Welcome to the corner of University and Fifth avenues, in the heart of Hillcrest. To be more specific, welcome to 501 University Ave., home of Dashi, a Japanese restaurant that chef and co-owner Aristides Fernández-Pinto hopes will pique the interest of Japanese food lovers and have them coming back for more.
The location has been home to many restaurants, including, most recently, Zzan and Tokyo Ramen, both Asian restaurants, and the Mexican restaurant Don Cabron Tacos & Chelas. Now it’s home to Dashi, a labor of love for Fernández-Pinto and his business partners, Hiroshi Tokairin and Vee Soukhaseum.
For Fernández-Pinto, known to friends and family as “Ari,” opening his own restaurant has been “a long time in the making.” Dashi quietly opened late last summer at one of the busiest corners in Hillcrest, an area chock full of restaurants, cafes and bars.
But Dashi’s story — and the sacrifices that led to it finally becoming a reality — started about 20 miles to the south at the U.S.-Mexico border when Fernández-Pinto, now 36, was just 18 years old.
San Diego, CA – February 4: Aristides Fernandez-Pinto of the new sushi restaurant Dashi in Hillcrest on February 4, 2026 in San Diego, CA. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
After graduating from high school, “I would take the bus from TJ to the border, get across the border and take the trolley to get to Mission Valley,” recalls Fernández-Pinto, who was born in Chula Vista but moved to Mexico at the age of 3. “I would have to wake up at 4 a.m. to be in school by 7 a.m.”
“School” was the culinary school at the Art Institute of California-San Diego on Mission Valley Road. That’s where he learned the art of cooking and fell in love with it. So much so that jobs since have always been in the dining industry, with a specific focus on Japanese cuisine. His first job was just up the street from Dashi at Sushi Itto, a once-popular Japanese restaurant that is now closed.
“I was a busboy, and that’s where I fell in love with sushi,” he says. “I really wanted to make sushi, but they never gave me the chance.”
Shortly after, he saw an ad on Craigslist. It was an ad placed by the owner of Sushiya — none other than his current business partner, Tokairin, who now also owns Ototo Sushi Co. in Clairemont and Liberty Station.
Fernández-Pinto worked at Sushiya in Point Loma for only two years — 2010 to 2012 — but they were two very meaningful and memorable years.
“Hiro gave me my first sushi apprentice job back in 2010,” he says. “I went there, and I told him I had no sushi experience but that I am willing to learn.”
He left Sushiya but later reconnected with Tokairin when the latter needed a head chef for one of his other restaurants.
“He gave me my first job ever, making sushi,” says Fernández-Pinto, who now lives in Chula Vista.
In the years leading up to Dashi, Fernández-Pinto worked with some of San Diego’s most prominent chefs, including the late Anthony Sinsay at Harney Sushi, John Hong at Hidden Fish and Takahiro Hoshikawa at Komatsuya.
At Dashi, Fernández-Pinto is the head chef, with an assist in the kitchen from, among others, co-owner Soukhaseum. Tokairin, who’s worked as a sushi chef before, primarily works behind the scenes, juggling Dashi with his own sushi restaurants. Together, along with a staff of 15, they are making dreams come true.
Sashimi salad at Dashi in Hillcrest. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
“I think in the two weeks before we opened, I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat,” Fernández-Pinto remembers. “I was just very nervous. Everyone said, ‘It’s gonna be fine. We’ll be fine.’ But I just didn’t know if people were going to show up.”
He was pleasantly surprised: “Within three or four weeks after we opened, we already had regulars — people who came back three or four times.”
Tokairin had qualms about the location — he was concerned about the homeless and parking. Those problems never really materialized. People still showed up — and still do.
But first and foremost, he never lost sleep over Fernández-Pinto’s ability to open a restaurant that the community would love.
“I wasn’t really worried about it much because I know Ari — his skill level and his passion,” said Tokairin, who lives in Encinitas.
Fernández-Pinto’s skill is evident in every dish that comes out of the kitchen and into the dining room, which seats 40 inside, with about eight more available outside at a newly added patio. Its no-frills decor matches the restaurant’s laidback vibe, but all that belie the culinary artistry that comes out of the kitchen.
Yellowtail with gochujang glaze and crispy negi at Dashi in Hillcrest. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
“We want a place that the community can be proud of,” Soukhaseum says. “A place you could come in for good food and good service. We’re not trying to be pretentious. We’re not trying to do anything other than serving food that we love and would enjoy to eat. We just kind of elevate it a little bit, add our own little twist to it but still keep it affordable.”
During two separate visits, both on weeknights, the dining room was packed, with diners lined up at the door. The menu has Japanese restaurant staples like chicken teriyaki, sashimi and chicken karaage. But it also boasts unique dishes that reflect regional flavors and influences from other Asian cuisines.
Soukhaseum, who moved to the United States from Thailand as a child, points out that their diverse ethnic backgrounds have influenced many items on the menu. There is a Cambodian-style skewer marinated in lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and seven-seed spice similar to Chinese five-spice. Elsewhere on the menu, coconut and tamarind flavors mingle, producing fusion-style flavors that push dishes just to the edge, enough to be daring but not too much to alienate diners.
“We want to continue to evolve,” says Soukhaseum, who added they hope to add more fusion-infused dishes to the menu.
There’s the flavorful mango coconut ceviche, with sesame shrimp crackers ($14). The grilled wagyu skewers, $16 for two pieces, were a savory surprise, with a tangy accompaniment of yuzu pepper sauce. The miso butter mac and cheese is a flavor bomb, with sautéed mushrooms and corn ($15). For another $10, make it a lobster mac and cheese.
For sashimi lovers, Dashi doesn’t disappoint. The Omakase Sashimi is a 20-piece chef’s choice. It’s sure to delight the eyes and tastebuds. Come hungry or with a friend — it’s a lot of seafood for $58.
Fernández-Pinto knows he’s come a long way since those days of taking the trolley to Mission Valley before sunrise. He can rest easy knowing all that sacrifice paid off.
What does his mother, who raised him in Tijuana as a single mom, think of all this?
“She’s very proud,” he says. “She cried when it first opened. She was crying and hugged me, even though we hadn’t even accomplished anything yet.”
“We still have so much to go,” Fernández-Pinto says now, eight months later. “This is just the beginning.”
Vee Soukhaseum, left, Aristides Fernandez-Pinto and Hiroshi Tokairin are co-partners of Dashi in Hillcrest. K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Dashi
Address: 501 University Ave., San Diego
Phone: 619-960-2045. For now, reservations can only be made by phone.
Online: dashisd.com