Kai Ola Sushi

We had an incredible dinner there tonight! We asked Matt and Nick the 2 Sushi chefs to make 3 special plates. Wow! Unbelievably high quality and creative! Highly recommend.

I was visiting Carlsbad and had lunch there. The place was super cute and bright. Very friendly staff with an amazing playlist (yes, every song was good 😂) . And the sushi… was divine! We loved our Philadelphia rolls. The tuna special was great and the sashimi combo too! A good tip is their Bento lunch box! A very good portion and delicious!

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.

I’m photographed food for a living and this place is a gem. Sit and the counter, banter with the chefs, order the Grandview and whatever is fresh. This is not your typical American sushi joint. Bring your locals only vibe. Enjoy the atmosphere.

Horrible experience on Valentine’s Day. Chaotic service. Overpriced Makase and overpromised and under delivered quality and quantity of food. Nothing was tasty. Pulled a long strain of hair from my mouth after eating salad. Disgusting. Nothing was offered as compensation. I had to ask. Bill was dropped off at our table by another server before all our meal was served. Our server wasn’t sure she left and came back and said she got 2 different answers from 2 chefs. Very disappointing experience!