[Restaurant Reviews]

Restaurants:
Spice Lounge & Ototo Sushi Co.
(Sushi Ren)

 

 

Spice Lounge, 859 Hornblend St, San Diego, CA 92109

 

[This first review is from last night, 12-23-23. The photo up top is from when my order arrived at Spice Lounge.]

I ate at The Spice Lounge tonight, and had great curry chicken with even better garlic bread. It was sort of like slightly raised pita. Family-owned Indian food place. I appreciated how the guy quietly asked me if I wanted it spice level 5 (out of 10) and gave me the opportunity to moderate it down to “mild”. His cousin was there, visiting from L.A. where their family owns two places, one Melrose called Roots and another on 3rd called Electric Karma. I think I’ll look them up when I’m in town. The prices here are higher than what I saw online, but that’s expected these days. I had the Chicken Tikka dish. He comped me a Taj Majal beer. I will return.

[12-24-23] That was my Instagram review of Spice Lounge, from shortly after leaving the restaurant as I sat in my van before driving off. I was hungry as hell a mere hour later so I felt like returning or going somewhere else to eat almost immediately. The portions were so small, especially the rice, like middle-school cafeteria size. Also that Taj Majal beer was awful. I think it, combined with the food, is what gave me indigestion. The cousin sitting at the small bar up front told me that in the L.A. spots they own they cater to a more wine crowd. If I do follow up and check out the places they have I hope the wine combines better with the food.

:::

 

Sushi Ren (Ototo Sushi, 16480 Paseo del Sur, Ste 115
San Diego, CA 92127

It’s Christmas Eve and I’m coming home from attending service at my friend Joe’s church. Joe, who I’ve known for more than 45 years (since middle school) invited me today to the evangelical church he attends in North County, with its recently built medium-upscale gated communities interlaced with new brand new strip malls, one of which has Sushi Ren which I was hungry enough to wander into tonight. Or maybe it’s called Ototo Sushi as it says on the front of the restaurant. I’ll call it Sushi Ren in this review because that’s the name on the receipt I was given. I’m not sure what the relationship is there but maybe they’re in the midst of an ownership change. Who knows? The receipt will factor into the review in a moment.

The food: I first ordered two tuna hand rolls and a small hot sake. It should have been simple, but it wasn’t. The sushi chef was Asian (Japanese?) and didn’t understand me too well, or refused to understand me. I ordered the first hand roll and ate it. It was light on the tuna strips and heavy on the cucumber sprigs. So I was still hungry and since the sake was only about $5 I tried ordering another tuna hand roll. But the chef was difficult to get the attention of now. He was breaking down the bar and the place appeared to be closing although it wasn’t even 8 p.m. and there was still a large party of Asian people around a table in the center of the restaurant.

He then disappeared into the back of the kitchen without serving me and the young man who seated me came and asked me if there was anything else I wanted. I told him I tried ordering another hand roll from the chef, twice, but was unsure if he understood me. The chef had returned now so he and the host had a brief conversation in their native tongue during which the chef looked at me and nodded as if to say he understood. Then the host dutifully told me another hand roll was coming up. Eventually, the chef reached across the bar with a small bowl, handing me what looked like strips of cooked halibut with avocado slices and teriyaki sauce on a bed of white rice. I figured he’d gotten my order wrong and, not wanting more controversy, against my better judgment I didn’t refuse it. Besides I was hungry and wanted to leave now.

The host comes over with a salad and miso soup, saying they went with the dish. I told him, “Yeah fine but I’d ordered another hand roll and not this.”

“Ohhhhh…” he replied, distressed.

“Yeah, ‘Ohhhh…'”

That’s when the host and the chef had their talk, their pow-wow, and shortly after that, I was given the second tuna hand roll I’d wanted.

The female manager (I assume she was the manager) came over and asked me why I hadn’t refused the mistaken order. I told her I was hungry and the chef didn’t understand me too well apparently. She began to say apologetically that it was a miscommunication. She mumbled it with what I think is known in the interviewing business as “diminishing facts”, her voice trailing off weakly. She offered to give me “30% off the order,” which I politely accepted and thanked her for. So what was originally going to be a $20 bill I now figured would be almost $30. Not very cool, but I can handle that I guess since the food’s alright. But the total actually came to about $50 with the tip, which was kind of a ripoff.

Afterward, when paying the cashier, the female manager was there and reintroduced the topic. She had regained her confidence and now snapped back cheerily that the sushi chef DID in fact understand English.

Yes, okay whatever. I silently paid and left, awesome customer that I am.

They can try to immediately confuse you and contradict your facts when you have a complaint, restaurant people. Gosh, they can be so slick, so sly. I was at the OB Noodle House & Sake Bar restaurant in Ocean Beach once years ago and showed the manager a long thick black hair in the soup I was served there and he angrily claimed no one that worked at the restaurant had black hair. My hair was light brown. I looked at him, a young Asian guy with black hair, and the cashier who was an Asian girl with the same, and from where I was sitting could see the kitchen staff all were the same, and the conversation deteriorated from there.

I love Asian food, especially good sushi with courteous service. Didn’t get either here. The hand roll are what I came for and they were way too light on the tuna. Plus I should have not been charged for the order and then misled — which in my opinion I was — about the conversationality of the chef who took my order. Strike this restaurant off my list. Sushi Ren’s bill was kinda ripoffy if you ask me. Good thing as a reviewer this particular $47.68 is a tax write-off for me. It may not be for you though so watch out if you go here and make sure your chef gets your order right the first time.