Kai Ola Sushi
918 N Coast Hwy 101 #2049, Encinitas
(760) 452-2493
Recent Reviews
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Love this Black miso cod dish so much! Get it with steamed rice. Took it to work with me for the next 2 days for lunch- delicious.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This was my third time here, and I brought my friend because I used to really like this place. Unfortunately, it’s gone downhill. The rolls were shockingly small by far the tiniest I’ve ever seen and not tasty at all. On top of that, the prices were very high for such tiny portions. The waitress was also rude and rushed us, which made the whole experience worse. I spent $70 and left still hungry. Really disappointed, especially since I had recommended it. Sadly, I won’t be coming back.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
If there were more stars I’d give them all. Clean clean clean ~ Always amazingly Fresh sushi 🍣 that yellowtail roll and the Toro mmmm 😋 just try it!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We tried their top 3 best-sellers. Moonlight was the highlight; fresh, balanced, and really refreshing. Grandview had a great crisp texture, but it leaned a bit too sweet for my taste. Swamis, unfortunately, missed the mark since it lacking both in presentation and flavor.
If these are their best, I expected a bit more. One solid roll, one okay, and one disappointing. It was an average experience overall.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 4
Went to Kai Ola sushi, initially had a break down in communication but they were very professional and made sure the experience was memorable. We ordered 13 rolls which the fish was fresh and they were quick to prepare the food. I am pleased with our experience and recommend them to others.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Very slow
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
It's kind of a beach dive-bar sushi joint. The youngster who was seating and taking my order seemed awfully distracted, although I was the only customer the whole time I was there. The prices are normal for a good sushi place and the nigiri was good, but they cut the fish about as small as they could, I think. I'm sure they do okay for a beach-ckose Leucadia joint. I have other options so, barring unforseen circumstances I'll go to a place where I don't leave seventy dollars poorer and still hungry.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
6:12 PM, April 20, 2025
I had a rather disappointing first visit here. We arrived and found that no table for two was available at the front, despite an open table for four. Opting for a to-go order, we were informed it would take about 25 minutes to prepare. However, as 6:50 PM rolled around, our order was still being prepared. We had placed a very simple order—white rice, chicken, noodles—and when we finally received it, the order was incomplete.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 1
awful experience!!! visited today hoping for a great roll and ordered the ponto roll, saw the picture of the katsu chicken and ordered that as well. the roll tatsed like it couldve come from a grocery story for $5 and the chicken was NOT katsu chicken. was plain and had an awful sauce. the only thing that was edible on this plate was the rice. do not spend your money here!!!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Service was excellent, cute little place that was packed the whole time we were there on a weeknight, make a res if possible. Sophie greeted us and i explained I have Celiac and asked if they could take extra precaution to avoid cross contamination. Grayson (mgr I think) came over as soon as he found out I had gluten questions and made me feel confident that they could minimize cross contamination and that they serve people w/ Celiac all the time, so we decided to try it. Sophia did a great job as server and Grayson was all over helping out through the night. A few min after being seated while I was looking over menu, he came by and just started walking through the menu telling me what I could eat - any fellow Celiac understands how helpful this is!!! Esp at Sushi restaurants bc often they can make alot of things gf that dont reflect on the menu which is the case there.
I got the Swami roll no fried garlic and it was so good. Also edamame extra salt bc, why not? They made sure I had the gf tamari before the meal came (a detail often forgotten) and I didnt even have to ask.
Its the morning after now and if I were going to be sick, it would have already happened so I can say with confidence I did not get glutened. Huge shoutout to this team for giving me another place to add to my “safe to eat at” AND awesome service (even while busy) list!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Did not care for Chicken Katsu but would give another chance.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 5
Kai Ola was good but not as good as I had hoped. The sushi was fresh but I think the composition was just OK. We had the Moonlight roll, Sunset roll, Crispy rice, cucumber salad, yellowtail and albacore nigiri as well as an order of uni nigiri. Everything was fresh and presented as described in the menu. Somehow the flavors just felt flat to me, a bit boring. Service was prompt and friendly. Don’t really understand the 3% “service fee” in addition to 20% tip. But no complaints about the service.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
I had ramen here. It was amazing. After a long day of travels is was just right. Also the staff offered their favorite optional sides. I felt welcome and well-fed.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Food took an excruciating long time to come out. We ordered 12 total Nigerian pieces, two rolls, and three beers that cost us $200. It is not worth the price for the food you get. The food was good, but not that good
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 2
HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE. I worked in the restaurant business for 9 years and to have been treated with ZERO respect or acknowledgment on a tack-out order is BEYOND ME. This was the worst restaurant experience I've ever had. AND, the food was ruined!
Service: 1
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