Small restaurant with a lot of character and lots of small plate options to share! recommend making a reservation if going for a popular dinner time, Loved the hamachi carpaccio. Definitely coming here again!
Fantastic restaurant. The Orion beer, the white corn, the peanut tofu, and the carpaccio are the highlights. The takoyaki, sukiyaki, and ramen were also great. Lots of new flavors. Very friendly.Dietary restrictions: Okinawan cuisine focuses on pork.Parking: Plenty of parking.Kid-friendliness: It’s a very small restaurant. I wouldn’t bring kids here.
Truly reminded me of Okinawa. Make a reservation even during week day nights.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jane Nelson
Fantastic Okinawan izakaya. Great atmosphere, friendly staff, delicious food. The sashimi trio is always on my order along with the katsu curry and the tonkatsu ramen. An Okinawan margarita or a draft Orion beer to wash it down.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Katsudon Curry, Deep Fried Pork Katsu
Gavin Lee
One of my favorite restaurants in Orange County, the place is a bit tiny but with a lot of character. Love Mayumi the owner, food is great, beer is always the fresh and icy cold. Do visit, suggestion call ahead for reservations. Make sure to try the WINGS they are amazing.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Karaage
Ashley T.
Fun place to go for izakaya. It's hidden away and unassuming on the outside, but the inside will surely be packed when you go. It's consistently busy and getting a reservation is a must. Simply call in to make a reservation, but the restaurant is tiny so you may need to call far in advance. I was a fan of the straightforward yet friendly and efficient service. Sitting at the bar, you might be cramped with other people but service was pretty fast here. Mentai Cheese: sweet and savory with a hint of mentai. The inside tasted like mochi with a lightly breaded outer coating. Just like everything here, definitely shareable as eating too much would be too heavy, though it was good Takoyaki: I would have liked the addition of bonito flakes, but this was filled with plenty of squid. Clam Ramen: if you like the taste of clam juice in clam soup, then you will like this ramen. It was perfect on a cold night and came with a generous amount of clams.Pork Katsu Curry: while this dish was decent, my boyfriend and I both agreed that we have had better katsu curry elsewhere. For the price, it was a little small and the taste didn't stand out too much. Overall, looking forward to coming back. Note that tip/gratuity is included in the bill.
Bryan Balzer
Went there with high hopes and it far exceeded. Absolutely wonderful food and great sake too. Will be back, attention to detail and thoughtful of each
Can't afford a trip to Japan? No problem, just make a reservation here. My husband and I traveled to Okinawa in 2018, and have been dreaming of the food ever since. Izakaya Habuya is authentic Okinawan cuisine, in a space that feels exactly like what you'll experience in Japan. Be sure to make a reservation; the space is very small.Their menu offers a huge variety of regional dishes. Most items are suitable for sharing, so definitely order a bunch of things. Everything was delicious, but stand outs for me included the melt-in-your-mouth Jimami (Homemade Peanut Tofu), decadent Soft Shell Crab tempura, and ultra-tangy Tsukemori. My husband remarked that the Negi Hamachi Bowl was outstanding as well. We were here at like 5pm, but next time I will definitely drink more. That is the spirit of an Izakaya, after all. Their "Okinawan Margarita", made with the popular regional spirit Awamori, was unique and fresh on the palate. The owner Mayumi is a super cool lady! We look forward to returning.
Takao M.
Small restaurant packed with lots of energy, good service and delicious food from Okinawa. I cannot believe that we've waited this long to finally come (40 minutes drive without traffic) and we're glad we finally did it. Best Okinawa soba in years after moving from Okinawa to the USA!!It really brought me back to the time I lived in Okinawa and had Okinawa soba almost every day. Soba portions are big so start with some appetizers like the fried Mimiga and Goya Champuru together with a cold draft Orion beer, this way you've tried more dishes. Reservations are a MUST!This is a very small restaurant so space is very limited and large tables are unlikely to be put together.Plenty of free parking. If you didn't make a reservation (like us, first timers), leave your name and phone number then wait at the nearby pool table ($1 per game, drive one minute) but return 30mins before the time they told you because your table might be ready sooner than anticipated.There was a 15% service already included in the bill which confused us a little but since we normally tip more we didn't mind and added more in cash, some extra cash that I had available (normally I don't carry cash, it's gross paper touched by others lol), since there was no room to add tip in the credit card receipt like they do at most places. I guess there are some really cheap people in this area that don't leave proper tip for them to do this. If you're not one of them this 15% service fee is your actual tip to them so shouldn't be an issue at all and should actually leave some extra too but in cash since their system won't allow you to.It's far for us but we'll try to return soon because the Okinawa soba was f-ing delicious! Yes! I said it! That's how good it was ;)
Nathan H.
Ordered 4 dishes: -uni scallop truffle carpaccio- delicious, refreshing -braised pork rib- too salty, could not finish dish-bitter melon with tofu- okAwamori margarita- very sour, need sugar per my preferenceService- fast and attentive
Friday night dinner. Place is small and it fits about 20 people at the most. We came here in a whim with no reservation and luckily we were able to get a table but only had an hour to eat. definitely recommend making a reservation as I saw a couple parties get turned away.Ordered sashimi, cheese mentaiko dumplings, Goya champuru, habuya soba, and miso nasu.Sashimi was thick cuts off salmon, hamachi and tuna. All were fresh and great, tuna was a little tough.Cheese mentaiko is fried dumplings of cream cheese and mentaiko. Probably my least favorite as the mentaiko flavor was subtle still good though.Goya champuru is Goya,tofu and spam stir fried, Goya is probably and an aquired taste and is very bitter but good iykyk. Habuya soba was thick noodles in a clear broth topped with 2 thick cuts of pork. Really recommend this one.Miso Nasu another highlight of the meal, the eggplant was soft with thick tender chunks of pork. Highly recommended, probably great with some riceOverall a great meal. This place has a lotOf character.
Suzie Chung
Amazing atmosphere, great food, really transports you. I especially love the music and pork ramen. Make sure you make a reservation! It is a small place and it gets busy.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
hansub
It's cool, this is one of those places you go for the vibes. They do have orion on draft which is rare. I came ten minutes before opening and barely got seated. People that showed up at 5 were turned away. The food was good, but not impressive. The lady running the restaurant was not very nice... seems like she caters way more to her regulars.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Lynn T.
I love this restaurant! There is a wide variety on the menu and I have yet to be disappointed with anything on the menu. Items I would recommend: - Fried chicken wings: exceptionally crispy and juicy - Yuzu shio ramen: light, flavorful broth with an elevated yuzu flavor. Noodles are cooked al dente- Clam miso ramen: great dish if you are into clams; very generous on the clam portion and the broth is a super flavorful, yet not too heavy Make sure you call in for a reservation! They usually don't accept walk-ins because they are so busy and the restaurant has very limited seating. If you come here to eat, you also can't linger too long because they always need tables for the next party.
Sabrina C.
This super cute restaurant is a little spot in the side of the plaza. It's a small place so I'd recommend calling ahead to get a seat reserved for you. The staff are so sweet and clearly care a lot about the restaurant. The decor inside is cute, trendy, and exciting. I could spend hours looking around at the details and articles on the walls. Their salmon sashimi was very fine and high quality. The texture was smooth and simply melts in your mouth. The Okinawan Ramen was also very well prepared and the broth tastes delicious. The noodles taste fresh and soft. It doesn't come with a ton of meat but certainly good quality and tender. Overall I was impressed with the food and will definitely be back again! Thanks Habuya
Small restaurant with a lot of character and lots of small plate options to share! recommend making a reservation if going for a popular dinner time, Loved the hamachi carpaccio. Definitely coming here again!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Takoyaki, Grilled Yellow Tail Cheek Rice and Soup, Carpaccio, Chicken Karaage
Fantastic restaurant. The Orion beer, the white corn, the peanut tofu, and the carpaccio are the highlights. The takoyaki, sukiyaki, and ramen were also great. Lots of new flavors. Very friendly.Dietary restrictions: Okinawan cuisine focuses on pork.Parking: Plenty of parking.Kid-friendliness: It’s a very small restaurant. I wouldn’t bring kids here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Takoyaki, Jimami Tofu Peanut Tofu, Scallop Carpaccio Truffle Flavor, Carpaccio, Spicy Miso Ramen, Katsudon Curry
Truly reminded me of Okinawa. Make a reservation even during week day nights.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Fantastic Okinawan izakaya. Great atmosphere, friendly staff, delicious food. The sashimi trio is always on my order along with the katsu curry and the tonkatsu ramen. An Okinawan margarita or a draft Orion beer to wash it down.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Katsudon Curry, Deep Fried Pork Katsu
One of my favorite restaurants in Orange County, the place is a bit tiny but with a lot of character. Love Mayumi the owner, food is great, beer is always the fresh and icy cold. Do visit, suggestion call ahead for reservations. Make sure to try the WINGS they are amazing.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Karaage
Fun place to go for izakaya. It's hidden away and unassuming on the outside, but the inside will surely be packed when you go. It's consistently busy and getting a reservation is a must. Simply call in to make a reservation, but the restaurant is tiny so you may need to call far in advance. I was a fan of the straightforward yet friendly and efficient service. Sitting at the bar, you might be cramped with other people but service was pretty fast here. Mentai Cheese: sweet and savory with a hint of mentai. The inside tasted like mochi with a lightly breaded outer coating. Just like everything here, definitely shareable as eating too much would be too heavy, though it was good Takoyaki: I would have liked the addition of bonito flakes, but this was filled with plenty of squid. Clam Ramen: if you like the taste of clam juice in clam soup, then you will like this ramen. It was perfect on a cold night and came with a generous amount of clams.Pork Katsu Curry: while this dish was decent, my boyfriend and I both agreed that we have had better katsu curry elsewhere. For the price, it was a little small and the taste didn't stand out too much. Overall, looking forward to coming back. Note that tip/gratuity is included in the bill.
Went there with high hopes and it far exceeded. Absolutely wonderful food and great sake too. Will be back, attention to detail and thoughtful of each
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fried Squid Leg Curry, Seafood, Scallop Carpaccio Truffle Flavor, Chicken Karaage
Can't afford a trip to Japan? No problem, just make a reservation here. My husband and I traveled to Okinawa in 2018, and have been dreaming of the food ever since. Izakaya Habuya is authentic Okinawan cuisine, in a space that feels exactly like what you'll experience in Japan. Be sure to make a reservation; the space is very small.Their menu offers a huge variety of regional dishes. Most items are suitable for sharing, so definitely order a bunch of things. Everything was delicious, but stand outs for me included the melt-in-your-mouth Jimami (Homemade Peanut Tofu), decadent Soft Shell Crab tempura, and ultra-tangy Tsukemori. My husband remarked that the Negi Hamachi Bowl was outstanding as well. We were here at like 5pm, but next time I will definitely drink more. That is the spirit of an Izakaya, after all. Their "Okinawan Margarita", made with the popular regional spirit Awamori, was unique and fresh on the palate. The owner Mayumi is a super cool lady! We look forward to returning.
Small restaurant packed with lots of energy, good service and delicious food from Okinawa. I cannot believe that we've waited this long to finally come (40 minutes drive without traffic) and we're glad we finally did it. Best Okinawa soba in years after moving from Okinawa to the USA!!It really brought me back to the time I lived in Okinawa and had Okinawa soba almost every day. Soba portions are big so start with some appetizers like the fried Mimiga and Goya Champuru together with a cold draft Orion beer, this way you've tried more dishes. Reservations are a MUST!This is a very small restaurant so space is very limited and large tables are unlikely to be put together.Plenty of free parking. If you didn't make a reservation (like us, first timers), leave your name and phone number then wait at the nearby pool table ($1 per game, drive one minute) but return 30mins before the time they told you because your table might be ready sooner than anticipated.There was a 15% service already included in the bill which confused us a little but since we normally tip more we didn't mind and added more in cash, some extra cash that I had available (normally I don't carry cash, it's gross paper touched by others lol), since there was no room to add tip in the credit card receipt like they do at most places. I guess there are some really cheap people in this area that don't leave proper tip for them to do this. If you're not one of them this 15% service fee is your actual tip to them so shouldn't be an issue at all and should actually leave some extra too but in cash since their system won't allow you to.It's far for us but we'll try to return soon because the Okinawa soba was f-ing delicious! Yes! I said it! That's how good it was ;)
Ordered 4 dishes: -uni scallop truffle carpaccio- delicious, refreshing -braised pork rib- too salty, could not finish dish-bitter melon with tofu- okAwamori margarita- very sour, need sugar per my preferenceService- fast and attentive
Restaurantji Recommends
Friday night dinner. Place is small and it fits about 20 people at the most. We came here in a whim with no reservation and luckily we were able to get a table but only had an hour to eat. definitely recommend making a reservation as I saw a couple parties get turned away.Ordered sashimi, cheese mentaiko dumplings, Goya champuru, habuya soba, and miso nasu.Sashimi was thick cuts off salmon, hamachi and tuna. All were fresh and great, tuna was a little tough.Cheese mentaiko is fried dumplings of cream cheese and mentaiko. Probably my least favorite as the mentaiko flavor was subtle still good though.Goya champuru is Goya,tofu and spam stir fried, Goya is probably and an aquired taste and is very bitter but good iykyk. Habuya soba was thick noodles in a clear broth topped with 2 thick cuts of pork. Really recommend this one.Miso Nasu another highlight of the meal, the eggplant was soft with thick tender chunks of pork. Highly recommended, probably great with some riceOverall a great meal. This place has a lotOf character.
Amazing atmosphere, great food, really transports you. I especially love the music and pork ramen. Make sure you make a reservation! It is a small place and it gets busy.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
It's cool, this is one of those places you go for the vibes. They do have orion on draft which is rare. I came ten minutes before opening and barely got seated. People that showed up at 5 were turned away. The food was good, but not impressive. The lady running the restaurant was not very nice... seems like she caters way more to her regulars.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
I love this restaurant! There is a wide variety on the menu and I have yet to be disappointed with anything on the menu. Items I would recommend: - Fried chicken wings: exceptionally crispy and juicy - Yuzu shio ramen: light, flavorful broth with an elevated yuzu flavor. Noodles are cooked al dente- Clam miso ramen: great dish if you are into clams; very generous on the clam portion and the broth is a super flavorful, yet not too heavy Make sure you call in for a reservation! They usually don't accept walk-ins because they are so busy and the restaurant has very limited seating. If you come here to eat, you also can't linger too long because they always need tables for the next party.
This super cute restaurant is a little spot in the side of the plaza. It's a small place so I'd recommend calling ahead to get a seat reserved for you. The staff are so sweet and clearly care a lot about the restaurant. The decor inside is cute, trendy, and exciting. I could spend hours looking around at the details and articles on the walls. Their salmon sashimi was very fine and high quality. The texture was smooth and simply melts in your mouth. The Okinawan Ramen was also very well prepared and the broth tastes delicious. The noodles taste fresh and soft. It doesn't come with a ton of meat but certainly good quality and tender. Overall I was impressed with the food and will definitely be back again! Thanks Habuya