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Itsuki Restaurant
7127 Hollister Ave, Goleta
Phone: (805) 968-1838.
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Reviews by the General Public
Best value in sit-down sushi in town - and authentic too, 11/3/2014
Reviewer: Stacey
from Santa Barbara, CA
First of all I have to say: I have no idea what the reviewers below are talking about in regard to poor service. I eat at Itsuki with my family an average of twice per month and our service is perennially excellent. That means always great, for those of you with no dictionary. The food's top-notch too. Don't just go here for sushi - they do good sushi, with fresh fish and interesting specials - but make sure you also try the other items on the menu. As far as I know this is the only place in town to get takoyaki, for example... and who doesn't love eating octopus balls? (I can hear you now: they have those? Yes, they do. Try them.) Itsuki also has amaaaaaazing okonomiyaki, which is about the best thing ever on a chilly November night, especially with a nice cold beer or maybe some sake. See you there! Don't eat all my takoyaki.
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food is fine, please improve service!, 4/6/2014
Reviewer: john
from Goleta, CA
sometimes I feel Itsuki is daring me NOT to come back. the food is good. I go to get my charsu ramen fix. lately they have improved customer seating, they finally have a host managing seating on busy nights. no more "sign" in and hoping someone will see you waiting in a crowd by the door. unfortunately, after requesting the check had to wait over 20 minutes before I finally just went to the desk to pay. the staff are friendly and good natured, but most tend to be young and I think need some guidance. again, the food keeps me coming back. Itsuki, could be the best japanese option in Goleta, the service just needs some fine tuning. regarding the previous review describing the staff as "oriental looking". really? does anyone say "oriental" anymore. and could it be the staff in an asian restaurant looks asian because... they're ASIAN. yikes! this is 2014 right?
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Food fine service lousy, 3/24/2014
Reviewer: Sue
from Santa Barbara, CA
The food was okay have had better in downtown Santa Barbara, but the service was horrible. I have visited twice, both times there were not many people there but plenty of waiters, but even so we had to wait for service which makes no sense. My husband asked for the cleaning cloth that they put on your place be heated in the microwave but we never saw it back. One would think with so few people that the person waiting on us would have time to check up on us a lot but no we had to wait. My suggestion to management is that they train theirs waiters better, and also keep an eye on them because if they do not I believe that they will not last long at this location. It seemed to us that management where more interested in hiring oriental looking students rather than experienced wait people.
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Beef curry or curry with beef?, 3/22/2014
Reviewer: casb6969
from Santa Barbara, CA
i was there the other night and order beef curry .Totally disappointed. Very few tiny chunks of beef loaded with curry sauce! I wouldn't mind paying more if there is good portion of beef. It's not worth the price.
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Great food; more staff needed
Reviewer: Deb
from Goleta CA
We love Itsuki's new location. The food is still great, but it seems like they need more staff to accommodate the larger space. We were there on a busy Saturday night and the staff were clearing tables and seating people as fast as they could, but there was still a back-up. If they can get the staffing shortage worked out, there will be nothing to complain about!
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disappointed customers
Reviewer: Jenn
from Santa Barbara, CA
I went to Itsuki tonight with my husband and our daughter for dinner. It was about 830 on Sat night, and the place was half full, with several clean empty tables available. There was no host, just a wait list on which you personally wrote down your name, something I hadn't encountered before. We sat there by the front door for more than ten minutes, without a single word or acknowledgement from the multiple staff members who repeatedly walked by a few feet away. None made eye contact, said hello, smiled, or told us how long it might be, as we started to become uncomfortable. We've been to Itsuki at its old location, and really enjoyed it, so we were happy to see them reopen in Goleta and looking forward to some good food. Eventually we left and went to Little Saigon for noodles. Might give it another try someday, but with so many other places to go that make us feel welcome when we walk in the door, it won't be at the top of our list.
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New location retains its quality, value and personal touch
Reviewer: Hiro+Caroline
from Santa Barbara, CA
Itsuki’s new home is sleeker and a little less homespun than its predecessor, but the extensive menu offerings and reasonable prices remain. In addition to a wide variety of sushi, there is a tasty selection of hot entrees and noodle dishes (both hot and cold.) Not to be missed – Itsuki’s okonomiyaki (a scrumptious sort of Japanese frittata) that can serve as a meal in itself or would be great as a shared group appetizer. Health conscious diners may choose between white or brown rice and vegetarian options are available. Service can be a little slow, but is always very personable.
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Okay, but not the best Sushi
Reviewer: sylvie
from Santa Barbara, CA
I was hoping this restaurant would have decent sushi, unfortunately it did not live up to expectations. The rainbow roll was served with old tuna--very fishy. The deep fried California roll was bland. The Gyoza was okay, but looked like it was previously frozen. The decor is very comfortable, however not enticing enough for me to try again. I'll stick with Sushi Ai, Goleta Sushi house.
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Good Food and Nice People
Reviewer: Glenn
from Buellton
Great noodle soup bowls here. Crispy sushi really good also. The people are very nice here too. The service is good too. They do have a problem with seating people. There is no designated hostess, waittress, bus boy etc. They all seem to do everything and you need to catch one of their eyes to seat you it seems. They really need a more ordered system with dedicated roles to avoid some of the complaints below. I experienced the same thing at the old place. But all in all a good place to go for some top notch stuff. The decor is really nice too.
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Quintessential Japanese Food, Great People
Reviewer: simon c
from Santa Barbara, CA
First of all congratulations on a beautiful new location!!!! We have been enjoying Itsuki for years ( formerly on calle real). Itsuki is a great spot, great food and family run and owned. enjoy it and if there is something that they can improve on, maybe a little constructive criticism would be great (talk to the manager maybe???).
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Enjoyed the food - service is exceptionally slow
Reviewer: Lee
from Santa Barbara, CA
The food is really great, it is nice not to have to go all the way downtown for sushi made with fresh, quality fish. The only downside is the service. There are a lot of staff who are genuinely warm and welcoming, but their table coverage is very inefficient. A few nights ago we waited 30 minutes before anyone even came to take our drink order - we were seconds away from walking out. We then waited 10 more minutes for someone to take our meal orders, and 30 more minutes for our meals to arrive. Several groups that had entered later than us were well into their meals before we were even served. We also had to expend a lot of energy flagging someone down if we needed drink refills or our check. Itsuki seems like a decent restaurant, but won't last long if service is consistently substandard. We are really hoping the staff will receive additional training, or a manager will be put into place (there hasn't appeared to be a manager present lately).
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Service to be desired
Reviewer: Alan
from Goleta
I cannot review the food because we waited so long to be seated that we decided to leave. The restaurant was approaching half full when we walked up at lunch. There was a group of 4 in front of us. We all watched as the two waitresses hustled around the restaurant looking lost. After standing for 5 minutes, that party was finally seated and we were acknowledged. Then after 5 more minutes of waiting, we decided to leave. That caught their attention as they ran after us in the lot. Didn't help. I know that they were newly opened but, they were not a new restaurant - just a moved location. I was not impressed.
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