Sushi by Scratch Restaurants: Montecito, Santa Barbara CA

Literally our favorite restaurant anywhere, anytime. Amazing staff (Chef Sean and team) with incredibly inventive, creative, fresh, fantastic sushi. We’ve been to this location at least a dozen times and never once left disappointed. With only ten seats, it a very personalized and unique experience. And somehow it never gets old. Absolutely the best.

My wife and I eat sushi A LOT. We enjoy cooking together at home most nights, but when we do go out, it is for sushi. We flew in from Ohio and are traveling up the coast, making stops along the way for … sushi, and seeing different sites, etc.

To be forward, we have never spent more than $150 on a dinner, let alone over $400. That being said- dining here was truly a non negotiable, and while after just one drink for the both of us brought our bill to $500- we would and hope to do this again.

Chefs were very kind, and delivered an incredible 17 piece sushi experience, with a very tasty dessert at the end. We weren’t sure what to expect as this was by far the most “fine dining” experience we’ve had- and didn’t know if in this intimate setting with 8 other people, it would be a room full of conversation and laughter, or quiet and intimate. Truly, i believe it will be whatever you make it. We love to get to know people when we’re traveling, and we were grateful the chefs enjoyed holding conversation.

We dined with Chef Sean, Chef Aluka, Chef James, and the Bartender/Chef Kevin. Incredible team, worked well together, and provided an experience my wife and I will long to have again.

We have restaurant experience, not fine dining, but still… it is similar in its ways- we can imagine in this world of fine dining what a lot of guests would treat the chefs like. I believe we had such an authentic experience because we were grateful to be there and treated them like the humans/incredible chefs they are.

You get there early and start with a cocktail (or a mocktail) in the lobby. You're then welcomed into the restaurant, and you find your name written in chalk (I used a magic eraser to erase mine for privacy). Chefs were welcoming and very professional. Every sushi was good, though I prefer less seasoning. You can check out the photos to see what kind of sushi you get, but I think they change their menus every now and then. The entire setlist was well organized, and some sushi combos were impressive.

We went there to celebrate a special day, and we had a great time. But with previous omakase experiences I've had, there were a couple of eyebrow-raising moments.

1) Preparation. Sushi pieces for each course are prepared altogether, and other chefs start their prep perhaps to provide sushi in a streamlined fashion. I would've preferred if each party was catered to separately. There are many chefs working on sushi already, and I would've loved if each chef handled 2-4 customers at a time to pace differently. We were seated right in front of the prep board and got the best view of the performance (sushi-torching and final prep), but some seats seemed a bit too far from the show.

2) Peer pressure. 1) It felt as if getting a drink wasn't optional, because the head chef introduced a drink specialist whose job was to make you cocktails. I personally prefer drinking water when I'm in for a big culinary experience, but everybody was getting a drink, and we didn't want to say no and make the drink specialist not have a job for us. 2) When the course ends, the head chef asks us whether we'd like to try two more sushi courses made by other chefs to give them a chance to shine, with additional charge. Of course you partake in the ritual because you don't wanna not give them a chance and you don't wanna ruin your special day. We were already very full, but nobody was saying no thanks, so we ended up signing up for two additional courses, feeling short-changed. If you're not brave enough to say no to "a chance for other chefs to shine, " then expect to pay a lot more than the menu price.

We still liked the experience there, and we had a great time. But given that it was once a Michellin 1-star restaurant, I must say I expected a bit more from them. Probably won't revisit.

The chefs know what they are doing. The food was flavorful and well crafted. However, I will echo some other sentiments on here and say that at $450pp (20 moments + pairing), the fact that I left hungry was pretty disappointing. Additionally, since the omakase menu was pre-meditated and written on the wall, there was none of the back and forth sort of banter with the chefs to steer the menu that I would typically expect in omakase. It feels more typical prix fixe than the organic omakase experience that I've had in the past. There was also a fish bone in my madai, and like I get that that happens, but for a Michelin star.that's kind of disappointing.

Loved the food and the previous Shef. He was amazing. Missing his touch to the food and ambiance

An amazing time I would recommend to any that want a personal omakase experience. Wonderful chefs and bartender, with an awesome service. Highly recommend, worthy the money, if you're considering it and you're concerned about it.

3.5 stars.
The ONLY reason I am taking away 1.5 stars is because I left this dinner hungry - and given my size, this is essentially a never-event for me.

The 17 course meal was comprised of delicious bites - each dressed to enhance the protein. I did notice that the two sous chefs did not have consistent portion size of protein/rice so my partner's pieces were always bigger than mine. There was also plenty of banter between the chefs and the patrons which I enjoyed. But, if you want a quite dinner, this would not be the place for you.

I understand why many diners give 5 stars, I would have also if they'd fed me enough. While delicious and very fresh, the slices of fish are too thin and small! I do not mind spending $$$$ for high quality meals but please don't leave me hungry. (I even ordered two "extra bites")

Recommend getting apps somewhere else before coming here and expect to pay no less than $500 without drinks.

Very good sushi experience. Very cozy and they explain and pair everything Very well. Curated, but not stuffy.

If you appreciate traditional sushi, this isn’t your place. While the fish was all fresh and the service was great, all the sushi was salted and covered in sauce.

Really wanted to love the experience but unfortunately I didn't. With previous omakase experiences in mind, I echo the sentiment of other critical reviews.

1/5 Pricing: Total was $550 for two people. We did not add any alcohol pairings or the caviar/truffle supplement. This price reflects the deposit, base price, two $20 cocktails, an additional two courses (19 courses per person), and their automatic service charge. At $225 per person, the food/experience was unremarkable.

2/5 Experience: With multiple chefs working together, multiple courses were being prepared at the same time which was not preferential for me. I think there's a difference when you experience one chef's love and passion. I'm more enthusiastic with one person having total control of your experience from start to finish instead of one primary chef delegating tasks and having to see/hear that.

2/5 Sushi: I felt like the fish slices were very thin, small, and the pieces did not honor the fish. Most pieces were salty and unbalanced. In my opinion, this restaurant operates at a price point that does not reflect its atmosphere or food. The chefs preparing your food don't necessarily have sushi training. All locations are in destination cities like Beverly Hills, Miami, Seattle, etc. For a location that once retained a Michelin star multiple years in a row, I had higher expectations.

Phenomenal! My husband and i went for our anniversary and had the best sushi meal of our life. The staff is wonderful, knowledgeable and welcoming. Each bite got better and better. We were just in awe. This is a must if your a sushi lover.

Absolutely MIND BLOWING experience. Do yourself a favor and treat yourself to a feast for kings. Not only was it the best sushi I have ever had in my life (and I make it a priority to try any and all sushi restaurants that I can) but the entire dining experience was top-notch. I will absolutely be back.

This was the most fun I’ve ever had at Omakase. My wife got the drink pairing and I got a couple glasses of whiskey. Did not disappoint! I don’t want to give spoilers, but we had so much more than just fish! The chefs were friendly and charming. I can’t wait to come back.

Awesome experience. Definitely need to be a foodie to enjoy the full experience. So many ingredients and flavors. However even a regular person as myself will be blown away.

Absolutely beautiful experience. We were the last seating off the night, so at 9: 30 after enjoying a specialty cocktail (non-alcoholic available) we were seated at the bar. I was blown away by how kind these chefs were, and they were very talkative for omakase chefs. Every single course was delicious, and it was super fun to have a spin on traditional omakase. Some fish was made to taste like late night al pastor tacos, or ceviche. It was an amazing experience and I hope to come back again.