O Fine Japanese Cuisine — Restaurant in Irvine

From the time I entered the restaurant until the end of our meal, I had the most hospitable, delicious, and spectacular time eating at O Fine Japanese Cuisine.

Our servers, Iga and John, were great! They served us with smiles and a friendly attitude. Our gracious servers catered to our needs and checked in with us throughout the entire meal. They refilled our drinks constantly, asked us how everything was going, and made sure we were taken care of. I especially had a great conversation with Iga about her nails and how gorgeous they were. I'm a nail person myself, so it was really fun to spend a few moments admiring each other's nail arts. But I digress!

We started off our night with a bottle of the Yuzu Bloom, a floral liqueur mixed with sake. The color was so pretty, and I'm a sucker for cute and pretty things. The bottle that the sake was mixed in reminded me of a lil pink potion, teehee. The alcohol itself was yummy! The tart citrus flavor is tempered by the smooth sake but neither flavor was too overpowering. I'm not really an alcohol person, nor do I claim to be an expert on it... But I do know what I like, and this I liked! Unfortunately, I only took a few sips because I was the designated driver for the night. The rest of my companions had no problem drinking down the rest of the bottle. We all enjoyed it thoroughly! ;)

Onto the food. We started off with a couple of premium chirashi bowls, which came with miso soup and salads. And might I just say? It was divine! The sashimi selection on the bed of fluffy sushi rice was to die for, fresh as can be. The ankimo had a full, complex flavor to it that left me wanting more. The shrimp head was fried to perfection, a crunchy bite from start to finish. The blue crab had me clacking my nails together in a crab happy dance. The toro (my last bite of the dish) was fatty and filling and melted so easily in my mouth. The other sashimi bits and pieces added together made for a perfectly balanced bowl. The deliciousness of it all almost left wanting more, but thankfully the rest of our dishes were more than enough to fill that void.

Along with the chirashi bowl we also got the Crispy Lobster Roll, Baked Lobster Roll, and the "O" Roll. Where do I even start? The crispy lobster roll was a joyfully crunchy bite filled with real lobster atop the sushi roll, with the rest of the sushi ingredients all rolled together in a soft soy paper that balances everything out. The baked lobster had a similar, yet different vibe, but just as scrumptious. The lobster shell decor helped to elevate the dish too. And the "O" roll had me making a similar shape with my mouth after that first bite. The freshness of the ingredients wrapped around thinly sliced cucumber as opposed to regular seaweed sent me to the beautiful ocean. What an ebb and flow of fresh fish contained within the confines of that snappy cucumber. It might have been my favourite bite yet!

There is not an aspect of this fine establishment that has gone unturned and neglected. From the staff to the service to the fold itself, all stars all around. Eating at O Fine is truly a wonderful way to spend time with people who love food and who enjoy a good time.

To sum up my...

We have visited this restaurant for dinner many times so coming here for dinner seemed fine. When we arrived at the restaurant it smelled really bad, like a stinky bathroom. A bad foul smell. We then sat down at our table and it still smelled bad. Was it the smelly recycled fountain water? Not sure. After 10 minutes I went to the ladies restroom and it also had a bad foul smell. We also noticed the prices on the menu were extremely higher than our last visit on 2/15/2020. Wow, I'm sure prices went up due to COVID-19 and inflation! For the amount of money we spent on the food you would hope the smell and atmosphere of this restaurant would be descent. The smell seemed to dissipate. There were 2 other tables with guests near us. I wonder if they could smell this awful air. We ordered our food and it cam quick. Ordered scallop cut roll, veggie tempura for me, mix tempura with shrimp for my son, edamame, rice and wagye beef entre for my husband. For dessert we had the pineapple cheesecake as a birthday dessert The food tasted fine but 5 hours later my stomach doesn't feel the best. I'm lactose intolerant so not sure because of that or something I ate. My husband & son shared the same dessert and they felt fine. Overall, I thought the food was overpriced, atmosphere had bad smell and not worth the money. Won't be...

Occasionally I dine or get takeout from the Laguna Beach location, for the variety and quality of the sushi.

I recently tried the restaurant week omakase menu. I took 2 courses home (sashimi selection and cheesecake dessert. This is my first experience with omakase, so I cannot compare to other restaurants.

Each course was presented beautifully, in petite portions. The first course “fat bastard” was something I normally wouldn’t try, but I actually enjoyed it. I’m not fond of chewy or tough seafood, but the oyster was smooth and tender, without an overwhelming briny taste.

My favorite course was the sushi sampler near the end. It was a filling conclusion with very different and complex flavors that complement each other. I also enjoy black cod, which was seared perfectly, and served with steamed veg medley. Per chef, alternate the slices of fish with the veg to balance the oily richness of the fish, which was great advice.

I think the most intriguing dish was the tempura uni, Wagyu, and crab roll wrapped in ohba and tempura fried. The uni was salty and briny, the meat was rich, and the ohba was a clean, refreshing balance.

Overall enjoyed my meal and would recommend to anyone who wants a special treat for restaurant week!

I appreciated the addition of truffle aroma to some...