I’m not suite sure who recommended Ken Sushi Workshop to me. And to be perfectly honest, I really wasn’t too thrilled about eating a “workshop”, which makes it seem quite fabricated and industrial to me? And after some really mediocre stuff at Moment Sushi, these interesting sushi locations give me pause. And yet I was curious. So I decided to drop by for an early lunch. The restaurant is located in the Carmel Valley/Torrey Hills area not exactly the hotbed for sushi/sashimi in San Diego…..
I found the restaurant in a business park-ish mall. The place definitely has an interesting looking exterior.
The reason for the golf cart soon became clear and the exterior had several plastic domes arranged….I guess for al fresco dining? For some reason, my mind immediately went back to the days of Covid.
Upon entering, the reason for the cart became clear.
The place was golf themed….I guess “Ken” is a major golfer? The woman managing the front of house was very professional and efficient. I was seated at the sushi bar, which is like those modern places that doesn’t have a glass case on the sushi bar where you can check out the fish.
I have a typical MO these days when checking out a sushi place for lunch. I am always interested in the quality of a variety of offerings and will go with the Chirashi ($24). I also saw Ankimo on the menu…man, it’s been a while since I’ve had decent Ankimo, so I ordered that as well ($18).
Soon enough some Miso Soup was provided.
Fairly rich, good miso-umami tones, pretty good!
And a few minutes later my Chirashi arrived.
Typical sashimi, though it was a step above Moment Sushi. The tako had a wonderful texture as did the almost creamy Hamachi.
The shiromi was fine and the two pieces of maguro were thickly cut, meaty, with no off flavors. The slice of salmon was quite elongated and along with the ebi, quite typical and nothing special. The Unagi was quite tender and moist.. Thankfully the unagi tare wasn’t overly sweet.
The actual highlight of the meal was the Ankimo.
Which was creamy, with briny-oceany-buttery and light offal tones. Very smooth and savory. The ponzu added a nice citrusy acidity to help cut the richness. Possibly the best ankimo I’ve had in a while!
While a pretty good meal, at over $50 with tip, this was by no means a inexpensive lunch. I was going to do a post; but I really wanted to do another visit before publishing. And I wanted that Ankimo again. So I waited…and waited……time just kind of flew by. Until a couple of weeks ago, when I just wanted my ankimo fix.
Again seated at the sushi bar.
I did notice a couple of things had changed. Like everywhere else, prices had gone up and the Ankimo was now $20. I also noticed that the miso soup was thinner with no green onions anymore.
The Ankimo arrived with one less piece.
It was still as good as before; though 11% more expensive and 33% smaller.
I had decided to go all out and ordered the Omakase Sashimi, which was, wait for it……$56!
Loved the huge slices of otoro, so rich, fatty, vitually melting in my mouth.
The hamachi was just as good as before, the hotate tender and sweet. The maguro was even better this time around. The shiromi and salmon was pretty much status quo.
Not a cheap meal at all, prices just seem so crazy….but I guess someone needs to pay for Ken’s Golf Cart.
And his Green Fees, right?
At this price point, I’m not sure when I’ll return, but the sashimi is of good quality and I saw a pooch in one of those plastic domes having lunch….so maybe if JJ hits the lottery?
Ken Sushi Workshop
11375 El Camino Real #120
San Diego, CA 92130
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 1130am – 2pm, 530pm – 10pm
Saturday 530pm – 10pm
Closed on Sunday