Ikiru Japanese

Wow. Sushi is one of my favorite things to eat, so i do get picky with the places i want to go to considering i want the freshest fish. Their Sushi is super fresh and tastes delicious! The garlic edamame was great. We had ordered six rolls– ahi ahi, harbor, mango, lemon, Hawaiian and one more but I forgot the name… ALL of them were outstanding. Service was awesome. We came in pretty late and left really late and they were still very polite and helpful. I will definitely be back again.

Live shrimp and the sashimi combo was the bomb! One of the most authentic sushi experience around San Diego area. Order and try their nigiris!!!

This place blew us away! My gf and I moved here from San Gabriel Valley area and have been searching for a place that can match the service and quality of our favorite place there. After 9 long months we finally found Ikiru and it was right in our backyard! Everything was perfection. Spicy Calamari, Garlic edemame, Special Poke roll and Albacore Sushi was our selection and it was mind blowing! You have made loyal customers today! Thanks Ikiru!

Some great rolls are the Special Poke Roll and the Tuna Blossom. Been here many times, not a huge special roll menu selection, but good options anyways.

The ahi poke salad was fabulous; tender and lean. The vegetable tempura was good as well. I liked that the potatoes were shredded and not huge chunks. The beef yakisoba was huge, couldn’t finish it all.

Steve was amazing! (I think that was his name) he served my tuna blossom with a good presentations! It was delish! My husband also enjoyed his deep fried sushi. Quail eggs and ika.
We are from Las Vegas, we are here for mini vacay and i wanted to try the sea urchin and they were in the top 5 that was near us. I was sad when he said they didnt have sea urchin (i should have called first) but it wasnt their fault (he explained) there was a storm the night before and also the wind was too strong today to get them so thats why they didn’t have any. Overall this place was amazing and super friendly! I will go back to this place each time we visit SD. Thank you.

This is THE spot. Quality fish, great atmosphere, awesome service, and consistency. Let me break down my usual order for you to guide you:
From the get go I order their drink special which comes with your choice of beer (I get SAPPORO) and their house sake. I make sure to check in and get some free garlic edamame to munch on while waiting for the main goodies. After going here a million times I’ve grown to love their nigiri over their rolls, BUT thats not to take away from the rolls. I’ve tried a majority of the rolls and I’d say get the Orange Crush if your in the mood for rolls.
Anyways, lets get to the nigiri, each order of the nigiri comes with 2 pieces which is pretty standard. The usuals for me would be the Salmon Belly, Albacore, Ikura, and Masago with a quail egg on top. The Salmon Belly is amazing, those extra layers of fat adds so much to each bite, ALWAYS get this. The Albacore depending on the selection for the day can range from being meaty to melt in your mouth like butter. When it melts in your mouth like butter, go ahead and order 2 – 3 more orders, its a good day. Ikura can be an acquired taste but if your already salivating from reading this then your ready. These are my little salt water poppers, I tend to pop them in my mouth one by one just to savor it a little longer. I have a bad habit of eating too fast, this is my way of slowing down a bit. Now when you order the Masago and quail egg, make sure to tell them to put the quail egg on top! The quail eggs yolk just binds the Masago together in your mouth in a gooey sensation… yes.
Now that was the main course, but if you want the complete package order these as well: Takowasa (~bi), FRESH wasabi, Uni, and the salmon skin handroll. Takowasabi is chopped up raw octopus mixed with onions and fresh wasabi, hands down my favorite little snack here. The fresh wasabi is a must for me, none of the grated or tubed green boo boo, get that good good. Warning, this is for the level 10 wasabi slayers. There’s something addicting about the fresh wasabi… The uni here has always been amazing, get this if your feeling like you can spend a little more money since it is by market price and you wont know how much it will be until they open it up. Now the salmon skin handroll, I love this handroll. This will standout in this meal because it’ll give you the crunch, warmth, and sweetness (teriyaki) that you won’t get in the rest of the order.
Wow, I got a little carried away there. I’ll end it with these tips:
— if your going for dinner, call in and make a reservation, its a small restaurant
— my average bill for 2 is $ 60 – 80, if your not trying to spend that much order rolls not nigiri
— make sure to eat the pickled ginger, it’ll help cleanse your palate so you can fully taste your next bite of sushi :)
— for the ladies, leave your purse in the car, there’s no room especially when it’s packed
ENJOY
@makubites

Okay food. I was a bit disappointed because I heard a lot of good thing about this place. However, happy hour was cheap. Will I come again? Maybe just for the happy hour…

I’ve been to Liberty Station countless times & I found this place when hunting online for a new sushi restaurant to try.
My thought after eating here was… why didn’t I discover this place sooner!!! Also, I need to come back here!
The restaurant was fairly hidden in a hallway. There’s signs posted around so just follow the arrow on the signs. It’s small, but it does get pretty packed! You can call to make a reservation or you can wait & walk around the park right outside the restaurant.
The fish is fresh & you know it’s good when it kind of melts in your mouth. Sounds weird? It’s one of the best food sensations ever once you’ve had it. The nigiri comes with large pieces of fish on top. Another big plus! Also, they put the sauces on the side of the rolls. I’m not a of fan of rolls drenched in sauce (what are you covering up?) so I was happy to see the sauce was more of an enhancement rather than the actual flavor of the sushi roll.
Service is very friendly & knowledgable. They’re confident about their food & they should be!
After coming here, this place has been added to my Sushi Friday rotation list.

It’s been a long time coming but we have finally found our go-​to sushi restaurant in San Diego.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like there aren’t good sushi restaurants. There’s Sushi Ota (one of my favorite sushi places of all time) and Azuki Sushi, but for their price they’re not one of those places you can frequent. Then there’s Sushi Diner that is inexpensive with a good diversity of decent-​quality sushi rolls. But then you have Ikiru sitting right in the middle: great quality sashimi and sushi rolls without breaking the bank.
We were very impressed with our entrees. I had the special poke roll and it’s easy to have skepticism about poke in the mainland, but this was pretty damn good. High quality salmon, tuna and yellowtail dressed deliciously poke-​style and stuffed into a sushi roll. The roll was overflowing with sashimi, I couldn’t be happier. My fiancé had the sashimi salad and this is something I can easily be disappointed with at many sushi restaurants. But one, they did not skimp out on that sashimi. And two, the salad dressing was on point. I could eat this for lunch every day. Everything else we had did not disappoint either. The jalapeño hamachi, baby octopus, and garlic edamame (which is free if you check-​in), all delicious.
When I would crave sushi, it used to be so hard to decide where we wanted to go. But now our first thought is, «Ikiru?»

I am too lucky to find a great sushi place to eat that’s close to my house. Coming from the Bay area, this place is great compared to a lot of other so called sushi bars. Clean and good service… plus the sushi is great!

Really good sushi! It’s a fairly small space and sometimes on weekend nights there’s a bit of a wait but you can usually slide in easily if you’re by yourself at the bar or a party of two. The servers are super nice and the sushi chefs are really good. The prices are very affordable and the location inside Liberty station is cool. When I bring my dog he gets tied up outside since there’s no patio. But it’s okay cause there’s lots of green space out front

We lived nearby and this was our favorite super close sushi joint. 2 rolls and a seaweed salad always left my husband and I stuffed. One of my favorites is the Stardust, which has some torched lemon slices included and is interesting and delicious.
Pros:
–Fish is fresh
–They don’t skimp on the fish in the rolls
–Things aren’t overpowered with crumbs of fried tempura like at some of the more ‘americanized’ sushi places in town
–Good value for the money
Cons:
–This place can get PACKED, and it is somehow a hotspot for parents with ill-​behaved (read: screaming) children. It is tiny, and a couple of screaming kids inside will make you want to stab some chopsticks in your eyes, throw your food on the floor, and leave.
–Service can be slow/​spotty when they’re crowded. They do great when it isn’t totally packed, but somehow they have a really hard time when dinner rush is happening
Perhaps not the most authentic japanese experience, but the fish is fresh and the food is good. Solid choice.

If I could afford to & my dining partners would agree, I would eat sushi 5x/​week. I consider myself a connoisseur of sushi. I typically divide great sushi joints into 2 categories. One being top grade fish selection served either nigiri or sashimi style with a price tag that reflects this high standard (think uni, giant clam, aji, needle beak, amaebi) The other category offers good quality fish, albeit limited & standard offerings (tuna, salmon, hamachi). Their emphasis is on creative rolls & affordability. Ikiru falls into the first category. I’ve had this place bookmarked for quite awhile after reading Unilocal reviews and finally made it here on a Saturday late afternoon. The physical space is small & lackluster and not reflective of the fabulous meal you’re about to be served. Our chef, John, was very knowledgeable & aimed to please. The offerings are diverse & super fresh. I love the fresh wasabi. I will definitely be back. Pro Tip Get the Uni!

Service was good. Place is small.
Got free Saki with large beer, but I have had better in San Marcos, Ca.
Poke roll was very yummy! Spicy, but still delicious. The CRA roll was nothing special. The eel was good. But This place was nothing special. The food was alright

This is definitely a go to spot for me! The sushi is all fresh and is hands down the best sushi I have had in San Diego.
The restaurant itself is very small so if you are looking to go during prime time hours, be sure to call ahead and make reservations.

The best sushi I have had in San Diego. I have tried most of their rolls and have yet to be disappointed.

Great spicy shoyu ramen, garlic edamame, and pan fried gyoza was amazing! It’s a small place but fast service and friendly staff.

I have been to this place a few time and never disappoint in the quality of the food they offer and also the taste. The price here is good al well. The only problem I have with this place is that it’s a little far from where I live.

Meh.
Total amateur whitey joint. Steer clear if you are an experienced sushi eater. Need more deets? Read on…
We ordered:
–Spicy garlic edamame
−3×5 sashimi combo
–Ultimate Crab Roll (unable to customize with real crab because «it is a mix»)
–Protein Roll with real crab
–Custom hand rolls with masago/​tobiko/​ikura
— Baby Octopus Tempura
We had serious trouble finding things worth the calories that were not amateurish whitey menu items… And we were hungry and not afraid to throw down some serious cash.
Pros:
— Moderate prices
— Fresh fish
— Beautiful presentation (sadly, it did not taste as good as it looked)
— Attentive and friendly staff and sushi chefs
Cons:
— Flavorless, bland food (the only exceptions were the spicy garlic edamame and the baby octopus tempura)
— Selection: «We ran out of uni» — seriously? What about the oysters? «We are out of those too.»
— The sushi rice was off texture and very bland — don’t they know they have to actually season the rice?
— Charge $ 3 extra for real crab and barely give you any of it
— Tiny restaurant space — if there are any children in there, the place basically becomes completely intolerable because the crowding and noise cannot be contained
— Not run by Japanese, but run by Koreans (they were speaking Korean, yes… I can actually tell the difference). They also put shredded carrot in the rolls. Japanese don’t do that.
— The sauces accompanying the rolls were very bland. Adding soy sauce and wasabi did not improve the experience at all.
— The sashimi pieces were cut too thick — it was like the chef had no idea how to cut the fish properly (there is actually a way the fish is supposed to be cut, slicing it randomly or in chunks does it no favors).
— The protein roll was pretty, but watery and tasteless
— The Ultimate Crab Roll was large, but tasted mostly like teriyaki sauce drizzled over a badly made Louie salad
— Spicy garlic edamame tasted fine, but were way too greasy/​oily
The only things we were OK with taste-​wise were the sashimi (um you can’t mess that up unless the fish is not fresh, right?) and the Baby Octopus Tempura (kinda hard to botch a battered and fried item) — the latter item only tasted better when compared to the rolls which were completely tasteless.
We did not leave feeling crappy, but we were not satisfied. We were happy, however, that the food didn’t cost that much. Won’t be returning… Leave this place for the whiteys and first timers who don’t know the difference.

This food was so good… and miraculously, affordable! We ordered the tekka maki, the salmon maki, the negi something (yellowtail with scallions maki) and the spicy scallop rolls. Plenty of food for two relatively ravenous eaters, and came to $ 20. The fish was fresh, flavorful and nice, meaty cuts. The spicy scallop was my favorite; my partner loved the scallion with yellowtail (which was a little too oniony for my taste). The tuna and salmon were also delish.
It *was* crowded on a friday night. We were able to get a table right away, but would make reservations in the future.

This place totally shuts up my craving for Japanese food because their sushi rolls and fish quality are just so impressive compared to what I was expecting. We got the following:
Spicy Calamari and Garlic Edamame for appetizers:
Delicious! They do a light bread coating that didn’t really stick but since it was soaked in this amazing spicy sauce it didn’t matter (would’ve gotten soggy anyway.)
I checked in on Unilocal as well and got a free edamame offer and they allowed us to pick any type we wanted! Quality service right there since most places nickel and dime you for choosing anything beyond plain
Salmon and Tuna Nigiri
They give you GENEROUS slabs with a not-​too-​big, not-​too-​small portion of sushi rice so you can just indulge in the flavor of the fish. They both tasted fresh and clean and had dabs of FRESH wasabi, which is so much stronger than the paste so it really creeps up on you
Pink roll and Eel roll
Have I mentioned their sushi rice quality? Perfectly flavored and wonderfully textured (not a hard awful mess or falling apart) – instantly the tip off to good sushi – and it showed in the rolls.
There was a great amount of fish and anything with spicy tuna or eel is my go to so the Pink roll was my thanggg. Eel roll was also good but forgettable; not in a bad way but just because it’s a standard roll. However they can overdo the sauce sometimes.
The atmosphere is interesting. Not a dressed up, trendy sushi bar but a small sushi shop vibe with their stringed white flags and the Japanese style drawings on the walls. However, the place is small and they don’t really have seating for those waiting (which sucked even in San Diego cold!) so make sure to call ahead.
Altogether, a solid place for a little catch up over raw fishies!

This place is my favorite of all sushi places in San Diego. I drive over 20 miles just to dine here. The staff are friendly and the food is always so good.
Typical dinner: spicy calamari appetizer, salmon and yellowtail nigiri, eel avocado roll, pink roll, and miss ramen.
Suprisingly, their ramen is crazy delicious. Loved the bbq grilled taste of the pork chasu. And of course, the fish are always fresh.
Came here last night with my cousin and we loved everything. We even got a free garlic edamame since she checked in. Yum. Free edamame.
Thank you, Ikiru, for being so good to me. Always.

Wow! Amazed by the quality and freshness of the sushi served here. By far the best sushi I have had in san diego so far.
Since I have never tried it, we came primarily for the live uni. I suggest calling first to make sure they have it because it is not always available. Although the experience was really cool and it seemed to be prepared well, I did not like uni at all. Personal preference I suppose. It tasted like ocean flavored ice cream.
The special poke roll was my favorite topped with a generous amount of tuna salmon and whitefish. The NtC roll and California beech roll were also very tasty. The service was pretty good except that they never brought our free Unilocal check in edamame which was a bit disappointing. Next time maybe :)

Whenever my bf and I want sushi, this is our go to spot. All the Unilocal reviews are true: this place is awesome. The quality of the fish they serve is really good, especially considering their decent prices. Service is always great too.
We always get the Protein roll, Poke roll, and the spicy salmon and tuna hand rolls. And we always try one or two different rolls each time. (Yeah, we eat a lot…) Literally every single thing we’ve tried was excellent.
I’m really happy this place exists in San Diego. You don’t have to empty your wallet for quality sushi at this place! Always worth the drive to Point Loma. :-)

Amazing as always. Hand rolls = awesome! The salmon is always super fresh here, and of course I had some. The sushi chefs make the place… These guys work their tails off but ar always friendly and conversational. No question these guys are at the top of the price/​performance curve for sushi in San Diego!

Redeemed free edamame by using Unilocal.Got the garlic = awesome
Order: teriyaki chicken bowl, tuna blossom, ultimate crab, bluefin tuna (THEY RAN OUT!!! Nooooo)
Review: Servers etc are great. Not a fan of the ultimate crab at all. Too saucy, fatty, rich tasting — contains real crab meat which I thought would be good. Will get it with sauce on the side if I get it again but I doubt I will. The tuna blossom had a lot more tuna and not so much filling last time I ate it so it was a slight let down. The fact that they ran out of bluefin was a bummer because I went there specifically for that. The teriyaki bowl is your normal can get it from trader joe’s teriyaki bowl.
Bathroom: Smells great (this sounded so weird when I just read it but it smells great in there — guess I’ve been lucky not to walk in after someone who had bad sushi LOL), well maintained.
Conclusion: I still think you should give it a try. I will go here if I’m in the vicinity instead of driving out of my way to eat here (which is what I did this time around — my second time).

I came back!!! I said I would and I did! Was just here for Labor Day wknd!
Ahhh this place blows my mind when it comes to UNI! Unfortunately, the live UNI bowl was different from what I had months ago but I still loved it!!! I was already missing it while eating there!
I like the main chef! The shaved head one. I think he knows how much I love UNI when I ordered my 2^nd serving! You’ll see in my photos but WOW, again, I am SO impressed with the freshness and quality! I only order nigiri and UNI. No rolls so can’t speak for the rest.
I don’t understand why other people have bad ratings of this place but that’s okay, MORE for me =D

We went shortly after they opened for lunchtime and there weren’t too many people yet. However, we had to wait a bit to be acknowledged only to be told that we could seat ourselves. The dining area was small and intimate, so probably not a good place for large parties.
We tried the Hawaiian Roll which was pretty tasty. The roll was cut into 8 pieces which made them a little difficult to eat. Had they been cut into 10, they’d probably be the perfect size.
We also shared a Chicken Teriyaki Bento Box which was just mediocre. Chicken was dry and teriyaki sauce could be much better.
We’re guessing they’re more known for their sushi, so we’d come back again to try their other rolls.

We went here for dinner right around 7pm on a weeknight… Small dining area, I didn’t notice anyone waiting to be seated, but the place was consistently full throughout our time here.
Service was friendly. Not really the most attentive (i would have appreciated drink refills), but they were kind and courteous enough. I have to mention though, that My husband did get a little upset at the fact that we arrived a full 20 minutes before the people who got seated next to us, and they received 2 rolls within minutes of ordering, all before we got any of our food. (Sad face)
Anyways,
We got our free Garlic edamame with Unilocal check in… Very peppery, which made it a bit spicy.
Chicken katsu donburi– basically it is a chicken katsu cooked into scrambled egg with some sautéed onion on top of a generous bowl of rice. Came out hot, a large portion overall. The flavor was a bit bland though. I usually don’t add any table salt to my food, but I had to sprinkle a little bit of soy sauce on it to add flavor. I’ve had this dish at other places and I remember it to usually have a much more sweet soy sauce flavor.
California roll– I know, I’m one of THOSE people that go to a sushi place and orders the least sushi of sushi. At first I was a bit disappointed bc the rice tasted a bit mushy. but after a few minutes, the plate settled a bit and the rice dried enough to where I was content with the texture. The imitation crab meat didn’t have much flavor though.
So I wasn’t completely sold on the items I ordered. But my hungry husband ordered 4 rolls and sashimi… We are not huge seafood eaters. So sashimi has to be super fresh in order for my husband to really enjoy it. He ordered the yellowtail and was satisfied. He also ordered 2 fried rolls, a baked roll, and another roll. All of which he enjoyed and was satisfied with their freshness and preparation. The rolls ended up being pretty generous is portion, they’re long rolls… The husband has a big appetite when he’s hAngry (lol), but this was a ton for him.
We’ve tried sushi is many places all over San Diego, and this place gets a thumbs up for their sushi… They also offer appetizers like tempura or tofu… They have bento meals and bowls… Yakisoba and ramen too.
Lovely Decatur/​point Loma atmosphere, we were able to take a little walk around the area before leaving…

On the search for some super fresh sashimi served live (lobster, uni, shrimp, etc.)? You’ve come to the right place! Other spots such as Sushi Ota are usually booked out for the day (either that or a super long wait) so if you’re looking for an instant fresh sashimi fix, Ikiru never disappoints.
I’ve eaten here a handful of times and have always enjoyed their specials based on the seasonal offerings. Live amaebi (sweet shrimp) can be had here. It’ll be roughly around $ 15 – 20 or so for two. They chop the head off, serve the tail nigiri style and once you finish eating the nigiri pieces, they’ll go ahead and deep fry the heads and leftover part of the tails tempura style. Please, eat the entire thing, including the antennas, eyes and guts.
If they do have the lobster sashimi available, I recommend trying that as well. They chop the entire tail into sashimi slices and will also bring you over the head tempura style, which is perfect as all the guts inside are nice and crispy!
In the mood for a huge combo of various fish cuts? You can never go wrong with their chirashi bowl here! You’ll get a good mixture of fish cuts and they are very generous as the slices aren’t small nor thin! This will be enough to fill you up in comparison to other spots in town that skimp out on the fish cuts and give you a disproportional amount of rice instead.
Ikiru can be a bit hard to find but just walk towards Tender Greens or Fig Tree and you won’t miss it!
PS — You’re at a sushi joint that serves damn good sashimi, so please don’t put your experience to waste and eat Americanized rolls (e.g. California rolls, Philly rolls, volcano rolls, you name it).

Park in the Von’s/Trader joe’s huge lot for easier parking, walk through the corridor where you can see Cold Stone’s and past the real estate office. Ikiru’s sign is in a black background.
I believe this place is Korean-​run establishment: you might be thinking — that’s not authentic. Okay, I’ve had my college days spent at Nozomi’s, which is definitely not quite authentic. It really depends on the quality of fish and the chef’s training. So think again :)
Anyway, they didn’t have any uni, and I was sad. :(
Tips:
1. Check in on Unilocal and get a free regular or garlic edamame — the garlic one is quite potent — in a garlic soy sauce.
2. They charge for hot tea, a little less than $ 2 per person.
Lunch for 4. Ordered 3 rolls, with 4 sets of nigiri, oyako don, and chirashi.
Rolls–
Crunchy shrimp: the tempura crunches covered the roll like snow flakes, but the crunches are slightly stale… oh no!
Ultimate crab: sweet and savory hot/​warm roll that reminds me of the dynamite roll/​bowl. If you don’t like mayo in general like me, this is the least mayo-​y roll that I have had. I suggest eat this last if you don’t like sushi warm/​hot, because it is really tasty and worth ordering.
Ahi Ahi: this was a average roll imo, I don’t feel that I’ll order it in the future.
Nigiri–
Poke boat: just delicious especially when fresh fish is used!
albacore: could this get any better?!
blue fin tuna: above average!
golden eye snapper ($ 13): a bit on the pricy side, a delicious splurge that has ginger and scallions on top, and even though on first bite i didn’t take the ginger and wasabi well…
Oyako don: no expectations, but it turned out very flavorful.
Chirashi ($ 26): at least a white fish, hamachi, tuna, salmon, shrimp, egg, seaweed salad/​cucumber. Just this alone could be a filling meal. The fish are all very fresh and nothing less than what I expected.
Damage was about $ 29 per person before tip!!! Not a bad trade for the fare, and I walked out full…