Banzai Marina - Ventura

Food- 5 stars I keep coming back to Banzai Marina for their weekday lunch specials priced at 12.99. The sushi is always fresh, portions are generous, and the value is excellent. I also recommend trying the fried oysters. The pacing of the meal was perfect for a quick lunch break. The happy hour deals are also worth trying. Service- 5 stars The servers at Banzai Marina were attentive but not overbearing, providing excellent service throughout our visit. Bottom Line Banzai Marina truly excels in all aspects: fantastic food, great service, and excellent value. It is definitely one of my favorite spots in downtown Ventura.

I always let friends choose where they want to eat sushi. I enjoy it, but don't boast a palette for being able to distinguish the various species of raw fish. So, my bestie selected this place and we arrived on a Tuesday as they opened. Greeted warmly, sat quickly, had a discussion about sharables, selected from the lunch specials, forgot to take a picture of the specials we were approaching HANGRY time and a couple of minutes after ordering our miso soup arrived. Flavorful and warm, not too salty. My side salad was served next and separately from my friend's lunch plate, which had the side salad on it. Don't know why, other than they prefer the hand rolls to be plated differently than grilled fish plates. Next we received the salmon roll we were sharing. Then her grilled salmon plate with spicy roll and side salad arrived about 5 minutes later, then my plate with 2 hand rolls appeared after that. I thought everything tasted delicious and we got our noontime fill before continuing on our way up the coast. Our bill for 2 lunch specials, 1 shared salmon roll and 1 Coke came to $55 with tip. We were satisfied. :

We had an excellent experience at this restaurant. The food was amazing and the service was top-notch. We brought our two young daughters along, who were quite energetic. The servers went above and beyond by providing a blanket and some toys for them to play with. We were very impressed and will definitely be returning soon, possibly even as soon as tomorrow!

Finally! Reviews by people who really know their sushi! Absolutely one of the best in Ventura/Oxnard Area! A very small restaurant with limited seating indoors and only three tables on the patio (plenty of room to add at least 2 3 more So do not plan on walking in...you must make a reservation if you want to eat here... that doesn't guarantee you're going to be seated at the time of your reservation because people like to sit and linger. We waited almost a half an hour past our reservation time. Oh well! With that said do not come hungry because you will starve by the time you get your food! OK! So I would give this place 5 stars but I just can't! While they have the most incredible fish at this restaurant... It is insanely overpriced and again...you'll starve waiting for your food! We have found a couple other sushi bars in the area who's fish is just as good with way more reasonable prices! The service is excellent while they are sincerely understaffed two servers working the entire restaurant. Our waitress was awesome very friendly very thorough even though she was busy she did not allow herself to get stressed or rude in the slightest. Clearly the owner takes great pride in the fish he serves because it is excellent! Their rolls are amazing too! My husband and I were a little disappointed at how long it took to make our orders and they brought my sushi out minus the albacore, which took another 20 minutes UGH! so I had mine and my husband had to wait for his. ridiculous!? Come on? You're going to put a couple pieces of yellowtail on a plate can't you throw the albacore on there with it? Like I said you'll starve waiting for your food! Personally? I think they need another sushi chef to help? And it would be nice if they would re open the sushi bar as they would be able to seat at least eight more people. (But don't bother unless you bring in another sushi chef along with a couple more food servers. My husband and I are sushi snobs as I've stated before in many other reviews and we really love the food here! We will probably give it another try but on a weekday.

Best sushi in Ventura! If I was rich, I'd go here all the time. This is a more expensive sushi spot in Ventura but it's worth it for the fresh, delicious fish. Since Covid, they have a smaller capacity for seating so I recommend making a reservation if you don't want to wait a long time. I've been in a Friday once where they had to turn a lot of people away.