Sushi Ota…where do I begin? If you love sushi and are familiar with the San Diego area then you’ve probably heard of this place. It is seriously in one of the most nondescript locations ever tucked in between a Planned Parenthood and 7-11 with several loitering homeless people wandering around. There are several Japanese businessmen that find their way here for food to remind them of home when they are in town and many of my Japanese friends swear its the authentic stuff. When I was first introduced to this gem a little over 2 years ago I was rather unimpressed at first…. c’mon a 7-11 next door? It was our 3rd date and I’m betting he wish he never brought me here as after trying the delectables I’ve craved it regularly ever since. We try to sit at the bar when we manage to clear our schedules to make reservations. On busy nights they will only seat people with reservations so don’t bother just trying to show up as they will tell you make them and come back again. They emphasize well made traditional stuff which is a nice change from the flashy joints of La Jolla and the Gaslamp exhibiting their fancy non traditional creations. I had originally made the reservation for Mitsu but there was some error made in party reservations and they sat us with Akira which was fine. I was a little disappointed but I later realize there’s a reason for everything. We tried all the usual… salmon, unagi(eel), maguro(tuna), 0-toro(fattiest tuna), etc etc. They were all incredible as usual and I ordered seconds of the salmon and unagi because I just couldn’t get enough of them. This time however we asked our chef to make something special using tuna as the main ingredient…
I kid you not this array of tasties were the tastiest morsels I’ve ever had at a sushi place. On the left he made a sort of salad, wrapped it in nori then wrapped the whole thing in salmon. The middle one he covered the fish in pieces of rice noodle and flash fried it. The last one was pure heaven… he sliced an English cucumber into thin sheets and used it for a wrapper with the salmon and some avocados inside and topped it with some special slightly sour sauce. It was all so yummy and beautiful to look at as well. Sorry for not taking pictures of the other yummies but I didn’t realize till I had gotten to this dish that there were no photos to document this experience. Hopefully this special dish is enough to win you over.-Sushi Ota4529 Mission Bay Dr. San Diego, CA 92109(858)270-5670M 5:30pm-10:30pmTu-F 11:30am-2pm, 5:30pm-10:30pmSa-Su 5pm-10:30pm
