OC｜Your Ultimate Guide to Cooked Japanese Food 🍢🔥

As someone who doesn’t eat sashimi, I’ve tried countless cooked Japanese spots over my four years in Irvine — finally compiled the best of the best! No more dinner dilemmas. 🏮 Izakaya Izakaya Hachi Loved it since freshman year — perfect after a trip to Spectrum. Must-order: thick-cut beef tongue & beef tataki with uni. Tamagoyaki is served warm. Their yakitori selection is small but every skewer is amazing! 🥰 Shin Sen Gumi Robata & Yakitori Only the Fountain Valley location has yakitori. Hard to go wrong here, though it can be a tad salty. Izakaya Osen Known for their raw dishes — sweet shrimp was good, but every cooked item I tried was just okay. 🫥 Honda-ya Personally prefer Shin Sen Gumi, and this place is even saltier. Not bad though — plus it’s closer to Irvine. 🥩 Yakiniku (Japanese BBQ) Anjin Been coming here since freshman year — always get the #3 Beef Tongue and #4 Kalbi Short Rib! Their lemonade deserves five stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Manpuku The only yakiniku spot here that serves beef tataki with uni. Tsuruhashi Kimchi fried rice, beef tartare, tongue, A5, Kobe — all delicious 😋 ❤️ Other Cooked Japanese Favorites Sagami The rice in their unagi bowl is better than the eel itself. Their chicken wings are a must-try! K‘Bistro (formerly 1-Michelin-starred Ikko) Tried the omakase — best dish was the uni & ikura rice. Saw soft-shell crab at the next table and it looked incredible. Botan Sushi (formerly KY Sushi) UCI student canteen vibes — super affordable. Their hot rolls are way better than cold ones. Mokkoji The best shabu-shabu in town, IMO. Hako Their cheese tonkatsu is delicious. 🍜 Noodles Marufuku Broth is light and perfect for my taste. Hakata Ikkousha Best karaage (fried chicken) here. Menya Hanabi Only the noodles are good — broth is a bit salty. Oki Doki Must-order: spicy beef udon. Their karaage and hand rolls are also great. HiroNori Rich, flavorful broth and tasty chashu. #IrvineEats #FountainValley #Izakaya #JapaneseFood 🍱🔥🎌