Poway Sushi Lounge

My sushi tonight was just ok. It’s been like that the last couple times I’ve been here. Nothing like it used to be. Pretty disappointing because I really wanted to stay close to home for good sushi

Average at best, used a little eel as possible in rolls and just average service, go to RB Sushi you will thank yourself for doing so.

Great atmosphere and amazing food! Definitely worth a trip or 3

Acceptable service, but the quality stopped there. The whole restaurant smelled of dirty laundry and the tables were filthy and the food was fast food quality.

Just remembered that my original review was only 3 stars … we went back a couple weeks ago and had a much better experience. Everything on our bento boxes was yummy — except, again the tempura was so-​so, heavily breaded and somewhat soggy. Wish there had been some onions or mushrooms.
Our amazing server, Bobby, made up for any minor shortcomings in the food. He knew the menu inside and out and answered all of our questions. He was REALLY nice and provided exceptional service.
Having a 20% discount with the Passport dining card was a nice bonus. I’m still withholding that 5^th star — some better tempura might do it!

This place has good sushi but definitely over priced. As an avid sushi eater I have tasted way better sushi and way less expensive. Not as much selection on rolls as other places either.

This place is delish! Very unique rolls (love the Tazmanian) with fresh fish and great flavors. Service is great as well. Monday night is half off some rolls FYI. Only con: this place isn’t cheap. Average roll cost $ 15-​$ 17.
Small, clean place with modern décor in a small strip mall. Would def recommend!

This review is an average of my three visits here for dinner.
This place has outstanding service and it really feels like an experience when they explain the flavors and ingredients in each of your rolls and bring them out in an order suggested to eat them. The servers are so friendly and even make attempts to connect with us and our family, bringing in our young children. The last two times I was in we had Danny as a server and he was outstanding. It was really busy tonight but he seemed to stay very positive and helpful. And still took his time with each table to be genuine.
The food… it is more American style sushi but we like that and they excel at it. The flavors are on point. Tonight we had the Cocomo. Amazing. I also enjoy the hamachi special and the Rosie roll.
The garlic edamame is free with a check in and I’ve always loved it but tonight it was a bit different and way more spicy. Still liked it.
Tonight there was a bit of a musky smell, maybe a cleaner? Not pleasant but I haven’t experienced that here before and I will definitely be back. This is our sushi spot (when we don’t want to drive to our place in Old Town).
To finish this with a bang… Mochi ice cream balls. Made in house!!! I had strawberry and green tea and it made me so happy. I was just smiling and laughing at how delicious it was and I can’t wait to be in poway again to stop in for some more of those! That is on my list of food to eat on my death bed.
Enjoy this place! It’s great.

Let me preface this review first by saying that if you like the flavor of traditional, authentic sushi and other Japanese food then this is not the place for you. I definitely prefer more traditional flavors so this was a major letdown for me. Poway Sushi Lounge is great if you love «American Style Sushi». Lots of rolls with tons of ingredients, krab instead of crab, different kinds of dipping sauces, deep fried rolls… if that’s your thing then this is your place. As I stated, that’s not my cup of tea so I was not impressed with this place.
We ordered 3 rolls and I personally felt that none of them were very good. Flavors were just… not good. At all. One of them had seared fish with Cajun seasoning which, in my book, is just wrong. My wife actually stopped eating she disliked it so much. The best roll in my opinion was the rainbow roll but even that wasn’t very good.
Our server was alright. He was very friendly and attentive. Except for one point at the end of the night when we wanted to pay, he took a while picking up our check. Otherwise, service was pretty spot on.
The place was packed so obviously they’re popular. I just didn’t like it here. But as I said before, I’m partial to more traditional Japanese food. So if that sounds like you, then stay away from here.

It has been a while since I have left a review for Poway sushi lounge. I just wanted to send an updated review which is no different than my initial review that this place is truly amazing and a relatively hidden gem in Poway. I try their new specials almost every time I go there and they never fail to disappoint. My favorite is probably the chronic roll which is a regular menu item. I also really like their Jasmine BlackBerry green tea. If you are looking for an awesome happy hour location for sushi, this one is the place to check out. Lots of great specials, very reasonable prices, and definitely better than any of the all you can eat gorge yourself sushi restaurants.
Katie, one of the owners is a total sweetheart and so personable. She makes you feel like you are her only diner at the restaurant even though they are usually packed. Definitely make reservations before you head down on busier nights. The line out the door is a pretty good indication of an awesome sushi location.

Been here a bunch of times now and been The Duke a few of them. Normally a four star place, but not today.
Just tried having lunch here… tried because only half our rolls came out about 40 minutes after we ordered. My wife’s rolls came out 10 minutes after that. The food we ordered for our kid came out quickly after it was ordered.
About 25 minutes into waiting for our food the server let us know that she didn’t forget about us, but then later apologized for us having been forgotten about due to a Chef change that caused our order to be mishandled. $ 65 for food we didn’t get to enjoy in the restaurant, as we just had it bagged to go. And they didn’t prepare two of our rolls correctly. They appeared to be in a mad dash at the end to try and put something on a plate.
They tried making it right with a $ 7 coupon for an appetizer. Kudos for the effort there, but the coupon for a future visit doesn’t do much to rectify the issues we had today.

Wow.
I have been wanting to come to Poway Sushj Lounge for quite some time now and have had this business bookmarked for a few years but have never been because it’s out of the way. I was in the area and told myself I NEEDED to stop by for lunch.
The inside is nicely decorated and welcoming. I sat in a little corner by myself which I enjoyed due to the fact that it’s pretty cozy.
I stated out with a large hot sake, garlic edamame which is complementary with Unilocal of FB check in, and miso soup. The miso soup was delicious and the garlic edamame is like no other garlic edamame I’ve ever had. It has hints of cinnamon and other spices that you would never imagine would work on garlic edamame but it’s amazing. The hot sake was delicious as well, delicate and smooth; VERY easy to drink.
As for sushi rolls I ordered the cocomo roll which has coconut shrimp, scallops, and cucumber inside with avocado and toasted coconut flakes on top with spicy aioli and 2 different sauces on top. Perfectly executed. The second roll I chose was the lazy chef roll which is a tempura fried roll with crab, cream cheese, eel, and salmon with spicy aioli, eel sauce, these flakes on top that gives the roll a smokey flavor. From start to finish the meal was fantastic, I couldn’t tell you what I enjoyed more because everything was perfect. If you’re a fan of Harney Sushi, then you NEED to try Poway Sushi Lounge – they give Harney a run for their money that is for sure. With that being said the food is expensive, but the quality is high and well worth it. If you’re a cheap-​o then this isn’t the place for you.
Daniel was my server and was awesome. It’s always nice to have a server that is passionate about the food and really understands and explains the flavors well.

THE best Sushi in the area, bar none.
Great service, excellent interaction with the chefs and very fresh fish. The menu has some very creative rolls and fish preparations. Highly recommended.

Excellent sushi restaurant! One of the best I have ever been too. The quality of the fish is excellent! The waitstaff is very nice and helpful. The chefs are very good and are very nice. I recommend sitting up at the sushi bar where you can talk to the chefs. Our chef was very nice and so helpful in explaining what he was doing and what the ingredients were. I would highly recommend the lemon aid roll. It was very light and refreshing. The lunch special with the roll combo was very reasonably priced for the quality that you get.
We will definitely be back soon!

I came here on a Sunday afternoon with my girlfriend. The staff was very friendly & attentive. We enjoyed that they had televisions at the sushi bar so we could enjoy the football game. I ordered the highlighted items from Unilocal:
Garlic Edamame — FREE with Unilocal check in! Flavorful!
Tsunami — Shrimp, lump crab, asparagus, avocado, cucumber, albacore, garlic, chili, cilantro, & a bowl of ponzu sauce for dipping your sushi. Good!
Red Dragon — Lump crab, cucumber, sprouts, tuna, avocado, green onions, sweet & spicy sauce. Definitely the better of the 2! I highly recommend this roll!
Everything was good but just so expensive!

Quaint little gem in the heart of Poway. When I think of going out to eat, I never think Poway but this place might make you reconsider. Even though it is quite small, it is very clean and modern. Definitely more upscale than a hole in the wall sushi joint.
My friends and I always come on Mondays during their happy hour which starts at 4:30 until close. They have a handful of rolls for half off, enough of a variety to choose from. Their rolls are huge so 1 is enough for me, two if you’re starving. I’ve tried the fuzzy navel, the chronic, albacore special, spider and red dragon. All are great rolls, the tsunami sauce is FIRE (in terms of goodness). I favor the fuzzy navel and add it with cream cheese for some more depth! They also have awesome drink specials, flight of saketinis say wuuuut?
Our waiter, Ron Jay, is always helpful and extremely knowledgeable on all things Poway Sushi Lounge. If he is your waiter, you are in luck. He is always a pleasure and knows how to properly wait a table. Thanks, Ron Jay!
The dessert is also fantastic. The scoops of the ice cream are generous and the banana dessert is heavenly, and I usually do not like fried banana.
We will definitely be back, and often!

Man, this place never disappoints.
The sushi chefs are having a competition for their own roll creations. How much fun is that? I’ve never had anything here that wasn’t fresh. YUM.
Best sushi spot in Poway.

Happy Hour Mondays?! I’m diggity down.
They offer a pretty good selection of rolls during Happy Hour that are half off. Granted the prices are steep to go on a regular night, the discount is well worth it.
I chose the Fuzzy Navel roll. It was very fresh and had sprouts, salmon, ahi, avocado and a few other veggies. Really hit the spot! Plus you get a garlic edamame for free at check-​in. #winning
No matter what roll you get, be sure to ask for a side of Tsunami sauce. You can eat that ish with a spoon.

We started with the garlic edamame, thanks to Unilocal free check in appetizer — they were good.
Next was spider, red dragon and crunchy roll accompanied by sake !
We ended with crème brûlée. Each and every dish was gr8 and we loved it. Our server Danny made the experience even better, he told us about each and every dish in detail, which I really liked.
Loved the ambiance and the experience. Would highly recommend this place and I’m defiantly coming back.
PS: we reached home and my husband realized he left his iPhone 6 plus at the shop. We called them and they had it kept it safe for us. — would add another star if I could !!!

This is not real sushi! In fact, it’s almost offensive that this is attempting to be passed off as authentic Japanese. I thought I’d give it a try due to the high Unilocal reviews… First and last time I will go here!
I just spent $ 50 only to find that all 3 rolls are full of crab meat and aren’t suppose to be. Even worse, it’s imitation crab. I know because I asked the hostess and she told me they use it in all of their rolls. I probably should have asked for my money back then, but I didn’t. Instead, I got home only to find out the «sushi chefs» that made the rolls used special white rice paper to wrap the rolls in because they weren’t skilled enough to have the rice stick to the outside of the seaweed.
Bottom line:
Not real sushi (all was «American» sushi with fake crab), not made by sushi chef’s (abundantly clear by presentation and lack of skill), and you pay as much, if not more, than you would for real sushi. VERY DISAPPOINTED.