This place used to be our go to family dinner on Friday nights but something has changed. Even before the covid shutdown they reduced their menu. There are a very few items offered from the Robata part, which defeats the purpose of the name. Food is still good but the specialized menu items are gone. They didn't have Uni or salmon belly the past few times we stopped in. read more

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Chicken Karage, a side of radish, and a small bowl of rice. It's the simple things in life that satisfy me, especially when they are consistently satisfying. This is why I make Robota Wasa my home away from home most nights. Their spectrum of radiant flavors alone would be enough to encourage me to come back. The thing is, as delicious as the refreshing Cucumber Salad, mouth-watering Wagyu Steak and melodic tanginess of the Salmon Citrus, it is the customer service that satisfies my palate the most. For such a classy decadent interior as it has, I expected a particular type of stuffy vibe but instead I was welcomed by a soft smile and warm greeting from the manager, Silvia. Her words landed genuine as she asked me about my day and led me to my seat. It was then, seated at the marble-esque countertop that I was greeted by Yumi, the beating heart of Robota Wasa and Cory, the gentleman, wise mind, and master bartender. It is here, after such an impressionable welcome, that my night begins to get warmer. The barside beams with life, where friends, and interesting conversations with even more interesting people gather to slow down from their long sighs and tedious days at work to find rest and a good time. When your afternoon feels a little too busy or your evening a little too heavy, take a trip to Irvine Spectrum for remarkable food, lively staff and a memorable time at Robota Wasa. read more

Robata Wasa - Sushi Bars Near Me - Irvine, California

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Drinks here are amazing!! Shout out to the bartender!! They had a really good old-fashion. The wait was for 2 was around 15 minutes on a Friday night at 7PM. You can order drinks while waiting for your table. Service is stellar. Once our table was ready, our bartender was gracious enough to bring all our drinks and water to our table - the little things go a long way. Decor at the bar is cute with sake bottles lights. Let's get to the food. Spicy tuna crispy rice and spicy sashimi chips was soooo goood! Order the volcano roll - the presentation is pretty cool. If you order single sushi and sashimi it's a bit on the pricer side so it's better to order the sashimi or sushi platter to try different fishes. We ordered the sashimi platter and it was sooo goood!! Sushi was very fresh I saw they do allow you to bring your dogs, but outside patio only - there's heaters to keep your furry friends warm. read more

Robata Wasa - Sushi Bars Near Me - Irvine, California

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I have a love/hate relationship with fancy Asian restaurants. More often than not, the food doesn't justify the cost because you can usually find something comparable for less. Value aside, a lot of Asian places also haven't trained their staff in the nuances of good service. Walking into Robata Wasa I felt like this would be another exercise in high shine and low substance. I'm so glad to be wrong! Robata Wasa serves up creative, delicious dishes that can be described as Japanese but more broadly "modern Asian." Many of the tapas style dishes incorporated Vietnamese, Chinese and Korean cooking styles. We ordered: Hamachi Serrano $13 - Fresh Hamachi topped with pickled beets and a nice citrus sauce. This plate is a good starter to wet the palette. Salmon Tartare $9 - surprisingly creamy and spreads nicely on bread. This was a nice interpretation of steak Tartare. Creamy Crab Croqette $10 - this reminded me so much of the Chinese Taro balls you get at dim sum. This dish was nicely fried and the taro flavor worked well with the crab. Japanese Spring Roll $12 - think Vietnamese fresh spring roll but replace the shrimp with fresh tuna. This roll had a lot of texture and taste. The sweet and sour sauce pairing seemed a little out of place but tasted good. Robata Beef w/Garlic $6.50/skewer - seasoned well and served at the right temperature. Robata Pork Belly with Pepper $5.50/skewer - surprisingly spicy peppers but pretty tasty nonetheless. Our waitress was attentive and efficient. I can't say the same for the male host who completely ignored us when we walked. We came on a slow night but they get really busy on the weekends so plan ahead. This place is solid and definitely recommended. read more

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This place is too good for the price of food we got. Though without reservations we waited for 40 minutes, it was worth it. We had a good sit looking out the people passing by with their pets and perfect server. We didn't quite know what to order but our server gave us great recommendations which was amazing!! The squid uni pasta was excellent and so rich. The salmon with truffles was nothing like I've tasted before. We loved every bite of our food and incredibly satisfied with overall quality and quantity of the food. As far as customer service, our server Apple was the best and being treated with patience and great service constantly checking up on us was over 5 stars on my book. We are definitely coming back to try the other dishes and will brag about this place to others! Keep it up!! read more

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

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First time at Robata Wasa! Food was awesome, service was amazing as well. Our server Parker was very attentive and helpful. The rolls were good; recommend it. read more

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

Had Saturday lunch here recently. Great place. Loved both inside and outside (patio). Been here before but first time ever since COVID. I ordered RW Sushi Platter and loved it. Their Sushi Bento and Deluxe Bento were good too overall. But I would not order bento again if eating at the restaurant. Did not like their paper box. read more

Robata Wasa - RW Sushi Platter - Sushi Bars Near Me - Irvine, California

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$8 for 4 pcs of gyoza?! Decent food but does not live up to the atmosphere of the restaurant. On par with most hole in the wall sushi places. Skip it! read more

My absolute favorite sushi place!!!! If you're ever at the Irvine spectrum, this place is a must try! First of all, the overall ambiance of this place is just so chic and beautiful. Perfect for a first date. They have a wide selection of tapas and sushi. The uni pasta is my absolute faaaavorite! Sooo good :) I also love the tempura Brie cheese, so good.. perfect to pair with your favorite wine. The service here always delivers as well. The servers are both attentive and friendly! I haven't been able to come back to eat here since COVID but I am hoping to come back very soon. read more

Very long wait to get a table. Service was slow. Food was good but the long wait for a table put us in a sour mood. We do not intend to return to this dining establishment. read more

Overpriced for bad food that obviously cut corners. I've never thought "wow, that was bad" on Japanese rolls anywhere until now. It's hard to get lemon + seared salmon rolls wrong, but this one had no trace of lemon; seared salmon was cold; even the rice was cold; the food had no flavor whatsoever. If I wanted tasteless refrigerated rolls full of rice and little else, I would have saved my money and gone to a deli section of a grocery store. read more

It was cool and interesting the last time we came here for dinner. We only wanted good food, so we avoided all the typical sushi and ramen, and only ordered the "unique" ones that were recommended by other yelpers. We liked the food even tho it was kind of like expensive finger food. My favorite is uni meets crab, good but its like an appetizer for one. So we wanted to try this place again tonight. We asked for patio seating and the restaurant was pretty empty on a Friday night. However we were refused service because they do not allow our 5lb little puppy in their patio. The whole Spectrum is a dog friendly mall, and restaurants are dog friendly in their patios. Maybe your restaurant shouldn't be in the Irvine Spectrum if you can't be a part of the culture here. By the way, what was your happy hour specials again? read more

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I don't mind the waiter forgetting our order since we have a lot of people. However, we ordered Matcha Colada, yet they gave us the wrong drink and called it Matcha Colada. I ordered the deluxe bento box, and more than 80% of the dishes were chill and not hot. When we complained to the manager, he replied, "so what do you want me to do" before we could finish our sentence. We did not yell or be rude as we made the complaint. Overall, I do not recommend this place. The price is ok, but the food and service quality do not match the price. Many more Japanese restaurants around the price have much better food and price. read more

Highly recommend. The food here is high quality and really unique and tasty. Also for the price it's so worth it. I feel like most of the Japanese food in orange county is just okay unless you're shelling out the big bucks but this place isn't going to break the bank. Loved everything we got. We tried the squid ink uni pasta (never had uni pasta with ikura before but it totally works), the salmon belly (super tender), creamy crab croquettes (yum), rainbow Naruto (which has tajin powder in it but doesn't overpower the roll at all and the flavors work really well together), the salmon tartare which comes with baguette toasts and pickles on the side, and Hamachi Serrano (yummy but watch out for the peppers which have a kick duh). I feel like I'm forgetting something but the point is it's a great restaurant with great food and a sexy decor and I totally recommend it and would love to go back to try the other items on the menu! read more

The prices were reasonable and the salmon skin salad was delicious. The calamari was nice and light. It's a nice place to hang out and have some drinks and share food. read more

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Wasa has gone through so many changes as of lately and this new location is probably their best looking yet! The interior is really beautiful and looks super bougie. I was excited to try their food and was lucky enough to come in for their soft opening. THE GOOD: Definitely order the garlic edamame because it was a great appetizer. Fish is really fresh! The rolls are also a little bit cheaper than what I remember it to be. I loved the Hamachi Serrano bc I love yellowtail. The Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice was also really good. The rolls are decent. I love their new robata options, which allowed us to try beef tongue which was really good. I also really enjoyed the Squid Ink Uni Pasta. The flavor was rich and creamy, although the pasta could have been cooked a little bit more. I also personally enjoyed the Yuzu Creme Brulee although my friends did not enjoy the flavor as much. THE BAD: Pass on the dynamite roll which is more baked stuff and is really whatevers. The miso marinated black cod is good but for the size, not worth the price imo. Also the mini jugs of sake are really expensive for the amount that you get - we got 4 little things for around $70? There is a full bar now and I did not get to try their other drinks but the drinks I tried were also a bit too sweet (Matcha Colada). We were also really upset that they were out of all the beef robata options other than the beef tongue, but this was the soft opening so I don't blame them. I also would have loved to try the tekamaki roll and the uni meets crab dishes, but they were out of those as well. Service was interesting, as there was so many people and it seemed like they were standing around most of the time. But I'm sure this is all for the grand opening so once again I don't blame them! Our server was not as attentive as I would have liked (we received better service from other servers) but I'm sure this will improve over time. Overall, great job Wasa on their new opening and this new section of the Spectrum is really beautiful. I will be back to try all of the other dishes soon. read more

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Meh. Not impressed especially by the service. Came here on Friday evening around 5pm. We didn't have a reservation but the restaurant was pretty empty. However, they said all the tables were reserved and we could only sit at the bar. There were like three people serving at the bar but none of them offered me a menu until I had to ask for one explicitly after sitting there for some time. When asked about whether or not they had a happy hour menu, they didn't know and came back with, "We should have one starting next week." You would think a new restaurant that is just opening would have their happy hour menu figured out before opening. With practically an empty restaurant but at least ten servers standing on the side doing nothing but talking amongst themselves, there was no one who came to help me as I looked around for someone to answer questions I had on the menu. The tonkastsu ramen I ordered was fine. The Japanese spring roll was interesting. Overall the food was ok, ambience was nice but service was sorely lacking. They still have a lot of kinks to work out before I'll consider coming back. read more

Very reasonable prices and very excellent food. The Calamari Tempura probably makes my top 5 and I'm a big fan of calamari in general so I've tried a fair amount. Service was excellent, seating was prompt, and speed of food was appropriate. I'll definitely be having this place on a short list of good places to eat in the area. read more

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We visited on a late Sunday night as we weren't too hungry and just wanted to snack on some food. To start off we ordered the Sakura Drops and Whimsical #2 cocktails. The cocktails seemed to be on the sweeter side which I enjoyed. For food we ordered the Uni Squid Ink Bun, Robata Skewers- Hokkaido Sea Scallops, Pork Belly W/Shishito Pepper, and the Beef Tongue, Shrimp & Crab Roll and Salmon & Spanish Mackerel Sushi. Towards the end of our meal we added the creamy crab croquette. The food was decent nothing amazing in particular but the portions are quite small and pricey. I'm not sure if it was because we ordered the creamy crab croquette towards close to last call but it came out warm on the outside but cold on the inside. This was disappointing. Overall our bill was over $100. Service was great, everyone was friendly and accommodating. The restaurant itself was beautiful. I'm not sure if I would come back again as the price was quite high for the amount and quality of food. I imagine if we came there hungry our bill would rack up even more. They currently don't have a happy hour menu but if they did I would consider coming back! Overall I think its a nice place for the end of a date night to grab drinks or some food but not for a meal. read more

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Really good food and great customer service. The restaurant had a very nice and welcoming vibe. The food is really fresh and great quality. The staff is super friendly from the hostess, server, and table busing. Over all a real well rounded dining experience. read more

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

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I've been there twice and being a vegetarian I loved the garlic Edamame avocado sushi roll. My son liked the baked salmon. The ambiance is nice and very warm and comfortable in the patio. Hot Sake is a treat! read more

Wife and I had an amazing meal there great service nice atmosphere and most of all food came out delicious

Loved this place. Two people, we ordered two rolls, one ramen and 4 drinks. All was $58/pp including tip. I don't think it was pricey for the quality of the food and drinks. We sat at the bar and our server/bartender was great. Great environment and great food.... definitely I'd like to come back read more

Robata Wasa - Sushi Bars Near Me - Irvine, California

Great vibe, lovely service, food's amazing, we got Panko breaded Bree for an appetizer and it's gotta be one of the best dishes we've ever had. read more

Robata Wasa - Crispy lobster roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Irvine, California

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You definitely pay for the ambiance than the food. Drinks are pretty good though. I had a matcha colada really refreshing and yummy. My boyfriend ordered classic highball but the taste isn't the same as in Japan. It feels too watered down without enough soda in it. Food was definitely on the pricier side and everything was quite small hence "tapas". We ordered salmon tartare, hamachi serano, RW sashimi roll, eggplant tempura and 3 drinks. total came out to be a bit over $100. I wouldn't mind paying that price, but the food was quite bland. Salmon tartare was mushy without much flavor, we ended up drizzling soy sauce on top. a bit of avo, some veggies would be a nice addition. The hamachi serano wasn't really spicy although presentation was beautiful. Not really memorable. The rw sashimi roll tastes like a spring roll. I quite enjoyed this one but i saw more veggies than fish. Eggplant tempura with honey foam was a hit or miss with our group since the honey is very overpowering. I think something to offset the super sweetness would be good. Overall, nice addition to the spectrum. I probably wouldn't come back for food, but I don't mind coming back for drinks. read more

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We had some time to kill in order to avoid the traffic going north, and boy am I glad we found this place! We didn't have any sushi, but we split the squid ink pasta, fried brie, chicken pieces, and the garlic edamame. Everything came out quickly and our server was very nice. The pasta is delicious if you're in for something creamy. The uni is such a perfect pairing, and it makes this dish very rich. I'm glad we chose to split it The brie was incredible - I'm so happy my colleague picked it out since it's not something I would have been drawn to. It's perfect. Trust me. Unfortunately, the chicken was outshone by the brie and the pasta, and I didn't have too much of it. The edamame is delicious, a bit messy, and VERY garlicky. You've been warned. Enjoy!! read more

Robata Wasa - Sushi Bars Near Me - Irvine, California

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This new must eat restaurant is a gem in the heart of Orange County's retail mecca. Situated in the new addition of the Irvine Spectrum, this new Japanese fusion venue is a badly needed and welcomed newcomer to the Asian restaurant scene. More than just skewers of meat and vegetables, this mixes the old izakaya fare and feel with the sleekly modern. So what the heck is robata anyway? Maybe the better question to start with is: What is Japanese food anymore? Honestly, as you may have guessed, it is not so simple these days. Once upon a time in a decidedly more White America, Japanese food was just sushi, which basically meant raw fish to most pedestrian consumers. But a guy by the name of Rocky Aoki changed all that supposedly decades ago with the popular teppanyaki chain of restaurants. But let me tell you my friends, this is not, despite the misconceptions, your ubiquitous Benihana fare. So if you are a member of the unabashedly uninitiated, who thinks all Japanese food now must involve a guy flipping knives and driving the obligatory smoking onion choo-choo train after a flaming volcano, it's okay. I do not judge, but indulge me, if you will, on a quick, down and dirty, albeit entertaining but educatuonal review just what this joint is and why you must eat here... Robata is, in short, grilled meats and vegetables, over charcoal. No, you don't grill this yourself, but you are instead treated to tasty skewers prepared for you by the chef. You may know this as yakitori, and they are, practically speaking, the same darn thing. Pork belly is always a must order, and the chicken thigh is also, interspersed with sweet onions, the flavor is good and not overpowering with teriyaki. And the temp, as with every other dish here, is not too hot -- perfect for the little ones to nibble on without burning their tongues. While robata is seemingly the star attraction here (it's in the name, folks), the real stars of the show aren't even in the robata section of the menu. And honestly, while the robata was good, you only get one skewer per order, and so at around 7 bucks a pop, things can really add up if you intend to fill up on skewers. I also report, sadly, that there is no chef's selection you can order with a variety of skewers to save a few bucks, which you would think ought to be a thing, given the supposed focus on this type of dining. But I digress. The real gems are really elsewhere to be found among the appetizers and tapas. Take the Baked Brie, for instance. Deliciously firm but soft cheese covered in tempura batter, lightly fried. Topped with a sweet sauce, sliced up like a pie into 5 wedges and topped with a little blueberry on each slice, and you have a dish that is to die for. Perfect to sharing -- or fighting over. Oh yes, did I mention this is Japanese fusion? Then there is Unit Meets Crab. Huge style points for presentation, you are presented with a side-by-side rows of uni, crab meat salad, some shavings of green onions (?), finely chopped onions, and of course, some caviar. Why not? Take one of five thinly crisped pieces of wonton chips and then slap on a piece of uni and a little bit of crab, dollop of special cream, some greens, some onions, and lastly, sprinkle some caviar on top, and you've got yourself a mouthful of goodness. Super shareable, it's 25 bucks well spent for something different. One signature dish is the Spring Roll makizishi. It's basically Vietnamese spring roll meets sushi. Wrapped up in the rice skin of a spring roll, it is filled with veggies, crab meat, tuna, and nice little slice of jalapeno for some zing (surprise!). Dip in some sweet chili sauce, and you have a perfectly refreshing palate pleaser. For toddlers, there's the kid's bento. A steal for 11 bucks, it covers all the bases to ensure your finnicky little epicurean eats something. We opted for the salmon teriyaki, which was promptly gobbled down, though very sizeable. It also comes aptly filled with a healthy green salad, miso soup, edamame, and rice, naturally. My 6-year-old gave it the nod and thumb's up. A meal this good deserves to be topped off with some fine desserts. The wife and kid opted for the yuzu creme brulee. If you are a fan of creme brulee, look no further than this critusy riff on the tried and true French classic. Truly a fusion dessert, I would liken the taste of zen-like explosion of sweet and sour to the lighter cross between a cheese cake and Key Lime Pie at the Factory. You know which one. I opted for what I thought was the more traditional kakigori, which, if you don't know is the kind of dish a homesick Japanese boy pines for when he thinks of summertime back home. But this wasn't traditional. What is normally white shaved ice topped with sweet red beans, tiny mochi balls, and condensed milk was replaced by a delightfully green mutant of delicious matcha. The ice was soft like snow -- the kind of thing you can only normally get in the States like in Hawaii. read more

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I have to say I am very disappointed with the recent visit. They took away cocktails and the skewers, which were the reasons I came back bc they were special for that. Then I ordered a halibut and eggplant as their added weekend special meal. It cost me $18 for 3 pieces of mediocre halibut and 3 small cubes of eggplant. Even the calamari tempura appetizer could be more filling than this. What were they thinking? I saw other tables and my friends ordered the rolls and don. They were in good size. But I won't come here just because of their rolls. There are many other better options with better alcohol choices. read more

Great location with elegant atmosphere,but the droid is not fresh as expected ,and the service is poor . read more

Robata Wasa - Sushi Bars Near Me - Irvine, California

It is something you'd expect when at Irvine Spectrum. The restaurant is kind of dark inside for a mysterious ambiance. There is an outdoor waiting area/lounge and a bar inside. The decor is pretty cool. They used plates to recreate the image of The Great Wave by Hokusai. It was not super crowded when we visited but we did wait about 10 minutes to be seated. Our server was sweet. Our food took a bit to come out, but it was busy, so we were chilling. We ordered a matcha beer (first time trying one of these!) and it was interesting. The beer is green HAH! The food was pretty good! The sushi rolls contained a good amount of fish and the pieces were pretty big. We also ordered a side of popcorn chicken - it was a bit salty. Other than that, it was a great dinner and I enjoyed the ambiance. read more

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Estimated one hour wait and waited almost two hours. Asked for indoor table. They gave our table away and seated us outside. Then they lied that we asked for an outdoor table. Need to rehire host and hostess. Terrible. read more

Delicious food, great service and great ambiance. I always enjoy trying new things from their menu. I love coming here with friends.

We went here for lunch around noon on Saturday. When we got there, the restaurant was surprisingly empty. Since it was such a nice day, we asked to be seated outside which was perfect to not only enjoy the weather but also to people watch. Within 45 minutes of us getting seated, the restaurant quickly filled up so I'm guessing it's best to get there before 12:30. I ordered a 2 item bento box ($21) and opted for the 5 pc sushi and 6 pc sashimi which was poor planning on my part because it comes with a bowl of rice. Next time, I will order just the sashimi. Everything, including the salad, was fresh! The bento box also includes a steamed egg custard dish which I didn't particularly care for. Aside from that, I will definitely be back! Also, I was told by the host that they are working on their happy hour menu which should be available at the end of November. read more

Robata Wasa - Sushi Bars Near Me - Irvine, California

Came here on a Saturday at noon as they opened. Great location at the Spectrum! We sat outside on a lovely day and it was well shaded. For starters we got the fried chicken, this was just OK. It seemed like any other japanese fried chicken I've had before so nothing special. We also got the spicy tuna on crispy rice, these were also not so special. They didnt put enough sauce on them and it was only lightly drizzled. Their bento box was a decent deal we got 2 boxes with 3 items for $24 each. They were very filling as well. For sushi, we got salmon and albacore, both were smaller than average but the salmon tasted pretty great. Overall the experience was good but not great. I've had better sushi at smaller hole in the wall restaurants but the ambiance and location here were above average. read more

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Rat infestation.. not even kidding food was no bueno waitress was nice it wasn't her fault but once we saw the rats it didn't matter if the food was good or not it was game over. Place was cute but i would t come back after that read more

Go check the health inspection results here on yelp for this place. Even when it passed it sounds gross. I used to like it but this is the only place I've ever eaten that I couldn't get ahold of one day only to find out it was closed for rats. It has since reopened but go read the violations it still had on last pass. Stuff like inadequate hand washing station access. Yikes! read more

Not too shabby. Not too shabby at all. Food was superb. I would definitely recommend the Japanese spring roll. It had to be my favorite out of all the items we ordered. OH! The Japanese bartender with the long brown hair was also super pleasant. While we were waiting on another guest, she was very accommodating to us at the bar. Free shots! My only complaint would be the service. Our waitress never checked up on us and the server bringing out our food consistently brought over the wrong items. Come on, dude. It wasn't that busy to confuse us with the table behind. Lastly, he spilled miso sauce all over our table and he never cleaned it up.... just left his server tray to cover the mess so we wouldn't see... caught ya! read more

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Food was decent. It reminds me of every other hip Japanese fusion restaurant. Typical grill options and sashimi. We had the ootoro, uni pasta, spring rolls, dragon, chicken, grilled salmon, okra, fresh eel. They ran out of the uni meet crab. Upon arrival, the hostess informed us that the restaurant will close in an hour and half. We accepted this. When we were escorted to outdoor seating, given that it was 8:30pm, we asked for indoor. The manager immediately approached us and indicated that there would be a wait period. We agreed. He then told us that it would take an hour to an hour and a half for our food to arrive. I questioned that but he insisted. He indicated that the hostess must have been confusing in her message but "it's going to take more than an hour for your food to arrive after you order" I wanted to test this information so we opted for two seats at the bar. We order the food and needless to say, it took less than 15 minutes. They got our orders wrong but we were out of the restaurant before it closed...yet we order at least 9 dishes. The customer service is horrible. I assumed they they didn't want business because of the amount of people that were there on Sunday night...thus they were almost closing...still, that was not professional. Don't ever reject customers because without us, you wouldn't have a business to survive. read more

Our server Ashley was awesome and recommended the Volcano roll and it was amazing! We had a great meal and I was very impressed with the service. We will be back. I want to try more sushi and sashimi. read more

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

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Nice interior, polite hostess and waiters, high quality fresh fish. I got lunch combo and each pease of it was really good. I think it priced reasonable for their atmosphere, service and quality of the food. read more

Robata Wasa - Sushi Bars Near Me - Irvine, California