Pizza Kaiju Yoshoku Diner

Back at the end of April, FOY "Mar" asked me if I'd been to the new location of Pizza Kaiju which had moved from National City to Barrio Logan after the Market on 8th changed ownership. She mentioned that there were "Yoshoku" (meaning western style Japanese dishes like curry and katsu) on the menu. I hadn't really given it a thought, but seeing that they had stuff like Sisig Pizza on the menu….well, now that was kinda fascinating. One of the things that really stopped me from visiting were the hours at that time. The shop was only open from Wednesday to Sunday; with lunch service only from Fridays to Sunday starting at 1pm.

But finally, on a quiet Sunday, between road trips with JJ, I decided to head on down to Barrio Logan, which is not an area I really frequent. The restaurant is located in the huge Mercado del Barrio….which I last visited back in 2018 when I went to check out Pho Bo….which is still there.

I had fully believed that parking would be at a premium, but I easily found parking on all three visits. The restaurant is actually a combination of three concepts; Pizza Kaiju, Ultra Donuts, and what looks like a beer bar and is in a huge space right on the corner of National Avenue and Cesar E. Chavez Parkway.

What was even more interesting was trying to get into the place as they list the address as being #1115, which seemed closed; but the shop stretches over to both suite 1111 and 1113.

More confusion ensued as I tried to figure out where to look at a menu and place an order as the shop was completely empty. Until the very nice woman working saw me, smiled and waved me over.

I was shown the various menus and while the pizzas were humongous, they also sold slices. I was shown the display case with what was available by the slice on this day.

Sadly, no Sisig or Bulgogi pizza by the slice on this day, but a really nice gentleman was walking by and introduced himself as "Rob" and told me he was one of the owners. He recommended trying a slice of Potato Curry Pizza which was just finishing up and was going to be available. The slices were nicely priced at $5. Wanting to try something else off the menu and I went with the Karaage ($10) as well. This is one of those order and pay at the counter and find a table kind of places.

I had a short wait, but soon enough my dishes arrived.

First off the Potato – Japanese Curry Pizza.

    This was really not to my liking. The crust of the pizza was rubbery and soggy, the edges quite chewy. I don't think it had been baked long enough. It did look nice and I thought the amount of cheese was good, but in spite of the curry, I thought this a bit bland overall. The curry itself was quite thick and had some spice; but for some reason the flavor just seemed to vanish in the entire package.

As for the Karaage. Well, you know how much I enjoy my karaage and tori nanban right? I've even experimented with different recipes as well.

   Well, I wasn't too inspired by the whitish color. Was not a fan of the way too soft coating which lacked crispness, something that I like in my karaage.

The flavor however was really good, nice umami tones…the soy sauce, a hint of sweetness, it was so moist and juicy. If that batter was better, it would have been among my favorites in San Diego! This was a pleasant surprise!

And since I was still curious about the Sisig Pizza; I decided to return for another visit. This was after our most recent road trip and Kaiju was now open for lunch at 1130 on weekends. The place was a bit more busy this time around and I was also shown some new menu items by that nice woman.

But I was really just wanting try that Sisig Pizza, which they had by the slice on this day. Rob was there as well and he recommended the "Aporkalypse", so I got that as well. Slices were $5 a piece….so ten bucks for lunch….well, that's a bargain these days.

The Aporkalypse was my favorite of the two slices. As you can see, the crust was much better this time around….good yeasty crispness. Loved the tangy tomato tones along with the salty bacon-pepperoni-sausage….there's a hint of spice as well, which was quite enjoyable.

  As for the Sisig slice……well, this was fairly bland, even with the slices of serrano chilies; it really lacked the tangy-sour-porky flavors that make Sisig one of my favorite food items. What did help things a bit was the Black Garlic Ranch Dressing that Rob brought to me to try. It had the typical tangy-rich-sourness of ranch dressing, with the addition of some sweet pungency.

Rob came by at the end of my meal to chat. I was curious about how all of what is offered fits within his background. And man, was it an amazing story….born in the Phillipines, raised in Japan and Guam, and a graduate of Campbell High School….that would be in Ewa Beach for those not familiar. The large variety of cuisines fits within his experiences in life…….glad to know it's not just "con-fusion and cultural appropriation". I really enjoyed our chat and Rob was so generous with his time!

So, of course I had to return, right?

Rob wasn't around, but that really nice woman was. It was empty again during this weekend lunch hour.

I had thought that the karaage was so close to being a favorite, that I decided to actually try the Katsu Curry, which is supposedly done Kanazawa style. I went with the chicken katsu ($16.50) version.

Upon delivery I looked and yes, this looked like the thick-rouxed Kanazawa style curry!

   The katsu was really crisp, perfectly fried….I think I'm going to ask Rob the next time I see him, what kind of panko he uses. The chicken was moist, nicely seasoned without being overly salty, though I think it could be a bit more tender. 

The curry was super thick, rich, and had a nice spiciness to it…..definitely "stick to your ribs" kinda Japanese curry. Of shredded cabbage was a must for "recovery".

The rice was perfectly cooked.

I'm thinking the Missus might like this katsu curry. I mentioned wishing that I could bring JJ here to the woman working and she said "bring him, he will be welcomed"! So, perhaps I will. At that moment, the Old Town Trolley stopped at the corner and a few people got off….some of them entered the restaurant, which made me smile. Really great folks and even though I'm not big on the pizzas here, I'd like to try some of their other menu items. I hope they do well.

Pizza Kaiju
1985 National Ave #1115
San Diego, CA 92113
Current Hours:
Wed – Thurs 3pm – 9pm
Friday           1pm – 9pm
Sat- Sun        1130am – 9pm
Closed Mon – Tues