Sushi Dokoro Shirahama
Categories: Sushi Bars, Japanese [Edit]
Neighborhood: Kearny Mesa4212 Convoy St
(between Armour St & Othello Ave)
San Diego, CA 92111 (858) 650-3578
- Hours:
Tue-Sun 9:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. - Price Range: $$$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: No
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
18 Reviews for Sushi Dokoro Shirahama
Who says white people don't experience racism??? Be a whitey and walk into this place - they assume you're a PB idiot wanting cheap rolls and immediately try to make you leave. The "unwelcomeness" was obvious on everyone's faces inside the tiny place. Well, I wasn't about to be shooed away. We ate about 3 pieces of sushi and had one large beer and finally gave into the silent treatment and stink eyes so we asked for the check. $60!!!!! I almost fell off my chair! Was this the "real" price or the "whitey" price? Think we got burritos on the way home because we were still so hungry. If I recall correctly, there is no menu. Very traditional Japanese cuisine - fresh fish. Totally racist.
Might be funny to go in and order a california roll and see what happens.
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For the longest time I was convinced that this place was run by the Yakuza simply because of the amount of times I was either ignored when I walked in, or told they were full despite the fact that only one table was occupied.
Hell, maybe they are run by the Yakuza? Or maybe I'm not Japanese enough? I seriously walked into this place maybe 3 or 4 times and would stand by the door, watching the waitress watch me as she did everything EXCEPT make any attempt at communicating with me.
Regardless of whether or not this place is a hangout for the local San Diego Yakuza overflow from Los Angeles, they win the "condescending and rude restaurant of the year 2007 award!" Go Dokoro!
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This tiny little restaurant in a strip mall in the Convoy Street area caters mostly to Japanese. It is run by a 60ish couple, serving only Nigiri sushi; no "jive-ass rolls" or other Americanized concoctions created in California. No Rainbow, Spicy Tuna, Spider or other westernized popular selections for non-Japanese. Only Nigiri and there is no menu, just wood board menus on the wall written in Japanese. The drink menus are also in Japanese. So you have to know what you want.
Here it is best to know your Japanese Nigiri and order them individually, or just opt for "Omakase" with a set price and let Koji Kotani due his thing. You will not get anything too wierd or exotic. No oyster shooters, Mexican flavors, cream cheese, or even avacado, just Nigiri. I went for a $40 Omakase, and was served maguro, several white fish selections like aji, hamachi, maguro, and spanish mackeral sliced in the middle and seasoned with minced green onions and ginger, and otherwise straightforward Nigiri. Which is fine by me, as I prefer a purest approach most of the time.
There are only 10 seats at the Sushi bar, and 4 small tables for two. The restaurant has a white sign saying Shirahama Japanese Food, but otherwise it has an obscure storefront, with two blacked out windows and a blacked out door, so you can't see inside. There is a good selection of sake, and the only small beer is Ebisu Premium all malt beer ($6.50) but they do have large Asahi Super Dry ($7.50).
The couple rarely speaks and they take their time, so if you are in a hurry or want something not Nigiri, go elsewhere. Here you sit and have a leisurely dinner and simply enjoy the sushi while listening to traditional instrumental Japanese music. When I entered there were only Japanese inside, both Nissei and Japanese business people. A Caucasian couple did come later and was served. No tea is offered unless you order it, and no miso soup. Just Nigiri. You do get a hot towel in the traditional Japanese style.
If you are a Nigiri purest, and you know sushi, this is a great choice, It helps if you are soft spoken, taking your time, and are Japanese to fully enjoy this experience.
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Hands down the best sushi in San Diego, possibly the best anywhere. I know some Japanese friends who come from Japan just to each sushi here. I would recommend the omakase (chef's choice). You'll try some new stuff that you thought you wouldn't like but more likely it will turn out to be delicious.
This is the best sushi I have ever had! But you have to sit at the bar and ask for the good stuff (I took my girlfriend there after raving about it and sat at one of the tables and they gave me the mediocre stuff). So the sushi, melted like butter in my mouth! It was so yummy! The chef said that he flies the fish in from Japan because the plankton and water is different and it makes a different tasting fish! and indeed it does!
It's not a fancy place and from the outside, you would never know it was a restaurant or a business that is open for business!
I'm not going to lie and say that I'm some sushi aficionado but I did appreciate the quality of the fish and the feel you get in this authentic japanese sushi bar. Perhaps it was the fact that my date and I each had visited Japan before and knew what quality could really mean, or maybe it was because we ordered omakase "chef's choice" but I had a feeling the chef knew we had some expectations.
I remember walking in and being greeted with a smile from the only waitress available. After being directed to our reserved spot I noticed that barely anything was in english. No menus were served, no specials placard on the wall, nothing in that place made you feel welcome if you didn't know Japanese. I did recall seeing a laminated picture of various nigiri and their japanese names, which was comforting to say the least. But the fact that there were no prices indicated anywhere for the sushi made me cringe thinking about the bill of an omakase order.
Fortunately, the food was indeed delicious and the chef was very tentative to our reactions which made for a pleasant experience well worth the money. For the sushi we enjoyed the chef made double orders and for dislikes he never made again. I'm not implying there were bad orders, rather it was matter of preference for taste. The fish were fresh, soft, not overly-chilled, and served in good proportion to the nicely prepared sushi rice. The chef also made it an effort to time his servings in-between dishes so that my date and I had time to indulge our bites and converse. The nigiri that really stood out in my mind were the salmon, hamachi, and makaro. I would rate them on par with some of the sushi joints in Japan. And that's a pretty bold statement in my opinion.
After visiting this place only once, it was hard for me to give this restaurant a fair rating. The fact that an omakase bill for two rang up as $115 pretty much limits the number of regular visits you can have. Despite that drawback, this little sushi bar with no english menus mimicks a lot of mom and pop shops in Japan, and does so with excellence with its homy ambiance and delectable nigiri.
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This place is pretty much sushi perfection. Sushi-only restaurant. Only serve what's in season. Rice, fish, wasabi proportions are amazingly perfect. Fish is so fresh you can definitely taste it.
Recommend the Tuna Temaki (no spicy tuna - it's a legit Japanese sushi place!) over the Maguro sushi since you get so much more tuna and the seaweed is awesome too. Uni is expectedly pricey but damned sweet and fresh as well. Pretty much can't go wrong with anything here.
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I am very happy to have stumbled across this low-profile place. I pulled into the wrong strip mall by mistake!
I had lunch here.. Yes, Lunch. and I still need to return for a proper dinner meal with sake.
Anyway so there I was, busy chatting away with Mr. Kotani, so intrigued to know about Shirahama. But somehow I immediately knew that this place was the real deal a minute after I sat down and glanced once over. Sounds cheezy but everything felt just right.
Lunch hours are limited to certain weekdays. It's hard to recommend for lunch though because getting full on just Nigiri will run a high tab quick (although every bite worth it). The cool thing is that you'll have Mr. Kotani's full undivided attention. He admits hardly anybody comes for lunch.
Dinner is a different matter. Being popular with regulars and seating limited you'll need to make reservations a few days in advance. I'll have to write another review after I finally make it for dinner.
Fish is flown in from Japan 4 times a week. A master sushi chef for 19 years. Enough said.
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Back in 1989 my family moved to the Del Mar area. The first thing my dad asks the real estate agent is, "Where's the best sushi?" There it is. Shirahama's original location was in Del Mar, with customers that would travel from L.A. just to eat Mr. Kotani's sushi. He also attracted many celebraties passing through town either for a concert, horse race, or tennis match. I have had the opportunity to visit this place many times over the years (between 1989-1996 I went 1-2 times per week). Now it is in a different location (Convoy). Still today, my parents are regulars visiting the sushi bar every week for his omakase.
Mr. Kotani and his wife own and operate the entire place on their own. The place is small and simple, tucked away in a shopping strip. Almost all of his clientele are regulars--which you would see right away when you visit.
If you get a chance and want to experience amazing traditional sushi, visit Shirahama and remember, no fancy rolls!
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if you're the typical loud mouthed attention whore, or if you're looking for japanese chefs to make complete fools out of themselves in order to appease your sake bombed sense of humor, this place is probably not for you.
that being said, from what i gathered in between the 1 to 5 star ratings is that the general consensus is that the fish is fresh. that's all i really needed to know, as it exceeded expectations...i actually got an education from of my experience since i remembered one blogger mentioned that the 'best indicator of fresh fish is the hamachi (yellowtail) -- which is comical since at 99% of the local sushi bars use 'farmed' tuna, yellowtail, and salmon...which happens to be the most commonly ordered fish amongst the typical crowd (see first paragraph)..it is the sole reason why there are so many sushi bars around -- because you're paying all-you-can-eat prices for farmed/cloned fish that's the cheapest of the bunch so the restaurants are still BANKING off you...so the pricing that most people are complaining about on here is because the highest quality of fish is flown in from around in the world, be it from japan, alaska (salmon), and even santa barbara (sea urchin)...in actuality, the best 'indicator' of a quality sushi restaurant is the mackerel (saba) since it is the most difficult to prepare in terms of ingredients and shelf life...you'll find that mackerel on most menu items is one of the cheaper types and is usually avoided at all costs...my personal favorites from this particular restaurant was the aji (spanish mackerel), kanpachi (wild yellowtail), toro (tuna belly), and shima-aji (no direct english translation)!...first rate as i have ever experienced.
i also learned that shirahama is a 2-man operation, run by solely by Mr. Kotani and his wife. i would imagine waiting on tables, cashier, and running the kitchen 6-7 nights a week is rather difficult and mundane, so i too, would have little patience for those that are used to the typical hoopla of modern day sushi bars...if you want a traditional japanese experience and are willing to pay for it, shirahama fits the bill...as they say, when in rome.
Boy this place is overrated. I really wanted to like this place. The reviews were good. When my Japanese friend and I arrived, we noticed everyone else was Japanese -- usually a good sign.
At first they told us they couldn't take us. The bar was full, but since there were empty tables, we finneagled one of them.
I expected the real deal but when the sushi arrived, the pieces were small and the fish not particularly fresh. The yellowtail is usually the best indicator of how good the rest is. When its really good it has its special way of melting in your mouth. The first piece i had just kind of sat there. The second was a tad off -- as in no longer fresh. Most of the rest was equally forgettable, with the exception of some first-rate octopus (some of the best I've had), and decent toro and unagi. The uni was ok but not particularly memorable.
I would have given this place 2-3 stars for the food, but after receiving a meal which satisfied neither my taste buds nor my hunger, we were presented with a $100 bill (there was no menu so we didn't see prices beforehand). We only had split one small beer between us so it wasn't the alcohol. I've gotten comparable piece selection, several beers, edamame and an appetizer or two at Taka for about the same. So as a total value proposition: ONE STAR.
blehhhhhhhh. and i had such high hopes. maybe it was a bad night for shirahama, but to me the food was unforgivable.
the meal got off to a great start. no sooner did i walk though the door than did the hostess warn me that only nigiri was served here and there wasn't a menu to choose off of. authentically refreshing, and definitely a first for me to be in such a traditional sushi bar. i could tell that the couple next to me was being served at the whim of the sushi chef, whatever fish had him in a tizzy at that particular moment. my first impression is star worthy (the only one i can bring myself to give).
with hot tea in hand, i coyly and confidently requested hamachi and sake. the chef wrote down my order dismissively, as he did throughout the rest of the night. in fact, he was borderline rude... all night. although only one other couple was there, he rarely looked at me and when he did he seemed pissed off. At the end of the night all 40+ dollars of fish tasted like it had been flown in from Japan - a few weeks ago. I even gagged a few times. in my opinion, there is just no excuse.
my final opinion is that the sushi was awful and expensive, the ambiance was traditional but the strip mall location sucked, the service was awful and the check took way too long to come. thumbs down.
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I second the first review, best sushi in San Diego by far. You can only order sushi here, but the quality is unmatched. The fish alone is some of the freshest and most tasty fish I have ever had. But the sushi chef is also a master. The nigiri (I only order nigiri here, although you can ask for other types of sushi) is excellent, the wasabi and sushi rice are perfectly balanced.
You will often find Japanese native speakers dining here with friends, enjoying the good food and being vocal about it. The sushi chef himself is a bit quiet, but don't be afraid to talk to him since he is actually quite friendly. You can always sit at a table and give your orders to the waitress if the bar is full.
Although there is no english menu, you can simply ask for whatever's good or read from the fish chart in the back. There are no listed prices either, most common fish nigiris are about 3-4 dollars per order. The toro is about 13 dollars the one time I ordered it. It was some of the best toro I've ever had, but I'm not rich so I will stick with the regular nigiri. Come here with friends or with a date, it will be a very memorable dining experience.
Great quality sushi found along Convoy. Don't placate your sushi craving with something that's not authentic. Ingredients are fresh and the staff is very friendly.
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I was introduced and originally came here with several Japanese friends. For a place closeby my home, this place is pretty authentic Japanese. Some of the dishes are pretty hardcore Japanese if your stomach can handle it. But thats probably why they serve Saki.
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The sushi is excellent and well worth the price. The nigiri is prepared with great skill and respect. The slices of fish are sectioned with care and the sushi chef does not serve the exposed end of a fish that has not been cut for a short while. The fish is very fresh with a clean taste. I agree with Kelly that the nigiri is well balanced in both flavor and texture. You certainly don't want to add wasabi to your shoyu as the proper amount of wasabi is already in your nigiri. If you really want to control your own wasabi you can get sashimi although if you are going to Sushi Dokoro you might as well enjoy the master at work.
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By far and away the best sushi restaurant in San Diego that I've found thus far. Better than Ota, and ranks up there with the best in NYC ( although a little short of LA's Sasabune which will always be my favorite) . A word of caution - the sushi here keeps to the more traditional (Kojisan wouldn't even make california rolls when it first opened), the ambience is non-existent, and since everything is ala carte, its more expensive. But for hard-core sushi aficionados, you can't go wrong. I especially recommend the anago and uni.
The best sushi in San Diego. Kojisan is a true artist.
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