Sushi Deli

A reader requested that I check out and report on some of the cheap eats of San Diego, and my wallet is thankful. This weekend, we were craving some sushi, and decided to see what all the fuss was about with Sushi Deli. There are three locations in the San Diego area, but we decided to check out the one right in our neighborhood, Hillcrest, conveniently located right on Washington Street.


I’ve heard about the amazing sushi at low prices, and that this place was kind of a hipster hangout. When we arrived, there was not much of a line, but it seems to get pretty jammed at peak hours. Basically, you wait out front, put your name in, and get seated in order. Pretty standard, and it saves having a hostess do this job. Plus one for efficiency.

The décor is pretty standard, with a bit of a rock n’ roll vibe. Be warned, the music in this place is LOUD. We quickly ordered some miso soups, and the California roll and a spicy tuna (our standard sushi orders).

Our soups came out quickly (a place has serious kitchen/service problems if this takes longer than 5 minutes), and we hungrily began slurping. I was alarmed to find, instead of the traditional seaweed, pieces of fried tempura floating in the soup. While some might enjoy this twist on miso soup, I found it rather disgusting.

Our sushi rolls came next, and we decided to order some pieces of tuna nigiri and a cucumber and avocado roll. The California roll was nearly inedible. Besides being completely not fresh, the roll had an odd aftertaste that was revolting. The spicy tuna roll was hardly spicy, and contained copious amounts of lettuce (huh?) to make up for the lack of tuna. Sure, I understand that it’s cheapo sushi, and the fish will be chintzy but really?

Our second round of rolls arrived next, and our expectations significantly lowered, we dove into the rolls. The avocado and cucumber rolls were simply abominable. In fact, I only picked out the avocado pieces, as the rice tasted of beef tallow. A piece of the nigiri was eaten with bravery, and as expected, was disgusting.

I know that there is good, cheap sushi to be found in San Diego, just check out Kabuki in Pacific Beach, or Mr. Sushi if you feel like spending a bit more for a lot more quality. I wouldn’t feed this stuff to my mother’s evil cats.