4150 Regents Park Row # 190
La Jolla, CA 92037-9139
(858) 452-7778
gonozomi.com
Nozomi, Nozomi...where do I begin? I've only tried this place 2 times, the first time being a mediocre experience, but the second time -- I just don't know. It was a series of unfortunate events.
My friends and I were planning to grab a quick bite before hitting downtown San Diego for da dansings and da drinkings. What's closeby and won't cause our bellies to bulge out of our skin-tight clothing?? Sushi! Nozomi!
We, a party of 3, arrived on a Saturday at ~6:45 pm. We had meet up our friends at 8:30, so we figured there would be sufficient time to eat, get ready, and meet up in time. The restaurant was not too packed at this time. We were seated within 5 minutes of our arrival, but were not given menus until we requested them.
The waitress did not so much even glance in our direction to see if we were ready to order. I believe we spent the better part of 15 minutes idly staring off into space, until my friend waved his arms wildly to grab her attention.
We place our orders. 10 minutes go by. Then 20. Groups of people seated after us got their food orders, including a sashimi boat. Then 30...when it was the 35 minute park, I marched up to the cashier to ask them where our food was. As I was asking the cashier, our waitress said, "it's coming, it's coming!"
The owner (or who I assumed to be the owner) brought our rolls, apologizing profusively. "The food was there, it just wasn't served yet," she explained. What? So we were sitting here for nothing? "It's a busy day, everyone just started ordering their sushi at the same time!"
As it turns out, one of our rolls we ordered was made incorrectly so she gave us a sushi roll on the house. That slightly soothed our tempers.
The prices are admittedly a bit steep, but the presentation of the rolls were aesthetically appealing. The portions are decent when compared to the size-to-price ratio, but there are better sushi deals to be found near Convoy.
After we finished eating, we decided to go up to the cashier to pay to avoid any further unnecessary delays. Two of us were panicking at this point, knowing time was tickin' and we still had an entire makeover routine to undergo before we hit the bars.
My friend and I each had half a roll left, and we planned to bring it back...I suppose it was our fault for leaving the table, because they cleared it immediately (the service was so slow, but somehow they were extremely fast with cleaning up). Along with our food!! I almost cried.
The owner and our waitress once again apologized profusively and even offered to make us another roll, but at this point we were extremely, extremely late and we did not have any more time to spare. So as redemption, she gave us ice cream to go. Better than nothing, I suppose.
Our entire meal lasted over an hour, which is a lot considering we scarfed down half our rolls as fast as we could. I'm guessing this place is just extremely understaffed considering the restaurant was not that even that busy...the food isn't BAD, but I'm not sure I'll be coming back knowing how long the food takes to come.
Showing posts with label japanese. Show all posts
Showing posts with label japanese. Show all posts
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Cafe-styled sushi: Niban (San Diego, CA)
7081 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
Ste 101
San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 268-0465
I've been here a total of two times. The first time was a-okay (I ordered a katsu don and it was only average), but the second time was commendable!
Certainly cheaper and serves larger portions than Sushi Deli. GREAT for college students! We ordered the:
-Crunchy Roll (I didn't know it came with cream cheese...I'm cheese-adverse so I didn't like the aftertaste in my mouth, but otherwise good).
-Dynamite Roll -- yum!
-Rainbow Roll - for $6.25, you can't get any better!
-Katsu bentobox - lots of food for cheap!
In conclusion, Niban is a great place for the average sushi-loving, budget-conscious college student. Cheap eats with huge servings! And while other Japanese restaurants charge for green tea (why? WHY? So-cal is WEIRD.), Niban does not, and offers free refills.
Keep in mind it's less of a restaurant, and more of a stand in-line to order, sit yourself, and have them bring the food to you. The longest wait is waiting in line to place your order. Service is also very friendly.
Ste 101
San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 268-0465
I've been here a total of two times. The first time was a-okay (I ordered a katsu don and it was only average), but the second time was commendable!
Certainly cheaper and serves larger portions than Sushi Deli. GREAT for college students! We ordered the:
-Crunchy Roll (I didn't know it came with cream cheese...I'm cheese-adverse so I didn't like the aftertaste in my mouth, but otherwise good).
-Dynamite Roll -- yum!
-Rainbow Roll - for $6.25, you can't get any better!
-Katsu bentobox - lots of food for cheap!
In conclusion, Niban is a great place for the average sushi-loving, budget-conscious college student. Cheap eats with huge servings! And while other Japanese restaurants charge for green tea (why? WHY? So-cal is WEIRD.), Niban does not, and offers free refills.
Keep in mind it's less of a restaurant, and more of a stand in-line to order, sit yourself, and have them bring the food to you. The longest wait is waiting in line to place your order. Service is also very friendly.
Oh no: Onami (San Diego, CA)
1640 Camino Del Rio N
San Diego, CA 92108
(619) 295-9774
o-nami.com
My good friend Peter N. and I stumbled into this restaurant while listlessly wandering around the mall one day. Fatigued and slightly starving, we spotted an oasis up ahead -- Onami's sushi buffet! We scurried to the front door to take a glimpse at the prices. YIKES! $25 for dinner? A big no-no for our college-student wallets. We vowed to come back to try at lunch, which we did within two weeks on a Friday ($14.95).
We thought we were so clever. "Har-har," we cackled to each other. "We're eating the same buffet for so much cheaper! He he he!" Clasping our hands and laughing maniacally, we began our eating adventure with grabbing a plate.
There's many a sushi selection to choose from. Crunchy roll, tempura roll, California roll, spicy tuna roll, something called the "burrito roll" (interesting), unagi, and some special rolls which the chefs probably made up. There was even sashimi! Additional food available were beef teriyaki, chicken teriyaki, udon, bulgogi, egg rolls...etc etc. All were so-so, except for the udon, which was fairly decent. There was also quite a few desserts to choose from -- cheesecake, fruits dipped in chocolate, green tea cake, sponge cake, cookies-- but my favorite was the green tea ice cream. Fruits and salads as well.
BUT -- where's the seafood??
Turns out that the lunch buffet is $10 cheaper for a reason. There was no seafood, except for baked mussels (which frankly, were sub par). No crab legs, no lobster, no oysters...sigh.
So for $15 + tax + tip, you're not getting much for your money. The sushi is decent, but perhaps better spent at an actual sushi restaurant. The hot food is certainly not something to rave about. The desserts were decent; the cheesecake and white chocolate dipped apple were pretty good.
If you are torn between whether or not to try Onami's, I would not suggest it unless you have money to blow and just want to stuff yourself silly. In that case, I recommend my favorite item in the whole buffet -- the green tea ice cream.
P.S. I have to hand it to the customer service, though, our empty plates were always immediately collected and our servers were extremely pleasant.
San Diego, CA 92108
(619) 295-9774
o-nami.com
My good friend Peter N. and I stumbled into this restaurant while listlessly wandering around the mall one day. Fatigued and slightly starving, we spotted an oasis up ahead -- Onami's sushi buffet! We scurried to the front door to take a glimpse at the prices. YIKES! $25 for dinner? A big no-no for our college-student wallets. We vowed to come back to try at lunch, which we did within two weeks on a Friday ($14.95).
We thought we were so clever. "Har-har," we cackled to each other. "We're eating the same buffet for so much cheaper! He he he!" Clasping our hands and laughing maniacally, we began our eating adventure with grabbing a plate.
There's many a sushi selection to choose from. Crunchy roll, tempura roll, California roll, spicy tuna roll, something called the "burrito roll" (interesting), unagi, and some special rolls which the chefs probably made up. There was even sashimi! Additional food available were beef teriyaki, chicken teriyaki, udon, bulgogi, egg rolls...etc etc. All were so-so, except for the udon, which was fairly decent. There was also quite a few desserts to choose from -- cheesecake, fruits dipped in chocolate, green tea cake, sponge cake, cookies-- but my favorite was the green tea ice cream. Fruits and salads as well.
BUT -- where's the seafood??
Turns out that the lunch buffet is $10 cheaper for a reason. There was no seafood, except for baked mussels (which frankly, were sub par). No crab legs, no lobster, no oysters...sigh.
So for $15 + tax + tip, you're not getting much for your money. The sushi is decent, but perhaps better spent at an actual sushi restaurant. The hot food is certainly not something to rave about. The desserts were decent; the cheesecake and white chocolate dipped apple were pretty good.
If you are torn between whether or not to try Onami's, I would not suggest it unless you have money to blow and just want to stuff yourself silly. In that case, I recommend my favorite item in the whole buffet -- the green tea ice cream.
P.S. I have to hand it to the customer service, though, our empty plates were always immediately collected and our servers were extremely pleasant.
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