Yu Me Ya Sake House (Hillcrest)

[TXGSD]

There's a sign up for Yu Me Ya Sake House in the strip mall at the corner of University and 4th, across the street from Bread & Cie. Looks like it's going in the space where Ramesses was. Can anyone confirm if this is from the same owners of the Yu Me Ya Sake House in Encinitas and has anyone been to the Encinitas location recently and care to comment on the food and sake selection (there was a nice report/thread from several years ago)? Thanks.

[kriot]

Has anyone been here lately? Going off reviews from yelp it seems its improved but yelp isnt really a trustworthy source.

K

[karaethon]

I went about 3 months ago and I think the waitress that was serving us turned out to be the owner (but I didn't know at the time). She asked how we had heard about them, etc and was really excited to hear that we had been to the encinitas location.

She was disappointed, however, to learn that the food didn't measure up to the quality of encinitas. The food was too salty for us. The noodles were to the point where we didn't even finish because the broth was so salty. We also got some fried dishes cause their selection seemed more limited and they seemed to lack in umami and in refinement. She mentioned that they got the recipes from encinitas and tried to copy them as closely as they could...

[Josh]

Went tonight and came away really disappointed. Perhaps Sunday night means the B team in the kitchen.

We tried a few different tapas plates, and only the fried yam with ume mayonnaise and the black cod were really notable. The rest of the food was decidedly meh. Shisito peppers might have been good if they were salted. We asked for some salt, and it did improve them a lot.

Expensive for what you get, and not at all worth it. I'd rather go to Sakura or Okan.

[daantaat]

Josh, have you gone to the Encinitas location? We've been there several times and found the food very good, on par w/ Okan and Sakura.

[Josh]

That's probably one of the reasons I was disappointed as I was. I've heard so many great things about the Encinitas location from people I trust.

It was seriously not good. Much of the food was bland, items described as having some kind of miso component had almost no miso flavor. Really, really poor showing.

[notjustastomach]

True that. Definitely unimpressive. The udon broth was tasty, though the noodles themselves were not as good as Masa, Oton, or Sakura. I haven't been to the original YuMeYa, so my basis of comparison has to be the other izakayas south of the north.

[mjill]

Went there tonight and had a really good meal with excellent sake. Good service, great food and killer booze. I even lucked out big time on good parking. What more do you need? Same standards it seemed to me as the Encinitas location. I'll be back for sure,

[gla92024]

Yes, same owners. The leucadia restaurant has the best Udon noodles anywhere. Get the Udon with tempura. Hard as hell to eat it (slippery suckers) but so good. Also, the bbq beef salad is excellent.

[SaltyRaisins]

Options like Yakitori Yakudori, Masa and YuMeYa and Yoshino in the neighborhood mean that the gas money not spent driving up toward Convoy can buy another beer. Cool.

Cheers!

[royaljester]

Frees up more space for us up here in Convoy, win win!

[bizzwriter]

Ha ha.

[cgfan]

I was at Yumeya this past weekend and Yuka said that yes, they are opening up a second location but their menu will have a narrower focus. The focus will be more on appetizers and drink selection. She said that they've found someone to operate it so the Leucadia crew will stay in place, at least as far as I was told.

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Yumeya
1246 N Coast Highway 101, Encinitas, CA 92024

[notjustastomach]

The Hillcrest Yu Me Ya Sake House is on my running route. It is now open for business.

[daantaat]

score! hours of operation?

[SaltyRaisins]

Ate here last week, and indeed, the focus was on drink selection and appetizers, in that order! Craft sake and beer (including my favorite Yebisu Red) have a menu of their own and are served to overflowing (in a glass within the masu). The service was a bit green, but has knowledgeable guidance from one of the front-of-house waitstaffers (didn't get her name).

The food is good-to-better izakaya style with their tempura a real highlight- I recommend it, and since I'm not too keen on overthick slices of russett and white onion making up the bulk of my veggie order, I was pleased with their assortment. Various donabe udon (though not nabeyaki-style) including sansai, tanuki and two or three others. Chazuke as well, but didn't order any. Plenty of small bites (very small) in the 3-9 dollar range make for good drinking snacks.

All in all a pretty cool place and a good addition to the neighborhood.

Kampai!

[geekyfoodie]

Woohoo! Encinitas is a haul for me (shedding a tear for my beloved Elizabethan Desserts) and I've wanted to go to Yu Me Ya for a while. Hope it's the same people!

[royaljester]

It's the full name of Yumeya so quite possible. Especially seeing as how they can definitely fill a much bigger place.

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Yumeya
1246 N Coast Highway 101, Encinitas, CA 92024

[daantaat]

I really hope it's the same people!

[mjill]

If it is the same people and the do the same job as the Encinitas location, man are the people who live in the area in for a treat.