Leslie Y.
Yelp
I really want to love this place. I'd been to the on in Vegas and LOVED it. We went twice in 1 weekend is how good it was. So when I saw they were opening in Encinitas, I was ready to drive 30-40 minutes every weekend to get it. So I want to say I gave the place a true chance as I was ready to commit to this place. Unfortunately a lot of things fell short.
First the food. The fish quality was fine. The sushi rice was inconsistent. The pacing was awkward. Usually at hand roll bars, including the Temaki Bar in Vegas, the sushi chefs manage maybe 4 people at a time max. This ensures your roll is fresh, they can pay attention to your pace, and your seaweed stays crisp. They can check in on each of your rolls and tell you what is in them so you can look for the flavors that should come across as you eat them. This did not happen in Encinitas. There were only 2 chefs for a very large bar of 20 so we sat around waiting for a while why they were making other people's food. That was not a huge issue, but just a straw on the camels back. Therer were at least 4 others that checked on beverages which was nice but we were only drinking water. First salmon roll came out randomly. The salmon was OK, but there was nothing with it so I had to dip in soy sauce. I should also mention I got the exactly the same menu of 4 handrolls in Vegas with no need to add soy sauce at all. Roll #2 came which was albacore. As he was setting it down I immediately saw there was red sauce in it so I said to the chef that I was allergic to peppers and that red looks like it has peppers in it. He confirmed yes it does so I said he could give that one to the bf and the chef said he could make me one with no sauce and apologized that the menu did not list the sauces. I said, yes otherwise I would have brought up my allergy earlier and thanked him for making one without the sauce. The albacore roll was also good fish but for some reason this rice was clumpy. But I felt maybe he had to rush with my allergy issue so would have forgiven a less than perfect roll. Before I was done with mine he put down the next roll. Both the bf and I were not ready for it so the seaweed was no longer crisp since it sat there in mayo sauce for a few minutes. Again I thought, it's fine. Maybe my allergy threw off his timing. Roll #3 was the shrimp. It was quite tasty, with mayo, some fish eggs, yuzu, and garlic flavors. It was my favorite until something started burning my throat slightly that I was suspicious. While my brain was still processing he asked if we were ready for our last roll, the yellowtail. I was not ready but I looked over at the bf who was done with #3 so I responded sure. As he put #3 down, for the bf, I asked what was the sauce that was in the shrimp because I although I liked it a lot it was spicy and I want to confirm there were no peppers because I am allergic to all peppers (I know I was being repetitive but I wanted to make sure he heard I was concerned not because I can't handle spice but because I have a legit pepper allergy. It's not a terribly common allergy so I like to emphasize the potential concern). He said there were no peppers, just mayo, aioli, yuzo kosho and I was probably feeling it from the garlic. It will be the same in our #4 roll and he placed mine in front of me and turned away. I don't know if the average person knows this but I would assume a sushi chef should know this but yuzu kosho is yuzu pepper paste. He was so dismissive of this I thought maybe the pepper is yuzu pepper is made from peppercorn and not capsicum or fruited pepper. Also it was tasty and I wanted to keep eating it so I took 1 bite of #4 while googling. Yuzu kosho is made from togarashi shichimi powder which I know I can't have. Shichimi is made of seven spices, one of which is red chili pepper....so I gave the rest to the bf. My allergic reactions usually include gastrointestinal issues with some peppers causing hearing loss, lightheaded-ness, and anophylactic shock. I will spare you the details but it started with a trip to the bathroom and ended with me being unable to drive and some minor chest pains, and feeling winded.
In conclusion, I don't think I'll be coming back, but I cannot recommend enough their Vegas location. Also if you have any allergies, be careful.