Kabuki is gone, so this restaurant is now the new sushi spot. HOWEVER, no matter how much you're craving sushi, I would recommend you not waste your money here. It was a very pricy meal (with no alcohol) for sushi that I wouldn't eat if someone paid for my dinner. The slices of fish on the nigiri are laughable, and the rolls are so mushy due to the amount of soft rice and mushy crab meat. The restaurant itself has a nice atmosphere with indoor and patio seating for people watching. However the food, down to the quality of the sushi rice, is simply not good. read more

Had chirashi ($28) & sashimi platter ($28). Not fresh at all, not sushi rice, and too much rice. The sashimi platter didn't come w/ rice, but had pickled cucumbers... read more

Robata Wasa - chirashi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Irvine, California

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Was kind of shocked they gave us a bento box in a paper/plastic box (microwaved)? Sushi was good. The beef udon was exceptional. read more

Robata Wasa - Bento in (plastic) box - Sushi Bars Near Me - Irvine, California

Bad service and mediocre food. I really wanted to like this place, especially since the atmosphere and interior decor were very inviting and elegant. However, that was the end of our positive experience. The sushi was decent, but the chicken and salmon teriyaki were flat out bad- very dry and under seasoned. On top of that, our waiter pretty much vanished after we got our food, and only after flagging him down and walking over to him could i stop him to get the check. This is at best a strip mall sushi counter quality of food, and to charge $30-$35 for these bento boxes is an outright scam. Very disappointing. read more

Robata Wasa - Sushi Gozen Bento Makunouchi Deluxe Bento - Sushi Bars Near Me - Irvine, California

Had the worst experience there! If you want to waste your time, put your name in their waiting list, and you'll see that people who walk-in after you will be seated before you (same party size) !!!! read more

I have never had such flavorless sushi in my entire life. We ordered the scallop crudo and tai & Fuji apple carpaccio. The presentation was nice but if I closed my eyes, it would be equivalent to tasting nothing at all. Very disappointed. The spicy tuna with crispy rice was good and just about the only thing that kept me a bit satisfied with my meal. Sorry, I would never recommend or go back. read more

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I try to not leave negative reviews at places but I felt the need to here. Me and my boyfriend ate there Tuesday at around 4pm, we got the Salmon and Lemon Pepper roll and the Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice. That night we both we woke up at 4am with intense vomiting. I had to leave work to go to urgent care and get IV fluids because I was so dehydrated and sick. Me and my boyfriend are still extremely sick and missing work due to this. I do not recommend. read more

The food is delicious, fast service, cozy atmosphere, we had a great time. Only one concern is a waiting time.

Perfect sushi, friendly server and good atmosphere. I highly recommend this place! My favorite sushi was Lobster . read more

Robata Wasa - Inside bar - Sushi Bars Near Me - Irvine, California

Recommend the squid ink uni cream pasta! We were shown to our table quite quickly on a Saturday night for dinner and the server was very attentive. + There is a waiting room outside. The interior of the restaurant is very pretty and classy. read more

Robata Wasa - Squid Ink Uni Pasta - Sushi Bars Near Me - Irvine, California

Not the first time I've been back but I wanted to say that the mushroom salad is amazing. I'm not a mushroom type of gal so I was really surprised that I not only ordered this salad but I liked it too. No pictures because everything I have is a selfie or a video. read more

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This was my first time at Robata Wasa but it definitely did not disappoint. We ordered salmon, tuna belly, yellowtail, scallop (forgot some of the other names) and it was amazing. The fish was so fresh yet so flavorful! I also ordered uni pasta and it was alright. Not enough uni and too creamy. But I would definitely come back again! Thank you for the good service and amazing food! read more

Robata Wasa - Sushi Bars Near Me - Irvine, California

Ordered a 25 dollar bento box and it came in a paper box taped to the table. The tape didnt seem to work as my box kept moving. And all of the food in it was pretty average. I can imagine the "kurabota sausage" reminiscent of a fried vienna sausage right now, and the salmon was the size of two quarters. Shrimp was overcooked and wouldnt peel from the shell. A lot of lukewarm rice. If you care about flavor I'd suggest Taiko. If you want a nice ambience go here. Besides that Jae was a great host :) read more

It's a very beautiful restaurant, good variety of food but not too many specialty sushi rolls but the apps they had were great! service was good and staff was friendly. I'd def go back again and try other things on the menu. read more

Sushi was very good! We got the roll that came out on fire. Delicious and exciting! Would recommend

Our group decided on a sushi night get together at this place and I'm so glad I went because wow. For starters, it's a very chic ambiance overall. Classy. Clean. Modern. Definitely a cliche spectrum touch but with absolutely delicious features. We were seated outside and there's comfortable space between the tables. All staff were wearing masks and gloves. Restaurant cleanliness was good, as was their bathroom. The service was friendly and the food arrived in good time, though the volcano rolls took a bit longer, but when they got to the table, it was clear why. The volcano roll is literally on fire -- as well as in flavor. It's flaming on the sides to toast the outer edges of the roll and give it this crunch and caramelized flavor. Damn, I'm drooling just writing this. It had a soft spicy kick but nothing someone with minimal spice tolerance can't handle. I personally love the spice and enjoyed the jalapeños on top. Everything tasted remarkably fresh and clean and incredibly flavorful. I also ordered the salmon lemon roll and wad thoroughly impressed by it. They do offer soy paper for anyone who can't eat seaweed (like yours truly) and I was grateful for that. The rolls here are also a bit bigger than other places so you will fill up on them for sure. I'm already planning my next trip there because it was THAT good. I highly recommend it. Great date and social spot for sure! read more

Robata Wasa - Volcano Roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Irvine, California

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My daughter planned a family lunch for Father's Day. I had been interested in something like inked pasta with sea urchin and I ordered it. It had a "hint" of sea urchin and I couldn't deny it contain sea urchin. It was not salty but lack of sea food flavor, though the pasta was made with squid ink. I rated it C-. My daughter ordered a place of sushi roll with crab meat and avocado. She rated it D. My wife ordered scallops with cucumber and jalapeño, she didn't like it. So as a garbage eater - I ate a couple of prices. The combination of those three did not go well at all. I didn't see a chef but I guess he/she can't have an experience of J style cooking. So I rate them 2 stars. Oh I almost forgot to write; there were several dogs eating in the restaurant and I didn't feel I was in a restaurant but a pet shop. read more

Server was ok and the patio is very nice, with heat lamps. Here's what I didn't like: 1. Overpriced and embellished. You pay for the ambiance. Food wasn't good. 2. Sushi smelled and tasted fishy. That's concerning. It wasn't good either. 3. My daughter ordered the Robata (?) which is a tiny kebab. It was $5.50 and so tiny! We had to order two more for her, and she isn't a huge eater. Posted a pic next to my hand for size reference. 4. The food came scattered. My husband and daughter got their food. We assumed the rest would follow. 5 min later my toddler's chicken arrived. 15 min later, my son and I got our sushi. Three of us were done and two of us hadn't even gotten our food. I complained to our server and was offered no compensation. A decent restaurant would offer a complimentary dessert or take a meal off of the check. Or at least offer a discount for the next visit. Nothing. 5. All chicken here is dark meat, thighs. All of it. I understand some think that dark meat is tastier, but not everyone likes it. Having a white meat option is a good decision. 6. We asked three times for the heaters to be turned on. They only turned on one of the two above us. It was chilly. I reminded our server about the second heater again and he said he would turn it on, and never did. I don't think we will return. Negatives outweigh the positives. read more

The food has potential. Albacore and blue crab for example, would have been great if u put something else instead of shishito pepper on it to blow any trace of flavor out of the water. The restaurant should also try to get rid of the flies. Again, it's got potential. But as it stands, 3 star is generous enough. read more

Came for the dish -when Uni Meets Crab, it was pretty good. The sweetness of uni and crab very balanced together. We also ordered the crispy tiger shrimp, which was a ok for me. The shells of the shrimp were very hard to peel. They just stick together... for my preference, the shrimps weren't crispy enough. The Chirashi Don was the worst part.. I couldn't even finish the sashimi. The quality of tuna was so bad..fishy.. even the one from Japanese super market is better.. Overall, good ambiance..below average food. read more

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My experience at Robata Wasa was one of the worst experiences I have ever had at a restaurant to say the least! First off, the manager or owner who happened to take over the duties of my party's original server was an incredibly rude and bad-mannered towards my group. For instance, whenever my party or I attempted to simply call him or ask for his assistance, he [his name was Danny] would simply ignore our requests despite the fact that he was around 4 feet away from our table [and this was when Danny would stand around our table, and not attend to another party]. More over, whenever this certain Danny did regrettably comeover to our table, he would stand 4 feet away from our own table, and given that he would wear a mask [in an undeniably busy restaurant] it definitely seemed as though he was making every opportunity to rudely interact with my group and I, so that he could create an excuse as to not hearing our requests. Also, my entire party and I were wearing masks as well, so this is definitely not a case of health safety. Interestingly, it seemed as though this initial behavior began when he asked my party for drinks, to which we replied with water [my group and I do not drink alcohol]. Thus, following this initial interaction, he immediately changed his behavior towards my party and became extremely Condescending towards us. What is incredibly interesting is the fact that my group noticed his behavior towards every other group who did in fact order alcohol, and this same individual was gregarious with these people, yet when my group did not order alcohol, this manager or perhaps owner engaged with us in an incredibly unprofessional and Condescending manner. It is as though, this individual was discriminating against our group for our Beverage preferences, yet this same individual should understand that different people have their own religious beliefs and dietary restrictions, thus if a certain people do not simply want to drink alcohol, they should be free to do so without expecting some repercussion in terms of rude behavior. Especially when my group had spend hundreds of dollars at Robata Wasa. By the way, my party and I were Muslim, so it really makes me think how other muslim parties are treated by Danny and the rest of the management team, so I certainly would not recommend any Muslim in coming to Robata Wasa unless they want to be treated at a sub-par level compared to their alcohol-buying peers. And FYI, my group and I ordered nearly $100 in food and appetizers at this establishment, so this is not a case of simply ordering very little and the manager being upset with us. Rather, my group and I spent a great deal amount of money at Robata Wasa, yet we're treated like utter garbage for simply not buying alcohol. It's simply hilarious, that one is looked down and treated like trash for simply wanting to only enjoy a non-alcoholic food experience. Speaking of the sushi, it was rather ordinary, and did not live up to the hype of the uber sophisticated vibe of the whole restaurant. HEALTH ALERT: as my party and I were exiting the restaurant a few of us unfortunately managed to spot a rather unfavorable site: a gray mouse was scurrying around the door of the establishment to the utter disgust of a few people there. So it truly begs the question as to how dirty this place truly is. Thus, the sushi at Robata Wasa is truly overrated, the manager or possible owner of the establishment was an incredibly rude and unprofessional (not to mention Condescending) because my party and I didn't want to buy alcohol. And the spotting of a mouse at the restaurant have all together led me to writing this review. I would not recommend this place towards any individual [especially non alcohol drinking individuals] unless they want to be treated like garbage by the management of the restaurant. PS: My party's original serving team were incredibly professional individuals and did not contribute to my distasteful experience. Rather when Danny showed up [who either owns the restaurant, or manages it], my experience went to hell. :) read more

went here for a quick snack before we drive back home to norcal, the receptionist seated us by the aisle but my bf asked if we can sit by the booth just across it, she just said they need to wipe the table and the server came and asked us politely if we would like to be seated there and she will wipe the table for us, it seems like the receptionist doesn't want us to sit there and my bf doesn't want to be difficult. as for me i prefer the booth and thankful for the nice waitress sage to clean it for us. I won't complain if the place is packed but at this hour its not, unfortunately no available bartender. service is fast though and food is great as well, really enjoyed the brussel sprouts and the carpaccio tasting platter. loved the spot and ambiance. would be back if we are in the area again. read more

Robata Wasa - carpaccio tasting platter brussel sprouts Shishito Pepper and lunch bento box - Sushi Bars Near Me - Irvine, California

Best sushi I've had in a restaurant. I can't wait to go back. Timely service, good ambiance mix between families, couples and more. Full service bar with tasty strong cocktails. read more

Ambiance and cleanliness are excellent. But that's it. I ordered two different specialty sushi rolls and both were subpar... fishy tasting and chewy. (I was so afraid I was going to get sick). I ordered 2 specialty sushi rolls, and my son had 1 order of tempura shrimp and some fried chicken, but I was completely done with my lunch before his order came out. The selection is very limited, and way overpriced!! I go to Kabuki on the other end of the mall all the time and there's so many more options at better prices. I'm super disappointed in this place and won't be back. read more

Robata Wasa - Spicy tuna special roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Irvine, California

This place is a 4 out of 5 on good but plus one for ambience. It has a $$$$ feel but $$ price. Great value and the Robata platter for $16 is a ridiculous good value. Their sashimi platter shown is only $28. That's a bargain for that quality of sashimi. I love this place and people are sleepin on it. read more

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Ordered takeout and loved it!!! The food here is amazing and the ladies over the phone are great. It was my first time ordering from here for our Family Night and when I called to place an order and asked the lady over the phone for recommendations, she kindly gave me her top 3. She was also patient as I made my decision on what to order. We ordered the bento box and 2 different types of soup, it was amazing!!! My husband said that it was the best noodle soup he's ever tasted!! And we take our food seriously!!! Can't go wrong with this place. read more

We were glad we gave Robata Wasa a try! The food was delicious, and we were left very full for what we paid. Our server was delightful, and make sure we didn't order more food than we needed. We loved how fresh our rolls tasted as well as the presentation of our Volcano roll- what a great value! read more

Robata Wasa - Volcano Roll! - Sushi Bars Near Me - Irvine, California

Love this spot in the Irvine spectrum! You gotta try the Shishito peppers, they are delicious. The sushi is pretty good and they have a good amount of appetizer options. Indoor and outdoor seating! read more

Unfortunately this place didn't do it for my husband and I :( Front desk staff had bad customer service kinda looked like he just wanted to go home and take a nap! Table service was good our waitress was very sweet but our food came Out very late and one of our sushi's didn't come at all.. I haven't been here since pre-COVID and I remember the food being sooo much better but the quality has really gone down.. I had a stomach ache at the end of my meal read more

Sushi was unbelievably fresh and service was incredibly fast with nice people. I really loved their food and the restraunt was absolutely the best one i've been to read more

Modern contemporary with an open air kitchen. The setting is semi traditional but still keeping the feel of casual dining. Small menu with more than a few surprises. Start with a slice of their matcha dessert cheesecake. An airy mousse like consistency that still had a smooth texture heavily sprinkled with a nice dose of matcha. The satsuma sweet potato is another dessert like gem. Roasted in brown butter glaze then drizzled with sweetness to balance out the sweet potato's bold flavor. When uni meets the crab. This little cold appetizer was a winner that left me wanting more. Blue crab,minced shallots,caviar and uni.Need I write more? The uni toast was also amazing.Two lightly toasted rectangles topped with brie and uni with shreds of seaweed to add a salty aftertaste to compliment the uni.A nice array of hot and cold tapas made this dining experience a sure winner. The service was good and I recommend reservations on the weekends. They have a inside outside bar area also.And that's my take on it,Peace read more

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I went on a Saturday afternoon for lunch and had no problem getting seated. The place is pretty big and has plenty of seating. The dishes were presented beautifully but didn't blow me away. The shishito peppers were probably my favorite - they are served in a tasty garlic sauce. We also got the Volcano roll which we expected to be full of flavor and spicy, and it wasn't spicy at all. I would still go back though to try other things! read more

Robata Wasa - Angel Hair Roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Irvine, California

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One of my fav Japanese restaurants. I've been several times since they've opened and each time I'm super impressed. I'm surprised by the low ratings for Robata Wasa and really disagree with anyone who has said that this is just another overpriced fancy Japanese place. (I hate those types of places!) The food here is always excellent and the decor is absolutely beautiful as well. Service is good too and the last time I dined here I had a manager check on our table twice. Everything I've tried here has been super yummy! Just look at my pics, yummmy! Especially their black cod, every time it's buttery and tender and sooo flavorful. The lunch bento is honestly a steal. It's 3 items for $24. That might sound steep but if you get cod, sashimi, and ribs, it's actually such a good deal. It comes with steamed egg, salad (with good quality lettuce, not just some iceberg lettuce!), miso soup, and perfectly steamed rice. For dinner I'm a big fan of the yuzu miso trio and the US wagyu ribeye steak. Both are excellent in terms of flavor and presentation. I've tried some cocktails here as well and they've all been good. All in all I've never had a bad experience here and am super impressed with Robata Wasa. Definitely recommend! read more

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Best cocktail experience ever! Corey at the bar was on point! Craft Cocktails to Perfection!! Corey is a talented mastermind!! Also the Brussel Sprouts were delicious. Definitely will come back. read more

Robata Wasa - Best Moscow Mule Ever!! - Sushi Bars Near Me - Irvine, California

Service was great but the food.... Was not so much. The udon tasted more like seaweed soup, had to add a lot of red peppers to make it And the bento box was lackluster. read more

My boyfriend and I were shopping at the Apple Store right next door so we decided to check this place out. We both really like Japanese Cuisine and were excited to see what this place had to offer. First thing we noticed right when we walked in was the ambiance: they definitely spent A LOT of money on the interior as the place was decked out in numerous pieces of art. Their sake glass chandelier right above the bar was spectacular. We chose to be seated at a booth, but they do offer seating outside as well. We came in on a Saturday night right around 5:30pm so it wasn't too packed yet. Within 1 minute of sitting down we were greeted by our server, Alen. We told him it was our first time here and he graciously offered to go through the menu for us. A couple customer favorites he mentioned: Salads: Chicharron Salmon Skin salad and Sashimi Salad Appetizers: Uni Meets Crab, Tempura Brie Cheese, Carpaccio Tasting Plate Entrees: Squid Ink Uni Pasta, Sashimi Platter, Grilled Wagyu Steak I've eaten at alot of Japanese restaurants over the years so I wanted to try some familiar staples first to see if the food was up to par; we decided to go with the Squid Ink Uni Pasta and a Chirashi-don. These were 2 items that most if not all higher-end Sushi places have on their menu. We put our order in, and that's when we noticed people starting to pile through the door. Luckily our food took only around 10 minutes to come (my biggest pet peeve is waiting for food) and we started digging in. Now for the food: Squid Ink Uni Pasta: SPECTACULAR. The portion was decent enough for 2 people to be able to try it. If one of us only ate the Uni Pasta, we would have been full for sure. The uni sauce was creamy but also not heavy on the palette. There was ikura (salmon roe) mixed in with the pasta, and Alen mentioned to us that the uni was from Santa Barbara (which is the best place to get Uni from other than Japan) so that was a nice thing to know. 9/10. Very good. Chirashi Don: This was served into wooden square box instead of the traditional donburi box that most sushi restaurants had, didn't bother me at all because there was a wide selection of fish displayed. A miso soup also came with the Chirashi don. This wasn't anything that blew me out of the water, but it was a very healthy portion size for the price and it didn't disappoint. It was an assortment of 12 diff fish cut sashimi style layered on top of sushi rice. 7.5/10 Alen came over to our table and asked us how we were feeling with the food, and if we would like to order anything else. We were actually starting to get full (the portions were pretty big) but we wanted to try their robata. He recommended the Robata Lobster Tail, so we went with that. This one took slightly longer to make it to our table. about 15 minutes, which is completely understandable. Lobster has to be slowly roasted or you risk overcooking it. The lobster tail was served on a round plate, and you could smell the roasted garlic butter immediately. For the price range this is a little on the higher end ($28) but it was absolutely delicious. The lobster meat was roasted to perfection and there was the option of sprinkling additional shichimi powder on top if you wanted to add spicy. 8/10 Overall this place definitely satisfied our cravings and we would love to be back! We weren't able to try anything from their cocktail list but we will check those out next time. The service was so good I personally tipped him 30% because of his great recommendations and ability to speak Chinese Wait: 8/10 Ambiance: 10/10 Food: 9/10 Service: 10/10 read more

Robata Wasa - Sushi Bars Near Me - Irvine, California

It's a decent restaurant ambience is really nice, everybody is welcoming and accommodating, and quick service too.! Ordered angel hair sushi and the classic california roll both are good my wife ordered the udon and she really likes it. Nice place for sure will be back! read more

This spot has become a weekly favorite! Their menu has so many choices that you can never get bored. Their miso soup is always perfectly done and their baked salmon roll is out of this world. The rolls are always done perfectly and the garlic edamame is so addicting. When you order sake, you get to pick out your own cup too which I loved! The staff here is so friendly as well, 5 stars all around! read more

Robata Wasa - Sushi Bars Near Me - Irvine, California

Fresh, delicious sashimi plater and sushi rolls and bento box with good quick service of food and drinks....great Father's Day lunch!

Great food. The menu has many options to pick from. Very tasty and the staff is knowledgeable and can answer any questions on may have. Love sitting outside and people watching while enjoying my food. read more