Itsuki - Goleta

Delicious bento box. Tasty tempura. Sunamono was good but small for the price. Service was friendly and fast.

A hidden gem in Goleta for delicious sushi, run by a local family: It's located near the Goleta DMV and the old appliance store, and it's definitely worth the trip if you're downtown. I visited twice with a friend for lunch, and I was completely satisfied both times! We tried the amiyaki beef bento box, the tempura shrimp roll, a side of teriyaki chicken, sake, and a Sapporo. Thank you for the wonderful meals on both occasions and for the excellent service; the staff is incredibly kind and attentive.

The ramen and soup at this restaurant are quite good. Whenever I visit, I typically order either the spicy seafood ramen or the beef curry ramen. This time, I opted for the beef curry ramen, and it was definitely flavorful. However, I was a bit disappointed by the small amount of beef; they only included a few tiny pieces.

We ordered food here to support local businesses, but we won't be returning. The seaweed salad was $9.50, and it tasted like something from Costco. The shoyu ramen, priced at $17, came with just one thin slice of pork belly (see attached photo) and half of a hard-boiled egg??? It wasn't even a traditional ramen egg that's soft-boiled and marinated in soy sauce and mirin; it was just a plain, hard-boiled egg! This place feels like a scam. Do yourself a favor and avoid it!

Itsuki has great sushi and presentation of sushi compared to nearby sushi places. I had the tempura and sashimi bento (see picture below), which I have to say is was very unique in the fact that it had many components, but not a lot of each component. Their sashimi was fresh and tasty! Their sushi rolls are presented very well and taste great as well. My only criticism in this review is that it does cost a pretty penny, but overall the food was great!