Kappo Honda in Fountain Valley

The food here is legit, although the uni isnt the best. The ume skewer is a definite no-no; none of us liked it. On the flip side, the drinks look pretty, but even with alcohol, they taste more like water—dont expect too much. Theyre more on the juice side. Everything else falls into the okay category—not the best but not the worst either.

Kappo Honda in Fountain Valley is one of our favorite authentic Japanese restaurants and sushi bars. From the decor to the waiters and waitresses, you feel as if you could be in Japan. They have an extensive menu that, honestly, can be a little overwhelming but in a good way! Kappo Honda has a unique beer menu where you can order a selection that is often found in Japan to complete your Japan dining experience! The food and service are both excellent and worth having to wait a little longer on some nights and weekends.

Wow - this place was great. Their yakitori selection is plentiful as well as their sushi. We came here because they had both yakitori and noodles. Everything was tasty. Their beef udon noodles was great to contrast the savory yakitoris.

Best yakitori in town. Compared to shin shen gumi and hondaya. This location has my favorite spicy wings and they do it the best here. Few things I must order: enoki butter, garlic spinach, lobster roll, spicy wings, skewers! Always leave here feeling full and happy. If you come with more than 7-10 people get your 1.5L ask bottle to share Kurosawa (you can ask to save your bottles there with your name). Great place for family night or even date night.

The Atmosphere is unmatched. I always take anyone who comes from out of town here. Theres a good variety of food to choose from! Everyone always finds something they like.Aside from the wait due to how popular the place is, everything is great. Would highly recommend if you can fit a visit into your schedule.

I do not have a lot of understanding of Izakaya-style food but I do know that I like eating it. Since Covid, one of our favorite spots closed its shop. We have been looking for a place that could give us a similar kind of dining experience. This place fits perfectly in that frame. Food is good as expected. One star just for the Servers who are very courteous, attentive and make sure that you are well taken care of. They have tried to decorate their interior to closely match with their theme, including how booths are designed. Overall a good experience, you wont be disappointed.

It was my first time here again in quite some time, maybe half a year. The service seemed much more attentive than its ever been in the 7 years since I started coming here. For example, when my gf and I sat down, someone got our drink order immediately. Then in the next few minutes, 3 more waiters came by one at a time to ask if we had our drinks ordered yet. What a refreshing surprise. My original review said that the food is great but the service is quite slow most of the time. This was definitely not the case last night!One random thing I noticed was that all of the servers were guys. Usually its been mostly female waitresses over the years. This was the first time I saw all new faces and they were all make waiters. Not sure if that has anything to do with anything but the service sure was fast. They were about to close in 40 minutes when we arrived. Maybe that had something to do with it. *ShrugConclusion: Food still tastes great. Prices still relatively high on many dishes especially with the recent inflation on all things across the board. Service was better and more attentive than ever.

So disappointing! My husband and I came here because we are frequent patrons of their sister restaurant, honda-ya, in Tustin. We recently discovered this fountain valley location and thought wed give them a try. This was, by far, one of the most disappointing places Ive been to in a long while. Almost everything was overcooked.The chicken yakitori with cheese and jalapeno were dry and overcooked with very little seasoning. The jalapeno slices were so thickly sliced, I just took them off.The beef tongue was sliced way too thick and extremely tough and chewy. Honda-ya does theirs much thinner and theirs is tender and easy to eat. I will say that Kappo Honda seasoned the tongue well, but its not enjoyable if I have to chew it until I have TMJ.The negima (chicken thighs with green onion) was okay. The seasoning was lacking, though.The kabocha and saboro was pretty good. Its definitely different from most dishes. And the grilled corn on the cob was very good. I do love corn.The duck was actually pretty decent. It was prepared well and didnt have a very gamey flavor. It was surprisingly one of the best yakitori skewers we had, tonightI got the chawan mushi and was seriously disappointed with the 1 ginko nut, 1/2 slice of extremely thinly sliced fishcake, and tiny piece of salmon that laid at the bottom of the cup. It was pretty much all custard. The salmon piece was about the size of a nickel. (I think thats even being generous).The scallops yakitori were far overcooked and chewy. The chicken skin was burnt on the ends and required some chiseling to separate it from the skewer stick.We ordered the red house gyoza which was decent. I thought it lacked seasoning in the filling. My husband thought it was okay so our decision on this one is up in the air.My husband also ordered tempura lotus root. He felt it was way too undercooked. The root was really hard and crunchy. I tried a piece and have to agree. Weve had far better at other restaurants.The agedashi mochi was on par with Honda-ya and other izakaya weve been to. Id be a little concerned if anyone was able to screw this one up, though.Ah, and finally, the salmon belly nigiri sushi. This was our last order and what dropped what would have been a 3 star rating down to a 2. This was overall unpleasant. The whole thing. The rice was extremely hot underneath, which made the fish very warm. On top of that, the fish left an incredibly unpleasant taste in both our mouths. I dont know how to describe it, but it was kind of foul. Sushi rice must be a certain temperature before laying fish on it and I would expect this place to know better, especially for the reputation and other reviews Ive read of this place.The overall theme tonight was overcooked and disappointing. The staff was very friendly, though, which kept this review from sinking down to a 1. They were on it and always picking up plates/checking on us. Our table was extremely sticky, though. Like, the whole table. Not sure if its from the cleaner they use or what, but it was a little gross.

The pandemic has been awhile now. I remembered back in 2021 after the pandemic and places were opening up again. The beef tongue Yakitori was about $3.25 and the premium beef was $2.25. Talk about 3-4 small pieces of meat on a skewer and that’s reasonable. Since then, the beef tongue Yakitori went up to $4 and now recently $5+ for 4 pieces. I have never noticed any restaurant keep increasing prices like crazy in such short time. I’m sure it does not cost more to make the same things. It is ridiculous ! Just remember we get a full meal that fill up our stomach for $15 or $14 for AYCE Korean BBQ Happy Hour with a large selection of variety. Now, that’s worth it. I don’t think it’s worth it to eat at Kappo anymore being overly charged.I might have to quit Kappo Honda or eat once a year for their ridiculously increasing price yearly or every few months.

Fairly big menu…friends did most of the ordering off the skewers menu ranging from heart, liver, to pork, chicken, steak etc. not wow but good finger foods with a few drinks. I also ordered a Miso ramen. Good flavor and nice portion. Would come back to try some other things