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!“

“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 😋😍“

“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.“

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

“We absolutely love this spot. Parking is easy first of all. Street if you’re lucky or go in the garage under the building and they validate for you! Then most importantly the food. Consistently amazing! We eat here like once a month and it’s always perfect. Everything is delicious and high quality. We lived in Japan and are picky with our sushi and this place is fresh enough to meet the mark. The pressed sushi is delicious. Our absolute favorite is the yellowtail jalepeno sashimi. Omg I could eat 4 plates. Shishito peppers or edamame make a great starter and are super fresh and cooked perfectly. Wine is always good- nice selection of sakes too.“

“Poki Tiki has been one of our favorite places in Laguna Niguel for a long time, so when we were visiting Laguna Beach and saw this location, we immediately decided to stop by. We already knew that we liked Poki Tiki, but this visit honestly exceeded our expectations and made us love this place even more.

First of all, the portions were very generous. Everything was fresh, beautifully prepared, and absolutely delicious. The fish tasted incredibly fresh, all the ingredients were high quality, and there was a great selection of toppings and sauces. You can really taste the difference when a restaurant cares about the quality and freshness of its food. Every bite was flavorful, and we left completely satisfied.

The service was just as impressive as the food. A young woman and a young man helped us, and both were extremely friendly, welcoming, patient, and professional. They created such a positive atmosphere and made us feel genuinely appreciated as customers. Excellent service like this makes a good meal even better.

One small moment especially showed us how much the employees here care about their customers. We bought a Coca-Cola but accidentally left it inside the restaurant. We had already walked outside when we suddenly saw one of the employees, possibly the manager, running toward us with the drink and calling, “Hey, guys, you forgot your Coca-Cola!” He absolutely did not have to run outside to find us, but he made the effort anyway. It may seem like a small gesture, but it meant a lot to us and made us feel that the people working here truly care. We were very pleasantly surprised and grateful.

The location is also excellent. It is in a beautiful area of Laguna Beach, easy to find right near the road, and there is parking nearby, which makes stopping here very convenient. The restaurant itself is clean, pleasant, and has a relaxed atmosphere—perfect for enjoying a fresh and healthy meal after spending time around Laguna Beach.

Overall, this was an outstanding experience from beginning to end: large portions, delicious food, incredibly fresh fish and ingredients, a beautiful and convenient location, and a wonderful team that goes above and beyond for its customers.

We already loved Poki Tiki in Laguna Niguel, and now we can confidently say that the Laguna Beach location is just as amazing. We will definitely be coming back and recommending it to our friends and family. If you are looking for fresh, flavorful poke, generous portions, and truly kind service in Laguna Beach, this is absolutely the place to visit. Five stars are not enough—this place deserves five stars plus!“

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

“Authentic, great service, fun staff!“

“place is awesome. quick and tasty“

“Shins sushi is unassuming but is possibly the best sushi you will find in OC. Shin picks fresh fish himself and has an excellent eye for quality. The portions are very generous and the service is excellent. You won’t regret coming here.“

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

“Very good“

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

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

“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!“

“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.“

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

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

“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.“

“Really enjoyed the seating area outside. N the service was great. Friendly and very attentive. The quality of the food was really good and so was the quantity. We had the salmon sashimi and the short ribs. Not disappointed. Spent a nice evening with the kids. And enjoyed the football game while there too. Reasonably priced and portions are wealthy.“

“Great food and great staff“

“Jerk chicken ELL eggs Tantan udon Kaisendon Everything“

“⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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).“

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

“We had such a wonderful dinner at Anjin. Everything we ordered was delicious, but my favorites were definitely the Kainomi, the Anjin Seaweed Salad, and the orange sherbet at the end.

The Kainomi was incredibly tender and flavorful, and the seaweed salad was fresh, light, and perfectly seasoned. The orange sherbet was also such a refreshing way to finish the meal.

I honestly wanted to try so many more dishes, but since there were only two of us, we could only order so much. Next time, I would love to come with a bigger group so we can try more of the menu.

We came to celebrate a very special birthday, and it made the evening even more memorable. We both left very happy and completely satisfied. Thank you for such a lovely experience!“

“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“

“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!“

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

“I love the katsu and curry here. I think the curry is better than most other Japanese style curry restaurants. Good ingredients and thickened perfectly. Service is always good. New fav katsu and curry place. Oh, it's like $20 per order but the serving size is big.“

“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+++++++++“

“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.“

“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.🙏🙏🙏“

“Tried their jumbo beef pepper rice and I really enjoy the rice. The rice is oily with a lot of flavor and definitely carried the beef in my opinion. Their onion rings are also good and fresh but I kinda wish there was more for its price. Overall, the food taste great but the portions are in the smaller side.“

“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.“

“Impressive array of the best ingredients unavailable in most Japanese restaurants in the US prepared in different styles“

“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.“

“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“

“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.“

“Food: Sushi rolls were excellent and pretty competitive prices. My favorite was the caterpillar. Fish quality was excellent. Avocado and cucumber was fresh and sushi didn't taste like it had sugar in it which was excellent.!

Service: Sucks. They are impatient, rude, and quick to walk away and pretend they didn't hear you. For example I asked if a waiter could remove a plate. He ignored me and signaled at the busboy to pick up the plate instead. Even the busboy realized that was odd.“

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

“First time visiting Takumi Sushi and I immediately want to come back. We ordered a bunch of different items - appetizers, sashimi, sushi, rolls and more.

We ordered the Soft Shell Crab and Salmon Blue Crab and these were delicious! I absolutely loved how lightly battered the soft shell crab was and it was quite meaty. The dipping sauce made it even more delicious. The Salmon Blue Crab is a fan fav. The salmon was so smooth and fatty and the blue crab was flavorful. I could have eaten the whole dish all by myself.

Takumi Sushi has a new style sashimi category that has 5 slices of sashimi. We ordered the Madai (Japanese Snapper) that is served with white truffle oil, lemon, yuzu and black truffle salt. Very unique and the truffle flavor did not overpower the snapper. We also ordered the Bluefin Tuna, Fatty Tuna, Scallop, Sea Urchin and Eel Sushi. All were pretty fresh, but the Fatty Tuna and the Scallop were the best.

For the rolls, we ordered the Mountain Hand Roll (no rice roll) and the Baby Lobster (Crawfish) Roll (baked roll). I love that the Mountain Hand Roll uses a light wrapper and all you taste is fish. This has tuna, salmon, yellowtail, shrimp tempura and spicy crab. Definitely another fav from the menu. All the fish was super fresh. The Baby Lobster Roll is a crab, avocado and cucumber roll and then topped with baked crawfish.Very flavorful and saucy.

We were given great customer service throughout the meal, and everyone came to check in on us multiple times throughout our meal. The servers and the manager were all very friendly. They also gave us some recommendations. The restaurant reminds me of Japan because of the Osaka-inspired decor. Traditional Japanese accents and warm wooden tones. I like how intimate the dining area was set up with booths and the tables further away from each other. There is also a bar area where you can sit and interact with the chefs while they work. A really great spot for dates, quick lunch break or dinner catch ups.“

“Best sushi I have ever had“

“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 !“

“Picked up lunch today because I was craving for Japanese food. This place offers only pick ups with delivery available. Follow me!Highlights of the menu:1. ︎Kushi katsu - eat with B sauce, green onion, and its own sauce2. ︎Grilled chicken bento with shiodare3. ︎Charcoal grilled chicken typed with green onion and Shiodare side of lemon4. ︎Wagyu don - marinated wagyu beef with onion. Topped with green onion with gingerThey are also available at Costa Mesa Certified Farmers Market every Thursday 9am-1pm. And more locations will be opening!“

“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.“

“A favorite restaurant for our friends and family. Food is always consistently good and the atmosphere is fun!!!“

“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!💖“

“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.“

“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“