3.5 stars We came here because they're closing at the end of…read morethe month. So, Yes it was a bit pricy but i wanted to try it before it closed. Made reservations online for the tasting menu $225. The place is in the middle of nowhere, from the outside you'd never guess it was fine dining. We started off with a trio of little bites, a tile fish gungakn roll, fried mochi threads, and an acorn cracker filled with camembert cheese. The raw tile fish gunkan was ok, the mochi threads were nice and crunchy, the camembert cheese was too pungent for me. Hamachi/Raspberry - slices of Yellow tail and raspberry in a ponzu sauce. The ponzu stood out most and gave it a salty profile i couldn't really distinguish between the hamachi and the raspberry as the textures were similar. Artichoke Kohlrabi gyoza with a bri sauce. This dish was very good though i thought it was more like ravioli than gyoza. It even looked like ravioli. I think they just called it gyoza to make it fit the Japanese theme. Shrimp tempura was delicious! it was lightly battered and fried and put in a shallow bowl of shrimp broth. They said it came with dynamite sauce but i think it was just kewpie mayo. Very good and one of my favorites of the evening. Chicken wing stuffed with scallop, part of the wing was deboned and stuffed with a Hokkaido scallop. It was very tasty, the scallop was very sweet and tender. I wish the skin of the chicken wing was crispier. It was quite charred but did not crack when bitten into it and a little rubbery. Tile fish had a very crispy skin and came with a beautiful sauce of i think apples and apricots and a walnut butter. I really liked the sauce that was spooned on the plate. another one of my favorites of the evening. Duck done 2 ways; roasted and a fried tsukune meatball. They both came in a light carrot sauce. The fat on the roasted piece was nicely rendered and the duck meat very tender. The tsukune was nicely fried and crispy and still rare inside. The palate cleanser was a pine ice cream with Aloe Jelly, The pine ice cream was quite refreshing and smooth i thought the aloe jelly was a bit strong tasting. I think flavor came from the geranium but something had a strong taste to it. The dessert was also one of my favorites White chocolate with hokkaido milk powder on top of miso ice cream and slices of tangerine. It was supposed to be reminiscent of a creamsicle. The Hokkaido milk power was magic on the shards of white chocolate, the miso ice cream was very smooth and dense and when eaten together with the pieces of manderin orange did remind me of a creamsicle. They gave us a trio of finishing dishes a trio of bites; Castella cake, Kokuto jelly and raspberry mochi. The castella cake didn't really stand out, it wasn't the sweet dense cake that im used to. The kokuto jelly had that deep brown sugar taste but was too stiff in my opinion. The raspberry mochi had a strong raspberry flavor which i loved and had a good chew to it. Service was exceptional, water was filled many times almost every time the water glass went down 1/4 it was filled to the top. Each course was preceded with the proper utensiles and were cleared after each dish. i must have had at least 4 forks and 4 spoons. Definilty 5 star (Michilin style) service. Food was very good maybe 4 stars. Value was ok maybe 3 stars. If you divided the courses by the price it came to $25 per course. If you looked at the ala cart menu, many of the items were there and could be had for less than $25, of course not all the dishes on the tasting menu were available ala cart. But i feel if you sat at the bar and ordered a cocktail and maybe 5-6 dishes you't still pay a hefty price but it would be much less than $225. I feel like thats the way to go instead of the tasting menu. Come here if you want exceptional service.

I learned that Matsu will be closing at the end of this month and possibly reopening at another TBD…read morelocation. We decided to come for a weekend dinner. To my surprise, there were plenty of time slots available for this fine dining establishment located in a former neighborhood corner bar and grill in Oceanside. There was a small parking lot to the south of the building which had dedicated spots reserved for this establishment. A copy of the tasting menu was posted outside next to the entranceway. I took a picture for future reference because little did we know that we would not be seeing a list of the preset offerings during our visit. The inside was a dimly lit open dining space with a bar in the back left corner. The decor was minimal with some greenery and figurines along a couple of the walls. After mentioning that I had made a reservation, a worker guided us to one of the round tables in the middle of the room. The reservation required that we pre-pay the cost of the entire meal plus tax. Our server asked if we wanted any enhancements like caviar or wagyu. After declining that and any wine or sake pairings, the staff began to bring out a procession of courses in the following order... * Otsumami - Gunkanmaki, Mochi Fry, Acorn | Camembert * Kanpachi | Raspberry * Artichoke | Kohlrabi | Brie * Ebi Tempura | Dynamite | Tentsuyu * Chicken Wing | Imo | Scallop * Tilefish | Apple | Walnut * Duck | Carrot | Wasabi * Pine | Aloe | Geranium * White Chocolate | Miso | Tangerine The dishes were each beautifully plated. The chicken wing was partially deboned and stuffed with a mix of potatoes and scallop. That was my favorite item of the group. The dessert was also very good with the citrus from the tangerine paired with the pieces of white chocolate. Locally caught tilefish was the replacement protein for the pork neck course. The fish was cooked well, however I would have liked to try the pork preparation as it had been listed on the tasting menu. An aspect that confused me was the number of courses for the $229 price. I had expected ten, but when we declined the wagyu upgrade for the beef course, there was no lower tier of meat served as a substitute. Therefore, we only received nine courses but still paid as if there were ten. That should have been explained by the waitstaff because the value of the dinner became less with one fewer protein serving. Not providing the actual menu for the evening was a major faux pas and oversight. Every high-end restaurant where we have enjoyed a pre-fixe dinner always furnishes the menu du jour. The top-notch service was the reason why I rounded up my rating of our Matsu experience to a four star level.

Our 20th wedding anniversary was spent at our true guilty pleasure: Dija Mara…read more We would have loved to get everything on the menu but honestly we get stuffed really quickly and tried to stick with the perfected dishes: Grilled Roti with Lamb Jus Curry Sea Bream Ceviche Actually we noticed the menu didn't mention "Sea Bream" anymore and just said "Local Ceviche". Did they change fish? Tasted the same basically. Still amazing as always. We also tried some new dishes: Beef Tartare Chicken Thigh Skewers Green Curry Mussels The Beef Tartare was just okay. It's the only dish I probably would not ever order again. It wasn't bad, but compared to every other banger on the menu, it's last. Something has to be last. The Chicken Thigh Skewers were AMAZING! OMG, so much flavor in the chicken but the sauce really drove it overboard. Wow. These are a must try, you won't regret it. And lastly, the Green Curry Mussels blew us away. I love mussels and always order it whenever I see it on a menu. We devoured all of the mussels (and added the $9 Roti) and even got a container to-go to save the broth, lol. Truly another banger from Dija Mara. I really appreciate that the menu changes periodically without removing the veteran dishes we continue to enjoy. Just want to mention something besides the culinary spectacles. Dija Mara's decor is every bit as memorable as its food. The artwork isn't an afterthought--it's part of the experience. The dining room manages to feel both trendy and intimate at the same time, while the graffiti-covered back wall adds a playful, street-art feel that contrasts beautifully with the polished food and cocktails. The result is a space that feels creative, unpretentious, and genuinely cool. The industrial concrete and reclaimed wood elements give it a modern edge, while the Indonesian-inspired art creates a sense of place that feels completely unique in North County. This is really our happy place and I hope it never changes.

What a disappointment. I had high expectations due to the Michelin bib Gourmand award, but the…read moreflavors fell extremely short. The restaurant was fairly empty although Resy wouldn't take reservations. Plenty of bar seating. The service was fair, not particularly warm or engaging, which was fine. The food was alluring and beautiful, but the flavors were salty, flat, and mushy. Starting with the Paloma, it was nothing special. Just something you could get with a well happy hour special. Serviceable but unremarkable. Very Instagrammable, however. The pork belly was nicely charred and had nice bite sized morsels on the skewer, good texture, but the sauce was very salty, almost bitter. Forced myself to eat the 2nd skewer, but could not push through the last 2. In contradistinction, the beef rendang was almost bland, like a microwaveable peanut butter Hormel beef stew, and the cardinal sin - the rice underneath was mushy. That was what sealed the nail on the coffin. Bland, albeit tender short rib, on top of smushy rice. Dead. I barely ate one of the 2 pieces of ribs and couldn't do more. The staff wanted to see if I wanted a take out container. When you see a customer that disengaged with the food, you'd better be wary. Being Asian, I don't like to waste food, but when it's so not good, I'd rather walk away and get something else than to finish a terrible meal. Many diners have a millennia of choices in this price point. Sadly, not sure how this restaurant got recognition because it's half as delicious as your typical neighborhood Thai restaurant. Banana Leaf at the Original farmers market in LA is better, though humble and homely. Just very disappointing. Hope it was an off night and that others have a better experience.

I wasn't sure if this place would be overhyped, but it was genuinely so good! The ramen was so…read moreflavorful, and filling. By the way - the spicy is not too spicy

I recently tried Gonzo with my boyfriend, and overall it was a good experience! The restaurant has…read morea fun atmosphere with unique decor, and the staff was friendly and attentive. The food came out quickly, and everything looked fresh and well prepared. I'm a pretty picky eater, so ramen just wasn't really for me, which definitely affected my experience. My boyfriend, on the other hand, absolutely loved his meal and would definitely come back. Even though it wasn't my favorite personally, I could tell the quality was there, and I can understand why so many people enjoy this place.

The vibes and ambiance were on point! I had so much fun there and it was a great place to spend a…read morecouple hours with friends. Not to mention the food-i got the poke- was so so fresh! The service was amazing as well and all the workers were super nice. Totally recommend going there if you're looking for good food and good time.

The food is great! The beer selection is wonderful! The atmosphere and service are lovely. I wish I…read morelived closer so I could visit more often.

I really enjoy this spot when i'm in and around the area…read more I have been here twice and both times thoroughly enjoyed my meals. The first time I got the veggie udon and it was simple and delicious with nice thick udon noodles. The second time I got a teriyaki salmon plate which came with salad, miso soup and i paid extra for brown rice. We also got veggie tempura to share. The salmon was a thin filet cooked perfectly with a great bite. The brown rice was delicious and tasted great. The miso soup was some of the best Ive ever had with great umami! The salad was a nice refreshing contrast to the hot meal. The veggie tempura was some of the best I've ever had. The tempura was cooked perfectly with a great crunch and the sauce they give you to dunk it in was really flavorful. The location is next to a theater which makes it a great spot to eat before or after watching a movie. There is plenty of seating inside and outside. The staff is always willing to answer questions, recommend options and is very polite while taking orders.

This restaurant sucks! Soggy top ramen I can't believe I…read morepaid for this food it was so gross I won't ever come back Everything else I tried was also gross but I'm especially mad at the ramen it was definitely instant noodles and the chicken tasted weird

We were at D&B but didn't want to eat there. This sushi place is right across the Main Street in…read morethe older strip mall. They are sneaky with the modest location. The whole experience was great. This was some of the better sushi I've had in recent years. Too bad it's a drive for me to Carlsbad...or maybe that's good. It could get expensive. It was busy on a Tuesday night, but staff was friendly and checked-in at a good pace. Most of their dishes are metal, even the ramen bowl and drinking glasses. It was dim lit, but not too dark. I always order a rainbow and a dragon roll. Everything down to the rice and roll were perfect. My friend got the tonkotsu ramen. He said it was his favorite broth. Then he made it red and was in heaven.

I visited Hooked on Sushi a few days ago and had an average experience. My first impression was…read morethat the restaurant was very dark inside. Food: The menu offers a wide selection of sushi rolls and bento boxes. When the miso soup came, I noticed that it was watery. The teriyaki chicken did not come out very hot. The sushi roll tasted okay. Service:The employees were friendly and attentive. Ambiance: The inside has lots of seating,but the decor is outdated.

Went here last night for dinner and I loved it! I had a friend who would rave about this place and…read moreI totally get it. The vibe inside is cool and our server Shayla was very nice! My friend got the special that day which included figs from their tree in the back (so cool) tuna, and feta cheese. It looked amazing. We shared the Albacore ngiri/sashimi with some crunchy garlic chili and wow so good. I got the hedgehog roll and loved it. Very fresh! I cannot wait to come back!

this place has definitely elevated my sushi eating experience! its a very unassuming place but if…read moreyou look around carefully, there are gems everywhere and keep your ears open too because the playlist is very diverse. we went with the Omakase menu because... why not? tired of the typical rolls and basic sashimi? Omakase for the absolute win! they present you with the menu for the day because it is chef's choice and, for me, did not disappoint. I'm not even going to try to tell you the names of what we had but it was all wonderful and the ones that were not the favorite had nothing to do with the fish itself but with personal taste and preference. the pairing of the sauces, fresh ingredients and fresh fish had my tastebuds pleasantly surprised with every dish. because i'm nosey, i did look at other's rolls and they looked amazing. if i wasn't so full and about an 45min drive from home, i would have ordered a hedgehog roll to go. Gabe, our server, was amazing! super attentive, knowledgeable and personable. he came across as a genuinly kind person and i haven't had an outstanding server like him in a long time. the Omakase is about 6 dishes. Gabe explained each dish as they came out and checked in on us after probably 5 out of 6 dishes to get our feedback. keep it up Gabe!

We stopped here for an early dinner tonight around 5pm and were pleasantly surprised! We've been…read moremeaning to try Teri Café for a while now... and it's safe to say we will definitely be back. The staff were also pleasant (thank you to our waiter Luis), the service was quick, and the food was amazing. The teriyaki chicken was delicious and the dinner plate was such a great deal for $18. The dinner plate is more than enough to share with another person. We actually got too full. :)

This place has some of the cheapest sushi that you can find in Oceanside and it's really good…read more But my favorite was the teriyaki chicken bowl The sauce is hard to get right and there's was to die for The rice was cooked perfectly And the chicken was lean and tasty