Discover Express Lunch at Café Japengo in La Jolla

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The ever evolving debate between long and express lunch has baffled business minds throughout the decades. To relax, or not to relax?

Stress and sacrifice no more. Café Japengo in La Jolla invites San Diego to rediscover express lunch. With renowned sushi and a fusion of Japanese cuisine in a spacious bamboo and stone washed setting, Café Japengo reinvents fast lunch in San Diego with fine fare and an elegant milieu, under an hour.

The Aventine is a La Jolla landmark of business prestige and commercial class. In addition to various options within the University Town Center mall, outside office doors awaits Blue Coral Seafood & Spirits, Flemings Steakhouse and Wine Bar, and Café Japengo. As neighboring La Jolla restaurants and boutique shops change face, Café Japengo stands strong. Chefs shift and rolls evolve, but the core of Café Japengo outstays sojourn--with a portfolio of excellence dating back to 1990.

Café Japengo's unassuming exterior welcomes diners into an ambient defined by sleek lines and modern comfort. Warm earth tones pair with soft corner palms and subdued spot lighting. The off-set concrete walls further open the spacious dining room as cozy, modern décor reconnects with an intimate feel. Dining at Japengo, guests are never numbers; large tables, wide walkways and high ceilings demand space, transporting guests into the limelight of personalized hospitality.

The cocktail lounge and sushi bar transform the Japengo tone into an energetic aroma of urban renewal mixed with exotic attitude. Black and tan escape bland with natural drifts of bamboo and an oversized Asian-inspired caricature. Although not frequented by the young sake-bombing crusade, Café Japengo does radiate with a hip vibe, bringing the spontaneity out of the suit. But not during lunch hour, of course.

Lunchtime at Café Japengo is summed up by two words: Bento Box. Café Japengo reinvents express lunch with creative sushi rolls and fine Japanese fusion expertly paired and condensed into four easy-to-order easy-to-eat lunch boxes, if you will. The Bento Box evokes the simplicity of a lunch box, but offers unique pairings and an assortment of flavors.

You've been in the office all day, scanning through e-mails, analyzing business plans, ignoring cubical drama--lunch is the last thing you should worry about. Keep lunch simple with four varieties of Bento Boxes at Café Japengo. The original express menu of Bento Boxes provides San Diego with an upscale alternative to fast food. Why sacrifice quality for speed, or speed for quality? Rediscover express lunch at Café Japengo.

Tengu Bento Box
Assorted sashimi, BBQ salmon, char su pork, sugar-spice prawns, tempura California roll

Japengo Bento Box
Prawn salad, BBQ salmon, char su duck breast, Tokyo bites, kim chee crab salad

Japengo Vegetable Bento Box
Fried tofu, mushroom asparagus risotto cake, peanut noodle salad, grilled vegetables, sun-dried tomato roll

Japengo Sushi Barrel
Ebi, sake, hamachi, maguro, albacore, California roll, spicy tuna roll

Café Japengo Bento Boxes also enable lunch-goers to taste the best of both chefs. Executive Chef Timothy "Jay" Payne and Executive Sushi Chef Jerry Warner intertwine for lunchtime, pairing Warner's acclaimed rolls with Payne's innovative fusion concepts.

New to Japengo, Executive Chef Payne blends Asian concepts with Mediterranean and French flavor, introducing a new era of fusion cuisine. Payne is a San Diego native with local culinary experience at the San Diego Yacht Club and the Fairbanks Ranch Country Club.

Executive Sushi Jerry Warner is no new name in San Diego. Instrumental to Café Japengo's acclaim, Jerry Warner has received Best Sushi in San Diego for eight consecutive years.

Café Japengo's central location appeals to businessmen and women across the county from Del Mar to Downtown. Escape the monotony of pre-made salads and sandwiches and refuse to sacrifice gourmet for to-go. Visit Café Japengo to rediscover express lunch in San Diego. Simply pick a Bento Box and savor the flavors within minutes.

Use the hour and treat yourself to upscale Japanese cuisine at Café Japengo in La Jolla. The quiet exterior unveils energy within. But remember to embrace Japengo culture at your own risk. If you choose to exceed your hour, we won't tell.