Glass Box

Located south of Orange County and just north of San Diego in Del Mar, inside an elevated food hall called Sky Deck, Glass Box starts with a pretty cool concept: You can enjoy sushi or a full Japanese meal while sitting inside or immediately next to a giant glass box, internally illuminated with blue and white lighting. Glass Box’s social media suggests that the sushi bar offers the best view in the house, since you can theoretically watch your meal being prepared.

A comprehensive sushi menu includes omakase options, sashimi, traditional hand rolls, specialty cut rolls, and raw oysters topped with uni or caviar. Several yaiktori items are available, as are a collection of Japanese and Chinese entrées ranging from Tonkatsu Curry to General Tso’s Shrimp.

Measured by raw fish quality, Glass Box is a winner. All of the pieces we ordered and received as parts of omakase courses were thick cuts with just the right flavors and proper seasoning, though wasabi haters may find the chefs’ use of that ingredient – even fresh as it’s generally used here – too frequent and occasionally overpowering. Entrée and yakitori items were flawless, and reasonably priced, compared with the generally expensive sushi.