Sebastian Sevilla is the Executive Sushi Chef of Temaki Bar, a recent addition to the Highway 101 strip in Encinitas. The Chula Vista native has spent over ten years perfecting his craft and specializes in hand roll sushi, which is not as common as it sounds. While a lot of sushi is rolled – and some by hand – Sevilla’s unique hand rolls are designed to be eaten as soon as he hands them to you.
Chef Sebastian Sevilla
“Each hand roll you order, is coursed out,” Sevilla explained. “So when you receive each hand roll, you should eat it within the first 30 seconds so it’s crispy on the outside, warm on the inside – cold fish – and it eats completely different that if you had a hand roll that’s been sitting there for say a minute. So that’s a big part of this concept, you know? Introducing sushi in a traditional aspect because Tamaki means hand roll, right? So we definitely pay homage to that tradition, while offering new California flavors.”
Sevilla’s Southern Californian upbringing has made him an aficionado for all things spicy, but that does not mean that he has abandoned the formal and traditional roots of true Japanese sushi. Luckily for him, he was able to receive that training right here in San Diego.
“Traditionally, people would go to Japan. Luckily – by the time I started learning – a lot of the chefs from Japan had migrated to the U.S. My sensei James Hanzo Evans was born in Japan and came over to the U.S. on a naval base and I learned from him. But California sushi is a real thing! There’s a lot of Baja vibes here – I myself, grew up in Chula Vista – so there’s a lot of spice and stuff. And that’s what I grew up eating; I didn’t grow up eating the traditional Edomae-style sushi. So I translated that from what I learned and I just kind of evolved – and my philosophy is that I’m forever a student.”
Sevilla was able to obtain a head sushi chef position at Lionfish Downtown for six years under Chef JoJo Ruiz. In 2022, both chefs brainstormed the idea for Temaki Bar, a downscaled sushi bar that felt more like a beach bar than a traditional sushi place. Temaki Barfeatures all sorts of beach art and imagery combined with Asian pieces and architecture. The bar is the main feature and is huge, encouraging guests to come sit with the chefs. In fact, there are no tables until later at night when some are brought out. At that point, the lights come down and the music comes up for a totally different kind of vibe.
Huge roll-up doors are open during the day to draw in that ocean air, as well as welcome people to pop in. People walking by can clearly see in, and Sevilla says that creates an inviting atmosphere that lets the beach lovers recognize that this is not your typical sushi bar, but actually a fun beach hangout. And Sevilla promises to push the envelope by adding new spices as well as influences to keep Temaki Bar visitors coming back to see what’s new.
“New cuisines inspire me you know? I’m a big fan of Korean food, so going from traditional Japanese food to Korean is somewhat unheard of, and now it’s very much a thing. So I’m super happy to have that inspiration and fire in me continuously growing.”
TemakiBarSushi.com
