Yakimono Japanese Restaurant

by Mike F.

While I was down here a few times a friend (we shall name her as "x" lol) took me here to enjoy some good japanese food. Not being familiar with the area restaurants, I was pleasently surprised at the service and the quality of the food. I highly suggest eating in as the food might get kinda wilted by the time you make it back to your place (depending on what you order of course). Sushi was sub par but the food itself was a treat and deelicious.

by S K.

I do not know why people come here. At all. I've gone here twice and the food was bad both times. The fish they used was clearly not fresh or close to being so, and the food had no flavor.The only reason why I feel people come to this place is because of a rumor that runs around the UCSD campus among those who are under 21. I have no idea whether if this rumor is true, (I doubt that it is) but it's clearly enough to keep people at least coming to this restaurant.

by Renee W.

Sushi is decent, prices are amazing.If you don't mind comprimising alittle quality, this place is great when you're on a budget.The manager/owner has gotten to know my friend and I and honestly we got two rolls and soup for less than 10 dollars last time we went there.Happy hour has $3 rolls or something crazy.The miso isn't bad and the tempura rolls/spicy tunas are actually pretty good.

by Cindy W.Joan S.BRIAN K.Rika Y.

We meet again Yakimono....Why did I come here again even though last time I gave it two stars? Well 2 reasons..it's down the street from my friends house and I had another http://restaurant.com coupon. I bought these coupons when they were 90% off... This time we decided to try all the rolls to give it another chance. We had the Kamakizi roll, Crunchy roll, monthly roll, and 3 other types of rolls. Obviously not monumental cuz I can't even remember the names. All the rolls the base was very standard..crunchy shrimp tempura with cucumber, avocado and some had cream cheese. The rolls either came with avocado on top, spicy tuna, or salmon paste. Very std and very forgettable. HIGHLIGHT (f there is one)...since the bill only came out to be $21.00 for 5 rolls I can't complain too much. Once again we had the same waiter and once again there was no one else in the restaurant so he obviously was very attentive to us. Walking in to a restaurant with only one other table is already a bad sign...For $9.75 I ordered a… This is the type of sushi place that you would go if you were in college and didn't really care for the quality of food but more cared about the proximity of the place to your dorm/apt.  I use to go here a lot when I was in undergrad because of the proximity and my friends use to work here.  I always called this place "Yuckimono" because it's gross.  I once ordered a salmon skin roll and didn't even know what it was when i saw it.  I was hesitant to even put it in my mouth but I did and it was no bueno.  I disliked salmon skin because I always thought it tasted like the salmon skin at this place until i went elsewhere and figured it was just yuckimono.  The price for the food is cheap so I have to give one star for that.  The restaurant is located in the corner or end of a plaza.  It is in the same plaza as Vons.  The inside is small and dark but they have a patio.  It is also not the cleanest place.  Overall, their food is cheap but you get what you paid for.I pee out better stuff than what they served me, calling it Kirin beer (draft). It tasted like semi-bubbly water with yellow food coloring. It was $3.50 for a glass of yellow stuff that again, I make for free in the bathroom. Remember when you were a kid, you had some beer, then you said it tasted like piss (as if you tasted piss before)? Well, this probably was that beer. I've always wanted to come here because it was so close to my house but was I so stupid to ever think that. I had my beer and left - didn't order any sushi. The place looked sketchy too and I don't want any raw fish from this place.The decor is incredibly tacky, especially the outside patio. On top of the wall, there are random house plants that aren't even potted and they are all in different shapes. It just looks really tacky. If you take a date here, you might not get a second one.I grew up pretty spoiled as far as Japanese food goes, but I still have a special place in my heart for the "little hole in the wall next to my house" type Japanese joint, so I gave this place a try. For $3.50, the vegetarian roll is pretty decent- it has your standard avocado, cucumber, and carrot, and a little sliver of Japanese pickle in each piece. Would definitely order again. The tonkatsu was ok, and a decent portion, with an average-ish price. This is not your super high-quality sushi place. I can't attest to the freshness of the fish because I didn't have any, but I'd be willing to bet that it's decent (probably not amazing). There are a ton of options on the menu and there are some pretty good happy hour deals. Service is a little on the slow side, but the waiters are very friendly. I'll definitely be going back when I'm craving a little veggie sushi fix, or when I'm in a hurry.

by Hannah L.

I've got to say, one of the worst Japanese places I came to for food. The only thing that was good about the place was the server/owner of the place was very kind, in a certain odd way. He didn't charge me for the hot tea I ordered and said 'thank you' multiple and I mean multiple times. He would sometimes cut me off when I'm about to say something, which I thought was rude. Like I said, the only reason I gave it 2 stars was because the man was nice enough not to charge me for tea and the funny thing was when I was paying for the food, he specifically told me 'I didn't charge you for the tea...' So I guess the place gets 2 stars for that, but other than that not really a good place to come and waste your money. I ordered the chicken teriyaki, 4 pc california roll, and tempura combo and it literally all sucked. The chicken teriyaki was undercooked and drenched in teriyaki sauce with most of the meat burnt in black crisp. The salad was a plain salad with only like three strips of carrots and one cucumber. The california rolls were all oddly shaped and cut, like one california roll is real huge and another one would be the size of a pebble on the beach. The tempura was probably the worst. Looked like the batter they used was old and very crunchy with the tempura dipping sauce to be weirdly colored like dark brown, looks kind of like coffee, and taste strange as well. First time here and it will be my last.

by Joan S.

This is the type of sushi place that you would go if you were in college and didn't really care for the quality of food but more cared about the proximity of the place to your dorm/apt.  I use to go here a lot when I was in undergrad because of the proximity and my friends use to work here.  I always called this place "Yuckimono" because it's gross.  I once ordered a salmon skin roll and didn't even know what it was when i saw it.  I was hesitant to even put it in my mouth but I did and it was no bueno.  I disliked salmon skin because I always thought it tasted like the salmon skin at this place until i went elsewhere and figured it was just yuckimono.  The price for the food is cheap so I have to give one star for that.  The restaurant is located in the corner or end of a plaza.  It is in the same plaza as Vons.  The inside is small and dark but they have a patio.  It is also not the cleanest place.  Overall, their food is cheap but you get what you paid for.

by Pauline L.

If I was 80 mebbe I would come back cause the sushi and the curry chicken cutlet was as bland as my bro's dead wit. If it wasn't the eye-candy waiter (yes, I ogle young monkeys! Extra star for the cheeky dimples..), then this first day of foodie hit was a huge disappointment.I should have known from the non-asian sushi rollers (think Todai workers *sobs*) behind the counters and the dribbling of caucasian students that abound the tables around 9:23pm, that I have entered sub-par-to-meh food. Laura L. got the curry and let's just say I had hotter food from slurping tepid dish water. My sushi combination was okay. However they served california rolls filled with the same faux fish crab imitation stuff as Safeway and tons of carrots. It sucked and I actually think Safeway was the better of the 2. What can i say...service was actually okay...all I can say is if Von's is closed next door and nothing else is open and you're almost dead, maybe you can stomach the food.

by Rika Y.

I grew up pretty spoiled as far as Japanese food goes, but I still have a special place in my heart for the "little hole in the wall next to my house" type Japanese joint, so I gave this place a try. For $3.50, the vegetarian roll is pretty decent- it has your standard avocado, cucumber, and carrot, and a little sliver of Japanese pickle in each piece. Would definitely order again. The tonkatsu was ok, and a decent portion, with an average-ish price. This is not your super high-quality sushi place. I can't attest to the freshness of the fish because I didn't have any, but I'd be willing to bet that it's decent (probably not amazing). There are a ton of options on the menu and there are some pretty good happy hour deals. Service is a little on the slow side, but the waiters are very friendly. I'll definitely be going back when I'm craving a little veggie sushi fix, or when I'm in a hurry.

by Jonny C.

While the food is not spectacular.. it is decent and relatively cheap.  I frequented this place regularly as a poor UCSD student.  Their baked mussel dish is still the best I've had anywhere.  The owner is a very, very nice man.

by Chi W.

Please close down and open up a Pho place. That would make me happy and obese!If you want Korean Japanese, go up the street a bit more and eat at Nozomi.