Azuki Sushi

Probably the best Japanese place I've been to? Everything is so fresh and the flavors are on point. Atmosphere inside is tastefully trendy and chill. I got the salmon teriyaki which was amazing but honestly everything on the menu sounds good so go crazyMUST TRY place if you go to San Diego

Traditional & Trendy? It's difficult for restaurants to maintain their roots while catering to diverse customers. This spot, however, balances both perfectly. Azuki Sushi is one of my favorites, offering classic Japanese drinks and sushi while playing modern R&B music in an earthy interior. The fish is vibrant, flavorful, and simply delightful. Decorated with rose-rolled ginger and freshly picked flowers, the presentation of my sashimi platter was a humble piece of art. Restaurants like these remind me why I love dining out.

all of the food was fantastic - the fish was amazing quality and super fresh and delicious. the rolls we got were also incredible, i would definitely go back to eat them again or try other ones!in my opinion, the service was a little slow. in addition, the interior was small and cutely decorated, but our table was plagued by tiny flies which ruined the ambiance a bit. overall, 10/10 sushi and i would recommend and want to come back, but i just hope the management can deal with the fly issue.

Update 08/2024: I ordered the crispy rice spicy tuna and the rice tasted old and like it was reheated. It was hard and not good, but I did enjoy the spicy tuna. The avocado eel roll was average. I ordered a cocktail, but it came out in the soda version of it. I wasn't as impressed with the food this time around. The service was fine and she checked up on us. I appreciate the heaters being outside too.

There was about a 30-minute wait for walk-ins for a weekday dinner, and it was so worth the wait! I got to sit upstairs at the bar and liked the ambiance there. I tried uni, a shiitake mushroom miso, hot sake, and a bonsai roll.The presentation of the bonsai roll was lovely, and the combination of the savory and sweet flavors along with the crunch of the sweet potato chips made this roll exceptional. The uni was rich and smooth, and my favorite dish I tried. Be sure to order it when you go. Overall, I had an incredible dining experience and enjoyed my high-quality meal and great service!

Fairly small intimate setting inside. Good sushi spot in town for a nice dinner. Great for small work gathering or date night. Luckily was able to be seated without reservations but would highly recommend making one if you have a larger group than 4. Service was very friendly and attentive :)

Hip and stylish, Azuki Sushi in Bankers Hill gives all the impressions of an "in" spot. The patrons are for the most part twenty and thirtysomethings; the waitstaff and chefs are practically an ad for the United Colors of Benetton. The interior is handsome and bustling, and ample outside seating along the Fifth Avenue offers that urbanite vibe that San Diego is constantly trying to simulate. These sorts of venues are attractive, but always make me a bit leery about the food and service itself. This is especially true of sushi and Japanese food in general, since I am a frequent visitor to that country. And, after all, AS is not cheap. One of my old saws about dining out is that I don't mind paying a lot of money for good food, but I hate doing so for the mediocre stuff. So I admit to some trepidation when our party arrived.Fortunately, my fears were unfounded. Almost everything went right. Once we were seated and ordered, food came out in good order. Unlike many Japanese restaurants, Azuki is well-staffed. We had a great view of the sushi bar and there were many chefs working fast, diligently and in sufficient numbers to make things work.Our party shared a couple of dishes. We all enjoyed the eggplant glazed with miso (highly recommended). We also shared the "Salmon four ways" plate (which included salmon, salmon toro, king salmon and slightly braised ocean trout). The portions were ample and generous, the plating and presentation flawless. And best of all, each piece tasted brilliant.As I wanted to see the sushi chef's chops, I ordered the chef's selection nigiri (8 pieces); my wife ordered the nigiri plate (which includes miso soup, a spicy tuna or salmon and avocado roll, but only 6 pieces). My order came out on an impressively long wood block. Again, the pieces were generously and meticulously cut and seasoned. They included toro, amberjack, uni, the braised ocean trout, iku, and several others. Undoubtedly, the selection changes with the seasons. Like our appetizers, I truly enjoyed them and appreciated a number of little touches (e.g., the iku being slightly enhanced by a tiny dollop of yuzu--very tasty). Textures, types of preparation, and flavors varied. Detail, visually and to the palate, is very much in evidence here. In sum, I left full and generally really impressed.There are a couple of cautionary notes. First, I think patrons should be mindful of the soy sauce. They are not all made the same: there are different grades of strength, viscosity and flavor (and of course quality!). AS uses a very strong, thick soy sauce made especially to adhere to the sushi. Be sparing of its use or it will easily overpower the flavor of the fish. Second, wait times, both for a table and getting your dishes, can sometimes be long. We needed reservations on a Tuesday, so I suggest getting them. Lastly, do be aware that the noise level can be considerable inside. This may be a good date spot, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend this spot for intimate conversations.But taken in all, I am really impressed with this restaurant. Our party had an interesting argument as to whether Azuki Sushi or another SD Japanese eatery of some fame was better. My only comment: "I don't know, but I am glad we have two great spots to argue over." Definitely worth multiple return visits!

Azuki Sushi is a small sushi restaurant in the heart of Bankers Hill with minimal seating inside, so you may be seated outside (worse vibes). We were seated inside (luckily?) but were swarmed with fruit flies. The service was okay, felt kind of neglected a lot of the time. They messed up our order, instead of giving us hamachi toro, they gave us hamachi. This was fixed however. If you're looking for interesting takes on rolls and appetizers, this is the place for you. If you're looking for top tier sashimi, this place has it as well but I would take myself to Sushi Ota instead.The food was great!Drinks:Matcha Man: this was a very creative drink with a play off matcha. Was very refreshing and had a sour note to it. Would recommend!Appetizers:Uni Toast: amazing. The Uni really is paired well with the prosciutto and the chopped toro gives it a really good texture. This is a really good appetizer if you like Uni! If you REALLY want the uni taste to come out this may not be for you, the strong prosciutto flavor masks a little of the Uni taste.Assorted Tempura: just well fried tempura. Very light and crispy. A great appetizer to start on! The shrimp was good quality, but I really liked the vegetables too!Sashimi:Hamachi: honestly was kind of standard. Little Sakana has similar quality yellowtail.Hon Maguro: great quality. Good chew to it. One of the better tunas I've had!Salmon: nothing really too special about this. Standard salmonSea bass: well cut, good texture, and fresh. Would recommend!Chu-toro: very fatty, melts in your mouth. Insane. Must try.Ora King Salmon: the slight sear on the top makes this top tier. Has a really great salmon taste that sates the mouth. Have to get this.Hamachi Toro: this is great, again similar to little Sakana. Good, but get something else.Rolls:r u kidding me?: this is so good. Comes with flash fried leeks on top which taste amazing. I could eat a whole pound of those. The scallops really come through and this is a perfect roll. Kobe: not a huge fan of wagyu on sushi, but this was very good. The wagyu melts in your mouth. There was a light lack of depth here, but nothing soy sauce can't solve.Hand Rolls:Eel and Avocado: not amazing. Little sakana does this better.NegiHama: chopped yellowtail hand roll was probably the best of the three hand rolls that were tried. Good texture and taste. Kind of lacking in the filling.NegiToro: chopped tuna hand roll was okay. I've had much better just because the filling was lacking.Dessert:They do birthdays here which is great! The stuffed banana with ice cream is probably the top dessert I've ever had from a free birthday dessert ANYWHERE.

Overall, this place was good! I'm giving it a 4/5, because my boyfriend and I came here specifically to celebrate our anniversary and he made sure to let them know prior to us arriving to make sure that something was done, but unfortunately, nothing was done until we reminded them again at the end of the dinner. It did feel like a rushed place, and it was an in-and-out type service. However, I will say the food was good and the fish was very fresh! The miso soup is very good. Their crispy rice tuna was so good, it also had a very nice kick to it as well. If you liked seared fish/beef, I would recommend getting the "R u kidding me?" And the "Kobe". Both of those rolls have seared fish/beef on it, giving it that smokey taste. We also tried the Stardust roll which was both of our favorites! The lemon on the roll adds some extra flavor to the roll, and the combination of everything in the roll went well together. Topped it off with some ice cream with fried banana for dessert!

I came here for a birthday dinner, and it was some of the best sushi I've ever had! I recommend the oysters, Kobe beef roll, and Bluefin 4 ways. And service was great :)