Thank you for stopping by to read mmm-yoso!!!. This post is not written by Kirk or Ed (from Yuma). Cathy is polite and eats any thing anywhere when friends invite her out.
I've heard the stories, read the 'reviews' and ordered carefully a few Tuesdays ago when client-friends invited me to dinner. It seems a lot of people think Sushi Deli 3 is a loud place, with customers mainly of the younger/college age crowd, serving lesser quality fish in the (five menu pages of) rolls with corresponding low prices.
Most of that above statement is true. Being (probably) the oldest person in the room, not looking for a date and not drinking alcohol because I drove myself gave me an advantage in being able to order what I wanted (reading the whole menu) and not worry about any sort of social interaction other than with my friends; the televisions on the other side of the room were muted. [Above is a photo taken on a Sunday. You can tell this is not a weekday because there are empty parking spaces on the street- East of Convoy, a block from the Costco Business Center. The day I met my friends, we found out you can't even be put on the wait list until all members of the party are present. We waited about 30 minutes for a table that day.] 
Since I was not paying, I was polite and ordered the "July Special Bento" ($5.99) which included a very nice miso soup, chicken karaage, tempura vegetables, salad, four pieces of California roll and a heck of a lot of rice. The roll contained *real* crabmeat, not 'krab'. Everything was quite good, fresh, properly fried and plentiful. I was not disappointed. 
Unafraid to bring The Mister here, we decided to try a bit more of the menu. Above, hot tea (no charge) and a pint of Shock Top ($3). 
We were seated in a creatively decorated air conditioned room toward the back of the building. It was fun to check out the decor and not have to talk business, listen to loud music or a television. 
The Mister ordered a calamari salad ($5.99). This was served in a VERY large bowl with mixed lettuces, shredded cabbage and carrots on the bottom, cucumbers and tomato and a cup of nice vinegar based salad dressing along with a large amount of perfectly fried, crispy and non-greasy calamari rings. 
The seaweed poke salad with yellowtail ($7.50) was a bit different than I'm used to- it was a non- marinated poke/sauce placed over the raw fish, but very good. The fish was fresh, plenty and tasty and the sauce had a nice 'bite' and was not overpowering. (For $1 less, you can get a lettuce and seaweed salad, which appears larger because of the lettuce, but has less fish and less avocado). 
A side order of tempura ($3.99). Again, perfectly fried, lightly battered and consisting of one piece of 'krab', one chicken breast tender, one shrimp, two broccoli pieces and two sweet potato pieces. This could be a meal for me.
The last item to arrive at our table were these un-artfully displayed pan fried gyoza ($2.99), which were very tasty and pork filled with very little filler. I'm glad we ordered these; presentation isn't everything.
All in all, I can see why the younger crowd dominates; the prices are low for the amount of food served, which is prepared quite well and the beer on tap selection is good.
Sushi Deli 3 7986 Armour Street San Diego 92111 (858)292-5515 Open Mon-Thurs 11:30-2:30 , 5-9 Fri 11:30-2:30, 4-10, Sat 12-10, Sun 12-9 Website The menu is interesting to read in that there are all sorts of additional charges if you want to make substitutions in your selections.
Unartfully. ..I like that. I have only been to sushi deli 2 but that awhile ago. We used to like going there in college (late 80s).
It’s definitely not the best fish or most authentic Japanese food in SD but its fun and its pretty cheap. You probably won’t get meltingly wonderful toro or monkfish but they have 1 dollar beers (!) for their happy hour and the food is good enough.
We used to go here a lot during college haha. It is still leagues better than my other college sushi spots PB Sushi (dollar sake bombs) and Yakimonos (by Vons in UTC, unwisely did not card minors….now shut down).
I had many other verbs in mind to describe that presentation, cc, but thought to be polite…I mean, did the chef toss them on the plate and the server grab and run with it? Were there actually six pieces and the plate tipped and upon saving five, just run and take the darn thing out? Otherwise, care did seem to be taken with bringing out pretty plates.
You were here during college too, JS? It’s interesting to see the differences (not only in the decades, but in food choice/availability) on the West coast (vs. Midwest). I agree with your observations…it is fun and not expensive and good enough…as long as food isn’t a total non-nutritious mess of random ingredients, I can be happy.
@ JS – We used to to Yakimono’s too for their cheap prices! 🙂 My (now) husband went to UCSD so that that his sushi spot.
I’ve considered going here but I can’t afford a 30+ minute wait during my lunch hour… I wonder when the magic dining hour is for a shorter wait… Does it help to come right at opening?
Yes, Lynnea, getting there at 11:30 (street parking is not easy, but there are two lots just East of the building and I’ve seen people parking at the Mitsuwa and walking up the street) is your best bet. The half hour wait was in the evening, and SD3 closes from 2:30-5 each week day and apparently people go there at 5, so our meeting time of 6:15 made us have to wait for that first rush to leave. When I took that first photo, there was street and lot parking and no wait because it was a Saturday just past noon.