A sushi chef with over 28 years of experience, Jun Park has been the owner of Watsonville’s favorite Sushi QU for the last decade. Born in Korea, he moved to San Jose to attend college, starting his culinary career there part-time before deciding to make it his life’s work. He moved to Santa Cruz and landed at Sushi QU, first as an employee, who then became the owner. Park defines his restaurant as modern-style with traditional décor, an ambiance that gives a warm emotional feeling set off by a peaceful, quaint bamboo-themed patio.
Beyond traditional Japanese and sushi favorites, the menu also features a handful of diverse Californian and American touches. Recommended appetizers are classically crunchy all-things tempura, a fried jalapeño with spicy tuna and cream cheese called the Dragon Eye, and deep-fried mushrooms topped with crab salad, cream cheese and torched mozzarella cheese.
Delivered daily the could-not-be-fresher fish can be enjoyed in sashimi and nigiri, as well as headlining rolls like the California that combines shrimp tempura, cucumber, avocado, crab salad, salmon and tobiko, the Green Belly with tuna and salmon underneath sliced avocado and sriracha, and the Latino with chicken, cream cheese, avocado and jalapeño.
Other entrée favorites are chicken teriyaki, chicken katsu and tonkatsu, as well as udon and ramen options. For dessert, green tea ice cream and mochi make for a traditional finish and available beverages are beer, wine, sake and tea.
What so inspires you about sushi?
JUN PARK: I love being able to use my creativity and apply it to sushi, I think of myself as an artist to design the plates and rolls. I have a lot of passion for how our food is visually presented and I want it to be appealing to the eye. And with the flavors, I love eating sushi and especially sashimi, I love the fresh taste and also the tender texture.
What are your service goals at Sushi QU?
Our mindset here is that we pretend that we are serving food to our own families, thinking of guests as family members. We are very friendly and pride ourselves on that warm and personal style of service. We have many regulars with diverse backgrounds and are proud to be a Japanese-style family restaurant serving the wonderful Watsonville community.
Sushi QU
952 East Lake Avenue, Watsonville, 831-319-4567; instagram.com/sushiquwatsonville
