Tachibana Japanese Restaurant

As tourists to Visalia and natives of Orange County, we expected this four star rated Japanese restaurant to be at least somewhat true to its ratings. Unfortunately we were extremely disappointed.
WAIT TIME: We waited at least 10 minutes to be seated although there were several tables open.
FOOD: The food was awful. Let’s start off with the «sushi» rolls, if we can even call them that. Our California rolls came out, and they had 90% rice. There was a thin slice of avocado and one slice of imitation crab. I’ve never seen imitation crab not shredded and prepared as normal California rolls. The avocado roll had thin slices of avocado, 90% rice, and salmon that didn’t deserve to be put into sushi. The salmon in my rolls were not cleanly cut. One piece of salmon in my roll was sliced in three spots. Why does my salmon look like a fan instead of a block of fish??? I’m not sure how they managed to cut into that thin slice of salmon three times. Onto the ramen. My boyfriend and I ordered miso ramen. We weren’t surprised to find that our ramen was below average after we saw the condition of our California rolls. The noodles were stuck together, so it was difficult to separate. The pork in the ramen was supposed to be thinly cut, similar to thin bacon, but instead I had thick, separate pieces of pork meat and pork fat. Not sure if you guys have tasted a piece of pork that solely consists of fat but it’s gross. Moreover, I only had three pieces of meat in my ramen. No.
SERVICE: Tables that came before us received their complimentary cucumber salads and miso soups before we received ours. Actually, we didn’t even receive our miso soups because they forgot about us. We waited at least 25 minutes to order even though we were ready in 10. Our waitress never checked up on us once. My boyfriend never received a refill on his water.
PRICE: Their above average prices menu wasn’t worth the low quality of their foods. If you’re paying above average price for sushi, you expect to taste fish in your rolls that aren’t overwhelmed by massive amounts of rice. Every average sushi joint in Orange County with prices lower than this restaurant would not have given us sushi that was 90% rice with thin slices of fish. If this restaurant was going to serve such meager amounts of fish in the rolls, they might have at least cut the fish correctly.
If you’re here for the sushi, save your money and go buy rice instead. That’s really all that’s in those rolls. If you’re here for the ramen, save your money and find a better ramen restaurant. As a lover of all things sushi and ramen, I beg those of you that have tried this restaurant and love their sushi and ramen, to try better places. No one deserves poorly prepared sushi that should be called rice!!! Everyone deserves better than this.

Eddie and David (Father & Son), it’s great to see that you are now located in downtown Visalia !! Haven’t been in town for along while, but will make it a point to stop and see you guys real soon. Of course I know the food is great like always. Looking forward to checking out your new place/​location.
From Monterey,
Fernando

Wasn’t sure what to expect being from the Bay Area where sushi is a magical thing ;) the chef we had, coming from San Francisco wowed us with delicious creative sushi! I ordered a vegetarian roll which isn’t always easy to make delicious but he did, and it was beautiful!
We will be back

I absolutely LOVE this place. They are always so hospitable and helpful as well as offer great food for a great price. I have been here many many times and have never been disappointed. I would definitely recommend the teriyaki chicken and tempura. It’s my favorite home away from home. I would definitely recommend it if you’re in the mood for great Japanese food.

Went in with the whole famn damily and wasn’t sure what sure what to expect. I had read mixed reviews and was hoping for the best.
I was pleasantly surprised.
The service was great.
The sushi was tasty.
Though the rolls came out slow, but we were made aware of the delay ahead of time so we didn’t mind so much. Our waitress brought out free ademame for our troubles.
I’ve visited several sushi joint in the area and I have to say, this one was both classy and relaxed comparatively.
Will I come back again?
Heck yes!
Heck to the yes!!!

The atmosphere is glowing and beautiful, and the food is plentiful, delicious. I wish I went here every week!

Sadly after tonight’s lack of customer service we can’t give this place the full 5 stars. The intial hostess was the most helpful and she got our drinks. 25 minutes goes by and still no one has came to take our order. So we waited patiently till finally we could flag down the hostess and her response was «oh i can take your order i guess».

I came in for happy hour and was very impressed. Having tried other local sushi spots this is one of my favorites. The food is fresh and service is quick and curtious. I would recommend for sure.

I tried their sushi & it tasted really ugly. I give them 2 stars for promptness & service. They need to reconstruct their menu & recipes.

I went with my girlfriend to try and experience another sushi place in Visalia. This was by far one of the WORST sushi places I have ever been. The appetizers were good, and the meals may be good, but the sushi was horrible.
— All sushi rolls were made 85% of rice
— Most all rolls had mayo and Shiracha on top to add any flavor they could get
— Spend $ 60 (less tip). You can go to Gozen for the same price and get a WAY better deal and experience
— Ambiance was non-​existent
— Server had no personality.
I never write reviews, unless it was a bad experience. This was a bad experience.

Cucumber salad is second to none! We had the teriyaki chicken combination that came with a salad, rice, and tempura veggies. Perfect for 2! The teens had the rainbow roll and crunchy monkey. The rainbow was packed with protein and the crunchy money was piled high, both delicious! Don’t forget the fried ice cream! Perfection!

My husband and I went on a date without our little kids recently and decided to try tachibana restaurant. We arrived before the dinner rush and were seated right away. The hostess/​waitress was very friendly and she was always on top of whatever we needed. The food was really good, although pretty pricey.

Excellent service and food was top notch. Highly recommend coming here if your up for Sushi, tempura or Udon noodle soup.

Fresh fish, good combinations, eye porn, and amazing customer service. The owner is a fun, down to earth and great at making sushi! Go 49 ers!

First time ever in Visalia, and it seemed to be a small town with minimal food selection. My team walked by Tachibana and decided to give it a try. The Unilocal reviews were mixed so we weren’t sure what to get or expect.
Food: 4 stars. The food was pretty solid. We got Shoyu Ramen, Miso Ramen, Yellowtail Sashimi, Salmon Sashimi, Gyoza, and Seaweed Salad. I’ve definitely had better ramen, but for a town like Visalia, it’s pretty good. The sashimi was tender and not old. The gyoza and seaweed salad were average.
Service: 3 stars. The place wasn’t very busy, but for some reason our service was a bit slow. It seemed as though there was only one waitress, so that may be why. The sushi chefs were friendly.
Ambiance: 3 stars. Normal Japanese sushi type feel, nothing exciting or trendy about it. They don’t do the normal yell greeting or goodbye that most restaurants do, so that was somewhat of a let down.
Overall, I would try again if I was in Visalia. Mostly because there aren’t very many other options out there. The food here was good and cheap.

Excellent Chiashi, the fish was fresh and cut in nice pieces, just like I would expect from our favorite sushi place. Dad still hangs out here but the son runs it now. He added some fun new rolls that are great.
The waitresses need work or some management to train them to be a little more attentive.
I expected a few bugs to work out being a completely new restaurant, all in all I think it’s a good reopening of an old favorite, family run sushi restaurant.

Let’s start by saying that the wonderful change of this longstanding Japanese restaurant is the relocation. At their new location the space redesign from the previous Akamaru wasn’t all that different. The color scheme jowever is brighter and cleaner lines. It imbues a stronger energy, good Feng Sui.
The recent reopening however did not bring along from their past location their strength of good solid traditional Japanese fare we have grown accustomed to over the many years of dining. I selected something safe– their beef teritaki & tempura combo. The beef sliced cutlets still have the flavor but it fmay have been overly cooked. What stood out for me was the minimal dripping of their own brand of teriyaki sauce (we all had requested extra sauce) The tempura dipping broth seems bland, perhaps due to an aging taste bud. There was no sake or beer drinking beforehand to color my ability to taste :)
Waitstaff became abundant about a hour after our arrival. What was painfully obvious was the lack of follow through after we were given the first round of our entrees. Getting water refills was a task of patience, as well as getting our waitress’s attention for our other requests. I’m sure a bit more time is needed to tune up their once known attentive service back to its original level of service. After all it’s barely a month since opening.
In all fairness Tachibana is starting out strong out of the gate. With time and more studious efforts this place will be a place where getting a table require a wait, and that would be a good thing.
Next time, I will try their sushi and sashimi fare although some comments already posted implied that it may leave a raw feeling to my dining experience. By that time let’s hope they got their license to serve alcohol, in order to blunt such experience if it ever happens.

I would say I’m very well rounded and a hard critique with sushi. This is by far the Worst sushi I’ve ever had. If you like a big wad of rice for sushi this is the place to go.
Service was mediocre. I won’t give it another chance knowing that there’s places much cheaper and with staff that are very friendly.
One star because the interior is clean open and bright.

I love the new location! It’s beautiful, an ambiance that truly compliments the quality of food that is served here.
I must say that this restaurant is my MUST GO TO when coming to Visalia. I was pretty heartbroken when I heard the closed their doors at their old location. Went here twice during my last trip and was very impressed with the service and food.
The first time I came here when the restaurants was rented out for a private party of about 50 people. Amazingly with their small staff my water glass was never empty. The second time we had a large group of about 15 (forgot a reservation, oops!) and they handled it in stride. Noticed that they were pretty busy to begin with, a welcome change from the last location where they were hidden in a corner.
Tachibana has made all the other Japanese places in Visalia/​Santa Rosa look bad.

They serve the best sushi in town. Their fish is always tender and fresh. The salmon and butterfish are delicious. Downtown just got a great addition.