Sushi Bar Blue Fin on North El Camino Real in New Encinitas has served traditional Japanese sushi with Western-fusion accents since head chef Hideharu Saito launched the restaurant on January 30, 2007. Saito brings more than 30 years in the Japanese food industry to a menu blending classic nigiri and sashimi with fusion rolls, positioning the bar alongside the heritage-roasting approach at Pannikin Coffee & Tea as a long-tenured independent on the El Camino corridor. The lunch and dinner split-service format runs a midday bento-style menu of teriyaki and tempura combos before shifting to the full sushi bar program at evening service. The El Camino Real block places Sushi Bar Blue Fin within Encinitas's densest Asian-cuisine cluster, which extends to Thai Society Restaurant's Northern Thai kitchen in the same commercial strip. The restaurant holds a San Diego County Environmental Health score of 95 out of 100, with each teriyaki plate dressed in a house-made glaze reduced from soy, mirin, sake, and cane sugar on a low-heat simmer line.