Goshi | Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in San Luis Obispo

Ordered the deep fried chicken ($12) and kanpai boat ($80). The boat comes with cucumber salad, miso soup, daily appetizer, and salad. I noticed that there was a bit of mold on the lemon in my cucumber salad (pictures attached) after I had eaten part of it already. I informed the waitress and they brought out another salad. We informed them that we do not want the salad anymore nor felt comfortable eating the rest of the starters and asked for it to be removed from our bill. After we finished with the sushi, they brought the bill and $1.50 had been removed from the moldy-lemon cucumber salad. We thought that reduction was insulting due to the lemon having what was obviously mold and having partially eating the salad that it was a part of. (Note: There is lemon in the water and lemon in the salad.)

We asked for the manager and realized it was the manager that had given brought out the replacement for the salad originally. We had expressed that taking $1.50 out of the bill was not good enough since we had partially consumed the salad. We asked if there was anything else they could do but the manager rudely refused to even offer us even a dessert. The real issue here, besides the moldy lemon, was the temperament of the manager. He was very condescending and had a clear lack of empathy for the situation. Goshi is supposed to be a fine dining experience, the last thing you would want to do is doubt the quality of the food.

We expressed again that we know there was mold on the lemon and that we should be adequately compensated for it being there, but he continued to be rude and condescending. Finally, he suggested that we not tip our waitress as a recourse. As people who have been been in a customer-serving role, that was not an option and the burden should not fall on her. The starters (miso soup, cucumber salad, salad) are preassembled so it could have been sitting there for who knows how long. Is it supposed to fall on the waitress to inspect food quality? Again, the manager was not being helpful in the situation and after he had suggested we not tip the waitress, we knew that there was no use in arguing anymore.

The situation was unfortunate and we will not be returning. We could have looked past the moldy lemon if even a sincere apology could have been made. It is very clear that this place does not value its customers or...

To the Management of Goshi Sushi,

I am writing to formally express my deep concern and disappointment regarding an incident that occurred during my visit to your restaurant on July 29th, 2025. I dined in with two colleagues, and what began as an anticipated and enjoyable meal quickly turned into an upsetting and uncomfortable experience due to the behavior of your staff.

In the middle of our meal, we were unexpectedly approached by your hostess (who claimed to be the manager “adam”) and asked to lower our voices. This request felt abrupt and out of place, especially given that we were simply enjoying conversation over dinner. The way we were spoken to was uncomfortable and left us feeling confused and singled out. We believe the treatment was both unprofessional and, in particular, unfairly targeted one of my colleagues.

When my colleague requested to speak with the host, it took an unnecessarily long time for him to come over. Once he did, we were told that he had asked other customers whether my colleague was being too loud and, based on their responses, had decided to intervene. My colleague expressed that he felt discriminated against by this handling of the situation. In response, the host told him to sit down or he would call the police. This escalation was completely inappropriate and alarming.

Given the current social and political climate, especially related to police brutality, the threat to involve law enforcement over a verbal disagreement in a dining setting is not only disproportionate, it is deeply troubling and dangerous. This response felt aggressive and discriminatory, and it left a lasting negative impression on all of us.

This experience was disappointing, unwelcoming, and unprofessional. I strongly urge Goshi Sushi to reflect on how this situation was handled and to issue a formal apology, particularly to my colleague who was targeted. A restaurant should be a place where all guests feel safe and respected.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. I hope you take this seriously and make the necessary steps to ensure respectful and inclusive treatment of all your guests moving...

An authentic Japanese restaurant who focuses on delivering the highest quality of sashimi.

Food: 8/10 (9.5/10 for sashimi). I shave to make the distinction here because their fish on another level - mostly they directly fly them over from Japan. Thus, price also reflects this, but the quality is amazing.

Order any fish, and you won’t be disappointed, but we liked: o-toro (buttery tuna), katsuo (the fish flakes that you see on octopus balls), ma-aji (ma literally means “real” in Japanese), kimedai, salmon, and so many - see my photo!

Having said that, I gotta say their other dishes aren’t their focus and you can tell by the stir fry beef that’s a bit too salty. Though, the soup for agrdashi tofu is very thoughtful. It has these mushrooms they add great flavours. If you get a set, you also get these lovely pickles.

Their proud in authentic food also shows when they said their fresh wasabi (the literal plant they flew from Japan) is not as fresh as it can be and refuse to serve it. But their pickled wasabi is quite interesting flavour wise and still give you the kick.

Price: first, it’s hard to give a price because if you don’t live fresh authentic fish, you may not value this highly. But for a town like this and in California a few thousand miles away from Japan, I’d give it a 8.5/10. We had way too much food and it was $220 for three including tax.

Ambience: 9/10. Calligraphy on the wall, the chef and servers wearing traditional clothing, the decorations. It even smells like a sushi house in Japan.

Service: 10/10. From stealthily removing the used wet tissues to adding matcha tea multiple times (5 times at least), they really care. The chef also came around (we were at the bar) to ask us about the food. It’s an incredible experience.

All in all, it’s an experience. You don’t need the most expensive order - start with something small and see if this is your vibe. But I’m sure if you love fresh authentic fish, you won’t be...