Lunch at Chef Jun

Chef Jun was one of those "local" places that opened in Bay Ho, back in 2019. While most of what I'd gathered from folks who ate there; it was the "rolls" that they liked, even though they claimed to serve "Kappo", think higher end small dishes and such. I actually did takeout a couple of times during Covid and wasn't too impressed. Still, I made a note to revisit once things settled down....apparently the note got lost...or perhaps my "dog ate it"? Anyway, I'm finally trying to catch up on things from those days. I decided to head on over for lunch.

I arrived at 1145 and was surprised to see a couple of tables already occupied. I guess there's a real demand for places like this in the area. The nice young lady greeted me and I told her a seat at the "bar" would work out perfectly fine for me.

The sushi bar is the "modern" high bar, where you can't see the fish, nor really interact with the Itamae. I guess what I saw at Moment Sushi is kinda the norm these days?

I decided to go with the Sashimi Lunch Special which is priced at $25.

I was happy to see that fresh wasabi is provided.

The lunch came with a sizeable salad.

   Which was perfectly fine, except that the Sesame Dressing was quite salty. I came to find out that this is the "house" dressing that they actually sell. My favorite item in the salad were the kyuri-asazuke, the pickled cucumbers which held up well to the salty dressing.

The miso soup arrived next, which was perfectly fine, and scaldingly hot. It wasn't watered down, savory-beany, not overly salty.

And then the sashimi arrived.

   I'm not going to go into excruciating detail here. I will say, that my favorite item was the scallop; the hotate was tender and sweet. 

There was perfectly fine salmon; most of the slices were quite thin, the Spicy Tuna Roll, which I chose over the California Roll was fine as it was mostly fish, not overly sauced. The shiromi and hamachi were dry, but ok. The unagi was really dry and mealy.

And then there was this.

    Was it what I thought it was? Because you can't really interact with the Itamae, I asked the young lady working and she confirmed that it was Escolar (aka "white tuna"), which as far as I know is still banned in Japan. You can Google and find out why. Anyway, it's not my favorite fish; I find it mushy and tasteless.

That really poorly cut, thin slice of maguro was also pretty bad, quite metallic in flavor, but I guess it wouldn't matter if you're using the fish in all those rolls, right?

As a whole, this was fairly mediocre and left me wondering if this is what $25 bought these days? And would it be different if I came for dinner and ordered things ala carte? Still, the environment, which is totally not what I enjoy at a sushi bar....yes, maybe I'm an old fart....but part of the joy of eating there is the interaction between the Itamae and customer...perhaps that makes a difference these days?

And perhaps folks who dine at Jun can tell me what they enjoy here? This place is in my neighborhood and I'd like to support it!

Chef Jun
4033 Avati Dr.
San Diego, CA 92117
Current Hours:
Tues - Fri  1130am - 9pm
Sat - Sun   4pm - 9pm
Closed on Monday

Comments

[kat]

bummer

[Peter]

Hungry dog you've got there, Kirk! It's amazing how I can see from just the photos that the fish you were served was subpar. And I too love the interaction with the itamae -- I really miss the couple that ran Sushi Dokoro Shirahama (and I really miss their AMAZING fish!).

[Junichi]

Ooof. Escolar. Good thing it was only a sliver. Eating more could cause some leakage later in the day.

[Soo]

I'll have to try the kalbi sometime.

[Kirk]

Yes, it was a bummer Kat!

Probably needed more roughage, Peter! ;o)

Yes, totally.....I think most folks don't know the possible "side effects" of Escolar Junichi!

Hope you enjoy it Soo!

[Stephanie]

Chef Jun is at the bottom of my street yet we never eat here. I was hoping to see a positive review, but maybe we’ll give it a try one of these days anyway.

[alnc]

I recall how back when Tommy was still at Catalina Offshore, that they were featuring Escolar often. I checked today and see that they still offer it as sushi grade fish. "Succulent flavor and a firm yet creamy, buttery texture" --from the webpage

What is up with that?

[Kirk]

I think if you pick well, you might be ok Stephanie. That sashimi lunch special just didn't do it for me.

It's cheap and a money maker I guess ALNC.....Tommy knew better than to offer it to me.