Casual Atmosphere, Good Sushi

With their slick décor and stark color schemes, most sushi places in Temecula make great places to take a date. But ’s laid-back atmosphere makes it better for lunch with a friend or a meeting with colleagues.

The restaurant sits on Ynez Road south of Winchester Road across the street from the mall. Eleven tables fill the dining room with 11 seats at the bar, though it had no outside seating. It also lacked background music, and the sound of the evening news from the two televisions over the bar did little to set a nice mood.

Luckily, the décor is nice. The windows around the room next to the booths had wooden shutters and paper lamps hung over each table. Some of the windows were covered in Japanese-style paper walls, which was a nice touch.

Otherwise, the restaurant has more of a contemporary American feel, with light colors and modern art on the walls.

The prices are pretty standard and the all-you-can-eat menu is a little fancier than most places, serving up such dishes as my favorite, baked lobster rolls.

The food was excellent – well worth the $19 for the all-you-can-eat lunch. Though all-you-can-eat dinner is $25, the lunch prices are good all day from Monday to Thursday, making it a great deal for dinner. As with many sushi restaurants, the food was served less ornately than they may have for a la carte items, though.

The owner served me, and she was sweet. This must be the usual for her because I overheard her chatting with the family at the next table, asking about how various family members are doing.

For a mellow neighborhood-diner atmosphere with excellent sushi, Gin Japanese Cuisine is a great choice.