Pure Sushi at Matsuoka on Convoy leads new August restaurant openings

A tray of temari at Pure Sushi restaurant on Convoy Street in San Diego.

San Diego Union-Tribune

Aug. 29, 2021 6 AM PT

Just about every year, the restlessly creative chef Junya Watanabe comes out with a new twist on his native Japanese cuisine at his restaurant headquarters on Convoy Street.

From 2012 to 2016, he was refining his ramen dishes at RakiRaki Ramen. Then he added a Japanese dessert side shop. In 2019, he opened The Yasai, a vegan sushi concept, on the other side of the building. In 2020, he launched late-night ramen takeout service, which was a big hit in during the pandemic. And last spring he introduced his own branded line of karaage (Japanese-style fried chicken) there.

Watanabe’s latest brand expansion is Pure Sushi at Matsuoka, which is Tokyo-style kaiseki (multicourse meal) service created in partnership with sushi chef Hajime Matsuoka. It debuted on Aug. 9 at the Yasai location on Convoy Street, which is still serving its vegan sushi alongside Matsuoka’s creations. Watanabe said he has long wanted to open an authentic Tokyo-style shop but was waiting until he found the right chef.

“For the last 10 years, since opening RakiRaki, I’ve refreshed the menu every few months. And, while doing so, I imagined opening a sushi restaurant I can be proud of that’s akin to what I enjoy when traveling in Tokyo,” he said in a statement. “The best sushi restaurants are found in unassuming places (like) my little corner of Convoy was always the perfect place for Pure Sushi.”

Pure Sushi at Matsuoko serves a kaiseki menu featuring bento boxes filled with sushi rolls and nigiri made with fish flown in daily from Tokyo’s Toyosu market. One specialty is temari (bon-bon-shaped sushi balls), as well as tempura, grilled fruits, appetizers and matcha ice cream.

Pure Sushi at Matsuoka is open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and for dinner from 5 to 9:30 p.m. daily at 4646 Convoy St., Suite 101-B, San Diego. Call (858) 240-1511 or visit matsuokasushi.com/menu/.

Kragen writes about restaurants for the San Diego Union-Tribune. Email her at pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com.

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Pam Kragen

Pam Kragen is a feature writer and critic who specializes in writing dining, theater, opera and human interest stories. She joined The San Diego Union-Tribune staff in October 2012 after 27 years at the North County Times, where she served as the Arts & Features Editor, as well as the paper’s longtime arts writer and theater and opera critic. She is the president and co-founder of the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle. She holds a bachelor of arts degree in journalism from San Diego State University and completed fellowships in theater criticism at the University of Southern California and opera-classical music criticism at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. In 2022, she was chosen as one of the fellows in the prestigious National Critics Institute, run by the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in New London, Conn.

Pure Sushi at Matsuoka on Convoy leads new August restaurant openings

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