A-RU Japanese Restaurant - Buellton, California

Irwin C.

Muy buen precio en la comida sabor inigualable atención muy amable y rápida amplio estacionamiento cerveza fría y gran variedad de platillos espero regresar muy pronto exelente

Zhlange

I ordered their two-side combination, and it was a big portion! Make sure you're hungry if you decide to try this option. The meat was very tasty, with enough flavor not to overwhelm you. The service was great as well. I highly recommend this restaurant.

Kera P.

Pretty sure this is a Chinese-owned Japanese restaurant, which is already a no. The giveaway was the Chinese music blasting throughout the restaurant. The food was really expensive and unfortunately subpar but it's also in the middle of a White town devoid of good Asian food, so... *Shrug* It is what it is. This restaurant was not my choice. It was picked by someone else in our group.

It was small but still easily accommodated our party of 16 without a reservation because it was pretty empty. A lady apologized to us (the owner?) when we were leaving and thanked us for our patience because our order took ridiculously long to come out. The kids were so hungry and kept asking about their ramen. She said it was because there were so many orders at once (the restaurant is small and other than us, there are only two other small parties-- what on Earth were you talking about?). However, we never bugged them or asked them once about when our food was coming out, so they were appreciative of that.

We didn't expect the ramen to be so big but it sucked, so it didn't really matter how big the portion was. The pork was really dry and the broth lacked that rich, fatty aspect that makes ramen so delicious. You could tell it was instant noodles and not fresh house made, which was just awful.

Our server was this young guy. I liked him a lot. He was quick (even though the food aspect was super slow), polite and just sweet. He was trying really hard, so I gave him an extra tip on top of what the rest of our party left him. The restroom was also pretty clean, an aspect I like to note.

I feel bad about leaving such a lousy review for a small business but if one is looking for authentic Japanese food at a fair price point, this place just ain't it.

Tony F.

A-RU is a pretty decent Japanese restaurant in a small transit town like Buellton.

Comfortable and clean setting with friendly service.

We had special combination with Dragon Roll, the sushi were fresh and tasty, Dragon Roll was as expected. It also came with Misi soup and salad which was quite nice.

We also had the Nabeyaki Udon, served on an iron pot which kept it nice and hot. The seafood items were plentiful but they were a little some.

Overall, these two items with a small hot saki made a delicious and satisfying dinner for two.

Elliot W.

I think this is the only Japanese restaurant in Buellton. If you are looking for not so typical sushi rolls, they have a pretty long list of special cut rolls. It's not bad yet not something I would recommend if you are in the area, unless you have a craving for sushi rolls.

Kittsky P.

Good sushi and friendly service. We like to sit at the sushi bar. I've enjoyed everything I ordered so far.

Laine F. ?.

Took awhile (at least 30mins) for our food to be served after ordering, and there were only 3 tables being served including ours. There was 1 person taking orders and 2 servers (including the 1 that was taking orders).

Ordered the following:
Yakitori - very tough chicken
Beef Bulgogi bowl with Veggies & rice - too salty for me
Chicken Cutlet with rice - not too bad
Salmon Kama - too much salt, they put teriyaki sauce on it (so it was a little bit palatable)
Dragon Roll - so-so
Baked Mussels - so-so

Parking: a lot
Service: ok

I gave a star because of parking and ok service. But for food, 0-1 Star. Good thing we’re just passing through, because we’ll never go back and eat in this place.

J M.

I had the opportunity to experience eating at A-RU Japanese Restaurant in Buellton, Ca. for the first time. It's under new ownership since three years ago. I had the freshest baked Salmon roll EVER!!! Whether you are driving by ir soending the day in Santa Ynez area, you will not regret spending a little more for fresh authentic Japanese food!!!