Origami Handroll Bar — Restaurant in Brea

As someone who eats out frequently and considers Japanese cuisine my absolute favorite, I’m pretty particular when it comes to quality. I grew up in Japan, visit often, and have tried just about every notable izakaya, sushi spot, and Japanese restaurant across Orange County—and many in LA. So when a friend recommended Origami Hand Roll and Kushiyaki Bar, I was definitely intrigued by the unique concept: hand rolls as the main feature alongside kushiyaki (grilled skewers).

I visited with my best friend and, as I do with new restaurants, we ordered a wide variety of dishes to get a real sense of the menu. The first bite I had was the salmon skin hand roll, and it completely caught me off guard—in the best way. Crispy skin, perfectly textured rice, and nori that stayed crisp without sticking to your tongue (a detail that can really affect the overall experience). It was a clear sign this place takes their hand rolls seriously.

From there, each hand roll was delivered one at a time on a custom stand, rolled right in front of us, and we were encouraged to eat them immediately. Every ingredient tasted incredibly fresh. The sweet shrimp had a natural sweetness and snappy texture that confirmed its quality. The uni, toro, and ikura combo was something new to me—and honestly, mind-blowing. The flavors worked beautifully together and it made for a great photo too!

As for the kushiyaki, each skewer was grilled to perfection—juicy, tender, and marinated just right. It instantly reminded me of the taste of Kyoto when I visited two years ago.

Overall, this place is a gem. I couldn’t find a single thing I didn’t like. I haven’t enjoyed Japanese food this much in a long time, and I’ll definitely be back to explore more of the menu. Highly recommend.

Almost forgot. Make sure you try their soft serve. It’s the best you’ll have...

I’ve been wanting to come to this place for a while. My favorite is kazu nori. The only thing we have similar is ROL. This is a little bit of a drive for me, but it’s worth it if I don’t have to go to LA so I finally Made it out and a few things I’ve noticed is everything is à la carte. All the pictures people post look like the roles are rolled up and handed to you, but the menu only shows temaki. They don’t have any preset menus, which I think they should consider. Especially with so many things on their menu newbies coming in should have somewhere to start, especially at this price point. I really wanted to try a bunch of things but not at 7.5 for one temaki. Kazu nori is still king. Based off their quality,consistency & price point. ROL will suffice, but not even close to quality. But a little higher in price. This one is way above. Everything else quality is much better, but I don’t think it justifies the price point. I went to a restaurant like this in Seattle recently and prices were somewhat similar, but they did have sets and the rest of their menu was reasonably priced. I feel like this menu is just high across-the-board and it doesn’t match the quality. I’m not gonna say it doesn’t have good quality, but it doesn’t match. It’s giving UCHI prices but ROL quality. Nothing was good enough for me to want to keep spending money here. I’m going to Japan soon so I’d save my money for that. I don’t think I will be back here unless there’s changes in menu or...

We were excited to try Origami and to our surprise the server was Ina rush to take our order. There was a mistake on the order and instead of just apologizing and change the dish to what we've originally ordered she tried to confront me as if I was lying and changed my mind. She became rude almost throwing the plate in front of us, not placing plates in front of my guest but rather far from them. She was acting as if she was a rude customer and us workers. Customer service isn't for her (Yong lady with glasses). She needs to understand that even if the customer made a mistake she has to kindly accept that she has to change the dish In a kind manner.

Now when it comes to the food, the uni pasta was served cold. Most dishes we had were poor quality.

My advice as someone who's been in the luxury hospitality for over 15 years. Owner/ manager needs to retrain staff on manners and handling guests and food quality will need to be improved. Prices are high I understand but food quality needs to match the price otherwise your clients will see it as...