Ricksha

I am so sad to see this place go. This place was my home away from work. Their prices were good and the food wasn’t bad. Sometimes the service was slow but that’s when they were extremely busy. The servers were always nice and made sure that your drinks were always filled. I miss coming back to this place. There will not be any other place quite like this one.
Riksha, you are definitely missed.

If you haven’t been to ricksha’s on a Tuesday for dolla hand roll night, you are missing out! This is a small, hole in the wall, family friendly restaurant that is absolutely filled with sweetness! Te waitresses are extremely friendly and handle the pressure of a packed house well! There are almost 40 different hand rolls to choose from… all for only $ 1!!! Seriously, you really can’t beat that! It is the perfect opportunity for trying something new if you are still experimenting with sushi. I love this place and will definitely be back again for more sushi!
Super hi five to the sweetest waitress ever, Misty! Thanks to her for all out wonderful and wallet friendly dinners! :)

I agree wholeheartedly with Serena Q. Life IS too short to eat cheap sushi. But then again, now that I have a full-​time job I can afford good raw fish. For those who can’t, there’s always $ 1 handroll Tuesday nights at Ricksha.
I hadn’t been back to Ricksha in years. I was initially brought here by someone attending grad school at UC Davis. Nothing represents the downside of graduate school poverty like cheap sushi. Takes me back to the years I spent wandering the streets of Seattle in search of cheap beer, cheap grub, and cheap housing. Damn, I miss those days!
Anyway, Ricksha. I guess the best thing about the fact that the sushi is pretty mediocre is that you can barely taste it in the $ 1 hand rolls because they literally shave off the tiniest portion of fish possible and prop it up on the very tip-​top of a handroll bursting with rice, to make it look as if there’s good stuff in there. Not so: with one small bite, all the fish is gone. So you, essentially, are being charged $ 1 for a pile of sticky rice wrapped in rice paper. Or five piles, if you’re hungry.
The up side of Ricksha’s handrolls is that the seaweed and rice are perfectly, impeccaby prepared. Crisp, fresh seaweed is the second-​most important ingredient in a good handroll, and delicious and perfectly-​prepared sticky rice is the third.
Unfortunately, Richska misses the #1 key ingredient (the sushi/​filler).
I guess if you’re a poor, starving, young college kid or unemployed hipster type, you could much worse than Rickska on a Tuesday night, especially if you’re craving carbs. But, if it’s the taste (and the nutritional content) of fish you’re after, I would suggest looking elsewhere.

OK, I’m a San Francisco snob, but I come by it honestly as I actually am a real SF native. I have yet to find a really good sushi place in Sacramento that can hold a candle to the great places available in San Francisco.
That being said, I can’t believe any of the reviewers actually give good marks for the rolls.
Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t terrible, but really average at best and the rolls were atrociously prepared. The fish itself was reasonably fresh but obviously prepared by a chef that didn’t have very good training or knife skills. All of the sushi had a blocky, squared off look that was odd. We also had the rainbow roll at our table and the different types of fish were cut into these tiny rectangles that looked kind of dumb and very odd.
You do get a good amount of food and the price is extremely reasonable.
I had some salmon teriyaki which I requested rare, and it was well prepared to my taste. I also had hamachi nigiri which was as mentioned before oddly cut, but relatively fresh. It was not a great cut however.
The staff was very friendly and I would not be opposed to going back, but don’t be fooled by the super high marks some have given this restaurant — they either were looking for cheap food or have no idea what constitutes good sushi.

I love this hidden Sacramento gem! Not for the snobby designer-​sushi crowd — go pose with your cream cheese filled tuna somewhere else. You can really taste how fresh the fish are in their traditional sushi rolls. Perfect quiet little restaurant to share.

We had a great experience here for $ 1 hand roll night! Service was brisk but courteous, friendly and prompt. We were quickly brought the gratis bowl of broth. I was a little taken aback that it wasn’t miso, and that it had a weird, worm-​like noodle at the bottom (emphasis on singular noodle), but the broth was hot and flavorful.
Our first set of rolls came promptly. Though they are petit, the rolls were fresh and more than ample for $ 1 price. The nori was crunchy and the inside ingredients that were supposed to be hot were piping hot; the cold ingredients were appropriately chilled. Fish tasted fresh. There were outstanding vegetarian selections. Our server politely came back several more times to take more hand roll orders, and all were delivered without delay.
The only complaint we had was the edamame, which was served ice cold. I’m more accustomed to edamame fresh from being steamed or at least room temp.
If you’re looking for an unpretentious, classic-​style Japanese joint, and especially for some cheap hand rolls, this is a great place. We’ll be going back!

My wife and I love to stop by here for dinner when traffic on 50 is a mess. The food is consistent. Nothing to write home about, but consistent. I usually order a box dinner which comes with plenty of stuff to fill my round belly. My wife likes the oyako don (chicken and egg over rice) and the udon (soup noodles). Since we usually come here on weekday nights, it’s never crowded. The food comes out fast, but service is sometimes slow. There are almost always two waitresses, and when they’re not taking your order or bringing out the food, they’re hiding in the back where you can’t get their attention for the bill or whatever else.
This is the only japanese restaurant I go to where the waitresses don’t understand a lick of japanese, and I’m referring to the items on the menu. (To put that into perspective, it’s like going to Chevy’s and the waiter doesn’t know what the word «burrito» means.) My wife tried to order the oyako don by saying it several times with no luck. The waitress finally asked her to point to the item on the menu. This happened on two separate occasions. Not sure if it was the same girl. Maybe she was new. Anyway, this doesn’t affect the star rating, but it was fun to watch.

Seriously? You call this sushi? If so, I am sorry for you.
I was in Sacramento for a conference and looked up places to eat. The Sacramento Bee had an article on daily specials. It was a Tuesday and they talked about Ricksha one dollar rolls.
I drove there around 7pm. Parking was a breeze. There was a line waiting to be seated. That’s OK, it is all over the newspaper and it is cheap rolls. Why not wait in line along with the others? Plus, the line wasn’t too long.
I was seated in about 15 minutes. Not too bad. That’s when I noticed there were only 2 waitresses for the entire restaurant. Are you serious? It is supposed to be one of their busiest nights and you have 2 waitresses? Unacceptable. That was the beginning of sucky service.
It took me another 15 minutes to place an order. I was excited about the $ 1 rolls and ordered left, right, and center. Greedy much!
The rolls arrived after 20 minutes. Not one of them was good. They were filled with rice and the sea weed tasted stale. There was barely any roe in one of the rolls and the unagi has a minuscule of eel in it. Not one of them is worth mentioning.
I decided to give a second chance and order different items. Took another 15 minutes to get service. I got a fried chicken roll (wha??), and other items. I ordered a lot (because I was trying to find at least one edible roll) and do not remember what I ordered. I only remember the fried chicken roll because it was pretty bad compared to the others. A thin strip of fried chicken (about 1 inch long and .5 inches wide) embedded in rice. Really? Come on, now!
Service was pretty much non-​existent. I had to wait for 15 minutes to get a refill of water. It took about 20 minutes between orders. And, my check took another 15 minutes to arrive. In the end, it could have been a 30 minute dinner but, I stayed there for more than 2 hours.
The Sac Bee should get a second opinion on their dining editor.

It was good, but I think I’d have to go back a second time to be sure…
My girlfriend and I ate her this past Friday night, instead of one of our usual Arigato sushi-​nights. We love sushi, but we’re also students and are always trying to eat on the cheap so we thought we’d give this one a shot, as a lot of other Unilocalers said it was really cheap. I can’t speak for the other nights, but Friday is all you can eat sushi night, which sounded really great until we saw that it was $ 20 bucks per person — not bad at all for all you can eat sushi but we weren’t «starving» anyways.
There’s a good selection of basic rolls for $ 2.50 6 piece or $ 4.50 12 piece. There smaller maki rolls but the 12 piece tuna roll seemed like a lot of one type for 2 people. All in all, we ordered a 12 piece roll, 6 piece roll, one specialty roll and a bento box meal with salad, teriyaki, rice and tempura, plus they gave us miso broth soups too. Total was $ 26 for everything. You get a lot of food for the money.
The food was good, but the rice seemed to be pretty bland. Just kind of tasted like plain ol rice with no sushi seasoning vinegar stuff.
The service was really good. The servers were all really nice and helpful, and the food was out quick.

I eat here for lunch with my boyfriend about three days a week. Its humiliating to receive that knowing look of recognition when I order the sashimi box every single day, but I do for a reason: Its delicious. Their fish is surprisingly delicious for the price and the staff is very helpful and quick. I am not in love with sitting at tables where I am able to smell the breath of creepy mustache man with a rat tail sitting right next to me, but if you get there before the lunch rush then you can grab a fairly comfortable booth. My favorite part of this place are the cheap lunch boxes and the surprisingly diverse dinner menu. I probably eat here more than any other restaurant in sacramento.
Actually I take my previous declaration of my favorite attribute back, my favorite thing about this place is that it isn’t mikunis. Seriously. Not a flat screen, Coors light or spray tanned hostess in sight.

I have been going to Ricksha on and off for a number of years. In the past, there had been a couple special days that are no longer doing such as Sunday noodle brunch, Monday Sashimi Buffet and Wednesday Ladies Night (Basically 2 for 1 Bento Box). I would say that the special nights are cheap eats and although they have good quality fish, I thought the rice is a bit much on the vinegary side to my liking.
The Friday night sushi buffet, it is mostly the nigiri variety but I have to say that they are smaller portions and the rice seem to be rolled by a machine because it almost looks like a small cylinder shape. I typically eat quite a bit but for some reason I seem to hit a wall earlier than I expect. It is not because I was full but rather I cannot take anymore of the sushi rice. I would also avoid the tempura unless you are a big fan of fried batter and the gyoza is serviceable. On the positives, I like their tea, potato croquette, stuffed chicken drumstick and miso soup. The buffet with just the basic water and/​or tea, you are looking at around $ 15 + tips but Just a warning though, they will charge you extra for any uneaten sushi.
On a Thursday night $ 1 Nigiri roll night, it is basically the same as the Friday night buffet except for a few more choices sush as Salmon Roe and Natto roll as well as provide a bowl of clear soup. If you can handle more than 10 pieces of nigiri rolls, you are better off to wait a day for the buffet.
The Tuesday night $ 1 Hand Roll is probably the most economical way to go as it is a little more food than the nigiri night for the same price.
Overall, I would say this an average place and that the fact they uses good quality fish despite having buffets pretty much saved me from knocking off too many stars. But still, if I had a choice between the pricier trendy sushi places or Ricksha, I would choose Ricksha. If they bring back a sashimi buffet night it is a definite 4 star.

LIFE IS TO SHORT TO EAT CHEAP SUSHI! I don’t like this place. I wish I could say that for $ 1 you could get great sushi, or that their all you can eat Japanese Buffet for $ 7 was a delicious deal, but with this place I truly think you get what you pay for.
I used to go here when I was hanging out at the Flame Club a lot. If I had to create a list of places poor, drunk alcoholic 20-​somethings should frequent the Flame and Ricksha top my list. Heck, they are even in stumbling distance of each other.
Basically, unless you are really poor, go to Nishiki, Kru, Mikuni, Megami, Miyagi (I could go on) for sushi. If you just want cheap Japanese food, go to I Heart Teriyaki.

I’ve been going to this place for years and I love it. There was one instance in which I was displeased, when I went with my boyfriend and we saw a cricket on our table suddenly.
But I’m going to base this review on the most recent visit, which was a couple of days ago.
LOVE LOVE the soup that comes with the meal and the pickled cucumbers are good too, but my boyfriend thought it was too sweet.
I ordered the $ 17 deluxe chirashi. It comes with a cup of Chawanmushi, which was an extreme delight. I had always over looked it on the menu because I didn’t know what it was exactly. I thought it was a sweet egg custard type food, but it’s fair from it. It’s not sweet but it doesn’t have the strong egg flavor either .like of scrambled eggs, it’s more of a tofu taste and texture. It was soaked in a broth, came with green onions, fish cakes and a shiitake mushroom. If you were to order a cup of Chawanmushi for an appetizer, then there’s a 2 order minimum for $ 2.95 each.
Okays to the better half of the review — the chirashi. The bowl it came in was big, in my opinion, maybe the size of when you put three of their soup bowls together (…not in a straight line… I mean in a pyramid… haha). Also it was generously packed with delicious sushi rice. What came in it:
+ 7 – 8 pieces of chunky tuna pieces (I say chunky cause it wasn’t thinly sliced, which is fine with me :))
+ 4 – 5 salmon
+ 4 – 5 smoked salmon
+ 3 yellowtail
+ 3 squid (ika)
+ 3 octopus
+ 3 red snapper
+ 2 halibut
+ 2 egg (tamago)
+ a bunch of smelt roe, masago
+ a spoon ful of salmon roe, ikura
+ big slice of unagi
+ an uni, ebi, and mackerel
I’ll post up a picture of it, a lot of the fish pieces are on top of one another. Also what I list might be inaccurate and/​or they might change how much they serve (chef’s mood).
Service was decent this time, even though there was seriously one waiter. I know their service can be horrible at times when they are really busy. Maybe I’m giving them a 5 because I have low expectations… lol but I was really happy when i came out after eating.

The best super cheap sushi in town. Notice I didn’t say the best sushi, because of course it isn’t. But it’s not bad, and it is cheap.
Their all-​you-​can-​eat buffet is a great deal if they still do it.
The best value on the menu is the hot pot for 2 — about $ 12 for 2 people, enormous amount of food, soup with veggies and meat. They say it’s for one but it easily fills up two.
Good but harried service from young guys in the owner’s family. I like this place. Just don’t have high expectations on the quality of the sushi.

So i caved and decided to try $ 1 handroll night, who wouldn’t for $ 1 a roll. The service was great, the customers were all hipsters lookin for a cheap and yummy meal. Looking over the menu i will surely go back as they have a pretty good variety of food at a very decent price. Anyway, the handrolls were good, but i did have to pick off the extra seaweed wrap, and its basically just one piece of meat/​veggie and a good amount of rice rolled up. I ordered 4 for myself. They were good and i was lightly full when i left.
I will also be back to try out $ 1 nigiri night, more meat for the $. heh.

Craving sushi… need sushi now. Spent most of $$ on vacation. And lost debit card in dive bar in downtown Spokane. What to do?
$ 1 Tuesday Handrolls at Ricksha! Woooo!
The amaebi (sweet shrimp) was fantastic; succulent and fresh, mmmmm. Really good hamachi and unagi. Not a fan of the marinated squid, too much going on for me. Dining companion had the tuna marinated in wasabi… took a giant bite and spit it out, then started crying and coughing and carrying on. (I left a big tip.)
Fish portions are pretty small so the rice and nori can tend to overpower the fish, but still it satisfies a craving and you can’t beat the price. I like that everything is pretty basic sushi, not fried, baked, blowtorched, and covered in 50 sauces.
The ambiance is very sweet and definitely reminiscent of how Japanese restaurants used to be… serene. The service was excellent, but maybe we were early at around 6 p.m. Can’t wait for next Tuesday!

I rarely swear, but I couldn’t help myself when my head lit itself on fire and exploded when I tried the tuna marinated in wasabi paste roll. Holy hell, it was hot.
The 1 $ hand rolls are a good deal but if you’re in a large group it takes a while to get anything.
Everyone in our group of 8 ordered a beer or some sake. One person got their drink within 15 minutes of ordering and the rest of us got our drinks 30 minutes later. It took about an hour to get our food and one person didn’t get their food until everyone had pretty much finished eating.
I might like to try coming here in a smaller group to see if that makes a difference in service.

I tried Ricksha for the first time tonight. It was their Tuesday $ 1 hand roll sushi night! I only had the hand rolls, so my review is based only on them, the service, and the ambience.
The exterior is sort of plain. The interior is really cute and cozy. There are wood chairs with ruffled pillows cushioning them. The ceiling lamps have Japanese shoji screen-​like «boxes» covering them and diffusing the light pleasantly.
After I was seated, I looked at the list of $ 1 hand rolls. There was a large variety of rolls to choose from. (At least 38, i think!) There are selections to feed vegetarians as well as unabashed meat/​fish eaters.
The green tea they served was very good. The ambience in the dining area was that of simple beauty. Various bottles and ceramic items were set onto some custom shelving on the walls. Whoever decorated the restaurant made excellent use of a relatively small space. I had had a headache when I arrived, but the serenity of this little restaurant helped smooth the stresses of the world outside away.
The hand rolls are served in these cute little cone racks. You can pick up a roll, dip it in the soy sauce dish, take a bite, and set it back on the cone rack.
They also serve you a small bowl of miso broth with your meal. I have to smile at the lone noodle that is always at the bottom of these miso broth bowls. I guess they are there for garnish… like a sprig of parsley.
They are open for lunch and for dinner (5 – 9 PM) except on Sundays.
I found the service to be attentive and quick.
The tea is good, too.
I am going to be finding reasons to stop at this little gem of a place more often now that I’ve discovered how pleasant an experience it is to be here.
******
After several visits to this restaurant, I must say that it is at it’s best when it isn’t overly busy. If there are a couple of large dining groups (say, 8 or more in each group), the service grinds to a near stabdstill as the 2 waitresses try to keep up with the demands of a large party AND take care of the patrons at the smaller tables.
If the place looks crowded, I will go elsewhere, because I know that the small wait staff will be stretched too thin.

Really decent sushi for it being $ 1 per hand roll on Tuesday nights. When I’ve strayed beyond the hand rolls, I’ve found that their other food is equally good, but for me it’s not really worth the extra money. I never said I wasn’t cheap.
I prefer Ricksha to several of the other sushi restaurants in town for their ability to do something simple, like a handroll, well and without big screen tv’s on the wall.

It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but this is my vote for the best all-​around Japanese food in Midtown. You’re seated with a small bowl of miso broth, and whether you’re ordering rolls, udon or yosenabe (the traditional meat and veggie stew), the menu is well priced and dishes are well made. Unlike the tacky «rock and roll» sushi nonsense around town where the rolls are as big as tea saucers and have all kinds of deep fried parts and sauces to obscure second rate fish, the menu here is simpler and more traditional and in three visits the fish has been consistently good. Highly recommended for their affordable lunch boxes too.
For those put off by the drab exterior, inside its cozy and comfortable, with lots of natural wood, white paper lanterns and comfortable seating.