Kiiro Sushi Izakaya

I’d heard about Kiiro Sushi opening back in February of last year. So back in the beginning of March I decided to check the place out.

Kiiro is located next to the L&L BBQ on Sports Arena Boulevard….which I actually posted on back in…yikes 2005! I went for lunch right at 11 and the place was empty. The tables and chairs make the place seem almost cafeteria like to me?

I was greeted and seated by the nice young woman. Both she and Itamae were Hispanic which is kinda the norm these days at many places.

Looking at the menu; I noticed a lunch time bargain…the Chirashi was $21!

I thought it would be an interesting way to see how the fish was here. I also went with some Chicken Karaage….that when it arrived wasn’t just “some”; it was quite a lot.

It arrived with “spicy mayo” and I quickly noticed something about the chicken….it was white meat (i.e. chicken breast), which is not my favorite cut for karaage and it would prove to be true as the flesh was hard and dry; not especially flavorful.

The batter was lacking in crispness and fell off the pieces as I tried to eat them. The flavor wasn’t too bad, pretty straight forward soy sauce; hint of garlic….. Still, not a fan of the textures.

As for my Chirashi, well, I quickly noticed something.

It’s not only that the slices of fish were really thin; at this price point I expected that. But, it had that fish that’s banned in Japan since 1977 and also in Italy, escolar (aka white tuna) which can cause keriorrhea (aka the, ahem “orange oily leakage”)….I’ll just leave it at that. The rice was really hard, but also steaming hot, and lacking in seasoning.

You could tell this was really thin cut “saku” fish. The slices of salmon were especially thin, the maguro somewhat on the tougher side.

I didn’t expect much; but this was even less than expectations.

And of course, the Missus wouldn’t touch the leftover karaage, even after “helping it along” a bit and an air fryer session. So, I was just going to call it a day at this point. But Soo, did a nice post on the place and seemed to enjoy the kalbi? Apparently, the owners are of Korean heritage, so I thought I’d return. Though I waited several months before doing so.

I decided to try the Bulbogi and still wanting something more; went with the Tako Wasa as well.

Check out how the Tako Wasabi was served…pretty cool eh? The texture was fine, good toothsome chew. It was lacking in the pungent, sinus clearing attributes of wasabi though.

And I suddenly understood why this was served with wasabi and gari. This would be the first time I’ve ever had to add wasabi to Tako Wasabi!

As for the Bulgogi…..

Huge portion of bulgogi, huh? The rice was much better this time around.

As for the bulgogi…sigh; it had been chopped finely, was strangely mealy in texture, and over marinated and super salty.

This came with tempura, which was fine; though the batter was a bit soggy, lacking in the light and crisp texture I enjoy.

The shrimp was of decent quality, though the kabocha was undercooked and really hard.

Overall, I think I’m done with Kiiro…in spite of what’s written here. I prefer to spend a bit more for better executed food; though I’m glad I tried the place.

“Drink, Eat, Love”……..

Please let me know if stuff other than the huge list of rolls is worth trying here!

Kiiro Sushi Izakaya
3145 Sports Arena Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110
Current Hours:
Sun – Thurs 11am – 1030pm
Fri – Sat 11am – 1130pm