ebisu sushi — Restaurant in Elk Grove

I know. It seems strange to give a spot that averages 4.5* a 2* rating but we feel that we were frankly taken advantage of and, unfortunately, because of this, we will not be back. We did take out and the service upon pickup was supremely friendly. They checked our order and found that the pepperfin app had been left out, which they rectified immediately. Sincerely appreciate the thorough follow-through. However:

The food is fresh but there were several major issues that need to be noted.

1.) We had an order of Kani Nigiri. The menu says this includes a slice of crab over pressed rice, which is precisely what one would expect when ordering kani nigiri. In our case, though, this was false and what we received was instead a partial maki stuffed with crabstick/surimi salad. Advertising Kani as real crab and serving fake crab is absolutely unacceptable. This move alone destroys Ebisu's sushi-house credibility. Super bad look, guys. 2.) 3 ribs for $14.00 is diabolical. To be clear: the BBQ ribs are superb and were in fact the clear winner for us, tonight, but again: $14.00 for 3 is almost extortion. 3.) The pepperfin app was good due to the chef special sauce but I'm omitting the"tuna" part of the name because we were not at all served albacore as advertised. The tuna the dish was supposed to include was clearly replaced with escolar/white fish and this, again, shows a massive amount of disrespect to the customer. Unbelievably dishonorable and just plain disappointing. Between this and the issue with the kani, I wish we could recommend Ebisu but our experience was, in the end, very negative, especially for the elevated prices. The waitress who helped us at pickup was lovely and we appreciate the work that goes in to all this but with all the amazing sushi options locally available ... We'll be going elsewhere. Sorry, y'all.

PS a quick edit to add that no: we did not call the restaurant when these things were discovered. We are on the road and would not have been reasonably able to turn back. We are but one experience. I'm sure Ebisu are pros who know when they need to...

Went in hungry with an open mind: the sashimi was all from medium grade frozen block, ample size portions, but the main source of confusion was the sushi rice itself. Given that the single most important ingredient in sushi is the rice, Ebisu falls short. Rolls are very popular here, and once covered in Teri sauce and shriracha mayo, it's tough to judge the rice as a stand alone. But, in the Nigiri items the ample portions of fish cannot compensate for, whatever that was posing for sushi rice. Grocery store sushi rice sets a basic standard: for which this rice clearly falls short of. Chili sauce and pickled Wasabi simply cannot make up for the fact that: this is Japanese inspired cuisine, and loosing sight of the foundation of this cuisine will cause otherwise decent ingredients to fall short. Fusion or confusion: not for me, but please decide...

The atmosphere, music and lighting reminds me of a nice steakhouse feel. Wood chair and trim everywhere makes it feel nice and rustic but modern look. Fantastic interior.

Food is based on the SOFT OPENING Elk Grove roll 4/5 softshell crab inside with assorted fish on top with 3 sauces. Good but the softshell crab overpowered a little bit as that's just how it is. Great plating

Lion King 3/5 not the worst. Not the best. Imitation crab inside with avocado topped with salmon and sauce on top then baked. Felt like it was missing something like some imitation crab on top but seemed kinda simple.

The staff was very friendly and helpful with questions we had. 5/5

I would come again when they do a full opening as it seems there is great potential here.

Would currently give it a 4/5 but gave it a 5 more for visibility for new...