Sushi Bar Kazumi

Nice little sushi restaurant. Our food was very good. We got a good variety and all four of us enjoyed our dishes. Reasonable prices and great service. They have this really cool clock also.

Wonderful Japanese restaurant! Definitely my favorite sushi place in San Diego. We went to their Hillcrest location for many years & we’re thrilled they’re open again in the new location.
The smoked salmon is amazing. Yes, they smoke their salmon and do not believe in serving raw salmon for health reasons. No, it is not bought at Costco as suggested in one off-​base review.
Several reviews mention bones found in sushi. Unbelievable! More likely inaccurate reviews from a couple of entitled folks who weren’t treated as they think they should have been.
Another unbelievable review states «I know good sushi.» Maybe, but you DON’T know nearly as much about fish as a master sushi chef with decades of experience. Get over yourself!
Yet another wrong review states: «His son is not ready to step up to the plate to continue his legacy either or he would also be making sushi behind the bar.» If you knew what you were talking about, you’d know that Kazumi has two sons. The older son made sushi in Hillcrest for years and catered sushi for a fancy buffet as well. Very well trained by his father. The younger son worked as a sushi chef at an upscale restaurant as well while Kazumi was closed between locations. How labor is divided in a restaurant might not really concern ignorant customers.

Parking is plentiful. Omakase for my roommate and I. First time he ventured beyond rolls and what not. Kazumi is funny as hell and a true master at his craft. Everything was on point. The cleanest tasting Spanish Mackerel (Aji) that I have ever had. He brushes on the soy sauce and wasabi so all we had to do was pick up the pieces with chopsticks and send em down the hatch. Toro, Ama Ebi, Ankimo, Hamachi, even the salmon skin roll was off the hook. With a large sake, bill came out to over a 100 a person, but was 100 percent worth it. I seriously question those who talked crap about this place, because this is quality sushi prepared by a artist who is at the top of his game at competive pricing. Sit at the bar and be prepared to be blown away.

This place is tiny, but the real Japan deal. Impeccable, attentive service. Food amazing:
— miso was more savory broth than most places
— garlic edamame delectable. Gone in a hot second
— veggie tempura very nice
— one of the best Philly rolls I’ve ever had. Stuffed and I mean STUFFED full o’ goodness
— crème de la crème was the order of two specialty rolls: Tuna Tuna and Spicy Scallop. When rolls don’t require soy or wasabi, I’m on board
Kudos! I will return soon.

Part 2
Now to the food: Very high prices and the portions and cuts just got SMALLER & SLOPPIER. My 2 piece Nihon tai nigiri took longer than all the other food and was not only small but it was ripped on one of the ends, & he put a disproportionate amount of salt on top of the ume that just drowned out the entire flavor of the fish. I hate to say this but I believe he is starting to flavor his food to satisfy the stereotypical American taste buds acclimated to over seasoned foods rather than the refined and balanced taste of traditional Japanese sushi. I feel that I should be extremely critical about this when I’m paying $ 8 for 2 piece nigiri that ends up being 2 tiny slivers of fish meat, and I’m expecting perfection especially when I’ve ate here before and have a great memory of what it should be. The Chirashi bowl, sad to say was less than mediocre. The quality of the sashimi was nothing over the top as none of the fish blew me away nor gave me a lasting impression. The fish was folded and arranged in such a way that creates the illusion that they are giving you a lot of meat but the cuts were thinly sliced and there was a disproportionate amount of fillers such as the rice and two giant wedges of tamago (sweet egg cake). Add a ton of garnishes too like a fat sprig of parsley and some fanned cucumber and you have yourself an empty chirashi bowl with an alright presentation. Needless to say, this wasn’t the mouth watering spectacular and tantalizing experience I had before. Lastly, when I first came here, they had been using REAL ground wasabi root and soy sauce made in house. This has all been replaced with the cheap green spirulina and horseradish powder knock-​off wasabi that most low quality sushi restaurants use. I gamble money that my tastebuds suspected the soy sauce was just the store bought crap typical for western style sushi eating of dunking rolls generously into a ramekin full of low-​sodium soy sauce. All I’m saying is if that is the type of place you are expecting then you will be in shock at how expensive this place compares to those kind of Westernized sushi bars (that this place has sadly become MINUS the value of those half-​off all sushi shops or all you can eat places). If you are like me and expect high quality traditional sushi, you will also be disappointed that this place does not deliver that nor does it use the more expensive authentic components it once did with the care/​passion that it once had as a new start-​up.
As a result, this place was a total embarrassment to me last night. I specifically came here for my birthday because I felt confident that Sushi Bar Kazumi could deliver and leave me with the same great experience I had months ago but as with most places that get popular and arrogant, less attention to detail is spent maintaining their loyal customers and sadly Kazumi had no recollection of me because I must be just another young customer without deep pockets to him. They seriously need to train their staff to be more attentive in addition to hiring more staff. For such a small footprint, it shouldn’t be that difficult to manage all the tables + sushi bar. I’m infuriated to say the least. DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY HERE. You have been warned. If you must try, try at your own risk and be certain that if you see a full house at the sushi bar, get the hell out because your service will ABSOLUTELY SUFFER. They’re not equipped to handle more than the bar, especially not the lazy staff. Kazumi must be getting old and overworked too because it is being reflected by the average quality of his sushi which I can tell now lacks heart and passion. It is another sad switch from quality to profit and the artistry has faded along with the EXTREMELY POOR SERVICE. His son is not ready to step up to the plate to continue his legacy either or he would also be making sushi behind the bar.

Worst sushi spot I’ve been to. We chose the Chef Choice Sashimi plate which was like $ 22. Worst platter I’ve ever seen of sashimi. It looked like they must have been low on product. Like the Chef took the normal slice of fish and sliced that up as thin as possible to make 4 sashimi pieces of each. So disappointed that it didn’t look anything like the pics that were posted. The best part about this place was our server, I think his name was Yoshi.
Never going back, which bugs me because it is so close to my house.

Love Chef Kazumi! He growls and squints and tells you not to overuse you soy sauce, oh, and he makes some of the freshest and most delectable sushi too. Uni is still a specialty here, a must if you like urchin. The other evening I took my mom and shared apps only. Also a good way to go… Oysters fried, and cucumber salad, miso soup, and tempura. Too bad they have no bento box options.

The food was really delicious. Great flavors and really great quality. It’s is NOT cheap though. Did the Omakase menu and it was about 50% more than I thought it was worth. It’s worth a try and glad I went

If you get a chance to eat at Kazumi please do. It is a small place and the best seat in the house is at the bar in front of chef Kazumi. Don’t order California rolls, don’t expect the jalapeño mayonaise cucumber crap. Go for the experience. Ask chef Kazumi to work his magic and he will. It’s not cheap but not over the top crazy expensive.
My ten year old son loves it here. Chef Kazumi has been teaching him about fish, about how to enjoy the flavor of the fish without drowning it in soy sauce, how to eat sushi properly etc. As a family we thoroughly enjoy dinning at Kazumi and it is absolutely our GO TO place for sushi. DELICIOUS! FRESH! WONDERFUL! Enjoy :)

Waited too long for mediocre food. After we was seated it was almost as if they forgot we existed. They gave us the wrong order. Overall I think the reason anyone goes there is kazumi he seems very witty and friendly but overall not worth it I spent over 25 dollars and was still hungry.

Prob the most bland poorly constructed sushi I have ever eaten in San Diego… Not sure how you can mess up a seaweed salad but they did a great job messing it up. I ordered a caterpillar roll and found a fish bone in my 2^nd bite. The sushi just looked thrown together. My friend ordered the Philadelphia roll and the salmon was a very off color. I added a pic. None of the rolls in the pic were touched. That is how they arrived to us on the plate minus the few we ate. Not trying to sound crazy but even the water taste weird. Please don’t waste your time here when there are plenty of excellent sushi places that are just as affordable.

Rainy night as I walked into this gem
Of a place. I saw my sweetheart waiting for me at a table, I felt like I had entered a small hole in the wall in Japan.
I love this place:
Atmosphere, traditional Japanese aesthetics, clean, small and intimate. Sushi bar is also small and the SUSHI chef is professional and friendly.
Service: excellent, we were waited on with such aplomb and attention to detail. I felt very special. We even learned a few Japanese words.
Food: we had the edamame, simple and delicious. We had their seaweed salad which is a few different variety, seasoned with slight hint of soy and Marin flavor. Perfect combination of texture and taste.
We ordered a few special rolls,. Eel, smoked salmon and salmon (flavorful) unique as you had two salmons one raw and the other smoked so pungent and packed with deep flavored and spicy tuna. Everything was simple yet complex. Most importantly you can taste the fish and how everything as FRESH. Tasted like they fished it that moment.
We also had hot sake, a great addition to our meal.
This is a hidden gem and the entire evening very special.

Everything we tried was fantastic. Chef is hilarious and will give you a good spirited hard time if you order your Nigiri with no wasabi… which I will do every time, because in my opinion, wasabi ruins Nigiri.
Place is small so would recommend calling to make reservations.
Uni was really good, just as good as Sushi Ota but the prices are way more reasonable. They have really good Otoro here too. Definitely worth it.

Sushi Bar Kazumi is a neighborhood gem. A place that you don’t really want to tell people about in fear of it becoming too crowded. Chef Kazumi has decades of experience making sushi, and he has the personality to match his great sushi. The sushi bar is small; it seats about 8 people. There are probably 6 tables total, which seat between 2 – 4 each.
My first couple of experiences there were great, especially at the sushi bar. You can order off of the menu or they have daily specials depending on what’s fresh that day. I usually stick to a combination of sushi, which are very reasonably priced by the way. But Chef Kazumi had me falling in love with unagi. The humble eel was better than any unagi I have ever had.
Unfortunately, my recent experience there was disappointing. The service was lacking (they only had 1 waiter for the entire restaurant). Worst of all, I was really looking forward to the unagi sushi, but it was almost unrecognizable that I sent it back. They brought out a new piece, which was marginally better, but nothing like what I had there before. Hopefully, this was a one-​off experience. I still have a special place in my heart for Sushi Bar Kazumi and will continue going back.

If you haven’t had the pleasure yet this is a must try and love it place. Not to pricey but not cheap. He finally got his liquor license so sake and beer are on the flow. Chef Kazumi will never steer you wrong. The sashimi is non the less always fresh and you have to try his uni. No ocean in your mouth but pure delight. I can talk forever on this. So you must try

If you’re scouting for some of the best sushi in town, it might not occur to you to check in a strip mall in east Mission Valley between a dive bar called the Camel’s Breath Inn and a CVS. But surprise, that’s where you’ll find a real sushi chef who gives Jiro a run for his money.
We had a lovely dinner here with the chef’s choice menu, seated at the bar and chatting with Kazumi himself. Everything was delicious, nothing required dipping into soy sauce, just the pure flavors of the fish and the specific accompaniments he chose to enhance, instead of cover them up. (Though he does make those rolls with avocado and all kinds of sauces, if desired – but seriously, go for the authentic if you’re going to go for sushi at all, just once!). I’m half Japanese and we just went to Japan and this felt like a real Japanese experience.
We had to tell the waiter how hungry we were, and basically Kazumi kept feeding us until we told him to stop.
Best of all, it’s only like 2 miles away from my house, parking is plentiful, and it’s super easy to get to off the 8 or 15. Try it out!

I have known Chef Kazumi since before I moved away from Mission Hills back in 1999. For the 5 years I lived in MH, he was our go to Sushi chef. HANDS DOWN, the BEST sushi in SD! He is a classically trained chef in the art. He is not a watered down California roll artist like most sushi has become in SD. My recommendation is to go in, sit down, ask him what HE recommends and be ready to have «Mind blown»!
When I found out he moved closer to where I now live, I was beyond happy! He smokes his own salmon and it is perfection! He also makes his own «Ankimo» (Monkfish liver pâté) that is to die for! Also try the baby octopus! If I sound excited, I am! Actually going there tonight. Yay!
As I said earlier, trust what he says is good and you won’t leave disappointed.

Have to update my review, as they have now become good about reservations. Before, it was a problem that they may or may not hold your spot, but since then, I have called and they said they would «DEFINITELY» save a place for me. Perfect! Getting to know Kazumi better has been great. The fact that he brings shiso from his own garden, and prepares each piece with so much care and detail impresses me. This is our go-​to now for good local nigiri. Haven’t even tried the rolls, but after watching him make the scallop special for another customer, I’m tempted.
DEFINITELY come here if you like good quality sushi prepared with attention to detail.

Second time eating here, first review. Last time I will eat here.
Ordered my usual nigiri and I have to say that 75% of what I ordered was ok. The rest was not good and I actually left a piece because the flavor was so off putting. (Ikura)
Gyoza was oily. Most likely from being cooked in oil that was not up to temp before dipping it in.
Lastly the ginger has a very strong smell of must. Very similar to a dirty mop. I couldn’t eat it.
This was a Saturday night dinner. I expect them to be on their game. However any sushi restaurant must provide consistent quality. No exceptions. It’s gotta be good and it’s gotta be good all the time. This place is not consistent, therefore I cannot recommend them.

When the coworker and I want good quality sushi for lunch and we don’t want to drive far, we head on over to Sushi Bar Kazumi. The restaurant is located in the same strip mall, somewhere between Armstrong Garden Center and CVS. There is plenty of parking to be had, as a few of the store fronts are empy, more so around lunch time.
Like the parking lot, the restaurant never seems crowded. But, for me, it’s plus and it means a quick in/​out for lunch, especially on those busy work days. There is a limited lunch menu provided, if you sit at the sushi bar. On my first visit here, I’ve been told that the bar is really for folks who are ordering appetizers, sashimi and nigiri. If you want to order rolls, you would have to sit at one of the dining tables to see the regular menu. It isn’t really consistent, since we’ve seen other guests order items off the regular menu, including cooked entrees, and still sit at the bar. Call me confused.
The sushi, nigiri and sashimi that my coworker and I ordered has always been excellent. The fish has always been fresh. My coworker couldn’t stop moaning over it. The chef is also friendly and knowledgeable of his craft. I like hearing him talk about his training, the fresh he gets imported and a variety of other random things. He can get pretty entertaining, if he’s in the mood to do so. The servers here are are friendly and helpful.
A great place to grab sushi in the Mission Valley/​Grantville area. Fresh and good quality sushi makes this hidden gem a plus. Adding Sushi Bar Kazumi as one of my regular lunch spots. Maybe, one day, I’ll get to have dinner here.

We love Kazumi! The new place is smaller than his spot was in Hillcrest. There are 8 seats at the sushi bar. Then about five other tables. They have beer and wine license.
Another diner ordered a large sake to share with us. The hot sake was way TOO hot. We couldn’t pour it for a about 8 mins and even then it was extremely hot.
We had 12 pieces of Nigiri, 16 big beautiful pieces of sashimi tuna, snapper and salmon, one scallop hand role, one saba hand roll, green tea.
Bill was $ 138 and change. We overate for sure!

Muy sabrosos los rollos de sushi, pequeños pero con muy buen sabor y la sopita miso me encanto! :p la mesera fue un encanto súper linda! Gracias por hacer unos rollos ricos y dar una linda atención! :)

Sushi Bar Kazumi is family owned. They take special care to smoke their own salmon, they make their own special soy sos recipe partly with real fresh fish stock.
The stock in the soy sauce really creates a most elegant flavpr, and adds dimension.
I found that the mussels were packed too much with
fake crab and the imitation taste overwhelmed the mussel pieces.
About ¹⁄₃ of the sashimi was silky the yellowtail was fine, however, there was a few types of very fishy selections as well that just isn’t what I’m used to in a sashimi selection over twenty bucks.
In my posted sashimi close-​up photo you can see a strange cat food tasting anchovy looking grunion type thing. The tuna ‘looks’ good but sadly it was chewy and had those bad strands that no one wants to pull from their teeth. I know I have fish breath… ech.
Chewy strands– very disappointed.
I’m giving 3 stars because the people are nice.
The special scallop roll was a little disappointing because the scallops have a fishy smell. The roll was supposed to be spicy yet there was zero spice.
My advice to them is to up their game on the details.
On the basics, such as the sashimi selection; more care to the selection they use should be taken. I know good sushi.

First, two pieces of advice: 1) sit at the sushi bar, and 2) befriend the chef.
The sushi here is stunning, and Chef Kazumi’s reputation precedes him — he knows his sushi, and if you sit at the bar and talk to Chef Kazumi, he’ll go through the effort of getting to know you and your sushi tastes, and will create a great sushi experience catered towards what you like. That is a huge advantage that I’ve had at this sushi bar that I am yet to experience equally anywhere else in San Diego.
This is a great place for nigiri. The sushi is fresh and of great quality. My personal favorites include uni and ikura; the uni here was incredibly fresh and buttery, and the ikura was fresh and bursting with flavor.
I ordered the uni soup as an appetizer for my sushi, and it was here that my meal found a slight misstep: the soup took quite a long time to prepare (I finished a few orders of nigiri before getting it, and at one point thought my order was forgotten), and it was nothing stellar — strong seafood tastes in the broth, and a piece of uni among pieces of tofu, prawns, clams, and seaweed. It was good, but next time I’ll save that room in my stomach for more nigiri, instead.
The staff is super nice and accommodating — my green tea was frequently replenished with fresh hot tea, and my server had a good pace of seeing if I needed anything other than what could be provided at the sushi bar. Chef Kazumi, of course, was awesome; he has great conversation, and I learned about his roots as a sushi chef while I ate my nigiri, which was such a treat! It’s not too often I get to feel a bona fide rapport with my sushi chef.
Note that Chef Kazumi is the only sushi chef, and thus while this was a great sushi experience, it was definitely not a speedy dining experience. If the place is busy, there might be considerable turnaround time between placing your order and receiving it. Be ready to relax in your chair as your enjoy good conversation and good sushi.

Wonderful, authentic sushi bar.
After living in Japan for three years, I think I’ve tried it all, but I can officially say this place has the best miso soup I’ve ever had! The environment here Is awesome and identical to little sushi restaurant you’d see in the train station of Tokyo. I had the Tuna tuna roll and it was excellent.
The staff is extremely friendly, courteous and helpful. Definitely come here!

Undoubtedly one of the best sushi places in San Diego. This is a very broad statement but I’m not kidding. The head chef is a fantastic guy who really enjoys his trade and takes it really seriously. He told stories from his training spent in Japan and how difficult life was for a young aspiring chef back then. I initially was going to order some nigiri and go from there, but I saw Tony C. and Brad B. order the chirashi* bowl and it looked incredible, especially for the bang for buck factor. tons of sashimi and rice with seaweed for 19 $…yes please.
This is a super small establishment but because of it’s location i doubt it gets very packed unless it’s the weekend. (assuming). This will be my go-​to when trying to take someone to an impressive dinner of sushi in a classic setting. This is NOT the place to take your sushi virgin friend for a dinner of American style, deep fried sushi rolls, they won’t be impressed. I think, after this experience, Tony C. and I may have a few more lunch man dates in the works.

Shazam! Like lightning from sushi heaven, Sushi Chef Master Kazumi is back with his expertly prepared and sushi creation.
I had the opportunity to come in for lunch with a fellow Unilocaler, and let me tell you, it was not long before our mouths were drooling with despair as we sat at the sushi bar or chef’s table watching attentively as Chef Kazumi prepared our meal.
For that meal, I ordered a variety of items, including some mouth watering scallop, baby yellow tail tuna, and young blue fin toro nigiri, tekka maki cut roll, and shared some Uni. For my beverage, since they didn’t have their liquor license at the time, some terrific matcha green tea (
).
Although light in flavor and texture, the scallop nigiri was excellent. It was silky smooth with a sweet unabated flavor. You would of never known it came from the sea. The baby yellow tail was a little heavier, but not by much and had a rich flavor but was easy on the palate with a light oily texture (
). In contrast to both, the young blue fin toro was rich, slightly fatty, and with a buttery texture and flavor that melted in my mouth. This one was a winner (
).
I tried the uni and it had a delicate rich and sensuous texture and flavor profile. It was light and sweet with no briny flavor what so ever (
). The Tekka Maki roll was good, and I appreciated that Chef Kazumi put the wasabi inside the roll. So many place forget to do that. In addition, the tuna in the roll was great.
Watching Chef Kazumi in action was a treat in for itself. I enjoyed his conversation because he not only taught me a thing or two about sushi preparation, but he also had a great sense of humor, and made our experience that much better.