History

San Diego's Pacific yellowtail (hamachi or kingfish) runs from May through October and has been a target species since the tuna fleet's heyday in the 1920s. The sashimi-grade version reached the city's sushi rooms in the late 1990s as Hiroyuki Kawakami at Sushi Ota and Soichi Kadoya at Soichi (Adams Avenue) built their local sourcing programmes. Soichi's Michelin star (since 2022) is built around West-Coast hamachi and the Tomales Bay oyster. The yellowtail-with-jalapeno preparation arrived from Matsuhisa Nobu's Los Angeles room and travelled south.

Book a food experience

Tours, tastings and classes from the cities on this page, bookable on GetYourGuide.

Browse every bookable food experience

Common allergens: Fish, Soy

Make it at home

Yield 2Hands-on 15 minTotal 25 minDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 200g sashimi-grade yellowtail (hamachi) loin
  • 2 tablespoons ponzu sauce (or 1 tbsp soy sauce + 1 tbsp fresh lime juice + 1 tsp mirin)
  • Half a teaspoon yuzu kosho (or substitute a tiny smear of fresh ginger and Serrano chile)
  • 1 small green jalapeno or Serrano, sliced into 12 paper-thin rounds
  • Half a teaspoon flake sea salt
  • Few drops of extra virgin olive oil
  • Fresh cilantro or shiso leaves, to garnish

Method

  1. Chill the yellowtail loin and a sharp knife in the freezer 10 minutes (this firms the flesh for slicing).
  2. With a long thin knife, slice the loin across the grain into 3mm-thick pieces, drawing the blade back toward you in a single stroke.
  3. Lay the slices in a single layer on a chilled plate.
  4. Spoon a small drop of yuzu kosho onto the center of each slice. Top with a single jalapeno round.
  5. Drizzle the ponzu sauce around the slices (not over, which washes the texture).
  6. Finish with flake salt, a few drops of olive oil and a cilantro leaf on each. Eat immediately, chilled.

Tip from the editors. Buy from a sushi-grade counter, ideally same-day. If the loin smells of anything but the ocean, send it back; freshness is everything in this preparation.

Where to eat pacific yellowtail sashimi

Pacific yellowtail sashimi in San Diego

Soichi Sushi ★ 4.8

$$ Japanese sushiNorth Park

Soichi Sushi is a michelin-starred omakase counter in a converted university heights bungalow with no signage and a twelve-seat bar, easy to walk past.

OrderChef's omakase, the kanpachi nigiri

Why locals goA Michelin-starred omakase counter in a converted University Heights bungalow with no signage and a twelve-seat bar, easy to walk past.

TipBook a fortnight ahead for the omakase; the a la carte counter takes walk-ins around 17:30 most weeknights.

Directions

Sushi Tadokoro ★ 4.6

$$$ JapaneseOld Town

Sushi Tadokoro in San Diego is Mitsui Tadokoro's Old Town omakase counter, the long-running Michelin Guide-listed Japanese kitchen with traditional.

OrderThe omakase nigiri course; the toro sashimi with grated wasabi made tableside.

TipReservations strongly recommended; the counter seats twelve and books out a week ahead.

Directions Book

Sushi Ota ★ 4.7

$$$$ JapanesePacific Beach

Sushi Ota in San Diego is Yukito Ota's Mission Bay Drive room since 1990, the strip-mall sushi counter that has trained more San Diego sushi chefs than any.

OrderThe omakase, ordered by sitting at the counter and asking the chef directly.

TipBook the counter, not the dining room. The strip-mall location is intentional; ignore the parking lot and step inside.

Directions Book

All San Diego signature dishes →

More cities are in research. Want pacific yellowtail sashimi covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.

Browse all dishes →