A small local spot in a strip mall off of La Paz road in Aliso Viejo I found on Yelp. I was pleasantly surprised by this place for lunch. A beautiful Chirasu fish bowl for $16 may be the best lunch deal in OC. Chik-fil-a at lunch is $15 now and this quality of beautiful Japanese rice (it was probably Korean as it's run by Koreans) tuna, salmon, shrimp, and a yummy tamago for $16!!??? Ridiculous. And then the chef brings us over some sashimi with onions and ponzu on the house to say thank you. I love local owned Mom and pops like this. I cannot wait to come back. read more

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This place is sweet, I may be biased because I've been coming here since I was a kid but I like it. Sweet staff, good vibes. Chicken Udon for $11 which is a great price! Good roll, good quality fish. Shout-out zen sushi fr. read more

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ELEVEN DOLLARS FOR THE UDON!!!! BEST DEAL IN SOUTH COUNTY!!!!!!!! Great service and great udon for the price. The Alaskan roll was also fantastic and they gave a great amount of ginger as well which was great!!!!! read more

Zen Sushi - Beef Udon - Sushi Bars Near Me - Aliso Viejo, California

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It is better to eat any raw fish in the restaurant than have it to go . Service was good and place is welcoming.

Sit at the bar to watch the chefs as they prepare your sushi! There's also a few televisions if you'd rather watch that instead. Tables are available for larger parties, both inside and at their back patio. THE FOOD. - Garlic Edamame | Garlicky and nutty flavors with seasonings for added savoriness. - Spicy Salmon Roll | Rich, buttery salmon with a kick of spiciness. The rice was portioned perfectly as well. - Double Double Roll | Refreshing and flavorful pairing of tender, slightly sweet shrimp and the creamy richness of avocado. - Baked Lobster Roll | California roll with seared langostino on top. Drizzled eel sauce adds to the sweetness. - Mackerel Sushi | Fishy, but the green onion helped to tone down the flavor. They gave me an extra cut of mackerel on top, which I appreciated! THE DRINK. - Iced Tea | No fuss, it's tea and it was good. THE PARKING. Free parking and plenty of it. THE RETURN? Yep, it's a pretty solid sushi place. I also want to mention that the staff are super helpful; continually passing by to clear out the plates and refill drinks. read more

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Excellent attentive service, all food was very nicely presented and had very good flavor. The Salmon Lemon roll was very y but not sour. Cozy layout. Long Sushi bar. Very cute serving plates. All the Sushi was very fresh and tasty. Liked that they had no rice options for some of our guests. We will definitely go again to try other dishes. Service was quick. There are appetizers that do not show up on the ordering menu. We really enjoyed the flavor of the garlic edaname; crunchy garlic bits in a light chili oil on edaname. It is helpful that they have a color menu with photos for you to be able to see alot of the menu offerings. read more

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I was in the mood for some sushi last minute and decided to try this place for the first time--I was pleasantly surprised. Food came out quickly even though they were busy. The fish was fresh and the rolls, sushi, and hand roll I got were tasty. Would definitely return for a good meal. read more

Great quality sushi and friendly staff! This place has been here for a long time and I definitely recommend it as a go-to sushi spot!

The food is good, but the service, especially from the host, is very poor. As a customer for over 5 years, I am extremely disappointed and will not be returning. read more

I like coming here because it's never busy and the items are pretty good! Its customer service is lacking I think they are just sick of working! For example, they brought my edimame AFTER I finished my main sushi saying they forgot, I took it to go! It relatively 5 minutes to get your order unless it's baked. They are slow to refill soda and don't order water unless it's bottled. The menu items are unique and cute! read more

Awesome fresh sushi and great service! They have a varied menu, all rolls are delicious, sashimi salad is great and the salmon carpaccio is amazing. Sushi chefs are friendly and very efficient! Highly recommend. read more

Me and my girlfriend's first time here and we loved it. Great food, great service, great prices and great chef. Will definitely be coming back here when we're craving sushi again. Thank you! read more

We were at Target when my kids got a craving for sushi, so we headed across the parking lot to Zen. It was a small, modest looking restaurant with nice wait staff and a steady flow of customers. I ordered the Salmon Lemon Roll and my kids got 2 California Rolls and Shrimp + Veggie Tempura. The seafood was fresh and the food tasted good. Unfortunately, all 3 of our sushi rolls kept unrolling and falling apart. That was a big bummer! We might give them another try next time we're in the area. read more

Zen Sushi - Salmon Lemon Roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Aliso Viejo, California

Used to have great experiences at this place but recently orders have been wrong consistently. We had called to explain that our order was wrong after placing an online order and the waitress had answer and rudely explained that she wasn't wrong. We were able to bring back our food back and get the problem fixed but it's disappointing when this spot had been so fun. read more

I ordered online and went in to pick up my food. I got all the way back home and they called me to say that they gave me the wrong order and asked me to bring it back. I came back to get the correct order and they were very rude and would not compensate me at for the inconvenience of it all. I understand that things happen but I feel they were not interested in making it right. I will never dine or order from here again. Do not recommend! read more

Best sushi around -- been coming here for over 15 years and it's always fresh and delicious! No gimmicks -- just great sushi.

Came here for some lunch with some coworkers after a great recommendation. We got seated at the sushi bar and ordered a bunch of sushi to share. We got the yellowtail, yellowtail belly, salmon, escolar, scallops, ono, and uni sushi. My favorite was the yellowtail, yellowtail belly, salmon, and uni. Their fish cuts are fat and definitely fresh. I also got the salmon skin handroll and it was very flavorful and crispy. Their handrolls are huge and definitely filling with rice, avocado, and cucumber. The service was great and the sushi chefs were personable. Definitely a smaller shop so I can see them being busy during dinner time. I will definitely be back to try their sushi rolls and other sashimi. read more

Good food Service excellent Friend atmosphere Fast and easy ordering Clean dining area great music read more

Asked what rolls could be prepared gluten free and the guy was a huge jerk about it, smugly saying rice is gluten free and so is sashimi. Thanks Captain Obvious. Business 101, don't eliminate a huge chuck of clients who have food restrictions and LOVE sushi because you are too ignorant to research how simple accommodations are, like using Tamari vs. Soy sauce (which has more wheat than soy), or leaving off fake crab, which only saves you money. Also you're in South Orange County. Know your market. read more

Amazing little hole in the wall spot right off the 73. Super friendly staff - especially the sushi chef's. Not a lot of seating so it does get pretty packed. We showed up on a Friday around 5pm and no one really came until almost 6 then it started to fill up. Prices are great and food is absolutely delicious! Their octopus salad is super tasty with cold sake, I absolutely loved their "fire cracker," (spicy tuna with jalapeño and avocado on fried rice) and of course the tuna belly and yellow tail belly were delicious (great quality). Highly recommended. read more

Zen Sushi - Tuna belly and yellow tail belly - Sushi Bars Near Me - Aliso Viejo, California

I absolutely love the sushi here!!! The restaurant itself smells a litttttle funny and it's very very small inside aaaand the waitresses aren't very friendly but regardless of all of those negatives, the sushi itself is good enough to STILL give this spot 5 stars. If you're looking for better atmosphere they have another location on Golden Lantern that is very nice. I love the baked salmon roll, sunset roll, no kiss, and many others. Highly recommend!!! read more

Food is great. Sushi Rolls are amazing. Wouldn't recommend the water though. They bring and take your order quite fast, almost like in a rush. Not the best place if you plan on taking your time. read more

My girlfriend and friends were treated very poorly here and faced racial discrimination by certain employees. As someone in the restaurant business, all guests should be treated with respect and feel comfortable. I hope these employees are held accountable. I will be telling everyone I know about this experience. read more

Food and service is all good. I get my favorite bake salmon sushi which is delicious. Have a tried a few things which is pretty good. read more

The service and staff are great and the fish is super fresh.. love the bento box and sushi special read more

Zen Sushi - Bento Box - Sushi Bars Near Me - Aliso Viejo, California

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Zen Sushi is one of my go to places with my niece. She is super picky about her Sushi and no joke, is a sushi expert. Not kidding. So, when I suggested going to Jizake as I usually like to visit and she wanted ZEN, I was skeptical. BOY WAS I WRONG! It might not asthetically look like anything special, but thats what I have realized, great sushi doesnt need fancy seating, or decore, all it needs is fresh fish and awesome chefs and there you go. It was soo good, that we came back a week later, and now, its on my radar. Its not Gen Kai Sushi, but its a strong option if in AV. Top contenders: Beef Teriyaki $14.95 (from Dinner A La Carte menu), Baked Salmon Roll , Mango Roll, Kiss of an Angel Roll, Baked Lobster Roll, Caterpillar Roll to name a few. I would recommend Zen Sushi located in the Target shopping Center. read more

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I love the whole place! They make you feel important and part of the family period. I love the owner, June. The employees are all considerate and kind and know you by name. The food is amazing and the portions are wonderful. read more

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The service is always fantastic and the sushi is phenomenal, I love coming here, it's a great place for sushi lovers!

We have been going to Zen for years and love it. It's nothing fancy, but the food is great and once the staff gets to know you, they treat you like family. It doesn't look too large, but there is a seating area in the back outdoors. My favorite items are the Hawaiian roll, the spicy octopus salad, and the salmon lemon roll. read more

Zen Sushi - Cucumber salad and spicy octopus salad - Sushi Bars Near Me - Aliso Viejo, California

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Excellent quality sushi, lots of different options on the menu. Very kind staff who are super helpful! We had some amazing food here!

My friends were treated horribly as the drunken chef said to my friend (she's mexican), "Hola como estas?" the same chef asked my other friend, "Soka University?" She replied, "No I think you've got the wrong person." Someone at the bar responded with, "No she's goth" because of the way she's dressed. The waitresses also muttered saying they hope she wasn't Mexican. Was very uncomfortable and will not come back again. read more

The baked lobster roll is the best! The service is great as well! I would definitely recommend

Tempura was tasty! Sushi was just alright. Definitely not worth the price, though. The menu has a good variety of choices.

This is my "go-to" sushi for any day. It's a nice family run business where everyone knows you, treats you, and respects you for your business. They work hard and the food is great. The service is fast and it doesn't kill the wallet. read more

Food was alright but had a terrible experience. The second we walked in the chef yelled "Hola como estas?" (I was the only mexican in the group) and a man at the bar says "Are you speaking fucking Mexican?" the chefs laughed at the joke. One of the hostess says in Korean "She's not mexican is she?" to another worker and she responds to "No I don't think so." and the hostess says "Oh thank goodness, thank goodness." The same chef asks my other friend "Soka University?" and she says "Oh no I think you're thinking of someone else." and the same guy at the bar says "No she's goth." I honestly felt bad for the workers who were hispanic and they looked embarrassed. And to add the chef was drinking with the guy at the bar and was clearly intoxicated. Once we left we decided not to tip them from the encounter we had. The hostess runs out as we were leaving asking to sign and asked "No tip?" My friend felt pressured so she tipped $5 which the hostess says "Only $5?" which honestly is surprising because our body language showed we were uncomfortable the entire dine in. Would never come back here again and wouldn't recommend this to anyone. I'll be sure to tell people not to come here. read more

There is never a wait, the service is fast, and I love their Kiss of an Angel roll, it's the best. The staff are friendly

What a great restaurant! Amazing food! We tried all kinds of sushi here and recommend each one! read more

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The front lady with the Blonde hair was so rude! She did not care for one second to help me pick the correct item - she was sassy, rude and handed me the food and when I asked her info she barely answered as she turned away. All I wanted was to know what's good and all she kept saying "everything is good, everything is good" and wouldn't give me advice. read more

This is my favorite sushi bar/restaurant. Quick, easy, yummy. Definitely hits the spot every time!

We love coming to Zen! It's our favorite local sushi spot. Service is wonderful at the sushi bar and we are never disappointed. read more

Zen Sushi - Paradise roll with scallops - Sushi Bars Near Me - Aliso Viejo, California

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