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Arigato Sushi
1225 State St, Santa Barbara
Phone: (805) 965-6074
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Reviews by the General Public
Sashimi ripoff, 2/7/2010
Reviewer: Pete
from Santa Barbara, CA
I really do like this restaurant. But last night, I had a bad experience. Sashimi is not supposed to be paper thin slices that fall apart with your chop stick. Certainly not for $15 or more. Normal sashimi is more like 3/8" thick slices. Got some lame reason about the type or cut of fish (yellowtail) required a smaller slice. On top of that, we ordered six slices and we got five. When we called it out to the chef, he was rather unapologetic. I wish we had just handed the plate back to him and said no thanks. I would be surprised if we got even one ounce of fish. This restaurant is expensive enough. A bad experience like this makes it hard to want to return.
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Happiness is Arigato , 11/29/2009
Reviewer: Joanna Feldstein
from Santa Barbara, CA
I have been dining at Arigato for the last ten years and I am NEVER disappointed. The food is always incredibly fresh and delicious. The chefs are extremely talented and consistently create wonderful and innovative dishes. The staff is attentive and personable and I am always extremely satisfied with the service. The manager is very charming and welcoming and adds to the dining experience. I have had sushi all over the world and nothing compares to Arigato. I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who enjoys truly great sushi.
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Owner is RUDE!, 11/23/2009
Reviewer: Aimee
from Santa Barbara, CA
Unfortunately, I love the sushi at Arigato. However, the owner (male) has been rude to the customers on more then one occasion. The first time this happened to me, I chalked it up to him having a bad day. But it happened again this weekend- where he was utterly rude, pretentious, and not customer service oriented in any way. I love the sushi there, but will start going to other restaurants for a while...
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6 stars for Service, 10/5/2009
Reviewer: Cathya
from Santa Barbara, CA
I went there last week and I had a little accident, spill soy sauce all over my top. I was happily surprised when less than 2 minutes later, I didn't even ask for help, but the manager approached to our table and gave me an extra napkin and some sake to get the stain off my clothes! That's what I call excellent Customer Service, he was aware of everything going in the restaurant and in this case was able to rescue me.
Food excellent as always and also his recommendation on the carpaccio.
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For those who know the difference - over rated, 8/5/2009
Reviewer: Rebbe
from Santa Barbara, CA
The sushi is deff. ok. I would say it is over priced for average tasting sushi. Service is not good nor bad, you get your meal (then again I am European so I do not expect as high of a standard as Americans).
I would say the restaurant has succeeded with their PR for the place. If you know good sushi, and ONLY go by your taste buds and not the location nor the looks (-appealing and always full)etc. then you might get disapointed. It is somewhat of a trend going there, if that is what you are looking for then this is the place for you.
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Hilarious, 7/17/2009
Reviewer: A P C
from Santa Barbara, CA
My co-workers and I were actually at Arigato sitting right next to the review below, but we had a completely different experience. The 4 of us spent about $110 on rolls and small plates like the Locals Only. There was absolutely nothing negative about it, everything was wonderful. They had menu items I'd never had at a Japanese restaurant before, or at all, like the Foie Gras, flying fish roe, kampachi and geoduck. I was ecstatic. It was probably one of my favorite restaurant outings of all time.
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Thank you but NO thank you, 6/15/2009
Reviewer: Chris
from Santa Barbara, CA
Wow i was disappointed. To start we ordered edamamme (spelling?) which was great. Cooked with garlic and tasted good. Then we ordered "locals only" a scallop dish that was at best alright. Then came the sushi rolls. We ordered a "dracula roll" which when it came tasted like the fish was fresh from 2 weeks ago. Then we ordered california sunset. First they brought out some other roll. Then they brought out a california roll. Both times we told the waitress that wasnt what we ordered. When the correct food finally came it was tastless except for the tuna which tasted bad. Simply put, not a place that i will go back to. Not to mention the service was horrid and they charged my credit card more than the bill.. I recommend that the staff of arigato lower their prices and buy fresh sushi.
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Superior quality for those who know the difference, 5/29/2009
Reviewer: Jason Rothschild
from Tampa, FL
First, high quality sushi has everything to do with the fish, not what they can put into a roll. Arigato has some of the finest sushi I've had, on par with Sushi Yasuda in NYC - one of the most highly regarded restaurants in that city. The uni was amazing, possibly the best anywhere. Yes, the nigiri pieces are smallish - but bigger than Yasuda. There's a reason for that - there should be a balance between rice and fish and the piece should be the right size for one bite. There was a great selection of interesting rolls, so even non-hardcore sushi lovers will surely enjoy it. Price was on par for what you'd expect for high quality, not overboard. If you want cheap sushi go to the grocery store. Really amazing. Sit at the bar - we had amazingly attentive service.
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You have to pay for quality, 5/27/2009
Reviewer: Tony
from Santa Barbara, CA
What an experience...Just awesome food. Understand when you eat at Arigato's that it isn't about quantity, it's about quality. I took a friend here for his B-Day and we spent $200 for the two of us. Understand that we didn't hold back, we can both eat a lot of food and our bar tab was a significant portion of the bill. Because of the price I won't be eating here weekly but when I'm ready to step up and do something special I can't imagine going somewhere else.
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To The Guy Below, 5/20/2009
Reviewer: Mike
from Santa Barbara, CA
If you had Subway after getting sushi you are a joke.
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Not really worth it, 4/23/2009
Reviewer: Brian
from Santa Barbara, CA
I spent $60 on dinner for two. And what did I do when we left the restaurant? Went to Subway for a footlong sub. Not only did it taster better, but I only had to spend $6. If you want sushi that's worth the price, tastes better, and comes adult sized portions, try Kyoto, East, or even Something's Fishy or Edomasa. Ordering three rolls at any one of these places has always been enough for two (we ordered four at Arigato).
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WOW OVERATED, 4/3/2009
Reviewer: Logan
from Santa Barbara, CA
I have allways heard the best sushi in toen is either here or Sakana. I have always gone to Sakana and i decided to try arigato. Everybody says how great the food is.But i think it is average. The service is terible. They gave us wasabi on are sushi when we asked for no wasabi. And the Waitress dissapered. I say stick to Sakana.
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Amazing, 2/21/2009
Reviewer: Kevin
from Santa Barbara, CA
I've been to a lot of Japanese restaurants around the world, and especially in California, and I can safely say this is in one of my top 3 sushi experiences.
Even in the middle of February, everything tasted fresh, in season, and most importantly delicious. Yeah it's a little pricey, but for what you get, it is high-class eating.
I highly recommend any of the salmon sashimi dishes, or the eskimo roll. Be prepared to spend 20-30 per person.
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ALWAYS the best sushi in town!
Reviewer: Sarah
from Santa Barbara, CA
I had dinner at Arigato on Saturday night. We began our meal with the "Locals Only" appetizer which is always amazing. The sushi rolls we ordered were very tasty and exactly what I was looking for. The yellowtail was so fresh and definitely the best in town.
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Arigato is comfort food to sushi lovers
Reviewer: Dustin
from Goleta, California
First, I've been all over the world and experienced Sushi from Hawaii to Okinawa. Arigato is easily the best sushi place I've visited thus far in North America, and that's saying something.
While I've not had the best service while seated at tables, the perfect service review comes from a simple truth...sushi bars are best experience AT the bar. Also, the place is always packed, so give the wait staff a break. They're working a lot of tables.
The portions are just right. If you're ordering nigiri and expect it to be massive, you're at the wrong establishment. The Gold Shot is a great way to start your dinner, and everything else is fantastic. My wife, who is not a sushi fan at all, loves the kobe beef plate and plum wine sherbert.
Finally, the sushi bar staff are the best I've ever had, anyplace. I'd name names, but I'm still trying to remember them all and I'd feel like a jerk if I left anyone out. They go above and beyond to take care of my wife and I, and they all work together so well that you cant help but enjoy being at the bar watching things come together.
Again, the food is ridiculously good. I've never left let down.
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Great food, but bad service
Reviewer: Heather
from Santa Barbara, CA
The food is fabulous, but the service is terrible. The waiters forgot parts of the order, were slow and brought the food out at varying times. I really enjoy the food, but the portions have decreased. Overall I would go back again, but only because I have yet to find a better sushi restaurant in Santa Barbara.
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Arigato is great!
Reviewer: Nicole
from Santa Barbara, CA
We arrived around 5:45 and I was shocked to see how packed the place was already. The portion sizes were perfect...it is sushi we are talking about. I loved the hand rolled California Roll. When we wanted to keep adding on to our order, the staff were friendly and attentive (without being overbearing) and the food came out quickly. I was pleasantly surprised at how "kid friendly" they are also. My 3 year old said that she wants to go there every week.
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This place is great
Reviewer: Gary
from Santa Barbara
I lived in Santa Barbara for 3 years and eat here at least once a week. Most people complain about the size of the portions but personally I hate it when the rolls are to big. Lets face it, this isnt McDonnalds. The service is great, always with a smile. If you enjoy the company of your family waiting for 5 minutes shouldn’t be a problem. The Atmosphere is awesome, sushi is the best in Santa Barbara (i have been to everyplace within a 20 miles). You will enjoy!
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Wonderful Staff. Food was way overpriced!
Reviewer: Wee Wong
from Goleta, Ca
I went here with my wife because we knew someone that worked there. The service was wonderful. The staff was very nice and attentive. However, the food is way overpriced. I don't mind spending the dough if the food is worth it. However, I ordered the Chicken Teriyaki dish. For 20+ dollars, I got 1/4 cup of mashed potatoes, 4 strips of ring finger size of chicken breast, 1/8 cup of spinach and fried spouts on top. Sure presentation was fine but for that price across the street at Kai you can get 3x the food at a slightly higher quality. Sorry I understand this is Santa Barbara... American Riviera but that doesn't entitle restaurants to rip customers off.
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I am happy to go somewhere that appreciates my business
Reviewer: Shelby
from Santa Barbara
My Wife, Son and I loved this place. We go at least twice a month. Just my wife and I went this past Saturday night around 545pm. They had just opened at 530 and were seating the first diners. we were sat at our fav table outside in the corner. We sat there for 5 minutes with no one coming to to say "Hi" or asking if we wanted something to drink. I walked up to the Hostess table and gentley asked if anyone knew we were out there (There were other diners outside). Hostess said they should know but will have someone come out right away. I rejoined my wife and waited. We waited another 5 minutes. No one came. We left and had a wonderful dinner at ELEMENTS.
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smallest nigiri
Reviewer: yui
from Santa Barbara
The rolls were really nice and I really like the mood in the restaurant. BUT I was so surprised how TINY TINY TINY the nigiri (especially Ika) were.
That was too stingy, CODO.
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