Temaki Bar, located at 575 South Coast Highway 101, has been closed since a September 1 fire broke out in a back room of the restaurant, triggering an emergency response that brought additional firefighting crews to the busy downtown Encinitas corridor. Now, following weeks of closure and recovery, the Japanese-inspired restaurant is preparing to resume service with its signature hand rolls, sushi, sake, happy hour specials and popular monthly bingo nights.
As part of the reopening, Temaki is introducing a limited-time creation called The Phoenix, a nod to the mythical bird that rises from its own ashes. Priced at $10, the hand roll combines spicy tuna, tempura shrimp, spicy mayo, yuzu kosho and pickled jalapeños. From the restaurant's reopening on October 19 through October 31, all proceeds from Phoenix hand roll sales will be donated to the Encinitas Firefighter's Association, Local 3787, which represents the city's firefighters and supports their work in the community.
The charitable promotion is intended as a gesture of gratitude toward the Encinitas Fire & Marine Safety Department, whose crews responded to the September emergency. The restaurant is also using the reopening to thank the Encinitas community for the encouragement and support it received while its doors were closed.
"The past several weeks reminded us how lucky we are to be part of this community," reads a statement posted to Temaki's website. "The firefighters who responded moved quickly, and this roll is our way of saying thank you. We're also grateful to every guest who reached out while we were closed. Our team is ready to get back to bringing people together over sushi."
As previously reported by SanDiegoVille, the fire was reported at approximately 6:42pm on Monday, September 1, inside the restaurant's building along South Coast Highway 101. Responding firefighters discovered flames burning in a back room, but the building's automatic sprinkler system had already activated, helping contain the fire before it could spread more extensively.
A second alarm was requested, bringing additional personnel and equipment to the scene as crews worked to extinguish the flames and assess the building. The restaurant subsequently confirmed that everyone had escaped safely, although the incident forced an extended shutdown while the business evaluated the damage and worked toward reopening.
"Due to an unexpected fire, Temaki Bar will be temporarily closed while we assess the damage and work toward reopening safely," the restaurant announced on social media shortly after the incident. "Most importantly, we are incredibly grateful that everyone is safe."
At the time, the extent of the fire, smoke and potential sprinkler-related water damage had not been publicly detailed. The restaurant has not provided a comprehensive accounting of the repairs completed during the closure, and the cause of the blaze has not been established in the information released to SanDiegoVille.
The fire interrupted a nearly four-year run for Temaki, which opened in 2022 in an approximately 4,000-square-foot space previously occupied by EVE Vegan Eats. Las Vegas-based Clique Hospitality developed the Encinitas restaurant as an offshoot of its Tekka Bar Handrolls & Sake concept at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, bringing a contemporary Japanese hand roll experience to one of North County's most active dining corridors.
The original menu was developed under San Diego chef JoJo Ruiz, with an emphasis on seafood-filled hand rolls prepared and served immediately at the sushi counter. The concept embraces the Japanese tradition of eating temaki moments after preparation, while the rice remains warm and the seafood stays cold. The restaurant's 45-seat counter allows customers to watch chefs prepare hand rolls and nigiri to order.
Over the years, Temaki has expanded beyond its original hand roll-focused offerings to include sashimi, nigiri, specialty sushi rolls and other Japanese-inspired dishes. Its atmosphere also incorporates Encinitas' surf culture, including artwork celebrating professional surfer Rob Machado, while special events such as Surf Sessions have brought live music and community gatherings into the restaurant.
With the October 19 reopening, Temaki is bringing back several promotions that helped establish it as a casual destination for sushi, drinks and social gatherings.
The restaurant's weekday happy hour will return Monday through Thursday from 3 to 5pm, featuring a rotating selection of $4 to $5 food specials. Options include crispy spicy tuna rice bites, edamame with sea salt or spicy garlic soy, salmon and yellowtail hand rolls, tempura vegetable bites, seaweed salad, cucumber and avocado hand rolls, and a changing crunchy special of the month. Drink specials range from $6 to $8 and include house sake served hot or cold, draft beer, house wine and canned specialty beverages.
For lunchtime diners, Temaki's Quickie Lunch special will again offer any three hand rolls for $19 from 11am to 3pm daily. Customers can select from monthly specials and regular favorites such as spicy tuna, blue crab, salmon with cucumber, yellowtail with scallion and vegan avocado cucumber. The hand rolls are prepared to order and are available for dining at the sushi bar or takeout.
The restaurant will also revive Martini Thursdays, offering $7 martinis with a purchase. Available selections include lychee, dirty, lemon drop and espresso martinis.
One of Temaki's more unconventional promotions, its monthly bingo night, is scheduled to return on Monday, November 2, from 6 to 8pm, with subsequent events planned for the first Monday of each month. The event features five rounds of bingo, with winners choosing between a smaller prize wheel offering restaurant merchandise and sushi-themed gifts or a larger wheel with challenges and bigger prizes.
Among the advertised grand prizes are a trip to Las Vegas and a one-night stay at The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe. Bingo participants can also take advantage of $6 draft wine, beer and sake, along with $8 Mexican sake bombs made with Solento Organic Tequila.
The reopening comes as downtown Encinitas continues to evolve into one of San Diego County's busiest coastal dining districts, with restaurants and bars clustered along South Coast Highway 101. Temaki's return restores a prominent sushi destination to the corridor after an extended absence and provides an opportunity for customers to directly support the firefighters who responded to the emergency.
For Temaki, the Phoenix hand roll carries a particularly fitting name, representing both the restaurant's recovery from the September blaze and its appreciation for the first responders who helped make the reopening possible.
Temaki Bar: Handroll, Sushi, Sake will reopen Monday, October 19, at 575 South Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas. Regular operating hours will be 11am to 9pm Sunday through Thursday and 11am to 10pm Friday and Saturday. The Phoenix hand roll fundraiser will continue through Saturday, October 31. For more information and reservations, visit TemakiBarSushi.com.
Originally published on October 15, 2026.
