Izakaya Habuya Okinawan Dining

In my many years reviewing restaurants in and around Orange County, this is my best discovery ever! It is so good, I don't want anyone elseto know it exists. Small, cramped, cozy little Japanese restaurant tucked away behind a market in Tustin. Outside is hardly noticeable, but oh, the inside is magic. Step into the world of southern Japan, a smallisland, full of the best seafood, flavors, smells, white sand beaches, and crystal clear waters. We waited at home for our number to go downto fifth in line, then we drove to the restaurant usingSiri. They sent me a text while we waited in the carlooking at a map and pictures of Okinawa. It was like we were on a boat. The place is so small butso full of color, art, and culture. We started off with a pint of super cold draft beer from Japan and a small bowl of black seaweed. The seaweed took my tastebuds to the ocean. Oh, how I love the ocean. Our next course was Takoyaki! Incredible, friend eggand potato mixture. Our meals came. I had the clam, miso Ramen. Words can not describe the symphony of flavors that work so well together. The best Ramen I have ever had. There were chunksof a type of root, or ginger, that had a citric flavor. The noodle were not the typical skinny ramen noodles, they were thicker, and a bit al dente, the way I like them. I ate and drank the entire bowl, down to the last drop, This is the Holy Grail of Ramen. Keep this place a secret.

They've fixed their reservation system, and this place is wonderful again.The owner's service has always been the same--roughly friendly, I'd call it. It might seem rude, but that's just how she is. The waitresses are friendly. Even though the menu states they don't accept tips due to a price adjustment, a 15% tip is automatically added.The floor gets really slippery, especially during the rainy season--it's like walking on ice.I love the cozy indoor setting and retro toy decorations. Even the bathroom wallpaper is fun!One downside: they don't offer hot sake.The excellent: Purple yam, Salmon skin salad, Sashimi platterMediocre: -++ Tonkatsu : The quality isn't always the same. Sometimes it's excellent--crispy on the outside and tender on the inside--but other times the skin falls apart and the pork inside is chewy. The quality is inconsistent.-++ Grilled mackerel: Excellent fish, but sometimes the meat can be a bit chewy and lack flavor. The lemon isn't very juicy or sour either.-++ Chicken karaage: The chunks are way too big. Some bites are really good--juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside--while others are just chewy.--+ Grilled sea bass: Good, but a bit bland and slightly fishy.--+ White corn tempura: It looks cute and tastes okay, but then you bite into the hard cob. I thought it could be rice or fried mochi holding the corn together, but it's just a cob. I was disappointed.---Takoyaki: It looks cute, but it's wet inside with nothing else in it. I didn't find any octopus or squid; it just felt like biting into wet, salty dough.The No No's:---Awamori & Lime - Awamori Margarita: Terrible drinks. It's bitter and has a strong isopropyl alcohol smell.--- Uni Scallop Sashimi Truffle: The scallops have an unpleasant fishy smell, the uni is a bit bitter, the truffle is minimal, and the truffle powder--possibly Sabatino Tartufi Truffle Zest Seasoning--has a strong fragrance. Overall, it's overpriced and fishy.---Teba: Boring--- Grilled pork feet: Too salty and few pieces of pork skin only--- Mentai mayo musubi: Rice with a bit of pink looking mayo, no Mentai in visible. --- Goya chanpuru: bitter melon, egg, spam: Junk food. Bitter melon is not bitter, eggs are tiny and spam looks beige. --- Shoyu ramen: Salty soup broth with nothing much inside, lots noodle tho. This place still offers a nice, cozy experience, but don't go there without a reservation. The parking is also terrible since it's shared with the laundromat and grocery stores. Be cautious of strange people hanging around, especially if you stay late, as they might purposely block your car.

This is one of those hole in the wall places most locals know about and is a hidden gem. This hole in the wall family owned business is tucked away literally in a corner of a random Stater Bro's strip mall behind the liquor store. Its SUPER tiny and probably less than 40 people total capacity like you're really in a stand in Okinawa! Make sure to join the yelp wait list or you be ready to wait a few hours if you even can get it! They are typically always fully booked every night and they strictly enforce an hour per party because of the long queue. The auntie owners are super fun here and make you feel right at home too! The interior is decorated with all sorts of authentic Japanese pop culture so you totally feel like you're in Japan. They have changed the menu and simplified it over the many years we've been visiting. They do have Okinawa Kirin on tap or a bunch of japanese shochu cocktails available too. The menu itself has a variety of either finger food tapas style items, or a few set bento style but the menu is designed for sharing! This is a place to chill and have a good time for a casual date night or chilling with your friends. The absolutely must get items include the soft shell crab and corn tempura! The Japanese food here is very authentic Okinawan cuisine and not overly salty/seasoned and absolutely NOT fusion so be aware it may not be to everyone's taste especially very Americanized taste buds. We absolutely will continue to support this gem in our local community as they do have some season menu changes from time to time!

Finally tried this place and I understand why it's so highly rated. Right after opening there were a few people lined up outside and already packed inside. This is an authentic Japanese restaurant so it was also very compact like in Japan too with small two person and four person tables. I really enjoyed the salmon sashimi which had thick and buttery slices. The purple sweet potatoes were also delicious, fried to perfection but needed some ranch (personal preference lol). Other highlights were the udon, takoyaki and corn fritters. I didn't particularly like the grilled chicken gizzards as it was cooked well but just a lot of crunchy texture and the goya and avocado salad, which I didn't realize was a kind of bitter melon.

I tried Izakaya Habuya today and it was absolutely phenomenal. The food is absolutely delicious. They sell small dishes, ravens, bowls, and curries. The servers are all very friendly. I also like the decor inside. We ordered, the clam miso ramen, pork katsu curry, takoyaki, yam, and seaweed. My favorite entree was the clam miso ramen. The noodles are very flavorful. The miso broth is full of rich miso flavor, which is nice. The amount of clams was a lot. The pork curry was delicious. The sauce was thick and the pork was lightly battered. The takoyaki appetizer was good as well.

this place literally feels like a izakaya in japan! I love the decor and it felt like I walked into japan LOL! they have SO MUCH little trinkets and it keeps my eyes busy! the service is also great too!!!the quality of fish was amazing! maybe the best salmon sashimi I've ever hadddd arguably!! the place is pretty tight and the wait can be long so get on the waitlist early! we went on a Friday night so that may be the reason for the crowd!!Here's what we got!salmon sashimi: 5/5 SOOO FRESH AND BUTTERY!! i loved it fried squid: 5/5 so crispyyyy beef sukiyaki bowl: 4/5 a little bit on the sweeter side for me but once everything is mixed, it was more balanced! comes with a poached egg ;)) purple yam fried: 5/5 I've never had purple yam fries before so I was pleasantly surprised!!Overall i give this place 5/5 for the food, service and ambiance! So much fun!!

A little hole in the wall. It's got limited seating. Waitlist via Yelp only. Opens for dinners only and they power through those hours. There is a max dining time of 90minutes, which is plenty cuz dishes come out quickly. We ordered calpico and a lime beer for drinks. Goya chanpuru, squid tempura, and sukiyaki beef bowl. All of it was very good. There were a bunch of other menu items we wanted to try which means we will be back LOL.The atmosphere is eclectic and fun and the staff was nice.Note we got there at 5:20pm and waited only 5minutes before seating. When we left there was a wait outside already.

This place titters between 4.5 and 5 stars for me. It's a hole in a wall kind of Japanese restaurant, which was surprisingly good. Again, one of these place you wouldn't have ever noticed without Yelp!If you don't make a reservation at this place, don't bother coming here. It's almost a MUST to get seated here because it's a Japanese style type of Izakaya place. The broth for the Okinawan Raman were light, but flavorful. The soup base are not overly salted like some ramen can get. The noodles are thin noodles, which were perfectly cooked.Pork Feet Soba is not the kind of soba noodles I was expect. The noodles are thick like udon noodles, but has a texture like ramen. The soup base were sweeter than the usual broth, and has a flavor that's familiar to me, but can't quit tell what is it.The best takoyaki I have in the state. Not too gooey, not to hard, just perfectly cooked with about 2 pieces of octopus inside. I only wished there was more Japanese mayo on it.There's nothing special for their Agadashi tofu. Wish it was fried more crunchy.Tip: Reservation is a must on weekend cause it was packed even during a weekday.

The wait is long but food is worth it. I like asari miso ramen, chasu ramen, and dried squid tempura. Nice vibe with great food. Btw, they already include the tip in their bill. Overall, great food with decent customer service. Will come back to try more.

Haven't been here is a few years and was curious about their current menu. They no longer take reservations but you can add yourself to the waitlist. Once your table is ready, you will receive a text. My waitlist for about 20 minutes for arrive but I received a text and got there as my name was dropped. I went in and told the lady my name and although she was frustrated that I was late, she added me back and I got seated once a table was available. It was super nice of her. The restaurant was still decorated the same. Nothing has really changed except that the food is even yummier now. We ordered the following to share between four:TakowasaGrilled chicken gizzard White corn tempura w/truffle saltTebaSoft shell crabBanana fish Grilled eel Spicy miso ramenWagyu sukiyaki A lot of the items were new. Everything was delicious and well balanced. My favorites were gizzard, teba and white corn. Gizzard was tender. Teba was juicy and seasoned well. The white corn was simply scrumptious with the hint of truffle salt. 15% service fee was automatically added to the bill. That is pretty reasonable.