Manpuku — Restaurant in Costa Mesa

I am visiting the sunny state of California. To find food of my particular diet was a chore. I ended up walking over to this restaurant. The first thing I’d asked was whether there was a waitlist or not because of the crowd that was out in front. I was told no. I spent about 10 minutes speaking with the greeter/seater about the menu. I simply asked for the garlic rice with vegetables. The greeter/seater told me that they could not cut up vegetables. I was thinking, “for real.” So, in disbelief, I asked what vegetables can you put on the rice. She told me just onions. I was like, how about broccoli and other vegetables. After getting no where with the greeter/seater, I asked for the manager. I asked the manager about the rice and vegetables. She stated that she could try and work something out. I was thinking, “ok, we are getting somewhere.” The manager then thought and said, I don’t know about seating though. It’s going to be like 45 minutes. Both, the manager and the greeter both said that they do not do take outs. I came to the conclusion that my money was not good enough for them so I left and ate comfortably at another nearby restaurant, and got served what I wanted and more😀. Before leaving Manpuku, I told the manager and server that I did not feel comfortable eating there because of all of their inconsistencies and that what they were saying did not make sense to me; I never heard of “their explanation” in my whole life. I told them that I would post a review about my...

This is my favorite restaurant hands down. I wish we had one in Arizona. Not sure what needs to happen to make that happen, but it has to happen soon.

Been here at this location twice this week, and the experience has been nothing short of exceptional.

Food The food has been absolutely the best, the quality, freshness, and flavors are all out of this world. It’s amazing to taste the different flavors that each cut of meat, with seasoning brings you.

Atmosphere Since I have travelled quite frequently around the world, when I am here, I feel like I’m in Japan. It’s a small, nice, warm cozy Japanese feeling restaurant but it’s big enough for us big Americans. Clean - super clean. They take time to clean up each table thoroughly.

Staff We have mostly interacted with the ladies that work here. They have been so accommodating and friendly. They always have a smile, and willing to explain the dishes to you. They were also very helpful in getting us in early when another table finished up early. I really appreciate the effort these ladies took to get us in.

Overall This is absolutely my favorite restaurant. In comparison to the Yakiniku restaurants I have been to in Japan, Thailand, China, Las Vegas, etc, this one as well as the other locations (Torrance and downtown LA) have been absolutely outstanding every time. Very happy. I will always be back to see these ladies smile and experience their friendliness and amazing fabulous food.

Conclusion: If you are in LA, you must try it....

Stopped by for a late dinner and for more than expected. Really just want some oxtail soup and maybe a few skewers, but found this place was much more than yakitori. Like a mix of KBBQ but with high quality cuts more like shabu. I’m sure there is a name for this, but I don’t know it. Oxtail soup was very good, but reminded me of Korean beef bone broth as well, just elevated. As for the meat, they has a special on Japanese A5 wagyu brisket for $18 which was awesome. Simply salted and came with salad and light citrus dipping sauce. Also tried the signature short rib with green onion and salt which was also very good and came with its own dipping sauce. Last but not least, we tried the prime outside skirt or hirami in spicy miso. They have two options for a marinade, sweet like teriyaki or spicy miso, they just don’t volunteer that. Service was very good but they obviously have certain preferences for how you should enjoy their food and should help newbies more. Not sure if they were trying to be overly polite or accommodating, but once we got past that and we explicitly asked them to guide us, we were all good. They changed out the grill often and checked with us many times after that. Prices were very food for the quality of...