Ultra high quality Japanese/sushi/sashimi experience here in Newport. Very impressed with how authentic and well prepared everything was presented, and how delicious and fresh everything tasted. The omakase made by the chefs had a beautiful assortment of different fish with a very wide palate experience. The churashi bowls and sushi specials were delicious and well made. Individual nigiri orders were perfect, light and delicious. Sake pairing was awesome with plenty of selection depending on your budget. Servers are super friendly, kind, and courteous. Ambiance is cozy and good for small groups, friends catching up, or date night. Overall, an amazing and delicious dinner, highly recommended and would absolutely return to again. If you're looking for sushi/Japanese tonight, make a reservation and come here. read more

In my opinion, this is the best place to get sushi in Orange County -- and I've lived here for a long time. Sure, you could go to a much pricier place and get really great sushi there too, but you can't get much better value than at Nana's. Spots fill up quickly and it's a small restaurant, so it's best to show up right when they open in for their dinner hours. read more

This time we came for lunch. We had to wait to be noticed. Then we were sat down and left. It was a full five minutes later before I had to ask for a menu. We ordered a Salmon roll and a Combo A with chicken Terryaki, rice, soup, and salad. The roll came right away. The quality was good and the seaweed salad was fantastic. Then came the chicken. I bit into it and there was a cold spot in the meat. The rest was room temp but the cold spot felt like this was taken out of the refrigerator. I asked the waitress to bring me something warm to eat. She left and returned in five minutes. The chicken was like rubber. The ends were not edible. I told the sushi chef to look at the meat. I pressed down on it in front of him. It was like beef jerky. It did not taste fresh, and the small amount was $18. I don't want to be a big complainer and cause trouble for this restaurant, but I will never return to this place or recommend it to anyone I know. read more

Nana San - Sushi Bars Near Me - Newport Beach, California

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If I could give this place 10 stars I would! Freshest sushi! I know it gets packed & honestly it's worth the wait. I was lucky I had a reservation & was seated right away. It's authentic & the service is great. I would say it's not too big not too small inside. Every single thing I tried was phenomenal it's the best sushi I have had in a long time! I tried the hand rolls, nigiri, unagi, sashimi, and the lotus tempura with spicy tuna (highly recommend). The scallop nigiri was literally insane just melted in your mouth. The unagi was some of the best unagi I've ever had. I can't wait to return I've thought about this meal often! read more

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Fresh sushi and friendly service Everytime! Can be a bit hard to get a table sometimes because of the popularity but totally worth it. Also very well priced read more

I'm so happy to visit Nana San again! Through all the different sushi spots that I try, I always find myself coming back here to eat all my favorites. It was so special to try the Kanpachi Kama and go back to my favorite dish, Blue Crab Handroll. I ordered all my favorite dishes, including my favorite cut being the Japanese Red Snapper. As always, I was met by the lovely staff that helped place my name on the waitlist, those that greeted me, and others that served me and continued to make my experience special. I was seated at the bar and the sushi chef was so personable. He would create my dishes quick and with precision, never compromising on flavor or presentation. I always order extra pickled carrots on the side and he did not hesitate to present me a lovely serving of this. Coming to Nana San feels like home. With the food, people, and company, it never fails to fill my cup at the end of a long day or week. read more

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This has become our favorite place for celebration dinners because it's so delicious! We always sit at the sushi bar and order omakase. Today we had Chef Goro San. He carefully prepared each wonderful piece individually: - red snapper - rock cod - black snapper - European sea bass - Bluefin tuna - striped jack/shimaaji - finger lime on halibut - king salmon - yellowtail - kanpachi/amberjack - seared scallop - Spanish mackerel - steamed abalone - Spanish mackerel fried bones - albacore belly read more

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Nanasan's omakase is first rate. Goro is the master. We have been coming here for a decade and it's amazing. Sit at the sushi counter and order what makes you happy. Parking is plentiful. It's in a large strip mall. Everything they make is delicious. This place takes me back to our summers in Japan. The fish is fresh, the dishes are authentic, and you are transformed into a Japanese paradise when you come here. Enjoy! Happy Yelping! read more

Nana San - Sushi Bars Near Me - Newport Beach, California

Very high quality sushi. The emphasis is on Nigiri rather than rolls. There are also some cooked seafood options. Typical strip mall location. Highly recommended if you prefer Nigiri. read more

Important tip: Make sure to call ahead for a reservation. You cannot book online--reservations are phone-only. I called in the morning and reserved for 2 people at 7:30 PM. We arrived early around 6:45 PM just in case and ended up waiting about 30 minutes, getting seated around 7:15 PM. What we ordered: Deluxe Chirashi "J" Combo (tuna, yellowtail, salmon + crunchy roll - 8 pieces) Chicken Karaage Live sweet shrimp x 2 Eel x2 Toro x 2 Because it was busy, ordering took a bit of time--but I placed everything at once so we wouldn't need to keep flagging the staff later. Overall experience: Everything was visually appetizing, incredibly tender, clean, and fresh--exactly what you hope for from high-quality sushi. The fish quality and presentation fully met expectations despite the crowd. Final thoughts: This is definitely a place to save for a special occasion, as prices are on the higher side. That said, the quality makes it worth it. I will be coming back again soon. read more

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Nana San is me and my girlfriends go to for special occasions. Anniversary? We're there. Valentines? We're there. Girlfriend day? Veterans Day? We don't need any excuses to make reservations here. It's always a rush trying to get reservations for evening bar seating. It reminds me of ticket wars trying to get seats for a Stray Kids concert. If you want omakase bar seating, make sure to call at 10 AM(?) weekdays or 5 PM(?) on weekends. Getting to the food, let me put it this way: Nana San has ruined other sushi for me. Whenever me and my girlfriend try another sushi place, we always end the meal with "we should have just gone to nana San." The quality to price ratio, the selection of fish, the chefs personality are all top notch for a budget price. I can't emphasize enough how much I personally love Nana San, and this is coming from someone who used to not like sushi. The quality, service, and overall vibe of the restaurant is amazing, and I hope you are able to go and experience it yourself. read more

Nana San - Omakase nigiris ( I literally can't remember what these fish were but they are DELICIOUS) - Sushi Bars Near Me - Newport Beach, California

Nana San is our go-to feel-good sushi spot: Birthday? Nana San. The day after the wedding? Nana San. Feeling sad? Nana San will fix it. Chef Goro and Chef David are always so welcoming and make us feel at home. Their sushi is of highest quality. The rice to fish ratio is spot on. Each nigiri piece is dressed up differently with a variety of condiments/garnishes, so every bite is a surprise and a celebration of flavors. Another highlight for me is their complimentary pickled cucumber, which makes a perfectly balanced meal. As a tradition, we always ended our meal with their homemade flan: black sesame, coffee, matcha, or hojicha - you really can't go wrong with any of them. I highly recommend calling on the day of to make a reservation, or else it will be a long wait because it's a small establishment. What are you waiting for? read more

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Update on my review since the last time I was here. We came here last night to celebrate my little cousins birthday and they provided us good hospitality. The waitress and servers were very attentive and always cleared up our dishes. We ordered al la carte this time. I really enjoyed the scallop, red snapper, ocean trout, and European sea bass sushi. Super fresh! We tried the Soft shell crab hand roll and yellow tail hand roll as well, so good! Highly recommend the soft shell handroll. I had to order the shiitake crab meat, that has to be my favorite appetizer. It was delicious! read more

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Its the type of restaurant that transports you out of FUSA. For just a moment you can imagine you've escaped and you're dining in, say, Osaka. Extensive menu and beautiful service. read more

My bestie called at 10am to made reservations for us at 6pm and it was super worth it The inside is a bit small but they have plenty of tables & the bar was filled with ppl Their food was amazing! We drank sm sake that I don't remember which dishes were ordered but every single thing we ate was absolutely AMAZING the amaebi, kanpachi, king salmon, uni and hamachi was sooooooo freaking good I literally loved every single dish and I lowkey wish we ordered more so I'll definitely be back again next time to try a lot more things read more

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Been to nanasan a couple of times for lunch/dinner. Each time service was excellent. Over all thr fisj quality is excellent and balanced. Wide variety and selection. They serve an omakase that you can let them know how much or how little you d like. Over all very well priced. Would highly recommend for a return visit. read more

4.5 stars We had one of the most delicious sushi meals in recent years. With an 11:30 reservation, we were greeted warmly and sat at the sushi bar as soon as they opened. Nana San is a small and cozy restaurant with a long L shape bar which can fit 12-14 people. Some tables on the other side of the sushi bar. Service was nice and friendly. Four of us shared a variety of different nigiris, hand rolls, sashimi and tempura. Everything was super fresh, well executed and very yummy. The nigiris shared were scallops, toro, hamachi and hamachi belly. Toro was the standout (and most expensive) but all were thoroughly enjoyed. The yuzu salmon sashimi was offered in generous portion (8 pieces) marinated in a light and slightly spicy yuzu sauce, sooo good. We ordered second. Sweet Ebi was the best ever raw shrimp I've ever tasted, sweet, crunchy and pretty good size. At $23 a piece was pricy but well worth the $$. They charged additional $3.50 pp if the shrimp head is cooked in Miso soup, a little unusual; no extra charge for fried ones. We had several orders of the softshell crab handrolls, it's quite substantial and a bit mayo heavy. Not my favorite but others seem to enjoy it a lot. Tempura Mix came with three shrimps plus multiple pieces of vegetable, again well cooked, $15 was a very reasonable price. To finish the meal, we shared a couple of sesame flans, not too sweet with good sesame flavor; I'm not much of a dessert person, but liked it. We are very happy with our experience at Nana San, will definitely visit again when coming to this area next time; sure hope we lived closer. Highly recommended for Sushi/sashimi lovers. read more

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Super fresh sushi. I usually come for lunch and always try to eat at the sushi bar. Nobu-san is great and the servers are attentive. It's pretty small though, so large parties aren't recommended. read more

Absolutely delicious! I've been searching for a handroll spot for quite some time and this is by far the best I've had in awhile. The fish quality is excellent and incredibly fresh. I would definitely come back again for some hand rolls. The restaurant itself has cute authentic Japanese restaurant vibe. It's always a plus for me when I see the chefs and staff speaking Japanese. read more

Been eyeing on Nana San for awhile, missed their reservation calls a couple times, I've finally got to try out for my birthday. Nana San is such a gem of a place despite how small and local it is. I got to meet chef David, one of the coolest sushi chefs. We had couple drinks and great talk together. We got bunch of nigiri pieces along with chef's recommendations, and every bite was delicious. Every piece was really fresh, fish to rice ratio was spot on. Chef used different sauces/garnish for different cuts in order to elevate the flavor, and my favorite was the secret truffle sauce. It's really hard to find a good sushi place like this in the area when there are so many options to choose from, but Nana San was so worth it, especially at that price point. If you're ever in town and crave for sushi, this is THE PLACE! read more

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I've been coming here for years and it's one of the best sushi spots in Orange County I would say around south California. The quality of food is superior to many other places. They have 4 different types of miso soup and very fresh fish. The staff is wonderful to the hostess and chefs. Their service is amazing and very attentive always !!! Their ambiance is original Japanese style fun bar sitting and great location between Newport and Irvine. I saw some negative reviews and I want to adress them. All the bad reviews comes from people that are unable to get it at their own convenience. You have to call ahead and respect the restaurant they are always busy and full due to their amazing quality of food !!! My advice if you want to get in here you have to call ahead and be prepared in advance. 10/10 I give them for service ambiance and prices and quality. read more

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Great food and great service. I highly recommend this place. Great place to meet friends and family

I used to be a regular years ago and my last visit left me with mixed feelings. First the waitlist process doesn't make sense and is inefficient. We called the day of and was told they would call us when a table is ready starting at 6pm. By 7pm we haven't received a call yet so we make our way to the restaurant. When we arrive, they have a table open but won't sit us because there is another party who is on their way to the restaurant. Mind you we were the only party waiting. NBD we only had to wait an extra 15 minutes. Once we sit down, it took almost 2 hours to get our nigiri sushi order to fully arrive. We were a party of 3 adults and a child. Want to add 4 pieces of nigiri to our original order? That will take another 20min. No thank you. Most of the fish is fresh but was told they have Santa Barbara uni at market price. It was not fresh at all and they tried to make up for it by soaking it in sauce. Please don't charge market price for seafood that is not fresh. I'll give this place one more try by doing omakase at the bar. Maybe it was an off night even though we dined on a Saturday night. read more

Foods are fresh & delicious Good service Best sashimi & sushi in town Cozy and friendly read more

This is the only sushi restaurant I eat at. Best fish, best service. No place else compares...

Nana-San is a local sushi spot with some of the best omakase I have had. It's truly spectacular with how much care and attention each chef places in crafting each piece. I always try requesting Nana-San, who is always a joy to have as he remembers all of our preferences and feels like hanging out with a friend I have not seen in a while. The sushi pieces are super fresh and tasty, with the unique flavors of the fish being highlighted throughout. The staff is super attentive and ensures that your water and plates are filled and cleaned respectively. Be warned, the spots fill up fast, so make sure to call at 10 AM to book your spot at the bar for omakase! Overall, Nana-San is one of the best omakase spots in OC. read more

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When you are in Irvine, it's always a good decision to dine at an Asian restaurant! Tonight we chose to visit a restaurant that we have gone by a zillion times but not stopped till today! Due to rave reviews we finally stopped in to see why this was one of the best places to stop in for sushi! Tucked away in a stripped mall with Starbucks, subway and cleaners, you will find this small Japanese restaurant. A place where local and frequent guest dine! You know they are frequent guest as their name tags are on bottles of sake! And they know how to secure a reservation at this restaurant when they opened! We were fortunate to secure a seat on a Saturday night at 5:30pm. When we approached the restaurant door, people were waiting to get inside. Fortunately we had a reservation by calling the day of. Others were turned around without reservations or told to come back later at night. The employees were super friendly and accommodating upon arrival and throughout our meal. We appreciated them checking in on us throughout the meal service. As for food, all the food items we had were fresh! None of the fish seem tough or fishy. We both ordered combo dishes that featured salmon, tuna, eel and more. We also order some additional sushi to try some of the specials for the day. At the end they provided us with a palette cleaner sweet and some hot green tea. A perfect finish for our meal! After a great experience we will be back! From our first experience we learned that reservations is important and that they are closed on Sunday! Enjoy! read more

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Nice quality, authentic. Soft shell crab roll was bomb. Very small quaint place. Waitress was so sweet. read more

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Stopped by today for a lunch omakase and again Nana San left me impressed! For the price - this is probably the best fish I've had in SoCal. Had a 10 piece omakase with a blue crab hand roll. Forgot what I had but their scallops and live shrimp were unreal Absolutely satisfied A++++ read more

Top 3 sushi place in Orange County. Sushi is fantastic. Tender fresh and melts in your mouth. This place is always busy and you need to call ahead to make a reservation. Only same day reservations though. But if you do, you will get a spot. All cuts are great. I usually just get the nigiri for good sushi places like this. Nothing fancy, just really good food. read more

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I can no longer gate keep this place... jk I don't know what took me so long to review. Long story short my husband and I tried omakase here 2 years ago. It was the BEST we ever had. We made our efforts to try a lot of other places for omakase but we kept comparing them to nana san. The only gripe is of course no reservation, they only take calls 10:30 am the same day. But it is worth it I promise. Red snapper here is sooo good a must try! Our favorite is the nigiri sushi, we tried other items that were good (salmon skin salad, shishito peppers, double salmon roll) but the STAR is the fresh nigiri. Fave nigiris include red snapper, black cod, scallop, sweet shrimp raw (with miso soup), yellowtail, toro read more

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Family-style sushi place, an absolute must-visit for simple, delicious omakase. Everything about this place was amazing. The food and service, are top-notch! I would recommend calling ahead before you come and asking if they have space at the sushi bar. It was a steal for omakase, especially for the quality of the fish. It reminds me of more classic omakase where the chef just makes different pieces until you are full. You are also able to request specific fish to try or have your favorites again. In my experience, they'll usually serve you 12 pieces and then allow you to request more if you'd like. I will be recommending this spot as it is great value omakase! read more

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Nana San has one of the most reasonably priced omakase (chef's choice) experiences with top quality sushi. Nori San was our sushi chef, and he did such an awesome job making a wide variety of delicious and flavorful dishes. You can let him know if there are certain items you definitely want or don't want, and he will customize the experience for you. There is no set number of pieces. Just tell him to stop when you are getting full. We had the following plates: - Rock Cod, Red Snapper, Ocean Trout - Black snapper, European sea bass, King salmon - blue fin tuna, scallops from Hokkaido, Aji Spanish mackerel - live sweet shrimp sushi and soup - black cod, albacore belly, amerjack - Stripped jack, giant clam, firefly squid - soft shell crab hand roll - jello dessert read more

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Good sushi. Very simple presentation and taste depending on what is ordered, but the fish is fantastic. Extremely fresh. The fish-to-rice ratio is also solid. Probably my new favorite sushi joint in the area. While not cheap, it is very "affordable" for sushi. They take day of reservations! read more

I was fortunate to find the opportunity to visit Nana San after having heard about it for a couple of years. In my first attempt, I missed out not knowing that their approach to serving you requires timing as they don't take reservations and placing your name on the waiting list before being seated. My timing worked on this occasion as I arrived about the time the first wave of customers are finishing and was able to get a table. To start, there appears to be a regular clientele at Nana San and usually arrive at 5:30 to get onto that list. You will notice that it is busy . . . and for good reason. The service is very good and their fish quality (this occasion was Sushi night) was good as well. The décor is unassuming and is what you would find in most established Japanese restaurants that are focus on traditional menu items. Not too large and not to small making it about right to eat alone or with a small group. My choices started with an array of Sushi that included King Snapper, Hamachi, Shima Aji, and seared Salmon. The portions are good with a few local accents of sauces that added to the draw to Nana San as a sushi destination for enthusiasts. For the next round, I chose a spicy tuna handroll which was pretty traditional. If I had a suggestion, perhaps a little more spicy sauce would have jazzed it up a bit. I finished with Scallops and Aji sushi. These items were very good. Nana San appears to have a following for good reason. The prices are very good to go along with the quality of their Sushi. Fresh and well portioned with a group of staff that is ready to get you what you need. On this occasion, I arrived around 7:00 to get a spot for the second wave. After I was seated, I noticed a steady stream of customers who had to wait a bit before being seated. My suggestion to you is to time your arrival wisely to slide in between the different dinner crowds. Sitting at the Sushi Bar requires an entirely different strategy as I didn't see one person leave the entire time that I was there. Solid spot that would appeal to those Sushi lovers and those who are looking for legit Japanese cuisine. Good luck! read more

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The sweet shrimp was our favorite - asked if you wanted the shrimp heads to be fried or made into miso soup. Fish and scallops were fresh and they were made with fresh rice too. The soft shell crab roll was a little too mayo forward but everything else was very tasty. Good place for fresh sushi! read more

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Came here for the omakase, which did not disappoint. Great food, masterfully made, and excellent service. Not much ambiance, but here it's all about the food. read more

Nana San is a very small restaurant located in the middle of a strip mall. They only take reservations the day of, starting 10am. It looked like there was a lot of available table seating but the sushi bar is harder to get. We had omakase with Chef Nori and asked him to make whatever he thought we would enjoy. We enjoyed in order: 1. Yuzu Yellowtail 2. Oyster 3. Conch 4. Japanese Red Snapper 5. European Sea Bass 6. Ocean Trout 7. Blue Fin Tuna and Toro 8. Scallop 9. Shimaaji 10. Salmon Roe 11. Monk Fish Liver 12. Sea Eel Every single dish tonight tasted absolutely divine. My favorite being the first dish he served us, the Yuzu Yellowtail. The yellowtail was so fresh and smooth and the citrus flavor was the perfect cherry on top. Overall, the flavor of everything we had was fresh, balanced, and paired perfectly with all parts of the meal. I really want to say thank you so much Chef Nori for this excellent meal and the wonderful service. This was by far one of the best omakase experiences I've had and I truly look forward to my next visit here! read more

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Best sushi hidden spot in Irvine! Gotta call at 10am to book at table but its worth it. Friendly staff and high quality food, will definitely be back! read more

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first impression is authentic sushi restaurant. It is small and cozy. The customers seems to be having a wonderful time sitting at the sushi bar and having drinks with the chefs. We ordered all the sushi that we liked and they were very fresh. I especially enjoyed my salmon skin handroll. . As a lot of japanese restaurants don't make it the way they used to be. And the tempura is also a must try. It's crispy and tasty. This is a must go sushi restaurant if you are in Irvine. Highly recommended! read more

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