Arigatou Japanese Food to Go

Great homemade sushi. Everything is made fresh and right in front of you. Great pricing.

I wish I had taken a photo of the beautiful food platter the chef hand-​crafted. To give you an idea, as soon as I put it on the table, my husband and kids all exclaimed, «WOW!!!» (and then proceeded to grab/​devour everything). I couldn’t blame them. The California rolls (2 orders), teriyaki salmon bento box, salmon roll, tofu bites, eel roll, gyoza were so fresh, tasty and satisfying. For $ 30 which included a tip (the chef was so humble I had to insist he take it) we had a feast (plus leftovers for my next day’s lunch). Don’t let the strip mall fool you, this place is a diamond in the rough !

Excellent comfort Japanese-​American food, with all of your usual staples — chicken teriyaki, katsu, California rolls, udon, etc. And for an excellent price! The bentos tend to be under $ 10 and include miso soup & salad. If you get their lunch special, it’s $ 7.99 including a full California roll. The service is a little slow if you order in-​restaurant, so I HIGHLY suggest phone ordering at least 15 – 30 minutes ahead of time, since there are usually only 1 – 2 employees at this location at any given time. I don’t suggest eating inside the restaurant either, it’s more of a take-​out joint, but there is a cute little nook that comfortably sits 1 – 3 people. Parking is a little annoying but you can usually park on the street without much issue.
I’m also writing this review in defense of the «authenticity» of this restaurant, since some Unilocalers seem to rate this restaurant poorly because it’s not «real Japanese.» This is a Japanese-​American restaurant, and Japanese-​American cuisine has its own rich culinary heritage, one where Japanese immigrants had to adapt to American ingredients because they were unable to import Japanese ingredients or were adapting to Western tastes (ex: using avocado instead of fatty toro, thus the California Roll was born). Arigatou-​to-​Go is not a «pure» Japanese restaurant, but that does not mean it’s bad. Get off your high horse, people! It’s cheap bento!

I really enjoy this spot. The owner is super nice, and always smiling. The bento boxes are delicious, I always get the chicken one. The steak one is great too but there is hardly any meat on that one. The salmon one isn’t one I’d recommend but it’s good. One thing I don’t like about it is I’m always hungry afterwards, so I would suggest going here for an afternoon snack.

This is a great hole-​in-​the-​wall Japanese Bento place! Perfect for fast and fairly inexpensive lunch. If you’re thinking of getting a Sushi-​ran kind of experience, this isn’t the place. The owner is super nice and I enjoyed their lunch special with chicken teriyaki. My husband got the chicken katsu, and that’s probably what I’ll get next time.

Pleasantly surprised and impressed. Great friendly service. Authentic delicious food. My experience eas AWESOME.

The food is pretty good. Just wish they had larger portions. One bento box leaves me hungry still.

I’m really struggling to see what others rave about with this place. All I can figure is that the reviewers either do not have much experience with good Japanese food, or want to support the older couple of who owns the place (they seem nice enough). IMO, though, unfortunately this place fails on all counts:
— The location is terrible. You can not find parking in the lot (there are like 10 spots to support 5 businesses — you do the math), and it’s on a very busy 3-​lane road with almost no street parking. If you are lucky enough to somehow magically park your car, the place is dingy.
— The service is terribly slow. Like, glacially slow. I took my two daughters for a late lunch on a weekday. We placed an order for 3 lunch specials, and there were only two other people waiting on orders when we go there. We proceeded to have to way 50 minutes for our order. That’s right, almost an hour for a simple lunch order.
— The food is at best *meh*. The sushi rolls used far from fresh ingredients, the Gyoza was frozen and reheated so the pastry was like cardboard, and the Teriyaki chicken was just _​okay_​.
I love to support local, family owned businesses, but this place is a mess. You can find much, much better in Marin.

I ordered 5 sushi rolls and they were all delicious! The rolls are cheap and very fresh — you look directly into the kitchen as they are preparing them/​cooking. The presentation is great. It’s definitely only a take out place but it was super yummy. I would place orders on the phone then ask how long it will take since the wait was a little lengthy. I would really give this place 4.5 stars because the service is a little slow, but that’s only because it’s family owned and only one man was working on Sunday afternoon. I will definitely return.

Best teriyaki chicken! California rolls allways fresh. Great lunch specail bento box and happy combo. Green tea ice cream. Grear prices! This guy has been cooking the best Japanese food in this tiny hole in wall forever. Best Japanese food.

Pretty good Japanese bento to go with healthy portions. Worth the cheap price for sure.

Considering the price, the food was great. The extra effort decorating the take out plate was fairly impressive. It’s a Japanese place run by a Japanese cook. Simply good!

I love this family ran japanese to go place! They are always nice and friendly! Their pricing for their food is the besr price for marin! You get too see them make the food in person, so you knoe it is fresh. I definitely would go with the combos if youre wanting a cheap lunch date! You get so much for the price!

This place is a real treat if you’re craving Japanese food, as it seems to be the best one around the area. A nice mom and pop shop that makes to-​go order Japanese food. The owners are really kind, and work very hard to prepare your meal. Very tasty and crispy chicken katsu, and perfectly tender chicken teriyaki.
However, my only complaint is that the portions can be small sometimes. And for the price you’re paying, you would certainly expect more. A simple bento box won’t fill you up, but it’ll keep you feeling satisfied at least.

Second time for lunch, and this place is still pretty awesome.

Great food and reasonable prices! The «Happy Combo» is great for two. Friendly service as well. They can get busy so calling before picking up is a good idea.

After trying 3 or 4 fancier (and much more expensive) sushi spots in San Rafael, I have settled on Arigatou as my sushi lunch stop. The Chef is a very nice guy, a Japanese version of Wolverine, the lady working the counter and helping him is very sweet, difficult on the phone but I don’t speak Japanese after all.
They do it all fresh per order so don’t be in a huge rush. You MUST try the dream shrimp roll! Yakitori AND Gyozo are very nice.
Not TOO much rice on the rolls, how I like em.
I really like these people and their spot, go there and support this local small business!

This is a to-​go and very affordable Japanese restaurant with rolls on the smaller side, but I prefer that instead of too much rice. I had the sushi combination and the unagi was a little crispy which I liked. All the fish was cooked so I cannot attest to the raw fish, but the cooked fish was good. The owner is very welcoming and friendly. If I lived close by I could see myself eating here again. There were only two people making food so it took 25 minutes — I hadn’t called ahead of time so I would recommend doing so. There is a small table with two chairs, and a bench outside, and parking is tight in the lot (there is street parking if you don’t mind walking).

I wish Arigatou was closer to my home; I’d probably order to-​go from there every week. I judge Japanese restaurants by the quality of their sushi, as well as the Katsu-​don (oddly enough). Arigatou makes a Katsu-​don that is top two in my book. I’m only giving four stars because that is really the only entrée I’ve ordered from Arigatou so far, but I will be back to try the rest of their menu (the bento boxes look appetizing) and I fully expect Arigatou to earn that fifth star.

I used to come here when I was a kid — happy to know Arigatou is still alive and kick’n.
Marin has a ton of Japanese food joints. However, there are few affordable Japanese restaurants that don’t cost a grip; and even fewer that only do takeout. I like Arigatou, because I can run in post gym and order something that costs as much as a burger.
Sure it’s no Sushi Ran, but it’s also not fatty fastfood or sushi from the mall. And, this isn’t a new takeout joint, but an old reliable hole in the wall. I don’t order sushi here, but I like their teriyaki and katsu chicken special. The little side salad with the lemon wedge on the rice is my thing. Nothing against their sushi other than I just really like the lemon wedge and salad on my rice next to the chicken — it’s a nostalgia thing.
I stopped here, and didn’t eat my meal until the following afternoon. I’m not one for leftovers, but I’m also too busy studying to cook this week. My lunch was delish as always. I would definitely order two meals next time and box one for the following day. I prefer Japanese take out from here to Chinese or Pizza delivery anyday.