Gokumi Ramen & Yakitori

This definitely brings back memories of Japan. The yakitori were cooked deliciously. We also tried the negitoro with truffle and caviar roll and were surprisingly pleased. The food here tastes fresh, the service was friendly, and the vibe was great. The store is on the small side so definitely come right as they open or reserve beforehand. This place does get super busy and food does take a bit to come out so make sure to get all orders in on the first go lol. I do wish they have a more variety for veggies though.

A quaint and cozy little Japanese restaurant. Waits can get long so either come at opening or reserve for parties 3 or more. Our wait for 2 to sit at the bar was about 40 minutes. The star of the restaurant def has to be the person managing all the yakitori - he works efficiently and seems like no one's orders were wrong! Every yakitori we ordered was cooked perfectly and seasoned well (not bland and not too salty).Yuzu shio ramen was very light - it is a good sharing portion if you'd like to try multiple items on the menu. Tako wasa was refreshing.We ended our meal with a hand roll each and the seaweed was great! It has a crunch, wasn't soggy or sticking to the roof of our mouths.

Found this little spot here the other night and it was delicious! Service was pretty quick and we were seated as soon as we checked in. It did end up getting pretty busy though. Loved the decor inside the restaurant, brought me back Japan feels! I ordered the Shoyu Ramen and it was really good. Great texture for the noodles, broth wasn't too heavy. Generous amounts of bamboo shoots, couple of pieces of pork. It was delicious. I included a few yakitori pieces, the wagyu beef stick was super tender. I also did the chicken thigh with green onions and shiitake mushrooms. Both a good combo to include with your ramen! My fiancé ordered the baked salmon. Sooo good! They torched it perfectly. I know it's basic but sometimes the most basic things in life are the best. She also ordered the spicy karage. It was spicy but we couldn't stop eating it. The chicken was super tender. Great little hole in the wall spot we found! Nice selection of sake as well fyi.

Make reservations if you want to sit at a table or have a group of 3+. Interior is small, but cozy. About 4/5 tables and the rest is bar seating surrounding the yakitori chef. Service is nice, fast, attentive. Ordered salmon and lemon roll and various yakitori. * --means it was good -chicken gizzard-chicken liver-chicken heart*-beef tongue*-skirt steak-pork toro*-scallop*-oysterAbsolutely get the ones that are starred!My favorites of them is the pork Toro and scallop. Pork was so soft. Had the perfect balance of crispy outside and soft/fatty inside. Paired with a yuzu kosho like sauce, it was perfection. Scallop was cooked with butter and had onions that really brightened up the dish. Sushi roll was a perfect meal filler. Thick salmon pieces with the perfect thin lemon slice. -I personally don't recommend the skirt steak as it wasn't that great and quite pricey at $7-8. I've have cheaper,thicker,tenderer beef cuts at other places.

Cute little japanese restaurant with good vibes and tasty food. The yakitori menu is limited to such places as hondaya but its good. I feel like the smaller menu allows them to concentrate on quality rather than quantity. The tonkatsu ramen was very good. Parking lot is small but i havent had trouble finding a spot. The interior is small. 4-5 tables and bar seating. So make ressie. It gets busy during rush hour. Service was impeccable. No complaints. Attentive and very friendly.

I was craving Yakitori and we don't have a lot of good options in OC. Had bookmarked Gokumi on Yelp and thought the menu looked good! I was surprised that they were pretty packed around 9:30pm and still had a short line (reminder to add yourself to the waitlist on Yelp in advance). After a short wait, we were seated at the Yakitori counter, which was a great spot to watch the grill mater work!I personally love the izakaya menu format and got a few small dishes, a bowl of Raman, and a variety of skewers. The Monkfish liver and stewed beef tongue were both delicious, but the chicken broth ramen was a bit too salty. For Yakitori, my favorites were thigh with scallion, scallops, and Wagyu skirt steak. We also tried the A5 Mizakayi Wagyu & Wagyu tongue, which were good, but not sure that they justified the ~$15 price tag for 2 bites. Gokumi has a great Sake selection (many can be ordered by the glass) and we tried 2 pretty unique ones from Yucho Shuzo.

Great combo experience! Yakitori! Ramen! And Sushi! Delicious and quiet modern place with a beautiful glass wall looking over the Yakitori Master Chef cooking! Excellent staff and service tonight for my son's 25th Birthday!

This was our second time and it's been at least 2 years since we last ate here. The yakitori has improved so much since my last visit and is better than my two regular "go to spots" in Costa Mesa.Here's what we ordered...Yakitori (various): Great job chef!Boiled gyoza: DeliciousSpicy tuna shiso tempura: Interesting combo and it was very goodCalifornia roll: Very goodElote tempura (corn on the cob): Not for meService was fine and vibe was very chill.We were extremely happy with the food here and plan to go back in the near future.The only downside to this restaurant is the lack of parking for them and the other restaurants in this mini-strip mall.

Came here for yakitori and ended up enjoying both yakitori, other cold/hot dishes, and their sake selection! Easy reservation and excellent service here. Great ambience inside--it is bright and clean and there is a glass separating chef's kitchen from bar seating so no yakitori smoke interference. Our food highlights were their tako wasa (cold raw octopus appetizer that pairs so well with the shiso leaf), chicken skin yakitori, and the lamb chop! The chicken skin was charred and seasoned exceptionally well. The lamb chop was soo juicy. All other yakitori and dishes were great too, only the nitpickiness in me thinks some could be seasoned a little more. I'd rate this place overall 4.5/5 per my comments and will plan to come back here when the yakitori cravings hit. Thank you!

We decided to try Gokumi Ramen and Yakitori and went all in on the yakitori--and wow, it did not disappoint! Every skewer was cooked perfectly and seasoned just right. Definitely a highlight.We also planned to order a specific bottle of sake, but unfortunately, they were out of it. Thankfully, our server recommended a similar option, and it turned out to be a great pick. Props to her for steering us in the right direction!As for the ramen, we tried both the Spicy Tonkotsu and the regular Tonkotsu. The spicy one definitely had more flavor, while the regular felt like it was missing something. Could've just been an off day, but neither ramen stood out as particularly special. Still, they weren't bad!We'll absolutely be back for more yakitori--it's a must! And who knows, we might give the ramen another shot next time.