oh.... IT looks like a boy. Guess it's because IT doesn't have much hair." WTF?! Rude! Not all babies have tons of hair. Whatever. We then tell her we will need a few minutes to look over the menu. She looks to irritated with us. She keeps coming back, even more irritated and we apologize and tell her we still need some time. First time here! Jeez. Finally, we just pick some stuff on a whim cause she is so irritated with us. Now, I am someone who, before the baby was here, was eating sushi at least 3-5 times a week. It's part of my healthy diet! I'm not a sushi snob, but.... come on! These rolls were so big, you couldn't get them into your mouth. The seaweed was so, blah, I couldn't chew through it. The rolls were boring, not much going on with them. Server never came to ask how everything was, not once. If she had, I would have told her the rolls were sub par. Also, if you are going to put spicy mayo on a roll, maybe you should put it in the description. Half the rolls have it in the description, the others don't. Yet, it came with it on it. My husband is allergic to mayo and it's a sad sad day when he can't enjoy a sushi roll because of it. However, the server never came by, once. The decor is nice and the garlic edamame was good, but that is it. The owner needs to teach his servers the concept of working for tips. read more

Like the others reviewers, I have nothing but good things to say. If you have to travel a great distance to get to this place it's worth it. And if you live close by then it's a no-brainer so I don't see why someone complains that it took too long to drive there. Ugh! Now, on with the review. I've been here at least 8-10 times and it never fails to be awesome. It's a minimalistic setup with the bar and tables, nothing too fancy and you can be comfortable in your t-shirt, shorts and sandals or dressy if you so choose. The happy hour is top notch with items running $3, $4 and $5 dollars respectively. And it's from 3-6pm. Buy one large beer, get a free small sake so how can you beat that? My girlfriend *loves* the Edamame and I'm a foodie so I'm always looking for something new or enticing. Always get the spicy tuna and salmon skin rolls with some Maguro Sashimi first. The chefs use blowtorches to put the fine touches on plates as you watch them working on top of the bar. The waitresses are very pleasant and quick so order something, when it comes put in another order and by the time you're finishing the second order arrives. Doesn't get any simpler than that. So, if you're jonesing for a real sushi fix then this is the spot. Get there early so you don't miss the HH specials and you'll be glad you went. Cheers! read more

My husband and I have been here a few times for happy hour. I'm rating two stars because the food was really good. Unfortunately, the service was terrible. The girl who waited on us was on her phone the whole time and barely acknowledged us. Super rude. We waited a very long while even if there was hardly anyone there. When she brought us our food she left it at the edge of table where we could not reach. We had to prop ourselves up to reach the food and pull it closer. She forgot one of our rolls and was bothered when we asked for a refill on water. The next visit we sat to find dirty dishes on our table. Not left over from the party before. These were dishes they sat out. The waiter brought out new dishes but didn't take our order. The same waitress from before took our order later after assisting the party that came in after us and had an attitude when doing so. The food again was delicious. This last visit was the last straw. The food is good but not worth it anymore. We sat to find dirty dishes again! Nobody had checked on us for a while so we grabbed the clean set sitting at the empty table next to us. We put the dirty ones to the side for whenever they decided to come by for our order. The same awful waitress gave us the dirtiest look and stare down when we did this. We still waited a long while before she came by to take our order. Then we waited forever for our food AGAIN as we watched everyone else get theirs. The gentlemen that sat down waaay after us received their food before us. When we did get our calamari and gyoza they were cold. Needless to say the service for the rest of the evening continued to suck. Our business is clearly a bother to this lady, even when she rang us up she practically threw the card at us. Gave this place three chances because the food is awesome. But between the awful waitress and the dirty dishes, I just can't. Keep the chef/cooks, they're doing a good job! Gotta do something about the rest of that staff though. read more

The sushi was okay but the portions were very small and over priced. After paying $45 for sushi I shouldn't still be starving... You're better off driving to Tsuruya in Point Loma. I will not be coming back to Yi Sushi. read more

Original Post (3 stars): This is an average restaurant. Their happy hour has decent deals, and my friend and I were able to order ramen, 3 rolls of sushi and calamari for 20 bucks. The good: The ramen was absolutely incredible. The flavor was to die for and the noodles, veggies and chicken cooked to perfection. The prices were also great. The sushi roll deals were average price, but the ramen and udon were a steal at $5 (for happy hour). The bad: The sushi was subpar. In fact, if I'd only had the sushi, I don't think that I would return. I've had better sushi at Domo Kitchen, Sushi Diner and Sushi Kuchi. This was the worst of them. The service was also a little below average. My friend and I came as Happy Hour was coming to a close. A waitress came over almost immediately after we got our menus for our order. When we asked for another minute to decide, she was insistent that we order right then. We were able to quickly order, but feeling rushed was definitely disconcerting. I'm not sure we would have ordered the same items given more time. I would recommend this place if it's Happy Hour and you literally live next door OR if you want INCREDIBLE ramen. If not, I think there are better places for better sushi. Edit (12/2/2016): THIS is the reason why you should never rush your patrons. In my original post, I said that if we could order from here given more time, my friend and I would have chosen differently. Last night, my friend and I returned to this restaurant with ample time to order. We ended up getting a California Roll, their Bubu Roll, Crunch Roll, Gyoza, Calamari and Chicken Ramen. Oh and Tempura Ice Cream. Their Ramen, as usual was delicious. The flavor? Perfect. Noodles? Cooked to perfection. What a great comfort dish! I also really enjoyed their Bubu Roll and Calamari. I didn't like the Crunch Roll too much, mostly because I'm not a fan of spicy mayo. The star of the night was definitely the Tempura Ice Cream, which I highly recommend. It will be a staple of future visits and I'm glad that I returned to this restaurant. I'm changing my rating from 3 stars to 4. read more

Their prices are comparable to local Rancho San Diego sushi restaurants, but it's more authentic, and a lot less pushy. The décor was nice and probably kind of trendy, but I wouldn't say tacky. More importantly, the fish was really fresh. We had the Maki A combination (Tuna, Salmon, Yellowtail rolls), and a Rainbow roll, as well as salad and I had (a big) Miso soup. We'll definitely go back. And now we don't have to drive so far to wait outside for 45 minutes elsewhere. Check them out. Ming was our very kind and personable server, and Mary was very nice and helpful as well. Can't wait until next time to try the Tempura Ice Cream and Ginger Créme Brûlée. read more

Fantastic option for lunch/dinner! My fiancée and I eat here quite regularly and love how accommodating and friendly the staff is. It can be quite the great deal during lunch hour as well! P.S. Try the hot hot roll! read more

This place is honestly my go to for sushi. Everything is fabulous, from the fresh sushi, to some tasty teriyaki bowls, to their amazing fried rice and delicious desserts to end it all. -Sushi wise, our favorites are the Rancho Roll, Crunch Roll, San Diego, Spicygirl, las Vegas, rock roll, Philly, and basically everything else. -Sashimi is fantastic, always so fresh: Tuna, Salmon, yellowtail that my bf absolutely loves, white tuna, & albacore. All so fresh! -Teriyaki Bowls, oh my, so many delicious options, all so great: chicken, beef, salmon, etc. -Fried rice, i recommend Steak fried rice with a little bit of spice, taste is out of this world. Have to say my favorite. -Desserts, they have Mochie Icea cream, they have all flavors, my favorite is green tea & chocolate. Deep fried green tea icea cream also is unreal, same with tempura cheesecake which is deep fried cheesecake. All my favorites! I don't know how they deep fry ice cream but it's unbelievable. Also, service is great, couldn't ask for a better waitress at a restaurant. Friendlyness and patience is the key and that's what keeps my boyfriend, friends, family & I all go back for. Highly RECOMMEND this place! Try it all and you will fall in love with the best & well priced sushi place of San Diego. :) P.S. I'm going there for dinner. :) read more

Yi Sushi - Mochi icea cream. - Sushi Bars Near Me - El Cajon, California

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I try my best to eat healthy Monday-Friday. (Today is Friday) I didn't feel like cooking so I thought sushi would be a good choice. This restaurant is close to where I live. I have read the reviews. They were mixed, but the the bad ones had similar testimony. I also saw that they had a very reasonable Happy Hour so I decided to try it, despite of the negative reviews that concerned me. The restaurant itself is decent on the inside. The floor needed a sweep though,which was being worked on well after I get seated. Mind you, there wasn't a soul in sight beforehand (zero customers) Not sure why they didn't have the floor swept prior. I played it safe and ordered from the Happy Hour Menu. They had quite a few items which ranged from $3-$5 in price. I opted for the cucumber roll and the spicy tuna roll which came to a measly $7 and my husband ordered a shrimp tempura roll. The rolls came out in a decent amount of time. The cucumber roll was good but nothing special at all. The spicy tuna on the other hand...well, let's just say that the fish was just about as fishy as Starkist and about as mushy as oatmeal! No bueno...I had one bite and left the rest there. $4 sushi wasn't worth the risk of food poisoning. Not to mention the fact that it tasted horrible! In all fairness...the prices were dirt cheap...but I would have rather paid a bit more and got fresh fish. My husband said his was "pretty good"...but nothing special. He didn't like that his roll was wrapped in seaweed which the menu didn't specify. I wish this place would have worked out as I live very close by & the HH is very reasonable... Oh well...Moral of the Story: You get what you pay for! read more

My husband and I are regulars here and we love coming here. It's good sushi for east county. We love the garlic edamame, kini salad, and gyoza for appetizers. We love their crunch roll, peanut avocado roll (very unique and delicious) and I order the afterburner roll with spicy tuna instead of cream cheese. Irene is the owner and waitress and she is more than happy to accommodate requests to change or alter your roll. Happy hour prices are great so it can be very busy between 3-6. read more

Yi Sushi - California roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - El Cajon, California

I am totally shocked by the people who love their sushi. The rolls here leave A LOT to the imagination. The only roll I got that was even edible was the Mango Roll. They gave us a roll we never ordered (Chilean Seabass Roll) that made me ill. Like literally, ill. It was warm, WAY rancid fish (Not Chilean Seabass for the record) that was cooked. Basically Warm Nasty Fish with Rice. "Aint Nobody Got Time For That"! Even the Philly Roll was trash, how do you screw that up? With multiple better options just a block or two away, do not waste your time or hard earned money on this trash. Service was solid. Not the best, but far from the worst. Staff is friendly. read more

Very fresh, very good pricing for the quality of food.. The waitress was so low key and not so rush like normal restaurants..

My rating is based on their happy hour prices (the sushi itself is 3.5 stars). They give you a decent amount of fish in the sushi rolls, and the prices during happy hour are nice. Most places don't allow substitutions on happy hour items, but the staff here are nice enough to offer (e.g. Cucumber instead of avocado). I will mention that although the sushi tastes good, the tuna (I strongly suspect) is not fresh caught...it's likely frozen. That's likely why their prices are decent. I think this place is the best sushi in the area. read more

Yi Sushi - BuBu Roll, 2 Spicy Tuna, Spicy Salmon $17 happy hour - Sushi Bars Near Me - El Cajon, California

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There comes a time in every man's life when he must ponder his existence, and every experience that has lead up to this moment. For me, that moment was last Thursday. My Mexican heart sings the tune of burritos, and that's exactly where I was headed when I smelled the winds of change. In the same plaza as another yelped about food shop, I came across Yi Sushi. I love a me a good roll, and, if I may recommend, the Hot Hot roll is truly a vixen living up to her name. Lemon, cilantro, spicy tuna- all she's gotta do is dance a little and she's got me comin back for more! I will say the one fault this place has is their lack of a real alcohol license (too bougie perhaps?) so you'll have to settle for sake, which in my humble opinion has won a fair game or two in my day. Nonetheless, their happy hour runs strong from 3-6 daily, as in EVERY DAY with sushi deals! For this, ladies and gentlemen I am always game. Now if ever I respond NO to that question, I ask that you throw me a boat and a lifejacket because Id have clearly jumped off the deep end. read more

Only a few handful Japanese places in East County and this is the best by far! They have lunch specials and happy hour specials. It's big and inviting in here and the staff are friendly. It's a bit on the pricier side if you don't get a special or happy hour. The rolls I have tried are so good and fresh. The chicken teriyaki you can tell is healthy and not fatty or greasy like some other places. read more

OMG!!! The sushi was good and we went during happy hour, so it was VERY reasonable. HOWEVER, the service was horrible. The female with tattoos and a pony tail needs a break and some help. She needs to smile more often and she needs to learn to be kind. She took our order for drinks and when she brought them to the table, she just placed them on the end of our table. Not once did she say here you go or who ordered water or nothing to that matter!!! Just rude!!! I'm not sure if I'll go back again, I'm still contemplating that, but if I do it's because the food is really good. read more

Hidden Gem in RSD. I didn't write this review hoping it would stay that way. I went their last week and it's not so hidden anymore as I had to wait for the first time for a table. Food is great and service makes you feel at home. Good specials. I Highly recommend it! read more

Grabbed a to go order here during my lunch break from work: Bento A. Very impressed how they packed my order, even my miso soup was packed at no extra charge. The food here is always fresh and great tasting. The staff always kind and helpful. This is my go to when ever Im in the mood for japanese. read more

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I really cant say enough great things about this place. I am SO happy to finally have a nice sushi place in Rancho that isn't chintzy with their roll size. Yes, Tabu, I am talking about you. We were greeted by every single member of the staff upon entering, seated promptly, NFL on the two big screens, and waters/miso/sake was out in a flash. Our waitress was probably one of the best persons I have ever had wait on me in a restaurant, she stood by and closely watched over the whole dining room between working her tables, and as soon as someone's head lifted as to look around for some help, she was right there ready to assist. Even the host was jumping in here and there when she was busy. Rolls were MONEY. And no, I don't mean expensive. In my opinion, the $11-15 range we stayed in for their special rolls was a very fair price in relation to the size and quality of our rolls. We got the Green River roll first, which was not only visually appealing, but really unique flavor and STUFFED with fish. Good quality green soy paper too, it almost tasted like a thin tortilla. Next came the Dancing Eel and Sake rolls... holy wowzers. I have NEVER had broiled eel like this before. Most eel is super thin and tasteless but THIS was a masterpiece. Big fluffy pillows of broiled eel pieces atop a scrumptious spicy tuna roll (minus the flake for me though). The Sake roll was killer, with a dreamy creamy spicy salmon and avocado inside topped with really fresh and beautifully cut fresh salmon. MELT IN YOUR MOUTH kinda good. Finished with the Red Lady (they were even so kind as to sub fresh shrimp instead of tempura to make it Gf for me). I was honestly so stuffed from the previous 3, that I only had two bites of this. But it was also quality, top notch. Hubby took the leftovers home and devoured them for dessert. All in all, for 4 HUGE rolls, miso soup, and sake.. its safe to say we got our money's worth and then some. If you arent lookin for a fancy sushi fix, their rolls and handroll selection is large, and very well priced. No more driving way out of the way for good sushi, its right here in the neighborhood now! I cant wait to come back with my girlfriends and share the Chirashi... :) read more

They hustle. Great deals. Comfortable seating. Try everything-Go Ahead. (Baaad music playing) Hopefully NOT when you're there. Namaste read more

Yi Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - El Cajon, California

Went out of town yesterday for longer than expected; Dinner date plans were falling a part because the place my boyfriend & I wanted to go to was closed. Yelped Sushi places near our house that closed 10 or later & came across this place (which we've NEVER seen before, yet we're always in the area) I wasn't so hungry, but my boyfriend was. We came in at 9:40 thinking they wouldn't seat us, but they did (they close at 10PM on Sundays). Friendly welcoming. I REALLY liked the decor & atmosphere. :) We didn't get a servers name, & a few people helped us out so I can't pin point to one person, but the service was good. :) We ordered the dynamite roll (which was a bit spicy for me, but still good) $10.80 (including the 20% off) & the soft shell crab appetizer ($7). Total came out to be $19.22 + tip. read more

Was craving sushi and since we don't live too far from Yi Sushi, thought we give it a try. We came for happy hour and ordered the crunch roll, Eel, salmon, tuna rolls and their terryaki chicken.. The sushi prices are great but thought the sushi wasn't anything special but still better than the sushi you get from the grocery store. I thought the teriyaki chicken was kind of blah, it wasn't that great. I think there are better cooked food at other Japanese restaurants read more

My favorite Sushi place in the East County. Great happy hour prices and good quality! If you're in the East County give it a try.

Had a couple of coupons to go here and glad we bought them. Nice atmosphere - though it can get crowded. Sometimes wait service is slow. Nice menu with lots of options. Prices pretty reasonable. All the food we have tried was good, including a few sushi rools. I prefer this place over Tabo for sushi in Rancho San Diego. read more