Rating: four forks out of four

“Arigato” in Japanese means, “thank you.” And it’s the many students who eat at Arigato Sushi and Sake Bar who should be thankful. For many college students, finding a good place to eat for less is often difficult. And settling for the dollar menu at McDonald’s is more than typical. Finding cheap sushi doesn’t really exist, besides Arigato. This house of sushi has a traditional feel and is primarily known for the half priced sushi rolls. All sushi rolls are half-off during lunch, dinner and for take out. Arigato is affordable for struggling students, or anyone who wants to eat real Japanese food in a nice sit in restaurant for cheap.

Food

All sushi is made fresh and right away. Arigato serves all traditional rolls such as the California Roll (crab meat and avocado), Spider Roll (soft shell crab, cucumber and avocado), Ebi Roll (Shrimp) and many more.

There are also specialty rolls that can only be found in Sacramento. The Howe, Arden and Fair Oaks Rolls name the major streets located nearby. If you’re not a huge fan of the raw stuff, try the Arden Roll. This roll has salmon, crab and asparagus. It is lightly battered like tempura.

They also have other restaurant specialty rolls such as the Yummy Yummy, Lion King, Golden CA, and of course, the Arigato Roll. The Arigato Roll is the largest roll on the menu. It has shrimp, avocado and five kinds of fresh fish. Most specialty rolls are served with special sauces.

There is a long list of simple rolls as well. These rolls are called “Nigiri,” or “A La Carte.” The portions of these rolls are much smaller and come with only one ingredient such as shrimp, seawater eel, squid and cooked egg. There are many vegetarian rolls as well.

Aside from sushi, Arigato offers many other types of traditional Japanese dishes. There are several types of Bento Boxes (a combination of meat, rice, soup and salad), noodle soups, deep fried dishes and grilled dishes. The tempura appetizer is tasty and not over fried, but only comes with a few pieces of vegetable and one shrimp. Some of the main entrees do not live up to the quality of the sushi rolls. The chicken teriyaki is quite dry and lacks taste.

Sake bombs, oyster shooters and exotic beers are other types of special treats to try.

Value

The value of this place is what makes it so popular. The most expensive roll is the Arigato Roll, which is $15.95, but since all rolls are always half-off, it’s only a little less than $8. Specialty rolls run from $5 to $12, remember, half-off of that. Nigiri and vegetarian rolls are as low as $3.50 ($1.75).

Regular plates and entrees are much more expensive. Plates and Bento Boxes cost about $8 to $12 for lunch and $12 plus for dinner. Many people who dine at Arigato shy away from the regular entrees and stick to the rolls. A dinner for two with an order of about 4 to 6 rolls can cost less than $20.

Also, Sake bombs are only $1.50 and oyster shooters are $2.50.

Service

The primarily Japanese staff is typically very pleasant and welcome guests upon arrival. Many of the staff members are often overwhelmed by so many customers at once that they are very fast paced; don’t be offended if they never fill up your water.

Although Arigato is a sit in restaurant, the idea is still “in and out.” Since the cost of food is so cheap, it is only necessary to get people in and out so that more customers can be served.

At times if a large amount of food is ordered, or if many entrees and main dishes are ordered, you will find that your service is more, well, accommodating. If you are only ordering a few rolls and your total is only a few dollars, be ready to feel a bit rushed.

Environment

Arigato is always crowded around dinnertime, especially on Thursdays, Fridays and weekend nights. Typically, these nights are full of students. It’s quite noisy and people are usually dining with large groups of friends or getting drunk off the cheap Sake bombs.

The restaurant is slightly decorated with traditional Japanese adornments like colorful lanterns and shoji screens. The place is nice, small and quaint. If you’re looking for something posh, modern and upscale looking, search elsewhere, this is no Mikuni’s or Taro’s.

Overall

Ultimately, this is a great place to eat cheap and get quality food. Options are endless and staff service is not bad. It’s a great place to eat with friends or to celebrate a birthday.

If you want to enjoy a quiet Japanese meal, come during lunch hours. Dinner hours are the busiest and nosiest.

Arigato is open Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. then reopens from 5:00 p.m. to midnight. It’s open on the weekends from 12:30 p.m. to midnight. It’s located at 1608 Howe Ave.

Mindy Yuen can be reaches at [email protected]