Aloha Sushi Lounge

Place is closed. I showed up for the happy hour and it looked empty. but I figured it wouldn’t be to busy at 1pm on a Tuesday. But the door is locked and it shut down. Wish I had known before driving over here. They left all the signs up like they are still open. Ridiculous!

Was desperate for sushi so came in even though I’ve read all the reviews. It smells like fish, menus are sticky, and server cares more about her hair than serving me. That being said, my food was ok and dirt cheap. Whatever. We’ll all be dead soon enough. I’ve had worse.

Worst. Sushi. Ever.
The bf and I used to come here often, but after we moved we hadn’t come by here for at least a year. We’re really bummed it’s gotten so bad here.
We walked in and the patio looked dirty. The patio furniture is chained down (in La Jolla??) and looks like it needs to be replaced. This restaurant is also glaringly behind the times on the whole gluten awareness movement. The server didn’t know what gluten was or what ingredients were in the rolls. Even when asked if it was imitation crab or real crab, she had to check with the sushi chef. I consider knowing the ingredients on the menu to be a pretty basic requirement for a server. FYI — they have no gluten free options for the specialty rolls and no gluten free soy sauce.
While our server was nice, she never brought us napkins or refilled our waters, and only brought chopsticks after we flagged her down halfway through my boyfriend’s meal.
I say «my boyfriend’s meal» because my order came out wrong (just a simple spicy tuna roll and spicy yellowtail roll) and it took the sushi chef 20 minutes to remake my order because he lost the ticket. When my food finally came out, I bit into the first piece of my spicy yellowtail roll and it HAD A BONE IN IT. Not a small «fish bone» like you might find in a can of tuna, but a hard, sharp bone almost an inch long. And with no napkin to spit it out in, I had one of my classier restaurant moments (sarcasm). After waiting almost an hour for two basic rolls, I didn’t eat anything.
My boyfriend had a bone in his too, but didn’t tell me until later. The sushi was terribly fishy and clearly wasn’t fresh. The server did comp my meal, but we will never be going back.

The boyfriend and I came here to check it out for Restaurant Week. It was alright. Pretty small on the inside, but plenty of canopy booth seating in the back. Your average sushi joint.

The won ton crab is edible. The drinks
Are drinkable.
I ate the crab won tons, and my lady drank her drink.

Worst service ever! Don’t waste your time.
Really slow, it’s a sunday, the place has only 2 other tables filled and it took 30 mins to get 2 rolls and the rest of the rolls took another 20 mins! So terrible, not worth it!

Went here with a living social deal and high hopes bc I noticed it had an island name with it. This place was a serious let down.
We went there for lunch around 1pm. We stood at the front looking for anyone to acknowledge us and/​or seat us, but after two mins there no one was in sight. I had to yell out, «hello anyone here?» for someone to attend to us. After we were seated, I noticed the floors and tables were dirty. Something you would MAYBE (that’s pushing it) expect from a place that was insanely busy and there were enough servers, but clearly that wasn’t the case. Since there was no one there besides us.
After we looked over the menu and made our choices, we had to wait around for our order to be taken. At this point, it was pretty much downhill. The menu had yummy options but the food was subpar. There was no TLC put into it and I was seriously bummed. I didn’t finish the food. We asked for our bill and left. I wouldn’t give this place a chance and I would not recommend this place to anyone. I’m a fair rater and give people benefit of doubt but this place was a disappointment. Customer service and quality of food is the key to keep customers. Bad experience overall.

½ star for food. ½ for service. It saddens me to have to give a poor review. I’m a VERY fair rater. in fact, maybe too nice sometimes. I tried to give this place a chance for six years as a local. When I first started coming, the food was good — service was pretty good. Despite the renovation to the property the past couple of years, the service (and food) have gotten worse.
Service: This cemented my decision never to come back or change my review until they get new management or ownership — I had family in town for Mother’s Day and a special event for my child. They were not busy — maybe had 3 tables outside filled and one or two inside. We had a group of 9 so they placed us outside. As the night went on, orders were wrong among other things, like not being able to order more sushi because the chef left. None of our drinks were refilled unless we asked for it.
The high-​pitched waitress (see reviews below) was visibly confused looking over her notes when we were asking why certain orders were not received.
They ran out of propane so we only had one heat lamp available to us and freezing. One of us had to change our order because they ran out of Kalbi ribs. The straw that broke the camel’s back is when our other friend ordered an APPETIZER and it didn’t come until at the end of dinner when the kitchen was closing. When we complained, they offered to comp it. After reading another review here, it seems like this is something they haven’t learned from. Comping doesn’t fix bad service, nor are a bunch of empty apologies.
Waitresses seem pretty friendly but don’t seem experienced at all in serving at a restaurant. Running out of food is also not good. This isn’t the first time and they need to alert people before they even bother to order anything.
I went to Eureka’s the next day at the UTC Mall, and we got excellent service from a waitress who not only got our orders right, the food came out in time… and she made sure we were taken care of throughout our time there — this was with a packed house.
Food:
Food is ok. Kalbi ribs are hit and miss. Sometimes they are burnt beyond recognition. Sushi is good, but I’ve had better sushi at places like Love Boat.
Ambiance:
It looks nice. Cabanas are nice, but somewhat impractical setup of the tables (One oval table to share). You have to reach for your food. This makes more sense if they have pub tables set up or something similar, or a long rectangular table (as in booths).
Anyway, I hope management reads this. They are fortunate they are still up and running in La Jolla where restaurants have come and go. If I want Hawaiian/​Japanese I think I’ll go back to L&L Barbecue.

This place used to be amazing back about 8 years ago.
We came in and it was so dingy at the sushi bar.
The wait staff were young, laughing and running around acting like little kids.
The sushi was ok nothing to remember.
We just got married and told our chef and he said «well hope you don’t get divorced» «lots of people do that now and went on and on about money and why people divorce. Never a «congrats «just super negative. Wow really though?!
Then asked if we were local yes were local and I was so disappointed in the service and the way everyone was acting .
The music was awesome when we arrived. Good reggae then he switched it to pink and played it so loudly we couldn’t hear each other over the crap music and shitty service.
We won’t be back. It’s a damn shame because this place used to be a lot of fun and super good.

I really like the way this place looks. The décor is perfect for a summer lunch spot. They have those outdoor couches and pillows as seats with simple wooden bar stools at the counter.
However the food isn’t very impressive. I do remember one roll the chef made for us had mango pieces and it was a delicious. Other rolls are equivalent to any other sushi place really. This place is definitely on the pricey side for sushi rolls. Sometimes there’s Groupon/​Livingsocial though $ 20 for $ 40.

The big draw is the cabanas in the back for parties! Even with a space heater in each cabana, it can get chilly — so be sure to dress warmly if you’ll be dining in one of those babies at night.
PAR-​TAAAAY! It totally feels like a club night in the cabanas, what with the colored lights rotating through different shades and the dance music tumbling out of the speakers. Dance party in your seats!
I got the sashimi salad, which was good. Large sashimi pieces and yummy juicy tomatoes in a green salad, complete with a tasty dressing. I was still hungry afterwards.
The sashimi salad at some sushi restaurants can be large, super filling and enough to make a meal of on its own. At Aloha, you’ll want to get a sushi roll in addition to your salad — or go straight for one of the larger entrees on the menu.
PROS:
— Outdoor cabanas, fun for parties and large groups
— Large menu with a nice variety of items
— Snazzy tunes in the cabanas for dancing purposes
CONS:
— Average service, although of course it’s not the Ritz Carlton or anything… but just a constructive suggestion that it could be even more hospitable, friendly and welcoming
— One of our friends who’s eaten here before mentioned that the sushi was noticeably «way better» on his last visit… even though he got the same menu item, so consistency might be an issue
CONCLUSION: The cabanas are fun and great for groups. Make sure to bring a jacket since it can still be cold outside! The food is decent, and the service is good. Three stars since I wouldn’t run back here… there are too many other sushi restaurants in SD with excellent service and even more inviting/​cozy ambiance. But Aloha is decent.

My girl and I decided to check this place out due to it’s restaurant week listing. This is another joint with 300+ reviews so I’ll cut straight to my points.
— Good location. Plenty of nearby parking (1 – 2 hour max parking which is more than enough), and a few other cafes, banks, and clothing stores in the area… plus it’s La Jolla so it’s beautiful.
— Good food. The restaurant week deal was pick 2 from a) appetizer b) entrée c) dessert. My girl and I decided to go with an appetizer and entrée; she chose the ahi spring roll (which was delicious) and the Hawaii 5 – 0 roll (which was also delicious). I got an Aloha roll (if deep fried ain’t ya thang then step away) and the kalbi ribs (came with a scoop of mashed potatoes and a small salad [the dressing was tasty]).
— Small inside BUT plenty of great seating outside: there are multiple cabana styled booths outside which I did not notice until I left but it would obviously make a great place for parties of 6+
— Our server was friendly and fortunately the place wasn’t busy at all. One other couple, and a guy sitting outside. The service was good, she asked us how our food was and came by a good number of times to see how we were doing.
Overall I enjoyed it and if I’m ever in the area I might just stop by.

I just came here to pick up lunch to go– and had the most disappointment takeout experience of my life. I’m really not exaggerating– I actually threw my lunch away. I ordered an 8 piece spicy tuna roll ($ 6.50) and the side of grilled veggies ($ 6).
Then the following happened.
1. Laziness
For sushi, 25 minutes is a little long to wait for four lunch specials when the restaurant is completely empty and we called ahead. As we all checked our orders before we left, one of my coworkers mentioned that her spicy tuna roll (which was on a separate check) was missing from her lunch special. The server said it was in the to-​go box with the other spicy tuna roll… Meaning my bag included her four pieces and we would have to split the portions of wasabi and ginger. Listen, I understand that when you order catering and there are multiples of the same appetizer, a restaurant may put them in the same box… But are you really going to put someone else’s meal in the same container as mine? I have to divide my wasabi in half with someone else who ordered sushi on as separate check?
2. Painfully small portions
When I checked my box to see if the other sushi roll was in it, the portions were so small that upon first glance I told the server that there was only one portion in the box, and my coworkers agreed. The server told me to count, and it turns out that yes, there were actually 12 pieces. Except they were so small that the box not only felt empty but looked empty. Anyway, then I look at the second box, which contained the grilled veggies. This $ 6 portion consisted of four carrot slices and a few small pieces of broccoli. I added a photo if you’d like to see. For $ 6 I could have just walked to Vons and gotten three heads of broccoli or two premade salads. Before tasting anything, I was already annoyed just knowing how hungry I’d be despite spending $ 13 on lunch, so I was expecting something incredible tasting that could back up the price.
3. Disgusting
Question: How does a sushi restaurant in La Jolla, CA mess up a spicy tuna roll? Answer: By using rice from last week. Seriously. The coworker who had the same roll as me had one bite and said, «Oh– those are bad!» and pushed them aside. Fortunately she had only added the rolls onto her lunch special so she still had a meal left. Unfortunately for me, after eating three bites of vegetables, I was really looking forward to at least consuming my tiny sushi roll. But it was so awful that I threw it away.
How is this place still in business? I want my $ 13 back so I can actually have lunch today.

Sushi was pretty good, and the happy hour prices were nice! My friends and I went yesterday evening (Saturday) and made it in time for the happy hour special. Inside is pretty small/​quaint but they have many more tables outside and in the back (with nice cabana tables)!
They definitely need to HIRE MORE COOKS though because it took a while to get our food, even with only about 4 – 5 tables to care for. In addition, they need to update their menu or Happy Hour flyer.
Be careful, because the separate Happy Hour flyer has a few price discrepancies when compared to the Happy Hour section in the menu. A few things are cheaper on the Happy Hour flyer, such as the California roll ($ 3 compared to $ 3.50); while a few things are cheaper on the Happy Hour section of the menu, such as the Pizza roll ($ 4 compared to $ 5 from what I remember?). My friends and I especially enjoyed the Pizza roll and Crunchy Tempura roll. I will probably come back again.

I came here with my girlfriend for Restaurant Week. Let’s just say the menu was underwhelming and greatly exaggerated as to what was advertised. I ordered the Aloha Macadamia Roll for the appetizer. It was supposed to have eel and cream cheese inside along with crab and avocado. It was 5 measly rolls that came out all sauced up and the eel and cream cheese was nowhere to be found. My girlfriend got the Ahi Spring Roll and it was just one spring roll cut in half and I saw mostly vegetables in there and no tuna.
For the entrée, I ordered the Kalbi Ribs. I was expecting a decent sized portion, but no. Out comes what looked to be maybe 2 full Kalbi ribs at most compared to what you would get at a Korean restaurant which would be like 4 or 5 ribs. Even at L&L Hawaiian BBQ, you get double to triple the amount that you would get here. The cabbage slaw (cabbage with horseradish sauce) was the bets thing on the plate. It also was served with mashed potatoes. MASHED FREAKING POTATOE! Not even pasta salad. Not even rice. the mashed potatoes were super dry and bland. My girlfriend got the Miso-​Glazed Salmon. Her’s came with the same crappy mashed potatoes and had some sauteed veggies. She gets this dinky-​sized piece of salmon that is 4 oz. at most. It was okay in terms of taste, but too small to be considered an entrée. It might as well be a large appetizer.
For dessert, I got the crème brûlée. The menu says that the crème brûlée is served with fresh berries. Mine was served with just fresh berry. That’s right, I only got ONE raspberry on my crème brûlée. Also, crème brulees are good when there is a crispy shell from the carmelized sugar at the top so when you dig in you hear a crunch before digging into the oozing of the dessert. There was no crunch. The carmelization was just for show as it was basically pudding for me. My girlfriend for the Tiramisu. It was okay and not that great.
I should have thought something was wrong when we showed up at 7:45 and there was next to nobody inside. There were a couple parties outside and a couple inside. The place was largely empty. This place is hands down one of the worst dining experiences I have ever had given the expectations I had for Restaurant Week. For Restaurant Week, you want to showcase your food to your customers to hopefully get them to come back in the future for your regular menu. You don’t want to repel them.
If the Cottage was open across the street, I would have went to remove the bad taste of eating at Aloha Sushi Lounge. The worst part about it was was that I was still hungry afterwards so I went to In N Out on the way home. AVOID THIS PLACE!

I agree with most of the reviews here. Came for a friend who wanted to try their SD Restaurant Week menu. Had the Pad Thai which was just ok. Ordered the Aloha Roll which was a deep fried something and that was better than the Pad Thai. I’m not going to knock this place completely. They have a new Happy Hr starting next week w/​variety of choices for pretty good prices. I will come back to check that out and give it another shot. The Cabana’s were cute. Came on a perfect gorgeous warm breezy SoCal day so I enjoyed the ambiance. Felt like I was back on Oahu

Really sweet happy hour-​lunch specials! $ 2 Miso Soup, $ 3 California Rolls, and $ 4 Seaweed Salads.
There are a lot of other options, those are just what I ended up enjoying. Don’t think happy hour means smaller portions or lower quality. I was impressed with the flavor of both the soup and salad. The California roll was average and the service was merely ok, especially for an otherwise quiet Friday afternoon. Absolutely worth checking out. If you happen to work in the area, also worth swinging by for lunch!

Went for lunch and sat outside. My friend and I opened up the joint so we had dibs on where we wanted to sit. The waitress we have was attentive (perhaps us being her only customers helped) but tomato/​tomahto.
Ordered their chicken teriyaki lunch special with steamed rice and it comes in this bento-​box style presentation where everything was in its own little compartment that I thought was cool. Washed it down with a Kirin Light and the bottle was bigger than my head.

I just finished lunch here for their SD Restaurant Week menu.
For $ 10 you get a choice of appetizer and an entrée.
I ordered the Hawaiian Ahi Poke: you get two fried wonton cups, each filled with ahi poke. but to me it was more seaweed poke with a couple ahi pieces.
I selected the their Tidal Wave Roll as my entrée. The menu says:
Spicy tuna, shrimp, cilantro, topped with tuna, yellowtail, salmon, spicy king crab, and lemon slice.
Totally false advertisement: It was basically a spicy tuna roll (w/​cilantro) topped with tuna, yellowtail, and lemon slices; and then sprinkled with IMITATION crab meat on top of the entire roll.
there was no shrimp and no «spicy king crab».
For $ 10 i didn’t think this menu was worth it all. Let alone their original dinner menu for these selection is $ 20. I’m so glad that i paid only half the price.

One of my coworker was doing a surprise party for her husband’s birthday and rented out the back cabanas with a buffet like dinner. They served salad, rice & teriyaki chicken, and assorted sushi, which had california rolls, tuna roll, phili roll, a spicy roll, and a fried tempura roll.
I definitely enjoyed the cabanas, they were roomy, nice, and the whole area looked very nice with a little deck for dancing. Their cocktail options were unique and fairly priced. Their cocktails were really sweet though, but I like it sweet. I got the mango mojito which was good, but didn’t really taste like mango, I think they also put too much club soda. I also got the strawberry lemondrop, which was delicious! The sugar rim was addicting. Service was okay. They were slow to get the drink orders, and sometimes forgot what we ordered. Maybe they need better service training or something.
The food was pretty good. I liked their salad and their teriyaki chicken. Their sushi were decent, only problem was my friends and I kept burping up that throughout the whole night! I don’t know what the regular menu is, but this was a good preview to what it’ll be like. Seems like sushi will be decent and service will be less than good.