Santo Sushi

I picked out a newer place called Santo Sushi for a post-workout dinner. Santo Sushi is located east of I-15 off Clairemont Mesa Blvd on the left side of a plaza that also housed a Vons grocery store. The place isn't too big and has approximately 9 or 12 tables/booths. The woman who was our server was very friendly and helped answer our questions on the different rolls available. She beamed that they used real crab meat mixed with imitation crab meat in their rolls. We finally decided on two of the special rolls and one off the regular menu.

The first roll we received was the menu special Del Mar House Roll. Inside was their advertised crab meat mix which we thought was nice and tasty, speared through with asparagus for a bit of texture. What was different about the roll was the seared beef on top. We thought the beef itself was soft and easy to chew but still not quite the same effect as fish in a sushi roll. It was decent but I'll always prefer fish sushi over beef sushi.

Our next roll was one of the house recommendations, the Santo Roll (the picture is from my revisit). This was actually our favorite roll of the night! It was a bit messy with the crunchy flakes but the flavor combo was dynamite. I didn't even dip it into soy sauce!

Our last roll was another of the menu specials called Bad Boy Roll. I thought it was artsy to have the spices sprinkled on the top of the rolls which gave it a mini punch of flavor to the salmon. Inside was tempura shrimp so there was plenty of seafood in here. I also enjoyed this roll but not as much as the santo roll. We were glad we didn't order a fourth roll because we were stuffed from these monster sized rolls! And I mean that in a good way!

A couple weeks later, I came back for a revisit with my coworkers. We noticed there was a summer promo of buy 3, get 1 free. I  warned them about the size of the sushi rolls so we ordered 8 total rolls to split between the 6 of us.

Two of my coworkers ordered the Miso Soup as an appetizer. This came out failry quick. I didn't try this but my coworker said it was really good.

Another coworker ordered the Seaweed Salad which came out at the same time as the soups. It was a pretty big size and easily work as a group appetizer for 2-3 people. I did not get to try this either but may consider for next time!

Here's the Lazy Boy Roll. It was one of the deep fried rolls and satisfied everyone who tried it. It was voted one of the best rolls from our lunch.

This was a house special called the Ninja Attack Roll. It was mainly crab and fried tempura in taste so was nothing exciting in my book. This one was cut a bit thin so it was falling apart a little more than some of the other rolls.

Another table favorite was the Sumo Roll. It's topped with a crab meat mix and contains some bits of eel and associated sauce. I loved the presentation too. This was also the most expensive roll at 13.99!

We also got the Santo Roll again, which I was more than happy to eat again.

This was the Lemon Roll with fresh salmon and thin lemon slices adding a squirt of citrus to the roll. I enjoy the lemon contrast to the sharp green onions and buttery smooth fish.

Above is the Baked Salmon Roll. This is another one of the favorites of the group. I remember it being nice and creamy without overdoing it.

Here's the Dragon Roll which was average but at least it wasn't drowning in eel sauce like some versions can be.

The Rainbow Roll showcased shrimp and several different fish. Sometimes I will order this to get a feel for the fish but prefer to try 'new' flavor combos in general.

My biggest heartache was the 15-20 minute wait for the sushi following the appetizers. I was hoping the rolls would come out one at a time (for picture purposes and family style eating) but will ask them explicitly next time. The one sushi chef and one cook were probaby taking care of to-go orders first because two customers picked up food before we even got our first roll. At the least, everyone was happy with the food taste, with plenty of options for a future visit. I'm sure we'll be back because they also have bento box type lunches which I'm interested in trying.