My wife and I keep trying new places but always return here. It's simply the best place in town. The fish is very fresh, the layout of the restaurant is comfortable and the prices for quality ingredients is great. The owner and staff are wonderful people and we have never had a bad experience in all the years we've been here. Love this place! read more

The very BEST udon we've ever had (chicken and tempura)! We're locals and keep coming back for the amazing udon. Sushi is also delicious and distinct from other restaurants in the area. read more

My favorite sushi place in town! I come here every time I go through. They're the only place I've found that has artic char, and are on the more sustainable side of sushi restaurants. read more

My daughter and I were so pleased to find this little jewel of a restaurant. Decor and ambiance are warm, playful, modern and tasteful. The waitresses wear beautiful Japanese apparel, and they are so cheerful and friendly. I love supporting the sustainable fish idea. Extensive choices on the menu make it difficult to choose, some really creative rolls here! The tea selection is amazing and come in delightful modern pots. The fish was sublime, really high quality. Veggie rolls were fantastic! The best part was the dessert, a most delicate White Peach Sorbet...o..m..g.. we've never had anything like it, really was incredible like eating peach snow slightly sweetened...we are in love with Geisha! read more

I am so thankful to have a professional and consistent sushi restaurant here in the Santa Cruz area. With great selections of the freshest fish I have ever had, and great takes on some classics like green tea matcha tempura and on of my favorites the spicy tuna roll being taken to a whole another level I want to eat here as often as I can. The tea and sake selection are also very thorough and the wait staff and chefs are always prompt, courteous and right on! Thank You for being here, Kompai! read more

This establishment has an astounding view. It is very clean and well decorated. I get the bento box and my honey gets some vegi rolls. I always steal a couple from her. Needless to say, this is one of my favorites. The folks seem very knowledgeable and happy. read more

I love this place! I am a huge fan of Japanese cuisine and sushi but not many sushi restaurants use sustainable seafood (like saying organic and safe). Their seafood meets the sustainable standards per the Montery Bay Aquarium and their sushi rolls are creative with a Thai influence. They do get busy during weekend nights, but what good restaurant doesn't during weekends! I especially appreciate how patient and friendly the staff is in regards to small children dining there. This is a big plus for us since there are few good restaurants (and their clientele) who appreciate little customers. I recommend Sushi Geisha for diners who enjoy good sushi, sushi that is eclectic and ocean sustainable. read more

It was a really bad experience with the waitress she passed another group in front of ours that were waiting for more than half an hour. She was rude and stressed. Terrible costumer service. Do not understand how they are still open with this kind of attitude. read more

This place is the literal bomb. Depending on when you go it might be a bit of a wait, but that's only because they have an X amount of people. Once my order was taken I had my food within less then 20 minutes. Worth the wait! I can't remember off the top of my head, but the Creolo and the Mushroom something were probably the best rolls I've ever had! Totally worth it if you are in Capitola! read more

Sushi is such fun to eat. This place takes the fun out of it. First, it took forever. Second, we ordered 8 rolls I thought I ordered too much but they were fairly small. The service was mediocre when I asked for a spoon for my miso soup she corrected me by saying "typically you don't use a spoon". I didn't feel the place was that authentic. The quality was fine. But the ambience was rude and hard. No bueno...oh sorry! peke read more

I love Geisha's sustainable sushi options and the friendly staff. They have the most extensive vegetarian sushi options of any place I've been. The fish items are always fresh and outstanding too. Everything is delicious! read more

Have been going to Geisha's for years. Always great food. A lot of vegan choices. So glad to have this for my anniversary dinner last week.

I went to geisha for the first time today after hearing some positive feedback about it. However, they were incredibly understaffed on a weekend and only had one server and one busser. This meant waiting 5-10 min for a cup, water, basically anything you needed. When it came to the food, the chef made rolls that were too huge to eat comfortably and had little to no flavor. Although some of my friends had seemed to have more positive experiences on precious visits, I'd have to say I was extremely disappointed in the service and food quality and would prefer to eat at Akira, sushi garden, or sushi blossom much more than here. read more

So being raised by a very strict Japanese house hold when it comes to dinning out an it being a Japanese restaurant of coarse I'm a little biased but geisha was absolutely amazing food quality was very good an was served quickly and employees very welcoming ... 5 star in my opinion read more

Geisha - Well worth what you pay for and the food is f@$&# amazing - Japanese Near Me - Capitola, California

This is the second time we have ordered take out and arrived home with items missing. When I called we were told WE could come back to make it right. No refund offered. Got the old ' it's because of COVID' AND I was told that even though the noodle dishes SAY they come with miso soup and salad they skip the soup because they are broth based. Seriously??? We have loved Geisha for years and I don't know what's happened but we are moving on. read more

Sadly dissappointed. They have a great concept, and I was loving their sustainable fish menu options, but after waiting 45 min to get four pieces of sashimi and then twenty min to get the check, I am pretty sure I will never be back. read more

I was thoroughly disappointed with this restaurant and its service. Went there with my family last night on a recommendation from a friend in Santa Cruz, and waited a very long time for a server. The venue was unexceptional, the experience unpleasant, and we will not return. read more

I have gone here several times, and every single time the sushi has been exceptional!!! My favorite roll is the Unforgettable, along with a few others! The sushi chef, Dave, Is always wonderful! Tells us the specials each time were in, customizes our order, very knowledgeable and talented at what he dose, and makes each visit entertaining. He has younger "students" with him sometimes that he teaches, which are always wonderful as well! The prices are high for a reason.... amazing FRESH sushi!! and always a great experience!!!!! i will continue to come back!!!! read more

I went to Geisha with my sister for dinner, and neither one of us had been there since it changed from Paradise Sushi. It was Saturday night and it was busy due to the beautiful daytime weather. We sat at the bar for 10 minutes before being seated at a table. It took over 40 minutes to receive our sushi from the time we ordered...and we had only order 4 rolls which weren't even that complicated (spicy tuna/albacore, Tony the Tiger, Art Attack, and Philly). Despite ordering salads which were larger than the usual side salad, it was almost unbearable to wait that long for sushi. I have gone to many sushi places throughout Santa Cruz County and this one was quite disappointing. The service we received from the wait staff was slightly above average; they were apologetic about the delay and compensated with free sake. However, if I really cared for free sake and apps, I would have gone to I Love Sushi in downtown Santa Cruz. The decor is a bit shocking to those with a "clean, modernist" or "earth tones" inclined design. I liked the pink ceilings as a pop of color but the cherry blossom trees were over kill. One tree and maybe a bamboo plant or water feature would help with the decor. Also, a bowl of Jelly Belly's for self-serve...not exactly hygienic and all it would take is a kid to stick its hand in the bowl or dump it on the floor to either make a mess or spread illness. As for the taste of the sushi, I definitely enjoyed their 2 original rolls and the spicy tuna roll was one of the best I've ever had. As for the sustainable sushi concept, like most things - great idea but execution is lack luster. I missed having maguro and unagi options and the albacore was a different texture. read more

The service was a joke, but the sushi was great. If the lead sushi chef didn't come out and apologize for such poor service and comp us a few rolls, I would not go back. However the sushi was good, so I am willing to give the service a second chance.... read more

Great Food. My two stars is for the L O N G W A I T. Loooooooooonnnnngggggg Waaaaaaaiiiiitttttttt. LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGG WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTT. Along with a complimentary supply of excuses. I took my wife for a "Date Night". 2 people. The restaurant was less than half full. Our waitress was fine at first. Knowledgeable, mildly arrogant, but I'd rather have someone mildly arrogant who believes in their product and is confident... than someone who is just a jerk. Problem is... people getting sat after us were getting their orders before us. Alas, tension Mounts. Upon ordering - I requested a roll and ordered a NON roll special - similar to Sashimi, and the special arrived promptly. My wife ordered two rolls. I waited 20 minutes before my wife urged me to eat and enjoy the special, as she did not want the dish I'd ordered. I finished my first order. After an unbelievably long wait, my wife's rolls came and I she tried to be polite and wait for me. Commensurate to my 'special' coming first, I urged her to eat. She ate slowly and finally finished her meal. We still waited for my roll. Waited... waited... waited... FAIL FINALLY the roll appeared and my wife was noticeably annoyed and we got a bunch of apologies... and CERTAINLY no complimentary bottle of anything like previous reviewers. Just well rehearsed excuses. ETIQUETTE FAIL. I do, however, feel the waitress is the messenger here. FInally the check came... and I tried to whip my credit card out as quickly as I could before losing her to the vortex of mystery to where our orders and wait staff disappear... but she sauntered off. After waiting an additional 10 minutes for her to come back and get my card... I gave up and walked to the register merely to see our waitress doing her hair in the kitchen area and giggling with the other waitresses. VANITY FAIL. Handing my card over, I got snotty looks of displeasure due to the audacity of carrying my check up to the register. OBTUSE FAIL Upon our departure - the wait staff was toasting itself with big pious smiles of self satisfaction. VAPID FAIL. Total time for my meal at Geisha Sushi - just shy of THREE HOURS. For two people. After that long a wait - the fish is not fresh. Get it together, Geisha. Many of us locals want to support good restaurants, but you make it very difficult. You need a head waiter/waitress to coordinate the orders that come in. Period. You need a head chef that picks up the speed of his team. Whomever thinks the current process is acceptable obviously does NOT care about customer service or longevity of business. You have FAILED. Your staff did NOT deserve to be toasting themselves. That is a misleading and inappropriate message sent to the wait staff that 'all is fine.' My job has me traveling often. Yours is the most atrocious speed of service of any restaurant I've experienced in the Monterey Bay/Santa Cruz Area, as well as San Francisco, LA, AUSTRAILIA, LONDON, BALTIMORE, NEW YORK, IRELAND and JAMAICA. Fix this. I like your food very much. read more

Been twice and really hoped to be able to give a better review because I love that they are offering sustainable seafood. But really, the taste is medium at best, the atmosphere nothing special, and the service is THE WORST (both times we were there). Besides getting my order wrong last night, we never even saw our waitress again throughout the entire meal. Water glasses long empty, plates stacking up. Really?!! And I'm paying good money for this dining experience??! In fact, Geisha is super pricey for what you get. Wish it weren't so, but have to be real. Have yet to find a sushi spot that we love in Santa Cruz, but will be taking Geisha off the list. read more

I was so incredibly sad when the restaurant that was previously at the location "Paradise Sushi" closed. Sad is actually putting it mildly. It had been our go to place for sushi for 12 years at least. We hadn't tried "Geisha" until this evening. We were trying to figure out where to go for dinner, had decided on sushi .I hopped on yelp and looked at Geisha. They had a quick video where low and behold the owner is the original sushi chef that had won us over all those years ago. We were so excited and went there immediately. We had an unbelievably amazing experience. The premise is largely that this sushi restaurant works within the parameters of sustainable fishing which is awesome. Also most items on the menu are organic. They have an extensive vegetarian menu. Some of the rolls that I had that totally rocked were "The VLT" and the "Yam". So, soooooo good. I also had the vegetable gyoza. One of the newest additions to this menu is the extensive tea selection. I had two different kinds. The first was a hibiscus tea which was wonderful. The other was the Cherry Blossom tea, which was a green tea infusion with rose petals. It was wonderful. Lastly, do yourself a favor. Get the vanilla ice cream with fried banana and honey. I am so thrilled that I have my favorite sushi spot back, with some great improvements. read more

Good sushi. Horrible service. Three people for lunch sushi. We all ate separately because we got our food at all different times. Two of us were finished before the third person got their food, and the waitress forgot one of their rolls. Then she took my phone for the Groupon and had it for a really long time. So long, it timed out and she had to bring it back for me to put the code in. We were one of three tables in the restaurant. There is no excuse for terrible customer service like this! read more

This place is BOMB! I can not say enough about the management and the food. Never have I ever been treated so consistently well. We eat here about once a week and have a fun group that gets a pretty good variety of stuff. We all agree its the best we've had (at least in the USA)! The attention to detail with how they use sauces and prepare the rice is very traditional and reminded me of my visit to Japan. Check this place out cause its worth it. Huge veggie and vegan section too as well as an epic tea menu! Favorite rolls are the art attack, lemon drop, izzy bizzy and mushroom fixation. If you like it spicy ask for satan sauce! read more

Far better than its current reviews indicate. We came through Capitola hungry, at a weird time (3 pm) so we had the restaurant to ourselves. The food was everything I could've asked for and service was great. Fabulous salmon, the best mackerel I've ever had, and a really memorable spicy avocado-lemon-jalapeño-tuna roll. I only wish I'd left room for dessert. read more

My husband and I came into this restaurant for lunch this past Saturday on the 15th. It was a very good experience for us. Our waitress was very knowledgeable about sustainability and gave us a good explanation of the place because we had never been before. Service was prompt and she checked on us a few times to make sure we were doing okay. The rolls were delicious and very unique! We will be back again!!!!! read more

This place is so refreshing! The sushi is great and I loved the appetizers. However I think the sashimi could have been a little better. It seemed like they used what was left over from the sushi for it. read more

I had the opportunity to go to Geisha as part of an event and it was fantastic! The food was wonderful - I love their commitment to sustainability, which with sushi is no small feat and is incredibly important. To boot, the staff was warm and welcoming. If I were to make it back to this part of California again, Geisha would absolutely be on my list. read more

I absolutely love how I can eat here and feel good about it because the restaurant is sustainable! The decor is great, you can really relax with your friends in this atmosphere. We come here a lot. The sushi is beyond delicious, I like to try something new here every time because it's so good. Best part? A huge tea menu! Such a great idea for tea lovers like myself. One day I want to try the $10/cup tea, it must be mind blowing haha. I would recommend coming here to dine, it's well priced and the good food makes you feel content. read more

Solid sashimi and nigiri. Good complexity to the stunt rolls. Fish sustainably sourced. Service friendly and polite. Better everything than you'd expect for a sushi place next to the beach. Price is a little on the high side but not bad. read more

I have been here 3 times and I will defiantly be back. The quality of the food is just incredible. I have ordered the miso soup every time I have been there, its the stuff that dreams are made of. The fish is fresh tasting and amazing by it self and in the rolls. (and sustainable! the hook that got me in here) Last nite, our group loved one of the vegi rolls so much, he decided it was the best roll he had ever had. Though the service is a bit slow and spotty, it has improved every time I have been there. I just now know only to go there when I don't mind waiting a little extra time for my food/drink/check. I understand that the food takes a long time to prepare because when it comes out it looks like art work! Also don't forget you pay a little more for sustainability/high quality and location (a block from the ocean). So for us its a special occasion place and totally worth the wait! Also they have a great drink selection from amazing sake's to flavorful teas. I just ate it last nite and dreaming of the moment I get to go back.... Thanks Geisha! read more

Sustainable sushi? Yesssss please! I've been at least three times now. I went a few months ago after they had just opened, and while there was a couple kinks it wasn't a big deal- nothing more than the norm for any restaurant. I wasn't sure what to expect from some of the fish, but it turned out to be tasty. They had a large selection of vegetarian rolls from my vegetarian friend also. The hostess and server were very personable and were very eager to help choose our rolls, "clouds and the rain" was awesome. The next time we went, it was a different sushi chef, and he was obviously still learning. My friend and I ordered the same roll, and they came out completely different than what was expected. We passed our comment through the waitress, and it was well received. They have been training new staff, and so there are still some kinks to work out; but I'll choose sustainable sushi and local business any day. read more

best sushi in capitola/santa cruz. tucked away on top of an ice cream store this place is the real deal. amazingly fresh fish! delicious rolls and great staff read more

I was disappointed because i was expecting "sushi" like any other regular sushi. Had I known this place only has "sustainable sushi" , I wouldn't come here and not even with vouchers. The substitute fishes didn't taste right nor fresh. The tables are sticky and was cleaned well; I found a lot of tiny orange eggs left on the table. read more

yay there is sustainable yellowtail!!! Trust the specials they are always creative and tasty. Sushi could be banned for lack of sustainable practices and these guys would survive. it's fresh, sustainable and busting with flavor. if there is a downside it would be too many tempura rolls. Love it here! read more

Easily the best sushi I have ever eaten! Sustainable choices everywhere you turn, which is truly wonderful! We have had excellent service every single time- fast and ultra friendly. The black widow roll and the vegetable udon soup are divine! Worth every single penny! read more

Geisha is one of my favorite places to eat! I love there udon...it's so good I get it at least 1-2 times a week! They make there own noodles and broth, and it shows in the quality! The staff is always supper friendly and do an amazing job! Thank you geisha for your wonderful food and excellent service! read more

Chef Dave made the entire experience very pleasant, his recommendations and depth of knowledge about sushi and sustainability were tremendous and surpassed only by the passion he exhibited when crafting our meal. All of the fish was beautiful and fresh, and I was astonished to see that they make their California rolls with REAL CRAB!! Great atmosphere, service, and food. I will be coming back! read more

Came to visit this town from the central valley, the place is homey i like the casual ambiance and the presentation of their dishes. It seems as though we came on a busy day. only two chefs made the wait time a little more than normal. The fact that i can see them make the dishes kept me entertained and also made me realize how meticulous they are. I like their selection of fish and this place seems like they are in demand, if it wasn't for the wait time i would have given them a full five stars. read more