Izakaya Naruto

About two weeks ago, Bert and I wanted to have dinner at the new sushi place that replaced Kaga Sushi on the corner of Oxford and Third.

This is the same center that houses Utage and Hogetsu. Kaga Sushi had been there for years (please see Kirk's post listed at the end) and had closed down earlier this year.  When I saw the new yellow sign last month, I did a double take and I knew we had to go here eventually.

Unfortunately, we saw this sign...($%#@&!!!!!)

and made the mental note to return in several weeks.  That return happened to be today after picking up the teen from school...

I was able to get a preview from my friend's post (linked at the end); she and her family ate there last weekend after they reopened (they opened before the 9/13 date since her post was dated 9/12). Yep, tooday, they were definitely open. They open at 5 for dinner on weekdays and close at 11 pm. We were hear about 5:30 pm.

Here's what the sign looked like before:

(photo from my "Utage" post, January 2013)
which had been here FOREVER it seemed.

As you walk in there is a closed off area. Perhaps it is a private seating area, I'm not sure. The restaurant itself is quite intimate. There are three seating areas, one to the left (the table sat a party of 6)  and two tables to the right (one sat 4 and the corner table only 3) plus the sushi bar. The head chef and owner, Go Uchida (previously of Tadokoro in Old Town, Shimbasa Izakaya of Del Mar, and to my surprise, Valentino's Sushi in Otay Ranch) and his staff were very welcoming and friendly. He even came to our table later during our meal to ask how everything was and seemed genuinely interested in our responses.

Their chalkboard menu on the wall lists their popular offerings, which are, as Kirk would say, "gringofied". In my case, I actually do like these fusion type rolls but don't eat them all too much. TC is more of a fan than I am. Many of them involve some sort of sauce drizzled on top to the point where the roll could be made out of anything and you'd never know what lies beneath. We wanted to give this new place a try.

You can also see their menu online here. I noticed he tried to incorporate local monikers in their sushi roll titles like Chula Vista, Bonita, Imperial and Southeast.



Pho-men? Hmmm. I'm not sure about this. And what exactly is Chula Vista flavor? As a CV resident, I'd like to know, haha!

It was Happy Hour so Bert got a half price Sapporo.

The view of Hogetsu and Utage (partially obscured ) from our window...

The chopstick wrappers still had Kaga Sushi on them. Don't let them go to waste I say.  I found it interesting that Tapatio was on the table, but not surprised...


The edamame was "on the house": the chef apologized for our wait (which really wasn't that long). This was a nice surprise.

First up was Bert's choice, the "Cajun" tuna roll ($12.80/specialty roll). Sure it looked nice but we weren't sure what made this Cajun other than the tiny hint of hot sauce. The flavorings didn't seem Cajun either. According to their menu, the tuna is seared with black pepper and cilantro and garlic. For their sashimi, it is titled "Cajon" roll (not sure if it is a mispelling or if he was being consisted with San Diego place names).


That being said, Bert liked this. For TC it was too spicy but she isn't one for even a tiny bit of heat in these rolls. I was still full from lunch earlier at Seasons 52 but managed to taste at least one piece of each item.

Our other plates came out in quick succession - TC's Philadelphia Tempura roll ($8). I know, people in Japan would never eat this stuff...Plus my Viva Chula Vista! roll in the back ($10.80) and TC's other choice, the Creamy Lemon roll in the front ($8.80).

The Viva Chula Vista raoll had more of a kick than the Cajun tuna. The sauce was a spicy ponzu which we really liked. If I hadn't had a big lunch, I would have had more of this.


The Creamy Lemon was filled with fake crab and avocado and topped with albacore and what looked like a roasted pepper strip and what was supposed to be a creamy lemon aioli, but wasn't. It did have a citrus flavor but I didn't see any creamy lemon sauce on this. I wonder if they served us something else?


TC liked the fried one the best because it was served warm. Bert liked the Chula Vista the most and as for me, the lemon (and I normally don't like lemon anything).

Who else went to Izakaya Naruto?
Lora went here last week right after their remodeling hiatus...

For a look inside the place when it used to be Kaga Sushi, I refer to Kirk's post from February 2013. Even back then, he heard of rumors that the building would be torn down. Obviously it wasn't and the previous sushi chef from Kaga is now working at Utage just a few steps away. I'd asked our server what happened to him and she said he was working tonight. I noticed in Kirk's photos that the serving plates are still the same as is the pretty blue soy sauce pitcher. I guess Go was able to keep all of the old serving ware. Why reinvent the wheel, right?

Izakaya Naruto
1216 3rd Ave
Chula Vista, CA 91911
(619) 882-2880

naruto.kitchen + reviews from that four lettered site

I guess I never thought about the word "naruto" before. I always associated it with the manga series of the same name (it's about the adventures of a teen ninja).

Naruto is a Japanese kamaboko (or fish cake) which you've seen before in ramen. It's a scalloped round and white slice with a pink or red swirl in the middle. It is supposed to resemble the Naruto whirlpools in Japan That design can be seen on the signage for this new restaurant.

The service was very friendly. They made every customer feel at home. The clientele was mixed (we saw Mexican, white and Filipino, us, heh heh). We congratulated Go on his new restaurant. We hope that he is successful. It's good that the west side of CV has another sushi option (both traditional and fusion).