| Japanese restaurant and sushi boat located next to Costco |
Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 1020
Reviewed: 2/12/2004
Rating: 9
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You have to try the Besssss roll....its soooo good. It has crab, shrimp, and white tuna. Interesting sensation in your mouth... they place the warm tempura shrimp up against cold tuna....aahhhhhh.
The sushi boat has a wide selection which usually gets us in trouble because we gourge ourselves. Arikato does a descent job in the presentation of sushi but the rolls could be held a little tighter. Last time we went, had a couple of rolls fall apart on us. For you Wasabe lovers, be sure to ask for the real stuff behind the counter.
Arikato can be very expensive if your appetite is large. Our lunches run anywhere from $18-28!!! Dont let the high prices scare you, their food is excellent...we're just food lovers who like to practice gluttony.
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RETURN VISIT for Jason! 3/2/2006 - 6.5 Rating: Talk about the sinking of the Titanic. Arikato, one of our favorite places for sushi rolls totally bombed. I normally dont like sitting at the sushi boats anymore but Arikato was usually the exception. They make the rolls pretty fresh so it didnt bother me to pick right off the boat.
I started off with california roll and a nigiri hamachi. The rolls looked larger than normal but hamachi had a nice white fat striping. My 1st bite into the CA roll had me wondering what happened to the rice. It was an overwhelming taste of sugar and vinegar. It was awful. The hamachi was good but rice kinda ruined the whole thing.
Knowing I would always rely on the bess roll and traffic roll, I ordered both. I was expecting something like picture #7 and got something entirely different. After eating 1-2 of the them, both terry and I noticed something was missing. The sushi chef forgot the crab and sesame seeds. Even the tempura shrimp was kinda cold and tuna was just ok. Hoping the traffic roll would fair better, it was also missing the crab. At $9.95 each, both rolls were a huge disappointment.
I would have returned the rolls but at this point, I was so bummed with my entire meal not to mention it would have taken eternity to get replacements. They were incredibly busy and so on. I asked for the check, waited 10 minutes, walked to counter, asked for the check, cashier left without saying anything to me, came back and gave me the 3 separate checks to hand back to my friends. Now, I know its not a big deal for me to carry bill holders back and distribute them, but she gave them to me like I was expected to do her job? I just paid $32 for a lousy meal and I had to wait to pay for this crap?
I am depressed and after cafefully thinking about the score, I think Im being extremely generous with a 6.5 I dont know if I will return. I feel kinda betrayed at this point. Arikato gave horrible service and awful sushi to one of their biggest fans. |
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Reviewer: Terry
Total Reviews: 738
Reviewed: 2/9/2004
Rating: 9.5
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Oh.
My.
God.
If you like Sushi, you MUST go here. Sushi is FRESH (especially beginning of the week), comes to you on the BOAT, and is moderately PRICED. Excellent experience all around. I usually get the California Rolls and Bessssss roll. Be prepared to spend a bit of $ though as its all so good. The Bessssss (8 pieces) is $10.95 for example.
There is plenty of room at the Sushi Boat during lunch hours. Or there are tables, and a newly completed Patio with even more tables.
One word of warning. If you like Wasabi be sure to ask for the good stuff behind the counter. The Wasabi they bring to your table is not that hot at all.
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RETURN VISIT for Terry! 9/23/2004 - 9.5 Rating: Jason and I returned to Arikato, mostly to shoot it down. We figured there's no way, after 213 restaurants, Arikato was still in the top 10. I was raring to go. Nothing like a good competetion for Jatbar top 10. Let it not be said that Jatbar doesn't stand behind their Top10 ratings. We put these places to the test, and KEEP putting them to the test. We are all about quality here, folks.
Well we sat down at the sushi bar and immediately were asked what type of sushi we wanted. I went with the Kani and the California Roll. I also ordered a Bessssss Roll. The Bessssss should be legendary here. Its their best roll in my opinion. Its 10 bucks for 8 pieces. But its 8 pieces of heaven. The chef calls to the back for them to make the shrimp tempura - FRESH. Hmm, ok, I'm thinking maybe Arikato drops to an 8.5 from my previously high-rating 9.5.
The Kani and California roll are quick to arrive. The Kani has some orange eggs on top. I can't fault them for that as I quickly push those things off. I hate that stuff. I devour the roll. The wrapper snaps in my mouth, the mayo is sweet and flavorful, the crab is wonderous. Its an amazing roll. I order another.
The california roll has the same type of quality in the crab and mayo. They put 2 sticks of avocado in there instead of 1. Hmm, OK, half a strike on the double avocado, but overall, its an amazing roll.
OK, Arikato is scoring a 9. Then the Bessssss arrives. OMG its absolutely amazing. Its hard to describe and to be honest I don't know exactly what is all in it. Jason may speak to this. All I know is that its heavenly. It melts in your mouth, and leaves you wanting more. I think I could kill myself overdosing on this roll. Aside from the california roll at Miyakes, this is the best form of sushi in existence. * I am in utter heaven and the rest of the day could be a total writeoff and I'll know that I have done something good with my day because I've had a Bessssss roll at Arikato. Its that good. Period.
OK Arikato is a 9.5. I could not score them a 10 because Miyakes has damn good sushi rolls AND costs less so there has to be a differentiation there. But its CLOSE. I'm talking 9.75 if Jatbar allowed it.
* My review is based on their rolls. If you're looking for a place that has the slabs of dead fish meat on top of white rice then my review can't be taken with 100% confidence. I am a big sushi roll eater, and my reviews reflect this. |
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RETURN VISIT for Terry! 3/2/2006 - 6.5 Rating: Wow, what a major disappointment. Something must have changed here in the past 6 months or so. We sat at the sushi boat and I had a few orders of California Rolls (my standard) and ordered a Bessssss roll. The california rolls were decent enough, and large - but the rice tasted a bit off. A bit funny. It would be good enough if it was cheaper than the $2.25. But now there is fierce sushi competition on Jatbar, so this just will not stand.
The Bessssss arrived and it looks completely different now. Where is the crab? And what is all this gooey fish inside. It was so gross I couldn't finish it. It tasted completely off and not very appetizing at all. For $10, it was my largest waste of sushi ever. I ended up spending about $26 all told and left unhappy and ripped off.
I doubt I will return again. |
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Reviewer: Julie
Total Reviews: 46
Reviewed: 7/28/2004
Rating: 8
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I’ve eaten at Arikato two times. Once, I sat at a table and it was the best sushi I had experienced in recent memory. The other time, I sat at the boats and it was just okay. So, I’m going to average the two scores and give it an 8.
On my first visit, I had an Arikato Box with chicken teriyaki and California roll. It may make me a wuss, but no sushi meal is complete in my mind without a California roll. I also took Jason and Terry’s advice and got a Bessss roll. It was the best thing I had ever tasted! The tempura was warm and crunchy and the tuna was cool and fresh. The sesame seeds and seaweed crunchy things on top gave it that special something that catapulted it to number 1 on my Top 5 All Time Best Sushi Rolls list. My friends and I even ended up ordering a second Besss roll so everyone was able to get their fill. The restaurant was clean, wait staff friendly, and they were quick to refill water, which is very important to me. The roll cost $10.95, so multiple orders plus the rest of the sushi made my lunch around $25 – a little steep for me, but well worth it.
On my second visit, the man at the sushi bar made the Besssss roll differently. He put the tuna on top instead of inside the roll and that changed the whole texture and taste sensation of the roll. It was still good, but didn’t live up to my memory. The other problem that day was the selection on the boats was pretty non-existent. The same 3 or 4 plates kept circling, holding contents that I can only guess had been there since the previous week. So, I pretty much avoided taking things off the boat unless I saw them made. The average-ness of my meal made the high price not as worth it.
I’ll have to go back again soon and have a tie braking visit to really make up my mind about this restaurant. However, at worst, it was still decent sushi. So if you someday come out of Costco famished and craving raw fish head over and check it out.
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Reviewer: Eddie
Total Reviews: 47
Reviewed: 8/5/2004
Rating: 8
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First of all, I would like to say, I had a lot of Japanese food both here and in Japan and other Asia countries so I might be a bit strict with my rating. Arikato comes strongly recommended by Jason and Terry. The first time I went there with them and the Bess roll was impressive. I have since tried other different rolls they offered on the menu, I have to say they are decent if not as impressive. On the other hand, the sushi on the boat was not that special. And for the price, I think they do OK.
The other day I took my family there for Sunday dinner, the main chief was not there and there were not as many sushi on the boat and they were not as fresh either. To me, thats wrong. If you cant serve the best thing you can offer, shouldnt be offering at all. When it comes to sushi, freshness is the key, aint it? I guess you do need to pick a right time to go to this place, hence 8 in my book. |
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Reviewer: Michael
Total Reviews: 40
Reviewed: 8/6/2004
Rating: 8.5
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Arikato is a great sushi joint just off the 101 in Mountain View. Its a nice place to grab a quick bite from the sushi boat. The people there are very friendly and the service is good. I ordered the Spider Roll, Shrimp Tempura hand roll, and a Maguro. All of this filled me up and of course I washed it down with a small Sapporo. All this with tip came to $18.50, a little steep for lunch. The fish was fresh but Id like to see bigger pieces of crab next time I go. I tried asking for hotter Wasabi but all they had was the mild stuff. So I didnt get to enjoy my sushi the way I usually do. I will come back again and try the Bess roll that Terry and Jason mention above. Gotta give this place an 8.5
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Reviewer: tanya
Total Reviews: 14
Reviewed: 4/18/2005
Rating: 7
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I work right by here and thought I'd give it a try. | | |
