Izakaya Okan

Hidden gem alert! A small cozy store front in a tiny little business strip that you cannot afford to miss! I stopped in about 40 minutes before they closed, there was one other person besides me in the shop that felt much like being back in a little Izakaya in Japan. Service was great, the time from ordering to food delivery quick, and just an overall great experience! I ordered the steamed clams, pork belly wrapped asparagus, and pork cheek (as recommended by the server). They were all a treat! The clams were cooked perfectly and the broth comforting for a chilly evening. The pork belly and asparagus well balanced and flavorful. The pork cheek was amazing! I can't wait to come back and try more items off their menu again soon!

4.5 rounding it up to 5I missed the small parking lot for the strip mall but was able to go around the block with ease. It's located near a nail salon shop and Wahoo is nearby as well. Service was very good, they were on top of it and even brought me the Nanami Togarashi to add a bit of a kick and spice to the food. I'm Korean so this is a must and it paired well with everything that I put it on, especially the pasta. The food came out fairly quickly and they filled our water and tea regularly as we ate our meal.The restaurant is not very big but they have plenty of seating. We opted for a larger table since we were going to be ordering a bunch of food to try out. I wanted to eat things that I don't normally eat so we ate: eggplant with grated mountain potato, this was lighter than I thought it was going to be and my friend appreciated how nice it looked plated. We also got the creamy uni udon. It had a good sized amount of uni in the dish. I thought it was a bit TOO creamy, it was definitely decadent. I liked how it tasted with the Nanami Togarashi too. This I had to take home as leftovers because we had other food to eat. The pork cheek with green onion sauce tasted a bit like Samgyupsal or grilled pork belly to me. The fat just melted in my mouth. There were some pieces that were a little chewy but still edible. I've never had pork cheek before so I'm unfamiliar with the texture. The yellowtail collar was fantastic, it had a lot of meat to it and the miso black cod, well I could have eaten three orders of that by myself. I've had this before at other restaurants, but I have to say that theirs is the best thus far, the piece was bigger and fresher too. I saw later on the wall menu that they had nigiri. Y'all...you know I had to get the bluefin tuna and toro. It was a little bit on the pricier side but the pieces of fish were thicker and it was oh so tasty. I also could have ordered more but we had to stop ourselves.I'll definitely go back there for the nigiri and miso black cod. But I also want to try their other dishes like their prime beef skirt skewer, scallop skewer, takoyaki balls, and quick seared US Kobe beef with garlic ponzu. And their happy hour sounds legit!

Delicious authentic Japanese food ranging from izakaya, sushi, and dons!This restaurant is in a quaint restaurant strip, they have tons of dining seatings from small (2 people) tables to medium sized group tables. There is also bar seating if you'd prefer that. They also have a late night happy hour menu, this place is great for post-work happy hour, intimate catch up dinners, or just a casual hang out with friends.When you go in, you're greeted by the nicest staff. They're enthusiastic and they also give the best food recommendations. There are pictures all of the walls that shows you the best deals and what specials they offer. Now let's talk about the menu..It's not an izakaya meal without a fun happy hour beverage, we got the calpico and peach drink. They both were so refreshing, fruity and not too sweet. The carbonation kicked off the meal pretty well.Gabo Salad -- this salad is super healthy and is super fiberous. It's really crunchy and fun to share, we ate this throughout the entire meal and didn't try to finish it in one go. When you squeeze the lemon, a lot of the flavors are expressed. The bottom includes more of the leafy part of the salad, don't forget to mix it in with the crunch mid way through.Tamago -- The tamago they had were really fluffy and thick, it was really flavorful and I ended up adding the radish to pair. Great source of proteinMackerel -- This has got to be my favorite dish, I would highly recommend it! I ended up ordering this to go as well. The mackerel is from Norway and the way they prepared it was smoked. It wasn't too fishy and they also had prepared home made ponzu sauce. The sear really masks the fishy smell and the fish melted in my mouth. It was so buttery!The skewers:- Chicken was really tender, this one was oen of my favorites- Pork belly, this was really flavorful and the salt/acid pairs really well. I was pleasantly surprised by how crispy this was! I added wasabi to cut the salt- Beef tongue was really chewy Salmon with Ikura Kamamenshi -- This one was the nice filler meal. It takes 30 minutes to prepare and Kamamenshi is the style of cooking their rice, it's their specialty! The ikura added a lot of flavor to this dish.We ended the meal with some dessert:- Black Sesame pudding was really light and sweet. It was a great way to wrap the meal and it tasted really unique.- They also had a pudding that tasted like flan, this one was dense and more on the sweeter end but the syrup almost tasted like a hojicha syrup that I loveOverall, really well rounded meal that got me feeling really satisfied! Definitely would be coming again.

Stopped by on a Friday night. We were the only ones there around 6:15pm. Soon it filled up but there was no wait. It's a cute little place and reminds me of restaurants in Tokyo. Service was great. We ordered the following to share between four:TakowasaAgedashi tofuSoft shell crab with wasabi saltBroiled chicken liver in chilled sweet soy sauce Deep fried chicken gizzards Gobo saladBeef tonguePotato, Cod Roe, corn & butter riceEel riceDeluxe curry udonDeep fried chicken with green onion sauceEverything was delicious. I loved the potato, cod roe, corn & butter rice. It was so scrumptious. I have never had all together like this. The beef tongue was so tender. Chicken liver was made with love. It was nicely cooked. I enjoyed every dish we ordered. I just wish the portion was bigger. My mom complained that the eel rice was too sweet and had very little eel. I felt like it was American price with Japanese portion. But other than that, this is a definitely must try place if you love Japanese food.

Come here for some late night happy hour bites! This place has a variety of dishes ranging from grilled, skewers, fried, fish, rice and noodles! There's something for everybody. Some standouts:- chicken skin skewer! crispy yet tender- mackerel with ponzu, super flavorful- hamachi kama- takoyaki, perfectly cooked with a nice fluffy texture- karaage - super juicy and tender!Service is quick and friendly! Even took a selfie with us hahaAtmosphere is cozy since it's not a big restaurant but it feels more intimate this way.Definitely will be coming by here to try most dishes!

Found this place upon searching on Yelp for something new. It's a little hole in the wall and it definitely did not disappoint.We didn't order any ramen or udon since others whom have rated said it was not good. We ordered monk fish liver, salmon belly, this rice with broth and salmon and eel, and yellowtail collar. All was good. Fish was fresh and seasoning was on par. The salmon belly (grilled) and the yellowtail was market price which is a bit different than other places where they have a flat price...maybe is because it's fresh rather than those frozen ones you can get at restaurant depot.This is a nice spot to come for basic family Japanese food.The restaurant is a bit small and tables are jam but it's still quiet enough to catch up and chit chat without the bustling like other places. The waiters were super friendly and accommodating.

New casual Japanese dining spot discovery in the OC. Okan took over the previous Sakanaya OC location (I am sad that Sakanaya OC is closed!).Okan has decent food, and their pricing is ok. Everything we ordered was good: Uni Scallop Carpaccio, Deep-Fried Soft Shell Crab with Salt, Hamachi Kama, and Kamameshi Beef Tongue Rice Pot. Kamameshi Rice Pot was not hot enough to create crispy rice. Staff was friendly. I would like to come back to try their Creamy Mentai Udon next time. Their Creamy Uni Udon looked nice too.They also have late night happy hour Monday through Thursdays 9pm - 10:30pm with Sapporo pitcher for $13 (original price $19). I would love to try their happy hour, but sadly, OC is too far for me on a weekday. Their reservations are available via phone or online. Corkage fee is $25 for 720mL. Hot water is $1. Hot Green Tea is $2.50. There is free parking in the strip mall lot.

Ordered 4 dishes, most them were overpriced and tasted like you can get it everywhere else.Pork dish was decent.Sushi bowl was pretty bland.Duck was bland and overpriced. Had better ones in other places with same or lower price.Rice balls were definitely overpriced. Didnt taste like anything special.Overall, wouldn't come for a meal.

Food was very sub par. Nothing stood really stood out nor excited us. The fried gizzards were pretty decent but it did not help their udon dishes. The curry udon was very watery and lacked flavor. To no surprise the mentai udon was also lacking in the mentai flavor. The servers were extremely nice and were informative. I will not be coming back any time soon unless they change up their recipes. For the prices of their main entrees i would have expected better.

I went to this Japanese restaurant recently, and it felt really authentic. The fish was super fresh. I could really taste it in the spicy tuna and negitoro hand rolls. They also had kamameshi, which is a rice dish cooked in an iron pot. It's one of those dishes you don't see often outside of Japan, and it was really comforting. I also loved their udon, especially the butter mentai udon. The noodles were chewy, and the flavor was just right--not too heavy but still rich.I got a chance to chat with the owners, and they mentioned they just opened this spot. They actually have a few other restaurants down in San Diego, so they're bringing their experience here. If you're looking for a real Japanese spot, I'd definitely recommend checking this place out.