Wafu of Japan — Restaurant in Costa Mesa

Good quality, intimate environment, authentic, but doesn't stand out, and quite pricey.

Order: Kanpachi Roll (2pieces) Samurai Burrito Roll Teriyaki Chicken Miso Soup

Generally positive experience. Food was good quality and authentic. Apparently they hand prepare their miso soup. Interestingly, their miso had a bit of noodles in them. That's a first for me. Didn't notice any seaweed or tofu, but maybe it's a different style.

Kanpachi Roll: Simple, fresh, good quality

Samurai Burrito Roll: Their most popular item was pretty filling. Wrapped in lots of rice, and good presentation. Nothing particularly noteworthy. An Americanized roll.

Teriyaki chicken: a small bowl of rice and a plate of brown meat chicken with teriyaki sauce and cabbage. Again nothing particularly noteworthy, didn't stand out and actually underwhelming compared to other teriyaki chicken I've had. It doesn't come with a crispy skin that's fried and adds texture. That's my personal preference when it comes to teriyaki chicken.

Beer: Big bottle of Kirin malt beer. Can't go wrong with Japanese beer.

Environment: Intimate and authentic. You will hear Japanese being spoken by the staff and they have an izakaya style set up where you can sit at a bar and watch the food be made in front of your eyes.

Overall 8/10 would recommend.

Next time I'll try...

Had lunch. Service was good. Very attentive staff which had great recommendations on what to try. Had the carpaccio with salmon and yellowtail - salmon was delicious. Had the Samurai handroll and the sexy roll. Enjoyed the Samurai roll. The sexy roll was interesting- alot of crab on that one. Also the yellowtail roll was interesting. King salmon sushi - friend liked it. Enjoyed the crab nugget and would recommend - crab in a shitake mushroom which tempura fried and has some shitito peppers. Had the red bean ice cream and matcha with the tempura fried banana. Red bean was sweet but not too sweet. I really liked the fried banana.

Parking is very limited in this area so...

Stopped for a quick bite while visiting the area. Easy to find from the main road, it’s located in a strip mall. Parking was pretty easy. Not very assuming place from the main road but once inside very cozy. Felt like places I’ve visited in Japan. Service was first class, very friendly staff. Food was fine, the spicy tuna rolls were not very spicy but otherwise tasted fine. Spider roll was good. Presentation of the food was excellent. Definitely would stop by again when in the area. We did see a combo roll set with 4x4 rolls for about $24 which I would likely try next time I visit. Would definitely like to explore...