Kotobuki

Very authentic Japanese restaurant. Quality of taste and presentation earns its price. One of the very few places that is able to place me back in Japan. I highly recommend this place.

Great quality sushi! The owner was so sweet, always support local!!

Xochitl Ramos

I look forward to coming here every week during my lunch break. It is such a calm and relaxed atmosphere where I can unwind and read a book with green tea and my favorite sushi roll. The service is amazing and they are all so kind. I bring friends and family here every chance I get and am always told that this place exceeded their expectations. 100% recommend

Wandering in Paradise

Fresh and delicious sushi at Kotobuki! Ordered takeout of the sashimi bowl (tuna, salmon, yellowtail, comes with miso soup), hamachi jalapeño roll, rainbow roll, and dragon roll. The rice tastes really good and makes for a really nice chew. The staff is very friendly and waited about 20 minutes to pick up my order. Recommend!

Nadiya Hope

Wow! This place serves really fresh tasting sushi. The teriyaki chicken was super tender and a little on the saltier and saucy side, but the rice made it less salty. The beer was delicious also. Overall wonderful owners and servers, very clean and just a hidden gem.

Abigail Stein

Kotobuki is an absolute gem! We will definitely be coming back. The fish was fresh and absolutely delicious. We got the hamachi jalapeño roll, the soft shell crab roll, the fatty tuna sushi (forgot the name), and the broiled yellowtail cheek. This is a great date night spot with ample parking!

Diana Ha

This is a cute place for sushi. The menu was basic which was good, helped me decide easier what I could choose from my options. The fish and rice were fresh. They were the best I have tasted so far in San Diego. The prices are fair. The teriyaki chicken was also very good. My kids ate it all up. I likes that it came on a bed of salad. The miso soup was good as well. I highly recommend for a classic sushi restaurant.

William Nakamura

Thoughtful presentation, pleasant atmosphere, excellent food. Some of the menu options are more subtle than the Japanese food most Americans will be accustomed to, making this a good choice for both those looking for the familiar as well as those hoping to expand their culinary horizons.

Le Lee

This is a low key, good and authentic Japanese restaurants. Their food is consistently at high quality. The bento box is what i ordered most, their grilled makarel serves so well with the rice, tofu salad with saseme sauce is so soft, such a great combo. Sashimi and sushi is always fresh!

kotaro nakamura

Authentic Japanese Sushi restaurant. Simple and straightforward refined taste. It was lunch only but started dinner in August 2018. I had one of the best Tendon tonight. The taste is subtle and not too strong so you can enjoy the very fresh ingredients.

Frank C.

Very nice quiet and relaxing atmosphere. Phenomenal Japanese food. Must try.

IAreArchimedes

Very authentic Japanese restaurant. Quality of taste and presentation earns its price. One of the very few places that is able to place me back in Japan. I highly recommend this place.

Zach Skills

Great quality sushi! The owner was so sweet, always support local!!

The workers are so good at their job I can’t get enough of the food here . Amazing food and costumer service, such nice atmosphere

This is a small restaurant with not many tables. It is attractive and pleasant but not elegant. Staff is lovely. The food was delicious and it's obviously popular with locals-- we would definitely go back!

Stopped in here for a quick bite while I was waiting for my car to charge. Quick service and excellent quality sushi. The spicy tuna roll was great and he the service was quick and friendly. Definitely recommend stopping in if you're charging your Tesla and have some time to spare for a quick bite.

Jonathan Cerreta

Stopped in here for a quick bite while I was waiting for my car to charge. Quick service and excellent quality sushi. The spicy tuna roll was great and he the service was quick and friendly. Definitely recommend stopping in if you're charging your Tesla and have some time to spare for a quick bite.

Croix Bos

The workers are so good at their job I can’t get enough of the food here . Amazing food and costumer service, such nice atmosphere

Susan Diehl

This is a small restaurant with not many tables. It is attractive and pleasant but not elegant. Staff is lovely. The food was delicious and it's obviously popular with locals-- we would definitely go back!

My friend and I picked this place randomly since the reviews looked decent. It's a very small restaurant with limited seating. There is plenty of parking in the lot. We were there right at 5pm and seated right away. Server was sweet, but very slow. Toward the end of our meal, we waited at least 20 minutes to get her attention to give us our check. Otherwise, the food was okay, very limited menu, and nothing special about the sushi rolls. Food review: Sashimi: (4/5) Simple but tasted pretty fresh. Seaweed salad: (3/5) Very hard, not that good. We could only eat half because it didn't taste fresh. Yellowtail Jalapeno sashimi: (5/5) Very delicious, the jalapeños were very spicy but otherwise fish was very fresh and overall dish had good flavor. Salmon avocado roll: (4/5) | get these everywhere l go and this one was just ok. Idk if the avocado was off or what but wasn't my favorite. Rainbow roll: (4/5) This roll was pretty good! I appreciate it was made with crab instead of shrimp because I have an allergy. Probably my favorite thing we ordered.

Decent sushi place. Saw this place and wanted to give it a try. I loved the uni, thought the salmon belly was a tiny, little, fishy to me. I would come back but would get more uni next time.

kaloni sam

My friend and I picked this place randomly since the reviews looked decent. It's a very small restaurant with limited seating. There is plenty of parking in the lot. We were there right at 5pm and seated right away. Server was sweet, but very slow. Toward the end of our meal, we waited at least 20 minutes to get her attention to give us our check. Otherwise, the food was okay, very limited menu, and nothing special about the sushi rolls. Food review: Sashimi: (4/5) Simple but tasted pretty fresh. Seaweed salad: (3/5) Very hard, not that good. We could only eat half because it didn't taste fresh. Yellowtail Jalapeno sashimi: (5/5) Very delicious, the jalapeños were very spicy but otherwise fish was very fresh and overall dish had good flavor. Salmon avocado roll: (4/5) | get these everywhere l go and this one was just ok. Idk if the avocado was off or what but wasn't my favorite. Rainbow roll: (4/5) This roll was pretty good! I appreciate it was made with crab instead of shrimp because I have an allergy. Probably my favorite thing we ordered.

Una Kim

Decent sushi place. Saw this place and wanted to give it a try. I loved the uni, thought the salmon belly was a tiny, little, fishy to me. I would come back but would get more uni next time.

Giving them the benefit of the doubt that we caught Kotobuki on a bad night but geez 1.5 hours for four menu items- and only one hot. She forgot our beer and though she was sweet and apologetic it was agonizingly slow. Three stars because it genuinely seemed like she was the only person working and her husband was in the back in the kitchen. For a two person team I get it, but the food was not good enough enough to wait for.

Madeline Reid

Giving them the benefit of the doubt that we caught Kotobuki on a bad night but geez 1.5 hours for four menu items- and only one hot. She forgot our beer and though she was sweet and apologetic it was agonizingly slow. Three stars because it genuinely seemed like she was the only person working and her husband was in the back in the kitchen. For a two person team I get it, but the food was not good enough enough to wait for.

Isabelle Muren

really quaint place! there was only one person waiting tables so i want to offer some lenience. i went by myself & three other tables were full. i waited 20-30min for one sushi roll and the waitress was apologetic. the sushi itself was okay and not really worth the wait and price. it’s a nice place although i’m not sure if i’d return.

So I’m just writing this review in regarding me sitting outside on the table with my daughter , 5-10m average time I only sat down because I was having some chest pain I didn’t know I was interfering with business , A lady walked out older with short hair told me “We just opened are you gonna order if your not this is for paying customers you need to leave now “ and kept insisting I understood but she doesn’t have to be so rude to be about it and she stood there waiting for me to get up cleaned the table as I hear her whispering under her breath talking about me. Wed June ,25, 2025 around 11am

Em Ma

So I’m just writing this review in regarding me sitting outside on the table with my daughter , 5-10m average time I only sat down because I was having some chest pain I didn’t know I was interfering with business , A lady walked out older with short hair told me “We just opened are you gonna order if your not this is for paying customers you need to leave now “ and kept insisting I understood but she doesn’t have to be so rude to be about it and she stood there waiting for me to get up cleaned the table as I hear her whispering under her breath talking about me. Wed June ,25, 2025 around 11am

This restaurant is always extremely slow, and the host/server often refuses to seat us, claiming tables are “reserved” even though no one shows up. I went with two coworkers, and the server was rude and took a long time just to take our order. The experience was so poor that I decided not to return and did not leave a tip for a single sushi roll. Honestly, I wasn’t even going to leave a review until I found out the host told my coworker a few days later that her friends were “cheap.” That comment was unprofessional and uncalled for. If the service had been better, I would have gladly tipped. It’s clear they only care about money, and with just one server/host and one cook, the restaurant is poorly managed.

Karina Santillan

This restaurant is always extremely slow, and the host/server often refuses to seat us, claiming tables are “reserved” even though no one shows up. I went with two coworkers, and the server was rude and took a long time just to take our order. The experience was so poor that I decided not to return and did not leave a tip for a single sushi roll. Honestly, I wasn’t even going to leave a review until I found out the host told my coworker a few days later that her friends were “cheap.” That comment was unprofessional and uncalled for. If the service had been better, I would have gladly tipped. It’s clear they only care about money, and with just one server/host and one cook, the restaurant is poorly managed.