Sushi Yaro

This place just wasn’t that good. Everything was warm, a bit pricey too.

It’s like a small hole in the wall spot, I would’ve never known it existed until my friend said to go here. It’s in the same plaza as Thang Thang and a korean bbq restaurant.
Parking lot is small, but there is plenty of street parking around as well.
The restaurant is small as well, probably can only fit up to 4 – 5 people per table.
And there’s also bar seating. Bar seating can be tight though if its full.
Two sushi chefs and one server.
Service was good.
Our waitress was attentive and our chefs were friendly.
Food:
Agedashi Tofu $ 4.99
I’ve never gad agedashi tofu before until now. It’s basically just deep fried tofu served in tempura sauce. It was just a giant block of tofu, but it was amaaaaazing. Super delicious. Simple, soft, and flavorful. Definitely recommend it.
Tonkotsu Ramen $ 9.99
This dish was average. Good noodles and meat, but flavor was bland. Don’t like the bean sprouts.
Kimono Roll $ 10.99
I thought this was supposed to be a deep fried roll but it was like semi-​deep fried. Inside was a smaller sushi roll with cooked fish and deep fried, than wrapped around more rice and seaweed. It was pretty good, but flavorless and I think it was weird how there was fully cooked fish in the middle.
One Night Stand Roll $ 13.99
We requested for the chef to make whatever he wanted that was fresh fish and this is the one he chose. The salmon was fresh and delicious. Salmon on the inside and on the outside. Just another simple roll, not much crazy flavor going on.
Sake Bomb! $ 2.99 each
Not bad for the price and they will drink with you! Cheers!
Overall, food was pretty good, but nothing outstanding except for the tofu lol.
Oh yeah, and i absolutely LOVED the sauce they put on their complimentary cabbage salad. I don’t know what’s in there but their sauce is addicting.

Phallic sushi. Yes, they make the ding dong shape out of spicy tuna, salmon, crab, tempura and don’t forget the cream cheese. Lol. I’m pretty sure they can customize it to your favorite sushi. This fun little sushi bar is located in San Diego. We came here after taking our kids to LegoLand on our trip. I was getting sick of hamburgers and hot dogs on days on end, as I am so used to the diverse foods we offer in Hawaii. This time I was craving Japanese food. Oh how I love the clean taste of sushi and deep fried tempura. Besides this being a fun restaurant to go with friends and make jokes, it’s also a pretty family friendly place. Yes, they do have high chairs so apparently it’s family friendly, phew, and so many choices on their menu that even the picky little eaters can eat here. Choices included sushi, curry, ramen, rice plates, or small plates. They come out with hot towels to wipe your hands, like in Japan. The sushi chefs wore Japanese head bands and shouted out «Irashaimase!» Oh, how this felt like home in Hawaii, as we have so many of these restaurants also. The food was decent and good portioned. The fish was not as fresh as I had tasted at many other sushi restaurants. Service was quick and friendly. Overall, its’ a cool little Japanese restaurant to try for any occasion if you are in the San Diego area.

This is the type of sushi restaurant I’ve been CRAVING for! Sushi Yaro reminded me of great sushi restaurants in Japan’s cities and in Guam. They aren’t shy with trying «new» types of combonations and rolls themselves.
If you want to try your Japanese, you can try it out here, and enlish is spoken. I gravitated to the appetizers first and loved them when consumed. They are what you would find through the streets or around street cart style foods. Easy, quick, delish, and making you reminisce of great food that just embrace you when you need comfort.
This is what I know. You should try everything, little at a time when you return for more, on the menu, and especially Sushi Yaro’s appetizers! Every sushi that came out were sooooo great! Try nigori sake! Don’t be ashamed of talking to everyone here, and I’m talking about the staff, they are great. And I know for sure, we will be returning. Sushi is mad fresh that will leave an onami sensation with ever bite.
PS — for sushi dipping sauce, try it Guam style. Wasabi, lemon juice (ask), and soy sauce.

Yum, every part of the pig — minus the snout and gastrointestinal organs — ended up in the ramen. Just to make sure I looked up «Char siu pork» and it does not specify that every part of the animal end up in the dish. Basically I’m insinuating that the meat was poorly cut.
No worries, I can remove the meat! And, what am i left with but some mediocre broth, noodles, ginger, and half an egg. I have never ordered ramen so I can only compare it to Top Ramen, but it is definitely comparable: I prefer top Ramen. That being said, that half of an egg was pretty damn good for the two bites it lasted.
My friend ordered sushi off of the lunch hour menu, but the «special deals» were incredibly boring. Nevertheless, she ordered two completely banal rolls that were fishier than the OJ Simpson trial. Needless to say the experience was disappointing.

Judging from the reviews I guess this place is cool because the chef is really chill and cool or something. I’m not really one to interact that much people when I am going to a restaurant because I’m shy and really just want to eat. My friend on the other hand really likes to make small talk with the waitresses and find out more about what the restaurant has to offer. Since it was our first time here, she asked the waitress what’s the best thing to get here and what she recommends. The waitress just pointed to the specials menu and directed us to the drink menu. I mean she could’ve recommended the dick roll thing cuz it seems popular but no not very helpful. I understand it was busy but she could’ve made a few recommendations other than «Oh, that’s our specials for today».
The restaurant itself is pretty small but it had a nice ambiance with dim lighting and cute Polaroid collage on the wall. They started out with hot towels which seemed nice. After seeing some of the prices, we all kinda just got one item since it was a little pricey and we are poor. The rolls came out fast but the ramen took a while to come out. The sushi eaters were already done by the time the ramen came out. Oh they also gave out chips and salsa as a free appetizer. which was nice. The salsa seemed freshly made so that nice. the only downside was they just gave a tiny bowl with like 5 chips on the salsa itself. which was not enough for our party of 5 and when we asked for more they just gave more chips not salsa. –_​– I got the Yaro Yaro roll which was spicy tuna inside and eel outside. It was very decent. I realized I should never order spicy tuna anymore after this experience because of how cheap it tastes. The eel was pretty small and so was the avocado. I regret not getting something with salmon on the outside. Or the D roll. :{
Overall the food was overpriced and mediocre. Waitresses were nice but not that helpful. I could see that the sushi chefs were friendly and liked joking with the customers but in my opinion food comes first. If the food sucks, I don’t care how nice you are.

I had a good first impression of this place; they gave us hot towels when we first sat down and the ambience was nice and dim. The menu seemed yummy, I ordered the coconut yaro ramen and things started to go downhill from there.
I went with 4 of my friends and the food came out very staggered. 3 of my friends who ordered sushi rolls finished their food before me and my other friend who also ordered ramen got our ramen. The soup was very watery which was weird because I was expecting something more thick and milky (because coconut and I prefer my broth thick) and it slightly tasted like coconut but wasn’t very flavorful overall. I found myself realizing the broth/​ramen tasted less and less like coconut the more I ate my bowl and it just became a salty slightly spicy watery soup for some reason. The noodles were al dente and good. There was only CABBAGE which I didn’t really like because I feel like it made it more watery too. Are you even supposed to put cabbage in ramen? There was a half of a nicely soft boiled egg. The meat was really tender and yummy BUT there was only one medium sized piece and then crumbs.
So overall pretty disappointing because it started off strong. :(

This place is super chill especially the sushi chef (Wilmer i think?)! Went here for vdays with my girlfriend and he made it an even more fun night! Plus, sake bombs on the house? Uh yes please!
Food wise, i got the 18 and up roll since they told me it was the most popular. I finally got why they named it that haha. The sushi was decent tasting but it was pretty big (pun intended) so I felt like I got my money’s worth. I’m def going back here again for a good time!

Ugh, every single time I think I can settle down with one sushi spot in San Diego, I find another one to cheat with. I saw this place was nearby, and I’ve really been craving some sushi so i decided to try this spot with husband, as most of the reviews were pretty stellar. I was pretty excited and my expectations were high. But sushi yaro met all of my expectations and more! It was super quiet and empty. We went today around 11:45 right when they opened so that was probably why. The staff was super friendly. We got edamame to start with. Which was good. I got miso soup also which was included with our sushi. I’m used to miso soup being kind of like dishwater at most places, but this miso soup today was so hot and flavorful and just what I needed.
Our sushi was so fresh and delicious, wasn’t too dense or rice heavy, which is so hard to find. I didn’t realize the WTH roll was so big. But it was yummy too. Our bill was much less than I expected it to be, so I was also happy with the prices. Love this place. I will most definitely be back!

Since we were on vacation in San Diego, we might as well make a dinner spot here and try their famous ‘What The Hell’ roll! Of course we didn’t just stop in for that but it definitely was one of the highlights of the night for me.
Thank goodness for GPS these days because their LOCATION is tucked away in an industrial part of San Diego. However, their ENVIRONMENT is far from being a dive which is usually found in industrial areas. The space inside is not as big as I thought it would be based on the pictures I have seen from Unilocal. There is bar seating and around 8 or 9 tables.
The SERVICE was fast and friendly and they were okay with us bringing our kids there. At the end of dinner, they took a Polaroid picture of us and posted it on their wall.
As for the FOOD. The fish was fresh and the sushi was nicely prepared. Especially the ‘What The Hell’ roll that looks phallic. The balls of the roll were deep fried rice balls which was very interesting to say the least. They also sprinkle shreds of nori as the pubes (creative). The PRICE of their sushi rolls is very reasonable for the quality and quantity in comparison to most sushi bar restaurants.
Overall, if I was a resident in this area, I would definitely come again and can also say that I was not disappointed.

One chef, one server… So you can guess it’s going to be slow service. Small place off the main convoy strip. Place gets packed around 7.
We initially wanted to go to the DJM the KBBQ place but saw the outrageous price and smokey air and decided to do sushi instead. We kinda regret doing Sushi Yaro… Turned out the same price but with mediocre sushi rolls.
We ordered: caterpillar roll, last samurai roll, nigiri special combo (9 assorted) with 6 spicy tuna roll. And 2 beers. I felt the sushi rolls were okay, mostly lacking flavor. I couldn’t even taste the fish… The rice was pretty dry, needed more vinegar. I did enjoy the last Samurai roll but it still needed more flavors. Sushi rolls were so bland…
This is more like a 2.5 stars but I’m rounding up because the one chef is hardworking manning the fort! When we left the restro was full… And still one chef.

Not a bad spot just bland. Most people hate on sushi deli for not being fresh or because they serve all of the fancy dancey birthday cake rolls covered in a bunch of sauces and tempura breading, but I their rolls have flavor and are cheap. Yaro didn’t really impress me whatsoever. It was too expensive for the lack of flavor and poor service. They were extremely slow as well.
Here’s what we had:
Chef’s Special — 9 piece Nigiri and 8 piece spicy tuna. See pic. Not bad, just a bit sloppy and bland.
Caterpillar Roll — sloppy and fell apart. Barely edible. Good flavor though haha.
Last Samarai — Probably the best roll, well made and good flavor. I would recommend this.
Would I come back? No!
Good parking

This restaurant is located in a strip mall and was pretty empty when we got there (around 5:30pm). The service is very slow here, even though there were only a few other customers when we arrived. It took a while for someone to take our order (15 minutes) and even longer to have our rolls ready (over 45 minutes).
It got busy about an hour later, which seemed like a good sign… Each of us got complimentary cabbage salad, which was just covered in spicy mayo. It’s a very simple salad, which we devoured because we were waiting to so long to eat. My friend shared his rolls with us since his came out first. His rolls were pretty basic, so it wasn’t very appealing and tasted okay. When my roll arrived, it was shaped like a penis, which was the only reason why I chose this place and the main thing I wanted to try LOL.
I started eating the the balls first– which were basically balls of white rice fried in batter with chunks of something reddish. It looked like salmon… but I couldn’t tell what it was and it didn’t look very appetizing. As for the rest of the penis, the salmon and tuna was not that fresh to me. This roll is also very expensive, bland, and not worth the price.
I’m not sure why this place has good reviews when their sushi rolls are just average and service was extremely slow. At least the guys working behind the sushi bar seemed friendly and thanked us as we left…

My go to spot for sushi on a Sunday night since not many good sushi places are open on Sunday’s.
Small parking lot and a lot of street parking so it won’t be too much of a difficult time to find parking.
They greeted us right when we walked in and gave some hot towels to cleanse our hands. The service is pretty good here, they always check to refill our waters and are attentive when giving out the food. It’s like right when it’s off the grill, they serve it to us. The garlic edamame and pan fried gyoza we ordered was very fresh and flavorful.
For sushi, my boyfriend ordered 2 Philadelphia rolls. They have a special for about $ 13 if you order 2 basic sushi rolls. The Philadelphia rolls were a good size and tasty. It had a good portion of fresh salmon.
I ordered the «Americano» roll which had cream cheese and smoked salmon inside with crab and eel sauce on top I believe. It was delicious! My new favorite to order here. The eel sauce was a little too sweet for my liking but if you add a little bit of soy sauce to it, it’ll be all good.
Only con: (which is why I took away 1 star) the wait time for the food was a little long. My boyfriend finished all of his 2 Philadelphia rolls when I just had gotten mine.

Went here for dinner on a Saturday evening, just of the main street… They weren’t as busy as other restaurants in the area, so we were able to be seated right away. Small parking lot, shared with other businesses.
We were greeted by everyone as soon as we walked in. Service here is pretty good. They checked up on us often and were really friendly. Food was brought out to us within a good time frame.
The place is clean, and a bit on the smaller size.
We were given a small simple salad for starters. Cool shredded cabbage with a nice sesame dressing. The portion was just a few bites, but a nice way to start.
Ordered chicken Karaage for the kids… The batter was a bit on the chewier side, it wasn’t all that crisp. But the chicken otherwise had good flavor.
Tonkatsu ramen– large (huge!) portion. Lots of bean sprouts (I like veggies, so I liked)… Nice subtle flavor, not too salty. Got it for the kids to share, and there was still some leftover.
Hubby ordered 2 rolls. He favors the non-​traditional rolls, and he enjoyed the 2 that he got (see pics)…
I got don buri (chicken) — a Katsu style cutlet over rice and veggies, with scrambled egg cooked over it. Theirs had a very sweet glaze. It was tasty, but some may find it too sweet… Also a huge portion. The chicken itself was cooked well, nice and tender. Came out hot.
Overall a pretty good place to go for some Japanese food… Friendly service… Nice atmosphere.

We came on a Friday night and it was pretty busy. They were pretty understaffed with just 2 sushi chefs for the restaurant.
Waikiki Roll: good but nothing amazing.
Kimono Roll: fried tuna roll. The fish was over cooked and the roll was falling apart.
One Night Stand (we requested salmon): Salmon inside with salmon outside topped with chopped onion and cilantro and lemon juice on the bottom. The chef’s own concoction. This was definitely our favorite.
It took awhile for us to get our food. Not sure if it was an off night or someone called off work but they were understaffed and it definitely affected the service that night.

I stopped in during lunch to check out their lunch specials, but I quickly realized their lunch specials were not very special, so I decided to order a few items of the regular menu. I ordered the tekka maki roll, the chicken karaage, and an order of pan fried pork and vegetable dumplings.
The tekka maki consisted of six tuna cut rolls for around four dollars and some change if I remember correctly. The rolls was very good and well made. The tuna had nice flavor with a rich buttery texture. I just wish it came in eight rolls, but I can always have it all, I guess.
The chicken karaage was great. They use their own breading recipe, which was light and crunchy with great flavor. The all white chicken was tender and juicy inside. The karaage came with a side of seasoned mayo which was very light in flavor. I would of liked of seen it have a more aggressive flavor. Also, a spicy sauce served on the side with the karaage would of been nice.
The pan fried dumplings were okay. They tasted good and had a crisp exterior, but they needed more ground pork and definitely more vegetables because I did not detect any at all. The pan frying gave them a nice texture. You can have these steamed, pan fried, or deep fried.
I ate at the bar and was served by a server. She was nice and soft spoken. I think they should add more rolls to their lunch specials with competitive prices. Overall, I am on the fence between a three and four star rating. Let’s say a 3.8?

3.5 stars!
Open late! I stumbled upon this place after studying late & craving sushi on a Sunday. The struggle… Lol! They’re open until 11pm every night!
The fish is pretty fresh & they have creative/​interesting sushi rolls. I recommend coming here for their rolls. They’re a little heavy on the rice though.
Customer service could be better. Last time I placed an order for take out. They said it would be ready in 35 – 45 minutes. I arrived 35 minutes later & they said it would be ready in 5 minutes. Not a problem. I waited 5 minutes & they didn’t make my 1 hot roll yet! I ended up ordering another roll because I didn’t want to wait much longer. My order was finally ready 1 hour after the order was placed.
Heads up! They have a small parking lot, but they also have street parking.

Nice, little restaurant in a plaza next to a Korean BBQ place. I sat at the sushi bar with a few friends and our sushi chef was Wilmer. Humorous guy who definitely knows how to cut sushi well. Service was a bit slow but understandable because it was a Sunday night with only one server available.
We ordered the «What the Hell» roll, «Eel Lover» roll, a Chirashi Bowl, and Uni Nigiri
What the Hell roll is the penis roll everyone sees on here lol It was $ 18.99. A bit overpriced for what it really is but it is a funny experience to have. I
The Eel Lover roll is exactly as its name, for the lovers of eel. it has unagi (freshwater eel) on top and anago (saltwater eel) inside.
Their Uni Nigiri was fresh and melts in your mouth. Bad unis would have a bitter taste to it but not here!
I also had a bit of their Okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) and Ankimo (monkfish liver). The Okonomiyaki was good but was missing a few ingredients I was used to. The Ankimo wasn’t bad either but not as soft as I was hoping.
Overall, a good place. Would definitely return :)

After a long day came here to have dinner. We got here around 8:30pm on a Friday… I expected it to be busy and that there would be a wait. I was correct. This is a small place and it was packed.
Parking wasn’t an issue. I lucked out and found parking in the lot right away. There was also some parking on the street.
One of the very nice waitresses told me it would be about 20 minutes to get a table. There were 3 of us in our group. We didn’t mind, we weren’t in a hurry. The waitress updated me a couple of times… first to let me know that a table was almost ready (the couple already paid and the table was pretty much cleared, they were just finishing their drinks); and finally to let me know they were wiping the table down (and that the table would be ready momentarily).
A different waitress served us, but she was great as well (very attentive). So she took our drink order, gave us ample time then took our food order. We ended up ordering: crunchy California roll, tempura Philly roll, gyoza (pan fried), a cucumber roll, rainbow roll, and a few others items.
Food came out fairly quickly, not all at once, but as it was ready. The gyoza was tasty and pan fried perfectly. Sushi was pretty good, the fish tasted fresh. Customer service was good, our waitress checked on us, refilled our water, and brought a box for us after we finished paying.
Place is on the smaller side, so it was noisy inside. They have 2 small flat screens and a larger flat screen at the sushi bar. Overall, I enjoyed the food and service. May call ahead next time just to avoid a wait.