Ono Sushi

Birthday dinner spot!
Made reservations and didn’t even have to wait at the door! We were seated as soon as we reached the door.
The staff was attentive to our needs. Brought out some special food, a cheek of something.
My only 2 complaints is the creepy men that sit at the bar and just pound the drinks down. Yes. I am standing at the bar to get a drink. No, I don’t want to get into a conversation with you or sit next to you. You’d think that not making eye-​contact would be an indicator, but I guess not!
Oh. I spent the night throwing up. And I know it was not from the 1 drink I had. It was within 2 hours after I ate. Maybe it’s a good thing they closed

Dang I miss Ono these days…
A centrally located sushi venue with amazing food and an energetic bar area. The diversity of the sushi chefs and creative atmosphere allowed for so many amazing creations! I’d pretty much always go with whatever the chef felt like making.
I’m a late night eater but refuse to suffer any dip in quality for my nightlifestyle and Ono always delivered. Another perk was the friendly bartenders and clientele. I made a lot of friends at Ono and always felt welcomed. It’s not easy to find sushi bar with top notch food that also has a nice bar atmosphere. I know I speak for more than just myself when I say Ono is dearly missed and wont soon be forgotten…

Bwahahahaha YESSSSSSS.
I am so glad you closed. You were just… so God fucking awful.
Honestly — you were terrible. You were the herpes breakout of the San Diego sushi scene.

Ono Sushi is now OFFICIALLY closed.
I will miss your Miso Cod… But not your automatic $ 50 hold on my card.
That was stupid.

Ono Sushi is a great little sushi bar to spend some time with friends. We had a small group of 6, which was perfect as I could foresee that a larger group might be a little more difficult to accommodate. We dined here on a calm, Wednesday night. Great specials. (We took advantage of the Sake special they had that night.) Nice atmosphere. It was a little dark, but not overly so. We did not have to wait for our table, so that was an added plus!
The seaweed salad was delicious! Ono Sushi had the standard selection of sushi, plus some specialty rolls. Overall it was delicious. I shared with my friends and our three rolls we ordered filled us.
Fantastic atmosphere (with option to dine outside). Yummy food. Clean bathrooms. Speedy and attentive service. Ono Sushi gets my 4 stars!

Came here on a friday night and had no reservations. Either wait 30MIN. or sit at the bar. So, to the bar we went.
We ordered the lobster tacos which were amazing, sake maki, and salmon sashimi. The only thing that we liked was the lobster tacos. Everything else was just ok.
Even though we were sitting at the bar, I felt like the bartenders weren’t really checking up on us and seeing if everything was ok. The bartender that took our order forgot to give us our order of rice and charged us. Meh. I don’t get it.
I don’t think we’ll be coming back!

I believe there are three types of sushi places: Japanese, Korean, and Gaijin. This place is definitely Gaijin (Google it) which means its the right place if you want to stuff your face with silly-​named rolls and get blitzed of drink specials. It’s not the place you want to go to if you’re looking for quality sushi or anything remotely authentic in experience.
We ordered the hamachi and uni nigiri as well as the Boom Boom and PD roll. The quality of the hamachi and uni was actually pretty good. However, the sushi rice appeared to have been made by ex-​cons learning how to make sushi for the first time at the local second-​chance vocational school. The texture was all wrong and there wasn’t enough vinegar. The rolls were basically glorified California rolls. Made with crappy sushi rice.
I’m probably not going back unless I get dragged back there by my Gaijin friends.

Came here last week with some friends to have drinks and sushi. It was $ 4 Martini night on Thursday too.
We ordered a variety of rolls. They were all good, but the only one that stood out was the Super Salmon roll. Maybe because I love Salmon? Either way, it was good and I’ll try it again.
Ordered the spicy garlic edamame an appetizer too. Wow, this was insane. it had garlic, chiles (Serrano I think?), garlic and limes. I have had a similar dish at other sushi places but this one was the best I ever had. No joke. I even tried to make this at home a few days later and failed miserably. Oh well, I’ll get it here until I get it right. It’s slightly spicy, but take that with a grain of salt as I have been tormenting my taste buds with spicy Mexican food since I was a child.
Great place for food and drinks, but can be on the costly side if you come on the weekend. We’ll be back…

After spending the past three years basically living at RK Sushi, I was a little disappointed when I came back to my old favorite sushi spot.
For starters, the rolls were all pretty pricey. I used to always get the Smokin’ Roll (which is basically a Philly roll with spicy mustard) but at $ 9? No way. I decided I’d spend a little more and get something with a bit more to it. I decided on the Super Salmon Roll (Salmon and Avocado on top, Spicy Crab and cucumber on the inside) which cost $ 12. The roll was just okay, nothing special. I paid $ 9 for a large Kirin Light, which seemed offensive after 3 years of $ 5 drink specials (1 Large Kirin and 1 Hot Sake).
Maybe I’ve just become super cheap. Maybe my taste buds have changed. Whatever the reason, I know I definitely won’t be coming back unless its happy hour or on one of their special discount days. And even then, it’s probably not likely.

That was the best sushi experience of my life! :) Kid you not!
Mix a few of my sisters, a bro and a friend and one Master Sushi Chef extraordinaire named Kato and you have a manificient night.
It started off with the Tosai sake being amazingly smooth. I loved the serving carafe where they were able to keep it cool with ice in such a unique manner. I’ve never enjoyed sake unless it was in a bomb, but this was great!
Everything that Chef Kato turned out was a symphony in my mouth… I’d taste it and listen with my tatebuds and it was apparent how smartly executed it was. I’d watch the roll being made and it was really like every move had TLC put into it! Kato was great! He was attentive and charming and timely and helpful. I asked like asking people what their favorites are. I asked what his favorite fish was and he said, mackerel. I tried it and holy mackerel, it was delish. He didn’t steer us wrong once. Everything he made was a winner. I’d put twoof the ones he made certainly in my top 5 best ever! I think one of them I might even have to put at #1! One really cool thing too was that Kato was heading somewhere that night but never once made us feel rushed or unwelcome. He was such a great host.
The rest of the service was great too. Friendly and attentive as well. An unfortunate thing happened and my bracelet that I was wearing broke. I didn’t even realize it under one of the server/​bussers picked it up for me under my chair and gave it to me.
My ice water was always full and everyone was polite.
Ono sushi gets a well deserved 5 stars.
If I stayed home tonight for New Years, I’d be fine with it because last night was already a great introduction to new things and how I’d like the rest of my year to go :) Happy New Year everybody!
***
Dang 24 hours later, I’m still thinking about my sushi… I’m hardly ever thinking of my sushi hours later, let alone a day later. Simply awesome… lingering thoughts of my sushi… mmm…

It’s just okay, nothing to write home about but I have to say that I have been coming here since the day they opened. It’s a fun place to be «seen» and for «scenesters» both Gay and Straight from PB and the Gaslamp to hang out at a place that they think is «hip.»
Great staff who are always very attentive while waiting on me. Lovely interior and great drinks if you are into Cocktails. I am only into one part of that word which I will refrain from writing out…;P
The sushi rolls are just okay. I am never really blown away by them but that won’t stop me from coming here.
Really good tunes playing on the sound system and awesome tv’s for watching soccer and other sports. So grab your best «Ed Hardy» wear and your Volcom sweatshirt and enjoy!

This place was my last stop after a pub crawl and it was THE BEST!
By far my favorite sushi restaurant EVER! I’m normally not a fan of sashimi because it freaks me out eating pieces of raw fish, but this place made it more than easy. I didn’t even have to dip the fish in anything because it was that fresh and yummy. I also had a Triple Fantasy roll and it wasn’t my choice to order it. I never thought a roll with shrimp tempura, tuna, and crab would be that good, but when I tried it, my oh my was it delicious! I mean it wasn’t inexpensive so I was hoping it would be good, but it was better than that! I’m going to have to bring my boyfriend to this place so he could witness how great it is.

Sushi Ono, oh yes!
Parking is awful. Hillcrest it is renowned for this. Circle, look around for a spot, and make the 2 block trek here. Its teh nomz.
I am a huge fan of the Smokin’ Roll, which is a philly with Dijon mustard. I normally order this alongside some hamachi maki and miso soup, and whatever cocktail I fancy that particular evening. I like going Thursdays for their $ 4 martini special, but all their daily specials seem pretty good.
The service can be hit or miss, I’ve had some wonderful experiences and several absolutely LOUSY service nights, one of which was bad enough we complained to the manager. My BFF’s birthday should not be ruined because our server takes 35 minutes for a drink refill because hes hanging out at the end of the bar drinking and chatting with other patrons/​staff. We were pleased when the manager was apologetic, and insisted on buying our whole table not one but TWO rounds of drinks on the house for our trouble.
Try to save room for the tempura fried ice cream, it will change your life. Its too big for one generally speaking, and even those who swore they were fool will start sword-​fighting with their spoon to nab another bite!

I came here on a date with an older man some time ago. I wasn’t paying, and he was insisting, so I was down for whatever.
I had just started to eat fish after about a 10 year hiatus, so he wanted to take me somewhere he thought would get my pallet going again. I was thinking we racked up quite the bill here, since he ordered two of almost everything on the menu, but again, I wasn’t paying, so I didn’t really care. The food was delicious. Drinks were on point. Service was excellent. An awesome way to get me back in the game with seafood.
Sadly I haven’t been back since. Now that I remembered how good and fresh it was, I am going to bring my a** back, and pronto!

3 stars for the sushi. Sushi here is okay, pretty average, I wouldn’t come back for the sushi, but I would come back for the service! +1 star for excellent service from our bartender =D (I don’t want to mention his name b/​c he might get in trouble since he gave us lots of free stuff lol)
Came here on a Monday night around 6:45. They said it would be 30 – 40 minutes wait for a table for 3 so we waited at the bar. It turned out that we can order sushi at the bar, awesome! AND monday night’s special is ½ Price Rolls, Sake & Small Sapporo from 5 – 7 p.m., extra awesomenessess. Our bartender said we had 9 minutes left so he wanted to put in the order so we can get the ½ price :) We got: 2 yellow tail, 1 philly, 1 spicy salmon, 1 salmon skin, and 1 spicy scallop. These are small rolls so it wasn’t fulfilling but total for all of them is $ 18! I love you happy hour.
I also got a Mai Tai (blended) $ 9, it was okay.
It was crowded and the wait WAS long but our bartender was very apologetic about it. First, he gave us free hot sake, and then free edamame. I’ve always had edamame chilled… but when our edamame came out, it was STEAMY & sauteed with lime & garlic, IT WAS SO GOOD! I think I prefer my adamame hot/​steamy/​sauteed now. Anyway, I didn’t really mind the wait b/​c I was having a good time chatting with my friends… the only problem was that I had a flight back to SJ at 9:30 so we didn’t want to be late. I told our bartender and he talked to the sushi chef and our order came out 5 minutes after that =D He also gave us 3 free shots, too cool man, too cool.
In conclusion: We had 6 small rolls, 1 Mai Tai, 1 Hot Sake, 1 Edamame, & 3 shots, + tax = $ 28. Talk about a good deal! Gave our awesome bartender 35% tip, would come back to this place just for him!

Date night last night was amazing. I must say that the only thing I am not that fond of at Ono sushi are the other customers. It’s a small price to pay though for the food and drink.
We walked in last night and were told it would be about twenty minutes for a table so we headed to the bar for a drink. Michael had a monitor and I had the plumtini. To be clear the only thing about it that makes it a martini is the glass. That being said, I wouldn’t care if they served it in a Dixie cup… It is flipping delicious!
We observed two shows while we were at the restaurant. The first occurred at the bar. A 40+ guy was on a date with a girl that appeared to be early thirties. The guy was so flipping obnoxious. He kept babbling on to the bartender as if they were best friends. He was like «we should hang out sometime dude» ok loser… Your date is not impressed and ya look like an idiot trying to pretend you are best buds with the the twenty something bartender.
Luckily we headed to our table so we left that show. At our table we enjoyed sooooo much freaking delicious food. I had the Ono sushi roll and it was damn good. We had a couple bottles of purple haze sake. Oh so delicious.
Our table was right next to the end of the bar so we got to watch another show. These people were leaving so there was an opening at the bar. As these people were walking up this guys walks up and says «excuse me ladies, but we were waiting for these seats». The arguing ensued and here was my takeaway. The guy who started the confrontation was a loser and the girl who was arguing with him needs to find a boyfriend with a pair cuz he just stood there the whole time.
Anyway it was rather comical to observe all of this. I still have to say that Ono sushi is seriously one of my favorite date night spots.

ONO… i don’t get the name of the joint. but ONO reminds me of my friends saying, «Options Not Obligations» — but in reference to this sushi joint, there are plenty of options on their menu.
came here on a wednesday evening, and it was pretty hopping. we waiting a couple mins. and were seated promptly. there was a sake special going, cant remember what the deal actually was, but i do remember the sake was good and we had a lot of it.
we ordered a ton of of randomness. luckily my diner and i have similar tastes. meaning NOTHING with cream cheese. so we ordered something w/​jalapeños which had some nice sassiness kick to it. the salmon and yellow tail sashimi was fresh and nice. overall. good vibe. and good music. its pricey then the sushi delis and RK sushis in the area, but its a bit fancier and more chic.

Three stars for the sushi, a fourth for the $ 2 wells. Y’all should know by now I’m a sucker for a cheap drink, and Ono will provide it from Noon to 5 on Saturday, so I’m in.
Garlic edamame is okay, smells amazing, but it’s a bit much. I actually felt like I was getting a sore throat after a few pieces because the garlic was super heavy. But, I had my trusty vodka tonic to cure me, so I can’t complain much.
I always sit at the bar, not the sushi bar, but the bar bar, because we usually go there when some sort of game is on and the man is accommodating my desire for rice so I figure I’ll let him watch too. This time it didn’t disappoint. Butler beat Michigan State? Solid. Great game, matched only by the great service (from a bartender who drives all the way down from LA to work at Ono) and halfway decent food. Did I mention the $ 2 drinks?

I admit I didn’t know what to expect when coming to Ono’s. My friends and I ran across the street (yeah jaywalking, I know) from Wine Steals to Ono’s at 9pm and it was pretty crowded inside. We were told it would be a 25 minute wait and looked around and saw that there were a couple of empty tables and waited at the bar. 10 minutes later we were seated.
The menu was extensive. For appetizers we ordered the garlic edamame. Edamame had a great garlic flavor with lime, loved this! The citrus balanced out the garlic and soy. I wasn’t interested in the rolls but was curious to see what quality of sashimi they had. We ordered the Chef’s Special for $ 45. I asked how many pieces they had and our server said he wasn’t sure, it depended on the itame and there were a lot. We waited what seemed like a long time and finally presented with a dish of fresh fish with even deep fried fish in there! There was mackerel, maguro, hamachi, sake, tako. scallop and others which I can’t remember due to the copious amount of sake I was consuming (Purple Haze — it has raspberry in it!) but everything was fresh and delicious. I was so full I didn’t have room to try their Poke but that’s for next time. Service was attentive and friendly so no complaints there.
Ono’s really was, well Ono!

Ono? O yes!
It’s true. It took me long enough, but I finally tried Ono, which everyone and their brother has been raving about for years now.
My companion and I came here on a whim. It was dinnertime on Labor Day, and we figured there would be a wait, so we called ahead to put ourselves on the list to be seated. When we arrived, we managed to skirt the crowd and be seated immediately. Nothing feels quite as good as skipping the pre-​dinner wait.
The first thing we noticed was that this spot is LOUD. We sat at one of the tables on the covered street-​front patio. Between the rollicking restaurant-​goers inside, the chatty passers-​by, and the ambulances and police cars driving up and down University, we could barely have a conversation in there. But I suppose I can’t blame Ono for being too popular and centrally located for its own good.
When the server arrived, we placed our order, and we began dinner with a bowl of edamame and hot sake. These left our appetites thoroughly whetted for the rest of the meal.
For the entrée, we shared the following 3 plates, all of which were outstanding:
–Ahi poke. This dish had a very fresh and tangy flavor, and the raw fish was mixed with seaweed salad, which provided a nice touch of bitterness. This was definitely my favorite dish of the night.
–Yellowtail collar. The fish was cooked wonderfully, with a spicy crispiness on the outside. Admittedly, it was tricky to eat with chopsticks, but that let me able to gnaw at it for a long time. Even when I thought the plate was done, I always managed to discover a little more fish hiding in there.
–Shrimp tempura roll. Another tasty item. Sometimes I am wary of tempura rolls, because I don’t like the grease of the tempura intermingling with the simple flavor of the rice. This roll was well done, though, with no grease above and beyond what was necessary to cook the shrimp.
All in all, I’d say this was a winning dinner. I’d love to say ‘O yes!’ to Ono everyday, but then I’d find myself drowning in piles of sushi-​induced credit card debt. That would be the worst kind of piscine disaster.