Filling up cheap, not for sushi quality
“As with most sushi buffets, they try to stuff more rice than actual raw fish into each nigiri piece as a way to stuff you faster!”
Japanese · Sushi
The Hillcrest AYCE sushi spot -- a different RB Sushi location from the one Roger reviewed in Rolando -- where $25 buys a lot of food but not much quality: thin fish, subpar uni and rice-heavy nigiri, with strict rules about finishing what you order.
The documented visit included red surf clam nigiri (the best of a subpar buffet). This record does not turn that order into a recommendation.
Source-backed notes
“As with most sushi buffets, they try to stuff more rice than actual raw fish into each nigiri piece as a way to stuff you faster!”
AYCE sushi for $25: tuna texture was poor and uni was subpar, though the red surf clams were decent; the kitchen ran out of several premium items with no substitutions offered, and diners are required to finish all rice on the plate or pay extra.
Stay in the neighborhood
Roger's Hillcrest cigar-bar pick, run by an owner (Raul) he calls the friendliest in town, open later than most local lounges with a strong Belgian beer selection on tap and bottle.
A Hillcrest Chinese restaurant Roger says declined after the pandemic, dropping from a two-star review to one star, after an earlier visit he'd already called just okay and Americanized.
A Hillcrest location of the Nishiki Ramen chain -- a separate address from the site's existing Kearny Mesa entry -- rated a middling three stars by Roger.
Keep exploring
Browse the Japanese page, or continue to another place with a matching cuisine.
One of the two omakase counters Roger named when asked where to take a visiting friend for sushi in 2022.
Roger's University Heights omakase recommendation from 2022, paired with Tadokoro as his two go-to sushi counters.