Magic Dragon (themagic.dragon)

I ordered the dark slide roll and it looks really good but it wasn't my favorite. It had a very smokey flavor that just was kind of overpowering but my daughter got the fire dragon and it was delicious! My son got the teriyaki tofu and loved it. The menu names are very cute anime names and the staff are so nice. The blonde girl who seated us and our waitress were both awesome. The atmosphere is cool and they have really dope artwork on the wall. The dazed and confused drink was also very refreshing 😌

Preetam

Great Sushi place in the heart of Santa Cruz. They have plenty of Sushi varieties to cater to all types of crowd. Even they have veg and GF options available. The best part is their happy hour even on weekends.

+3

Brett Tyree

Very casual place to go out to eat after we go to the beach - I love the vibe. Pretty small place, so I’m sure sometimes it’s a bit cramped but the sushi is so unique it’s crazy. We got two rolls, the Cowboy Bebop (love the reference, by the way) and the Burnout. I did like the Cowboy Bebop more than the Burnout, but both were pretty good. Service was great and very attentive.

Marilyn Wong State Farm Agent

Wow!!! The rolls were amazing! Had the Life Aquatic and Natural Bridges rolls with the largest salad I’ve ever seen which was also super yummy! The reviews are as they say! It’s a bit of a wait but well worth it! Service once you’re seated is pretty fast even though they were crazy busy!

Talia Karasinski

Delicious (and massive!) sushi rolls! Came here for lunch during the weekday and ate at the bar. I got the Natural Bridges roll, Oishi roll and the cucumber sunomono. All tasted so good! The roll pieces were a little too big for me but I made it work.

kate a

Covid update: Takeout only as of July 31. Place orders by phone or in person. They have an ongoing 20% lunch discount (12–4pm)! The veggie rolls—particularly the ones with Ahimi "tuna"—are still delicious, just not as pretty eating from a takeout box :) --- BEST vegan/vegetarian sushi I've had. Happy Hours are 4-6pm and 9:30-10:30pm, everyday! Try their Veggie Poke (using vegan tuna from Ocean Hugger Foods). They have a whole page of Veggie Rolls - I recommend Mushaboom (sweet) and Silence of the Yams (spicy). There's a shared parking lot behind that can get busy for dinner.

+2

Emily Kubovic

Sushi was fresh and delicious! I like that they have a huge variety of sushi to choose from, including many vegetarian options. Many complex combinations that I had never heard of. The service was great also. Only downside was the loud banging music makes it very hard to talk to other people at your table. Over all a good experience, I would definitely come back!

Staff always super nice. Sushi is pretty good for the price. It does get very packed in there later in the day and wait times can be long.

Kyle Jordan

Udon was warm, not hot. Edamame was fine, not amazing. Rolls were fantastic. Chairs are slippery and hard to have any kind of lean on them. You have to sit straight up.

Luke Swartz

Very fast, friendly service and generous positions at this popular spot. Pretty good with dietary restrictions: most of the menu is gluten free (or can be adjusted to be GF), although celiacs should know that the fryer does have cross contamination so avoid the tempura, etc (personally I’d label that as “low gluten” but the staff seems knowledgeable so just be sure to communicate what kind of restrictions you have). The food was a bit more mixed: really nice appetizers (salads, Akira fries, etc) and the fish is pretty fresh (the hamachi was especially tasty), but despite the rolls being very large (seriously we probably could have had 1 per person) they seemed surprisingly lacking in flavor, almost bland. Also I liked my sashimi but it came with rice that was downright bad: stuck together and overcooked. I’m half Japanese so maybe I’m picky, but people forget that “sushi” refers to rice, not fish, so it’s disappointing when a sushi place gets rice wrong. Overall a good experience, albeit with some caveats.

Bobby Stephenson

Lively sushi spot in Santa Cruz that was pretty busy for a weeknight and not too loud where you couldn't enjoy a conversation with your companions. The rolls we had tried here that were our favs are the Soquel Avenue and the Akira Roll. I also had the Nigi Combo, it was very good but not the best I've had, you won't go wrong here either way. Service here was excellent, our waiters tended to us and made sure our drinks were always full and that we enjoyed our meals. Would definitely come back again if looking for sushi in the area.

Beach Town Traveler

After visiting the Aptos location, my Seabright experience was not the best. We were glad to get a table despite it being a busy Friday night, but the environment was so noisy that my son and I struggled to enjoy our time together. Additionally, it’s important that servers ensure they clearly hear and understand your order. My ten-year-old was served an adult bento box, which was far too much food for a child. Servers should clarify that first before placing the order as a courtesy. It also was slapped on a big plate instead of a traditional bento box. Another concern was that the server did not inform us that the sake collar bone was full of bones. Luckily, my child didn't choke on one, since we weren't warned. The dish was tasty but slightly overcooked. Overall, the food was decent. My tofu Donburi bowl was a little soggy and undercooked but still enjoyable. After sitting in a noisy atmosphere for over two hours, I don’t plan to return to this location. It could be a fun spot for an evening out with adult friends. It’s definitely not suitable for a date night or family outing.

It was my first time visting Santa Cruz. Everyone seems so nice. I love sushi so i thought i would visit Akira but the experience with the older lady (i guess she’s a host) was unimaginably rude. I thought i never have to leave a review but here I am. I ordered to-go and just asked her the menu. She’s just threw it at us, same w the check… We don’t know what we did, never experienced something like this before lol

Monica Gangemi

This is a full size to go roll that was $14.75. They packed it to go, not me. I think the pic speaks for itself.

inrosena

The atmosphere was nice, but that’s the only positive. The sushi rice was undercooked, they forgot my soup, and the service was slow even though there were only a few tables and three servers working. Definitely not worth coming back.