Fresh-caught Pacific purple sea urchin from the La Jolla and Point Loma kelp beds, served raw on rice or with shaved citrus zest. The Tuna Harbor Dockside Market sells live uni on Saturdays direct from the divers; Soichi Sushi and Sushi Ota serve the city's reference omakase preparations.
California sea urchin (Mesocentrotus franciscanus and Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) is harvested by free divers off La Jolla; San Diego is the second-largest US uni port after Santa Barbara. The Tuna Harbor Dockside Market (Saturdays, since 2014) sells live uni boxes direct from the divers. Soichi Sushi and Sushi Ota's omakase showcase the highest grades.
5 editor picks for San Diego Sea Urchin (Uni) in San Diego, ranked by editorial score. All San Diego signature dishes · San Diego Sea Urchin (Uni) across every city.
Soichi Sushi ★ 4.8
north-park · 2121 Adams Ave, San Diego, CA 92116
Soichi Sushi in San Diego is Soichi Kadoya's Michelin-starred (since 2022) omakase room in University Heights, an intimate counter with a six-piece omakase.
Sushi Ota ★ 4.7
pacific-beach · 4529 Mission Bay Dr, San Diego, CA 92109
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.
Tuna Harbor Dockside Market ★ 4.6
embarcadero · 598 Harbor Ln, San Diego, CA 92101
Tuna Harbor Dockside Market on Harbor Lane in downtown San Diego, a Saturday fisherman-to-public dock-side fish market with 70-plus rotating local species.
Sushi Tadokoro ★ 4.6
old-town · 2244 San Diego Ave, Ste C, San Diego, CA 92110
Sushi Tadokoro in San Diego is Mitsui Tadokoro's Old Town omakase counter, the long-running Michelin Guide-listed Japanese kitchen with traditional.
Ironside Fish and Oyster ★ 4.5
little-italy · 1654 India St, San Diego, CA 92101
Ironside Fish and Oyster in San Diego is Consortium Holdings' India Street raw bar in Little Italy, with a piranha-skull-clad back wall and an extensive.