Yoichi's — Restaurant in Santa Barbara

Quick Summary Cozy Japanese restaurant that offers Kaiseki (prix fixe) with excellent service. Try to book reservations a few weeks in advance. The service and atmosphere were excellent. Appetizers were excellent. But the entrees and dessert were average. Was very excited to try this restaurant, but was disappointed, probably due to high expectations

Food- 4 stars The Kaiseki was 7 courses. Started out well with the appetizers but flounded towards the finish line

The appetizers prior to sashimi were all very good and thought out. I would give it 5 stars to start

The sashimi and sushi that came before and after the grilled and steamed dish were good and fresh. Slight compliant that the fish was slightly colder than desired

The grilled and steamed dishes (which you have 3 options each) was when things began to somewhat unravel

-Grilled lobster with tama miso sauce- the lobster was cooked perfectly, but the miso sauce was overly sweet. The balance was pretty off, which was disappointing because the lobster tail was cooked perfectly

-Wagyu- I can see why a few reviewers mentioned it tasted like sausage. It was pretty disappointing

-Seafood steamed in citrus bowl with miso bechamel sauce- it was interesting seeing this plate served in an orange bowl. However, the sauce was so gelatinous and heavy that it was not an enjoyable experience

-Fresh water eel and monkfish liver- was really disappointed that there was bones in the eel and that the monkfish liver lacked any flavor. The whole dish was overly sweet

Dessert- it was a mochi crepe with fruit sort of dessert. It was good, but would've better if served hot or warm

Service- 5 stars Phenomenal service. Very accommodating without being too overbearing.

Ambiance/Value- 5 stars It's a small neighborhood restaurant that makes for a great date night

Bottom Line Perhaps Yoichi's catered too much to Western tastes, as the food ventured towards Fusion Japanese and didn't satisfy. The appetizers were great, but it went downhill when it got to the grilled and steamed dishes. Will add an extra star for their service...

Very good meal in a nice setting, and very pleasant service. There was a lot of food, but it was paced well, and ended up just being enough without being too filling. The appetizers included a delicious tiny mushroom salad, perfectly cooked wagu beef, a cold octopus that was marinated in something -- it was unusual. The soup had crab leg and oyster mushrooms. The broth was very nice, and there was bit of smokiness to the whole thing that balanced well with the sweetness of the crab. The third course included three types of sashimi: scallops from japan, ocean trout, and bonito. The scallops were very smooth and not as overpowering as scallops sometimes are. I was not as big of a fan of the ocean trout, but it was very fatty, kind of like a fatty salmon. The bonito was amazing. Perfect soft mouthfeel, and the homemade sauce complemented it perfectly. For the grilled dishes we had the eel and the Chilean sea bass. Usually, I find sea bass a bit disappointing, but this was perfectly buttery and had a very lovely subtle miso flavor from the marinade. The eel was kind of teriyaki like and had tiny bones, but the flesh was very soft and tender. You would not guess it was eel. For the steamed dish, we had the oysters with mushrooms, which was served in a tangerine. The broth in the tangerine was one of the best broths I have had. The citrus with the savory was really, really good. The egg custard and rockfish was also good, but I the oysters were the standout. The final sushi course had mackerel, local sea urchin, and a shrimp. I loved the mackerel. The sea urchin was nice and sweet and creamy but lacked a bit of the ocean flavor. I am not a fan of shrimp, but my fiance really liked hers. The meal ended with a lovely tea ice cream. Overall, a very pleasant experience that I...

First time we had this 7 course meal and it was impressive. I agree with another reviewer about the variance of the quality of materials used inthe meals, but for a Kaiseki course this is about the right price for the quality. The best qualities are the sashimi, the uni (from Santa Barbara and Hokkaido) were wonderful, the mackerel was fatty and the best mackerel I've had. The cod soup is great as the black cod itself was very flavorful. For the grilled dish I had Salmon and it was the best choice out of the 3, the salmon was grilled to perfection with some marinate that gave it an extra kick. For the steam dish the oyster bowl was awesome, the sauce absorbed both the taste of the mandarin bowl and oyster, and as you get deeper the mandarin flavor strengthened, I loved it! The eel and monkfish liver was ok, the eel is exactly what you'd expect, and the liver was not too fatty and had decent flavor and not too strong. Now the less impressive are the wagyu, both the appetizer and the grilled version did not impress, it was dry and hard, and the grilled one was well done which did not help. The dessert was strawberry and blueberry mochis, which I thought could be fancier. Kaiseki is definitely an experience though, and we...