I was in the area for work and went to this gem. I was alone and that was weird lol.... But I soon got over it. I ordered an old fashioned- I like to try them everywhere- it did not disappoint. I had the scallop sushi roll, recommended to me... and now I am on a scallop kick. I also ordered an apricot cobbler drink.... Amazing: flavorful, not too sweet, nice aromatics... the whole thing. I also got the smash burger- highly recommend. The service was excellent, and the atmosphere was unique with decorations that match the theme. If you are in Ventura, try this place. :) read more

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Been here a couple of times now. Love the artwork they have up. It's so unique and fits perfect with their theme. I always tend to go "early"/when they open, so it's always nice and quiet. I never feel rushed. The servers who I have gotten have always been really nice. They know the menu, and if they don't, they let us know they are going to ask. Ive primarily come here to get cocktails. They are really good. I am a fan of whiskey, so the drinks I have gotten are whiskey. Both have been really delicious, and never tastes different. They are pretty consistent when it comes to making cocktails. I've gone for their Dim Sum Thursday. Bao Bun was really good. We've been wanting to go on Sunday for Ramen, but havent had the chance to go. That will most likely be the next time we go. read more

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Super cute place for cocktails. I haven't tried their food, but it's a great place to catch up with friends or have a date night. Staff is always friendly and really quick to greet you, even on busy nights. I usually go for drinks with tequila and all of them have been really good. My cousin has tried their whiskey drinks which she said were also really good. read more

I went on a Tuesday grabbed some specials. Love the low key vibe and the decor. Service was exceptional. Food was fresh and hit the spot. I'll be back for karaoke night read more

Strange Beast - Ahi tuna rolls, fried chicken - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Ventura, California

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Loved the drinks here! So many interesting cocktails and they were all so delicious. The service was also great - our waitress was super friendly and gave stellar recommendations. The bar snacks were pretty good, especially the karaage! My friend got the ramen and said it was a bit salty for her liking though. All in all, a great spot! read more

Strange Beast in Ventura was a great surprise. I came here just looking to grab some dinner and ended up having an experience that made me want to come back immediately. I ordered the bento bowl after trying the Backdoor Bento, and it was exactly what I was hoping for. Flavorful, satisfying, and really well put together. Right when I walked in, the bartender guided me to my table and introduced himself as Nick and mentioned that if we had any questions, that he was here to help. That small gesture went a long way. His knowledge and helpfulness immediately made me feel welcomed, and it set the tone for the rest of the visit. You can tell he genuinely cares about the guest experience and knows the menu and drinks inside and out. Drink-wise, the Beastside was a standout. It's a tequila Eastside, refreshing, balanced, and dangerously easy to drink. I also had a glass of Japanese whiskey, which was a perfect touch and rounded out the meal nicely. Between the food, the drinks, and the hospitality, Strange Beast left a really strong impression. I'll definitely be returning as soon as possible. read more

Strange Beast Bar is such a gem - cozy and great vibes I had a "dealer's choice" mocktail which was fire. Huge shout-out to Nick, truly the best bartender. He's attentive and so kind. Highly recommend and can't wait to come back! read more

Strange beast has been a staple spot for my partner and I for a couple of years now. We always get the same things: the sama sama wings and the kale ceasar salad, with a cocktail or two. On our most recent trip, we were so sad to realize that they had they taken our favorite kale ceasar off the menu! Not only that, but they also completely changed their wing recipe (burning our mouths off in the process!). We did love the new cocktail menu, though! Both stranger things drinks we had were delicious, and the service was great.... But still, disappointed by our favorites being gone. read more

Go to the drag brunch!! Pam and her crew are absolute PROS. Delicious Japanese breakfast and the most fun seasonal Stranger Things menu. Thanks for a wonderful morning. read more

I've only gotten the chance to go once, but am definitely planning on returning. Went for Tuesday HH where they have a drink (limited selection) + 3 hand rolls of your choice for $20, which was a pretty good deal. Drinks were good. Hand rolls were fresh and tasty. Each day they have different types of special deals and on Sundays they make ramen, which I want to try soon. The ambiance is very cool, modern asian and staff are friendly. read more

Strange Beast - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Ventura, California

Found our new favorite place in Ventura to get a good bowl of Ramen. The moment we found out about their ramen on Sundays, we had to try it. We tried a ramen with a pork and chicken broth - delicious. Very tasty broth, very tasty meat, very tasty egg, above average noodles. The only complaint with the ramen is the ratio of meat/toppings to noodles - lots of noodles, but not enough toppings to go around. That being said, we still devoured our bowls of ramen. LOVE their Ube Pina Colada - such a great use of the ube flavor, and I found I liked it better than a traditional pina colada. They also do a great late night Happy Hour. Delicious onigiri, loved the chicken karaage, and the sama wings. All great choices for a late night out. Such a great vibe here. Great for a good time with friends, a date night, or even a solo venture. Love that this place can fit the bill for so many different outings. Even though it's on main street, parking isn't too bad. We usually just park at the free structure and walk on over. Easy parking, simple walk. Definitely recommend checking them out, especially for their Sunday ramen. read more

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Love the vibe here . Lighting is nicely dim but not too dark. We ordered: Salmon & ikura handroll . I was so confused when it came out because it didn't look like a handroll. It crumbled apart a bit but was still good. Kaiju Burger was pretty good but the fries were too salty for our liking . Service was great . We got seated pretty quick for a Saturday evening too . read more

Strange Beast - Kaiju burger Sep 2023 - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Ventura, California

Food 5/5 I ordered the Sunday special, the Ramon noodle is amazing ! It was worth checking this place out and especially because it's not crowded. Drinks 5/5 My drink was strong , watch out ! The ube drink is something you don't find everywhere. Service 5/5 The bar tender was very attentive and friendly ! Really appreciate the patience and suggestions to our group Ambiance 5/5 The facility was not crowded and the decor was stylish. read more

Strange Beast - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Ventura, California

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Very cool themed bar. They have creative drinks which I liked. Food was good but nothing to write home about. The focus is on the drinks. Do the dungeon dice option and see where you land. read more

we ordered the yoshi & peach and the green apple manhattan, both were clean & well balanced, apples in the manhattan were bruleed, drinks and a show! we also had the togarashi fries w spicy mayo. so good! i had the crab hand roll, fresh with a little kick! beautiful, clean space! excellent & professional service :) read more

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What a great place to hang out eat , and drink shots of saki !! Great background music and comfy chairs !!!! Food was great !!!!! Service was to the tea., our total for 2 beers one sushi roll 45$ . We didn't get to try all the other food, but we will be back another day !! read more

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Strange Beast is cool spot to grab drinks and share small bites. A small group of us went the other day before dinner. The cocktail list is extensive and they are sure to have something you'll enjoy. We also decided to split the vegetable tempura. It was crispy, light and a great appetizer. The staff also did a great job with fast service and great recommendations. I'm sure to visit again and looking forward to trying other options on the menu! read more

Strange Beast - Tempura - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Ventura, California

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Loved this spot! Cool atmosphere and delicious cocktails. I tried both the Yoshi + Peach and the Ube Piña Colada. Both were great. I didn't order any food, so I can't recommend anything there, but for the drinks snd the vibes this place is fun. read more

Will expand on this later. the atmosphere, food, service, and drinks were all 5/5. Will be returning soon!

This place was so cute. The staff was great, they had the most amazing non alcohol beverages and my boyfriend said delicious drinks. The wings were very tasty! We will be back the next time we are in town. read more

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A dark, cool shelter with fun decor on the main drag with some outside tables, perfect place to people watch and enjoy a refreshing cocktail. Food is super delicious! For me the star of their many dishes is the Ikura or salmon roe, which I love. Their creamy potato salad is particularly enjoyable on a hot afternoon. And the drinks are all tasty, even the nonalcoholic offerings. Service can take a while as there may only be one or two people working- order and pay at the bar, and come ready to lounge and relax. Pull up a seat to watch the talented bartenders practice their art! read more

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Great vibes, amazing servers, and delicious bites! We loved the unique and refreshing wasabi potato salad (not too strong of a wasabi kick), super crispy salty and sweet explosion sama wings (we devoured THREE plates of it), kale Caesar (really tender kale tossed with the right amount of dressing and panko crumbs), and chicken karaage (juicy chicken bites we smothered in lemon juice and dunked in side sauces). We also tried the tuna and salmon hand rolls and those were not as memorable to me. I also enjoyed the beast side (tart tequila cocktail, yum!) and tried the summer snow sake. We snagged a cozy corner near the entrance with velvet arm chairs and a couch. We were never rushed and we loved the energy in the restaurant! It's located near main and oak with plenty of street parking or free parking lots. Highly recommend and will bring out of town visitors here. Will be back to try their ramen special on Sunday evenings. read more

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Honestly we stopped by because I was craving fried rice, or any chinese food. We saw this spot and liked the vibes. The inside of this location had dim lights, music (no loud) but loud. You are still able to conversate. We got the Katsu Don Rice Bowl and honestly it was so flavorful. I didnt want it to end especially because we were sharing it. Our food did take a while to come out. I believe the waiter forgot to place our order. The service was 7/10. They were attentive with us though. Would definitely come back. read more

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Really cool new place! I love the unique drinks they have. I've tried the ube pina colada, the peach yoshi and the old fashioned. I recommend all of them! I personally didn't like the Japanese michelada only because of the pickled plum it had in it. I haven't had the chance to try any food from here yet, but I've seen other people order, and it looks very fancy. My favorite thing about this place is that it's open until midnight. read more

Strange Beast - Bar selection - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Ventura, California

Was in downtown Ventura for a 2 day weekend. Really cool spot to chill with friends. It was so cool we went back the next night. The beer rice is good and their mixed drinks as well. The employees are nice & friendly. I love that there was plenty of space to lounge around/sit. read more

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Had such a great time at Strange Beast - I'm glad we made our way over. The staff were friendly and gave great suggestions. Ended up getting the Melon Ball Z because I was capped out on sugar for the day. It did not disappoint. It was refreshing, sparkly, and a little lemon/limey. I really enjoyed it, the vibes, and the company. Would definitely come back next time I'm in town. read more

Such a cute place to have dinner and drinks! Our waitress was so friendly she was also the hostess and bussing tables. I did feel so bad when a child left a mess and the waitress did not have time to clean up table chairs and floors, so please clean up after your children, you disgusting people!! Besides the loud messy child next to us, we still had a great time. read more

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Interesting and creative cocktails, tasty sushi hand rolls and good service. The decor is nice and the restaurant is comfortable and inviting. We had our dogs with us and we were able to enjoy our meal on the front patio with no issues. read more

Fun place! Loved the atmosphered and vibe. Went on a Saturday night, you can seat yourself. There was a bit of a crowd at the bar and a couple tables open so we were able to sit quickly. Very intimate even though loud. Candles, some couch seating and outdoor space. Unfortunately the service for us was not great which I was disappointed about. We had to ask multiple times for utensils and to get noticed to order. The food tasted good and it is on the moderately pricey side. We ordered their handroll trio which gives you the option to choose 3 of the different handrolls offered. This is not a sharable app as we got recommended. We also ordered the katsu don rice bowl which was recommended as a good size to share but it was not. They are all very small plates so if you go with a group and hungry this might be a "pre-game" spot. The drinks were good, very trendy and themed which I enjoyed. If you want Asian inspired small plates and drinks you might enjoy it. read more

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Strange Beast is always a good choice for a chill vibe. It's a bit dark inside, which I really like and think contributes to the ambiance. The beastside is probably my favorite cocktail in Ventura so I'd go just for the cocktails, but the food is great too! The wings are always really good and pair well with the kale caesar salad. read more

Very comfortable patio seating that's dog friendly! Came here on a cold rainy day but the heat lamps were in full effect for some dranks & bites. Enjoyed an espresso martini as well as some chicken nachos. Service was quick & easy, will certainly be back when I'm on State Street! read more

Went to try the new menu tonight since they now have rotating ramen every day of the week! Didn't and up trying any of the sushi but the ramen was divine. It was a pork ramen with garlic and the noodles were chewy perfection with a deeply savory broth. We loved it. We also had to get the kale Caesar which is my favorite thing on the menu by far. I can't event describe it, it's just really that good. We also tried the veggie gyoza which were crisped to perfection with two dipping sauce options - a spicy mayo and a vinegar based sauce. Lastly we got a couple of spicy tuna hand rolls. I'm not usually a huge raw fish person so this was adventurous for me! Didn't hate but didn't love. Definitely could've been spicier, seemed like maybe they just mixed the tuna with the spicy mayo from the gyoza. But anyway, the service from Sasha was excellent! She was so attentive but also so personable it felt like we were just chatting with a gal pal. And of course the vibes were excellent. Can't forget the drinks! We really loved the spicy margarita which wasn't that spicy imo so I would honestly go for a level 4 on the spice. 3 just wasn't enough. But the beastside cocktail really stole the show! So crisp and refreshing. Will definitely be back! If even just for the ramen and kale Caesar. And maybe karaoke...maybe. read more

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Cool hip spot in the 805/downtown Ventura! Love their daily specials -- we came on Tuesday for Handrolls and Highballs Tuesdays. Such a good deal. $20 for 3 handrolls and a highball. Honestly, didn't have high expectations for handrolls, I thought they were pretty mediocre. Nothing too special about them, I think that there could have been more flavor. The karage and wings and burger were great! The burger was a bit smaller than I had expected though. Also, surprisingly the fries were really great -- perfectly crispy on the outside. I was impressed. Drinks were good too! Definitely strong, and has a wide variety of flavors. Would def recommend for a cute date night spot or a girls night out! The service was good, was a bit confused walking in because no one was there to greet us. We just picked our seats and then the workers came to give us menus. read more

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Service was very slow. Waiters could have been more pleasant. Ordered some wings and they never came out and it wasn't very busy. Won't be going back. read more

Fun vibes and cool eats. The hand rolls and agedashi tofu are the best. The yellowtail crudo is very expensive, not a good value esp since the yellowtail is so heavily sauced you can't taste the fish. Sojourner is a great refreshing cocktail. read more

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TLDR: Just not that good. Food is bad given price, portions are small, can find better. Waitstaff uncohesive and untrained. If you come, stick to the drinks. I was really excited to try this place given the many many many positive reviews. Ambiance: really dark inside, and they even turned down the lights further at night. Had to use flashlight to read the menu. But maybe that's your vibe, so that didn't affect my rating. Service: the waitstaff is friendly (pulling the rating up!), but severely untrained. It didn't seem like they were working cohesively, making it really hard to get anybody's attention for service. The main waitress was wearing a huge bucket hat to boot and literally couldn't see us waving at her. One dish came so slowly that we had to cancel and leave since we waited 20 mins after we finished the other food already. The food: thoroughly mediocre, but I'd rate it bad given the price point. The handrolls arrived quickly but didn't taste very fresh, which was immediately a bad sign. The portions were small and primarily rice for the bowls, the dishes unimaginative and unrefined (super thick tempura batter) and after spending $30 per person on just food we were still hungry. Overall, I cannot imagine how people call this food amazing, especially given Ventura's proximity to LA and excellent Japanese food. There are also definitely better places within ventura even read more

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Stumbled upon this bar while walking down main street over the weekend. What a cool and different vibe. Not a type of bar I would think to find in Ventura. Super trendy Asian fusion drinks. The bartender (sorry I forgot her name!) she was so helpful explaining the different drinks and made wonderful recommendations. I originally ordered the matcha man, it didn't have enough matcha flavor for me and it was really strong, but then I got the millennial falcon. That one was really good. Coconutty with a creamy foam on top. It was too good I forgot to snag a shot of the drink. If you're in the area I would def check this place out. I want to go back and try the ube pina colada and some of the food options. read more

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So... my wife and I came here this evening after a SUPER long day of working at the Aloha Beach Festival that happens here in Ventura every other year. We came here to Strange Beast expecting for my wife to be able to get some crudo (she's a big fan of yellowtail sashimi) after she perused the menu off of Google maps. Well, we got here and found that she wouldn't be able to have that, as they only have a late night menu AFTER 9 (no where is that mentioned where she was looking). While disappointed, we decided to still stick with this place. We've ordered (yes, I'm currently still here and EXTREMELY irritated) a salmon and a chef's special onigiri for my wife, a tonkatsu onigiri and chicken karaage for me and and destroyah fries for us to share. Why have we been sitting here for over a half an hour waiting for such an easy dish (karaage)? I was wanting to eat the chicken with the fries, but that's not really a possibility at this point. And here's the other thing, how are y'all gonna have a server leave and not alert the tables that things will be taking even longer due to staff leaving, or that someone else is taking over for them? I've FINALLY gotten my karaage, but seriously, this is really unacceptable. Our new server, (I think his name is Eddie) mentioned that "the cook" is doing the best he can. If the case is that there's only 1 cook in back of house, management needs to work on staffing. Desperately. I do appreciate that oir server will be comping our karaage for the wait. However, this place needs to do better. My wife and I aren't from here. We were only here for this show this weekend. We went to another eatery (Asiatique) that we enjoyed so much on Friday that we returned with a whole group of friends and family last night! We also are looking forward to returning there when we do come back. There is absolutely NO WAY I'm coming back here or sending ANYONE here. EVER. I think what has me so irritated is that I was really excited to come here. The way things looked on Google had me thinking that we would enjoy this place. Even the drink we were looking forward to is disappointing. We ordered the Ube Piña Colada. First off, how is this a "Piña Colada" and NOT blended? Second, why is there no nice balance of flavors? It's just a whole bunch of booze, but none of the flavors I expected with what it's named. Absolutely disappointing. The food was okay, but nothing to write home about. The onigiri was mediocre at best. The rice was too loose for the rice balls we had. I feel like this place puts more effort into trying to be cool & trendy, as opposed to what it should, which is it's product (drinks & food). And now that I'm back at my hotel, I've had a chance to look at the website. I'm actually even more irritated if what I read ("Japanese tapas prepared by the Michelin Bib Gourmand chefs of Sama Sama Restaurant Group") is true. These chefs should be ashamed of the plates they're putting out. I suggest anyone that wants GOOD Asian cuisine in downtown Ventura had over to Asiatique and bypass Strange Beast all together. Save yourself the irritation. read more

Stopped in for a quick drink, and was not disappointed. Their craft cocktails are truly for the adventurous spirit. I really really appreciated the knowledge of the bartender, and that they make fresh juices. The fresh I want to say green apple in my drink was outstanding. The vibe is super cool. Every detail from the "eye" light fixtures to the dope menus was thoughtfully put together. We didn't get a chance to eat but that Sunday ramen that came out next to me made me sad that I had already had lunch. It looked amazing. Can't wait to come back to give the rest of the menu a try read more

Strange Beast - The Menu - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Ventura, California

Unique spot in downtown Ventura! The inside is really nice and unique with the artwork. It's not a large restaurant but there is plenty of seating inside and on their patio. I ordered a Japan town Mule and I thought it was just ok for my palate. I ordered a salmon handroll and eggplant unagi don, which were both delicious. However, the portion for the eggplant seemed quite small for a meal. We also ordered the ramen and felt the broth was a bit bland. The servers were really nice and always checked on us to make sure we were ok. I would definitely return to try their highballs and hand roll Tuesdays or dim sama Thursdays! read more

Strange Beast - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Ventura, California