Sun Sushi

The only restaurant open on Christmas Day—truly a lifesaver for travelers. The food was fresh and delicious, the service was attentive, and the atmosphere was quiet and comfortable. Highly recommended!

Excellent meal. Very high quality sushi. Thankful we made a reservation- very crowded even on a Tuesday night which says a lot for its popularity! We ended up sitting at the bar which we like to do. Would recommend the spicy crunchy Tuna app. All of their rolls seem very tasty- we had a hard time choosing. We ended up with State Street, Red Dragon, spicy scallop (a little too much mayo, but still delicious), and salmon 6 step.

Sun Sushi in Santa Barbara has great friendly service and some tasty dishes. I really like the Aji, Saba,Toro, Yellow Tail, Kurodai, and seared Halibut fin. The uni shooter with quail egg was flavorful and a nice starter to a delicious lunch. Always follow the chefs advice, and you won't go wrong. I'm looking forward to next time!

This place gets busy very fast, make a reservation or get there as soon as theyre open! We gave it a try because it was close by and love sushi! It is expensive from what I'm used to and the portion sizes are also small. But the food still tasted amazing and was filling. I reccomend ordering sushi along side one of their meal options, such as the teriyaki chicken or beef. The miso soup was delicious.

Totally delicious! Visiting from AZ and the restaurant was right by our hotel, picked it out of convince but it was fantastic! A little on the more expensive side, but you pay for the quality you get. Staff was incredibly fast and friendly despite it being busy. Speaking of, get there early! The good food draws a crowd!

Great food! Their California rolls are the best I've had. The miso soup is flavorful and the teriyaki beef was cooked to perfection. You can't go wrong here. It's a tight fit and you'll be eating with a lot of people, because the best places are always like that.

Wouldn't you agree this is the best sushi place in town? This is not a fancy restaurant, but their service and food are great given the price and location. All the rolls I have tried so far were decent if not great, and other menus such as salmon or chicken teriyaki were pretty good too. Definitely returning to try some more.

Best sushi I had in years. The uni is so sweet, scallop so tender, and the fish fatty and full of flavor. Freshness is the secret recipe. I’m so impressed that Santa Barbara has such good Japanese cuisine. No less than what I had in famous restaurants in Osaka.

Sun sushi is one of my favorite sushi spots in the area. The ambiance is very casual and the service is amazing. Everyone on the staff is very attentive and our food came out so fast after we ordered The food itself is so good. The fish is super fresh and for this price it would be hard to find fish that is this good.

Love Sun Sushi! We come to Sun Sushi at least twice to four times a month. This is our favorite sushi in all of Santa Barbara, not only for the freshness of the fish but for the people that serve it make it! this is a must go to!!!

We thought that this was overall a really good place for sushi. We tend to stay away from the 'saucy' rolls and stick to the traditional stuff. For us, it's all about the fish. This place did not disappoint. We rarely make a big deal about salmon, but Sun Sushi had really fresh Salmon. You can just taste that it was really high grade. Another order we had on repeat was the yellow tail. We also tried their Uni and that was also very good. Their service was also excellent. We are looking forward to our next visit to Santa Barbara and Sun Sushi!

The whole experience was a nightmare. Except for the nice host that sat us down. Took a while for someone to get it to our table and the restaurant had very few customers. ( usually packed). Finally got menus and we placed them down waiting for service when we knew what we wanted. A couple of women that were regulars came in and got excellent service, chatting them up as we waited and then the waitress took their orders before us and gave them drinks before us and we sat there for about 15 minutes. When I addressed this, no one apologized. Sushi didn't seem fresh. Bluefin tuna and yellowtail. Things were below average. Next day woke up with food poisoning. The worst I have ever had. A week of being sick with intense stomach problems. We've come a couple times before, wasn't our first time but definitely our last.

Solid sushi place with unique rolls! Always have had a good experience here but the place is quite small and can fill up fast, be prepared to wait if coming during dinner hours. It's a lot of my friends favorite sushi spots in SB! The tempura jalapeño poppers are a must get, they are bomb

We came on a Friday evening around 6pm and the place was packed but luckily we got one of the last tables for 2. The girl at the front greeted us and got us seated right away. The vibe was casual and welcoming- it was lively with a full house but doesn't feel too packed. The menu was extensive, you have rolls plus sushi for those that like to stick to more traditional pieces. For our table we got the unique 6 steps salmon which is 6 pieces of salmon sushi done 6 ways -it comes with miso soup and salad. Additionally we got the toro sushi, sweet shrimp sushi which also came with the fried shrimp head, a spicy tuna handroll and a bottle of sake to sip on throughout the menu. The food was good! Fish was fresh and met our needs. I will recommend this sushi for those who find themselves craving sushi in the Santa Barbara area :) Tip: check out the board by the chefs station for their specials of the day Lastly, parking can be challenging so if the lot is full try, to find street parking on the block at the end of the lot.

This was our first stop in Santa Barbara and it was a great experience. We were indecisive with some of our order so the staff gave us some good recommendations. Also threw in a free miso soup so that was nice. Sushi presentation 10/10 Sushi quality freshness 9/10 Service quality 10/10 Ambiance 8.5/10 Below are the items we ordered.

Let me start off with saying just WOW!!! This place is truly gem . I ordered the sushi bowl and a beer with the girls night out roll. The food was beautiful !!! The service was so kind and sweet. It really made my day .I cannot wait to return .

A delicious, casual spot for sushi in the Santa Barbara area -- they were able to accomodate our party of 13 on Christmas Eve for dinner at really short notice, which I'm so appreciative of. All of the servers were kind and attentive, and the food didn't take too long despite being a large order. Everything was SO. GOOD. but my favorites were the Shishito Pepper Tempura and Red Dragon Roll. The Sun Roll was also really unique, and I wish I could come back to try the Lobster Tempura one too. We had a great experience here with everything from the service to the food, would recommend!

Such delicious salmon roll that we ordered another. Service was amazing as usual and she read my mind bringing my doggie a bowl of water. Such lovely people in a lovely atmosphere.

Solid fish and quality for all items. Sushimi had some thick's cuts and was even on all the rolls. House rolls had great flavor and a lot of options to choose from! They were able to accommodate to some requests we had and no questions asked. Great spot and only thing to say is they are quite pricy, not pricy enough to say it's worth the cost

This place was super packed, not just because the restaurant was really popular (which it was) but also because the restaurant itself was really small. When we walked in, we were immediately squished into a small waiting area as we waited for the hostess to come to the front. The service was surprisingly quick, as even though they were busy we were seated almost immediately. In addition, our orders were taken quickly and our food came out within a few minutes with the exception of the shrimp nigiri. The sushi itself was average. We got the box sushi roll and the tiger roll. Nothing special stood out to us, and if anything, the shrimp nigiri was a little concerning. For whatever reason this item came out of the kitchen ten minutes after we had already finished our rolls, and after having asked twice if we were still getting the rest of our order. When it finally did come out, the shrimp was slimy and had a funny smell. If you plan on coming here, be cautious with the quality of the raw fish. Other than that one dish though, everything was fine. Again nothing amazing, but nothing terrible, just average sushi.

Freshest sushi! Every aspect of flavor was explored! Great friendly service. Food was priced reasonably. More bang for your buck! Inside was simple and clean. We selected this place randomly and glad we did. Every single thing that went to our mouths were delightful. Simply delicious. Highly recommended!

We love Sun Sushi! We order pick-up and have loved every roll we have tried. Their edamame and miso soup and classic and delicious. Every roll tastes fresh and delicious. We order from here once a week and are always pleased!

Sun Sushi is a hit or miss depending on what you order, but there are more hits than misses. The Hits: Salmon 6 Step, Red Dragon Roll, Volcano Roll The misses: Chicken Karaage, Takoyaki The quality and value of the rolls are superior to other restaurants in town at the same price point. The salmon 6 step had a nice variety of subtle flavors that pair wonderfully with each cut and was my favorite by far. The fried appetizers, not so much- the Takoyaki was deflated and soggy and the Karaage was crunchy, but dry. The restaurant gets busy quickly and the parking lot is shared by other equally popular restaurants, so plan accordingly.

Visited this sushi place in Santa Barbra! Really recommending this place. Everything here is very fresh here! I love their Toro and Uni! I think all sushi here is very good! Also their sushi chief was very kind and provide wonderful service. He recommended some sushi to us which taste very good ! The place very quiet and clean. There is parking lot for guest as well

WE LOVE SUN SUSHI We continue to get the yellowfin roll, crunch roll, lobster roll and then we mix up our 4th roll. We have tried the sun roll- if you like cream cheese, this is a good roll for you! Really can't go wrong with this place! Friendly staff. Great service. Great food.

(Overall: 87% | B) - Overall, I found Sun Sushi to have pretty reasonable sushi options that are on the more affordable side for Santa Barbara standards. The place is very crowded so be sure to make a reservation in advance. The service and atmosphere is fine, and the food quality is fine too, but there are areas of improvement that could be made, but seems reasonable given the price tradeoff compared to other options like Oku. (Omakase: 90% | A) - The omakase runs for $65 at Sun Sushi and comes with 10 pieces + 1 bonus. This is a reasonable price for Santa Barbara and comes with a good variety of fish including uni, scallop, and yellowtail belly. I found the toro to be kind of broken based off hows its cut, and less enjoyable, but all the other fish is fantastic! I do wish I was given an explanation of the fish as well as the flavor pairings. (Uni: 92.5% | A) - I love the ini this time of year. Its large, fresh, and creamy! Simple and elegant. (Chicken Karaage: 92.5% | A) - The chicken is crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. The spice works great with the sriracha mayo as a creamy balancing dip. (Salmon Kama: 75% | C) - This is a large piece of fried salmon cheek for only $7 which is a great deal in terms of quantity. However, fried fish does not work with a warm soy sauce and lemon.. although I'm not exactly sure what would be a better pairing. The palette is searching for something to soothe the friedness but nothing is ever found. (Salmon Six Step: 92.5% | A) - The lower steps are uninteresting because I think the salmon might be the ocean trout or a leaner variation which makes it less rich without some additional flavor pairing. The higher steps add some interesting notions of charred flavor which adds textural plays. The salmon belly is also interesting due to the natural marbling and fattiness that carries its own! (Ikura: 60% | D) - Unfortunately, this was way oversalted and that is the only note of flavor I'm tasting. The salmon roe is hopefully fresh otherwise. (Salmon Belly: 85% | B) - I love the extra fattiness of the belly and a $1 upcharge to the regular order of salmon is well worth. The seaweed is an interesting pairing, but I think there is more room to improve the presentational and flavoral pairing of the fish. (Tuna Six Step: 97.5% | A) - This tuna set is fairly priced under $40 and already comes preseasoned with wasabi and other flavors that make it very well prepared. While the albacore step was completely overshadowed, the bluefin tuna is very tender and fatty. The scorched version adds great texture and the toro melts in my mouth! I also like the cut roll that is paired with some type of pickle jam. (Lobster Roll: 80% | B) - This roll follows the yellowtail roll in that the primary taste is spice with both sriracha and sriracha mayo. The roll tastes fine as an elevated shrimp tempura but is bewildered by strange presentational choices like spy paper that actually detract from the look the roll. Further, I don't think this is a good way to highlight the beauty of a lobster. (Red Dragon Roll: 95% | A) - This roll combines a good mixture of flavors of spicy mayo and a sweet unagi sauce to provide a nice complement to the spicy tuna and california roll. (Yellowtail Delight Roll: 87.5% | B) - The selection of ingredients in this roll is really nice as I find the yellowtail from sum sushi more buttery than other places, which pairs even more well with the creamy spicy mayo. This roll is quite delightful in flavor overall, though it perhaps leans into the spice component too much as its jalapeno on spicy mayo on spicy yellowtail when other tastes can help create a better balance. (Rainbow Roll: 90% | A) - This is a nice and beautiful rainbow colored assortment of fresh sushi on top and a california roll on the bottom. Its a simple roll that glistens but leaves room for presentational or textural improvements. (Tempura Ice Cream: 95% | A) - We tried both the green tea and black sesame variations and this dessert is definitely always the highlight of the meal. I love the crispiness on the outside and the tenderness on the inside. Black sesame is a flavor that's very hard to find for ice cream these days, so it was great to see that on the menu. On the other hand, the green tea ice cream I found to provide a more interesting flavoral contrast. Birthday Ice Cream - this depends on the server, but I heard past experiences provided tempura ice cream! During the two birthdays we celebrated recently, we got regular ice cream once and mochi ice cream another time. Still very kind of them to give a sweet treat to end off a celebratory meal.

Super fresh sushi and the sushi six step was something new we never tried before! Everything tasted great and the service was quick and attentive. I even gave uni another shot after having not enjoyed it in the past and now I'm a fan! Would definitely be back if I'm in the area Note - parking lot is a little small so may be difficult but there are lots of surrounding streets

I really enjoy the food here. I'm a salmon and tuna fanatic. I like it raw. When we've come we get the steps. The salad is delicious. The dressing on it is so yummy. It's been super busy lately and parking can be tricky. It's a fun place but noisy and more cramped now. Service is always great!

really delicious and fresh! we ordered takeout and food was perfect. slightly expensive but fair for the most part.

As you may know, the best caviar in the world comes from the Black Sea in Russia. Similarly, the best sea urchin, also known as Uni comes from Santa Barbara. I know this because I was born and raised here. In fact, uni was my baby food source. I loved it! I still love it! I've never been to Japan, but i do know that they go beyond to make sure they have SB uni. When I do eventually travel to Japan, I know i'll have a strong connection because of our Uni and have a taste of home. I know I'm making a lot of points right now... like a sea urchin's exterior, the MAIN point is that Sun Sushi is the BEST source of Uni in the BEST uni destination in the WORLD! Their uni is buttery, delicious, and sublime. So when you eat here, just know you are eating in a world renowned 5 star Michelin style restaurant and that is a fact. Enjoy your uni day!

Horrible service. Had me wait over an hour for my online order. The order was sitting on the counter for 30 mins and didn't advise me that it was ready. Will not be returning here.

I love Sun Sushi! I've been here a couple of times with different people and the food never ceases to please. Their prices are reasonable and their quality is great. Some standouts that I noted were their toro, sea urchin (uni), salmon roe (ikura), sweet shrimp, and salmon skin hand roll. While their salmon six step was enjoyable, some pieces tasted the same to me and it wasn't all that worth it. I would say to skip the hot foods and enjoy the quality of their raw seafood. Make sure to look at the sushi bar for additional items and specials that aren't on the menu! I'll definitely continue to return for quality sushi, outstanding service, and the comfortable feel of the restaurant.

I like the sushi rolls here better than at Oku. The ambiance is clean but tables are close together so you can hear people's conversations next to you lol. The service was really good. I was happy to see one of the Sushi chef's from Shintori here. I will definitely be coming back here.

You must try the salmon ladder! Good service, delicious food, and typical sushi restaurant vibes. Strongly recommend!

Showed up when the restaurant was nearly empty and it took 20 min for someone to take our order. One roll came out quickly, the other roll took another 20 minutes. Tuna delight wasn't good but the Spicy dragon was alright. I understand most of the time the service is probably better but my experience was bad enough to not return again.

DELICIOUS. Everything was amazing. Small menu but amazing. Service was great - attentive, quick. Casual. Chill. A must each time in Santa Barbara.

Best sushi in Santa Barbara no contest. $$$$ pricey though. They often have otoro and uni which are premium!

Alright.... They redeemed themselves. This was a great roll! Excellent! 5 stars! Again, it was delicious. The sushi chef made this roll perfect. Thank you!

Sun Sushi was a great experience. Their quality of fish was very good and everything was extremely tasty. I sat at the sushi bar and service left a lot of be desired unfortunately. Taking nearly 20 minutes before my order was taken by the sushi chef. I ordered shrimp tempura, salmon nigiri, toro nigiri, salmon rolls, and the red dragon roll. The shrimp tempura and salmon rolls are on my list to not get again. The salmon rolls were reverse rolls with the rice on the outside and for whatever reason the salmon didn't feel as fresh in the rolls. The shrimp tempura was nothing special but is not a bad deal at $1.50 a piece. The red dragon roll was very good and I highly recommend it. The salmon nigiri was also quite delicious. The toro was good... but maybe this is chu toro instead of oh toro. So it wasn't quite the fatty melt in your mouth meat I was hoping for. Other than the slow start service from the sushi bar, I had a great experience at Sun Sushi. Pricing is pretty moderate so expect to spend some money but the quality is on par with the price.

This outwardly unassuming sushi spot is a gem! We arrived on a weekend night and it was pretty busy. We put our names down with the person in the front and were seated within 15 minutes. The food was all super fresh and tasty! I wish we could've ordered more. The fish came in big, thick pieces, which is definitely nice as I've noticed more places serving thinner slices recently. As a salmon lover, the Six Step Salmon was awesome. There was a little bit too much wasabi inside some of the nigiri pieces (I also saw some other tables picking a little out), but that wasn't too big of a deal because of the real wasabi they used - which is a big factor in what makes a good sushi joint for me. Overall, we had a great experience here and would definitely come back for sushi in Santa Barbara!

Sushi was very good. This is a small seating area. Most of the food we saw coming out was takeout. This place is always very busy. Staff was very nice to us.

Drove by and the open sign was on! I had a lunch special with salmon and a California roll. Delicious, hot miso soup arrived and shortly after my bento box. Very fresh food and great flavors too. Gracious, attentive service and the price was fair.

For lunch, we got one tuna and one salmon roll and the price was about $40. They were good taste but pretty small rolls and we really feel this is totally overpriced for what it is. Basically $2 per roll slice ... no way.

Sun sushi is a fun little spot to get a reasonably affordable couple of rolls. I loved their crispy tuna rice and almost all of the specialty rolls I've tried. The staff is so kind and has always given their opinions of best on the menu which have never disappointed!

I have been to this restaurant 10+ times. We have done take out and dine in. This is probably one of the best sushi restaurants in town. One time, they messed up our order and brought the wrong roll. They gave that roll and our original order to us for FREE! The mistake roll has become one of our favorites. I highly recommend this LOCAL GEM!!

First I'd like to say that my dining experience at Sun Sushi was amazing! My sister and I came down from Sacramento to drop off my nephew for his last year in college @ UCSB and found this awesome place. We were asked if we would like to sit at a table or if we would like to sit at the sushi bar and we chose to eat at the sushi bar. We ordered stuffed jalapeño for an appetizer and several rolls (sun, state street, red dragon, rainbow, spider, dragon, & volcano) and I have to say that it was all so delicious. The seafood was all very fresh and tasty. Max and his entire staff were very attentive and provided exceptional customer service on a busy Friday night. Thank you for the great food and we will be coming back soon!

I really needed to eat some raw tuna and from the Yelp reviews I thought this was the place. The bluefin tuna 6 ways (6 step) was OK. But due to everything else I do not trust my assessment of their tuna because the overall experience was so horrible. The ikura (salmon egg) sushi, the eggs were not fresh, were tough and did not pop in my mouth but needed tooth to pop them. Except for the guy at the door who seated me, the service was HORRIBLE. If you can call it service when you don't have a server and it was barely seated counter help service. It was catch as catch can when I could get someone's attention. Much wait time for everything. TEN MINUTES for anyone to even look at me after seating. For contrast, the male couple next to me received proper service. They also received ginger and wasabi. I did not. The service pieces were all filthy. The six step tuna serving piece was disgusting. They tried serving me salmon six steps twice, then when I was finished, they tried to serve me tuna six step again. It was as if I did bot exist and was a bother. And it was the very first time I left $0.00 for gratuity. It was that bad. The setting was average. Nothing to rave or note beyond standard cheap everything.

Best sushi in Santa Barbara! Especially at this price point. Super fresh fish and excellent service. Favorite dishes: the crispy spicy tuna appetizer, box sushi, the tuna and salmon delights. You really can't go wrong.

Amazing Service.Had my 1st Uni shooter.Fast Service and very welcoming.Recommened Uni sushi, Alabacore ans State roll

The food was so good and very fresh. Everyone was friendly despite how busy they were. Make a reservation

It was really good especially the stuffed jalapeños appetizer. The roll I got was the box roll and it was something new I hadn't tried before.

Anthony, our server, was the G.O.A.T, ( greatest of all time) he was so awesome, attentive and kind. He would always help people when they are in need and he is so friendly. I love sun sushi with amazing service and food to die for! I highly recommend!!

Had to stop by Sun Sushi to try their super popular 6-step salmon and was not disappointed! Whooo man, that was some of the best salmon I've tried! It was 6 different cuts and kinds of salmon. I honestly can't re-name all of them, but I know there was salmon belly & Atlantic salmon somewhere in there. Just trust me when I say all of it was delicious! The way it was presented is also really instagram worthy. I also tried their hamachi (yellowtail) [$7.95 for 3 fat pieces] which was really good too. The price, in my opinion, is pretty cheap for quality fish. Service was good, place is nice and tidy. I'd say come right at opening 5PM cause this place gets busyyy and rightfully so. 5 stars all around!

This place strives to achieve mediocracy. I keep forgetting how average it is and keep showing up there about once a year. The fish is no fresh, the wasabi is dry and stale and nothing taste like it should. It' sad that there's one one good sushi restaurant in SB - and that's not open for lunch. This place is just not good.

not my first time @ Sun Sushi but first time remembering to take a photo of anything ordered - look at this salmon step, stunning stunning display. just so fun that it makes it a million times better to eat. definitely an in house meal though - the quality of the fish here is wonderful but the ambience is pretty run down soooo I would say unless you're on a sake and salmon stepper grind it may be best for a (good!) sushi take out - I ordered the special of seared albacore carpaccio. never had (or could pronounce) carpaccio. there was a sweet soy sauce and some cucumbers and jalapeño. fish was absolutely so tender and flavorful - got a miso soup, $2, decent normal miso soup. - seaweed salad was like $5 for the smallest portion I've ever seen. definitely ignore this section of the menu. salad the salmon came with was like 4 leafs

My friends and I cleared every dish on the table. We absolutely loved the Six Steps Stairs, which beautifully showcased the salmon and tuna pieces. I especially enjoyed the fried shrimp head that comes with the sweet shrimp order; it was incredibly crispy and surprisingly easy to eat, despite the shells. The owners were very kind and appreciated us taking photos of our different plates. Despite arriving just an hour before closing, all our dishes were served within 15 minutes, and we devoured everything in record time. The unagi donburi with masago is a perfect combination - I absolutely love it.

This is a sushi lover public service announcement: if you're looking for THE BEST SUSHI IN SANTA BARBARA, the hidden gem the local foodies go to, this is your place. At Sun Sushi you will find fresh fish flown from Japan and the best local fish, the quality is beyond anything else offered in town. As a regular at Arrigato and always disappointed by the uneven quality, the overpriced, tiny rolls, I am now in sushi Heaven having been initiated to this gem of a restaurant by a chef friend. The saying that the best food is at the simplest restaurants holds true here. This is a come as you are place, but you will not leave the same as you came. Your taste buds will have enjoyed an explosion of flavors, and you will have been completely enraptured with the freshness of the fish that just melts in your mouth. Even the rice in our rolls, was the freshest, moistest, I have ever enjoyed. I highly recommend the box sushi,red dragon, yellowtail delight, & State Street rolls. And their local uni was amazing. I am now a regular here, and am already craving my next fix. Oh, and I forgot to mention their prices will let me indulge on a regular.