Yoshino Japanese Restaurant

Found this place written up in the local paper, menu was not posted on Unilocal.After much searching found the menu which looked great. Downside was that it opened at 11:30 (baby bro doesn’t like to eat late). We found YJR and much to our dismay there was no place to park in the ample lot. Oh well, it was not in the stars to eat here.

Fair price for sashimi and sushi combos, miso soup was tasty and the tuna– seaweed salad was delicious.

Don’t let the old storefront fool you. It looks run down outside but the interior is quite nice (take a look at the pic) and the food is good quality and value. They have traditional Japanese sushi and rolls. They have Japanese items that most places don’t have, like gobo and yamaimo. The staff is friendly and there is never a wait. Also, there is plenty of parking. Worth trying if you haven’t been.

Lovely little sushi restaurant. Yama and Kat who own it were very helpful and we chatted with them for some time. Food was nice and fresh although the sashimi was a little small.
All the staff were happy and smiley and we would def return here.
It was quiet when we ate so didn’t have to wait at all and Yama made us a custom roll to our taste.

This place is legit Japanese. Not like those «Japanese restaurant with Korean chef and Americanized menu» places. The people are nice, they seem to have a lot of regulars. And the food is good but nothing out of this world, I would go back for the service though.

After seeing 4 star review I figured I’d give the place a try. I hate to give a two star but I felt I have to save people the disappointment if you have never been. However, I can only judge based on what I had. So here it is, we ordered:
1. Miso soup
2. Soft shell crab
3. Fried calamari
4. Salmon nigiri
The miso soup came with a metal spoon. Not something I’m used to. Made it difficult to enjoy hot soup, bc the spoon would burn my tongue.
The soft shell crab was mostly bread batter. If you know what delicious soft shell crab taste like, I don’t need to say much. The picture says it all.
The fried calamari, well again very disappointed. Maybe it was the end of the night but it was on the over-​greasy side.
The place is questionable looking, but I don’t judge a book by its cover, unless it’s the bathroom. I don’t get a feeling of cleanliness I expect from a sushi restaurant bathroom.

Luv this place! Food is consistently great and reasonably priced. Never too busy, cuz not a lot people know it’s here. Sashimi and sushi super fresh. Service is also great!

This place is great! I enjoyed the noodles, comes with a lot of varieties. The appetizers feel tasty

Went to Yoshino’s for dinner last night, the interior is nice and calming and the staff were very friendly. Our waitress was attentive.
My fiancé ordered the teriyaki chicken and I ordered the sesame chicken along with the steamed gyoza as an appetizer. The entrees come with salad, rice and miso soup. The soup was nice but I didn’t know the gyoza came in a broth. The dumplings were ok, a little too soft from the broth, not the best I’ve had but alright. The teriyaki chicken was freshly grilled and tasty.
For me, the sesame chicken was the star of the evening. Deliciously crisp and juicy in a tasty sauce. Both entrees came with crispy bean sprouts in some sort of creamy sauce that reminded me of Japanese mayo and a salad of lettuce and carrots. The sprouts were a wonderful addition
I highly recommend the sesame chicken!

My favorite sushi spot in San Diego. Delicious and no-​frills sushi. The menu is simple, the staff is incredibly welcoming and professional, the music is not the EDM that so often blasts in similar sushi joints in PB or hillcrest… Also their green tea is delicious. An authentic and relaxing experience.

Very impressed — the restaurant is unassuming but the food was phenomenal. I tried the katsu-​don rice bowl, a spicy tuna roll, and the hot green tea. The bowl was enormous and delicious; the sweet, oniony rice was especially wonderful. The green tea was very delicate and refreshing, and the tuna was very fresh and beautifully prepared. We were surprised by the amount of food we received for the cost. We’ll be back again soon!

Drove by this place a gazillion times… sometimes glancing at the banner sign in front thinking wtf is that place? Next thing you know, my friend was ono for some good local shrimp tempura. Unilocaled it and we drove to the bottom of the hill. Walked in and was pleasantly surprised. Great service. Hands down the one of the best shrimp tempura I’ve ever had in my life. I’ve had a lot of shrimp tempura in my life. A lot. Beauty in batter. Who cares if shrimp are bottom feeders? Bottoms need love too you know? Anyways… trust. Yoshinos nailed it. Sweet potato tempura? Nailed it. Crispy light batter on the outside… soft fresh shrimpy onoliciousness on the inside. Go. Go now. You not going be sorry. Guarrens Ballbarrens.

Never judge a book by its cover. Holy shit this place really surprised me! It’s located in the ghetto ass building behind Lucha Libre so don’t be alarmed haha.
This place is pricey, but it’s worth it. The fish is super freshy and they deliver huge portions. The chirashi bowl was on point, but not the best I’ve had… still worth it though. We also had some pot stickers, which were good, nothing special. Lastly, the Yaki Chicken and Sashimi box was legit. It came with 8 thick slices of sashimi. Dank. It was pricey, but it came with miso soup, salad, and a nice helping of rice. I actually left super full!
Our total dinner cost about $ 55 pre tip. That’s worth it to me, if it’s good, and it was so I was satisfied. Oh and I think there was a large Sapporo in there!
Check it out!

I’ve been here a few times because my co-​workers like it.
Their meats are overcooked, dry, and over sauced, and their salads look like they’ve been wrapped in cellophane in a refrigerator for 2 weeks before they’re served.

Yoshinos is my FAVORITE Japanese restaurant in San Diego.
The service is top notch, the food, freshly prepared and delicious, and so authentic, reminds me of the Japanese food I ate as a child.
They are traditional, kind, attentive, clean and reasonably priced.
Do yourself a favor and visit!

Yuck.
Terrible sushi, salty, old fishey taste and terrible cuisine. The worst service and we got there at 5 PM when no one else was there! do not go here even you are desperate for your sushi fix… then you will leave there wandering where to go to get something halfway decent to eat.

I would have never notice this place if it weren’t my craving for some sashimi. Located in the ghetto looking parking lot next to Lucha Libre, doesn’t get crowded much. I can see why (because it’s pretty pricey compared to Sushi Deli or RK Sushi down the street)
I was very surprised to see that the bento boxes cost nearly $ 15-​$ 20. I was at first reluctant to even order, but I thought I treat myself. I got the chicken teriyaki bento box with sashimi. They sure do give you a lot of chicken, and to my amazement, they give you a lot of sashimi pieces too! You get 8 thick slices of sashimi (well they better right, for the price?!). Every piece of the sashimi (tuna and hamachi?) was delicious. It was very fresh. No fishy tasting. I sat alone at the bar and saw how hard the chef (probably owner) worked to cut his fish and make the sushi. I appreciate hard working people.
You will definitely have leftovers for the next day. I will come here next time to try their udon!

I would recommend Yoshino for their Bento boxes but not for their sushi.
I tried the spicy chicken bento box. Came with tempura, cold noodles, salad and side for miso soup. Plenty of dark flavorful chicken topped with sesame seeds and sauce. Salad was not impressive lettuce and cut up carrots. Two pieces of shrimp tempura and two pieces of vegetable. Crispy and tasty. Cold noodles had no flavor and felt as they had some kinda mayo sauce on top.

This is a nice little spot that feels very locals only even if it’s really not. I wasn’t really feeling like sushi the night we visited so I went with the sesame chicken bento. The chicken was awesome and there was way too much food for me. We packed it in for lunch the next day.
My husband had the tempura chicken and HOLY CHICK-​EN that’s a lot of chicken! He has the appetite of a thousand hungry warriors and even he couldn’t finish the whole plate. Granted he was also eating a spicy tuna roll, but you get the idea.
Great place. We love this little neighborhood for food in general. Everything we’ve had in this vicinity has been excellent.

Yoshino (no relation to the Yoshino in Carlsbad) is an ol’ school Japanese restaurant, not surprising since they’ve been around for 40 years. Stopped by for dinner on a Saturday at their opening at 5PM, the restaurant was filled by 5:30 and a small crowd was waiting by the time we left at 6. Driving in, I thought the exterior appearance was a little sketchy but the interior felt warm and appeared very clean and orderly.
As for the food, it was all good. The hamachi kama was probably the our favorite. The collar was cooked and seasoned just right and it was a hefty piece as well. The Nabeyaki udon was simple, just an egg, one shrimp tempura and a few pieces of fish cake. The chicken teriyaki was white meat and not too overly cooked. The meat was drenched in a rather heavy teriyaki sauce. I would ask for the sauce on the side next time. The sashimi that accompanied the chicken teriyaki was 6 medium slices of salmon and ahi.
The chirashi bowl has been my staple ever since I experienced the one at Akasaka. Of course, this one didn’t measure up. None of them do. But at less than half the cost, what would I expect. The chiraishi bowl was adorned with 10 or so small to medium slices of sashimi, along with a couple of thin slices of tamago. As a dinner, it’s not going to be terribly filling but should suffice for those with dainty appetite.
The service was very good also. Our waitress took our order and the table of 8 next of us without jotting anything down. Our order was perfect and I didn’t hear the next table complain either. Impressive.
Overall a nice experience even though there were no standouts.