Yoshino's Japanese Restaurant

Lovely Japanese restaurant! I absolutely loved the vibe of this place, it was so cozy and homey. The tempura udon was amazing! The broth was so rich, yet fresh and clean. I drank the entire soup after my noodles were eaten. Some of the vegetables in the vegetable tempura could’ve been cooked longer but it was good regardless. The katsu chicken was delicious and I loved the bean sprout salad that went along. Our server was so nice and they went above and beyond to make us comfortable.

I got chicken Katsu lunch, it comes miso soup and salad with a lot of Katsu! If you need a lot of food, they got you with good price!

Appetizer Squid Legs tasted rubbery, Not Fresh. Katsu Don meat had a lot of chewy Fat. UPDATED July 16, 2025! Delicious Chicken Katsu, but look how little Rice they provide you? Japanese restaurant should be generous with 🍚 Rice.

Exactly the kind of restaurant we felt we could duck into for comforting Japanese food on a local weeknight. The sashimi combo dinner set meals are good but we especially enjoyed the nigiris and we look forward to coming back.

Tried this place on a whim and it’s now one of our favorites Japanese food spots! Great food and service, reasonable prices (which is rare in San Diego, and cute cozy atmosphere. We’ll definitely be back.

Family has been coming here for decades. We come once a year or so for nostalgic reasons. Miso soup and Sesame chicken are both incredible! Lunch specials are what we come for! Family-run, very friendly, good atmosphere and music!

The food here is really good. Honestly a bit of a hidden gem. I do wish the music was more authentic but the volume of it is low enough to make this a relaxing, calm eating experience. I ordered a sashimi entrée and it didn't come with the salad, but the waitress was kind enough to bring it out once I showed her the menu. Getting a side or rice with the entrée is also a nice change from other Japanese restaurants. My one complaint may be the price, but I did order a sake that was 18 dollars alone.

Mom and pop eatery. Good service and food is fresh. Price is decent for the quantity and quality. Sashimi on the roll rainbow roll was thin. I really hate the fake crab meat and cooked shrimp in the Chirashi. Small slices of sashimi in the Chirashi. Sushi rice vould use more vinegar. Soft shell crab tasted old, fishy like taste, as in been in the freezer for a while.

Oysters were delicious the food was generous proportions .The staff outstanding so considerate to all of our whims ! Truly enjoyed the ambiance.

A homey Japanese restaurant with skillfully prepared sushi and a variety of Japanese dishes. Tempura is crispy outside and moist inside, miso soup excellent, sushi fresh and delicious! Portion and pricing are great as well! Service is attentive and courteous! This is where I will go for good Japanese food in town!

Yoshino's Japanese Restaurant is a local family-owned eatery that has been around for about three and a half decades. Its Mission Hills location is not as visible as some of the better known restaurants in that vicinity. On the positive side, they have a dedicated parking lot that is for them and a neighboring business. The inside was like an izakaya with a simple and understated decor. A central sushi bar had seating for ten customers while we sat at a booth in the dining area. The menu was a multiple page listing without any photos. Appetizers, entrees, sushi/sashimi, combinations, donburi, udon, rolls, and handrolls made up the categories of savory offerings. From the Entrees section, I picked the Chicken Katsu while my friend chose the Sesame Chicken. Each order came with salad, miso soup, bean sprouts, and rice on a multi-compartment tray. The breaded chicken cutlet was served as ten slices. The crispiness of the coating was alright. A cup of sweet and tangy soy sauce was provided as a dip for the fried meat. While every component was neatly plated, I didn't find any of them to be remarkably memorable. The food came out quickly from the kitchen, and the service was efficient. I gave a 3.5 star rating for our dinner at Yoshino's Japanese Restaurant.

The food is delicious and reasonably priced. Our "go to" foods are Rainbow Roll, Katsudon, Sesame Chicken, and all sushi and sashimi dishes. We often get food to-go when we've returned from traveling.

I very much love this place! I've come a couple of times & ordered the combination (bento) box. I've had the teriyaki chicken with both the tempura & sashimi (albacore) side. Loved them both. The tempura is really well done - great texture. The sashimi was thick, tender pieces, rather than thin slices. For the teriyaki chicken, there's a great portion & flavor. Their rice is perfect. My favorite is honestly the Miso soup. It is just wonderful! My boyfriend thought he didn't like Miso soup until he tried this one & now he wants to learn how to make it himself ha I've been both first and last for dinner seating & had nice service, it's not loud when it's full. For all the good food & the quality, this place is totally worth it!

We were greeted by very respectful and polite hosts. A server appeared immediately as soon as we were seated. Customer service is a priority with them and we appreciated it. I ordered the salmon dinner with tempura. I loved how it was presented in a bento box. They included bean sprouts in this bento. That was a nice change from other restaurants that serve the proverbial Calif roll pieces. The pricing was competitive. The location has a parking lot and very close to Old Town SD. This restaurant is a must visit for anyone wanting to eat sushi or a dinner entree like teriyaki or sesame chicken.

Even if you know the area, you may miss this little restaurant. It's been here since I was a kid and I'm not young. If you're looking for a 50 types of rolls menu, this place is not for you. It still has the old school sushi bar and a basic menu. There's no frills, just good Japanese food. They don't fill you up with a lot of rice and the fish and scallop was tasty

I'm not from San Diego and came to check out the city. Decided to eat at this place. Ordered a sashimi platter. Can someone please tell me why imitation crab is considered sashimi?!? I was really underwhelmed with this since it wasn't cheap. There was 5 different fish with one being imitation crab... I wasn't happy with that.

We had the Caterpillar roll, rainbow roll & lunch combination B. Honestly didn't know what to expect from this place as the complex looks underwhelming but was surprisingly pretty good. Service was good. If you're in the area and craving sushi it's not a bad spot to check out.

Excellent all around! I hadn't been here in 20ish years , and it's still fantastic! Small, family restaurant, not fancy but everything is fresh and delicious with excellent service! The sushi is very fresh, and we enjoyed combo entres with tempura and miso soup. It was packed when we walked in, and by 8:30pm they're closing up. We'll definitely be back soon!

This restaurant offers a great authentic Japanese food experience. We had just come from the nearby Japanese Friendship Garden Museum at Balboa Park so the craving for Japanese food was certainly present. We each got the Bento box one with Sesame Chicken and one with Teriyaki Chicken, both with tempura. Our server gave us Miso soup to start off the meal and I was taken aback by how good the Miso Soup was. I'm not usually a drinker of Miso Soup but this just changed my world. The sesame chicken was full of flavor, texture was crispy and I truly couldn't put my chopsticks down. Everything that came as a side in the bento box complimented everything so well and I felt that this was an exceptionally well-rounded meal that left me feeling full and happy. We were the 2nd party to arrive after the place had just opened and the service was genuinely pleasant. This is a family run business with Mom handling a few parties + cooking while pops artfully rolls up the sushi. The restaurant has a "traditional" feel to it. It's evident that's its been open for business for a long time while maintaining a sense of cleanliness and order flawlessly. I will certainly be back, as this place might have topped my list for amazing and authentic Japanese food.

This place is a hidden gem in mission hills. Super sweet service. The tempura chicken is a favorite very crispy and light. Udon soup is rich and flavorful. Been here for both a quick lunch and dinner. Excellent

Family owned and run restaurant. Lovely, attentive service. Ordered Chicken Katsu. Was perfect. Came with miso soup, salads and complimentary green tea.

Hidden gem! My wife and I love this spot. Excellent service and delicious sushi. Sushi chef knows what he's doing. Can't beat the prices either.

I went there with my daughter. Very much like the one in Japan. I like the fact that it's around the corner Japanese restaurant. It is hidden gem and I will go there again. Try their Takoyaki! Yum yum

This is a very friendly family owned sushi restaurant run by the husband, his wife, and their kids. The menu selections are quite limited, but not bad if you want some simple rolls. I would not recommend this place if you want high end sashimi. Overall we had a nice time here. It has a homey atmosphere and felt like we were eating at a friend's house. Lots of free parking spaces!

Sesame chicken and chicken terriyaki was good. Glad I got the regular version b/c it came with salad and more meat than the lunch special, which came with bean sprouts and salad. Miso soup was fine. Food came reasonably fast, place was clean, and it was not too crowded. Located in small strip mall with small parking lot that has a security guard. Would come back again.

I've have been eating here for over 25 years. It's home style Japanese cooking. I only wish I lived closer so that we could go more often.

Shout out to Nicole for the above and beyond customer service. I always pull over just to make sure I have all the items when going through a drive-thru. Noticed something was missing, and before I could turn my head, Nicole came running out of the store to give me the missing item. Now that is what I call amazing customer service. 100% my go to healthy fast food spot

This place feels like comfort - almost like coming home for the weekend from college. The food was good! I ordered the nabeyaki udon which came out piping hot. The hubs ordered his uzhe chirashi bowl and commented that it really hit the spot. The kiddo got the sashimi mix and gobbled it up. He didn't want to eat plain rice, so I put some of my soup in his bowl of rice and he devoured it lol. We also got an order of tempura to share. The husband was feeling a little under the weather and he really enjoyed the hot tea. The staff was nice and helpful. We didn't have reservations but were seated right away. If we lived in the area, I'm sure we'd be repeat customers!

Teriyaki chicken- pretty good Udon noodle soup - pretty good Eel roll - good Service - good Nice family run restaurant

Very good! Authentic Japanese. Fish is fresh. Family owned. Service is fast and staff is friendly!

Probably one of my favorite restaurants in San Diego. Unassuming and a little hidden. It is a Japanese owned family business where you can get a little of everything (bento boxes, udon, donburi, grilled fish collar, sushi), most of your Japanese comfort foods. The owners and servers are all very sweet. This is one of those places that give you the eating at grandma's vibe. The prices are reasonable too.

4.750 stars. Happy to have found this local Japanese restaurant in our neighborhood of Mission Hills. The restaurant is family-owned, and I learned from other Yelpers that the same couple has run this restaurant for almost 40 years. The restaurant is clean and functional; it makes me feel like I'm in my rich aunt's house in Pasadena--all of the furniture/art is older and dated but very high quality. The service is excellent but slightly distant in that authentic Japanese restaurant kind of way. The sushi chef-owner is always dressed in a navy uniform and always working hard behind the sushi counter whether we are the only 2 patrons or if there are 6 others. The food is very high quality and fresh. We have had the edamame, the seaweed salad, the miso soup, the tempura mix, and the chirashi bowls. As is the case with good Japanese restaurants, the fried items are very lightly breaded and lightly fried and the fish excellent. We'll come back for sure!

Was in the mood for a warm hearty meal so I went with Japanese tonight. Had the Katsudon with miso soup and hot tea. Hit the spot on a cold rainy night. Small family style place with an older vibe but great home style cooking. I would for sure recommend this place if you're in the area.

Love mom and pop hole in the wall type restaurants. We came here for on a whim while looking at venues in mission hills and happy we came. The nigiri was perfect and the price was great had rainbow roll too with vegetable tempura. My daughter had chicken teriyaki with rice she loved it. The service was friendly and the food was tasty also for a Japanese restaurant it was super price friendly if we are local come check this place out. It's def an old school type feel located next too bar dynamite you might miss it cause they have tint on the window but you will find it once you park in the adjacent lot parking during the week day was fine weekend maybe tricky though.

They know what's up! The restaurant is in here strip mall next to a liquor store, which makes it seem kind of unassuming but inside the restaurant is nice and clean and the staff is friendly and professional. The food is also delicious. I got the tempura udon and the spicy tuna roll and the Katsu don and it was all so yummy and hard to drive home because it smelled so good

The food is AMAZING!! I highly recommend all of it. The service is also fantastic! The overall energy of the place is great and really calm, 10/10 highly recommend and will go again

Old time established Japanese restaurant at the foot of Washington Street near India Street. The chef is a seasoned fisherman who has a lot of pictures of 100 lb plus tuna that he has caught and he doesn't freeze any of it all gets served to customers friends and neighbors! The food is good the restaurant is nice decor excellent shape and the people are really friendly. Will come back for sure!

Yoshino's has become our go-to Japanese restaurant and is a meal we always look forward to. Amazing food, service, and ambience. Everything on the menu is phenomenal, and you just can't help coming back to try it all. Rice is perfectly cooked and seasoned, and the sushi is so fresh and consistent in quality and flavor. Best tempura I've ever eaten, batter is so light and crispy and made to order. Even the music is spot on. Thank you so much for running such a wonderful local business! Your restaurant is a gift to this community.

4.5 stars I totally forgot about this place, it had fallen off my radar for awhile because its not on Convoy street with the other asian restaurants. But i believe they were the first Japanese restaurant in San Diego, I think i remember reading that somewhere many years ago. The family who runs it is very nice and polite, since my last review many years ago, they have expanded to have a small sushi bar as well. My favorite thing to get here is the sesame chicken, its fried and has some sauce on it which is so good. There are also different combos that you can get that either come with a 6 piece California roll, tempura or sashimi. I usually get a combo with either tempura or sashimi. Each meal comes with bean spouts and salad, the sprouts are bland and the salad just comes with a vinegar bases dressing which i think is blah. Today I ordered the #1 combination, Sesame Chicken with tempura ($15) pretty amazing that they have not changed their prices in so many years. The Chicken was as amazing and tasty as i remember it, the tempura was light and crisp and the dipping sauce was delicious too. I recommend you put some rice aside in a bowl and put the tempura on top and pour half the sauce over it so that the sauce drips on to the rice, then use the other half for dipping. They do not give soup with take out orders so the usual miso soup that comes with the meal is omitted, which i was fine with. I also ordred a negi-hama (green onion and hamachi) hand roll, which was delicious! I liked the texture of the nori and fatty freshness of the Hamachi. I liked that their sushi is pretty inexpensive and of good quality. Its not high end $100 sushi but you definitely get more than what you pay for. I can't believe I forgot about this place for so long! I was glad to revisit them and to give them my business and to reconnect with them. I talked to them about when they'd be open for dine in service, they said they aren't sure yet. I'll be back again soon, probably for sushi or sesame chicken or both!

This place is a little hidden gem. Delicious food and fair prices. It's hard to find on maps without specifically searching for sushi but it's worth trying. Friendly staff and a cute/comfortable Japanese diner-like vibe make this place one of my favorites in the area. I really like their udon soup and their fish is good quality as well. Check out this place next time you're in the area!

Good Japanese restaurants operated by Japanese. Offers a good variety of food Everything I've had at Yoshino has been very tasty.

Great place to make a stop if you're on the way to the airport or heading home. Apparently this place has been here for over 30 years, but I made my first visit back in December of 2019. Had the sesame chicken which came with shrimp tempura, a small green salad, and a bean sprout salad with sesame dressing. The chicken had a great sweet sauce and the shrimp tempura was light and crispy. Would definitely love to make another visit soon.

Classic neighborhood japanese with Yama a true hidden gem of a sushi master. I've been going for years and it has always remained high quality and consistent.

My most favorite restaurant ever. The sesame chicken is AMAZING, and the sushi is always fresh. The owners/staff are so kind and it is just an overall great place. I come here after performances, birthdays, etc. Its my absolute favorite!

Stayed near the area and after researching on Yelp places to eat dinner, we chose to walk to Yoshino's. There are lots of parking in the lot. Authentic Japanese food and sushi bar. Service was excellent. We were the first patron for the night but as we sat there were a couple of big groups coming in to dine. We had the scallop nigiri sushi, nabeyaki udon, and Combo B dinner. Miso soup was delicious and hit the spot. Would definitely recommend and would go again if we were visiting the area!

This restaurant is close to my home so I decided to check it out. My friend and I weren't feeling sushi so we order one Teriyaki Chicken dinner and one Beef Teriyaki Combo (bento). The only difference between the dinner and the combo/bento is that you don't get the extra item that can be California Rolls or Tempura etc. You still get Soup, Salad and Bean Sprouts. The Soup was yummy but the salad and bean sprouts were not. The bean sprouts are in a mayo-like dressing which gives some flavor but I didn't enjoy it. The iceberg lettuce in the salad was so cold it had ice chips on it. Unfortunately, the main entrees were equally disappointing. The only positives regarding the food was that the Teriyaki Sauce wasn't supper thick or sweet, which I liked and the chicken was a very large portion. The cost was on the higher side considering the quality of the food received. Service was good. Our server was SO sweet and checked on us frequently without being invasive to our conversation. She refilled our drinks before we would even need to ask and was always smiling. Ambiance of the restaurant is super chill. It's pretty quiet inside with plenty of seating. My friend and I lost track of time and realized that they had already closed! They were so kind as to leave us be since they were still cleaning up and shutting down for the night. Location is very convenient, right off the 5 freeway. They have there own parking lot which is really great considering how busy the area is and how hard parking can get. The food is most important and was lacking - so I can't give more than 3 stars. Why they aren't getting less than 3 stars from me is because they were very pleasant, it was super chill/comfortable inside and very convenient to get in and out of. With all that considered, there is just too much great food in this area for me to come back.

Great service and food. Nice place for lunch. Very authentic Japanese food. The owners are Japanese which is a major bonus!

Went here one evening when there was one other party of 2 people in there. We ordered the chef special roll and one other roll that I can't recall what was on it. It took over 30 mins for our rolls to come out and was pretty confused considering the party that came in after us of 4 people were served and payed before we even received our rolls. My friend enjoyed the chef special but I did not enjoy mine at all. The taste was off for whole roll which was a bummer after waiting so long. I really wanted to like this place too because it's downstairs from a place I visit frequently and would've loved to have it as a place to go to often afterwards or prior.

Yoshino's has been around for many years. I've been wanting to go here for a long time and finally got a chance. I will have to admit I was a little disappointed. Don't get me wrong, the food wasn't bad, it just wasn't epic. Maybe my expectations were a little too high.

We've been coming here for years. The food is consistently delicious and of high quality. It's a pleasure having Japanese sushi made by a Japanese chef. The interior is nothing special, but it's clean and comfortable. The owner, Yama, and his wife, Kat, are both welcoming and personable. The staff is always efficient. We'd come here much more often if we lived closer, but it's definitely worth the trip.

A genuine Japanese Sushi Bar and Restaurant! I'm so lucky. I just started a job across the street. I can visit this place on the daily for authentic, fresh caught sushi, rolls and even cooked dishes. I enjoyed the Spicy Tuna, Spicy Albacore and Unagi! All were tasty. Unagi is the barometer for sushi quality. If done well, it's the best cut on most menus. If done poorly, you can estimate the other dish quality. This unagi is soft, not chewy, savory, baked right and on par with only a few. My first try will not be my last try!

Always good. Comforting. Your neighborhood Japanese place. Nothing fancy. Food is always excellent and very homey. The sushi is always very fresh and satisfying. Nothing stale here. They know what they're doing. Solid. Order the katsudon for the ultimate comfort food. Free parking, which is so rare in this area. Go now.

My Japanese husband approves of this place and we go here once a week. Seriously. He doesn't approve of many Japanese places. The tonkatsu is better than most places in Tokyo. And we like everything we've tried here. He loves the sesame chicken. And Sushi is fresh. And delicious. Prices are fair. And best part it's family owned by the same couple for over 30 years. It's an institution.

Great, basic but very good sushi & Japanese fare. This place sticks to the fundamentals, without all the bells & whistles. But it gets it right.

Amazing! Second time eating here in less than one week! Great place, food is authentic, this a treasure in San Diego! Get the number 5, it has been my favorite for over 25 years!!! Yum yum!!!

I've been coming here for 25 years! The best place ever They are truly amazing. Food is fresh, service is amazing and it's the best place to be

This place is terrible ,,, waitress was super rude , bathrooms dirty and they try and up charge you for everything.. If you want a snotty unfriendly atmosphere try this place ,,, just don't order the Beef and Sashmi because they won't do it without up charging you like crazy ! NEVER again....