Kauboi

Nice place, service was good. Only had the house ramen and chicken yakitori with orange glaze vice the spicy teriyaki sauce… I’m really nitpicky when it comes to ramen and this was definitely different… Not bad just not what I expect when I read pork is in it (tonkotsu)… Noodles were kinda bland. There weren’t a whole lot to begin with. Yakitori also comes with the same expectation of taste and the orange sauce didn’t do it. Was it good? Yes. But not what I was jonesing for. I was disappointed to not see eel on the nigiri/​sushi or roll menu… Maybe I’ll try their burger next time I’m in the area.

Fantastic! First time for happy hour and it was really wonderful. Sat at the bar and we had a great time talking with three bartenders (2÷13÷16, 3 – 5:30 PM). The sushi was fresh, imaginative, and filling. Great convo with bartenders (I am horrible with names, but I will describe appearance): Gentleman with forearm tattoo made an outstanding Grapefruit Rickey and Mint Julep. The second bartender to arrive (lady) and I discussed Shipyard Brewery, as I am a former resident of Maine and felt obligated to help the establishment finish off the Smashed Pumpkin Signature Series. Side note: if you are in Portland Maine, be sure to take the Shipyard tour. The second gentleman arriving to the bar made a fantastic Dark Phoenix, one of my favorite drinks at Kauboi. Overall, my experience was, yet again, very enjoyable. As a Santa Cruz local, I greatly value this establishment. You are guaranteed creative food, enticing cocktails, and a friendly staff. I am hooked on this place and will continue to promote it in our community and beyond. Cheers Kauboi! See you soon, Martin Davis

HORRIBLE (downright embarrassing) service. It’s a shame because the food is pretty good. We have given them THREE chances to redeem themselves with the service, but the last time we were there, we literally waited by the hostess stand for almost 10 minutes with zero acknowledgement. When we decided we’d had enough and walked out, someone on staff yelled out to us, «Thanks, have a good night!» —- as if we were customers that just finished dining there or something. With all of the great dining options around town, it’s unacceptable to have service this inadequate. Done giving this place our money.

Love Kauboi!!! Inspired food, great service, good prices, creative cocktail menu, and the best Manhattans anywhere. Try the Lemonhead roll. Shishito Peppers, pickle platter, (really anything on the menu) and you will be happy! Great Happy Hour too! Would easily get 5 stars from me if they would open up for lunch again.
One word of advice to the owners — continue to keep your best employees happy as they really do make the place what it is — fun, energetic, creative.

We’ve been here a number of times since they opened… not sure why the bad reviews. Having moved here from the Bay Area, we are frequently disappointed with the restaurants in Santa Cruz. But Kauboi never disappoints us. We’ve had the sushi, sake flights, noodle bowls and many small plates. The broth in the soup is always well-​flavored with each piece of seafood perfectly cooked, which takes extra steps for the chef and is fequently shortcutted in other restaurants (Sushi Garden). The sushi comes to table in a timely way and is generous, fresh and very creative. They usually participate in Restaurant Week and have new and delicous offerings, with the sake pairings right on and the desserts very generous. There are several different rooms to sit in. We prefer the fireplace room, as it is the quietest. BTW, if you like your sake extra cold, they will bring an ice bucket… nice touch.

Came here less than a year ago and sushi was great! Now, not so much. Tonight, had to ask for chopsticks, forks, soy sauce, bowls for soy sauce and water. So ridiculous. Sushi was bland, flavorless and full or mushy rice. Went downhill quickly, was not impressed with service at all. Also, they were out of half of the menu…

Returning to Kauboi tonite for our 2^nd visit! We’re from Sacramento and our last meal at Kauboi was so good we’re excited to try it again. Will write a review afterwards to confirm that it was as good or better — can’t imagine they’ll disappoint!

Hard to believe, but this little sushi joint has the best burger around. Kobe wagyu beef on ciabatta with cheese mushrooms and onions included. Also comes with some of the best garlic fries I’ve ever had. As far as sushi goes, I liked the tomb nigiri and the Ivan the great roll (spicy!). This place also has, by far, the best craft cocktail bar in aptos/​capitola. Only bar to rival these drinks is 515 downtown and it’s a close contest. If you want to try a fancy, rare, topshelf whiskey, you can get it here for a fraction of the price you would pay anywhere else. Johnny Walker blue label (never seen it for less than 35 at a bar) was around $ 20. Best prices in town for the best drinks. Highly recommend kauboi to anyone who asks.

Great sushi. Delicious rolls. Awesome craft cocktails for under 8 bucks. 5 stars!
The ambiance is eclectic but fits right in for Santa Cruz. The staff was friendly and courteous and sat us right away.

Not sure why there are bad reviews. We dropped in for a quick dinner and were extremely satisfied. The Kauboi Burger (Kobe Beef) is «hands down» the BEST burger in all of Santa Cruz County… period. Excellent in every regard. We also had the Ivan the Great roll and enjoyed that immensely. Isaac did an excellent job with service and the Pineapple Torpedo cocktail was delicious. I highly recommend Kauboi.

Have spent a lot of time in this place… and to be honest each time I am not sure why. The service is seriously lacking. They are rude. Tonight my waiter/​bartender actually sat down had a meal with his back to our table meanwhile we did not have our table cleared or check brought to us with out us approaching the bar to ask. We had to ask for Drinks at one point. Will not be going back, what a shame because the food is good.

The service is really bad. The bartender when she was cleaning glasses and piling them up on the counter said to the other waitress: «I am building a wall to keep foreigners out…» The food is good but it’s better in Hide Out a few blocks from there so why bother with bad attitude and bad service.
I hope HIDE OUT a few blocks away accepts foreigners american dollars for food and tips.
Bye bye Kauboi… hey kabuki in america is spelled cowboy FYI… and the special in your menu «loco moco would be mad bugger so if you don’t like foreigners why don’t you name the restaurant and food in American English???

This is not a sushi bar, fish tucked away in a dark dingy corner, can’t sit at fish bar and not allowed to even see fish, all the staff just keeps coming up with apologies and excuses, poorly managed

Will not come here again.
I came here with two other people for a special occasion. We were seated promptly, and then ignored for over 20 minutes while another party who came after us was fully served We all left very disgusted with the service. It was a Wednesday night and not very crowded! I heard the food here was just OK, but now I won’t be back.

Our server was very nice but our food was really lacking. We had a shrimp tail in our order of edamame as well as noodle bits… wondering if these were reused edamame from another patron… Had the sliders, ordered medium and they came out well done and flavorless. Vegetable tempura meal was a variety of weird veggies, some peppers?

Went in to order some sushi to go. Mobile access to website isn’t very friendly so couldn’t order ahead of time. Walked up to hostess stand and stood. For 5 mins. No one so much as acknowledged my presence. Finally a red headed guy asked it I had been helped. He said he’d be with me in a bit and he was. Ordered a couple of rolls and waited another 15 mins. Btw this was a Monday night, not that crazy. So I get home and the one thing we ordered specifically because it has unagi sauce didn’t have any. Basically very much not impressed. Had they been even slightly nice I would forgive the screwed up food. But to walk by a patron and ignore them for 5 mins? I saw another couple walk in and finally sit on the bench because they had a newborn and no one would help them. Then get this… another couple walks in and finally someone decides to work and they sit the standing couple first. I got the hell outa there!
Yeah not going back. Too bad, they are in my hood!

Kauboi is absolutely fabulous. My bartender Pheonix made some of the most delicious drinks ive ever had and had stellar customer service. The food was amazing and i could not recommend it more, I will be retunrning.

The BEST Burger on this planet. My favorite spot to take my girl on a weekend night and treat ourselves.
Sushi is really good and fresh. (love the lemon roll)
You will lose your mind on this Kobe beef Burger at a great price.
masami wagyu kobe beef on ciabatta bun with swiss cheese, fried onions, arugula, shiitake mushrooms, kauboi sauce
– served with garlic fries

I don’t know about this place. The décor seems to be sending a mixed message. It’s a «sushi place» but when you go inside it looks kinda like Daniel Boone meets Timothy Leary. Nothing yells out Japanese. Okay, I can get past that as long as the food is good.
Food was just okay. Seemed a bit pricey for what you got and the fish was just okay. Stuck with the Chirashi and rolls, while my son had rolls and nigiri. The bill got over $ 100 in a hurry with drinks. Meh. Middle of the road. The interior definitely needs help. Not sure if they are trying to be «creative» or what. I felt like I was eating sushi in a hookah lounge in a forest of Kentucky (if there is such a thing).
Okay, maybe I CAN’T get past the goofy interior.

Oh. My. God. This was sooooo good! We came here to celebrate a birthday, though we didn’t really publicize it, and the whole experience was phenomenal!
We had a 2 for $ 50 combo + an Elvis roll and a Kauboi Burger, and a lava cake and to finish it off. All the rolls were clearly fresh off the wagon/​from the ocean, the appetizers and salad were well prepared and flavorful, and the Kauboi Burger… Ohhh the Kauboi Burger… Straight up spectacular, with garlic fries that weren’t too much or too little. The lava cake was lava with a thin cake shell topped with fresh berries and homemade vanilla whipped cream on the side… sigh.
Go there, eat the food, experience the friendly staff, maybe try a drink from the bar (that’ll be next for us). You won’t regret it!