Teru Japanese Cuisine — Restaurant in Santa Barbara

Summary: really delicious food, ridiculously slow service and genuinely confusing experience

EDIT: Found out that they also overcharged my card. I called the restaurant to resolve this and had the same kind of experience -- confusingly slow service from people that seem kind. The person seemed like she wanted to help but it took 3 phone calls over the course of 2 hours to get a refund. I had the physical copy of my receipt with a check number and the time of the transaction and I also gave her my name and the last four digits of my card. When I actually insisted on the phone that she just find the receipt, it took less than a minute to find. So why was I told twice that she would have to do something else and then call me back later? When we talked through the items on the receipt, there were two things on the receipt that were ADDED AFTER I RECEIVED MY CHECK Let me repeat that. I signed a receipt with my 4 rolls listed and after I left, THEY ADDED TWO MORE ITEMS TO THE BILL. That shouldn't even be possible. The order should be closed after we leave and all that should happen is a total adjustment for tip. I continue to be so disappointed and confused and unfortunately I'm knocking off the last two stars for this. It's just unacceptable to run a restaurant in this way.

Starting with the positives: The sushi we ordered (4 rolls) were all delicious. From the basic sake maki (plain salmon) to the special Caribbean roll, all had high quality fish and there were some unique pairings. The atmosphere of the restaurant is intimate and charming. The chef (who I assume to be Teru based on other reviews) was genuinely friendly and the servers were kind. We didn't try it but the omakase offering is also unique to Teru from what I've seen.

Moving on to the (unfortunately numerous) negatives: My boyfriend and I left Teru hungrier than when we arrived. Part of this is the small portion sizes but overwhelmingly the issue is the astonishingly slow service. We entered the restaurant at 6pm on a Sunday. There were approximately 6 tables of 2-4 people already seated with around 6 more empty tables. It would take us just over 2 hours to leave and some that were seated when we arrived were still there as we left. It seems that all the sushi is prepared by the one chef alone which slows down the food service and leaves the servers stressed but without tasks. The 3 servers, who were constantly pacing the dining space, would swiftly take away an empty plate but were also difficult to get ahold of for more water, the check, or any other questions. Our order was missing one of the rolls and between the servers rushing about and the chef's pace, it was an extra 30 minutes before we had it on our table. It then took more than 20 minutes from receiving the check to getting my card returned to me. I really wanted to love this place and I have no anger towards the staff. They were so personable, you couldn't get upset at them. I do enjoy a relaxed laidback dinner out but this wasn't that. Our experience was both slow and frantic. I'm just so confused and disappointed from the evening that it doesn't make sense to ever come back. If management happens to see this: Please don't take delivery or pickup orders and remove half the tables in the dining area. That seems to be the amount of patrons you can...

Very disappointed. Came in group of five.

First, the waitress did not ask all of us what we want to drink and some of us didn’t even get a cup of water until we were about to leave despite we’ve told her. She was disinterested throughout with a poker face.

Second, the food came is really small portion and we ordered $150ish food and we were still hungry at the end. There were limited choice for food too, as there were only sushi/rolls/sashimi available. The taste was of mediocre quality.

The worst thing is that they tried to charge us mandatory 20% gratuities while suggesting more on the receipt. I asked why mandatory tip and she answered it’s required for a certain number of people. I asked how many is certain number? She’s like ahh three or four or five something. There were completely no signs anywhere and we weren’t told that when we sit in. This is terrible.

Save your money and...

Unfortunately, I have to give my first negative review of a restaurant because my partner and I ordered the most expensive thing on their menu (the omakase) and were served fish with tendons and scales that did not taste fresh. Both of us found multiple pieces so difficult to chew that we could only swallow them whole or spit it out. The best fish were actually the cheaper cuts (salmon and yellow tail) that I’m sure they serve a lot more of. Based on the reviews I’m guessing their standard fare is good, but you should not offer omakase and then serve low quality, borderline inedible fish. It would have been better if they just said they couldn’t do omakase that evening. I lived in Japan for five years, so I know what sushi should be, and this is some of the worst I’ve ever had, and for a total bill of over $200...