Arigato Sushi

Wandered in 20 min before closing on a sunday night, they were about half full - food was decent but not amazing - good vegan/veg item selection - highlights: salmon sashimi, black cod, eel roll and magic mushroom roll I set my portion expectation meter to "sushi" but I was still a bit surprised at the cost per food ratio. Maybe I forgot to factor in the location Bonus points for the real candle adorning each table. I hate fake candles Minus points for some plate wetness No parking on state street

We love it, cozy place. I was really surprised with the food, especially with the vegan options. We ordered a bunch of food, because we simply can’t get enough lol. Every single time we walked by it was packed, so i recommend reservations.

This restaurant came highly recommended by the concierge in our hotel. It did not disappoint in taste but portions were definitely too small for what we are used to. I would have given another star of the portions were proportionate to the cost of each dish. We ordered a variety of rolls, sashimi and the soft shell crab was my fave.

Came here for a special occasion and was not disappointed. We sat in the smaller upper balcony, and was nice and quiet compared to downstairs. It was quite a busy weekend night so it took a while for our server to come back around to us. Once he was here he was very attentive and helpful. We mainly ordered sashimi and sushi, without any specialty rolls, and the quality and taste of the fish was great. Hand rolls were delicious.

We were in Santa Barbara on New Year's Day so dinner options were limited. Arigato Sushi was open so we decided to try their chirashi bowl, swinging veggie sushi roll, and green tea-ramisu. We called in an order for take out which was slightly painful because we initially ordered a salad but they called us back to inform us they had NO salads available so we had to quickly pick another item. The pick up process was fine and one thing to note is that they have both indoor and outdoor seating and their outdoor patio is dog friendly. Overall, I thought the sushi was good but not worth the price. The fish in the chirashi was fresh, but the sashimi pieces felt small for $36. The swinging veggie roll was fun and good but it wasn't clear from the menu that it's a tempura fried roll. The green tea-ramisu wasn't anything special and felt very expensive ($12) for the small size. I think this is a decent sushi spot but be prepared for a pricey meal.

Delicious, yet pricey Japanese restaurant located in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara. Everything we ordered was made with fresh ingredients. Soft and buttery pieces of fish with the nagiri felt like they melted in my mouth and the sushi was exquisite.

Really great sushi! Had lots of great nigiri options and different type of rolls!

Nice patio seating. Always nice weather in Santa Barbara to be sitting outside. Uni was fresh and sweet. DELICIOUS!!! All the food was fresh. Service was good. Food came out fast but promptly as we finish each dish. A bit pricey but well worth it.

A huge Arigato to this place because my family and I genuinely enjoyed everything -- from the dining experience, service, and delicious food. We wanted to have a nice dinner for my sister's college graduation and reserved this place a month in advance. We even confirmed the day before and they picked up the phone relatively quick! I'd recommend reserving, especially if you're a large group. We were immediately brought to our seats and asked for our drinks. Waters and tea were brought within minutes. The menu itself has both simple and unique options. They have the familiar rolls like the Tiger Roll and other options like the crusted sushi called Bonfire Roll. They also offer Sashimi combinations and a good amount of fish available -- from Bluefin Toro to Yellowtail. There's even more filling options like their Yakitori (barbecue chicken) and Poke Bowl. I will say that the prices here on the steeper side, but they do make up for it in the quality of their fish and service. Our waiter made us feel like we were never forgotten despite how busy the restaurant was! I haven't experienced that in a while, so it was so nice whenever they would fill our waters or refill our tea with hot water. One thing we couldn't stop talking about was how fresh their fish was. My dad's fancy poke bowl had melt in your mouth salmon and the ratio of fish to rice in the Tekka Maki was just chef's kith! Notable Favorites: - Bonfire Roll: flavorful, I miss her - Poke Bowl: a bit too much rice, but beautiful presentation and good amount of salmon - Yakitori: tender, just a small amount of two sticks - Tekka Maki: look at that fish amount

Arigato Sushi was a welcoming place that left us feeling disappointed. While the flavors were good, the value was not matched in its pricing. My friend and I have been wanting sushi for a minute and decided to try somewhere new. Because of the rave reviews and nice pics, we headed over to this spot. We were quickly seated and go to take our orders. We got a tiger roll to share, my friend got the banzai, and I got the jalapeño hamachi. When the first roll came out, we were visually shocked. It was so incredibly small! For $19, we got a sad 8 pieces of sushi that I wouldn't even consider an entire bite per piece. From the sizing, we would have to eat 2 pieces at once to equal your typical speciality roll sized piece. The flavor however was good, but this shared roll vanished in a matter of 2 minutes. When our second rolls came out, it was the same situation; small size, good flavor. Both our rolls had hamachi in them. Fresh fish, but the searing of fish again was not work $18. Again, the rolls disappeared quite fast. We were in and out of the restaurant in 20 minutes, and had to go somewhere else after to get full. For over $60, we were honesty upset and still starving. If you are actually hungry for a meal, do not come here. Again, good flavor, bad portions.

This place is soooo good. Been to Arigato a few times now (incl tonight) during visits to my home town. Excellent food (Otoro as good as I've had outside of Japan), service and vibe.

I have traveled extensively, and I am married to a Japanese lady who loves sushi as well and this was delish. Prices are a little steep, and it can sometimes be hard to get a table but overall this place delivers. You can sit outside or inside and the service is good wherever you sit. Even though it was a cool night, they were able to turn on the heaters for my family and I to enjoy the meal. This is a must go restaurant if you can afford it.

Been coming here for over 25 years now and the deliciousness, the wonderful service and the amazing family here at Arigato continues to be a second home! The fusion dishes are excellent and sauces delectable, the sashimi and nigiri is cut to perfection and melt in your mouth! The spot is friendly warm, unpretentious and whether you're outside on the patio in the gorgeous SB air or sitting at the bar, the vibe never disappoints! Give Fumiay, Daryl, Takashi, Andrew, and Demetrio our love, we'll see y'all next week

We pulled into Santa Barbara late but Arigato was more than willing to accommodate us. Loved that they had Sapporo Black, miso soup was super flavorful as well. What really stood out to me though was the mushroom roll. I'm a big fish person and usually don't bother with the vegetarian rolls but this had exceptional texture and flavor, very different and felt like I was still eating a traditional sushi roll. Also had a few spicy rolls that were just as good. We only had one night but we will be back!

Great sushi spot in downtown Santa Barbara! The sushi combo was great with a nice variety of nigiri and the California roll made with snow crab was unique and delicious! The specialty rolls are good as well, but a bit on the pricey side.

Where is my 6th star? The freshest fish and most amazing sauces you will find in town. There is a gold oyster shot I simply cannot resist.

Cute ambiance, in a very touristy spot. Very pricey, the sashimi was paper thin. Kinda disappointed in the portion size. Flavor was good. Several of the rolls were weird. Texture, flavor off, I would not go back.

Have come here a couple of times, the outdoor patio has a great atmosphere right along state street but I continue to be disappointed with the quality of the sushi. The potstickers were great, savory and crispy. However the spider and shrimp tempura rolls fell short for us. The crab meat was grainy and overall had a strong fishy odor, while the shrimp was rubbery and not appetizing. Wish we had better experiences here, but there are plenty of other options on the menu depending on your preferences.

Celebrated our three year anniversary here! Did not make a reservation but was able to get seated very quickly. We were seated outside and it was pretty cold so we had asked to have the heaters turned on. They were having trouble with turning on the heaters but kept working on it till they got it on. The sushi was so delicious and the ingredients were so fresh. Such a nice place to celebrate a milestone. All of the workers were very attentive and made sure we were taken care of.

7 years later from my first review and i still love arigato! The fish is fresh. They don't use imitation crab. The rolls are unique and delicious! The service is great. I love sitting at the bar and watching the action. Last week I enjoyed the carpaccio, pacific rim roll, and the banzai roll. I also love the yellowtail jalapeño nigiri! There is a paid parking lot behind the restaurant for easy parking. They also take reservations!

I hadn't been here in a few years but it continues to be my vote for the best sushi in Santa Barbara County. Excellent food, attentive service, great downtown location. Now, it can get noisy and crowded on Fridays and Saturdays but, generally, the ambiance is pleasant. All in all definitely worth a visit.

Arigato has my favorite sushi in Santa Barbara. The service is great, the food is consistently delicious and fresh, and the vibe of the space is perfect for a date night or group. I highly recommend the Bonsai Roll, the Grilled Miyazaki-Guy A5, the Rock n Roll are all so good!

The decor and ambiance is a simple but effective nod to Japan that sets the tone immediately upon entry. Gold Uni Shot: 5/5, simply sublime. One of the best appetizers I've ever had in my life. Namadako Crudo: 4/5, an interesting octopus presentation that got better with every bite. I do prefer my octopus to be more tenderand this felt a little underdone. Rock N Roll: 5/5, is essentially a rainbow roll with real dungeness crab on the inside. Wow! Spectacular and well worth the $30. Jalapeño yellowtail roll: 4/5, pretty good but I felt like something was missing. Our waiter was very knowledgeable about the menu.

Darryl and Emma made our experience last night really great. I have been wanting to take my husband here for years and glad we were finally able to make it up to Santa Barbara! We got the: Wiki wiki roll Tiger roll Toro sushi Miso glazed black cod Green tea mochi ice cream And loved it all! we sat at the sushi bar and the chefs were very accommodating. Great service!

this place was absolutely amazing!! I came here with my girlfriend and we had Huyen as our server and she made it such an amazing experience. I am not a huge uni person but the uni shot was delicious! The environment was so clean and everyone was so friendly there, definitely recommend, 10/10. Thank you Huyen!!

Our sushi orders were amazing. Can't speak to other Reviewers but this place is a keeper for us when we visit Santa Barbara.

This food was awesome!!! We decided to come here because we saw the good vibes from across the street. The manager was awesome and very hospitable, he helped us get seated in a timely manner. Our favorite roll was the Wipeout Roll and the chicken gyoza was also amazing. Would definitely come here again, this was such a great find in SB!

Marketed as a premium spot, especially based on the price, but it didn't fully live up to that expectation. The fish was fresh and the rolls were good, but the overall experience didn't quite match the upscale vibe they're going for. Still a decent meal, and the location is a plus--nice area to take a stroll after dinner.

An unusually excellent experience in Santa Barbara sushi. This is a real sushi Japanese restaurant. Opens at 5:30. We got here early. We came back at 540 and the place was jammed with people obviously a well trained loyal local following. we don't often see freshwater eel, but anago was light & refreshing- the sauce was lightly distributed not the heavy cover you usually find. The grilled asparagus served crunch style with a light spinach sauce . Something I've never seen before is wagyu gyoza - pan fried and not deep fried - thank goodness -- oysters, very pleasantly proper and a nice black ceramic bowl. Outdoor dining with the appropriate heat lamps on a February night

Incredible sushi. Some of the best I have had. The service is incredible. I highly recommend this place

Service was spot on with delivery of each roll individually vs all at once. Our server, Huyen, was friendly and very attentive as this was our first visit to Arigato. They offer traditional and non traditional rolls too and a variety of sakes. Overall well worth the visit. Until next time!

I'm not sure why this place only gets 4 stars, i feel like it deserves 5 plus stars. This was some of the best sushi I've had in a long time and we've got some of the best spots in L.A. The portions were huge. The sashimi was spectacular, and it was thickly sliced, which I don't usually like, but I loved it here. The rolls were unique and the service was impeccable. We sat upstairs which was ok for a bigger party. I'd prefer downstairs.

The food was out of this world. Excellent service and cozy atmosphere. ***********************************************************

Great ambience and location. I made a reservation the day before. We had a small table inside. I would recommend to sit outside if you have the option. The hosts at the host stand were kind and fun. I think they were the owners. Our waitress was nice. The food was great. We kept our menu and made various orders which was kind of strange. There was miscommunication on our last order it made our Chirashi bowl less enjoyable. The highlight was the magic mushroom and toro roll.

Good service. Portion size is a little small. Sat outside with the heaters on. Kept us warm.

Best sushi in California! You need reservation, but it's worth. Everything we ordered was amazing.

Amazing food and service. Best sushi in SB. It has a very good menu. Exceptional for those willing to experiment with the offerings. The Ms Ebeling pot stickers are the best.

the sushi rolls were the worst ever had. the rolls would come apart at touch however the fresh ginger was good. they really need to step up their game but the restaurant was well manicured over all. i would personally never try it again. the service was alright but could get better.

Casual dinner with a friend on a Friday night; he recommended Arigato as his favorite in Santa Barbara. While I don't have a lot of comparison points, based on this dinner, I understand why he loves the place. We "slow played" the server, taking a more traditional approach to sushi (vs. the American habit of "order everything all at once and then wolf it down"). Started with a seaweed salad and a cucumber salad, nothing fancy but both delicious. The magic mushroom roll was delightful -- not what I'd have typically ordered, but certainly delicious, as was the dungeness crab roll. From the nigiri department off the regular menu, really enjoyed the jalapeno hamachi and seared hotate (scallops with spicy aioli). Finally, so we didn't just stick with the usual suspects, we had a couple from their special nigiri, and enjoyed the anago (fresh sea eel) and the kinmedai (golden eye snapper). Service was friendly and attentive without being intrusive... All in a lovely meal in a cool, funky setting...and would definitely return

Ambiance and vibe is fun and hip with an attentive staff. I have to say, disappointingly, the food was merely ok, didn't knock my socks off. It was fine, but very pricey for something that didn't have me cooing with delight. To be fair, I just had some of the best sashimi of my life in Park City so I might have come in with a pretty high bar.

The food service and atmosphere were perfect! Enjoyed speaking to the chef at the counter

Been coming here for years. Freshest fish, great flavor profile and amazing service. Go to is chirashi and whatever is showcased on board.

Came for my birthday and it was so so good! We didn't have reservations but were seated immediately outside on their patio. It was a little windy/chilly but the heaters really helped. Service was really good and the food was even better and they gave me a scoop of green tea ice cream for my birthday. Would definitely come back if I'm in the area

Not as good as I expected from the hype and given the price. We ordered a few things then left

This was my second time coming to this place and it didn't disappoint! It's a nice restaurant located conveniently on State St. The first time we went, we got lucky and were able to walk in but I believe they typically require reservations. I got the Pretty in Pink and Jalapeño Hamachi rolls and they were amazing! Both were delicious, unique combinations with super fresh ingredients. The fish is super high quality and the nigiris I got were delicious! It's a bit pricier place for sushi but definitely worth it! 10/10 would go again.

Delicioso! Fun to sit outside in the Parklet even on the cooler evenings Yummmmmmmmm yum yum yum yum on the food. Friendly service. Downtown location with plenty of parking options.

Beyond amazing. Sat at Counter. Great personable service! Authentic fresh truly we are sushi connoisseurs and this place takes top spot. Trust me! Chef's special and Hamachi Hot Olive oil Sashimi carpaccio so unique and melted in our mouths. We will be back when in SB

Our first visit to Arigato on State St. Wonderful warm greeting by the manager,Daryl. We are sushi fans, but not very experienced. Daryl and staff brought us several delicious sushi plates. The plates looked and tasted excellent. Ice cold Sapporo beers, tasty soups, spicy delicious Edamame. Great ambiance inside (there was outside dining options also), staff was very attentive and friendly. Prices very reasonable and crowd vibe was chill and relaxed. An overall great dinner and great experience!!

Cute decor. Friendly staff. Recommended: Hokkaido Scallops sashimi Chu Toro Nigiri Yellowtail sashimi Oyster Shooter - 1st round was good, 2nd round too much ponzu Not mine favorite: Monk Fish Liver Spanish Mackerel - got a mushy texture Jelly fish Rice was a bit hard. Lots to chew. Most interesting nigiri was the seared yellowtail with black sesame, tastes like normal seared yellowtail. But it looked interesting.

The supply chain crisis is REAL. It's affecting everybody. The night we came, they were out of half the stuff we wanted. Poor us. Lol. But this place made due with what they had and the sushi was quite good...especially that buttery scallop and seared Yellowtail sushi, MY GOD. How do you describe that buttery seared flavor with words? Ample outside seating with warm heat lamps and lighting that makes EVERYBODY look good. I wanted to date all in attendance. The server was such a sweetheart under pressure. We tipped him well

The food was terrible, it came out in less than 5 mins and the grilled veggie sushi was undercooked. The inari tasted like it was bought frozen and warmed up. Very expensive for bad tasting food.

Been here twice. Really fresh and quality sushi. Not the cheapest. Fish cuts were a good meaty slice. Salmon- best. Had three orders Yellowtail- next best option Albacore- not a fan Scallop sushi- sooooo good Arigato roll- subbed regular salmon instead of smoked salmon. Really yummy too.

(Sushi Combo: 77.5% | C) - This $30 combo had its upsides and downsides. The california roll was nicely made, and I felt that the masago helped elevate a textbook roll. Some of the nigiri had good flavor pairings, particularly the white fish, that added dimensionality to the dish. Other pieces, like the shrimp, tuna, and salmon, did not taste spectacular nor did they have high quality color of freshness that one desires from sushi. (Overall: 82% | B) - The atmosphere is nice, particularly the outdoor seating area that is pretty cute!

I had a lovely experience here the other evening. We were a table of two with a 7PM reservation on a Friday night and sat inside. Our server was very polite, patient, knowledgeable and attentive. The place was clean and welcoming and had a comfortable atmosphere. The sushi was amazing! All ingredients were fresh and the service was timely. I recommend and will be back.

I was visiting Santa Barbara for a weekend getaway, and I was recommended this place. I wasn't expecting much but the sushi was so fresh in the fish was such good quality. The service is also amazing! I do recommend this place!

Super popular and packed restaurant so expect a wait but worth it Reminds me of sushi from the beginning of the LA scene where it was fresh products, best quality fish so nigiri is a heavy handed cut so they don't skimp at all. No gimmicky rolls Good real Japanese food.

I've been a supporter of Arigato's for years, from when they were a small new restaurant with 5 bar seats & 7 tables and to when they moved to State Street, their present location. The quality of their food is absolutely fantastic, how they have managed to keep such high standards for 30 years is a reason in itself to give Arigato's great reviews. The Staff is the best & it's nice to see so many familiar faces each time. Darryl the Manager is one of the friendliest, accommodating people you'll ever meet! He will bend over backwards to get you what you need or a nice table for 2 or 6 ! He even takes time to pose for pictures! He's quite the local celebrity for us locals. I recently visited with friends & celebrated my birthday there! Now that they take reservations it's so nice to not have to wait in line or worry that you won't get a table. They fill up fast so be sure to make a reservation!! Please be respectful and don't linger too long as they are a high volume restaurant. Great job Arigato's !!