Konnichiwa Serves Up Cartoon Kitsch—and Sensational Sushi

Konnichiwa is Japanese for “good afternoon,” but in La Mesa a place exists where “Godzilla afternoon” is a closer translation.

Walk into Konnichiwa, the sensational sushi eatery on La Mesa Boulevard’s restaurant row, and check out the wall decor. The area above the bar’s tap contains Godzilla comic covers in all their late-1970s Marvel Comics glory (attractively displayed behind plexiglass), and the hallway features the raging reptile throwing tantrums in the comics’ kitschy interior pages.

This playful, pop-culture theme also drives the cartoonishly seafood-related wall murals, painted by store owner/manager Greg Collon. Is that a Domo-kun from Japan’s NHK television station? Are those dueling, tentacled creatures mollusks or robots—or both? And over in the corner—isn’t that Godzilla’s winged nemesis, Rodan?

Godzilla makes both an apt and ironic theme for what is possibly the coolest sushi bar in San Diego County. He’s Japanese, he’s hungry, and he’s as destructive as Konnichiwa’s sushi chefs are creative. Like a fourth-grader responding to Godzilla movies, you’ll probably end up wanting to tell your friends about this place.

As my friend and I found out during a recent lunch visit, Collon encourages the staff to operate as artists, constantly improvising new combinations while maintaining the craft and discipline that define sushi as a cuisine.

Our food server, Catherine (also the co-manager), recommended the Chef’s Special—a mystery sushi roll that could be anything. “OK,” I said, because I’m easy that way.

But first we decided to try some nonmystery items. Konnichiwa’s menu is blissfully concise, offering only the core categories: Appetizers, Rolls, Sushi-Nigiri, Hand Rolls and Specialty Rolls. No-nonsense lunch seekers can choose from a couple Bowls ($8 or $9) and Bento Boxes (multipart meals including a drink for $10), and a smattering of options for vegetarians.

Konnichiwa also operates as a Japanese izakaya, or bar (especially on Friday nights—more on that below), and the menu features fancy drinks such as a Yamazaki Whiskey Sour ($10), a Japanese Bloody Mary ($8) and the Ginger Martini ($8), which sounds like an enticing way to cleanse one’s palate. (Does the Ginger Martini contain a wasabi-filled olive?)

So we dug into some appetizers. At Japanese restaurants, I often order edamame reflexively, since simple soybeans in their pods make a quick ’n’ easy way to ward off hunger while waiting for the complicated stuff.

But Konnichiwa gives this tradition some kick with its Garlic Edamame ($4.50), which is sauteed in fresh garlic, soy sauce and lime. In addition to being delectable (and going well with my friend’s $2 draft of Stone IPA, or my $2 cup of wow-that’s-hot green tea), the edamame is served as hot as Godzilla’s breath.

So too was the Kara-age (“carry-oggy”) appetizer, also known as Japanese-style Fried Chicken ($6.50). Several pieces of finger-food-sized chicken were lean, not-at-all greasy, and steam wafted out of the bitten spots.

Chef/artist Junior made the plate presentation groovy—a large, creamy zigzag of spicy mayo was accented greenish-white pools of spicy wasabi with an orange-red center of hot Sriracha sauce. It was a shame to mess it up by dipping chicken into it, but we did anyway.

We glanced at the Sushi-Nigiri options, pausing to contemplate the Tobiko (Flying Fish Roe, $5), which I’ve decided should be named “cavi-air.” So now you know why I write restaurant reviews instead of comedy.

Instead we zeroed in on the menu’s highlights—the Specialty Rolls, which all run $12.50 to $14. The Jet Roll, Pizza Deluxe Roll, and Komodo Dragon Roll all seem to have their merits. Here’s an intelligence test: Can you guess which of the above is topped with pizza sauce?

We also considered the 4:20ish Roll, which costs $13.50ish. You might think the “4:20” refers to a drug-culture slang term for cannabis (not to be confused with “Section 420,” an Indian term for con artist). But then you’d be making an ageist, prejudicial assumption about Konnichiwa’s upstanding young staff.

As it turns out, the name refers to April 20, 2010, when the restaurant opened. (For its upcoming one-year anniversary, which falls on a Wednesday, the restaurant will feature specials and stay open till 2 a.m.)

But the Godzilla Roll ($14) was my final choice, and chef/artist Alfonso (nickname “Boogie”) delivered the point-and-shout-with-astonishment kind of impact you’d expect from the roll’s name.

Like the comic-book Godzilla, the roll was prominently green, and came with a side of bright green shredded soy paper resembling the stuff hanging out of Godzilla’s mouth.

In keeping with the monster’s enormous chompers, the roll’s cucumber, yamagobo (pickled carrot), shrimp and tempura fried whitefish provided a very satisfying crunch. Rounding out the ingredients were spicy tuna, avocado, eel sauce and spicy mayo.

So as I was saying earlier, per manager Catherine’s recommendation, we also got a Chef’s Special—a mystery selection not on the menu.

(SPOILER ALERT: It was “Eric’s Famous Dirty Vegas,” an elaborate creation that I nonetheless managed to hold together in spite of my all-thumb skills with chopsticks.)

Ingredients included softshell crab, spicy tuna, yamagobo, avocado and green onion. It was all topped with a bed of masago (roe, also known as fish eggs) that, viewed through restaurant’s natural sunlight, resembled burning embers. Because this roll was loaded with flavor, I reached for the low-sodium soy sauce (the green bottle, not the red bottle) to dilute the wasabi.

From start to finish, eating at Konnichiwa proved a fun and literally colorful experience. The staff have a marked enthusiasm for incorporating “play” into their work: Catherine says they often create whimisically theme-based sushi rolls based on current events, such as a “Charlie Sheen Roll” that contained various ingredients in “rock” and “line” form.

Audacious humor aside, the restaurant maintains a tasteful mood, with even the grungy, bass-driven rock music set at a medium volume that enhances rather than overwhelms atmosphere. My friend and I agreed that if Konnichiwa were in Hillcrest or Pacific Beach, it would be packed every day. In laid-back La Mesa, though, you can expect to find a seat with elbow room to spare.

The exception, says Catherine, is Friday nights, which become very busy, noisy and, well, more Godzilla-esque. The fresh oyster specials are popular, as are unusual chef creations like a martini glass “oyster shot” that also contains fresh uni (sea urchin) and a quail egg.

Patrons often wash these down with a $12 shot of Hibiki, a Japanese whiskey, among many other drinks. Or they continue their evenings at nearby bar The Regal, which is two storefronts away—that is, about the distance between Godzilla’s nostrils.