Dokdo Sushi San Diego

So nice place when you are hungry for raw fish.

I was in San Diego, CA for business, as I travel quite frequently for my company. One of my best friends lives in San Diego and we made plans to meet up for drinks and meals for the five days I would be in the area. One of the places he took me to was a Korean style sashimi restaurant on Convoy St inside a strip mall. Dokdo Sushi was surprisingly a great treat for someone like me who lives on the East Coast but quite a distance from any restaurant that serves anything close to a Korean style sashimi meal. When I first stepped in, I was quite confused as the decor of the place (as well as the name) quite contradicts the belief and stance of most Koreans, who strongly believe (as do I) that the island of Dokdo in East Asia, belongs to South Korea and not Japan. The place's interior decor was definitely reminiscent of a lot of Japanese style eateries. The name Dokdo Sushi also implies it is a sushi restaurant, which is Japanese. I am definitely not trying to get political or nationalistic here, because I also love Japan, its culture and definitely its food. I just thought it was interesting how these clashing concepts can be so easily forgiven as well as accepted as soon as the food comes out. The food is a fusion of Korean and Japanese styles. Many dishes were served to wet the appetite, my favorite being the sweet and sour style fried fish. The crispy fried fish fillet really absorbed well the sweet and sour sauce. The minced live octopus with wasabi and egg was something I haven't had since I last lived in South Korea. The appetizers really went well with the shots of soju we were having. By the time the main dish came out, which was the sashimi fillet from live flounder, we were already a bit tipsy. The meal was great and I loved the simple atmosphere the place provided. The only reason why I gave four stars instead of five, is because the selection of fish given was only flounder. Flounder sashimi I can find on the East Coast, even in my city of Philadelphia. Nevertheless, it was a great meal, a great time and definitely a place I'd love to go back to on my next trip to San Diego.