Momoku No Usagi — Restaurant in San Clemente

5th time here, salmon and uni was nice and fresh, the yellow tail was not, next time (if there even will be a 6th time) going to order half as many rolls and because they are a "hit or miss". If you are an alcoholic, this place is perfect because the drinks are well made, if you can afford it 15 $ to 60 $ per drink.

But the fish is inconsistent, I don't like the super lazy western approach to the rice being pre-made in a plastic tray, that was washed with regular tap water, not clean filtered water. So all the cleaning chemicals in tap, like Chlorine for example, which does cause cancer, is now on the rice.

Definitely not a place for educated people who enjoy clean and safe food that has consistently good quality.

But if you are just a average drunk that is consuming alcohol daily and doesn't care about good hygiene or a well balanced lifestyle you will feel at home if you are of low standards and make decent money as the drinks are far from cheap.

Sad to see the potential this place has go to waste. Could be attracting people like us that spend 200+ every time, if you fixed the hygiene problem and quit cutting corners on pre-made rice and simply washed your hands with soap for 30 to 60 seconds or simply had 1 person always making the rolls and staying super clean and the rest of you cleaning up tables and making drinks.

But instead you are currently catering to the local lower class that have 1 drink and 2 rolls, 2 drinks max if you're lucky.

I can afford to spend 300, two to three times a week here and so can my friends, because we love to pig out on good, fresh, clean seafood, accompanied by a couple tasty drinks.

But just as last time, probably will be a month before I come back here with my friends again. Maybe two to three months if ever.

We were so excited in beginning the first two times we came everything was good and fresh.

But obviously management doesn't have the capacity to grasp the concept of consistently providing good service, in other words how all of our businesses make millions because we don't cut corners ever, never compromise on quality and consistency.

And the #1 millionaire rule is simple. Trust=Money and the moment you lose trust is the moment you lose money.

Get a clue or get out of the business.

And parking...

We made a reservation in a whim with no expectations for anything besides doing something new, but by the end of our visit we were insatiable and totally delighted. The four of us in our party are all foodies who were equally impressed with the food and cocktails. We planned to order two rolls between us at the table, but we were so impressed by the crispiness of the nori and the delicate balance of the sauces lightly flavoring the wildly fresh fish that we each ordered several more. Spoiler alert, we would have ordered more if we had been able to stay longer. We all liked the "kanpachi" the best, because it was just particularly beautiful, but I'd eat anything on that menu any time, no doubt. We all tried different cocktails, which were equally special. Honestly, you could blindly point to menu items and feel thrilled with whatever came to your table. I've worked in the service industry my whole adult life, and I had zero complaints. Our waiter was confident and quiet, but charming. I will...

Cocktails: Good cocktails, 5/5. Pricing is appropriate for the type of drinks they make.

Ambiance: 5/5 They definitely hit the spot with the speakeasy vibes.

Food: 2/5 hand rolls were not really hand rolls (I’m basing these off of having Kazu Nori handrolls). Nothing was outstanding about it and the prices were high for mediocre fish.

Service: 2/5 took about 45 minutes to get our handrolls and it was hard to hunt anyone down. I’ve seen businesses with more people and less staff be better managed than this place. Didn’t seem like staff was communicating with one another to who was taking care of us.

Overall - go here for the drinks, not the food and I’m sure you’ll have a better experience...