Zenbu Sushi Bar, Restaurant & Cocktails

My go to Monday HH spot! So good! Everything is super reasonable, and it runs from 3:30 to 5:00. Potstickers my favorite are $ 5 and certain rolls are half off. Everything is a super good deal, it’s not crowded so you can grab a seat at the bar and drinks are cheap too! It’s great because after 5 everything doubles in price and their food is really good and can be a little pricey, especially sushi. Check it out! Really cool spot! And if Ryan is working he’s the coolest!

A hugely disappointing experience. The positive highlight was the best seaweed salad I’ve ever had. But that was as good as it got.
The service was exceptionally poor, slow, careless and inattentive. Zero professionalism and just going through the motions and not even doing that well. Basically the waitress just didn’t care about being of service. I’ve never had such slow sushi delivery either. It took 20 minutes to get the seaweed salad and another 20 minutes just to get sashimi. We looked around and there were only two other tables occupied. But with how slow the food came out and how completely absent our waitress was, you would think that they were totally overwhelmed.
The music was overly loud bar music. Not at all inviting for a nice meal and conversation and seemed inappropriate for a restaurant experience. Again, thoughtless and ill considered.
Sushi rolls were the worst I’ve ever had! Salmon skin roll was small, dry and unimaginative. Another role was so spicy and over lemony that I had to spit it out. And I love spicy food. But it was just a mess and again, thoughtlessly prepared.
Basically the extreme lack of care, inattention and lack of creativity makes this a disappointing experience I will never repeat.

No. No. No.
Rice is too hard.
Fish did not taste fresh.
No.
Just no.
Swampy soft shell crab role.
Tasteless spicy tuna.
Some of the worst sushi that I have had outside of a grocery store.

A friend and I wanted a cocktail before hitting the beach, and they had happy hour on so we stopped in. Mai tais were delicious and reasonably priced.
We ended up back here for supper after several hours of walking around and having cocktails and snacks around town. We were a little worried because the reviews said the service was bad and it was crowded now that Saturday night was in full swing, but we sat at the bar and had attentive service, through a shift change, even though we only got food (no drinks) over the course of being there a while.
Everything we ordered — spicy broccoli and several sushi rolls– was delicious. Would definitely return next time I’m in the area.

Wish I could rate less than 1 star… i was hoping the reviews were wrong but the Service was terrible… The sushi chefs we too busy drinking saki to make rolls… Still havnt received food after hour and a half… This place is a joke. go to sushi lounge. Better quality and better price. Avoid this place!

The worse service I have had at Zenbu since it opened its doors. The waitress should not be a waitress. She took forever with the entire meal. Our food was sitting on the counter for 15 minutes before she realized it was there. Our sushi was warm! Just the worse service I’ve ever had!

Super good sushi. I would say they are over priced. Especially because there are wonderful sushi places in the area that are less expensive and just as fresh and good. Definitely worth going to though– check out their happy hr.

It’s a shame that I had such poor service because the food is great. And not to take away from any of the other servers I honestly can never go back after having the short blonde guy waiting on my date & I. He was flirting with her so much to the point that he walked away without even taking my order. We had to call him back just so I could eat, pretty pathetic but fortunately there are plenty of other sushi restaurants the area

I really wanted to like this place, since it is local and they just opened again after the fire. But it was so disappointing. The service was friendly and so that’s why I gave 2 stars, but the food was terrible. The rice was under cooked so it was a little crunchy. The oysters were tasteless and some were shucked incorrectly. We ordered rock cod and it was prepared like a fishstick. The mussels came in a dish too shallow so the bland broth could not cover it, so many mussels were dry. The large fish tank held 2 carp fish that were close to dying at the surface. And finally our $ 11 cocktails were watery and unremarkable. In a craft beer and cocktail town, this was really the last straw. For the high prices, the food was surprisingly less than average. Bummer…

this really should be a 5 rating, but WTH? where’s the happy hour???

Closed! Accordingly to Unilocal,it’s open today but we went there last night and the place looked like a ghost town. No sign on the door to indicate if this was renovation or the end.

Let me start by saying I’ve been here dozens of times and some of my best memories involve this place. That said… what happened to you zenbu?! I used to brag to everyone about you. Your service has dramatically declined, the sushi (while still pretty darn good) has gotten smaller in portion and not quite as amazing as it used to be. It used to be melt in your mouth good (yes, the sushi). I have converted many a fish/​sushi hater into sushi addicts with just a few of your rolls. Not sure what’s going on lately, but fix yourselves. I miss the fun, easy atmosphere and incredible food.

Nothing is outright bad about Zenbu, it’s just that you pay $ 20 for mediocre rolls and $ 7 for local beers. I want so badly for it to be awesome as its right down the street from my house.

Pfffffft. terrible sushi. Limited flavor. After 20 mins of waiting for a server, at least he had a great personality, but not good enough to make up for the over priced fish & apps.

Love this place! Food is awesome and fresh and the cocktails are perfection! The service is always good too. Their sushi is to die for!!! Love the Mexicali roll! Amazingggg! A little overpriced but worth it in my book.

I was a little worried when I first saw the menu because there are a lot of different items. But everything my family ordered was pretty good. But we did not get a roll we ordered and the waiters were talking for 10mins with our oysters right in front of them. They didn’t even bring it over till we said something.

Definitely too expensive for the quality of the food we had.
Miso soup & Edamame both came out cold.
Average quality of rolls. ²⁰⁄₂₅ $ each
The waitress didn’t even ask if we wanted dessert. Just dropped the check on the tbl.
Fine dining sushi must have top quality food and service

I came here in new years eve, the had an amazing special on beer that night. Unfortunately I came when they stopped serving food. But my experience was great, the music and ambiance was perfect. Everyone was having a blast. Their aquarium definitely caught my eye, I felt it really gave the place some zen to their style.
I will have to come back again for their sushi.

I can’t believe some of the bad reviews i just read, this place is AMAZING! If you like sushi, and i mean REAL sushi, not california or philadelphia rolls, then you will love this place. I know its a little pricey, but that’s why god invented Happy Hour.
Happy Hour is the way to go. My boyfriend and i went recently, and got 3 rolls and 2 large Sapporos, and our bill was litterally $ 40! So awesome. Plus, its the best sushi I’ve had in North County. The waiters and sushi chefs were all very nice, and helpful with suggesting what to eat.
Please, disregaurd the yuppies who are complaining about an unlit candle, or a menu not coming up on their iphone… Restaurants are about the food and service, and this place gets 5 stars for both.
Recommend: Sashimi roll, TDF roll, Volcano roll

Awesome local spot. There are tanks towards the back where you can pick from an ever changing variety of fresh exotic fish to have cooked to your liking. Although it’s a little on the small side, it only makes you feel more like a local and
The sushi comes out in large portions, and is prepared impeccably. The roll names are fun, and there are a few unique combinations you probably haven’t seen anywhere else. My first time eating here was with a local friend and he ordered for the table, the second time we were in a larger group of 10 and the ordering was done collectively. Didn’t have a bad item in the dozen plus different rolls we had. The sushi and nigiri were both perfect with portions being on the larger side.
The rock shrimp tempura is not to be missed. Neither is the kobe appetizer. The kobe slices come out fanned around a large heated river stone with a dipping sauce so you can literally cook your food table side.
The fried «tree fish» (I think that was what it was called) came out presented nicely on the plate and was crispy on the outside without any greasiness usually associated with fried food.
The servers were all more than pleasant, always smiling, and always there to fill-​up an empty glass before we even had to ask. Sake selections were adequate and a fully stocked bar. If you’re in a group, there’s a great semi-​private room behind the large tank perfect for your party. One of the most impressive aspects of dining here was how the staff went out of their way to accomiadate the children in our group, not just with food, but also interacting with them and making the selection of the fish from the tank, and eating sushi for their first time, a fun experience.