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Location & Hours
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Amenities and More
About the Business
All of our fish are Extremely fresh. Oma Kase - Chef's choice Any specialty sushi can be made for you Sweet Spicy Crunchy Roll - this is our most famous roll it has: crab meat salmon, shrimp tempura, avocado, fish roll and cucumber Chicken Teriyaki Shrimp Tempura Chili sea bass Fresh Salmon Teriyaki Blue Fin Tuna Japanese Aji (Spanish Mackerel) Madai - Japanese True Snapper
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Recommended Reviews
Overall rating
660 reviews
5 stars
4 stars
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1 star
Alicia R.CA, CA360182227Mar 28, 2024Excellent sushi and superb staff!
Amazing quality of fish, always fresh and delicious!!!
Best oysters and uni !!!!
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Zach C.San Diego, CA6114Jan 24, 2024I cannot believe Shien of Osaka is closing it's doors, I know it's inevitable but man after 25 years this place became a part of life for me and fellow North Countyites who knew of this hidden gem.
Nakamura San & Hiro San are masters of their craft and have wonderful personalities, same with the staff. I hope that all enjoy their retirement and/ or new opportunities.
Best Sushi I've ever had, what an experience. Thank you so much to all who put their heart and soul into this legendary place, you will all be sorely missed!Helpful 2Thanks 5Love this 10Oh no 5
Hana W.San Diego, CA1459253Nov 28, 2023we had a disappointing experience here because of the service :( we came on a wednesday night and there was no wait for our party of two. the restaurant has plenty of seating and the ambiance is chill with many customers who seem like they dine here regularly.
we ordered the karaage, half dragon roll, and nabeyaki udon. everything was good for the most part, the chicken was kind of bland by itself so we asked for sauce but it was never brought to us and we were still charged for it.
our server seemed annoyed with us before we even sat down. she never came by to check how we were doing (to bring our sauce that we requested, fill waters) and the few times that she would come by, she would interact with us as little as possible and then immediately turn around to the table next to us to talk to the people seated there, based on their conversation i assume she had a personal relationship with them? we were super confused and caught off guard because we're used to really sweet and helpful service workers at san diego restaurants.
the food was good but not worth coming back to have to potentially deal with our server again. all the other staff seemed super sweet though so maybe we just got unlucky.
Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 1Oh no 3- Apr 2, 2024Updated review
Updated review, as I see many visitors looking at my past 5-star review...sadly, due to retirement, Akai Hana has closed. They are greatly missed by their many regular patrons
Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0Jan 11, 2024Previous reviewWe are definitely classified as regulars at this wonderful sushi bar and restaurant. We have Saturday night reservations at the same table every other week, and occasionally make a stop for lunch. The staff feel like family, and they treat everyone with kindness and efficiency. The two sushi bars are usually packed with fun loving diners, so there is an energetic atmosphere which works well no matter your circumstances, single, couple, family, casual or special occasion. The menu is very approachable and fairly priced. A few of the staff have even taught me Japanese words and phrases which are appropriate for meals..."let's eat" (itadakimasu) and "thank you for the food" (gochisousama") are my favorites.
2407616439Jan 17, 2024Updated reviewOh no... just went tonight for dinner to find out they are closing at the end of the month. I'm so disappointed! Where am I going to get authentic Japanese food made by Japanese?? This is where I go to get dishes that my mom makes. Hopefully something changes in the next couple of weeks to keep them open. Otherwise, I will be lost when I want real Japanese food.
Helpful 14Thanks 2Love this 8Oh no 4Nov 14, 2023Previous reviewI recently rediscovered Akai Hana. Being Japanese, I am always looking for genuine Japanese dishes. Akai Hana has plenty of real Japanese dishes along with the more common dishes. I am a fan of their Ten Don which is shrimp and vegetable tempura served on top of rice and drizzled with tempura sauce. That dish is so simple but can be so easily messed up. Their tempura is light and crispy. The bowl comes with 2 shrimps, a squash, a sweet potato, and a broccoli. It's more than enough food for one person. I also like that they have a futomaki roll which is a non traditional sushi roll that I grew up eating. It has kampyo (dried gourd cooked in a soy and sugar sauce) which is my favorite. They will also make a kampyo roll which is not on the sushi menu. Another dish I like is the niku jaga which is a beef and potato dish. The portion size is that of an appetizer and it is very good.
The restaurant itself is dated and could use an update. The service is friendly but don't expect a lot of attention, they kind of leave you alone.
They do take reservations but you have to call, they are not on Open table.- Nov 16, 2023
Spacious, hidden Japanese gem. Go find it and try it out! You won't be disappointed. We've been here twice, so this is two in one review. My husband and I really like this place since we went the first time. Definitely Japanese run Japanese restaurant. All of the waitresses and servers are super nice. They get your order and expedite pretty quickly.
This is a pretty large facility, so they can house a lot of guests inside and some seating available on the outside. There's a sushi bar you can eat at as well. I honestly can't remember what was here before this place came.
The food was great. The tempura is crunchy and the zarusoba was fantastic. The soba was not overcooked like I have had at other places around San Diego. Tekka maki was yummy...appearance could have been better (meaning rolled better...this was not a tight roll, but I guess all the really matters is that it taste fresh and satisfying). Sashimi slices were fresh and love all the radish it came with. I love radish!
If you haven't tried this place...definitely give them a try NOW.Helpful 2Thanks 0Love this 2Oh no 0 
Sue B.Escondido, CA22Apr 5, 2024Updated reviewIt was my favorite Japanese restaurant. Very upset. Didn't know it was closing and I had a gift certificate I didn't get to use.
Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 1Oct 14, 2023Previous reviewGreat food..good service. Best salad dressing I've ever had. New York rolls are scrumptious and chicken teriyaki is delightful.
- Nov 3, 2023
We arrived around 7pm on a Thursday night. Luckily it wasn't that busy and we got seated right away. I always heard that during the weekend, you need reservations. The place was packed on a Thursday night, there were one or two tables vacant.
The server was okay. When she came over and asked for our drink orders, someone from my party asked if we could use a coupon that's on his phone, leaning it towards our server. In a rude and aggressive tone, she said "show me later, I'm not going to remember". But my party was only asking if we could use it. I'm not sure if it was a language barrier, but i disliked that. Getting the food was okay. It took about 20 mins.
The food itself was good. The combo plates can satisfy 2 people! It's huge. The combo 15 included tempura, salad, California roll, and teriyaki chicken. It does not come with rice. But you really don't need it. The dish was yummy. I would be interested in trying their other dishes.
Price: $
Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Sep 3, 2023Updated review
Food 4,
Service 3
Back for Friday night sushi dinner. Nigiris are pretty good here. Good balance of fish and rice. This time the freshness of the fish seemed a notch down. Mackerel was fishy and salmon could have been better.
They also make good small rolls such as philadelphia rolls and tuna rolls. The balance between the amount of rice outside and the inside ingredients is perfect and they are shaped and cut perfectly.
The food took a while to come out this time, over 30 min wait with no words from the waiter. The sushi counters were full and most of the counter customers sounded like regulars, so our non-regular table order might have been prioritized.
The younger tall waiter was not attentive and the service was slow even though the tables were half empty. This place needs better service. When a piece of nigiri is almost $5, we expect the quality of service matches
that.
Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 1Oh no 0Apr 8, 2023Previous reviewWe tried this place again for the first time in a few years. I had a sushi lunch at the counter about a month ago for a refresher, and the nigiri sushi was good quality, so we went back for a dinner.
Friday night dinner time, the wait was about 10 min. with no reservation. The front waitress was courteous. We were lead to a corner table at the end of the dining hall. I forgot how big this place was inside!
No music. Quiet and easy to have conversations. Families eating dinners. No drunk people making loud noises like at some other trendy sushi places. Family friendly atmosphere. The restaurant may be able to use a little update on decor.
We went for some sashimi and nigiri sushi although they offer a wide variety of other Japanese food as well.
Sashimi B (5 kinds of fish, 14 pieces) was good quality, good sharing size and reasonably priced. Just a bit dissatisfied with the end piece looking salmon on the sashimi plate. The presentation could have been better on a more traditional Japanese style plate.
Nigiri sushi was all good. They hide a tiny bit of wasabi in between rice and fish, that is the true Japanese style. Nigiri sushi is solid here.
Our favorite was mackerel. It was not dried out or too vinegary. Just right amount of vinegar and still had the feel of raw fish. There was no sauce over it, just like how it's supposed to be. The waitress told me that the mackerel was pickled in-house. It was delicious and we ordered more. If you are a mackerel or spanish sardines lover, I recommend you try the mackerel here.
Philadelphia Rolls tasted like with smoked salmon and we didn't dig the taste so much.
The service in the dining room felt a little slow but not bad. The waitress came by to check on us and refilled the drinks a few times. No complaints.
Overall, we enjoyed the re-visit here and will be back for more sashimi and nigiri dinner!
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