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    Izakaya Okan

    4.1 (54 reviews)

    Izakaya Okan Photos

    IZAKAYA OKAN ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Intimate
    Good for groups
    Dogs allowed

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    Dessert: puddings!
    Priscilla U.

    Delicious authentic Japanese food ranging from izakaya, sushi, and dons! This restaurant is in a quaint restaurant strip, they have tons of dining seatings from small (2 people) tables to medium sized group tables. There is also bar seating if you'd prefer that. They also have a late night happy hour menu, this place is great for post-work happy hour, intimate catch up dinners, or just a casual hang out with friends. When you go in, you're greeted by the nicest staff. They're enthusiastic and they also give the best food recommendations. There are pictures all of the walls that shows you the best deals and what specials they offer. Now let's talk about the menu.. It's not an izakaya meal without a fun happy hour beverage, we got the calpico and peach drink. They both were so refreshing, fruity and not too sweet. The carbonation kicked off the meal pretty well. Gabo Salad -- this salad is super healthy and is super fiberous. It's really crunchy and fun to share, we ate this throughout the entire meal and didn't try to finish it in one go. When you squeeze the lemon, a lot of the flavors are expressed. The bottom includes more of the leafy part of the salad, don't forget to mix it in with the crunch mid way through. Tamago -- The tamago they had were really fluffy and thick, it was really flavorful and I ended up adding the radish to pair. Great source of protein Mackerel -- This has got to be my favorite dish, I would highly recommend it! I ended up ordering this to go as well. The mackerel is from Norway and the way they prepared it was smoked. It wasn't too fishy and they also had prepared home made ponzu sauce. The sear really masks the fishy smell and the fish melted in my mouth. It was so buttery! The skewers: - Chicken was really tender, this one was oen of my favorites - Pork belly, this was really flavorful and the salt/acid pairs really well. I was pleasantly surprised by how crispy this was! I added wasabi to cut the salt - Beef tongue was really chewy Salmon with Ikura Kamamenshi -- This one was the nice filler meal. It takes 30 minutes to prepare and Kamamenshi is the style of cooking their rice, it's their specialty! The ikura added a lot of flavor to this dish. We ended the meal with some dessert: - Black Sesame pudding was really light and sweet. It was a great way to wrap the meal and it tasted really unique. - They also had a pudding that tasted like flan, this one was dense and more on the sweeter end but the syrup almost tasted like a hojicha syrup that I love Overall, really well rounded meal that got me feeling really satisfied! Definitely would be coming again.

    Andrew L.

    I've been to all their restaurants in San Diego and have been a fan for all of them, so I was excited when I realized they opened one down the street from where I live now. Taste-wise I think it was exactly the same as what I remembered from Okan San Diego (though that was over 5 years ago). It was very authentic izakaya food. Maybe it's the location? Or marketing? Either way I think they deserve more people to give it a try... cuz they seemed way too empty.

    Carbonara Udon
    Raul B.

    Super low-key izakaya with cozy, hole-in-the-wall vibes! We came with a group of 5 on a Saturday night and were seated immediately. Loved the hand drawn menu items scattered over the walls, and super kind. We ordered the Japanese curry rice, curry udon, carbonara udon, Kobe beef carpaccio, and beef tongue clay pot rice. The beef carpaccio was cooked medium rare, served cold with a light soy sauce dressing, lemon, and raw onion slices. Pretty tender and super flavorful. The carbonara udon was a generous portion, and was rich and creamy from the egg yolk, bacon, and cream sauce. Tasty, but I wish there a bit more flavor. The curry udon had a great depth of flavor and richness in the broth, and the noodles were super chewy and springy. I recommend this one!

    Beef tongue skewer - more like beef jerky
    Bobby Y.

    Been wanting to try this place but unfortunately it was a giant disappointment. We ordered the following for takeout: chicken & mushroom rice - no flavor at all, was as if they forgot to season the dish altogether; there were barely any mushrooms, and the rice was hard and stale. Beef tongue skewer - overcooked and very avg taste. chicken thigh skewer - another very avg dish. Kobe beef with ponzu - decent quality and flavor, but was barely lukewarm. Egg omelette - the only solid dish we had, good texture and flavor. Creamy mentai udon - this would've been fine as the umami was goo, except it was so salty that it was basically not edible until we added a whole pack of udon noodle; could've used some of this salt in the chicken rice. Def not going back.

    Stephanie O.

    Hidden gem alert! A small cozy store front in a tiny little business strip that you cannot afford to miss! I stopped in about 40 minutes before they closed, there was one other person besides me in the shop that felt much like being back in a little Izakaya in Japan. Service was great, the time from ordering to food delivery quick, and just an overall great experience! I ordered the steamed clams, pork belly wrapped asparagus, and pork cheek (as recommended by the server). They were all a treat! The clams were cooked perfectly and the broth comforting for a chilly evening. The pork belly and asparagus well balanced and flavorful. The pork cheek was amazing! I can't wait to come back and try more items off their menu again soon!

    Tiffany Y.

    Come here for some late night happy hour bites! This place has a variety of dishes ranging from grilled, skewers, fried, fish, rice and noodles! There's something for everybody. Some standouts: - chicken skin skewer! crispy yet tender - mackerel with ponzu, super flavorful - hamachi kama - takoyaki, perfectly cooked with a nice fluffy texture - karaage - super juicy and tender! Service is quick and friendly! Even took a selfie with us haha Atmosphere is cozy since it's not a big restaurant but it feels more intimate this way. Definitely will be coming by here to try most dishes!

    Deep fried chicken gizzards
    Kelly N.

    Stopped by on a Friday night. We were the only ones there around 6:15pm. Soon it filled up but there was no wait. It's a cute little place and reminds me of restaurants in Tokyo. Service was great. We ordered the following to share between four: Takowasa Agedashi tofu Soft shell crab with wasabi salt Broiled chicken liver in chilled sweet soy sauce Deep fried chicken gizzards Gobo salad Beef tongue Potato, Cod Roe, corn & butter rice Eel rice Deluxe curry udon Deep fried chicken with green onion sauce Everything was delicious. I loved the potato, cod roe, corn & butter rice. It was so scrumptious. I have never had all together like this. The beef tongue was so tender. Chicken liver was made with love. It was nicely cooked. I enjoyed every dish we ordered. I just wish the portion was bigger. My mom complained that the eel rice was too sweet and had very little eel. I felt like it was American price with Japanese portion. But other than that, this is a definitely must try place if you love Japanese food.

    mentai butter udon
    Ashley V.

    Me and 2 friends came in on a Sunday evening at 7. A lot of dish options on the menu as well as some other dishes that weren't on the menu (you can look on the walls for additional dishes). The restaurant is small and there were 3 other parties besides ours but we noticed that the service was slow. The waiter took awhile to come take our orders and it took awhile for us to get our check. The karagae was okay, it wasn't as crispy as I would like, not something I would order again. The mentai butter udon was good but a little salty. The mentai butter udon was okay, the cream is overpowering the mentai flavor so it just tasted like cream udon. The udon noodles were average when it comes to texture.

    Chinh N.

    Found this place upon searching on Yelp for something new. It's a little hole in the wall and it definitely did not disappoint. We didn't order any ramen or udon since others whom have rated said it was not good. We ordered monk fish liver, salmon belly, this rice with broth and salmon and eel, and yellowtail collar. All was good. Fish was fresh and seasoning was on par. The salmon belly (grilled) and the yellowtail was market price which is a bit different than other places where they have a flat price...maybe is because it's fresh rather than those frozen ones you can get at restaurant depot. This is a nice spot to come for basic family Japanese food. The restaurant is a bit small and tables are jam but it's still quiet enough to catch up and chit chat without the bustling like other places. The waiters were super friendly and accommodating.

    Yellowtail collar hamachi kama
    Rosie H.

    4.5 rounding it up to 5 I missed the small parking lot for the strip mall but was able to go around the block with ease. It's located near a nail salon shop and Wahoo is nearby as well. Service was very good, they were on top of it and even brought me the Nanami Togarashi to add a bit of a kick and spice to the food. I'm Korean so this is a must and it paired well with everything that I put it on, especially the pasta. The food came out fairly quickly and they filled our water and tea regularly as we ate our meal. The restaurant is not very big but they have plenty of seating. We opted for a larger table since we were going to be ordering a bunch of food to try out. I wanted to eat things that I don't normally eat so we ate: eggplant with grated mountain potato, this was lighter than I thought it was going to be and my friend appreciated how nice it looked plated. We also got the creamy uni udon. It had a good sized amount of uni in the dish. I thought it was a bit TOO creamy, it was definitely decadent. I liked how it tasted with the Nanami Togarashi too. This I had to take home as leftovers because we had other food to eat. The pork cheek with green onion sauce tasted a bit like Samgyupsal or grilled pork belly to me. The fat just melted in my mouth. There were some pieces that were a little chewy but still edible. I've never had pork cheek before so I'm unfamiliar with the texture. The yellowtail collar was fantastic, it had a lot of meat to it and the miso black cod, well I could have eaten three orders of that by myself. I've had this before at other restaurants, but I have to say that theirs is the best thus far, the piece was bigger and fresher too. I saw later on the wall menu that they had nigiri. Y'all...you know I had to get the bluefin tuna and toro. It was a little bit on the pricier side but the pieces of fish were thicker and it was oh so tasty. I also could have ordered more but we had to stop ourselves. I'll definitely go back there for the nigiri and miso black cod. But I also want to try their other dishes like their prime beef skirt skewer, scallop skewer, takoyaki balls, and quick seared US Kobe beef with garlic ponzu. And their happy hour sounds legit!

    Yansha Y.

    Came here twice in 2 days lol!! Just randomly stumbled upon this spot when my friend & I were craving some Japanese food. And it's so good and welll priced. Sashimi was fresh, yellowtail is such a good deal here !! $10 for a small! Can't wait to try the other menu items perfect for someone who likes to try everything but doesn't want giant portions I can't finish

    Uni Scallop Carpaccio
    Christina C.

    New casual Japanese dining spot discovery in the OC. Okan took over the previous Sakanaya OC location (I am sad that Sakanaya OC is closed!). Okan has decent food, and their pricing is ok. Everything we ordered was good: Uni Scallop Carpaccio, Deep-Fried Soft Shell Crab with Salt, Hamachi Kama, and Kamameshi Beef Tongue Rice Pot. Kamameshi Rice Pot was not hot enough to create crispy rice. Staff was friendly. I would like to come back to try their Creamy Mentai Udon next time. Their Creamy Uni Udon looked nice too. They also have late night happy hour Monday through Thursdays 9pm - 10:30pm with Sapporo pitcher for $13 (original price $19). I would love to try their happy hour, but sadly, OC is too far for me on a weekday. Their reservations are available via phone or online. Corkage fee is $25 for 720mL. Hot water is $1. Hot Green Tea is $2.50. There is free parking in the strip mall lot.

    potato, cod roe, corn and butter kamameshi
    Sharon C.

    I've been wanting to try Okan for awhile ever since they announced their opening not long ago, and I finally got to try last Friday night around 6:30pm. We got seated right away, though if we came any later the restaurant would have been full since it's small with a few tables and a bar seating. They have a lot of different Japanese dishes, from noodles (udon and soba) to grilled skewers to sashimi and rice in a pot (kamameshi) so it was hard deciding what I wanted since a lot of it looked good. I ended up getting the kinpira gobo as our appetizer and the carbonara udon while my other party members got the tempura udon and the potato, cod roe, corn and butter kamameshi. The kamameshi did take longer to come because it takes 20 minutes to cook, but other than that the rest of the items came pretty quickly. The kinpira gobo was really good! I love gobo, so I can't go wrong with getting it. It was flavorful and crunchy and it also comes with carrots mixed in. My carbonara udon was surprisingly good too, it wasn't too heavy on cream (but it was still creamy) and it came with a runny egg, enoki mushroom, and bacon pieces. I finished this bowl pretty quickly, it was that good and portion size was just right. I didn't particularly like the bacon though, it tasted a bit too smoky for me. After mixing the egg in the sauce, I actually tried the sauce and it tasted like egg drop soup for some reason but it made it drinkable haha. I tried some of the tempura and it was hot and crunchy, with just enough batter. The kamameshi was a little underwhelming- I feel like the rice to topping ratio was bit more rice heavy. It had good flavor, I just wish there was a bit more of the cod roe to mix together and both me and my sister couldn't taste the butter flavor. I did like how it came with a cute spoon scooper for mixing the rice. Overall, Okan surpassed my expectations and I definitely will recommend and come back again to try their other options. Actually I was in between the mentai and carbonara udon which I chose carbonara this time, but next time I want to try the mentai. Also I would suggest looking at the specials they have posted papers in some areas of the restaurant with specific items cheaper or not on the menu (like the carbonara udon is something you can't find in the menu).

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    My wife and I visited here a couple weeks ago. We had a great dinner. The food was delicious and authentic.

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    This place could get 4 Michelin stars and it wouldn't be enough. Makes Jiro look like Claim Jumper.

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    Izakaya Okan Reviews in Other Languages

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    We went here for dinner last night before we watched Beauty and the Beast at Segerstrom. We had…read morebeen once before years ago, and the food and drinks were delicious. We loved the vibes and were excited to come back. I highly suggest you call in advance (if you're watching a show) and book a reservation. Luckily, we arrived a little after they opened and we were able to sit at the charcuterie table. Their sangrias are still the best I've ever had. However, the paella and churros were just okay. The rice was overcooked, the churros were kind of dense, and the chocolate sauce was thick. I don't remember it tasting like that before. Maybe they changed their recipe? We'd still come back to try other items on the menu and of course, their sangrias!

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    My family and I had dinner here a few nights ago and the overall experience was very underwhelming…read more It was our first time here and as we walked in, we weren't really greeted by the hostess. She didn't really have a friendly nor welcoming demeanor which kind of bummed us out but whatever maybe it just wasn't her day. We were sat inside and our table had a booth area. Well, we sat down and noticed the booth wasn't very clean and there were crumbs in the holes where buttons were missing. My 2 year old even found an earring! They should really consider deep cleaning that thing before they open. We made our way to the restroom to wash our hands and the sink had stones in it. We noticed long strands of hair in there mixed in with the stones. The cleanliness standards were lacking to say the least. The food was OK, service was lacking, probably won't be back.

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    Pet friendly

    We arrived shortly before closing, but the staff was still very welcoming and attentive. They took…read morethe time to recommend dishes and explain the menu without making us feel rushed at all. The restaurant itself is elegant, beautiful, and very clean, making it a comfortable place to dine. The food was delicious, and the portions were very generous--definitely more than enough for a satisfying meal. I really appreciated the great service and relaxed atmosphere, especially considering how close it was to closing time. Overall, a wonderful dining experience and a place I would happily come back to!

    I came here with high expectations for a joint birthday dinner. Unfortunately, I didn't love my…read moreexperience as much as I thought I would. The hosts were very not friendly. It seemed like they were in a bad mood and annoyed that they had to do their job. This wasn't a big deal at all, but it did take a little while for us to get seated, even though we had a reservation and they had called us 5 minutes prior to confirm we were coming. Granted, we were a large party, but it was kind of odd. We were also seated at two different tables next to each other instead of one long table. We were also only given 3-4 menus for a party of 15 and didn't get enough utensils at first. Our server was friendly and helpful, so I thank him for that. However, part of our party's food came out 5-10+ minutes before the rest of the party, so it was kind of awkward having to wait and the food got a bit cold. Maybe it was because they were busy, but I wish they timed the food a little better. I got the garlic noodles with filet mignon ($25). You can choose to have the meat cooked rare, medium, or well done. The taste was good, but nothing special (as I had read in other reviews). On a positive note, they did give us a complimentary appetizer (spicy wontons with shrimp) that I really liked! They also give us complimentary matcha cheesecake because we were celebrating two birthdays, so that was very nice of them. Overall, I don't believe they live up to the hype. Maybe it was just because we were a large party, but I had hoped to have had a better experience. I probably won't be back :/

    Photos
    VOX Kitchen - Fountain Valley - Carne Asada Fries

    Carne Asada Fries

    VOX Kitchen - Fountain Valley - HamachiTostada

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    Corn Ribs

    Kagura

    Kagura

    4.2(474 reviews)
    0.0 mi
    •$$

    Stopped by around 7:30 PM on a Sunday and had a great experience. There was no wait to be seated,…read moreand the restaurant has a small parking lot with enough spaces available during our visit. Soft music played in the background, and the traditional Japanese decor gave the restaurant a warm, relaxing feel. Our server was friendly and respectful, and the food came out quickly and hot. We ordered the Pork Loin Katsu Curry and the Cheese Pork Katsu. The pork loin was cooked really well, with a crispy, golden crust and a tender, juicy interior. The curry was flavorful and comforting without being spicy, making it an easy choice if you prefer a milder Japanese curry. The Cheese Pork Katsu was also excellent. The melted cheese added a creamy richness that complemented the crispy pork well. Both meals also came with miso soup, which had a clean flavor, and a side of shredded lettuce with dressing that helped lighten up the richness of the fried dishes. Overall, everything was prepared well, the service was great, and the restaurant had a welcoming atmosphere. If you're looking for a reliable spot for Japanese curry and katsu, I'd definitely recommend it and would happily come back again.

    9/27 -- 2:30 Takeout Order…read more I placed a takeout order and specifically requested extra salad dressing on the side, which I was willing to pay extra for. When I picked up my order, I even asked if the dressing was included, and I was told that they had put it in the bag. When I got home, however, there was only one dressing included. I called the restaurant to ask about it, and the employee told me that a regular takeout order does not come with dressing. If that is truly the case, does that mean the restaurant expects takeout customers to eat the cabbage without any dressing, while dine-in customers receive dressing with their meal? More importantly, if dressing is not included with takeout orders, the customer should be notified when placing or picking up the order--especially when the customer specifically asked for extra dressing and even confirmed it at pickup. I should not have to find out after getting home. On top of that, the katsu sauce container was only half-filled, despite being a 2-ounce sauce cup. Seriously? Even worse, I found a hair coming out of the sauce container, which is extremely concerning from a food hygiene standpoint. What made the experience even worse was the way my concern was handled over the phone. If you are working in customer service and someone calls with a legitimate question or complaint, there is no reason to be rude or dismissive. This was by far the worst customer experience I've had at Kagura. There were only two tables occupied when I visited, yet the restaurant couldn't even properly handle a simple takeout order. Very disappointing. The manager or owner should seriously consider providing additional hospitality and customer-service training to the lady staff. Regardless of whether there was a misunderstanding with the order, speaking disrespectfully to a customer is not an appropriate way to handle a complaint.

    Photos
    Kagura - Tables interior

    Tables interior

    Kagura - Sauce Katsu Sando | $14.95

    Sauce Katsu Sando | $14.95

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    Misokatsu

    Izakaya Okan - japanese - Updated October 2026

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