Arigato's — Restaurant in Jacó

So we really don’t like giving bad reviews, but we just don’t understand all the reviews from people saying it can hold up to San Francisco, New York and Japan! We have eaten sushi in all those places, and lived in Los Angeles. We eat sushi at least once a week and are there for a good while when we do. We had high hopes and it fell short. The two stars are for the fact that the fish was fresh. But that is it. We started with the Tuna Carpaccio. It wasn’t like any carpaccio we’ve had around the world. The cuts were so thick you had to take two/three bites and chew a lot. Personally, I would prefer regular cuts with an extra piece if you are trying to provide value. The top was full of seaweed and mayo based sauces. In our experience a carpaccio should be light and refreshing many times with a ponzo, yuzu or base of that nature. We decided to give a Nigiri a try and ordered the Prado. Again so thick! My piece had a large piece of cartilage that I had to spit out. I also had to eat it in 3 bites and chew a lot. Again personally we feel you lose the quality of the taste of the fish. If value is what you are going for, give 3 pieces at regular/normal slicing instead of 2 large cuts. We unfortunately closed...

The place was completely empty around dinner time. We were a party of three and chose our own seats, as they didn’t offer any seats upon us entering. There were four employees — two chef and a two cashier/waitresses — who were the only ones we interacted with the entire time.

A few weird things stood out: • All the employees stared at us the ENTIRE time we were ordering, which took about 10 minutes. • The waitress messed up our drink order — we asked for 3 waters and 3 beers, but we got 2 beers and 1 water instead. • We had to initiate every interaction, from seating ourselves, ordering and asking for check. Not a single thing was offered • The miso ramen was really salty and broth didn’t taste like miso. Noodles were clumpy and not broken apart • We were charged for leftover boxes without being told in advance.

Overall, the experience was pretty bare-bones and by the book. I do not recommended a dine-in experience, as it was awkward and not customer friendly. Good fried rice and teriyaki...

This place is AMAZING! If you love sushi and you’re in Costa Rica, this is THE place. It’s worth a visit to Jaco just for the sushi and the surfing. I’ve had Japanese food all over the world, so I’m very picky. I don’t need flashy fancy rolls - but I do need delicious fish and we’ll prepared hand rolls and maki. Authentic Japanese food, no frills, puts this place in my top 2 sushi restaurants ever. The atmosphere is modest, but the service is fantastic. The chef takes special requests, the cuts of fish are a nice size, very fresh and tender, and the rice is spot on. I recommend the cucumber seaweed salad, the eel hand roll, and a preparation of fresh fish over shredded veggies with ponzu! Also, the ginger dressing...