Top Japanese Restaurant in Mission Viejo
Samurai Sushi
27230 La Paz Rd, Mission Viejo, CA 92692, United States
Last night my wife, son, myself and our family friend sat down for dinner. We placed our order and although it came out in a reasonable amount of time and tasted good the service was terrible. Our server Amy was extremely rude, made us feel very rushed through the whole meal, didnt ask to refill our drinks. After multiple attempts we did finally get her attention but she seemed to get mad that we would dare to ask for extra wasabi / napkins, another glass of wine, etc. She even walked away in mid sentence while we were trying to order a california roll to go for our other friend who couldnt make it. We looked at eachother shocked and said did she get all that. When we tried getting her attention again to confirm the order / extras she shouted across the restaurant in a harsh tone yes yes I got it. On our multiple visits in the past they would bring us our to go order when we had completed our meal and paid our check but that didnt happen this time. Instead when the roll was done being prepared Amy slammed the box down on our table with the check. Hello we didnt even ask for the check yet as we were all still eating / drinking. We waited off on paying the bill as we still wanted to order dessert. Amy kept looking over at us and walking the other way. Finanlly we gave up and just left cash, got no dessert and left a $2 tip which would have been our change we were owed. It just goes to show you can have a great location, good sushi chefs, amazing owner but if your servers are providing a bad experience then the customers wont feel valued at all. We were originally drawn to this place because of the owner Gina as she is very nice and goes out of her way to make you feel welcome. However Gina better reconsider who she hires to represent her restaurant. We understand that tips are probably shared which is a shame as Amy has lost them more then just a tip but our business as well. We were all made to feel very unwelcomed at Samurai Sushi but might try it again down the road after their servers have been better trained on how to handle the general public.
Shin Sushi
26002 Marguerite Pkwy, Mission Viejo, CA 92692, United States
Best sushi place I have ever been to, have had sushi all over Riverside county, San Bernardino county, Los Angeles county, Orange county and numerous major cities and this place is absolutely the best!! One of the only true Japanese owned and operated sushi restaurants left anywhere around socal, fish is always fresh, service is impeccable, sushi chef/owner is superb!!
Terra Sushi
27695 Santa Margarita Pkwy A-3, Mission Viejo, CA 92691, United States
Foods are ok. It’s hard to find good Japanese restaurants in Mission Viejo. If you can drive 5-10 more minutes, you can find better Japanese restaurants from either Foothill ranch or Laguna Hills area.
Siam Thai & Sushi Kitchen
25571 Jeronimo Rd #8, Mission Viejo, CA 92691, United States
The flavors transported me back to Thailand, a nation of foodies! Nestled in the corner of a relatively nondescript strip mall, Siam Thai & Sushi is a hidden gem of Thai authenticity and a modern spin on sushi. While many might find it unusual to combine Thai and Japanese cuisines, such restaurant concepts are familiar in Thailand and to Thai people. Believe it or not there’s actually historical precedent of Japanese influence in Siam, the former capital of Thailand, going back to the early 17th century during the Ayutthaya Kingdom. The fascinating story of Yamada Nagamasa, known as the “Samurai of Ayutthaya” deserves a closer look.As for the food, I can only say that it was undeniably “oishi”, “ah-roy” or delicious. I highly recommend trying Thai classics such as the Pad Thai, Crying Tiger, and Som Tum as well as less well known dishes such as the Duck Curry and Khao Soi. I secretly hope to someday see Sai Ua on the menu to further remind me of Thailand. The Atlantic Roll is a colorful and decadent rice-free addition that marries Japanese sashimi with Thai spice and heat reminiscent of the Thai islands. Lastly, it’s hard to pass up on their Thai Iced Tea and Thai Iced Coffee, both of which express bold and refreshing flavors.You’ll leave satisfied with a desire to book a flight to Thailand for a month long culinary tour inspired by Siam Thai & Sushi!
Riptide Rockin Sushi & Teppan Grills
27741 Crown Valley Pkwy Suite 325, Mission Viejo, CA 92691, United States
Wow what a bad experience from beginning to end. They consistently disappointed us again and again and again..First note this is my first review I have submitted to YELP in years. The experience was so bad that I feel compelled to take the time this morning to do ione....1. Waiter/Host tried to force us to sit in his dark secluded section and reluctantly let us move to livelier area.2. New waiter was cool and friendly and helpful, which was key to surviving the onslaught of disappointments.3. Ordered two dirty martinis, one or rocks was very watery, one up was minimal dirty even though she asked for it as stinky as possible. Brought out a side of olive juice.4. Other couple ordered Margarita and beer, Margarita was served with nasty looking deranged limes that scared her. She sent it back for new ones.5. Somebody must have told the cooks we were all on meds for high blood pressure treatment because the miso soup was as bland as Mitt Romneys wife.6. The salad was served on pathetic looking iceberg lettuce mix.7. The tappan cook showed up and threw bland plain white rice chunks at our mouths. Very routine, forced, and cheezey, and who wants to eat plain cold white rice?8. The fried rice, again, BLAND as copier paper with no special meats in it that I could find, and minimal egg, etc.9. When we asked the cook to step up the seasonings and flavor on the rest of the food, he wasnt too happy, was unresponsive, made excuses and reasons as to how the rest of people dont like so much seasonings, and wound up serving us way more attitude than flavor the rest of the night.10. specialty sushi rolls were pretty good. Regular rolls were minimalistic.11. Waiter did his best to make up for everything.12. Manager tried to make some amends by knocking off $50 of our $220 bill for 4 ppl.Sorry, this place is a commercialized, corporate, bland, boring, rubber stamp experience with bad attitude. Not worth half the expensive price.
Sarku Japan
555 The Shops at Mission Viejo Space #VC-02, Mission Viejo, CA 92691, United States
The only reason they have one star from me is because it's required. Sarku stood out. Moving from Ga I thought I found a touch of home, 2,000 miles away. I did BUT this one is different. Not the gem you thought you'd want to find. They have horrible customer service, women & men, no matter what age. I work at the mall and I never had to write a review for a food establishment until today. I've had plenty of interactions to know better between someone having a bad day and plain out horrible customer service. Time after time. You try to ask a question anbout your food and you get ignored!!! By the person making your food?! NEVER AGAIN until I get back home!!!
Poke Wave
25280 Marguerite Pkwy b1, Mission Viejo, CA 92692, United States
A very good poke place (with consistently fresh ingredients!) that DOESNT charge extra for imitation crab, avocado, or masago! they have less options than other establishments as far as sauce flavors, but i personally dont enjoy a bunch of flavored mayonnaise based sauces that take over all the delicious subtle flavors and textures in the bowl. they have a simple combination of 4 basic sauces and they have 3 options for mild, medium and spicy (each has a mayo based sauce too which you can get in the bowl or on the side). they also offer jasmine rice as a base in addition to white and brown rice and fresh greens (i also believe they have a chip option). They have excellent raw salmon, something I have had issues with at a few other nearby poke businesses (I cant stand warm, fishy, or wet/sweaty raw fish, and it can be a challenge finding raw salmon without that texture that lower grade sushi tends to have)...Thankfully, Poke Wave appeared and it is the only place in MV where I will get poke.
Kaguya
27531 Puerta Real, Mission Viejo, CA 92691, United States
The dishes were all traditional Japanese, but with a few American twists. There was Poke, a Hawaiian adaptation of the Japanese chawanmushi dish, but with many add-ons to make it more eye-catching. There was also sushi, of course, fresh and colorful.As I ate, I couldnt help but feel a sense of nostalgia. This was the kind of restaurant I had grown up with, the kind of place where the food was made with honor and respect. It was a refreshing change from the corporate chains that dominated the food scene.When I finished eating, I paid my bill, and left a generous tip separately. I wanted to support this local business, and I also wanted to send a message to the big corporations and other TV chefs: Im not going to let you insult my intelligence into paying for your workers salaries and benefits. I want my gratitude to directly reach the right person.
Zenko Sushi
28892 Marguerite Pkwy, Mission Viejo, CA 92692, United States
I feel bad for this place. It is your run of the mill Korean Japanese restaurant. Sadly the sushi chefs are extremely slow and the sushi rice is way too hot. Unfortunately, the servers get hit with negative responses and complaints. Service needs to be faster and the orders need to come out quicker. I saw multiple tables waiting over 30-minutes for their orders. Yes, it’s AYCE, but a 2-hour dinner experience for two orders of sushi is excessive. Also, there weren’t any operating air conditioners in the restaurant and so it was ridiculously warm. We tried it, and that’s where it will most likely stay…
Poki Cat - Poke and Salad - Mission Viejo
23981 Alicia Pkwy Ste 120, Mission Viejo, CA 92691, United States
Overall it was an ok experience, the poki tasted good and the place was clean and new. However here are the issues we had, we eat Poki a lot and loved that one was moving around the corner from us but the portion size was all wrong. Ive never had a place that weighed out my fish before and the toppings were so minimal that both me and my husband left hungry. All other places I can ask for more and no questions they will give it. Here they will charge you and extra dollar, that is not where you lose money, thats how you lose customers. The spoons they dished them out in were so small and they barely filled those up. Also the beverages were lacking with most being still in bottles. There are many more Poki places just a 5 to 10 minute that charge the same price, have more sizes, toppings and dont charge more for the normal amount of toppings. We will continue to go to those Poki places.