I Love Sushi - Japanese restaurant in Santa Cruz - 516 Front St, USA

First time visiting SC. My friends saw the stars on the reviews, so we stopped by for lunch. The restaurant was empty, which was a little worrisome, but we figured it's post lunch time, so maybe we missed the rush. We ordered the edamame, and it tasted old and microwaved. It definitely wasn't fresh. The texture was stale, limp, and wrinkled. The sushi's that we ordered didn't taste too bad, but we were hesitant about eating the raw meats. The combination boxes that my friends ordered didn't look or taste great either. The steak was most especially dry, overcooked, or old and reheated. Didn't taste fresh at all! Our server lacked serving us (only took our orders and dropped off our food). We wouldn't recommend this place at all!!! If you can, avoid it and don't visit this place. Service is awful and so is the food!

This is a picture of the salmon carpaccio. A substantial portion of it was inedible because it was the underside of the salmon and I could not chew through it. Since I got takeout I called to ask for a refund because at $20, this was a huge waste of money. Esther argued with me for about 10 minutes. First she said she looked at my order and there was no gray part. I told her it was on the bottom so it wasn't obvious at first glance. She then told me that is the best part and a lot of people like it. As in, I'm lucky to get it. I repeated it was too thick and chewy to eat. I told her I could send a picture. She said to bring it back to the restaurant if I wanted a refund. She was very difficult. This continued when my husband brought it back. I've had sashimi, carpaccio, and tataki at many places over the past 20 plus years. Never have I gotten it cut this way (all of it was hard to eat because it was sliced wrong) or with all the underside still on. I'm pretty sure they cut it off for a reason. I've never read a review stating sushi was great because it was extra chewy. I could be wrong, but something tells me she was making that up. Don't waste your money or your time arguing and driving all the way back.

The owners are so nice! The food was absolutely delicious. Highly recommend the heart attack appetizer. miso soup and mochi ice cream was amazing. We will definitely be returning to down town Santa Cruz for this place again

There is a gentleman that comes around. Wishing everyone a happy birthday one of the coolest experiences is because of that man. Absolutely loved his energy. And he will do socky shots with you all night. The food is pretty tasty as well. The only set back that I have is one of the people in our party, Could not eat rice And when we ask for sushi roll without rice. They made the accommodation, but they didn't bring it out until thirty minutes after everyone else was done eating.

I would leave a 5 +++ stars if I could! The staff is amazing, so nice and welcoming, as friendly as you can get, if you like sushi this is a must! Sashimi convinced me straight away, I haven't had such great sashimi for a long time. Special rolls are so tasty, an amazing perfect quantity between fish and rice. Great environment, we had some freebies on the house! I was so impressed with the food that I only remember to take photos too late, but I will be back and will take some photos next time!

Went for dinner yesterday with my wife and 4 yr old son. The place is very clean and fairly busy. Didn't have to wait for a table. Customer service is top notch. Our server Danielle brought us extra napkins without us asking which is a huge plus. Our drinks never went below 1/4. Presentation of the rolls are excellent, taste is also excellent. Nothing to complain. I suggest eating dinner at I Love Sushi to anyone. The I Love Alaska roll is the best roll I've ever eaten...

Sushi rolls were amazing! Very fresh tasting and the staff were all very nice and helpful. We ordered the Kamikaze roll & Sake Bomb roll.

It’s kinda silly that I’m just now posting about I LOVE SUSHI, downtown Santa Cruz… Have been LOVING this place for years. Their sashimi & sushi are STILL one of the BEST in SC. Mr. Kim & Esther are two of the most amazing humans I’ve ever met. David, one of their long-time servers, is simply World Class. Especially HUGE fan of the salmon sashimi (premium quality), Tiger Roll, Lemon Drop Roll…all of their rolls, really. Everything is done with a perfect balance. Excellent fish selections & quality + spot-on, well-balanced w yummy sauces, ROLLS. LOVE THEIR ROLLS. I’ve ordered delivery too. Absolutely perfect. EXCELLENT PRICES. LOVE THIS PLACE. ❤️