I hadn't been here in an about 6-7 years! Took some clients here today and we had a great lunch. I had the teriyaki beef, California rolls, Tuna sashimi, salad and rice special. Everyone enjoyed their food. Service is as solid as I remembered! Restaurant is comfortable with some nice booths. This place has been here for a long time and it's because of the good food! Parking lot is fairly small located behind the restaurant, you have to go through a small alley to get to it. read more

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The food was delicious and we were able to taste a variety of rolls so I'm pretty confident in saying it was all great! The staff were super helpful, friendly and efficient. They kept the plates coming!! The restaurant is nothing fancy - maybe not a date night location - and was busy the entire time we were there - with both eat in and takeout. My one complaint was the noise level - I felt like we were screaming at each other just to hear above the noise. The table next to us had kids that were not only loud but running around. I think next time I would take the food to go and enjoy it in the quiet of my own home. read more

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First time coming here. Food was decent. Looks like a typical Japanese restaurant here in the US. Ambiance was extremely loud. It was hard to have a conversation with the family. Service was ok. There was a wait to be seated, and a waitlist upon entrance. But tell me why the waitress/manager/employee took the people that just walked in the door first vs the people that have been waiting on the waitlist. I didn't appreciate that. And wish I would've said something sooner. Other than that, servers were nice and attentive. read more

Gen Kai Sushi - Gen Kai boat with beef teriyaki - Japanese Near Me - Dana Point, California

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Gen Kai has been a staple in the DP community for over 40 years. Generations of patrons can be found dining here on the daily basis. I love this place, and it is my favorite! I came here to celebrate my favorite gemini's bday for a lunch date. Serving meals from 11am-2:30pm one can find amazing service here. They reopen from 5pm-10:30pm for dinner. We opted to sit inside the main sitting area instead at the sushi bar so we could order items beyond sushi. Both of us wanted the korean short rib dinner plate instead of the lunch special and it was awesome! Our meal came with miso soup, salad, rice, and our main beef short rib. We decided to add a serving of crunchy rolls. 10/10. I ordered warm green tea, cold for the bday girl. For the birthday girl, they were kind enough to bring ice cream inside a fish waffle type bread with "happy birthday". The bday girl loved it. The meal was $73.00 roughly plus tip. Would definitely come here again. Hot tip: parking is located around the building. When you see the UPS store, you cant make a left. Wait until you see the light, then go around back. read more

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Food was wonderful we loved all the food we ordered. Service was great we were seated right away and a server came to help us out immediately. The ambience was family friendly it was lively. read more

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Nice neighborhood sushi restaurant. They've got a sushi bar and plenty of tables as well. My table ordered the garlic edamame and spicy tuna crispy rice to share. The crispy rice was okay, not my fav. I ordered the dana point roll which was spicy tuna with seared salmon on top which I thoroughly enjoyed. They have a lot of other options on their menu aside from sushi as well. read more

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Warm smiles and the friendliest service. This is the best sushi in Dana Point and has been for decades. Fresh ingredients and tasty unique sushi rolls make for an excellent dinner. My family and I love Gen Kai and feel at home here. read more

I've been here before, a long time ago but still has great food. I got the sukiyaki and it's prob one of my fav places to order this. A lot of spots make it too salty or too sweet but this place had it made perfectly. They give you a lot of tempura in the mixed tempura dinner and unlimited rice refills haha. Check this place ouuut! read more

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I've been coming here since we moved back to the area. The first two times, the food was excellent. Then, I noticed it slowly began going downhill. The last visit will be my absolute last one. The sushi is now just okay. I tried a couple pieces and also tried the new garlic shrimp entree. I love shrimp, so I put one in my mouth all the way up to the tail and began to chew and chew and chew, saying to myself, "Wth is this?" Soon, I realized that I was eating shell. The shrimp had not been shelled before cooking! It was explained that's how they cook them in Japan. Shrimp shells become clear after they've been cooked, so you can't really tell that they're there before eating them, and no one told me. I'm lucky I didn't swallow it and choke. So, I spent the rest of the time trying to first pull them off and, then, removing the inevitable residue from my mouth, not a very enjoyable experience. I also found the rice to be sticky and starchy and without much flavor. After the eating mess fest, I went to the bathroom to wash my hands and noticed the borders of its floor were filthy, as was the bottom half of the sticky handled back door on the way out. I was shocked, since this place used to be spotless. I also noted they've raised their prices across the board. On the plus side, even though there is sometimes a bit of a wait, both at the door and at the table, the service staff is still friendly, smiling and kind. Their edamame is also still very good. read more

Gen Kai Sushi - Garlic Shrimp Be aware they still have their shells, which can be a choking hazard. - Japanese Near Me - Dana Point, California

Absolutely unacceptable service. We arrived around 6:30pm on a Saturday and ordered right away. By 7:50pm, we STILL had no food, no water refills, and our server had basically vanished. This wasn't even during the dinner rush -- yet multiple tables who arrived long after us were served complete meals while we sat there ignored. We finally had to get a completely different server just to acknowledge us. And only then did all of our food show up at once -- clearly thrown together in a hurry -- with zero apology, zero explanation, and not even the slightest attempt to make it right. For a $140 bill, this service was an absolute joke. We did not even walk out of there until 8:30pm... 2 hours for dinner?? I may as well have caught it and cooked it myself. I've been to Gen Kai plenty of times, and this was by far the worst experience. We're done. Not coming back, and definitely not recommending this place to anyone. read more

Really great Sushi, and wonderful service at the bar. We ate so many different things. I couldn't even tell you what dishes we chose. Went with another couple who had been there many times, and pretty much ordered everything for us. Would definitely come back, now that we live in the area Presentation was also nice and the fish was definitely fresh. read more

Gen Kai Sushi - Yellowtail Jalapeño - Japanese Near Me - Dana Point, California

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A must order is the Screaming O which is a generous portion of tuna sashimi (albacore?) flanking the sides of a volcano looking pile of shredded daikon. At the base is the to-die-for sauce which I think is Tataki sauce? I just know that it is so good that you will not want the server to take away the empty plate after you've devoured all of the tuna and daikon. Save the plate if there's any sauce left. Trust me. We also love their high quality tuna and hamachi sashimi. Service is always friendly and great and there's plenty of parking in the rear lot. read more

We've gone here multiple times - and unfortunately it's not the best sushi place in the area. Service is great - but the sushi is mediocre at best. Sashimi js cut wrong, rolls are just okay - miso soup is good and tempura is good but that's not really what you go to sushi places for. read more

Gen Kai used to be the place for sushi. We were regulars and all the chefs knew us. You could buy them drinks and it was raucous fun every week. Okay, sometimes we'd get a chef a little too sloshed, admittedly. We came back after a long time gone and now they have signs saying don't give the chefs drinks, boo. I get it but still, boo. Our chef was clearly the new guy. He didn't know half the menu items and was too stressed to be conversational. We'll come back to try again. The bill was a bit high but I ordered some fun stuff and brought four people, so okay. We will try again and see if we can get an experienced chef next time. I have missed Gen Kai. read more

Gen Kai Sushi - Ankimo Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Dana Point, California

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Our 'go to' sushi spot when we visit the OC! Service is so fast, and the rolls are always delicious! read more

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We came over to this little sushi place quite by accident. We were actually headed for another place that was closed at the time that we were having lunch. To our surprise, this place was quite busy, but they had a table for us . This sushi is not fancy . I feel like the quality is good. The service is very quick. As far as sushi goes, it's a little bit bland for me . But if you just want decent pieces of fish. This is a good place for that. There is parking around back there's street parking but it's sketchy. There is no patio it's all inside . read more

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Killer sushi and sashimi! Super fresh THICK cut sashimi! Delicious. Fast fun servers. Lively spot. Great for friends and family. Old school. Love this place. read more

Gen Kai Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Dana Point, California

I came back here to give them another chance and I was still underwhelmed. It's disappointing to have a good sushi close to the two best resorts in Dana Point. Positive comment, it's such a cute restaurant and I did like the cucumber salad. read more

Gen Kai Sushi - Menu - Japanese Near Me - Dana Point, California

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I used to be a big fan but the food quality has really gone down hill. I ordered a couple rolls and a sushi burrito and barely ate any of it. The sushi burrito was practically all imitation crab. On top of the food quality being subpar the whole restaurant was freezing cold which made for a very uncomfortable meal. I will not be back any time soon. read more

I was really impressed with the quality of food. Service was good and the staff was nice. Everyone was smiling. I would definitely come back. read more

Really bad service I find a hair in my food I will never come back to this place .. please check your food before you eat

DANA POINT. If you're looking for a classic Japanese Sushi restaurant here you have it. No strip mall stuff here, looks like it's been around a while. Cozy Sushi Bar. Try the Yellowtail Baja Style and the Monica Roll. I closed out with dessert - Fatty Tuna Sushi and Uni topped with a Quail Egg. Not all places have fatty tuna so happy to find this place. Old school, all service orders through the Chef and the service was excellent. read more

Gen Kai Sushi - Sushi Bar - Japanese Near Me - Dana Point, California

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Went close to closing time with friends for just some nigiri and food after a surf. So much fun. Staff was VERY welcoming and accommodating. The sushi is amazing so fresh and prepared nice. If you get the plate meals they are more than sufficient for a meal. The ambiance is warm and welcoming. read more

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This spot has been around a long time, with their great reviews and locally considered "late night" hours. With good standing current reviews I chose this spot for a date night. There seemed to be a lack of organization to seating the different parties when we arrived. With service being kinda weird overall. The menu has some unique rolls and super fresh sushi. There was a large party near the tale end of their meal. The staff helped them celebrate the birthdays with the cakes that were brought in by the patrons. Seems like a really nice local spot to support! read more

Some friends and I were driving down the PCH from LA looking for a sit-down dinner restaurant with free parking. It was the time of the arts festival in Laguna and parking there was $25. Because paying for parking is contrary to our frugal lifestyles, we kept driving south, heading towards home. Every restaurant in the neighboring villages either had long waiting lines or no parking. Luckily, Dana Point was far enough away from the arts festival that we not only found a restaurant without a line, but there is free parking in the back of this restaurant! Although I have passed this restaurant numerous times, I never noticed it, so non-descript it is. It was only because one person in our party hungered for sushi that we discovered this during a Google search. It did not disappoint. Despite being close to closing time, we were joyfully welcomed. The menu selections are plentiful, with options for every price range and interest. and more options taped to the walls! My friend's sushi was good, but a little expensive (he said). My seafood kushiyaki included a lot of extras, thus seemed a good value. The restaurant seemed a little run down, but we were there for the food, which really hit the spot. Our waiter was kind, interesting, and accommodating. On the way out, we lingered at the sushi counter to marvel at what was being made. All in all, it was a very worthwhile stop, and I'll stop in again when in the area. read more

I've driven by this place hundreds of times, but I never went in until I went to a different restaurant and the sushi chef there had worked here for 32 years and moved to start his own restaurant. So I thought I would try it and I'm glad I did. Sushi is excellent the service with a young man by the name of BEN offered us excellent service. He was very attentive, right on time and had a great personality. read more

Gen Kai Sushi - Yum - Japanese Near Me - Dana Point, California

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Overall, a pretty solid sushi restaurant in Dana Point. They did a lot of things great, but their spicy tuna is a little on the bland side. They have the best crispy rice though, that I'll give them. The other rolls were doused in sauces, which is off-putting for me personally, but if you like sauced up rolls like my fiancé, this is definitely your place. The service is great and you feel like you're in a family restaurant. read more

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Favorite sushi restaurant ever. Whether sitting at the sushi bar or a table the service is always great. The quality is always 100.

Good atmosphere and value. Fresh and tasty. Ordered poki bowl and yellowtail roll for lunch. Definitely will come again for lunch.

The prices are relatively decent, but the food is not the best quality in my opinion.

Gen Kai is our family go-to for sushi. No frills, a small footprint dining area with a long sushi counter, and just polite enough staff (they remember the names of regulars but can be a bit brisk even then.) The positives are the sushi is fresh, the salads and edamame are always fresh. The restaurant makes some interesting, very flavorful sauces and some crazy menu items that look like volcanoes covered in sauce that are really delicious. Gen Kai often has interesting and unique things posted on little paper printouts around the room that they get it seasonally from the market. The things that make it less than a nicer dining experience are high noise levels, attentiveness to clearing plates could be better, menus are older - which is great for the environment but a little rough and tumble for a restaurant, the waiting room is tiny and crowded, etc. Overall, we always have a good meal, we always have a good time and we usually see people we know. It's very locals friendly and has a vibe accordingly. We will keep coming back to Gen Kai both for dine in and take out for many years to come. read more

Been in DP since the Big Bang. It's a little tired looking but it's sushi counter is always full and their dining room with a complete Japanese food menu is also very busy during lunch and dinner. read more

I got the Crying Tiger. Service is good, but always cold inside and I think they raised their prices but it's worth it because it's my fav sushi spot in OC read more

Only went here once to pick up an order. The staff were very friendly and I love how the vibe feels authentic Japanese. Food was really good too considering I am not big on sushi. read more

Possibly the best sushi in this area. Always fresh fare and reasonably priced. Highly recommended.

Went to Gen Kai Sushi after many years( we had moved away for some years). Our food was exceptional. The quality of the fish was excellent! Our sushi chef Kiyo was the best! We were so happy to see June always on top of her clients and wanting them to have the best time. Will definitely be back! read more

Gen Kai Sushi - Spanish Mackerel - Japanese Near Me - Dana Point, California

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Such a cute authentic Japanese restaurant! I love their avocado rolls, cucumber salad, miso soup, green tea... I haven't ordered anything here I didn't like! Workers are friendly and nice. read more

I haven't been back in ages and it was such great sushi! So fresh and this was such a good roll, get it every time! read more

Gen Kai Sushi - Hungry tiger roll. Wow !!!!!! It was incredible. Uki made the best roll ever.. Jake was a very nice sever - Japanese Near Me - Dana Point, California

Amazing food and amazing service. Fresh and on point always! Get there early - gets pretty busy fairly quickly and for good reason.

The sushi was great and the ambiance was good. I would highly recommend this place. I ordered the combo and I would recommend it.