If you're in Dana Point and looking for something simple, honest, and actually made with care --…read morethis little spot surprised me in the best way. I ended up here in the middle of the day while working in the area. Never been before. I try to avoid chains when I can and pick something new each time. This place caught my eye, and I'm glad I walked in. It's a small, family-run vibe -- and I mean literally. Looked like a husband and wife running everything themselves. They were both super polite, calm, and you can tell they really care about the food and about every guest who walks in. No rush, no attitude, just warm hospitality. I went with something safe for me -- ramen and salmon sushi. And both were just... really solid. Not overcomplicated, not trying to be something fancy. Just good food made right. The broth had depth, noodles cooked right, and the sushi was fresh with balanced flavor. No complaints there at all. The place itself is small. Not a big dining room. A few tables inside, clean but definitely more of a takeout-focused spot. They don't have a restroom available inside, which kind of confirms that they expect people to grab food and go. And honestly -- I would. Not because it's bad to sit there -- it's fine. But this is the kind of meal that hits even better sitting somewhere by the ocean with the breeze. I'd definitely order takeout from here and eat outside by the water next time. I paid around $30, which is very fair for the quality, especially in California. They do ask about tip at checkout before you get your food -- that part always feels a bit weird to me, but I get it. Overall -- 5 stars for the food and the heart behind the place. I'll remember it. And I'll be back -- probably to pick up a to-go order and take it straight to the beach.

This quaint location is a mom & pop shop run by the sweetest people ever. Don't expect stellar…read moredine-in service as you will have to order and pay up front before anything. Either way, the staff here will always make sure you have everything you need as long as you ask. You're free to help yourself w/ hot or room temp water at the dispenser in front of the green wall. Plenty of parking and jsyk there is no public restroom. As for the food, everything tastes great! You get a great amount of fresh fish for the most affordable prices in the area. The sushi rice tastes good and I appreciate how the rolls aren't stuffed w/ rice to make up for the lack of fish. I especially like the Aloha roll, Lollipop roll, Crunch (shrimp tempura) hand roll, and the sashimi & carpaccios are all fresh. Love how you can get pickled wasabi (real wasabi) for a reasonable up-charge. All of their salad dressings are made in-house too! Great place for a quick & casual bite to eat. They got treats for dogs and lots of friendly vibes to share. Super accommodating to all, and can confidently say that they treat their regulars so well. Always happy to support a local, family-owned business! Thank you :)

A must order is the Screaming O which is a generous portion of tuna sashimi (albacore?) flanking…read morethe sides of a volcano looking pile of shredded daikon. At the base is the to-die-for sauce which I think is Tataki sauce? I just know that it is so good that you will not want the server to take away the empty plate after you've devoured all of the tuna and daikon. Save the plate if there's any sauce left. Trust me. We also love their high quality tuna and hamachi sashimi. Service is always friendly and great and there's plenty of parking in the rear lot.

First time coming here. Food was decent. Looks like a typical Japanese restaurant here in the US…read more Ambiance was extremely loud. It was hard to have a conversation with the family. Service was ok. There was a wait to be seated, and a waitlist upon entrance. But tell me why the waitress/manager/employee took the people that just walked in the door first vs the people that have been waiting on the waitlist. I didn't appreciate that. And wish I would've said something sooner. Other than that, servers were nice and attentive.

Wonderful fried tofu yaki udon this time. Loves the flavor and texture of noodles with veggies…read more Good service, nice upbeat music and plenty of seating available today.

First, the beer was not chilled at all, despite the fact that Japanese restaurants typically serve…read morevery cold beer ("hiyashi") in their culture. I ordered a spicy seafood udon, but it only contained two pieces of mussel, a few tough, dried calamari rings Finger size), a couple of tiny scallops about the size of baby fingernails, and three pieces of baby shrimp. The soup lacked any seafood flavor and had an overly salty, unappealing red color. The price seemed unreasonable compared to the quality of the food. It's no surprise that they only had two tables occupied on a Saturday afternoon at 1:30 PM. I recommend they consider changing the restaurant's name from "Sushi Kara" to "Kara Sushi." If they are truly Japanese, they would understand the significance of this.

I've been waiting to try this place after seeing great reviews online…read more The servers were so warm and welcoming. They quickly got our drink order and were very helpful. I sat at the sushi bar. I started with the seaweed salad. It was sweet and crunchy. So comforting. Then I ordered the sashimi sampler. The price is awesome for what you get. Mine came with snapper (my fav), scallop (SO BUTTERY), albacore (mild), bluefin tuna w/ uni (bursting with flavor), yellowtail w/ jalapeno (classic), and salmon (the ikura was a great touch.) Lastly I ordered the seared tuna. The smoky flavor is so much fun. I've always wanted to try seared sushi, I had no idea it was so good. I'm definitely ordering a searing option every time for now on.

I love Dana Kai and their sushi is excellent and fresh…read more If they can figure out a way to slow down the food to the tables, I'll give them 5 stars.

The line can get long but you're only waiting to place an order. It doesn't take that long to get…read moreyour food. It's not hard to find street parking either. This place is a little pricey but it's worth it. You get a lot of avocado and ginger. I love the original flavor. It makes the rice taste so good. I wish they gave more salmon but I'm still satisfied.

This place used to be good post covid. For the price and the amount i could get better some place…read moreelse. They charge an arm and a leg for every toppings with how little they give you. i got the regular $12.99 (half rice and salad) and i added a few things on there as well. The total price plus tip came out to be about $24 dollars. When i opened the container, i saw how little rice and salad they gave. Honestly, it looked like scraps or leftovers from someone else. Literally looked like a mini icecream scoop of rice and salad...that's how little it was. The same for the fish and toppings. Everything looked like it was sprinkled on top. I was utterly disappointment because this isn't the first time i noticed the portion size being small. This is the second time im giving it a chance after covid and i can confirm that it is the biggest waste of money for what they give you. They're ripping everyone off. tl;dr, mediocre flavor, portion size poor for the the price. Go somewhere else, there are better ones out there.

Place is the real deal Authentic nigiri and sashimi…read moreAll Japanese staff and the price is right Legit sushi, love this place

Good Choice Sushi by the Sea is a tiny little sushi restaurant across from Capo Beach, directly…read morenext to Sunsets. There is very limited parking and even though it is not always busy you may want to make a reservation because of how limited the seating is. Food quality is good. The fish is very fresh, the salads are well dressed, and they do have gluten-free soy sauce when asked for. We had a Baja Crudo, we had bluefin Nigiri, shotgun roll, house, salad, edamame, a side of rice. The rolls could have been wrapped a little tighter, in our role, we did have a little bit of the fish that couldn't be eaten due to it being not as well cleaned and chopped as the rest, and the edamame serving was a bit small. Service is very friendly. Expect a slower pace as the restaurant is very calm and casual. It is in an older building and the ambience is amazing during the day when you can see the ocean but very rootsy, and a little rundown at night. Overall, we had a nice dinner at a very reasonable price and will probably try it out again.

I'd been wanting to try Taikun for three years--ever since my friends went and couldn't stop raving…read moreabout it. It's so special that my previous company even hosted client dinners there. And Adrian has always been incredibly accommodating, somehow making magic happen every time. When my aunt came to town--the same aunt who introduced me to sushi at age 13 in Seattle--I finally had the perfect excuse to book Taikun. After all, I had to show my appreciation to the woman who opened my palate to the wonders of sushi. And at long last, I got to experience it for myself. Adrian, Chef Yasu, and the entire Taikun omakase completely blew me away. Sixteen courses, each one thoughtful, seasonal, and absolutely delicious, made for an unforgettable evening. I even tried rare fish I've never seen anywhere else. Adrian introduced every course with the story behind it--seasonality, origins, ingredients--and even shared photos of the fish to give more context. It truly elevated the entire experience. Don't even get me started on the intimate setting of the experience. It only seats 9 people max which makes it incredibly personal and hands on. You sit right in front of the chef, and he's so nice you feel totally comfortable asking him anything.

I'm obsessed with Taikun and can't stop thinking about my dinner experience here on 9/24/25. There…read moreare 2 seatings. We made reservations on Open Table for the 8 pm seating. There were 2 other couples who were very pleasant. The service is exquisite and the ambience is so cool and sushi is a once in a lifetime experience. Literally everything about Taikun is phenomenal. I highly recommend splurging on this beautiful omakase experience!! I will add details as I go through my photos and relive each one! I highly recommend the sake pairing which enhances the sushi flavors. The chef is so skilled and fun to watch which adds to the incredible experience. One of my favorite dishes was Uni with ikura and mochi! What a unique presentation which was a work of artistry

If you read about it before you go you know to expect, first come first serve and seat yourself…read more It's very laid back but being in this Ritz location and with Ritz service it's top notch outdoor dining with a gorgeous view. Fernando went above and beyond to make sure our experience was 5 star. The rest of the team was always around making sure we had all we needed as well. When the sun set and the breeze got cooler we were offered warm blankets. So back to what we went for, the food right. Tuna tartare was excellent. Guacamole was good but I didn't like the cracker things that came with it and used the chips that came with the tartare instead. Oysters and caesar salad were fresh. Surf & turf tacos were delicious. Crab cake was good, sauce has a little spice to it. The desserts were scrumptious, the churro's were a favorite out of the 4 we had. So fresh and crispy but perfect on the inside, with fresh made caramel and chocolate to dip. My birthday chocolate cake was so good. Our cocktails were well made. There is a Ritz Kids menu and our kids loved all the food they had (Mac n cheese, chicken strips, burger, fries) we liked their fries too lol. We had a short two days at this hotel but I'm so glad I got to experience 180blu.. ended up sneaking in at the last minute on our second night there (Fernando welcomed us as if it was mid shift and we did not feel rushed one bit) for a night cap and to just take in the ambiance and fresh air. I can't wait to go back.

好好生活，慢慢相遇，願你在每一個平凡的日子，都能有一點點小確幸，等風來，也等花開～…read more 這次要分享的海邊餐廳是在 Laguna Beach Ritz 的 180 Blu, 這家有無敵海景，美麗的飯店，我來吃過他們幾家餐廳都不錯， 戶外的這家， 風和日麗時，坐這吃飯眺望海景，風景真是超級迷人，這次點的海鮮塔，可能是近期吃的海鮮塔中比較遜色的一個， 除了海鮮塔， 其他的魚子醬小點，蟹餅，龍蝦卷， 沙拉跟飲料都很不錯，比起還多風景美到不行， 菜色也完全不行的餐廳好太多了，服務也很好，前陣子看到里長伯分享在Vegas 生活消費那麼便宜，唉， 跟在加州什麼都貴到誇張的日常生活，讓我看了超級羨慕，不過，我們黃金州有無敵的海岸美景，是該多來走走，都不接觸， 不使用就太可惜了， 枉費我們繳了那麼多的風景税～

Parking 5/5 -plaza parking lot with plenty of spots…read more Service 5/5 -friendly staff and thorough service, checked up on table and refilled water, adjusted silverware after order(steak) Food 5/5 -lobster roll $32, generous amount of lobster and perfectly toasted bun that's soft but a sturdy vessel, cucumber salad was refreshing but would love to see a bigger portion or more sides to accompany the main sandwich(maybe potato salad) -filet mignon medallions $46, comes with two medallions that were cooked to perfect medium rare as requested, elegant presentation, side veggies were great Ambiance 5/5 -came on a Friday night, mixed lively vibes of bar and dining area, medium dim lighting, perfect for dates if you don't want attention to your conversations; super clean bathroom and modern interior overall

We had wonderful Saturday dinner at Glasspar today，it's our second time and we will come back every…read moretime we visit Dana point. All staff are extremely attentive and friendly.Ambiance is amazing，very relaxing. Food is extraordinary！！Everything is very delicious and not salty .I finished them all and shared a little bit with fur babies they loved it！！ Very much looking forward coming back next time！！

We had a wonderful experience at RAYA. The Achiote salmon dish was incredibly tasty--perfectly…read morecooked and full of flavor. Service was excellent: attentive, warm, and seamless throughout the meal. The Christmas atmosphere really elevated the experience, with beautiful décor and live music creating a festive, relaxed vibe. Overall, it was a memorable and elegant dining experience. Definitely a special spot for the holidays or a celebratory night out.

I've had two separate experiences at Raya this year, and both were unacceptable -- which is…read moredisappointing because the rest of the property has consistently been excellent. Kahani, the club lounge, and the Marketplace all delivered exactly what you expect from a hotel at this level: attentive, well-trained staff, seamless service, and a clear understanding of hospitality standards. That's why I've never focused on smaller issues before -- they didn't outweigh the overall quality of the stay. Unfortunately, Raya has now been the exception twice. The first time, back in January, the food quality wasn't on point-I ordered the blackened tuna tacos and they were completely inedible. I didn't complain or send them back -- I simply left it at that. Today was service from one particular server Taylor. I had just come down from the club lounge and remembered that I had a complimentary voucher given at check-in, which didn't specify what it covered on it. I first asked at the lobby bar and no one was able to provide a clear answer, so I went next door to Raya and asked again before ordering. The hostess told me I could choose anything and even recommended the skirt steak. She was kind and friendly. Taylor took my order, and I reasonably assumed there had been communication between staff. So I spent some time ordering and waiting and when my food arrived since I asked for a to go order, I grabbed the bag, tipped, and left. Then Taylor ran after me at the hotel entrance asking how I planned to pay -- in front of other guests. It was an extremely uncomfortable and bizarre situation. I didn't realize what has happened I was just handed the bill and I put my room number and name down. I was then told the voucher only covered guacamole, which directly contradicted what I had been told prior to ordering. As a result, I wasted approximately 40 minutes of my time, I was simply trying to head to the beach before departing, and instead found myself dealing with a situation that should have been handled internally and discreetly. When I handed the food back and said I did not want it, the response was "ok, I'll toss it," followed by no acknowledgment, no apology, and no effort to resolve the situation. At this point, this is no longer an isolated incident. For a restaurant positioned as fine dining, the lack of internal communication, consistency, and basic guest handling is surprising -- especially when every other outlet on the property demonstrates a significantly higher standard. Raya was the only part of the experience that felt misaligned with the rest of the hotel -- and unfortunately, it's the last impression I'm leaving with.