Paradise Sushi

***Paradise is now CLOSED***
I want to cry.

Great food!!!

If you are visiting the central coast from an area that has no good sushi, then Paradise Sushi is worth trying – for their rolls. Or if you have mixed feelings about eating fish and like lots of sauce to disguise the flavor, this is your place. Since their fish is not fresh, a roll with lots of sauces and flavors is the best way to go. (Their soba soup isn’t bad and same for tempura). But if you come here looking for fresh sushi or sashimi, you will be sorely disappointed. The sushi they served us was so dry and old it had cracks in it. We probably should have sent it back. We used to go here regularly (about 4 yrs ago) and don’t remember it being this bad.

My wife and I have been coming here for years and we always enjoy ourselves. The food is fresh, the service is fast and friendly, they have an amazing aquarium with blooming coral and a view of Capitola and the bay.
Wednesday night is Wasabi Wednesday with tasty specials and great deals on sushi rolls such as their rainbow roll.

* Float your Boat: salmon, hamachi, unagi with green topiko [good]
* Black Widow: soft shelled crab, topiko, etc. [good]
* Something by the Beach: mango, salmon, tuna, and another fish [yummy!]
* Spicy Tuna: tuna with hot spices. not your average spicy tuna [okay]
* Yam Maki: fried yam with cream cheese. pretty yummy [good]
* Another roll: avocado, salmon, and macadamia nuts [good]
Total: $ 49
Service was good and they were very attentive. The rolls came out VERY fast as it wasn’t busy at the time. Hot tea was constantly refilled.
I was a bit hesitant to come eat here but since it was the only place open at the time on a Sunday, we decided it was worth a try. The food was better than I had expected and I’d come back here to eat again.

Paradise Sushi and I have had a long torrid love affair. Over the course of nearly 10 years, we’ve had moments where we scream obscenities at each other, using chop sticks to inflict submission, only to eventually mellow our tempers… we always seem to return to make peace in the comfort of some great California-​style rolls.
Paradise has been through more incarnations than Madonna. The early incarnation was a vision of sexy cool with Chef David (the beret guy) at the helm. Then Paradise lost her way, and then came back. Repeat this cycle about 4 more times over the years.
Today you will find Chef Ning at the helm. Trained by the founding Godfather of Paradise, I am back in love with Paradise.
And why wouldn’t I be? After spending a few hours basking in the glory of an epic surf session, I jauntily walked over to Paradise to order my lunch of Presto Maki with hamachi ($ 5.50) and Spicy Tuna with spicy mayo ($ 6) to go. A minute later I am back on the sand, parked under my über stylish beach umbrella, enjoying one of life’s great luxuries… fresh fish right on the beach.

This is one of our favorite sushi places even though we don’t go to Capitola that often. My husband did their ‘devil’s roll’ challenge. They ask you to sign a waiver and give you 6 spicy tuna rolls with their special spicy sauce. this is the only one time i saw my husband sweating from spicy food. and we got our picture on the Wall of Flame!
Sushi is great, awesome atmosphere, 1 minute walk from the beach. What can be better than a cold glass of Sapporo and some fresh sushi after a day at the beach?

We had been before but we feel that the quality of the food is deteriorating quickly. I know it was a Wednesday night but our first clue should have been that we were the only people there for dinner. The service was poor too.

We were here for our friend’s birthday dinner with group of 14 people. Food was disappointing — tempura udon was barely warm and there were very few udon in the soup, my husband’s Katsu don was tasteless, and rolls looked unexciting.
Service was very slow. I got my food first and the birthday boy and his wife’s food arrived 30 minute after mine. I understand that we were a large group, but it was just ridiculous as this place was pretty empty.
Satan Roll??? Some of us took the challenge and I could see the «fun» of it, especially with group of people. But if you want to take that kind of a challenge, get a bottle of Tabasco sauce, bottoms up, and take picture of yourself crying and post it on the wall. It’s cheaper that way.

When your waitress made the California roll for the bento box, what’d you think?
I thought «OH NO… «
We went because there is a Chicken Teriyaki mini rice bowl special for $ 5.95. HUGE mistake. My companion ordered the special and I ordered the bento at $ 9.95. Price isn’t bad but the food …
The sushi rice had no taste, and chewy!!! I can cook better rice than that. The chicken was rubbery, the teriyaki sauce was salty, the miso soup was salty too. The salad must had sat in the fridge for days … This should be a kid size meal. My bento had 6, yup, 6 1inch by inch bite size pieces of beef. And they were chewy as well. I had to spill them out.
They’ve a minimum charge of $ 25 for credit card!!! Bad service.
We’ve plenty of so-​so sushi place in the Bay Area but any places beat this place.
We walked out hungry since the food was worst than dog food. This is harsh but I’m just being honest.

I was a fan of Paradise before they remodeled and expanded. It used to be my very favorite sushi place in the area– excellent food, interesting rolls, and fun service. The waitress even did a sake bomb with us a few times. Unfortunately, after they expanded, the service went down the tubes, as did the food. For the last few years I have been so disapointed, and finally officially boycotted, and decided it just is not getting any better. I like my sushi to be a spiritual experience, and this place just isn’t cutting it anymore.

Better places off 41^st Ave to have Sushi. Sushi is below average, service isn’t good at all. Hit Pizza My Heart if you want some quick in the Village or head over to 41^st Ave up the road. Drive a little and get better sushi and service.

We were visiting Capitola on a whim and decided to have dinner while we were there. Sushi seemed like a safe bet.
Now, there was nothing wrong with the food at the restaurant. In fact, it was delicious. It was the service that rubbed me the wrong way.
We ended up with this frat-​boy who called us «dude» and was obviously inexperienced. Add that to the fact that he was incredibly awkward and didn’t bother to check on us once after he took our order, nor did he deliver our food.
I tipped him way below 10% and am giving the restaurant a sub-​par review because of their choice in staffing.
…And don’t sag your pants at your job, you fool. Stupid, stupid boys.

I must have gone here all the times when service and food was at its best! I have always had a great experience eating here. Love the Daddy’s Caddy, the tiger roll, and the edema me appetizer

Overall, a terrible experience.
FOOD: Terribly overpriced. The food was alright; don’t get the spicy tuna because it tastes like it’s been out for days (which is ironic because this sushi restaurant is HOW FAR from the beach?). We got two rolls and two dinner combos. The dinner combos were pretty terrible (bland, tasteless), and the rolls were not worth the price tag. A few of their rolls are pretty inventive (they add basil, etc), but seriously how much does basil cost?
SERVICE: TERRIBLE. The lady yelled at me. Beware of the 20-​something Asian waitress; the Caucasian one seems pretty friendly, but the Asian one bites. To specify, the Asian waitress not only physically DROPPED each item on the table (literally, with a loud CLUNK every time she came by to give us our food), but also refused my tip, saying «I don’t need your change» and threw it at me. She also rolled her eyes and demanded what I wanted when I was indecisive about my order. This is the WORST service I have EVER received. I was so shocked I did not know what to say, and walked out of the restaurant open-​mouthed.

Is it too much to ask for a few decent Sushi options in the Santa Cruz area? At least I’ve found two that meet my standards…
Alas, Paradise Sushi, you did not make the cut. Here’s why:
1. You’re horridly overpriced. I mean, I don’t blame you; you’re in the village, and that’s tourist central. So naturally you’ve gotta beef up the costs to stick it to those irreverent touristy bastards. Even still, your prices are enough to scare even the locals away.
2. Your food just wasn’t that good. Really. I thought your sushi rolls were unimaginative, that the rice recipe you used was not ideal, and that really, it wasn’t very fresh or cold.
3. Hoity-​toity. Now, I’m no expert when it comes to good food service, but over the years I’ve gotten some ideas of how it’s done. They usually don’t include ignoring your table for the ENTIRE MEAL. Did we give off that tourist vibe? Maybe we smelled bad… whatever the reason, we were completely blown off.
Each point above represents a star lost. I think the one remaining star is really because it’s kind of a neat place upstairs and has a nice view, and fishtanks and whatnot. Otherwise, it’s not an experience worth repeating.

I’d always wanted to try Paradise Sushi, but my family only took trips to Capitola at dinnertime so we could go to El Toro Bravo (but that’s another review). But when I read a Good Times review at the beauty college downtown as my mom got her hair done and I sat bored and a little unhappy with how short my hair was just cut, I felt an impulse deep inside of me to venture out and try this new (to me) restaurant. And since I keep my family on a tight leash, we were there that very evening.
I must say that the two people working at that moment (we went during the hours of lunch and dinner and were the ONLY ones in the place), were kinda rude. It’s like they weren’t expecting customers at that hour and would rather keep chatting than serve us. But whatever, the guy made some delicious sushi (after a whiles wait) that was extremely fresh and is probably the best I’ve had in our area. It was also extremely expensive and just for 7 or so rolls of sushi, we ended up paying $ 50.
What to look at while you’re waiting for your food:
There are some candy boxes I remember from Japan along the sushi bar. I don’t think they’re for sale, but you can enjoy the pretty covers and pretend you’re eating their sugary insides. And look out for Meter Maids. During the summer in Capitola, their streets are filled with cops and meter maids, all wanting to find something wrong with your car so they can fine you, and get some money for the city. My mom got pegged with a ticket for not having an up to date registration sticker. She actually had one in her glove compartment, and never stuck it on (which is just plain stupid on her part), but thankfully she was able to go down to the police station (or wherever) and have the ticket fixed.

I’ve never had a hippy looking white dude make my sushi before, but he knew what he was doing. They have really unique rolls here, they kind of give it a California twist. There’s some rolls with pine nuts in them and lots of random things like that. It isn’t the best sushi I’ve ever had, but it’s a fun experience and you can for sure try some rolls you’ve never had before. You can’t go wrong either because after you’re done eating, you just walk a few feet and you’re at the beach.

I can’t say this is the best sushi place in Santa Cruz County since I have only been to a couple others. It was pretty good though. This place is located in a very touristy area and will be hard to find parking. During the week you may need to feed the meter between 8am to 8pm.
Maki rolls tasted good and was well prepared. The nigiri sushi had HUGE and I mean GIGANTIC slabs of sashimi draped over sushi rice. Price was as expected for the location (partial beach front view depending where you sit), but not outrageous. When I asked about the nigiri sushi (pronounced: Knee gee dee), the young bright-​eyed smiley waitress paused for a few seconds and said «oh you mean the Knee Geary sushi?» Although I knew what she meant, I wasn’t about to correct her. It’s awfully hard to pick out phlegm in a pile of tobiko. It does kinda take away the feeling of authenticity though.
I would definitely go back if I was in or around the area.
Stick to the nigiri sushi and you will love this place!

The quality of the sushi here is excellent. The maki specials are the way to go. They are always creative, well-​presented, and extremely tasty. Not as nice atmosphere-​wise as Mobo or Shogun in Santa Cruz but as far as the quality of the food, it’s right up there with Shogun, and probably better than Mobo. One of my favorite restaurants in Capitola Village. A little pricey like everything else in the vilage but worth it for the quality. Parking in summertime tourist season is a nightmare.