I took a half-day off yesterday and Sarah & I headed south to my old ‘hood in sunny Santa Cruz. Finding ourselves needing food at around 7pm, we decided to revisit Mobo Sushi. Mobo was one of my go-to places when I lived in the area, and really served as my introduction to raw fish sushi, and it had been at least 4 years since our last visit.

We were seated quickly in the large, bustling, and nearly-full dining room. Mobo has 2 separate sushi bars, as well as an alcohol bar, and the seating is split into 3 groups, with a few tables outside. Although they often have live music, there was none on this Friday night.

Sarah is not entirely convinced about eating raw fish, and Mobo’s menu suited her very well. Along with a small menu of traditional nigiri sushi, they have a very large number of creative (ie. non-traditional) rolls, many of which don’t contain raw fish. Also seldom seen, there are about 2 dozen vegetarian rolls of which 12 are vegan, making this truly a sushi place that anyone can enjoy. Non-sushi items include a few salads, pickle plates, bento boxes, and ten hot meals (mostly broiled fish, teriyaki, and udon noodle dishes).

From the Mobo Maki Maki menu, we ordered the Corruptor ($6.35, and my very favorite western sushi on the planet, consisting of unagi (BBQ eel), basil, garlic and macadamia nuts), the Flying Tiger ($6.50, tempura black tiger shrimp, kamaboko, lemon, negi, avocado and miso mayo), and the Snoball Maki ($5.75, snow crab, mandarin orange, and shredded coconut). Sarah supplemented with an order of vegetable tempura ($6.25), and wanting some raw fish, from the Deviations (nigiri-style combos, served as 2 pieces) menu, I ordered my old favorite Ice Nine ($6.50, hamachi, scallop, and salmon) and Kat in the Hat ($6.50, katsuo, scallop, tobiko, and salmon).

The tempura arrived first, and was a fine rendition, with a light and crispy batter, and the vegetables (squash, zucchini, carrot, green bean, onion rings, and green bell peppers) were nicely al dente, retaining their individual flavors.

The sushi arrived all at once, and we dug in. True to my memory, the Corruptor was my favorite. It couldn’t be less traditional, but the unique flavor combination really works wonderfully. The Flying Tiger was also very good, although I found the Snoball Maki to be a little strange, texture-wise, what with the coconut, orange, and rice.

My 2 raw dishes were good, but weren’t as fresh as they could be (especially important in these rolls, which have a LOT of raw fish). The Katsuo had an unwelcome metallic aftertaste, and the scallops, although fine, were not nearly as good as others I’ve had recently.

I also remembered my other gripe with the items on the Deviations menu – they’re very difficult to eat! Each of the two pieces is very large, more than I can comfortably stuff in my mouth (and much as I love raw fish, I really don’t want a completely-full mouth of it!), and if you try to eat it in two bites, it falls apart.

In the end, the main draw of Mobo are their creative Maki (you can also create your own) – there are certainly better options in Santa Cruz for the traditional nigiri enthusiast, but the wide variety of interesting rolls should appeal to all but the pickiest, and it’s a fun place to boot. Prices are also reasonable for sushi – we escaped for only $48.55 after tax, before tip – not bad for 5 sushi plates, tempura, and a large beer. Service was helpful and came by frequently, although our waitress seemed a bit rushed, which she probably was since the place packed, as usual.

My rating: Very good

Mobo Sushi (website)
105 South River St.
(in the Galleria)
Santa Cruz, CA (map)
(831)425-1700