I don't know why this amazing restaurant has better reviews. My boyfriend and I usually get take out like twice a month. Their sushi is as good as it can get. It's fresh and delicious. Their miso soup is out of this world and always hot and fresh. the MEXICAN ROLL is probably the reason this is my favorite Japanese restaurant in Santa Barbara and probably the world (I like to try sushi in different parts of the world) . I would definitely recommend this restaurant. Also I love the gyozas. What I always order: Mexican roll Steamed pork gyozas miso soup. read more

One of my fave sushi places for 20 years from my og classic sb days...always friendly family service and I love the genroku sushi roll combo as it's an excellent value and delicious to boot! Try green tea ice cream! Also it's the known spot for shoji screen rooms and special party service, huge sake pitchers and great for college kids or parties for any celebration. Love you Kyoto! read more

It was okay. I liked the guy who sat us, served us and also cleared for us. Very nice man. The 007 roll was ok. A lot of people were getting to go orders. read more

Kyoto is great! We have been coming here for years. The to bowl is a favorite, tons of fish. Tempura udon is delicious and a huge serving of food. Very good cheap sushi on weekdays before 6. Great service too. Just be prepared for some excitement if you come on Friday night. We like to rate the sake bombers ability to articulate the chant as the evening passes... read more

Solid Japanese food for a fair price. For two combination bento boxes that came with soup and salad, we spent less than $20 (not including tip). The sushi is huge and fairly fresh as well. The portions are very generous and I like their no frills atmosphere. I also have fond memories doing sake bombs in the tatami rooms here while I was a student at UCSB, so I have a soft spot in my heart for this place. Service is courteous, though it may be a little slow when they're busy (to be expected). The parking is a little difficult to navigate, but overall, one of the better Japanese restaurants in the area. read more

Horrible group accommodations, your supposed to cross ur legs under the table. Lots of chinese people here who just stare at me. Kinda awkward read more

GREAT, finally a Sushi restaurant in Santa Barbara that actually knows how to make sushi! Also, this is one of the only Japanese places that hubby and I can agree on. His chicken teriyaki never fails to amaze us with how tender the meat is, and how light and savory the sauce comes. His picky ways have been silenced by the perfection of this dish- impressive! I hear no, "The portion's too small" or "UGH GROSS sauce" or even "wth?". And we eat our meals in peace. As for me, I adore the sushi. Kyoto has such a range of rolls- from the cooked rolls for the timid sushi acquantee to the multitude of raw fish for the hardcore sushi worshipers (like myself)! One complaint would be that their rolls appeal too much to the American taste- a bit overbearing and drenched for my taste. Service is great and always patient with the sushi scientists who often stroll into Kyoto. Parking might be hard to grab, but do park on the side street as you wont want to miss this restaurant for anything! I hella love Kyoto. read more

its OK. its expensive, but its good.. so i can't really complain. The service is meh. The servers can't really speak english and if they do, its extremely broken. People might mistake that trait as "legit" but in all honestly its an obstacle because i feel uncomfortable pointing to what i want in the menu. the private rooms seem enticing, but when my friend booked the room for her birthday, i couldn't even sit down without my legs cramping or knees going numb. i've gone twice and never gone back unless it was necessary. read more

Kayoto's. Every time I come to your small plywood blanks you call chairs, I am to expect 2 things; for you to not care how old I am and for me to sake bomb till I can't feel my legs. However, last time I came to your establishment you told us (a group of nineteen, I mean twenty one year olds;) that WE WERE BEING TOO LOUD! WHILE SAKE BOMBING! If we can't do the one thing that keeps your establishment going, having the time of our degenerate lives, you will hear about it. Peace out mofos read more

DIRTY AND MEDIOCRE Apparently years ago this was the in-spot for quality Japanese food in Santa Barbara. Now it's not clean (dirty, grimy floors) and they need an upgrade on the wall paint which was in very bad shape. The place seemed like it was in decline. Even the food... My dinner was a "bento box" of chicken teriyaki, sushi and tempura. Everything tasted flat. Fresh seafood can have a sparkling fresh quality that can delight your taste buds. Completely lacking of fresh flavor might concern health inspectors. The tempura was mediocre with no remarkable taste. The chicken teriyaki was doable but not awesome. The chefs might want to take some cooking lessons from more gifted chefs up in San Francisco to redevelop their flavors from plain to spectacular. This place needs a total makeover from food to decor. In it's current condition and questionable food freshness I would NOT recommend this place to anyone. read more

went there at around 8, hoping that I could have a quiet dinner. Surprise! college party next to my table. Kind of feel like I was eating next to a butcher shop , people screaming at each other, drunk faces and endless yelling. food was okay quality, I am not particularly impressed, wait...there was one thing. I did get the chance to try California roll with cheese in the middle, it was...hmm... a bit odd. If you are afraid of dining alone, you will love this place. The noise would provide you great comfort, letting you know that you are forever alone and other people are having a blast. Enjoy! read more

You gotta try the "eyeball". Great place to go saki bombing with a group, my girl Jane works there and she hustles.

Had it delivered. Delivery & packaging was great, sushi was just ok. Will go elsewhere in the future.

The main problem of this restaurant is the attitude of the staff. For the whole time my friends and I were there, we were asked once while other tables were frequently taken care of. Apparently, the staff are more interested in those white American customers and think us Asians not that big of the customers. Trust me, walking out of the restaurant and still no greetings, this place is suck. read more

It's so dirty around this place and we got really sick eating here. Yuk! Will not recommend it to anyone. Keep the inside and out if you are running a food business and tell your staff to wash their hands read more

One of my favorite and go-to sushi restaurants in Santa Barbara. The waiters are all friendly and attentive, and the food is amazing. I love going for happy hour, because who doesn't like cheap sushi? I also love going with a large group of friends because their private rooms are very accommodating. read more

Went here as a "Roommates' last dinner before graduation from UCSB" thing for sake bombing and dinner. All I can say is that the food was great, service was great, and it was just a fun time. A little pricey but it's SB. Worth it though. read more

The place is ab-so-freaking-lutely unbelievable!!! Get a large group and make a reservation for one of their private rooms to do real Japanese sake bombing!!! THEY SERVE PITCHERS OF SAKE. Excuse me I might sound like an alcoholic, but it is absolutely ingenius!!! And Chris one of the servers is a little gem...he led my party and the party next door in sake bombing. ICHI-NI-SAN..SAKE SAKE BOMB!!! Their food is pretty decent, but lets be real most people come here to get drunk. read more

Good food and affordable prices. We did the bento boxes and that was a LOT of food. Fish was fresh and they had a nice selection of rolls and nigiri. read more

Great sushi rolls. Delicious hand rolls! Fun atmosphere, reasonable pricing and fantastic food!

Definitely a sushi spot worth checking out. While the parking lot is sort of absurd, the fare is very dependable. I have yet to get a roll I didn't like. The sashimi was delicious. Excellent miso. The "boats" they serve are very plentiful and feed my family to the brim. But what I like best about this place is the service. Their servers are extremely attentive without being obtrusive, and they seem to genuinely be happy to have your patronage. That typically overrides any of the shortcomings in my opinion. read more

I have made a phone order/take-out, dined with a group of five, and dined with a group of 15. Their success varies on the size of people they are serving. Here is my experience: Phone Order - Adequate Friendly over the phone, and adequate service. Nothing extraordinary to note. Group of 5 in Private Room - Meh. Kyoto's servers are very friendly-faced. I went with my family who ordered some good sushi. It's good for the price that you're getting. Although my younger brother's dish came out in the later half of the dinner, to the point where everyone pretty much received their dishes and were essentially finished with it all. My brother ended up being very very hungry by the time he got his dish. He only staved off the hunger by eating what was left from our plates/what we offered. So it's decent service. Group of 15 in Private Room - NO. The ambience is cool at first, but don't let it fool you. We had to wait about 10-15 mins before finally being seated in one of the private rooms. I had made reservations for 7:30PM last Sat night. We ordered sake bombs which were fun to do. When they mean a "pitcher" of sake, they literally mean pitcher like a pitcher of beer. We had 8 people doing sake bombs, so order one pitcher in the beginning. You can always order more if needed. They took our orders late, because we were seated late. Everyone had their plates in front of them at around 8:40PM but we were told TO RUSH because the restaurant had another reservation for a large group in our space at 9PM. It didn't end well for both the restaurant and the group after us. The group ended up waiting like, 15-30 minutes to be seated because the restaurant made a mistake in booking too early. Needless to say, the restaurant's rushing my group to inhale our food in 15 minutes, and the late seating of the following group resulted in little-no tips being given. read more

This is my most frequented sushi place in Santa Barbara. I've always gotten good service here and it's the tatami rooms are fun for groups. That being said, sometimes the groups in the tatami rooms can get a little out of control but the staff is pretty good about shutting their doors so that the whole restaurant doesn't have to hear them... read more

Great food but way out of my price range if someone else isn't buying!

I was there late on a Sat with a date,and the sushi at the bar was exceptional. Fresh, elegant, tasty, with generous portions. Nice to see Kyoto coming on strong. read more

The service was excellent and I like the vibe of the place, but the sushi is consistently...meh. Just not great I'm very sorry to say, because all the staff are lovely. Unfortunately, I'm drawing the line this time and not coming back. There are better sushi places in SB. read more

I paid over $50 for delivery of just beef teriyaki combo and gyoza. Food was ok but sooo overpriced.

Just tried the Odon noodles! Soooo good! Get the chicken, the chicken is the hibachi chicken in the soup with big pieces of egg in it. The broth is also good it has a unique taste. read more

I love the half price sushi deals!!!! My fave are the hand rolls, but everything is fresh and delicious! They have really good lunch deals as well. You get so much food!! read more

This place is awesome, and their happy hour is UNBELIEVABLE. I eat here weekly, and was admittedly hesitant because of their random location on Las Positas and upper State. It's just great. read more

My friends and I just finished eating here. It was my teisyoku experience ever and I have to say it was great!! My friends ordered the sabateisyoku which let them each get a sukiyaki, chicken teriyaki, a salad, and agedasitoufu What a great deal! I went with the katudon and an edamame! The sauce on the it was amazing! So delicious! Our server was so nice!!!!! and helpful! We loved this place. read more

Best sushi I've eaten in years! My friend and I sat in a private room and had the best time. GREAT SUSHI RESTAURANT!

I love Kyoto! When I crave sushi (which is often) I make the drive from goleta to Kyoto's because good quality sushi is worth it. Its not too expensive a pretty good deal because of the ample portions and quality of the fish (be afraid if you find cheap sushi) It's really fun to get a group of friends (small or large) and reserve their side rooms where you sit on the floor and take your shoes off, perfect atmosphere for saki bombs! The staff is friendly, service is quick and I highly recommend the 911 roll if you like spicy things read more

Beware this is a beehive for college students. The prices are really affordable and they accommodate large groups but that could be a con for couples or families who want to enjoy a nice quiet conversation over dinner. It gets pretty ratchet here and the waits for the rest room is really ridiculous. What's nice is they do have private rooms although the walls are paper thin. read more

Besides the staple california roll (which was great) I had the 911 roll and cherry blossom roll. Both were great. I found the cherry blossom roll to be very unique and great tasting. The sushi is fairly priced, not cheap but wont break the bank. If you dine in expect to take your shoes off. They sit you on the ground and have you remove your shoes. It makes for a great atmosphere. read more

A M A Z I N G!!!!!! Hands down some of the best sushi I've ever had in my pathetic life!! Though all the dishes we ordered were delicious, the Fire Roll rose above exceptional. read more

Spider roll is soo good! Whenever I go here with my husband or friends we always order rolls. Fresh fresh fresh sea food. We ate here 4 weeks ago and our guests and I left satisfied with a variety of 10 different hand rolls. I will def come back! read more

Great sushi. We sat in the private room, where the table is only a few inches off the ground. The group of teenagers in the private room next to us decide that it was a good idea to stand on the flimsy table and crashed through the thin walls onto our table. I would HIGHLY recommend that the host/hostess remind the teenage groups that standing on the tables is NOT a good idea. read more

Excellent service and tasty food! It always seems to be really busy so I recommend getting there sooner rather than later. The specials are always such a treat and the prices are very reasonable! Definitely one of the best sushi places in Santa Barbara read more

I'm on a quest to try these top sushi restaurants in Santa Barbara. This one is alright- prices are OK, and they have a wide variety of rolls. I imagine this place to be more of a sake bomb -with- big groups -in a private room place. For lunch, we came and had a lunch special and a fire roll. There was too much sauce on it, a little spicy, but alright. I didn't feel a sense of cleanliness in the restaurant, but the service was pretty good and prompt. Parking is very small. read more