Top Japanese Restaurant in National City
Hanaoka Restaurant
1528 Sweetwater Rd #C, National City, CA 91950, United States
I cannot say enough good things about this restaurant. Staff was courteous and handled our large party well. We went in at about 2pm. Place was filled to about 2/3rds capacity.I had the bento box (14.95); it had quite an expansive amount of food. The chicken and beef teriyaki was thinly cut, ok but a little dry. Teriyaki sauce was just a tad salty, but most places do that. I suggest if you want leas salt ask for half the portion. Salad was fesh ams crisp with a thousand island dressing. Rice is the short graim variety, done well. The piece of shrimp tempura was fried lightly, yet crisp.There are sashimi pieces of tuna and salmon included (2ea). Very well cut and fresh.This was preceded by a cup of light miso soup that was one of the best I ever had. I know it is just soup, but its all in the preparation.California Rolls pieces in the bento were good. Rice had well defined grains.One thing that bothered me was that mangolemonade (5.00) had the syrup settling on the bottom. Asking partons to shake themselves is a no no for obvious reasons.Another thing is the restrooms lack privacy partitions (Mens urinal and one the ladies toilets). That has to be fixed right away.As for the server with the high tone pitch he wasnt annoying, and catered to all our requests. Have those that complain about his voice even consider that a personality trait, and something that should be not made fun of?He service and that of the kitchen was prompt.Go to this place, it has the right people preparing the dishes if reading between the lines. Hint Hint.
Sushi & Galbi
1519 Highland Ave, National City, CA 91950, United States
I came in to the restaurant and ask to be seated next to the TV. The debate was on and since it was the final debate it was important that I was able to watch it. She hesitated to seat me there but I insisted and sat down. After I sat down she handed me the menu and I looked it over and when it was time to order I placed my order and she told me that I could not drink my Gatorade that I brought in. I told her I was either going to drink my Gatorade or I would leave. She said yes and walked away... So my food comes out to the table and she sees me drinking the Gatorade and she reached over and touched it and said u drank this much Gatorade you cannot drink it. I told again that if I was not able to drink my Gatorade then I would leave and never come back. She said that is fine so I asked to speak to the owner I further explained to her that she was being disrespectful and in realistic. She told me she was the owner and I can either leave or not drink my drink. Seriously that was the worst business decision I have ever seen an owner make. She lost thousands of dollars and customers over a stupid rule. This is the united States since when can I not drink a Gatorade while I eat... I honestly think she dont want customers and she is laundering money for a biger scam somewhere. Either way this place is shady and probably doing something illegal that is the only reason an owner would give up customers over such a stupid communist rule. DONT EAT HERE TRUST ME! Not to mention the food was horrible and the place is empty... And now everyone knows why its empty.... Go eat at a different sushi joint I guarantee they are better and cheaper.
Teriyaki Sun
4 N Euclid Ave, National City, CA 91950, United States
Google recommend that I try out Teriyaki Sun as a new restaurant near me, and I decided to try it tonight. It wasnt very difficult to get here and parking wasnt bad at 6pm. The dining area is fairly plain and simple, but very clean. The decor is Island inspired, with an island / Asian fusion menu. I ordered the chicken teriyaki, with fried rice and a coke. It came with a salad that is tasty, and crisp, with a creamy ginger dressing. The potato salad was not what I was expecting, but I am very happy with what was served. The potatoes seem to be hand mashed with circular sliced carrots and macaroni. It was very mildly seasoned, which brought out more potato taste, which I think is a bit unique for an island inspired side, kudos for that. The chicken has a mild marinade if any at all, but is grilled perfectly. It is boneless thigh meat. It is served with a side of teriyaki sauce that is tasty. The fried rice is good with egg, corn, carrots, onion, and green pepper. All in all, the food is not over seasoned, which is a huge plus for me. The portions are more than adequate for all but the heaviest of eaters. Google referred me to Teriyaki Sun, and I am glad they did. I wish it was closer to my home so I could go more often. I certainly suggest giving it a try for when looking for good food but nothing fancy. As always, I rate stars as follows: 1- not good all around, 2- some good good value, but pretty common and nothing stood out, 3- a solid choice all around, 4- one of my favorites, 5- a great experience all around and very unique for the area.
Koi Sushi
1430 E Plaza Blvd Suite E7B, National City, CA 91950, United States
So its been 9 months since last review .. yesterday we went again 6.4.24. The sushi serving size was larger than I remembered. Enjoy the photos. Its really authentic delish food! We ordered so much from seafood ramen, chicken ramen, Sexy Sushi and so much more!Update, Yi Sushi was bought out by Koi Sushi (or at least this location was about 6 months ago). So let me provide you an update with the latest pictures.We had a blast!!! The food was excellent and I definitely will go back again. They now have all you can eat in addition to the individual orders.So the last pictures will show the most recent visit! But check out the amazing new presentation of the yes, THE BOAT FULL OF YUMMIES! The Green Tea Tempura Ice cream was outta this world! Please try it yourself!*** repeat customer now with new pics! ****** Yi Sushi got bought out! *******Oh, If youre craving for Japanese, theres a nice little restaurant in National City called Yi Sushi (they have lots of seating inside). We came for lunch and really had a wonderful lunch deal... then we signed into Yelp and got an XTRA 10%!!! Very delicious and great on the pocket! Oh yeah. I forgot to take a picture, but the green tea ice cream is d bomb and the mochi ice cream is to die for! We attacked it! Lol!!!
Donburi Rice Bowls
41 E 8th St, National City, CA 91950, United States
Donburi is located in Market on 8th which is a food hall in National City. I came before prime dinner hours so it wasnt busy and food came out quick. Service is ok.I ordered the Gyudon Rice bowl. I enjoyed the Gyudon beef and thought the flavors were good. It came with veggies and some pickled radish. The veggies were good but the radish had a chemical taste to it. Rice was also clumpy and old.. The beef was the most enjoyable part of this bowl but it tastes exactly like a chain restaurant who does Gyudon beef rice bowls. This is a small business, so prices of course would be higher than the chain but it is almost double the price here. Almost $15 for this bowl is just too pricey. Meat to rice ratio is bad and I was left with so much rice.
Ginza Sushi
925 E Plaza Blvd #108, National City, CA 91950, United States
I used to like this place for their food having good flavor & being priced a bit lower than at other sushi places, but yesterday was disappointing. They've never been the friendliest, which is fine by me, but they have gotten straight up careless about showing basic courtesy or attention to customers; Don't expect to be greeted- just barge in and sit down. Also, be ready to order within minutes or they'll punish you by taking forever to come back to ask again. If you need anything else after your food has been brought, holler and wave because the ladies will always pretend not to hear you unless you are obnoxiously loud or get up and go get them yourself. Yesterday something nasty happened: there were two chunks of something thin on the walls of my cup of sprite- like lettuce or ginger idk- I didn't make a big fuzz I was discrete. When my friend and I managed to get the lady's attention by both saying “excusemeeee” in synchronization, I showed the lady and she took it to the back to “bring another… Sorry about that” Unfortunately, for me and congratulations to her I guess, she got me because it wasn't til I was almost leaving that I noticed the same exact two chunks of food in my drink! Lol! Kinda funny, how they were slick about it. I don't think it'll kill me, but also I am disgusted by it and their behavior. I didn't bother to mention it on my way out. I just paid and even added a farewell tip because Pffft! what was I gonna do? Ask to speak to a manager? Ask them to deduct a soda off my check? Hahah! Just know that I am disgusted enough to never return and certainly won't be recommending them. I feel bad for the chefs & wish I could rate them separately, 5star: the sushi presentation is beautiful.
Sarku Japan
3030 Plaza Bonita Road Space #FC-8, National City, CA 91950, United States
In person order taking is highly disorganized. We were in front of the person at the cashier and after asking what we wanted to order and us telling him he turned around multiple times (facing away from us) and do something else without paying attention to us. After a few seconds of ignoring us, he turns back facing us asking again what we wanted to order. This going back and forward caused the order placement to be wrong and us having to wait extra time (we were in a hurry) for the issue to be corrected. What is annoying is that they blamed us for not placing the order correctly when in reality I did, and the issue was the order taker not paying attention to what we were saying. This is not the first time we have encountered issues with service here and for that reason we will look at eating somewhere else when in the area. There are a lot of other food options here without making the order placement more complicated than it is.
blue pok
1325 E Plaza Blvd Ste 103, National City, CA 91950, United States
I dont know if its because this place really hates doing Uber Eats orders or what, because ordering through the app, gives you an abysmally terrible quality of food everytime Ive ordered. The times I have gone to eat in person, the food was always fresh and delicious. Yesterday was not the case, and has nailed the final nail in the coffin for me on not eating from here again. I had ordered 2 Blue Poke bowls with the same proteins and items. Many of the items I ordered, were missing from the bowls, including items I paid extra for. Whenever I ordered through the Uber app, this would ALWAYS happen. Asked for several specific sauces, and none were mixed in or added into the poke bowl, making it dry. Again, this always happens when ordering through Uber. However, the third issue was the worst problem.Right after our food was delivered, my coworker and I began eating our food. Throughout half way, my coworker would stop chewing and would spit into her napkin. She complained of a bad, bitter taste in the food. She smelled her bowl and noted that it smelled different than usual but thought it was her new meds affecting her taste buds. About 75% into my bowl, I began tasting something foul as well, and found I could not eat the rest of my food. We both had gotten the same proteins and items. I tried figuring out what was making the bowl taste so off, and chewed on individual pieces of the salmon. The salmon did not taste fresh at all, and had this old fridge taste to it. We threw our stuff away and head back to work. About an hour later, I get a text from my coworker asking if I was feeling ill or had a stomach ache. I had begun feeling unwell and became sick at work, along with my coworker. I have loved Blue Poke for as long as I had lived in the area. But it has become too apparent the quality difference between eating there in person, and ordering through food apps. This time it caused me illness, and so its time to eat/order elsewhere.
Kyoto Gift & Food
1727 Sweetwater Rd, National City, CA 91950, United States
Did I ever tell u of a hidden Japanese store? They have yummy Japanese food, and a sushi maker in the back. Ive been there many times for snacks..... but I munch as soon as the door shuts behind me always forgetting to take a pic.Today I wanted to share that they have the most DELICIOUS MOCHI green tea ice cream EVER! SOFT and yummy... next time I go there Ill take pictures. Im craving it..so many times a repeat customerI finally thought of taking pictures.... but the drive home... we ate about all the Matcha KitKatsBut yeah, here u can get a big bag of Hi Chew so much better than Now or Later or Starburst candies. And Ginger Chews? Yeah they r d bomb!Got the picture of the mochi enjoy. My son drank up his coconut drinks and chowed up on the snacks so couldnt get those pics.*****Ya gotta call in because when the car shows pop up on Sunday afternoons (not sure which Sundays) but theres an amazing lineup of vintage cars. Them they make the susbi outdoors. So you gotta go!!!
Sushi Namu
2220 E Plaza Blvd, National City, CA 91950, United States
I have eaten here about 5x already in the past 2 months. I am so addicted to the tempura mix entree that comes with about 4 shrimp and a mix of green beans, pumpkin, broccoli and onion rings tempura, all coated in a nicely seasoned airy and light batter, just the right sweetness sauce, miso soup and a refreshingly crunchy salad.Yesterday, I decided to go to an old time favorite nearby, ordered the exact equivalent of what I get at Sushi Namu, which takes me here to.make this well deserved 4-star review. I can unequivocally state that Sushi Namus tempura is far superior. Just writing.about it makes me want to go again. I have been eating tempura for about 40 years now and I think I can say that theirs are some of the best Ive eaten this side of the equator.Their tables are very clean each time I go and their servers are soft-spoken and respectful.That other place I went to smelled old and moldy.Good to have something this good in the South Bay and not having to go to Convoy.Typical strip mall parking woes is behind the 4-star rating