Ju-ichi is a fairly new brick and mortar Sushi restaurant in Kearney Mesa. It is currently located in where a previously beloved restaurant, Sushi Yaro occupied (which I discovered through the mmm-yoso food blog . Sushi Yaro was a place where a co-worker and I would go to lunch. They had great lunch combos and great quality fish. The sushi chef Sammy was a bit of a legend and seemed like an awesome guy.
Back to Ju-ichi. They started as a catering / pop-up restaurant a couple of years ago. I would see them on Instagram advertising their Omakase Boxes to go. The pickup locations would vary, somewhere in Clairemont, Mira Mesa, North Park or Old Town. I picked up a box and was pretty impressed with it.
Pictured: From Ju-Ichi Instagram. Example of Omakase To-Go Box
I couldn't find my own picture of the Omakase Box, but it was a work of art. Everything was high quality and alot of care was put into the box. The only criticism is that the ngiri was small but the fish was pretty good quality. They remained a catering/pop up until November 2022 where they finally became a brick and mortar place. I was glad that they were not ON Convoy Street. But it was bittersweet that it was the former Sushi Yaro spot.
It has become a very high-end sushi restaurant, with a very eclectic and very inventive menu. Items range from Yellowtail Crudo and Tuna Tataki, usual nigiri and sushi cut roll to the specials like Wagyu & Hokkaido Uni Toast with Kaluga Caviar and Truffle Aioli or Panko Fried Sablefish with Mojito Dungeness Crab and Watermelon GazpachoInitially only open for dinner, it catered to the night crowd and a good date night spot. On Sunday nights, they have a special multi-course tasting menu (with limited seats) where Chef Nghi lets diner sample special plates for that night.
Recently, Ju-Ichi has expanded their service to include lunch. I was pretty glad they open up for lunch as this place has been my list for a while. Being a fuddy-dud and generally avoiding the Convoy area at night because parking genrally sucks, I am highlighting the lunch menu.
As far as the layout, they pretty much kept almost the same as Sushi Yaro, just more high end furniture and plates/silverware. About the same number of tables. And two TVs at opposite walls.
The lunch menu is pretty extensive, with started like miso soup and karage, to the nigiri and cut/hand rolls. There are also the lunch combos such as the Nigiri and Maki Lunch Combo, and the Sushi Bento
The first lunch trip, I got the Nigiri and Maki Lunch combo. It stars with Miso Soup.
The miso soup was different than most that I'm used to. It was much clearer broth and had lots of mushroom. It had a nice flavor and a good start.
I order the Hangry Roll, because no-one tell me what to do. It has shrimp tempura, spicy tuna, and topped with salmon, avocado and masago. It was quite good and a very decent size.
For the Nigiri and Maki Combo, you do have different option for your cut and maki roll. I chose the soft shell crab roll (for extra $2) and Tuna Maki. The presentation for a lunch plate was top notch. The plate and bowls were pretty unique and the rolls were prestine. The nigiri were little gems to be consumed. The quality of fish was exceptional.
Quite a good lunch and the price wasn't too bad (if you don't get an extra roll).
I went to lunch there a few weeks later and brought a couple of people with me. This time I got the Sushi Bento
The Sushi Bento comes with the usual Miso Soup, and the main plate comes with 5 pieces of sashimi and 4 pieces of nigiri. You get salad options (Wakame, house salad, poke or tataki kyuri), and handroll or Gohan option. I chose the house salad and spicy salmon handroll. Everything was quite good. Sashimi fish quality was excellent and handroll was good. I would lean back towards the Ngiri and Maki Lunch combo as I felt more satisfied with that combo.
It's good to have another lunch option in that area, although now I mostly work from home. And it's good to have a nice restaurant that isn't in the busy Convoy Street. One of these days I will go during dinner time and report back.
Ju-ichi
Ste A
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours-
Mon: Closed
Tues - Thurs: 11:30a - 2:30p, 4:30p - 9p
Fri & Sat: 11:30a - 2:30p, 4:30p - 10p
Sun: 5p - 7p, 7:30p - 9:30p
Lovely blog! Look forward to your posts. And I'll echo the "it's about time" comments!