Tabu Sushi Bar & Grill

The one star is for the staff because they were very friendly. My husband got FOOD POISONING from this place. The whole experience was weird. We sat down to dirty plates and the waitress took them away as soon as she saw and yelled at a bus boy. The replacement plates were also dirty. The waitress messed up the order slightly (which wouldn’t have been a big deal because we never send food back) and then blamed the cook and complained about him to us. Food wasn’t horrible tasting, but certainly not worth $ 60 and a Friday night in discomfort.

Disappointed again. This place was recommended to me both times were disappointing… the sushi was meh. The customer service was poor considering the time of day. There was no one there except my party. Workers were off in a corner chatting and eating. They didn’t seem to care. I work in a customer based business… what I saw was they didn’t care if I come back or whether I enjoyed my meal. Oh ya, they messed up the order and the water I asked for tasted gross and smelled funky. Not going back.

Can’t go wrong with the Sexy or Habibi roll. The service is always good and the atmosphere is really great too!

This is by far one of my most favorite restaurants EVER!!! Karam and Jason are so attentive and know exactly what I want when I walk in. They are kind and friendly to my children. We usually come here at least once or twice a week if not more. Their prices are reasons and the food is ALWAYS fresh. All the staff at the Santee Tabu are awesome. Thanks for always making us feel like family!

The last two times coming to Tabu have been a horrible experience. We sat down at the bar and got our drinks right away. 15 min later we were asked by the sushi chef if we wanted any sushi, not sure where the waitress went? was there one? because if there was one she NEVER went there. We ordered two rolls, very simple (not baked) cilantro lime and phili roll. It took him about 20 minutes to make these rolls. After finishing out rolls, we thought about getting one more, but couldn’t even find the sushi chef. He disappeared to the back and no one came back to check on us during dinner or after. We had to get up and ask the other worker for our check. It was hard to get his attention because he was focused on the tv. The entire time we were there he watched tv more than he was working. TV is extremely loud, turn it down-​its not a sports bar Yes, the rolls are good, but if you are paying 10 – 15 bucks for a roll, you expect GOOD service! We will NEVER go back!

Went to have dinner with my husband, and we decided to try a new place! Well we loved it, food was just on point! Sebastian was our server and he was very helpful explaining the menu and giving me options of drinks. Apple Margarita was bomb! I am no t that fan of apples, but really loved the sweet/​sour flavor it had. sushi was way better than my expectations! So here it is 5 stars for a place that really deserves it!

Used to love this place. I don’t know what happened but they raised the prices and food didn’t taste near as good as it used too. To get two sushi rolls it cost 33 dollars for what used to cost 25. I have an old menu at our house so I was able to compare the prices of what they were only a couple of months ago. Very disappointed and will be finding a new place.

We go there a lot. It is one of our favorite sushi spots in east county. They have good food, good micro brew beer and great service. We usually sit at the bar. This place can get busy. That is a good thing.

Delicious food and very good service. We had the Hula roll, Ginger Cosmo, chicken teriyaki, and shrimp tempura roll. Couldn’t have asked for anything to taste better. Convenient location and comfortable ambience.

We LOVE Tabu and always used to go to the one in RSD. We tried the one in Santee tonight and were so disappointed. First of all, after we were sat, it took someone close to 15 min to even come greet us. Then we ordered an appetizer and it took almost 25 min to come out. The main food took even longer, which was confusing bc nothing we got was cooked. Everyone around us were complaining about the wait time for meals. Our server kept apologizing and told us «I promise if your food isn’t out in five min or less it’s on me». 15 min later we got our food, along with the check. It was absurd. Why tell us you’re going to take care of our bill because of how long we had to wait and then not follow through? Lying is a solid way to do business. totally ridiculous experience with the service, food wasn’t even worth the stupidly long wait and high prices.

This place use to be great. Loved the place, last time I came it was Ehh… And tonight I came and I was embarrassed for the servers.
First, the two hostesses were standing up front whispering to each other and laughing and not at all looking professional. Place was full, but some room at the bar. The spot next to us was just vacated and dirty dishes sat there for 10 minutes, and when they finally cleared it, they splashed beer on my date when they dropped the soy sauce dish into the glass and they didn’t even notice.
And was confusing who our server was. If you sit at the bar, isn’t the sushi chef who you order your food thru? Ordered edamame and it didn’t come until after we were served our dinner and after I reminded him twice more. We ordered our sushi dishes and was served one plate and we waited another 5 minutes before the second plate arrived. The salmon sashimi was served in pieces the size of steaks. Seriously, thank for the amount, but had to cut it in order to fit in our mouths… Learn how to cut…
After first bite she couldn’t eat anymore. It tasted day old and was slimy. She had to order a salad because she didn’t trust the fish… great… Take a date to a sushi restaurant that you hyped up and she is scared to eat the fish on the fear of food poisoning and tastes fishy.
(fresh sushi, doesn’t smell)
When done it took over ten minutes to get the server to give us our check. He was to busy flirting with the hostesses and grabbing his friends man boobs who was sitting at the bar.
First time in my life! I didn’t leave a tip. Sorry, but he didn’t deserve a penny.
Sushi chefs need to learn his job. And learn how to cut properly.
Like I said, this place use to be the best, and to judge tonight, sorry the place sucked.

Me and my boyfriend love this place so much! We come here all the time and always get the best service and the food is amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad experience, and the staff is very friendly. The bartender (Karan I think??) Is super awesome! Thank you Tabu!

Food was bomb. Prices$$. Something for everyone. Service was meh. Def would come back.

I personally am not a big sushi fan, but I’ll try some here and there. Tabu Sushi’s food is DELICIOUS! My husband loves coming here not only for the food, but because their customer service is on point, too. They always check to be sure the food tastes good and your water glass never goes empty.
We haven’t tried anything that has disappointed us. I typically get the teriyaki bowl or bento box, but he orders sushi and loves every bite of it. :)

We went here for the first time on Saturday night. We had a large party (12 people) so we called a few hours ahead to get a reservation and they were able to accommodate us. It is a small place so that worked out and we didn’t have to wait before being seated. We ordered about 6 or 7 different specialty rolls along with other items, but we shared and sampled each other’s rolls and everything I tried was very good (esp. Twister, McWire, and Sexy Beast I believe). I ordered yellowtail sushi and that wasn’t as good as I have had elsewhere. The waitress was likable/​competent and the chef did a great job in getting our food out in a timely manner. The prices seemed reasonable.
*two minor complaints… straws are two small for the glasses and we had to wait about 15 mins for the credit card and receipt to be brought back (no embellishment) not sure why it took so long, luckily we were 3 different families and it gave us time to visit but it could have been really annoying if we had somewhere to be and had to wait that long for it to be brought back to us

Sushi was the best I ever had. Jason Roll was all protein and fabulous. It’s was a very large roll. I highly recommend it. Food takes a bit longer to get but it was worth the wait. I left my iPad on bar n staff safely held it til I could return. Honest, helpful crew.

My husband and I have been coming here for about 2 years. Lately the service has really gone down hill. It’s really disappointing because the quality and taste of the food is still really good. When we come in it’s always for an early dinner (5:30ish) and usually on a weekday. It’s never super busy but there are alway other people there eating. We always order sushi rolls from a table. I don’t know if it’s a problem of understaffing or just inexperienced sushi chefs and/​or servers. We typically order 3 rolls and lately we will get one or 2 delivered to the table promptly and then we have to wait for up to 30 minutes for the last one or 2. It makes us just want to say forget about it and leave.
Not sure if we’ll be returing… might have to look for a new spot in Santee for sushi.

So let me start off by saying the food that came to the table before the check came was very good. We ordered the jalapeño poppers for our appetizer, which was delicious (however it came after my husband’s sushi rolls).My husband got the spicy lobster rolls which were on point, as well as the Santee rolls. He enjoyed both greatly. The rolls were large and plentiful. Too much really.
I ordered the teriyaki chicken bento. This I haven’t eaten yet. Looks good though. this is where only 2 stars come into play. Let’s just say, that my food still didn’t come out after having been there for about and hr. The check came, then my rice. At that point I had already filled up on the loster rolls and jalapeño app.
Would have been 5 stars if the kitchen had been able to keep up with orders. Really was a ridiculous wait.
I truly hope that this is not business as usual. We will probably not go back. Back to Okawa we go.
If you have no where to be, then give it a whirl.

The food was alright, the SERVICE was horrible! I went today around 1. Watched the charger game there, with a buddy of mine and he got his beer before I got a water. I waited 10 mins for my water, and still nothing. My helpful friend finally stood up and asked the man again, and then it took another 5 mins to get it.
A man in a packers jersey was being so rude to a customer just because she was a giants fan. Seems like friends work there, and they just want to have fun instead of actually working and helping customers

We are honestly shocked this place only has 3.5 stars. A friend of ours has been harping on us to give this a place a try. We finally had some time to kill before a movie and were craving Sushi. Enter Tabu.
Came on a Monday around 6:30 pm. Just a few locals shooting the ish at the bar. We grabbed a spot at the short bar in front of the sushi chef to the right. Menus dropped and a Sapporo filled within just a few minutes of being seated. So far so good.
The menu is extensive and there are options for just about anyone. We opted for the Pizza Roll and the Diego Roll off the specialty menu. Siracha on the Diego and baked Cream Cheese on the Pizza.
First bites were definitely wow moments. But so were the fourth and fifth. Even eight bites in we were utting the words WOW to one another. Typically we’re insisting the other person has the last bite but this time we were calling last dibs. We just didn’t want the magic to end!
We didnt realize until later that they have Alpine Brewery and Belching Beaver on Draft. This place is already ahead of most bars in the area and the beer section warrants five stars on its own! They also have large TVs over the bar which you can see from every angle of the restaurant. Added bonus on top of an already stellar experience.
Quite honestly. I’m not going to waste my time reading other Unilocal reviews. Tabu has won our hearts and we look forward to our next return!