Ichirin

A while back, I remember seeing a social media post or something about a Japanese bento place in Costa Mesa & decided to bookmark them here & follow them on IG.Well the time & the hankering for the bento came 2 days ago & I met these guys at the Laguna Hills Farmers Market. They rotate to various Farmers Market in the area. On this day, they were cooking up some yakitori on hot sumi-coals, for the casual passerbys at the FM. Gave me ideas about having a chicken skewer party at my place of business.As for bentos I brought back to work. I had the grilled saba, 2 of my coworkers had the wagyu, & 4th member he had the yakitori bento. All the food & sides were cooked to perfection. A bonus, Yosuke-san gave us some skewers hot off the grill.

Picked up lunch today because I was craving for Japanese food. This place offers only pick ups with delivery available. Follow me! Highlights of the menu:1. Kushi katsu - eat with B sauce, green onion, and its own sauce 2. Grilled chicken bento with shiodare3. Charcoal grilled chicken typed with green onion and Shiodare side of lemon 4. Wagyu don - marinated wagyu beef with onion. Topped with green onion with ginger They are also available at Costa Mesa Certified Farmers Market every Thursday 9am-1pm. And more locations will be opening!

Had a potluck style Christmas party this year with my friends and since I had no time to make food at home, last minute decided to get my food catered from here. Best decision I've ever made! By far it was guaranteed to be the parties favorite! Folks all went for the food I brought in and it was devoured within minutes. My favorite was definitely the mentai udon but my friends contest and say the karaage chicken but all in all every dish ordered came out delicious! I love finding unexpected hole in the wall places and this place did not disappoint. Highly recommend! It was also a huge plus that the service was A++. since they were a small family run business with husband and wife duo, they were very attentive and communicative. I would for sure be ordering from them again.

My absolute favorite spot for a comforting and home-cooked meal. Not only is their food amazing, but their service is unmatched. The lady that works there always offers water despite being a grab-and-go place, and she always has a smile on her face. The chicken is so juicy and tender, and it's all the more fun to eat with the side dishes. The presentation is unmatched. You can feel all the time and effort the owner puts into each dish. If I could eat here everyday, I would.My only complaint is that they need to extend their hours! I used to drop by after getting out of school, but with a new schedule, I've found it difficult to find time nowadays. Oftentimes, they're only open for lunch hours.

Had no expectations going in since there aren't many reviews but the food left me disappointed. Overpriced and the quality didn't make up for it. I ordered the Steak Don and Chicken Karaage and the total came out to about $26. The steak rice bowl was $18 on its own and was totally not worth that price at all. The portion is small and there was no flavor or seasoning. Judging it based on the appearance, I expected it to be dry and tough like jerky but it was surprisingly still moist. The steak did not have a good sear on it so it wasn't very appetizing to look at. The sauce didn't do anything for me and the fried garlic was burnt which left a bitter taste in my mouth. The chicken karaage left me wanting more as it had potential but didn't hit the mark. The chicken itself was nicely cooked and was juicy and tender but had no flavor on its own. I found myself having to try and add the very little sauce they put on the side in order for it to taste like something. Luckily I noticed the chalkboard indicating where the business was since the sign is rather small and all the buildings blend together. The lady sitting outside was nice enough to hand me my order while I sat in the car. Unfortunately I didn't find the food here to be all that great and will most likely not be returning.

We discovered ichirin through Yelp recently and has been coming back multiple times for lunch! My partner and I have only tried the tartar and karaage bento, and so far we are in love with the tartar bento. The chicken tastes healthy, yet buttery. The rice is good and the side salads sauce is great, I love that I can get in some heathy greens during a weekday lunch. The owner puts in a lot of effort to make sure the presentation is nice, which I really appreciate. You will not regret getting this. Be aware that right now they are only open on certain days of the week, so my partner and I plan ahead and make sure to call them to order before they close for the day, or for multiple days. We are sad when we crave the Tartar chicken and they are not open. Right now they are only doing to go orders. The first time you get there it might be a little bit confusing because it's hidden away in a business/warehouse area. When you are on newhope, turn left/or right into the Los caballeros vlg and keep going, ichirin will be located to the right. We are looking forward to trying out more items but so far the tartar bento is a winner!

This place is a hidden gem, with an emphasis on the word "hidden". The storefront is tucked away along the road to Los Cab Sports Village with just a modest sized sign to help you find this culinary treat. But in this hungry man's opinion, the reward is completely worth the adventure. I ordered the Chicken Tartar bento and the presentation of the food was a 12/10. A wonderful mix of colors packed into a rather tiny, but robustly filled lunch box. The chicken itself was extremely tender and juicy, but the homemade tartar was the star of this dish. It was creamy, sweet and delicious, yet not overwhelming at all. My order also came with rice, salad and 3 special side dishes. On this occasion, I was lucky to receive gobo (burdock root) salad, boiled spinach and two pieces of sweet rolled egg. Each item had a unique flavor that complimented the main course extremely well. To summarize, this place is delish AF. Do yourself a favor and hit this place up ASAP before it blows up!

Delicious. I got the chicken katsu bento box and it was very tasty. I'm a chicken lover and I can be critical. This was delicious. Will order from Ichirin again for sure. :)And thank you for the good service.

Tried this place today and it was ok.Take out only so we called to order in advance. Located in a weird industrial complex, next to a decor store. Plenty of parking. Saba bento was good, I enjoyed the flavor of the grilled mackerel. The beef was ok. Chicken karaage was a bit oily. For almost $17 per bento box, the food was just ok.

Found this place at Farmers Market in Irvine Regional Park on Tuesday. First time trying here. The owner Yosuke is Japanese, he is very friendly and informative about their food. I am Japanese who is allergic to wheat. He mentioned me any ingredients that might contain wheat. So this time I got Green tea pudding for myself and a Karaage bowl for my husband. Yosuke told me that he may consider some gluten free bento near future! My husband also a Japanese enjoyed Karaage bowl. Rice is perfectly steamed. Karaage chicken is very juicy! My green tea pudding is more like Bavarian cream, or I would say panna cotta. Soft and creamy. Matcha has good flavor in it. I am so happy that I found this place! I will definitely come back. I highly recommend this place to everyone.