Arigato Sushi

This used to be one of my favorite Japanese restaurants. I’m really concerned in the quality of food that comes out of the kitchen. It’s not consistent. It used to be amazing, and now, not so much.
Service is declining also. The former servers that were good are no longer there which is a drag for they were very nice and efficient.
This business assigns one server to ½ of the floor, and the person at the register who seats the customers doesn’t give much thought in equaling the work load. One server had 25 people on her side, and the other probably 6. The server with the most customers didn’t get any back-​up from any of the other staff. Not very good teamwork. Some of the waitresses really hustle and are efficient while others just kick back and watch them work.

Love the sushi. Very fresh and tasty. I’ve brought a couple of different groups with me and service was always friendly.

Go there often. Best Japanese restaurant in Salinas. Good food, good, service, good tables, and big plates.

First time eating Sushi here! Great quality sushi! Amazing service and the atmosphere and music was great! A+ If you are craving sushi this is the spot!

Doesn’t even deserve a star. Had phoned in a order and found my two rolls looking very unappetizing. I have ordered a Philadelphia rolls multiple times, this was the last time I’ll order from here. Called to complain about my order and the host kiana & jocelyn were very immature and unprofessional, basically telling with an attitude that’s how they come. I asked to speak to the manager and they told me «well they’re not here, maybe they’ll be here at 3 or 4»?! Umm? Okay? There was no resolution made and no manager on duty to try and fix the problem. HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE!

Very courteous employees and very good sushi. They have sports games too. So instead of buffalo wild wings head here

I hate to write negative reviews but this place… is… well sucks.
The service was ok. It wasn’t as horrible as some of the reviews but it was reallllllly slow. The bad review is for the LACK of qualify on the food. Yes none at all.
I ordered the ramen since I wasn’t feeling well. I know what you’ll say. Ramen in a sushi restaurant?! Why?! It’s your fault… But hey, its served on the menu and I wanted soup so why not. Their ramen is a JOKE. $ 10 for the worst ramen ever. The tonkatsu broth came from a package not even a good one, there was 2 pieces of pinky size meat, the egg was not hardboiled but was mixed in the ramen… And worst of all. The biggest joke were the noodles. The noodles were TOP RAMEN noodles. Not type of noodles. They really were. I’m an expert of top ramen from college days.
Their sushi fell apart and the rice was hard. The quality of the sashimi is also questionable. Needless to say, don’t bother. Don’t let the modernness of the place trick you into coming in. The food is no good and the price doesn’t justify it.

We love Arigato! The weekday happy hour is terrific! The mango bomb is yummy. The Chimney Creek Sauv Blanc is tasty! Our cherished server is the peppy and delightful Cami!

This is the best sushi in town, possibly the best I have had. The specialty rolls are amazing, the lures of flavor never disappoint! And the Nigiri, so fresh!

1^st time in this Sushi place, I have been to a lot of sushi place this one ranks my highest, excellent sushi very clean, ambiance is perfect. So glad that Salinas have this Japanese restaurant.
I will be coming here, can’t wait to try more of their menu.

Happy hour! $ 4 wines and a few dollars off rolls. Plus 10% check in discount. The sushi was great and wine was yummy. If I lived here I’d come back. Glad I stopped in for my late lunch.

The food is so good! The tuna bowl and calamari are my favorite. I drive from Marina just to eat here. Mmmmmmmmm.

First off, service was terrible.
Got seated and asked a worker if me and my friends can be seated somewhere closer to the TV so we can watch the basketball game and she literally STARED me down like she didn’t like our existence.
Don’t get me wrong, food was great. Their rolls are amazing but it’s a bit pricy. My friends beef teriyaki was just too pricy as it only came with a half of fist size of rice and manageable amount of meat for his order, his order also came with soup and salad. Not to mention other Japanese restaurant also serves miso soup for free as soon as you place any order, but I guess it’s different for this place.
At the end, me and my friend tried to use the Unilocal check in discount (10% off) as we only came here from Unilocal.The worker (different lady) said alright and she took my phone with her to talk to the manager I guess… Bit awkward for me. Me and my friends payed separately and on the check, the Unilocal discount was only used on mine. And she kept lying to us that it’s been used for all of us and clearly, their check didn’t have the Unilocal discount shown. At that point I got tired and told her straight up. «Look it’s not on there, it’s only on mine» after few tries of showing her, she finally took their checks and got it fixed. That took a while.
It’s not my first time here as I always came with my family casually. Service lacks for the few times I’ve been here. I don’t think I will be back here. If anyone is looking for a Japanese place in salinas, I’d rather go somewhere els because of my personal experience here.
NOT TO MENTION. They didn’t even give me back my change. It’s was 1.58 or something like that so I’m not complaining but seriously? Poorly executed. They can’t assume how much I will tip them.

I like the vibe that the restaurant gives off; very relaxing and comfortable furniture.
One thing I noticed about the food is that the rolls are huge in size. The size didn’t bother me, it was just one of the things I noticed compared to the Japanese restaurants I’ve eaten at. The rolls are always good.
Service is always good. The servers are always smiling and happy, but the service is a bit slow sometimes.

Update: I gave this place several genuine tries. My conclusion is that the chefs do not consistently produce quality items. I’ve had burnt chicken teriyaki and a freaking rock in my veggie tempura & still had to pay for it.
Review before My broccoli/​rock experience:
I made an order to go.
Beef teriyaki– a little fatty but tasty.
Shrimp tempura-​good
Tempura veggies-​good
Surprise gyoza-​ok but I liked that I got one!
Salad– great lettuce, weak dressing.
Sashimi– I’m always terrified of bad sashimi but the salmon was good.

Sushi of the highest quality, makes your taste buds water. However tonight is really busy and service is strongly lacking. Would highly recommend this place on a slow night, as for my birthday dinner here tonight it’s a real thumbs down unfortunately.

Meh.
Bad service. Bad food. and not worth the price.
If the server did not TRY and smile I would say really bad service.
My daughter and came in around 3pm on a Friday, the restaurant had maybe 6 other people seated. Almost empty. We were seated quickly, nice booth by the window. We placed our order quickly as well. The tea, water and luke warm (more on that later) miso soup came very quickly.
So we wait…
and wait.
I will remind you the place was almost empty. It was not busy at ALL!
and wait
40 mins later, I finally ask our server if everything was okay. she said «yes» I explained it has been over a half an hour and could she please check on our order.
She checked and said it would be a few more mins.
I was hungry and grumpy by this time.
we wait…
10 mins later we get out order. She at this time did pick up the empty miso bowls. She was not rude, but not experienced and did not know how to handle the situation. I do not blame her, I am sure she is a lovely person. But, her training and the kitchen staff’s training is lacking.
The Food… ugh
Avocado Cucumber Roll-​Looked well made, and tasted good, small roll compared to most other good Sushi restaurants. Yet almost 8 bucks? No thanks
Yam Roll– VERY Sloppy, was tough, like the yam was not cooked well, flavorless, wasn’t soft or enjoyable, and VERY small roll and served as an afterthought with no wasabi, no ginger. No thanks.
The Veggie Roll– each piece fell apart, the veggies were not cooked, which could be fine, I can like that, but this was not fine, not good and as hungry as we were we couple not finish it. The seaweed was MOIST and like rubber. It was pretty gross.
Miso-​had okay flavor, my daughter’s did not one piece of tofu, while mine only had two pieces, but worst it was luke warm. almost room temperature.
So, overall. the food was also NOT good.
The price… WAY more for Vegan rolls than any place in the area, which I am including San Francisco where I live half the time. overpriced especially for such small poorly put together rolls.
I’d give this less than one star if I could.
I will not be back. And I would not try this place if you are in any kind of hurry. There are too many other really great Sushi places in the area, that are better priced, better food and with great service.

I guess I was expecting a lot more from this place when I came in. The ambiance of the restaurant was great, it looked modern, and very warm, however after being seated, I could tell they did not have a solid system yet on running food, and were short staffed.
It took quite a while to have our drink orders to be taken, as well as our food. I ordered the teriyaki steak and a hamachi hand roll. The teriyaki steak was practically beef jerky covered in sauce, and my hand roll didn’t even make it out until I brought it up to the server. I’ll assume they’re still figuring out something that works for them, however it resulted in a bad dining service for me. The manager was kind enough to take the plate off our bill, but it’ll be a while before I decide if I’ll give this place a round 2.

Here for lunch with buddies from work. This location is smack in the middle of a large shopping center off Main Street in colorful Salinas, CA; home of the California Rodeo. Typical Japanese restaurant; food was not particularly astonishing but the over zealous waitress made up for the lack of mediocre food with genuine interest and enthusiasm. To the point of interrupting our working lunch.
I ordered a teriyaki beef Bento box lunch and liked the price $ 10.95. Pretty decent save for the meat not being cut very well and being only supplied chop-​sticks, proved to be a challenge. Bathrooms and kitchen appeared clean and there is abundant parking in a large shared parking lot. Going to try one more time before awarding anything over 3-​stars.

I have been here twice for lunch, great seating area. Prefect for the business lunch or solo.
The waitress are very attentive and will check with you while they are on the floor.
Food was delicious and fresh! Ordering was smooth and came out perfect. You have to try the Jalapeño bombs!
One addition to the menu I would add would be «BROWN RICE»
I’m so happy that they opened this great Sushi bar in this shopping center. Love the décor/​music and just the great Vibe it gives off. Makes you want to go back plus the food of course! ;)