We had a late night craving of sushi and this place was still open, THAT I liked much, food was well seasoned and well at that time not too busy , gave it 4 star for service only because there was 1 lady only with r tables used that night , but other than that so far so good , I'll be going back sometime
Elsa. M.
We went there last night. Quiet place. People there are friendly, including the customers! Food was excellent. They served the best baked green muscles we've had in a bit. We ordered the chef's specials. Each one was sooooo tasty! Definitely going back!
Anna Kwon
I love supporting smaller businesses and always make sure to write a review (particularly on Yelp) when I love a restaurant. One of my favorite cuisines is sushi and I have frequented the many sushi restaurants in Ventura. However, I do also need to leave a review when a restaurant disappoints so sorely, there's simply no way around it.My boyfriend and I came in an hour before Ozeki closed on a Thursday night. It was dead empty since it was 10 pm. We alerted the woman who served us, who was clearly one of the owners, that we were just here for a snack since we both had upset stomachs but still needed to refuel after climbing. So we ordered a house salad, garlic edamame, chicken salad, miso soup, and salmon cut roll.There was a resounding theme with each food item we received: teeny, tiny, mini portions and no effort put into making each item whatsoever. The house salad came in a dainty miso soup bowl and was cloyingly sweet. It took me about 4 bites to finish the salad because it was that small. The garlic edamame also came in the tiniest pile. We had to ration out how much we ate because the portion was absolutely minuscule. It was also just too buttery and salty. $7 for a handful of soybeans that aren't even tasty? Ookkk.We then received my bf's chicken salad and miso soup and we both laughed and asked each other exactly the same thing: "Is this a meal for ants?" His miso soup came in an even smaller bowl than the salad came in and took about 3 sips to finish. $1 per sip--that's a pricey miso soup. And his chicken salad was just so sad: a small bit of spring mix with what appeared to be less than 1oz of chicken cut up into tiny slivers. I ordered the salmon cut roll last minute and it was also the saddest salmon roll I had ever seen; literally, just salmon wrapped with rice and nori. No avocado, not cucumber. The rice didn't even taste like sushi rice.Oh, my goodness, I just need to ask: how can the owners call this a Japanese restaurant? It's almost like they had no cooking background, took a look at a sushi menu, and thought "Hey, let's try that," and were only able to pull off butchering even the simplest of their menu items. Ai yai. The owners clearly don't care what their food looks like and tastes like. It almost felt like cafeteria food where each diner gets the smallest, passable rationing.Prior to ordering and receiving our food, I had been intrigued by all of Ozeki's delicious-looking rolls when perusing their menu and asked my bf if we could come back here at a future date to try them out. However, after seeing that the owners skimp out and didn't do justice on even the most simple of ingredients, let alone give a decent portion for the price, I am not entrusting them to do justice with more expensive ingredients.I would highly suggest staying away from here and instead trying Koba Sushi (2026 E Main St) or Banzai Marina in downtown Ventura if you want a high-quality sushi experience in this town. Even if you order a basic cut roll from Koba, you get FAT pieces of fish... and the chef also puts in avocado and cucumber (which are the basic other ingredients in a cut roll).Bye Ozeki, byeeee.
Victoria M.
Horrible Quality. NO quality at ALL. The rolls to go now are 6-7 Inches long. Im serious. RUN. BAD. BAD. BAD. 34.00 for 3 rolls ( 1 of them was wrong ordered). So. Plain fish inside of rice. 34.00 dollars PLEASE. You will be bankrupt in no time, mr. proprietor. Scum you are.
Rudy E.
Couldn't get to my regular sushi place in time so I went to this place with high hopes because of the reviews and since it's the closest sushi place from where I live. Prices were waaaaay higher than I expected but too late not ordered two deep fried California rolls a Vegas and a catapillar rolls and a soup so right away no cucumber on California rolls. Not only that but they weren't even deep fried in tempura. Keep in mind they didn't forget to charge me the difference. The catapillar roll was soggy for some reason and the salmon on the Vegas role was terrible and not fresh. Also no ginger and only a small dab of wasabi for all of it. To top it off I asked for bottle of saki only to find out they charged me $24 without asking which bottle I wanted. When they brought it definitely wasn't whT I had in mind so I asked for something different more to my liking they gladly switched it out but they refused to refund the difference. When I mentioned that there was one called he kept insisting was that no the price was the same even though it was clearly different on the media and to prevent me from asking the questions they just kept saying goodbye you can leave good night. A really huge bummer because again it's really close to where I live and they're open late so that would've been a godsend but the sushi was just terrible, weird, and incorrect. I sort of wanted to call and ask for them to try and make it again correctly but it was so bad I just call it a night Which was especially disappointing because it was supposed to be an at home date night. Not saying they never make good food, but can't recommend based off my experience.
Cassie Lawhead
We were worried when we came into an empty restaurant at 5:45 on a Wednesday evening, but our meal turned out to be excellent! The jazz music and quiet ambience made for a lovely dining experience. The food was fresh and flavorful. Our kids loved the yakisoba and shrimp tempura, and even tried their first roll! Ozeki was the hot spot back in 2000, and I hope business picks up for them again!
Carrie Hammontree
The prices online are incorrect / old. I was the only person in the there for a while. I wanted green mussels. The price is listed here at 6.95 for 5 pieces. It's actually 8.95 for 4 pieces.Also ordered edamame. I could hear them microwaving it in the back. The bowl was half the size of my fist. I expected a cereal bowl, not a small ? side of rice bowl.These are silly things to complain about. I'm sorry.I hope they update their prices online. If that was accurate, I would give it 4-5 stars.It was $28.93 for a sashi (salmon) salad, edemame and green mussels. I tipped to make it an even $40. I was still hungry when I left but I also ate very fast since (but I was VERY VERY HUNGRY when I went in).Reflecting back, I realize my level of hunger earlier clearly decided my level of satisfaction. I think other people with normal hunger would be just fine to eat there and be adequately satisfied.
Yazmin P
I love coming to this quiet and friendly spot. The owner is very attentive. If you come to this little while in the wall next to 99c in ventura you must try the snow roll. It's so yummylicious. I love it and the koyjo roll is awesome. I love to come here and relax, enjoy my food.
Bridget E.
Rude beyond belief !! We walked out on Valentine's Day . We were told we would have to sit at a table where the door was open and it was cold ! Then a couple came in after and offered any seat ! Next the couple that arrived after t was approached first ! So disrespectful!! Do not go . It deserves no stars
Alissa Marie B.
Terrible service. I told the lady my order is for take out 1:30pm. Came in 2:00 pm and told me to wait for 10mins. because they threw away the roll. Now, I came in and told me they're sold out. Doesn't make sense. Very rude lady!!!
Frankenstein rolls made with VERY questionable ingredients. Google maps does an excellent rerouting drivers to avoid traffic. It should help you avoid this place as well.
Joel G.
No. No. No. This place does not make decent sushi let alone charge for the rates per roll we come to expect to pay for Sushi these days. Having a sushi restaurant does not and should not entitle one to charge premium prices for clearly amateur at best execution. Have some dignity and pride after all. I will say really only two things beyond this. First the interior looks more like an East Harlem bodega than a place where you expecting fresh fish. Secondly the rolls are straight sad. Go down the street to Winco. Yes that Winco, the grocery' store. They offer up superior sushi simple and clean. Plus you have the added benefits of 1) NOT being ripped off or 2) insulted with garbage ingredients or presentation like this establishment. Sure find out. Take a chance and patronize this place. Or go somewhere else and simply avoid the questionable EVERYTHING that comes with the risk of eating here.
Marissa M.
Ozeki is a hidden gem truly. If you're looking for great quality sushi or sashimi look no further. This is THE SPOT. Owners are so nice and friendly and the food is amazing will definitely be back.
Felicia Neski
Doesn't appear open, despite signs and online info declaring otherwise. Door was locked at 1240 on a Saturday when we tried to open it. Bummer.
We had a late night craving of sushi and this place was still open, THAT I liked much, food was well seasoned and well at that time not too busy , gave it 4 star for service only because there was 1 lady only with r tables used that night , but other than that so far so good , I'll be going back sometime
We went there last night. Quiet place. People there are friendly, including the customers! Food was excellent. They served the best baked green muscles we've had in a bit. We ordered the chef's specials. Each one was sooooo tasty! Definitely going back!
I love supporting smaller businesses and always make sure to write a review (particularly on Yelp) when I love a restaurant. One of my favorite cuisines is sushi and I have frequented the many sushi restaurants in Ventura. However, I do also need to leave a review when a restaurant disappoints so sorely, there's simply no way around it.My boyfriend and I came in an hour before Ozeki closed on a Thursday night. It was dead empty since it was 10 pm. We alerted the woman who served us, who was clearly one of the owners, that we were just here for a snack since we both had upset stomachs but still needed to refuel after climbing. So we ordered a house salad, garlic edamame, chicken salad, miso soup, and salmon cut roll.There was a resounding theme with each food item we received: teeny, tiny, mini portions and no effort put into making each item whatsoever. The house salad came in a dainty miso soup bowl and was cloyingly sweet. It took me about 4 bites to finish the salad because it was that small. The garlic edamame also came in the tiniest pile. We had to ration out how much we ate because the portion was absolutely minuscule. It was also just too buttery and salty. $7 for a handful of soybeans that aren't even tasty? Ookkk.We then received my bf's chicken salad and miso soup and we both laughed and asked each other exactly the same thing: "Is this a meal for ants?" His miso soup came in an even smaller bowl than the salad came in and took about 3 sips to finish. $1 per sip--that's a pricey miso soup. And his chicken salad was just so sad: a small bit of spring mix with what appeared to be less than 1oz of chicken cut up into tiny slivers. I ordered the salmon cut roll last minute and it was also the saddest salmon roll I had ever seen; literally, just salmon wrapped with rice and nori. No avocado, not cucumber. The rice didn't even taste like sushi rice.Oh, my goodness, I just need to ask: how can the owners call this a Japanese restaurant? It's almost like they had no cooking background, took a look at a sushi menu, and thought "Hey, let's try that," and were only able to pull off butchering even the simplest of their menu items. Ai yai. The owners clearly don't care what their food looks like and tastes like. It almost felt like cafeteria food where each diner gets the smallest, passable rationing.Prior to ordering and receiving our food, I had been intrigued by all of Ozeki's delicious-looking rolls when perusing their menu and asked my bf if we could come back here at a future date to try them out. However, after seeing that the owners skimp out and didn't do justice on even the most simple of ingredients, let alone give a decent portion for the price, I am not entrusting them to do justice with more expensive ingredients.I would highly suggest staying away from here and instead trying Koba Sushi (2026 E Main St) or Banzai Marina in downtown Ventura if you want a high-quality sushi experience in this town. Even if you order a basic cut roll from Koba, you get FAT pieces of fish... and the chef also puts in avocado and cucumber (which are the basic other ingredients in a cut roll).Bye Ozeki, byeeee.
Horrible Quality. NO quality at ALL. The rolls to go now are 6-7 Inches long. Im serious. RUN. BAD. BAD. BAD. 34.00 for 3 rolls ( 1 of them was wrong ordered). So. Plain fish inside of rice. 34.00 dollars PLEASE. You will be bankrupt in no time, mr. proprietor. Scum you are.
Couldn't get to my regular sushi place in time so I went to this place with high hopes because of the reviews and since it's the closest sushi place from where I live. Prices were waaaaay higher than I expected but too late not ordered two deep fried California rolls a Vegas and a catapillar rolls and a soup so right away no cucumber on California rolls. Not only that but they weren't even deep fried in tempura. Keep in mind they didn't forget to charge me the difference. The catapillar roll was soggy for some reason and the salmon on the Vegas role was terrible and not fresh. Also no ginger and only a small dab of wasabi for all of it. To top it off I asked for bottle of saki only to find out they charged me $24 without asking which bottle I wanted. When they brought it definitely wasn't whT I had in mind so I asked for something different more to my liking they gladly switched it out but they refused to refund the difference. When I mentioned that there was one called he kept insisting was that no the price was the same even though it was clearly different on the media and to prevent me from asking the questions they just kept saying goodbye you can leave good night. A really huge bummer because again it's really close to where I live and they're open late so that would've been a godsend but the sushi was just terrible, weird, and incorrect. I sort of wanted to call and ask for them to try and make it again correctly but it was so bad I just call it a night Which was especially disappointing because it was supposed to be an at home date night. Not saying they never make good food, but can't recommend based off my experience.
We were worried when we came into an empty restaurant at 5:45 on a Wednesday evening, but our meal turned out to be excellent! The jazz music and quiet ambience made for a lovely dining experience. The food was fresh and flavorful. Our kids loved the yakisoba and shrimp tempura, and even tried their first roll! Ozeki was the hot spot back in 2000, and I hope business picks up for them again!
The prices online are incorrect / old. I was the only person in the there for a while. I wanted green mussels. The price is listed here at 6.95 for 5 pieces. It's actually 8.95 for 4 pieces.Also ordered edamame. I could hear them microwaving it in the back. The bowl was half the size of my fist. I expected a cereal bowl, not a small ? side of rice bowl.These are silly things to complain about. I'm sorry.I hope they update their prices online. If that was accurate, I would give it 4-5 stars.It was $28.93 for a sashi (salmon) salad, edemame and green mussels. I tipped to make it an even $40. I was still hungry when I left but I also ate very fast since (but I was VERY VERY HUNGRY when I went in).Reflecting back, I realize my level of hunger earlier clearly decided my level of satisfaction. I think other people with normal hunger would be just fine to eat there and be adequately satisfied.
I love coming to this quiet and friendly spot. The owner is very attentive. If you come to this little while in the wall next to 99c in ventura you must try the snow roll. It's so yummylicious. I love it and the koyjo roll is awesome. I love to come here and relax, enjoy my food.
Rude beyond belief !! We walked out on Valentine's Day . We were told we would have to sit at a table where the door was open and it was cold ! Then a couple came in after and offered any seat ! Next the couple that arrived after t was approached first ! So disrespectful!! Do not go . It deserves no stars
Terrible service. I told the lady my order is for take out 1:30pm. Came in 2:00 pm and told me to wait for 10mins. because they threw away the roll. Now, I came in and told me they're sold out. Doesn't make sense. Very rude lady!!!
Restaurantji Recommends
Frankenstein rolls made with VERY questionable ingredients. Google maps does an excellent rerouting drivers to avoid traffic. It should help you avoid this place as well.
No. No. No. This place does not make decent sushi let alone charge for the rates per roll we come to expect to pay for Sushi these days. Having a sushi restaurant does not and should not entitle one to charge premium prices for clearly amateur at best execution. Have some dignity and pride after all. I will say really only two things beyond this. First the interior looks more like an East Harlem bodega than a place where you expecting fresh fish. Secondly the rolls are straight sad. Go down the street to Winco. Yes that Winco, the grocery' store. They offer up superior sushi simple and clean. Plus you have the added benefits of 1) NOT being ripped off or 2) insulted with garbage ingredients or presentation like this establishment. Sure find out. Take a chance and patronize this place. Or go somewhere else and simply avoid the questionable EVERYTHING that comes with the risk of eating here.
Ozeki is a hidden gem truly. If you're looking for great quality sushi or sashimi look no further. This is THE SPOT. Owners are so nice and friendly and the food is amazing will definitely be back.
Doesn't appear open, despite signs and online info declaring otherwise. Door was locked at 1240 on a Saturday when we tried to open it. Bummer.
Very good mochi