Me and my friend loves going to food halls in new cities, because they always have such a large variety of different foods. I decided to get sushi from Wabi Sabi, and was actually very impressed, considering it came from a food hall. I ordered a classic California roll, and thought the roll was very solid, and the price was fitting for the size of the roll. Service was very fast. There was a ton of seating in the food hall as well. read more

Wabi Sabi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

We got a bunch of different rolls here i honestly can't remember them all but they were all super good. Also my kids got the ramen bowls which were also super good. Everything I ate was delicious. read more

Inside the SB Public Market is Wabi Sabi and this is some of the best sushi that I've had in the 805. I am still shook and thinking about this meal and how quickly I can race back here. The fish quality was exceptional and melt in your mouth. I will forever be thrown off how some of the best sushi I've had is in a food market. The perfect example of "don't judge a book by its cover." Wabi Sabi is located on the right hand side of the market halfway down. The signage is easy to spot as is their cute decor and Tokyo like feels. You first order at the register and then you can sit at their sushi bar - high top tables. I know that might feel a little backwards as you usually sit at the bar first, but still holding true to the food hall vibes, you need to order your meal first. The two different gals that were working behind the counter were very friendly and accommodating, and answered all of my questions without issue. It was a little hard just reading the specials sign as it didn't show what was in the roles, but if you take a step back and look above the register there is a description of all of the different food items. Despite this, the ladies had no problem giving me some feedback on some of the more popular roles and helping me find something to my taste. After talking to them a little bit, I narrowed down my selection to sushi and a roll. I do get the other reviews that note this place is a little bit on the pricey side. For me, one order of premium two piece sushi and one fancy cut roll did run me close to $40 but I'm telling you the sushi was so quality, melt in your mouth and just very beautiful/delicate that I do think it is worth the price. They get the fish fresh regularly and even told me that some of the big $$$$ five star sushi restaurants in Monticeito and nearby use the same vendor as them. So in some ways you are getting the same quality and the fancy restaurant for a cheaper price and an easier to snag table. For sushi I had their special Chu Toro and omg was it Heavenly! So fresh and buttery. This didn't skimp on the cut and it was such a fabulous starter bite. I'm a big raw salmon lover so naturally when feeling overwhelmed with all of the options I went for their salmon lovers roll. You can't go wrong with fresh salmon, crab and avocado. A Perfect speciality cut roll. Loved the mashed avocado inside. Super tasty and light. Wabi Sabi is definitely a great starter option when you come to this food market. The fish is so fresh and honestly, I enjoyed starting with this food stall as it is very light and gives you the opportunity to go somewhere else after. Not too filling but super flavor and 5 star bites! Lovely staff, you need to come here. read more

Wabi Sabi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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Los precios que enseñan las fotos no son los precios de adentro de el restaurante. Están equivocados. El Sushi está rico. Fresco, y lo recomendaría. The Prices that appear on the pictures are not accurate, it's cheaper. This place is like any other sushi place in their prices. Don't let the prices above fool you! It was decent sushi. read more

First time visiting this place and unfortunately it didn't start off well. Tukta,who was working the register, came across as very rude, which made for a poor first impression. I decided to stay since I was short on time and already there. The food itself was good, but the service left a bad impression, so I won't be returning. read more

I am a DoorDash photographer, so you can imagine I get to sample a lot of food at a lot of different restaurants and I have to say that the Wabi Sabi in the Santa Barbara Public Market (38 W Victoria St) has some of the best tasting food I have ever had during my shoots. Owner "Buck" Thananaken has made it his life's goal to provide delicious dishes for his customers and he's done a great job. The dishes look nice and taste amazing. The ingredients seem to be the best you can get since the taste goes way above the "normal". He specializes in Sushi, but also has other choices. The first dish I had was the Teriyaki Chicken Bowl and I am still smiling! The walk up restaurant in the Market is very clean and organized. All the workers were very nice and helpful. Inside the air conditioned seating area are plenty of tables, so it's a great place to bring the whole family. Underground parking off Chapala St right under the Market, is free with easy in and out. Do yourself a favor and have a meal at the Wabi Sabi, you will thank me, Loren Alan photographer read more

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Every time I come to the market, I always gravitate towards this place. My absolute favorite is the salmon teriyaki bowl. It is so filling with plenty of salmon, rice, and veggies. It also comes with miso soup. It is a bit expensive, but you definitely get what you pay for. The food is very fresh, filling, and delicious! read more

Wabi Sabi - Salmon bowl - Sushi Bars Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

My friend reyna says she really loves this place so I wanted to give it a shot. It was slightly busy but not loud since it was a marketplace. I ended up ordering a katsu appetizer. They give you several different sauces to go with it. Food was pretty yummy I would definitely like to come here to try other things can't wait to come back. read more

Wabi Sabi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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so insanely expensive for a bowl of udon. $21 is crazy for not even a large portion of it as well, it would be considered a small bowl at other restaurants. i would recommend saving your money and just go to marugame udon and get the same thing but for a bigger portion only for $15. nothing about this udon stood out either, its no different from costco instant udon. read more

Pretty good, $45 for two rolls with tip was pretty hefty. Customer service was wonderful and the place was clean. The rolls were fresh and yummy. read more

Wabi Sabi - Yellowtail and tempura roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Definitely not worth the price. $16 for small rolls to go. The young worker was nice but the older lady was so rude. They gave me the table number and when I moved it towards me the lady grabbed it away. Granted it was to check something but not even an excuse me or sorry let me check something. We were waiting for our food and had drinks from another vendor and she rudely said you can't sit here with those. The least she could do was be nice about everything. I was trying to be nice and friendly but the energy wasn't returned. Not worth the energy, based on first impressions I would not come back. Sorry read more

Wabi Sabi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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Don't eat here close to 8pm! I am writing to bring a deeply concerning operational issue to your attention regarding an incident that occurred on the evening of Friday, June 5th, at the Wabi Sabi counter bar area. My wife ordered a meal around 7:30 PM. At 7:50 PM, a friend and I joined her and placed our orders at the Wabi Sabi counter. Because the market was completely packed on a Friday night, the bar area offered the only available public seating. Our orders were processed and paid for. However, at 7:55 PM--minutes after paying and before our food was even brought out--the employee working the register informed us that we had to leave within 5 minutes so they could clean and mop as they are closing firmly at 8 no exceptions and even my wife who still had food and ordered at 7:30 would have to leave. When I asked if we could stay to finish the food we just ordered, we were told no, that the area was closing, and that we had to take the food elsewhere. Because there was nowhere else in the market to sit, I asked for and was given a refund. This rigid policy completely ruined our group's evening plans. Because of the forced exit, my friend and I had to leave the market entirely, find a new establishment, and wait 30 minutes for another seating area to open up so we could order somewhere else. This completely fractured our dinner, forcing us to eat separately without my wife's company. Accepting a customer's money for a dine-in order and immediately forcing them to cancel or take it to-go half way through a sit down meal so the staff can mop and close is a terrible hospitality practice. If a seating area must be cleared by 8:00 PM, the staff must stop taking dine-in orders well before that time. This will only get worse as basketball finals and hockey finals are going on and the World Cup is additionally coming. As local residents, we support the Public Market, but a policy that turns away paying guests mid-service is damaging to the market's reputation in a tight-knit community. I am asking management to review and change this operational policy. Food vendors and seating areas must coordinate their closing times so that patrons are not blindsided by a cleanup schedule right after ordering. I look forward to hearing how you plan to address this gap in customer service. read more

It's really good. We had snake roll. Avocado and salmon roll for kids. Uni, Yellowtail, and scallop sushi. Would give 5 star if portion size was a tad bigger. It's one of those micro serving sushi places. But fish was spot on fresh a rice was perfect. Just needs to be a bit larger serving. read more

Wabi Sabi nazi concierge: boo to her for barking at guests and us and the food was just ok. I've had better Japanese food. This was mall food made for people who think they are eating Japanese food. There are better options for good food and beer in the SB Public Market full of happy people but not this resto which was overcrowded and she ruined it for us by serving stale food and cold Miso. Horrible place. read more

Really solid spot in the Santa Barbara Public Market. I usually get the Chicken Katsu Bowl here. It comes on top of a bed of white rice with thinly chopped red and green cabbage, and Katsu sauce and wasabi on the side. It also comes with a miso soup! The staff is always really nice, and service is pretty quick. Regarding parking there's a paid lot at street level in the back and a lot underneath the public market as well. Plenty of seating inside too if you want to eat your food there. read more

Wabi Sabi - Chicken Katsu Bowl - Sushi Bars Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Service is fast and food is amazing! Sushi at a fair premium price (public market is generally a little more $$ than outside of public market) Wabi Dani roll is so good and fresh tasting- love the salty roe on top. Blue fin roll is a great plain roll - to have if you love tuna. Chu toro is always. Must for every visit. Perfect and melts in your mouth delish. Yellow dragon roll - a good sized roll to order if you're feeling a lil hungry- the yellow tail is sweet and fresh... I could eat 3 of these rolls... maybe 4 :) Thank you for the great food and friendly service! read more

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Miso soup had a really foul taste. Ordered the beef bowl expecting a gyudon style dish, but the beef was thickly sliced and cooked poorly--grey and chewy. Veggies were ok. Quantity of food was also disappointing for the cost. read more

Wabi Sabi - Miso soup - Sushi Bars Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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The rolls were so fresh and so delicious! Some of the best sushi I have had. The Cali roll has fresh crab and the tempura roll is not too heavy. Rolls were prepared quickly and they have all the sauces portioned to go as well just ask. read more

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The quality of the sushi here is maybe just a little bit better than grocery store sushi. It was also a little pricey too for the very average quality. I got the Yum Salmon Skin Roll. It was a little spicier than expected and just alright tasting. read more

Wabi Sabi - Yum Salmon Skin Roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Came here on a Monday for lunch and ordered a Tuna Poke Bowl ($22). All bowls come with complementary miso soup. The bowl looked pretty but the ratio of rice and salad was too big compared to fish. The tuna was not the best quality considering the price and the miso soup was really bland. I've had worse but I wouldn't come back considering the food options nearby. read more

Wabi Sabi - Tuna Poke Bowl - Sushi Bars Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

The people are friendly and the rainbow roll tastes good. However, it's extremely overpriced ($21+ tax + expected minimum 18% tip) and tiny. My wife was expecting to be filled up because it said 10 pieces. In reality it's more like 5 pieces and then cut in half. They also don't give you much sushi. There is more imitation crab and vegetables than fish. Highly disappointing experience. read more

Wabi Sabi - Rainbow roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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The sushi quality is fantastic here. This place is a little tucked away in the Santa Barbara Public Market but easy to find. The service is fine, nothing too special but the rolls were delicious. My only thing is how pricey it was. For a small sapporo and two rolls, it came out to over $40. They were good, but Wabi Sabi is not a stand alone restaurant so the pricing confused me a bit. If you don't mind spending a little bit for sushi, this is your place to go. I like the variety of rolls and prefer the quality over Arigato. read more

Wabi Sabi - Yellowfin avocado roll, salmon lover roll. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

anything i've ordered off the menu has been delicious. my favorite sushi spot in santa barbara ( although that bar isn't very high). definitely recommend wabi sabi for sushi in sb, and highly recommend the crunch roll. it can be a bit pricey for sushi but the quality is worth it. they do have weird hours at times though, so it can be difficult at times to catch them open. but definitely worth it. read more

The menu has a diverse amount of sushi and Japanese style food you can choose from. Along with a great customer service for when you're trying to figure what to order and get especially since I came here for the first time with my family. We ordered around 5 different rolls, chicken katsu, and poke bowls which were all equally delicious. The price is worth the food as we enjoyed each item ordered and the other restaurants to explore within this food court enhanced the experience. read more

The service was quick but the food was abysmal. The broth in the ramen was advertised as tonkotsu, but it was clearly just chicken broth. The noodles were jelly-like and had clearly been sitting in the soup for a very long time. The jammy eggs were overcooked to the point of being hard-boiled, and strangely, they hadn't been marinated at all. The sashimi was fine but not worth $30 for six pieces. Everything was served on plastic plates of the sort you'd find under grocery store sushi. The atmosphere wasn't even nice because the public market was full of screaming football fans; I've been in sports bars during happy hour that have been quieter. You can get cheaper and better sushi just about anywhere in town. read more

4.5 stars for this place. Hubby and I went here for date night and enjoyed the crispy crab roll and chicken katsu bowl. The roll was fresh tasting and i appreciated the sauce being on the side so I could determine how much i wanted on my roll. The chicken was perfectly cooked and flavored. I would highly recommend both. The staff who took our order was friendly but didn't engage with us much. The Public Market was busy this night but we were able to snag a table. The wait for the food wasn't too bad. read more

Wabi Sabi - Chicken Katsu Bowl and Crispy Crab roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Not Worth the price whatsoever payed 50 bucks for a beef bowl and a sushi roll. The sushi tasted like Albertsons sushi and the beef bowl was 90% rice and the rest was veggies only 4 pieces of beef which weren't great. Service was subpar could barely understand the lady at the counter not because of her accent but she was just not good at explaining. read more

Located inside the Santa Barbara Public Market, this sushi spot was extremely underwhelming and overpriced. I love a good sushi spot and would expect the sushi to be super fresh along the ocean. However, this restaurant proved me wrong. I ordered the spicy salmon roll, chutoro sashimi, and uni sashimi. The spicy salmon roll is usually mixed in a spicy aioli sauce but this was just a layer of mayonnaise. It also felt deceiving the roll was advertised as 10 pieces but they're small so it wasn't much. The chutoro was fine but didn't have that "melting" feeling for this specific cut of fish. While that wasn't too bad, the uni did not seem fresh and was a very fishy. While I get that it should have a seafood flavor, fresh uni is usually really buttery. On the bright side, the food came out really quickly but that is the only positive I can really think of. read more

Wabi Sabi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

I was told by some friends that this place was one of the best places to eat in town so I met a friend for dinner last night. I wasn't too happy with the portion size on the rolls. Maybe it's Japanese traditional rolls, but they were very small, and to be honest, they weren't as flavorful. The chicken bowl was pretty good, but how can you mess up a chicken bowl? The place is very pricey, and in my opinion not a place where the value and flavor meets the price. I've had more flavorful sushi And larger portion sizes at other sushi places around town and for less cost. More cost doesn't always equate good food just as less cost doesn't always equate to less flavor or bad food. I honestly don't think that I will probably go back here just for that reason. read more

Wabi Sabi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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i love april!!! she is soooo helpful and kind when ordering over the phone. truly the best and my food was delicious. the spicy tuna is my favorite in town. read more

Food was great, service was fast. Honestly was impressed with the tuna poke bowl. Miso soup and salmon lovers roll were great. read more

Wabi Sabi - Tuna poke bowl, salmon lovers roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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Located in the Public Market this a nice place to stop for lunch for a no-frills sushi or rice bowl. It is on the pricier side and portions are smaller, but being downtown and a sushi house it is expected. You can quickly order at the counter and food is ready within five to ten minutes. There are different roll options, the basic to specialty. Since it is in Public Market, you can sit anywhere and join friends who may have ordered from a different vendor. The eel roll and the avocado roll are good, I'd recommend them! read more

Wabi Sabi - Avocado roll and eel roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Wabi Sabi is located in the Santa Barbara Public Market. It's like a stall there, if you can call these large fully-equipped kitchens a "stall". So really there is no indoor dining for Wabi Sabi. There used to be a limited indoor dining space inside Santa Barbara Public Market, but all that is closed now too. Their Tuna Poke Bowl is pretty good and not super cheap. Seared Salmon Belly sushi is soooooooo good! Outdoor dining is available on the street in front of the Public Market which they closed. read more

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Visiting Santa Barbara for the weekend, and decided to try Wabi Sabi in the SBPM for the first time. Quick service, delicious and fresh seafood, will definitely return! read more

Wabi Sabi - Eel bowl - Sushi Bars Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

(Overall: 68% | D) - This is a poke bowl with not that much poke. Most of the bowl is unfortunately rice and onion and cucumber; additionally; the tuna needs to be seasoned much more aggressively. The one redeeming factor is that the crispy noodles have good texture and adds to the presentation. The service and ambience is not particularly great either; I was not met with warm hospitality. read more

Wabi Sabi - Tuna Poke Bowl. 2/5. Too little tuna. Too little seasoning. IG: @amei.eats - Sushi Bars Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Inside public market, which seemed to have multiple standout restaurants. You order at counter and they give you a buzzer. I had the salmon teriyaki bowl and it did not disappoint. It was well balanced with rice and side of cabbage and bok choi. read more

Been to this place about once a week for about 2 months now and it's been consistently delish! Great proportions on their rolls, not too much rice and not too little.... I always get the tempura, however the dipping sauce is cold,,, I'm sure I could ask to heat it up next time but it's been so hot out lately, having something chilly is nice! Love supporting the local restaurant peeps! read more

Wabi Sabi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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You can definitely skip coming here. The service is rude and the food is definitely better else where. We walk up to the counter and the women says "yea", like no ma'am you can say hello and greet and treat people correctly. We order a bowl and a roll ($35) and go find a table. I see a tray with food that looks like our order but our buzzer never went off. I see people get their food (not the trey I had been seeing on the counter for a while now) and return their buzzed. I assume that that must not be our order since it's been sitting there for over 10 min and our buzzer never went off. Well I was wrong, it WAS our food. The buzzer goes off and we ask for the bowl to be remade because it was cold and looked gross. The women and chef obviously look upset but it's not my fault they did not make the buzzer go off as soon as the food was set on the counter. The new bowl had significantly less food as well. As for the taste. The crunchy was rolled incredibly loose, small and for the price can taste much better, and at least be rolled correctly. (I forgot to take a picture sorry ) The chicken teriyaki bowl was 1/5 stars. The chicken was fine but the rice tasted like it was made with dirty water. The miso soup was terrible as well. Dirty water with onions. Ultimately it was bad experience all around. Save your money. read more

This place is not good, do not recommend. I paid almost $19 for the don't cry roll, which is slightly above standard price. My biggest issue with the roll was the lack of taste. I do not understand how you can make sushi so bland even when mayonnaise is involved. The sushi rice is just plain white short grain rice. It clearly has no salt, vinegar, or even a tad of sugar to give it that standard sushi taste. The salmon was also not seasoned at all, and the aoili that comes with it was not even included in the roll. It was just slightly dropped on the bottom sides of the container and resembled a pool of grease. But somehow even the aoili managed to have no flavor. It was just bland, it's also a fried roll but even the tempura batter had no seasoning. I genuinely cannot comprehend how you can make unseasoned sushi!! Truly a talent! I understand now why it's called the don't cry roll, because the moment you bite into it, the tears of disappointment start flooding your face. read more

Stopped into the Santa Barbara Public Market and decided to try this place on a whim. We got the Spicy Scallop roll: scallops were buttery Don't cry roll: great flavor and heat Sea urchin: first time trying it but overall good Extremely fresh seafood and taste was great on all 3 overall. Quick service and quality food! read more

Wabi Sabi - Spicy scallop (bottom) Sea urchin (left) Don't cry (top) - Sushi Bars Near Me - Santa Barbara, California