Kaito Sushi, a women-owned Edomae-style sushi bar in New Encinitas, has served Tokyo-tradition nigiri and omakase coursework from its North El Camino Real counter since 2005. Head sushi chef Kazuo Morita trained in Tokyo beginning at age 18 and has worked the San Diego sushi circuit since 1986, bringing a seasonal sourcing discipline that rotates the fish case by market availability rather than fixed menu — a philosophy shared by the ingredient-driven Italian kitchen at Firenze Trattoria on South Coast Highway 101. The restaurant relocated to its current 130-A North El Camino Real address in April 2008, converting a compact storefront into a sushi bar, heated patio, and izakaya-format small-plate counter. Morita's omakase builds course each plate around the peak-season protein — ranging from kinmedai and uni to domestic toro — a chef's-choice format distinct from the health-driven whole-food plates at Lotus Cafe & Juice Bar in the Lumberyard Shopping Center on the 101. The kitchen holds a San Diego County Environmental Health score of 95 out of 100, with the sushi program cutting fish on a Japanese hinoki cypress board using yanagiba single-bevel blades ground to a 15-degree edge.