Very extremely fresh food and absolutely delicious. Buck and his team do a great job. Don’t be fooled that it is served on plastic, that’s the only option for the Public Market, this is one of the best sushi restaurants in Santa Barbara!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sushi
Abel Santos
Love the sushi here . If you go try the green dragon roll it’s the best sushi I’ve had in SB. Staff was also very nice and friendly.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Carrot R.
This place is not good, do not recommend. I paid almost $19 for the don't cry roll, which is slightly above standard price. My biggest issue with the roll was the lack of taste. I do not understand how you can make sushi so bland even when mayonnaise is involved. The sushi rice is just plain white short grain rice. It clearly has no salt, vinegar, or even a tad of sugar to give it that standard sushi taste. The salmon was also not seasoned at all, and the aoili that comes with it was not even included in the roll. It was just slightly dropped on the bottom sides of the container and resembled a pool of grease. But somehow even the aoili managed to have no flavor. It was just bland, it's also a fried roll but even the tempura batter had no seasoning. I genuinely cannot comprehend how you can make unseasoned sushi!! Truly a talent! I understand now why it's called the don't cry roll, because the moment you bite into it, the tears of disappointment start flooding your face.
Charles Vong
Every time I'm in Santa Barbara this is the one place I MUST eat at. The quality of the sushi here is hard to bet. The prices are very reasonable given the quality of the sushi and how it is prepared. Every time I eat here the quality is so consistent.I'm actually very shocked by the low rating of this place. I'm a huge sushi fan and have eaten at some of the best omakase meals and this is definitely up there in terms of quality, price, an ambiance.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Miso Soup
David Aasen
Great place!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Dinora O.
You can definitely skip coming here. The service is rude and the food is definitely better else where. We walk up to the counter and the women says "yea", like no ma'am you can say hello and greet and treat people correctly. We order a bowl and a roll ($35) and go find a table. I see a tray with food that looks like our order but our buzzer never went off. I see people get their food (not the trey I had been seeing on the counter for a while now) and return their buzzed. I assume that that must not be our order since it's been sitting there for over 10 min and our buzzer never went off. Well I was wrong, it WAS our food. The buzzer goes off and we ask for the bowl to be remade because it was cold and looked gross. The women and chef obviously look upset but it's not my fault they did not make the buzzer go off as soon as the food was set on the counter. The new bowl had significantly less food as well. As for the taste. The crunchy was rolled incredibly loose, small and for the price can taste much better, and at least be rolled correctly. (I forgot to take a picture sorry ) The chicken teriyaki bowl was 1/5 stars. The chicken was fine but the rice tasted like it was made with dirty water. The miso soup was terrible as well. Dirty water with onions. Ultimately it was bad experience all around. Save your money.
Ahmari G.
Stopped into the Santa Barbara Public Market and decided to try this place on a whim. We got the Spicy Scallop roll: scallops were butteryDon't cry roll: great flavor and heat Sea urchin: first time trying it but overall good Extremely fresh seafood and taste was great on all 3 overall. Quick service and quality food!
Barbara S.
Visiting Santa Barbara for the weekend, and decided to try Wabi Sabi in the SBPM for the first time. Quick service, delicious and fresh seafood, will definitely return!
Donald McKee
Great experience. Food was prepared well, staff was great and the place was super clean.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Crunchy Roll
Janit V.
Located inside the Santa Barbara Public Market, this sushi spot was extremely underwhelming and overpriced. I love a good sushi spot and would expect the sushi to be super fresh along the ocean. However, this restaurant proved me wrong. I ordered the spicy salmon roll, chutoro sashimi, and uni sashimi. The spicy salmon roll is usually mixed in a spicy aioli sauce but this was just a layer of mayonnaise. It also felt deceiving the roll was advertised as 10 pieces but they're small so it wasn't much. The chutoro was fine but didn't have that "melting" feeling for this specific cut of fish. While that wasn't too bad, the uni did not seem fresh and was a very fishy. While I get that it should have a seafood flavor, fresh uni is usually really buttery. On the bright side, the food came out really quickly but that is the only positive I can really think of.
As s self-admitted sushi snob, please excuse my initial skepticism for a sushi place in a food hall. But it was actually awesome. Got a bunch of nigiri, including fish, ikura, and uni, and it was all super fresh. Get the seared salmon belly, melts in your mouth! Will say it was a bit pricier than a usual sushi restaurant and you miss out on ambience of a sit down restaurant. But for quality sushi on the go, definitely a winner.
Alexander Kanard
Food is always a hit for
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Sushi
Pierre C.
Service is fast and food is amazing!Sushi at a fair premium price (public market is generally a little more $$ than outside of public market)Wabi Dani roll is so good and fresh tasting- love the salty roe on top.Blue fin roll is a great plain roll - to have if you love tuna.Chu toro is always. Must for every visit. Perfect and melts in your mouth delish.Yellow dragon roll - a good sized roll to order if you're feeling a lil hungry- the yellow tail is sweet and fresh... I could eat 3 of these rolls... maybe 4 :)Thank you for the great food and friendly service!
Tristen Miller (hawkfalcon)
The public market is great, and I really like the sushi here. I recommend the salmon lovers roll
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Violet Walberg
Didn’t eat here.. just saw a employee leave the bathroom without washing hands.
Very extremely fresh food and absolutely delicious. Buck and his team do a great job. Don’t be fooled that it is served on plastic, that’s the only option for the Public Market, this is one of the best sushi restaurants in Santa Barbara!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sushi
Love the sushi here . If you go try the green dragon roll it’s the best sushi I’ve had in SB. Staff was also very nice and friendly.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This place is not good, do not recommend. I paid almost $19 for the don't cry roll, which is slightly above standard price. My biggest issue with the roll was the lack of taste. I do not understand how you can make sushi so bland even when mayonnaise is involved. The sushi rice is just plain white short grain rice. It clearly has no salt, vinegar, or even a tad of sugar to give it that standard sushi taste. The salmon was also not seasoned at all, and the aoili that comes with it was not even included in the roll. It was just slightly dropped on the bottom sides of the container and resembled a pool of grease. But somehow even the aoili managed to have no flavor. It was just bland, it's also a fried roll but even the tempura batter had no seasoning. I genuinely cannot comprehend how you can make unseasoned sushi!! Truly a talent! I understand now why it's called the don't cry roll, because the moment you bite into it, the tears of disappointment start flooding your face.
Every time I'm in Santa Barbara this is the one place I MUST eat at. The quality of the sushi here is hard to bet. The prices are very reasonable given the quality of the sushi and how it is prepared. Every time I eat here the quality is so consistent.I'm actually very shocked by the low rating of this place. I'm a huge sushi fan and have eaten at some of the best omakase meals and this is definitely up there in terms of quality, price, an ambiance.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Miso Soup
Great place!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
You can definitely skip coming here. The service is rude and the food is definitely better else where. We walk up to the counter and the women says "yea", like no ma'am you can say hello and greet and treat people correctly. We order a bowl and a roll ($35) and go find a table. I see a tray with food that looks like our order but our buzzer never went off. I see people get their food (not the trey I had been seeing on the counter for a while now) and return their buzzed. I assume that that must not be our order since it's been sitting there for over 10 min and our buzzer never went off. Well I was wrong, it WAS our food. The buzzer goes off and we ask for the bowl to be remade because it was cold and looked gross. The women and chef obviously look upset but it's not my fault they did not make the buzzer go off as soon as the food was set on the counter. The new bowl had significantly less food as well. As for the taste. The crunchy was rolled incredibly loose, small and for the price can taste much better, and at least be rolled correctly. (I forgot to take a picture sorry ) The chicken teriyaki bowl was 1/5 stars. The chicken was fine but the rice tasted like it was made with dirty water. The miso soup was terrible as well. Dirty water with onions. Ultimately it was bad experience all around. Save your money.
Stopped into the Santa Barbara Public Market and decided to try this place on a whim. We got the Spicy Scallop roll: scallops were butteryDon't cry roll: great flavor and heat Sea urchin: first time trying it but overall good Extremely fresh seafood and taste was great on all 3 overall. Quick service and quality food!
Visiting Santa Barbara for the weekend, and decided to try Wabi Sabi in the SBPM for the first time. Quick service, delicious and fresh seafood, will definitely return!
Great experience. Food was prepared well, staff was great and the place was super clean.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Crunchy Roll
Located inside the Santa Barbara Public Market, this sushi spot was extremely underwhelming and overpriced. I love a good sushi spot and would expect the sushi to be super fresh along the ocean. However, this restaurant proved me wrong. I ordered the spicy salmon roll, chutoro sashimi, and uni sashimi. The spicy salmon roll is usually mixed in a spicy aioli sauce but this was just a layer of mayonnaise. It also felt deceiving the roll was advertised as 10 pieces but they're small so it wasn't much. The chutoro was fine but didn't have that "melting" feeling for this specific cut of fish. While that wasn't too bad, the uni did not seem fresh and was a very fishy. While I get that it should have a seafood flavor, fresh uni is usually really buttery. On the bright side, the food came out really quickly but that is the only positive I can really think of.
Restaurantji Recommends
As s self-admitted sushi snob, please excuse my initial skepticism for a sushi place in a food hall. But it was actually awesome. Got a bunch of nigiri, including fish, ikura, and uni, and it was all super fresh. Get the seared salmon belly, melts in your mouth! Will say it was a bit pricier than a usual sushi restaurant and you miss out on ambience of a sit down restaurant. But for quality sushi on the go, definitely a winner.
Food is always a hit for
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Sushi
Service is fast and food is amazing!Sushi at a fair premium price (public market is generally a little more $$ than outside of public market)Wabi Dani roll is so good and fresh tasting- love the salty roe on top.Blue fin roll is a great plain roll - to have if you love tuna.Chu toro is always. Must for every visit. Perfect and melts in your mouth delish.Yellow dragon roll - a good sized roll to order if you're feeling a lil hungry- the yellow tail is sweet and fresh... I could eat 3 of these rolls... maybe 4 :)Thank you for the great food and friendly service!
The public market is great, and I really like the sushi here. I recommend the salmon lovers roll
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Didn’t eat here.. just saw a employee leave the bathroom without washing hands.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1