Samurai Japanese Restaurant

The food and service here have been excellent both times I've been. The only place where I've had better salmon was in Seattle. The sushi here is very good. I lived in Japan and for about 1/2 an hour I was homesick. Bottom line, eat here. My favorite Japanese spot in San Diego county.

I've been coming here for so many decades what can I say nothing has really changed especially as far as the decor many say they need a facelift but I kind of like the old school vibe. The bar is a great place to Pony up to it's usually busy I prefer when Eric is bartending but just because he's always been my favorite. Makoson has been my go-to for so many years he just knows how to make the perfect spicy scalloped anything for me he's such a sweetheart and if I'm not in the bar I will be sitting in front of him. He's been there forever so he's winding down his schedule. The menu at least for sushi rolls is extremely limited but any chef will make you whatever you want. They did charge $27 for a real crab California roll which I thought was absurd. And a California roll that had kani crab so the fake crab but topped with Hamachi for $29 which was also absurd coming from here. I mean the quality is not bad but it's not Nobu. Or Ken's Sushi. So I'm not too sure what's going on with the pricing right now but that was crazy and frankly not worth it. They do have a full bar and sitting at the Teppan tables is always fun. They also have a traditional to Tatami room that you can reserve it's very traditional no shoes on a bamboo floor you sit on the floor and eat if you haven't tried that experience you should.

Stopped by for a late lunch early dinner on our way to San Diego. The restaurant is tucked away in a quiet corner of the shopping center. Inside the large restaurant has an old school feel to transport you to a different time and place. We chose to sit at the counter for our sushi adventure. Many things were ordered but what really stood out was the Chirashi Bowl, start with that and then go from there if you're still hungry. Attentive wait staff and friendly sushi chef made this a great experience to kick off family vacation.

Samurai has happy hour every day 3 to 530 in the cocktail bar only. I decided to check it out yesterday. Very limited HH menu: approximately 5 appetizers, 5 sushi roll choices, 5 drink options (too bad i didn't take photos of the HH Menu). Happy hour prices are comparable to regular price Sushi elsewhere. Had a rainbow roll ($14) which was a good size along with a cosmopolitan well drink ($8). The bartender was personable enough. He spent most of his time chatting with male patrons, who seemed to be regulars, at the other end of the bar. When all was said and done my check was almost $30 for the two items, tax and tip. Location is convenient to my home so I may or may not go back. TBD

We made a reservation ahead of time a came 10 minutes early and got our table and the man at the front desk was very personable while pointing out our table. We are glad we made reservations as the restaurant was busy.The food was delicious. We ordered four sushi dishes and chicken teriyaki and the four of us split the dishes and everyone enjoyed what they ate, and the food was all finished. And that's the good news.The service at the table was way, way below good. Water and tea were ordered and nobody ever came back to see if we wanted more and it was hard to catch anyone's eye to try to get more until we finally said we'd skip it because we had tickets to a play and needed to leave, at which time we were able to get the bill.When looking at the bill there was an extra "service charge" added, whatever that is.The restaurant is in a nice strip mall and is really comfortable and nice inside, which adds to the charm. With better service I would have given it a 5 star rating.

What an amazing experience! Stumbled upon this restaurant since the traffic was so great on the 5 and wanted to give it a little while. Walked in and met Paige, our server, who is the most gracious and attentive person ever. The sushi was great and they even let you customize it! The drinks were equally delicious. As a lifelong New Yorker, have to say, we know food, but wow this was really exceptional!

Fun experience. We had a clever and funny chef. Went for graduation dinner with family and everything tasted delicious. Only issue was we had a person with a shrimp allergy. At the end the chef put shrimp on their plate so they couldn't finish their dinner. The ambience was fun with the chef coking in front of us. Would have been 5 stars except for the shrimp incident.

Our group came here for a graduation celebration and we had a small reserved room. So props for my family for setting it up. As for the meal, the menu was a little tricky to understand how to order but after asking a few questions, we settled on - The Boat! 2X combo of chicken and steak teriyaki with tempura and more, enough food for 3-4 people. The service was attentive but needed some work on table settings. We also asked for a pitcher of water which we helped out a lot. Note: I actually had a tempura banana in the meal. Which I have to say, I had never seen before. Kinda of weird, but it was confirmed by staff.

Wow words cannot explain how amazing this food was. The attention to detail in the sushi and the hospitality was beyond amazing. I went with my 93 year old grandma who is obsessed with sushi and she absolutely loved it. Our favorite worker their doly was above and beyond. His kindness has not only inspired me but my family members. He is such a hard worker. In summary, samurai was just an amazing expierence that I would 100% recommend. - samurais #1 fan

Beautiful restaurant with high quality food and excellent service. I'm not sure what the do to their rolls. I've eaten many a California roll but this one is the best. I can't stop going.