Bluefin Fusion Japanese Restaurant

I don't normally review a place twice unless there is a compelling reason (for better or worse) to do so. With 8 years in the restaurant industry and many more as an avid restaurant goer, I experienced something today that I've never seen (or heard tell of) before.

A group of us went to check out Bluefin today. My friend and I are fairly regular customers and had an opportunity to introduce it to a few other folks. I ordered the sushi bento box, having had it before with delicious results. Sadly, when the food was delivered...the bento box wasn't there. By the time the meal was over, the food had never arrived. During the time 80% of the food was delivered and the waiter came back to drop the check (about 25 minutes) nobody ever came over. End result...no lunch for me.

The waiter apologized profusely and offered to box my food to go. No, I'm not really interested in that. Then he generously offered to remove my meal from the check. That's nice of you...why not go ahead and do that. Then a girl came over (presumably the manager) to offer another round of apologies. "I have a bento box that was a mistake that you can have free of charge" she said. No thanks. Then the waiter came back with a $20 gift card that apparently came out of his pocket This actually bothered me...why would the restaurant make the waiter offer out-of-pocket reparations.

Ultimately, they took an additional 20% off the check. My lunch-mates were actually more upset about the situation that I was, so I don't think the waiter made out too well on the tip. I left the gift card (he can recoup that by rolling it into a cash payment) and what little money I had in my pocket. I sort of felt bad for the guy...he was probably just too far in the weeds and had a bad day. Sadly, I probably won't be back. I don't get a ton of time for lunch and need to have some confidence that the food will arrive.

If you haven't been to Bluefin and don't mind rolling the dice, the food is actually pretty good. If you make it in, tell them I said "hi".

Went to Bluefin for lunch today (after having my curiosity peaked by Jeph). The space was well designed and it was easy to get a table. The menu looked really promising with lots of selection and cheap prices. I tried the 5 pc sushi bento for lunch. It was ok. The tempura was over battered and tasted like the oil wasn't the freshest. California rolls were good, the gyoza a bit over fired for my taste (but then again, I prefer them steamed or pan fried). The sushi was so-so. The shrimp was chewy, and some of the fish wasn't cut properly, but it was ok. About the same as what you get at Whole Foods.

Despite the lackluster experience, we'll go back to check out the happy hour. The drink specials look good and for 50% off the rolls might be ok.

Overall, Edamami in Del Mar is a better deal if you want good fish, but they don't have a full bar. (5pc sushi bento at Edamami is the same price as Bluefin and the fish is about 300 times better).

Of our lunchtime sushi stops...this one definitely offers up the most pizzazz. Upon entering the restaurant, one can't help be impressed with the interior decor (although the nineties grunge selections playing in the dining room don't really align with the visual atmosphere). Also, the hostess and cooks always greet us with an enthusiastic welcome that I don't quite understand.

Now, for lunchtime sushi, I almost always get a bento box, and these are some of the best I've had. First of all, their miso soup starter is as good as it gets. I typically find that to be a bit of a commodity item, but Bluefin's stands above the competition. So far, I've had 2 of their bento boxes...the spicy chicken and the steak. The chicken excellent, where the steak was a slight disappointment (it's not bad...just a bit tough, and cut into strips that are a bit too big for one bite). As for the rest of the bento box, it's got a full portfolio of high-quality goodies, including rice, salad, tempura (shrimp and veggies), California rolls, fruit, and dumplings.

The only thing I wasn't too impressed with was the table service. Not bad by any means, but just a bit mechanical, and not in line with the rest of the experience.

The great thing about Bluefin is that the price is strangely lower that one would expect. Maybe it's just a lunch time thing, but the food quality and atmosphere portray a high-end restaurant, but the price is in line with the local competition (KI, EDO, and Nozomi). This is a bit hard to find, nestled into a remote corner of the UTC Mall, but give it a shot.