44 Best Japanese Restaurants near Rancho Santa Margarita

“This place is adorable. We've been here a few times now. Food is good and drinks are great. I mean who wouldn't like googly eyes on their sandwich bun and coconut drink?!“

“We have been going to Niko Niko for 10 years now. We love the restaurant and the community and the friends we made there I would definitely recommend this place, the food is amazing and the owners are very accommodating to the costumers needs. Love you Niko Niko family. My youngest daughter was so in love with their miso soup that they named an specific to go order with her name. “Christiana style”.“

“This is the ultimate sushi spot. We have been coming here for many years for date nights and also nights with the family to celebrate and enjoy a special occasion. Everyone here knows us and we are always welcomed with big smiles and “come in, come in!” The staff and chefs here make this place feel like home, like this is our spot. It’s a very small restaurant, hole in the wall, which I absolutely love. We’ve sat at tables inside, the bar, and the tables outside are great too! They have enhanced the outdoor area with umbrellas and heaters, candles and table lamps. We always ask about the specials - go with the specials! They have sake, beer, sodas, tea - we usually get a large Asahi and share it, or ask for a recommendation on sake. The oysters and monkfish liver, when they have it, are incredible! Any and all of the nigiri is our go-to, can’t go wrong with any of the rolls too (we usually do sushi when dining in and get rolls for take out). I love the uni and unagi, chu toro and buri toro (all the toro), hamachi and kanpachi… I honestly love it all. The kids always get udon and karaage chicken with a side of white rice. This is our special place to celebrate, so grateful to have this kind of spot to go to that’s close to home. We love it here.“

“Love our little sushi spot. Best sushi! We get no rice rolls and we cannot find the selection elsewhere. They r fantastic with kids“

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

“Jerk chicken ELL eggs Tantan udon Kaisendon Everything“

“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.“

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

“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 !“

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

“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.“

“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+++++++++“

“Delicious food, fun and inviting atmosphere, excellent service and the friendliest owners Key and his lovely wife Grace. Our local reliable go to.“

“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“

“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!“

“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.“

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

“Sashimi is a sushi restaurant located at the corner of Lake Forest Drive and Dimension Drive. It appears to be run by a Korean family and is a popular spot among the locals. They have a sushi bar, but we opted to dine at a table. Steve greeted us and was not only friendly and helpful, but his service level enhanced our overall dining experience.

We tried a number of dishes during our visit. Among my favorites were the Veggie Tempura, Salmon Nigiri, Lake Forest Roll (I appreciate that they allow substitutions so I subbed spicy yellowtail in place of the spicy tuna) and Special Carpaccio S. The Spicy Salmon cut roll was nothing special and tasted more like a California Roll. The Yellowtail Cheek was good, but it was more meaty and less tender than I've enjoyed at other Japanese restaurants. My wife ordered the Pink Lady, but I prefer my sushi with rice. All in all, we enjoyed our Sashimi experience and I'd recommend checking it out if you're in Lake Forest and in the mood for raw fish at a reasonable price.“

“Best Pokee in the Irvine location. I highly recommend this place.“

“It's one of me and my fiancé Denise's favorite place. We go there all the time and it's always awesome. I highly recommend it to anyone that lives in the area. We absolutely love it and they take care of you like family.“

“Oh My Sushi is a hidden gem tucked away in a strip mall in Laguna Niguel. They serve incredibly fresh fish, beautifully presented in both classic and creative sushi rolls. The Toro Tasting is amazing. The décor is modern and inviting, the drinks are inventive, and the dessert selection is a sweet surprise. Their sake list is impressive — don’t miss the sake flight, it’s a must-try!”“

“I’d rate Soba Izakaya Minami one of south OC’s best izakaya. Their small portion (Japanese tapas) are delicious and served very fast. Don’t forget to order the Orion beer draft if you’re a beer lover!“

“The service here is so nice and fast. You can’t beat the lunch special deals! ($10-13 for entree with soup and salad) I love coming here for lunch, I want to try all their deals haha. If I didn’t make it for the lunch specials I would definitely try one of their specialty rolls!“

“good food on the go. plenty of seafood options.“

“DELICIOUSNESS! healthy, tasty and great prices“

“We sat at the sushi bar and Joe-san was our sushi chef. He was fast, efficient and everything was tasty. We chose the Oh My God roll towards the end and honestly folks? It is OMG spectacular! And so was the Queen Imperial with yellowtail and mango. Great service!!!“

“came here for the first time last week and honestly wish i’d found it sooner. the guy behind the counter was super friendly and helped me pick out something good since i couldn’t decide. definitely gonna be coming back, its my new favorite spot in the area.“

“OniGuru was such a pleasant surprise. I came in looking for something quick and fresh, but the food ended up being much better than a typical casual meal. Everything tasted clean, flavorful, and thoughtfully prepared.

The onigiri had a great balance of rice, filling, and seaweed. The rice was soft and fresh without being mushy, and the fillings were generous without overpowering the whole bite. I really liked how each flavor felt different instead of tasting the same. You can tell they put effort into both the ingredients and the presentation.

The service was also excellent. The staff was kind, patient, and very helpful, especially if you are not familiar with all the options. They made the ordering process easy and welcoming. The food came out nicely prepared and looked just as good as the photos.

The atmosphere was simple, clean, and comfortable. It’s the kind of place that works well for a quick stop, a relaxed lunch, or even grabbing a few items to share. I also appreciated that the portions were satisfying and the food didn’t feel heavy afterward.

Overall, OniGuru is a great spot for anyone who enjoys fresh, tasty, Japanese-inspired food. I would definitely come back again and try more items from the menu. Highly recommended.“

“We LOVE it here! Weekly dinner! Baked lobster roll, baked salmon roll are impeccable. Never disappointed! We swear it gets better every time! Also the seared garlic albacore is like butter. So delicious. Absolutely eat here. Jenny & Michelle are absolute angels!“

“Good food and friendly service“

“We came here to use a coupon we got in the mail for a BOGO tonkatsu bowl. We were told this item was not on the menu but we could order it. We decided to get this mystery item and it was delicious! The menu has a very large selection and is reasonably priced. Service was fast and friendly.“

“The freshest fish I’ve ever had in my life. Absolutely fantastic. Is ten stars a thing? This place deserves that many. Epic food. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🙌🏽“

“I recommend the AYCE. All You Can Eat for a great price. The Sushi was very fresh and flavorful, the service very good and the Price was very reasonable. I would try the Jalapeño Poppers if you like a bite of spice and uniqueness! The Melon Soda was really good. Enjoy!!!“

“Best Sushi ever, have been there 4 times in two weeks of vacation with friends and family. Great & friendly staff, too!“

“Me and my girlfriend love this place, all the staff and waiters are super nice and friendly, and that's not even begging to say how good the food is, best rolls i have ever tried. AND amazing prices. Amazing presentation and the look of all the meals. love love love this spot and recommend to everyone.“

“Best lunch bento box. Miso soup was very tasty. Spicy tuna roll was delicious!“

“All these negative reviews have me losing faith in humanity. The pic where the food is messy has to be either they handled it wrong after picking it up or most likely a clumsy delivery driver. The bathroom reviews are ridiculous. Access to a restaurant is not a human right and unless you have had to clean up after jerks you have no idea how much time it can take to clean it and you should expect to have to make a purchase at any restaurant this close to a high school to use it.

Yogis is awesome for what it is. Decent sushi and teriyaki for a decent price. Not the best but certainly good enough to stay in business for over 30 years.“

“always fresh delicious friendly staff.All you can eat Monday and Tuesday 👍“

“There was a bad smell in the corner where we had to sit and it was little overpriced for what was being served and the desserts was not that great but all in all it filled our tummies and most of the food was good. Their chicken wings tasted great and their noodles and beef broccoli. Kids liked the general tos chicken and rice hubby enjoyed the muscles and crab legs and fried rice. We would eat here again if prices wasn't so high. But we are from NC and may not be use to the the buffet prices in California.“

“Great food and service nice people“

“This is my favorite place for years to go. When it comes to all you can eat sushi. It's not a buffet style, pretty pretty much fresh to your mouth.... with the new changing ownership, it's even better... it's always good but now it's better.....“

“I have been coming here for over 10 years, and it consistently hits the spot. The Chicken Teriyaki bowl with extra chicken is the way to go, and the sheer amount of food you receive is uncanny.

Can't recommend it enough if you are craving a Chicken Bowl“