The Sapporo Japanese Restaurant is one of my favorite spots to eat in the San Diego area. Having the good fortune to be in Ocean Beach recently for several months gave me the opportunity to enjoy many meals at the Sapporo. This tiny eatery is just a half-block from the Ocean Beach Pier and beach area, on Newport Avenue, the most happening street in this coastal village that dates back to the 1900’s.

Well-known for it’s affordable lunch special that includes Miso Soup, Salad and a main plate combination of Chicken Teriyaki and California Rolls with white rice, this place is not expensive, but offers really great food, beautifully presented. They are also specialists in Udon Noodle Soups, and many other delightful Japanese meals.

The Sapporo is a family-run establishment with great sushi and other Japanese offerings such as tempura. Everything you order here will be prepared with skill and pride, resulting in fine meals for all. The teriyaki salmon dinner platter is so good here it has tempted a self-termed strict Vegan more than once, and I have heard her exclaiming how good the fish is, and how great she feels after eating here.

I also feel great after eating some Miso Soup, nagiri sushi including fresh yellowtail, mahi-mahi, large prawns, and some rolled sushi. The California rolls are wonderful to say the least, but they do offer many others to delight the eye and the taste buds.

Recently a sushi fanatic visited, he had been living in Europe for years, and missed good fresh sushi at a reasonable price. He was so delighted with the Sapporo Japanese Restaurant that we ended up eating there every day for a week. It was great.

Open for lunch from 11:30 to 3 PM, they close until 6 PM, and stay open late serving cold beer at the bar as well as sushi. Never needed a reservation, but you can call them if you want to at 619-222-6686.

During the late 1800’s the Theosophists Society developed the area known as Point Loma, and many luminaries of the time visited the center for spiritual growth. This aura permeates the area known as Ocean Beach to this day, which is a well-known alternative community and hippie haven on the California coastline, just north of the Mexican border, in San Diego.

~Martin Trip

Info:
Open seven days a week for lunch and dinner. Parking is available on Newport Avenue, or at the end of Newport in the Pier parking lot.

Address:
5049 Newport Avenue
San Diego

Phone: 619-222-6686