Sushi Totoro

Love the sushi but PLEASE come up with a new décor. The old faded Polaroids and now digital photos are tacky, dirty and the place needs an update! Don’t go for the ambiance because it sucks! But the sushi is really good so when in the mood I overlook the trashy appearance.

As someone who didn’t like sushi until I tried it one month ago, I decided to give this place a shot. I was surprised on how delicious the lion king roll (Salmon) was. Right away when you enter the waiter/​waitress welcomes you with a smile & a hello and I admire that type of etiquette. Like I said, This is my third time eating sushi but I actually like this place. The prices are reasonable and I really like their sake. I also love how they have tons of fujifilm photos pin on the wall it makes their restaurant pretty unique.

If you want to play it safe, go to I LOVE SUSHI. The food, price and the service is decent and they even give a couple side dishes on the house every now and zen.
If you’re willing to pay a little more, go to SHOGUN. Shogun does their food a little bit better. Plus the atmosphere is nicer. Aka, better date spot ;)
If you have a car or don’t mind walking a bit, go to SAKE. You won’t regret it. It’s SC’s little hidden gem.
Pass on MOBO (too expensive and poor atmosphere), Tortoro (superb location, meh everything else), and Mays (poor everything).
Anything that isn’t on this list either doesn’t deserve recognition, or opened after I graduated lol.

I’m visiting the area and searched for a sushi place nearby where I’m staying (and my AirBnB host had mentioned it). The restaurant is in a small space but serves solid portion sizes. I ordered a Sunomono salad [it came topped with a whole ebi (sweet shrimp) and chopped tako (octopus)]. I enjoyed the crisp cucumber slices dipped in the sweet vinaigrette. My main course was a Nigiri plate (it came with 10 generous, assorted pieces for just under $ 20), and I was also served a side salad (which I took 1 lettuce leaf from, as I don’t like my salads covered in mayo sauce; I believe it was included with my entrée order) and bowl of miso soup (which was served soon after my arrival, so it must just be on the house). I also added a spicy scallop nigiri to my platter of nigiri entrée. While I was pleased with the size of the fresh fish portions and assortment (I’m not used to getting such a good variety, which was awesome!), there was too much rice for my liking underneath each piece (I took away about half of the serving from most pieces and ended up with a pile of rice that looked close to 1 cup by the end). It’s a Saturday night and there was only 1 group at a table and 1 other person besides me at the sushi bar, so there wasn’t a wait and the service was prompt (I dined there around 8:30 p.m.) There were several of their staff standing around where the sushi bar, register, and kitchen meet close to me, so it seemed perhaps they were overstaffed tonight, or the dinner crowd had left prior to my arrival. Overall, I enjoyed my sushi dinner experience and would recommend it and go back!

super cute + I like how they had lots of photographs on the walls. I probably wouldn’t go back as they had not too many vegan options but they let us order off the menu which was nice c:

Recently Totoro has been serving smaller portions of fish in their sushi, and their lunch meat portion sizes have gone down as well so I don’t think it’s a good deal anymore. Food quality is still OK but it’s as though they know they have a captive audience due to proximity to ucsc so they think they can serve tiny portions. Reject this and get sushi downtown or go across the street for bbq.

Location: it’s located in a small center not much to do. The restaurant it self is very unique and offers something may places don’t. Liked everything about how they decorate it.
Worker: the worker was rude… And the service sucked even though it did not take long to get a table. Once we were seated it took them like 10 min just to ask us what we wanted to drink, same thing with the order … Once my server came he did not let me get a kids meal because I was not 9 or under. This is so dumb because I needed smaller portions, so his solution was to get a smaller portion but still pay 15 dollars for my plate.
Food: the food was very good! And you should not skip the Mochi ice cream !!!
Tip: I should be able to get a kids meal …)-:

Better than the downtown sushi places. Definitely better quality fish. Kim, my sushi chef was super nice and i loved the vibe. The mackerel may not be for beginners but if you love sushi I highly suggest the mackerel nigiri. It is to die for. Best mackerel I’ve ever had.

This is a hole in the wall place. It’s got a fun vibe to it. It’s a good place for the college crowd to go to. The service was good. It was nice of them to let me order a roll exactly with the ingredients I wanted. The roll was made very well with a lot stuffed into the roll and just enough rice to hold the roll together. There was no fish smell to the place. The miso soup was complimentary and was better than most. The reason I give the place 4 stars and not 5 is because the interior is outdated and the rolls were decent but not exceptional.

Food was delicious, décor a tad old. Pictures on way was a little over done! Rolls were fresh and tasty!
Service was amazing and our waitress shared her UCSC story as a freshman which made my daughter feel more comfortable moving into the dorms!

Love this place! Great local vibe and good prices… Staff is great and the food is good. Not world class but you get your moneys worth… The Lion King is awesome… Ahi Poke is legit! You can request light on the toppings with your rolls if your not into it.

Auf der Rückfahrt von Carmel nach San Francisco habe ich dieses bemerkenswerte Sushi-​Lokal in Santa Cruz besucht. Das Sushi war vielleicht nicht das absolute Highlight, aber ganz ordentlich. Das kleine Restaurant besticht durch die Tausende (?) von Polaroids, die die Wände zieren, so dass man eigentlich gar keine Wände mehr sieht.
Nett für einen Stop over.

It’s a hole-​in-​a-​wall and slightly overpriced, but it’s got such a cool vibe — unlike any sushi place I’ve ever seen — and the sushi is delicious. Great food, great service, no complaints.

Sushi Totoro was our go-​to in the beginning simply because it is the closest sushi restaurant to where we live in Davenport. We didn’t want to drive into town and fight traffic or worry about parking. The closer to the edge of town, the better.
Santa Cruz county doesn’t necessarily boast OUTSTANDING, blow-​your-​mind cuisine, but as far as sushi goes, this is a really tasty, comfortable stop for us. It totally grew on me and became my favorite spot in town. The nice thing about a small, busy restaurant is that the food seems consistently fresh thanks to high turnover. I’ve never had bad fish here. I HAVE had some of the most delicious slices of ahi and hamachi that I’ve had anywhere, ever. They boast a wide variety of interesting rolls that I’ve enjoyed sampling (we’re stuck on the Summertime right now) and for the traditionalist, the sashimi assorted plate comes with a ton of delicious, thick slices of melt-​in-​your-​mouth, yum-​in-​the-​tum marine goodness.
The BEST part of the restaurant, and the reason I give 5 stars instead of 4, is the sushi chefs themselves. Super humble, polite, friendly young guys who know what they’re doing, work quickly, and still have time to make conversation. They actually remember your face and your name if you take the time to talk to them. They always say hello and goodbye and they really seem to hold the place together (I’m talking about you, Andy!). Between two restaurants with equal-​ish food, I will ALWAYS choose the one with happier employees. It says a lot about a restaurant if the people working there have genuine smiles and seem to stick around for a while.
While we usually get food to go, I recommend this place for a fun date spot. Lots of two-​tops and the walls of polaroids make for good conversation and distraction as you wait (not long!) for your order. Of course, my favorite spot to sit is at the sushi bar. You know you’ll get quick service and talking to the guys making your dinner is worth at least the price of a roll.

I haven’t been here for quite a few years, so decided to check it out today.
Service was friendly, but had difficulty getting the attention of the one waitress on shift.
The sushi felt a little bit rubbery for my liking. The flavors were bland, too.
I might be back here just for the quaintness of the restaurant.

It’s my last year in SC, so I wanted to try this little sushi place with the cute name! The bf ordered a bento box — spicy teriyaki chicken&salmon teriyaki (I was quite skeptical) and I ordered a rainbow roll and a snowman roll (I wanted a little bit of sashimi).
The bento box was surprisingly good! The chicken and salmon was extremely tender, totally yummy!
My sushi rolls, on the other hand, had the smallest slices of sashimi I’ve ever seen on any roll. It was like half a millimeter thin. ._​.
I had to look around to see if this was the norm, or if we were just being hated on. Luckily (or not very luckily…) everyone was getting the same measly cut of sashimi on their sushi.
I dunno, I didn’t like it. I was pretty disappointed.): The bf wanted to add that the miso soup was really salty (but I liked it.) and that for the size of the sushi, it was overpriced.
So the bento was good. Sushi was meh. Unless you don’t care about the fish.

Go to sushi restaurant in Santa Cruz! Not as cheap as sushi in San Diego but still doable.
Service is fairly fast, it’s a small little restaurant with a cozy ambiance. & A little bowl of miso soup that comes with any meal.
This is an accumulating list of all the dishes I have tried:
Little bomb: (jalepeno poppers) this ones an interesting one. 6 half slices of jalepeno deep fried drizzled with siracha. The tuna creates a VERY meaty texture and not too spicy. The cream cheese isn’t that prominent in comparison to the other ingredience-​not overbearing which is good.
Philadelphia roll: (philly roll but deep fried extra salmon) The perfect temperature! Nice and warm and flavorful. The cream cheese over powers some of the other ingredients, but works well with the creaminess of the avacado. I’m not a crazy cream cheese person but this hits the spot. The extra salmon ties it all together with a well needed extra crunch kick!
Crunch roll (yum): Everytime I order this roll it’s presented differently. This time around the roll seemed smaller and a lot less extra crunch sprinkled around it but still had a satisfying amount. The crunch on this roll is a bit more crunchy in comparison to the tempera texture on deep fried rolls. What makes it for me is the sauces and the crunch. I don’t actually taste the roll itself too well but the combination of Everything together works well. The roll on its own though does not stand out to me, it’s pretty much drowned in crunch. But the two sauces is drizzled on every roll, an essential touch (:
Vegetarian Udon noodles: I love udon, and this specific dish is nothing more than average. The broth was too salty. Not too much else to say, if you’re craving udon then go ahead and order it, just nothing too outstanding.
Big boy: This role is massive! Expensive, but also about double the average roll in size and quantity. Very filling and meaty. I love the crunch formulated by deep frying it and all of the different types of fish give it an exciting texture and flavor with every bite. Good amount of spicy, couldn’t taste the crème too well. Good role if you’re looking for fullness!

We moved to Santa Cruz about a month ago, and have been looking for a sushi joint about twice a month.
We saw on google the this place had high reviews and were in the area so decided to give it a try.
The ambiance was different to say the least. Pictures on every wall, nook, and ceiling of customers is the first thing you see. Next is the spinning lights like a dance club. I imagine the Santa Cruz UC students might like it but a little to much for me.
The fish was great! Quality was good, and the cuts were very nice size. My respect goes out to the buyer.
Service was so so. Good recommendations, but food came late, forgot to bring one salad, and when I said the rice was hard and not cooked at all. All I got was a «I’ll take it off the bill».
All in all not a bad place but not sure I’ll return.

My boyfriend attends UCSC and whenever I’m in the area I have to swing by here; I love this place! It’s a little hole in the wall covered in pictures of their customers, I think it’s really cute!
Every time I’ve gone they have been quick to serve whatever we order and always checking to make sure everything is going well. Sometimes it’s a little crowded and gets noisy but I don’t mind that, especially for how small they are.
All the different things that I have ordered have been delicious, from sushi to chicken to ramen. It all seems to be prepped and made to order and always fresh. Whenever I’m in the area, I’ll be a returning customer!

4 years ago when I first started attending UCSC, I frequently passed by Sushi Totoro on my trek to Safeway to buy a box caprisuns for my dorm. I knew that I’d eventually make my way through the door to see what other extravagant Totoro themed decorations they would have inside.
You can probably look at the other reviews that describe the interior but eh, it’s not that great in my opinion. First of all, out of the few times I’ve been, there would be a disco ball rotating from the ceiling accompanied by the dimmed lights. Well, I thought that it was a restaurant, but whatever, they can be unique I guess.
Since it was a sushi restaurant, I definitely had to try the fish. From my memory, the fish did not taste fresh whatsoever. Especially with the high prices and competing with the many other sushi restaurants in Santa Cruz, you’d think that it would at least be fresh. In fact, I remember that my roll was drenched in a sauce that completely masked the fish.
The one redeeming factor that I can say is that the service is pretty good. It seems very typical for the college seen and unfortunately that’s what I’m used to. Oh and I also tried a pork katsu donburi; it was decent, but I got tired of it halfway through.

Sushi totoro was actually one of the VERY first restaurants I’ve been to ever since starting my undergraduate career, so this place has been full of good memories.
I’ve probably been here about 4 – 5 times mainly for lunch and probably once for dinner, just because they have really good lunch specials and unique combinations for rolls. They definitely updated and cleaned up their menu recently, so it looks more presentable. I’ve always been a huge fan of their bento box specials, since it’s about 9.95 for two items (three items is 12.95) with a salad, miso soup & rice. I usually get the sashimi (4 pc; 2 salmon, 2 tuna) along with something meat or salmon. I tried their spicy teriyaki chicken and their agedashi tofu. Both options were really good; I’d recommend the agedashi tofu if you want something lighter. The pieces of fish aren’t that big which is a slight disappointment, but oh well.
I’ve had a few rolls here before, but they didn’t really stand out too much to me (as you can tell, I don’t really remember the name or what was in it). The prices here are definitely more reasonable than I Love Sushi and on par with Mobo’s. I think I would just stick to the traditional japanese dishes like donburi, udon, or bento boxes here.
The quality of food definitely deserves three stars, but service has been on point each time which gets another star from me. The restaurant is really tiny too, so it’s probably best to come here with a group of less than five people. Another cool thing about this place: there are a bunch of polaroid pictures on the wall. Ask them to take one of you with your group and stick it on the wall!