50 Best Japanese Restaurants near Laguna Beach

“We have been there many times and love it! One of the best sushi restaurants I know! I prefer sashimi and the presentation is beautiful and mouthwatering!“

“This place was really good. We had a couple of the pork rice bowls and the portion of the meat was small. However, they ask you for your ID and card before you order (for context we say outside). The server said it was because we sat outside and wanted to avoid runners.
I would suggest maybe getting your customers to pay first if you are worried about that. I’m just a bit hesitant when I had to give my ID and credit card.“

“Great little gem! It’s more like eating Art! The photography is breathtaking Every menu item is a work of Art and tasty! No dish is the same 😋😍“

“The vegetarian rolls are so flavorful and the staff is super friendly! Definitely going back.“

“The staff member that helped me (purple hair and a nose piercing) made my first visit to Poke Tiki so pleasant that I want to go back. Their communication was clear and they helped me make such a delicious poke bowl! We need more customer service and kindness like this person—they made me feel welcomed. The bowl was tasty with fresh fish and great toppings. 10/10 would recommend if you like a relaxed food spot with nice people around.“

“We ate dinner here last night. Probably the best sushi we’ve ever had. The staff was great as well.“

“Incredible experience! My family & I went on our vacation and we could not have had a better time. Wonderful food & service - our waitress gave us amazing suggestions & helped us try all of the right things! The fish was very fresh. This place is a must visit!“

“Authentic, great service, fun staff!“

“place is awesome. quick and tasty“

“Fast ... very friendly... great foods and great prices... A+++++....“

“Such a cute spot next to UCI! The interior decor is gorgeous — such a vibe! They have beer, sake, and COFFEES! Everything on the menu looks soo good. Many of the rolls use the same ingredients so that’s an area for potential improvement, but didn’t take away from the experience.

Service was great, our server was very kind and attentive. I didn’t love that water for the table was already sitting on each table when we arrived, it looked like it had been there all day. The ginger and wasabi was a similar situation, it didn’t look fresh, but when we requested more the server immediately replaced it!

It was so quiet and chill in this area, and they have outdoor seating as well where families were hanging out. Very mellow and cute.

We were in the area for a concert, but would definitely return for Botan Sushi! Thank you!“

“Been coming here for 2yrs. Always fresh, clean and delicious. James is a Master.“

“Well worth the wait! GREAT sushi, service and quality.“

“Very good“

“Jerk chicken ELL eggs Tantan udon Kaisendon Everything“

“The vibe and sushi/bento box were fire 🔥 🔥🔥“

“The food is amazing!!! Knee is the best waitress ever👏👏👏👏🥰🥰“

“I had a light dinner of super delicious, fresh sashimi salad and miso soup. Both were wonderful. Good food must make you happy, because all of the staff and the customers at the sushi bar were very sweet and friendly. I will definitely go back.“

“So good!!! A must when in Orange County!“

“Today was first time dining here with my wife and what a surprise very nice place with very delicious food , great service and some charm to it . We were in the area shopping in Trader Joe’s and went on google maps to see if there was any food near by . Kotobuki came up and we just headed straight there . We ordered bento boxes and everything I mean everything tasted fresh and amazing. We will be back !“

“Great food, you get a lot of food for your money! Had the Chicken Katsu, came with the chicken, rice, some vegetables and broth. A great amount of food for the price. Great Customer Service. Located inside the WestPark Plaza. Lots of options to choose from and this is a sure bet.“

“Why did I wait so long to come here? I've seen Pepper Lunch around and I never tried it. The food was so good! Reasonably priced for the quality. Also, I have to say that the staff in the front was very attentive and they keep the place spotless. Seeing a clean dining room is always impressive.“

“Pretty good sushi place, fish tasted fresh. The rolls are on smaller side but tastes good. They have bento lunch specials. I would recommend they invest in a better menu book with photos. It will help their business and make it more enticing for customers to purchase more menu items. I was recommended to try the Romeo and Juliette Roll and it was light and delicious. Bonus, there’s a huge Tesla Charging Station on the other side of the strip mall.“

“Needed a healthy option for my daughter and this is her favorite.

Super fresh ingredients and tasty quality I expect of sushi and bowls. The teriyaki chicken bowl is very tasty and enjoyable.

We generally get to-go. The eat-in option are basic tables and chairs.“

“Ordered for the entire office!
Ive had the chicken bowl and the tempura plate. It has been consistently great in service and quality! I recommend it for anyone looking for delicious fast and healthy meal- their portions are very generous as well!“

“This is an amazing restaurant with fantastic food and truly incredible owners who give back to the community. I recently learned that they’re one of the diamond sponsors supporting Tzu Chi USA, a nonprofit humanitarian organization that has provided significant disaster relief here in the U.S. — including over $2.5 million in cash aid to wildfire survivors in Los Angeles and ongoing support efforts for Maui wildfire survivors and other disaster-affected communities. Thank you for your generosity and leadership.🙏🙏🙏“

“Amazing Japanese cuisine in Costa Mesa, CA. This place is one of the best Japanese restaurants in all of Orange County. The interior style resembles what all Japanese restaurants should look like, and most importantly, the food and service was top notch. They have an extensive sushi menu and it has always been very fresh and also Japanese imported. Hands down, my top 5 favorite Japanese restaurants in California.“

“The last hidden gem in Costa Mesa. This easily tops waiting for chick fil a down the street. I let the cashier guide my order because I was too tired to come to a decision. He suggested the special which was wise of him because it includes 4 karage (tender fried chicken thigh) a potato croquette, 3 cali roll pieces and a salad with potato salad, excellent for a post 9 hour work day meal. My pregnant wife got the 5 piece karage and said it changed her life for the better. I didn’t take pictures because I was so in awe and in the moment. It was photo ready. The food comes out RIPPING hot. Which made us so comfortable eating there, especially pregnant knowing they make everything actually fresh to order, cooked to appropriate temperature to ensure food safety. Not just marketing fresh, there is nothing siting here waiting for you to order, this is not fast food. They tell you it’s going to take a few minutes and it’s worth the wait because they do not compromise on quality here. With that being said it’s not even that long and I will no longer be visiting chick fil a when this place is open and it’s much healthier.
Props to the owners/ cooks/ and cashier for getting us right.“

“Great food and great staff“

“Best Sushi/Japanese spot I’ve been to in OC. You know the food is good when my Mother “75 year old Thai” and my two children “8 and 9” love all the food. The waiter/manager was extremely accommodating, and everything was fresh, timely and satisfying. Will come here again!!! Highly recommended. A+++++++++“

“Super solid sushi spot. The fish tastes really fresh, everything is well-prepared, and you can tell there’s real care behind the food. Nothing feels rushed or overdone just simple, high quality sushi done right. Definitely a go to if you want something reliable and consistently good. Thank you so much sushi sho!! & The lovely host tonight.“

“this was me and my husband's anniversary dinner
We happen to stumble across this restaurant
Hats off too this place! Everything was so delicious so fresh, and not only that it was so beautiful the presentation the taste the quality of the food was top-notch“

“Best poke! So much variety, tuna, salmon, spicy tuna, albacore, octopus, shrimp. tamago, and tofu. Delicious add-ons and lots of toppings!“

“The service was great and the sushi was delish! Great job redecorating and the music was nice too! 👍✌️🍣“

“Craving some udon while we were passing through the area so we decided to stop here for a quick early dinner on a weekend. It was quiet and service was quick.

Set up like a Chipotle and Subway. You order your main dish and you move along to customize it by adding tempuras (extra fee), vegetables (extra fee), green onions, or tempura flakes.

The udon soup base and noodles was good. The tempura batter on my shrimp tempuras was too thick and not light and flaky. I wanted to add vegetables to my udon and wish they were cooked first or cooked with my soup. Dumping uncooked vegetables into my soup just cooled everything down right away.

There was a lot of seating inside and on their large outdoor patio. The place was very clean.“

“all of it was delish! great service as well.“

“At Mitsuwa Market, there’s a big food court with a lot of good spots where you can eat tasty food without spending too much.

I went to Miyabi Tei because I wanted a proper meal, something with meat and a side and not a soup based.
The staff were super friendly, they even swapped the fish in my dish for beef, and it came with miso soup, so everything was really delicious.“

“Absolutely incredible sushi spot. Its a pretty small place, only a handful of tables, but it was quiet when I was there on a sunday evening.

The staff was attentive and kind, and had good recommendations. The food was amazing, and one of the chefs even came out to ask if we had any questions when we looked like we needed help!

I will absolutely be back next time I'm in the area.“

“There are restaurants that chase perfection and there are restaurants that simply make you happy you walked through the door. Miyabi falls squarely into the second category.

No, this isn’t the best beef I’ve ever had. If you’re hunting for the most exclusive wagyu or the rarest cuts imaginable, there are places that will happily charge you two or three times as much. That’s not what Miyabi is trying to be.

What it does, it does exceptionally well. My wife and I came for the lunch special and by the time we left we both looked at each other and said the same thing. We’re definitely coming back.

The value is outstanding. The meat is fresh, beautifully sliced and generous. The broths are clean without being bland. I went with the kombu while my wife chose the yuzu and both were excellent in completely different ways.

The real surprise was the ponzu. Most ponzu leans too sweet or too salty. This one somehow lands perfectly in the middle. Bright, balanced and exactly what I wanted with every bite of beef and vegetables.

The vegetable bar is another thoughtful touch. Extra greens, scallions, grated daikon, garlic and everything is there whenever you want it instead of waiting for someone to bring it over.

Service deserves its own paragraph. They somehow found that balance that’s harder than it looks. They’re never hovering over your table, but they’re never impossible to find either. Water stayed full, empty plates disappeared and whenever we needed something, someone was already walking over before we had to ask. That’s good hospitality.

The restaurant itself is comfortable. A little darker than some shabu places, but clean, relaxed and somewhere you actually want to linger. We happened to catch the World Cup on the TVs, which somehow made an already enjoyable lunch feel even more relaxed.

If I had one criticism, it’d be the rice. It was just a touch firmer than I prefer. Still perfectly edible, especially with their crispy chili topping, but not quite as soft as I’d hoped.

Don’t skip the hot drops. It brings serious heat without overwhelming the food. Spicy enough to wake everything up, but never so aggressive that it masks the flavor of the broth or the beef.

Miyabi isn’t trying to be the flashiest shabu restaurant in Southern California. It’s trying to serve a genuinely satisfying meal at a fair price with attentive service and thoughtful details. Mission accomplished. I’ll absolutely be back.“

“My partner's mom is Japanese and so he is very picky about his curry. This is one of the best curry places you will find in the area. The service is beyond exceptional and wholesome. Everytime I see Maryland, her positivity and warmth is like a hug. Not sure which is better. Her hospitality or the food at this point, but I'll continue being a regular here. Thank you so much CurryDo!💖“

“⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I had the best experience at Tabu Shabu! I sat out on the patio with my dog and it was absolutely perfect—comfortable, welcoming, and such a great vibe. I ordered a glass of wine and started with the cucumber appetizer and edamame, both super fresh and full of flavor. The highlight was the salmon bowl with rice…so delicious, perfectly cooked, and so satisfying. The service was friendly, the food came out quickly, and they made me (and my pup!) feel totally at home. I think everyone came out at some point to visit with me and my pup. Highly recommend if you’re looking for great food, a relaxing atmosphere, and a dog-friendly spot for a drink and apps (cant do hotpot outside, but still worth it).“

“I really like the sashimi style rice bowls this place has to offer. My favorite is the spicy tuna rice bowl. My daughter loves the regular tuna bowl. The have many different styles bowls to offer, tuna, salmon, etc. there is a nice window display presenting the many different offering.

They are a fair value for what you get. I feel you can spend just as much anywhere else or more but here the fish is fresh and clean. Worth the value to me.

By the way, their Oyako Don Buri is also excellent. The egg omelet cooked just right. It’s a popular dish in Hawaii and Japan. Comfort food“

“My family and I usually love Jizake and have been to this place multiple times over the years. However after last nights dinner not sure if we will come back. The first issue is that the server forgot to bring us 3 of our appetizers. I also noticed that my hot sake wasn't very hot and that they have trimmed down the size of their rolls. During the meal it became obvious to all of us outside that they were using a wifi speaker and whoesever phone it was hooked up to must have been moving around since the music was going in and out. Lastly while asking for the check I instructed the server to take the appetizers off our bill since we didn't receive them. He said he would and when he came back I was given a hand written bill with the break down. To his credit those appetizers were shown but not charged. I totaled up each line item and everything seemed correct as the subtotal was $170 with tax total should have been $183.17. However after taking my credit card he came back saying they totaled our bill incorrectly and apologized. Our new printed bill after charging my credit card didn't show the pricing break down for all the items but it appears that they added back in the money for the appetizers as with tax it came to $196.11 plus tip. By this point we just wanted to leave. After getting home we started not feeling so well. We don't usually have any bad reactions to sushi so maybe it was some sort of cross contamination issue. Either way I would caution everyone while eating at this establishment.“

“Could not ask for a better dinner spot to end the day!!!“

“The service was very good, and the overall taste was impeccable; the food was delicious and well-balanced, but it lacked the authentic and refined Japanese flavor. It was also unusual that the rolls fell apart. They gave us two eggs with the oden... The bonito broth tasted exactly like the one from Lawson convenience store, haha. The sake-steamed clams really tasted strongly of sake! The sukiyaki was quite impressive, a huge bowl! The only downside was the lack of a raw egg accompaniment, which felt like something essential was missing“

“I was invited to dine at Robata Wasa Irvine Spectrum. I came on a Saturday at 12PM/Lunch. We started with the spicy tuna crispy rice and yellowtail serrano signature sashimi - both incredibly delicious. The crispy rice had a good amount of spicy tuna on top, and we enjoyed both with a couple of mocktails. Next we ordered two specialty rolls, the hokkaido roll and surf and turf roll (which we were told would take some time to prepare - and we acknowledged that we were okay with this). The hokkaido roll came out first, it was delicious, then we were told the surf and turf would take a bit longer (20 minutes) as the chef needs to prep more for the roll. We ordered the Kureiji toro roll instead, when it came out we dug in, but noticed that there was a different flavor profile than we were expecting. There were ingredients inside the roll that did not match up with the description shown on the menu, so my friend inquired about it. We were told there were menu changes and there could be an error with the description. Sure enough the roll was the correct name, but made from completely different ingredients than listed - my friend ordered a california roll to supplement and keep the order simple. Overall, we enjoyed your visit, it's a gorgeous restaurant, the staff are very nice and welcoming, and everything tasted good and is plated nicely with the exception of the Keriji toro roll, which I we found to be slightly bitter due to the shishito pepper that is inside the roll - it looked to be charred on the outside but on the inside is still a little green/raw veggie, which is what caught my attention when I first tried it. I don't mind having to replace our item order or if there are mistakes/typos on the menu, but a) if the surf and turf roll we will need such an exorbitant amount of time to prepare, should keep it off the lunch menu or only provide during a specific time of day (as we were told the ingredients would need to be prepped to be ready for later in the day anyways (I am figuring for dinner time), it just wasn't ready for the time we were dining); and b) it seemed that it may already be a known that there was a typo or misprint on the menu, if that's the case the menu needs to be updated, a supplemental notice should be added or servers just mention what is actually in that particular sushi roll is not what's listed on the menu. As we ordered that roll because of the ingredients that were listed on the menu.“

“Fresh fish expertly prepared by friendly chef with equally cheerful service staff! We will be back“

“Found by accident great food and service excellent. Patio and in four dining. Had beef teriyaki with tempura and miso soup and salad and California roll. ReAsonable priced too“

“We’ve been to so many omakase sushi bars all over the world and K’s Bistro is one of the best.

For $150, you get IMMENSE value. And there are no compromises on quality. Here I might have had one of the best bites of tuna I’ve ever had. Chef added mustard to it. Mustard! And it transcended the bite.

And.. not one bite of uni and caviar, two!

Run to this place. Sit on the bar. Get the $120 or $150 omakase, and get ready for one of the best culinary experiences in the OC.“

“First time here and I absolutely love this place!! I’m very particular about sushi - I love my sushi to be very fresh tasting And this place here had nothing but High-quality Sushi.

I ordered the blue fin toro & Salmon Nigiri. Also got the yellowtail, Crunchyroll.

So delicious, easily became one of my favorite Spots!“