Edamami Names Its Rolls After San Diego — Including One Called the Ex-Girlfriend

Overview

Edamami has thirty-five special rolls, and a lot of them are named after places you can drive to.

Tierrasanta. Torrey Pines. San Diego. Catalina. Malibu. Baja. Hawaiian. Zuma. Sin City. And then, because every sushi restaurant needs one, the Ex-Girlfriend (at $17.95, one of the most expensive on the list), the Heart Attack, Hotlips, and the Crazy Bomb.

It sits in Tierrasanta, at 5950 Santo Rd, and describes itself as "founded with a passion for authentic Japanese cuisine."

Here's the thing that makes it worth a lunchtime trip specifically.

The lunch bentos start at $14.95 and come with five things. Every bento includes miso soup, rice, salad, two gyoza, three pieces of vegetable tempura and a four-piece California roll — on top of the main item.

At $15.95 for the Chicken Teriyaki Bento or $16.95 for the Beef Teriyaki, that's a lot of tray for the money, and it's a meaningful discount on the same dishes at dinner, where the teriyaki plates run $16.95–$18.95.

Lunch runs 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

What to Order

Special rolls — $11.95 to $18.95. The expensive end: Baked Langostino $18.95, Volcano $18.95, Baked Salmon $17.95, Catalina $17.95, Caterpillar $17.95, Torrey Pines $17.95, Ex-Girlfriend $17.95. The Tierrasanta is $16.95, the San Diego $16.95. The A-1 is the cheapest at $11.95.

Nigiri, two pieces: egg $5.95 · shrimp $5.95 · smelt egg $5.95 · albacore $6.95 · mackerel $6.95 · salmon, tuna, yellowtail, octopus, eel $7.95 each

Standard rolls $7.95–$12.95: avocado $7.95 · California $8.95 · crab $8.95 · asparagus $8.95 · spicy tuna $9.95 · spicy scallop $9.95 · salmon skin $9.95 · Philly $10.95 · veggie tempura $10.95 · eel $12.95 · rainbow $12.95 · shrimp tempura $12.95

Hand rolls $7.00–$8.95

Starters: edamame $5.95 · gyoza $6.95 · vegetable eggrolls $6.95 · agedashi tofu $7.95 · shrimp tempura $7.95 · vegetable tempura $7.95 · calamari tempura $9.95 · chicken karaage $9.95 · mixed tempura $9.95 · baked mussels $12.95 · soft shell crab $12.95 · salmon or yellowtail kama $12.95

Salads $5.95–$16.95 — side salad $5.95, seaweed $8.95, salmon skin $9.95, tofu $10.95, garden $10.95, grilled or fried salmon $14.95, seafood $16.95, tako $16.95

Noodles and rice bowls:

• Miso or Shoyu Ramen $12.95 — the cheapest hot meal on the menu
• Vegetable Udon $12.95 · Chicken or Tempura Udon $15.95
• Tofu Teriyaki Bowl $11.95 · Vegetable Teriyaki Bowl $12.95 · Chicken Teriyaki Bowl $13.95 · Beef Teriyaki $14.95 · Beef Sukiyaki $15.95
• Katsu Curry $15.95 · Tekka Bowl $16.95 · Unagi Bowl $16.95
• Yakisoba $13.95–$16.95 · Spicy Mami Noodles $13.95–$16.95

Dinners $16.95–$23.95, including Sushi Dinner $23.95, Sashimi Dinner $23.95 and a Sashimi & Sushi Combo $23.95

Kids' menu $8.95–$9.95 — each with rice, a two-piece California roll, tamago and an orange

Dessert: green tea ice cream $5.95 · mochi ice cream, two pieces, $5.95

The Drinks

• Beer — Asahi, Kirin, Kirin Light and Sapporo Light at $6.95 (12oz) / $8.95 (22oz); Orion $8.95 / $10.95; Sapporo Black $10.95; a pitcher of Sapporo $16.95
• Draft Sapporo — pint $6.95, XL mug $9.95
• Cold sake by the bottle $15.95–$17.95 — Kikusui, Hatsumago, Kurosawa, Sho Chiku Bai Nigori, and a Strawberry Nigori at $17.95
• Soju $12.95 a bottle, original or strawberry
• Soft drinks, green tea and Ramune — $3.50

The Sapporo pitcher at $16.95 is the value drink order for a table of three or four.

How to Visit

• Address: 5950 Santo Rd #G, San Diego, CA 92124 — Tierrasanta
• Phone: (858) 278-8929 · Email: sungchoi5950@gmail.com
• Hours: Monday–Saturday — lunch 11:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m., dinner 4:00–9:00 p.m. (see the note below about Sunday)
• Order online through their ordering partner
• Catering is offered — call for details

Good to Know

• Lunch is the value. A bento at $15.95 brings five extras with it. The same teriyaki at dinner is $16.95 with fewer accompaniments.
• There's a 2:30 to 4:00 gap. The kitchen closes between services.
• Ramen at $12.95 is the cheapest full meal here.
• Get a Sapporo pitcher if there are three of you — $16.95 against $6.95 a pint.
• Check Sunday before you go. Their published hours only cover Monday to Saturday.
• Order a place name. Half the fun of the special-roll list is that it's a map of Southern California.

The Takeaway

Go at lunch, order a bento and a Tierrasanta roll, and have the ramen on a cold day.

What makes Edamami worth knowing isn't that Tierrasanta has a sushi restaurant — it's that it's a proper neighbourhood one, with a lunch tray that's genuinely good value and a roll list that reads like a drive up the coast.

For more spots worth knowing, browse our Local Picks — and Mom's Phở & Grill is a few minutes away in the same neighbourhood.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Edamami? At 5950 Santo Rd #G, San Diego, CA 92124, in Tierrasanta.

What are the hours? Monday to Saturday, lunch 11:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. and dinner 4:00–9:00 p.m. Sunday hours aren't published — call to check.

What's the best value? The lunch bentos, from $14.95, which include miso soup, rice, salad, two gyoza, three pieces of vegetable tempura and a four-piece California roll alongside the main dish.

How much are the special rolls? From $11.95 for the A-1 up to $18.95 for the Baked Langostino and the Volcano.

Does Edamami serve alcohol? Yes — beer from $6.95, draft Sapporo from $6.95 a pint or $16.95 a pitcher, cold sake by the bottle from $15.95, and soju at $12.95.

Is there a kids' menu? Yes, $8.95–$9.95, each served with rice, a two-piece California roll, tamago and an orange.

Is there a vegetarian option? Several — tofu teriyaki bowl $11.95, vegetable teriyaki bowl $12.95, vegetable udon $12.95, veggie roll $9.95 and vegetable tempura $7.95.