Izakaya Habuya Okinawan Dining

One of the most unique Japanese restaurants you can go to since there's not many out there, at least not that I know of, that specializes in Okinawan cuisine.

DEF get yourself on the Yelp waitlist as early as you can and make sure that you keep your eye on the waitlist since lots of people get taken off as they don't hold you on the list for longer than 5 minutes. I can kinda see why as the restaurant was packed from beginning to end when we were there and the restaurant itself wasn't that big.

Another thing I gotta say is DO NOT fall for any of the "trap" dishes aka anything that you can get at any other Japanese restaurant (I'm talking about standard donburi, curries, or ramen...). You're at an Okinawan restaurant! Get some unique regional dishes here!

We got the:
1) Clam Chowder Corokke:
-Comes with 2 pieces and some Bulldog sauce (Worcester sauce) to dip with.
-The exterior is delicately crispy, though not made with panko like other croquettes.
-Inside is gooey clam chowder with real pieces of clam. Nice and creamy and a different type of croquette than what I'm used to (potato, meat, or imitation crab filling).

2) Purple Yam:
-Not sure if this is more of a red herring type dish but it is something that is a bit more unique and took some time for it to be prepared.
-It's lightly salted fried purple yam. A bit dense for an appetizer, but I can see it being more like a beer snack food.
-Richer and denser than sweet potato for sure and if you like sweet potato fries, you'll really enjoy this.

3) Gurukun aka BANANA FISH:
-I can't believe they named this dish after a BL series. Jk jk.
-It's a small crispy fried fish with some soy sauce and lemon to add for taste.
-Fluffy meat and not too many bones to pick through. Slightly salty to taste.
-Good as an appetizer.

4) White Corn Tempura with Truffle Salt:
-I've never seen this offered at a restaurant before and it tastes good, don't get me wrong but another one of those dishes where I'm not sure if it's a red herring dish.
-It's actual slices of corn on the cob that's fried in tempura batter with truffle salt on top. Gotta take bites out of it like you would for any regular corn on the cob.
-Nicely sweet and juicy with the corn and salty with the truffle salt and tempura exterior.

5) Fried MIMIGA (pork year):
-Comes with a side of mayo to dip in. Slightly crispy exterior and the pig ear part isn't too chewy despite being all cartilage.
-Great beer snack type appetizer.

6) Tebichi Soba:
-This is their pig feet/trotter soba noodles. This is a souple noodles dish.
-I'm not a big fan of pig trotter as a meat, but the little bit that I had was very tender. There's also other meat in there too like fish cake.
-Noodles are more flat and wide, absorbing the flavorful pork broth nicely. There's a slight chewy texture to them too and unique from other soba noodles for sure.

7) Goya Chanpuru:
-This is a dish that I've never seen offered before.
-It's a fried dish of bitter melon, tofu, spam, and scrambled eggs, with bonito flakes on top.
-I'm not a fan of bitter melon and even this was a bit too much for me but my boyfriend who is ALSO not a fan of bitter melon said this was pretty good and downed the dish.
-It's a solid, bit more hefty appetizer dish and not too salty either. I can easily imagine this going on top of a bowl of rice.

8) Tsukemori:
-These are homemade pickles and comes with 3 types. I believe they were mustard/dark leafy greens, radish, and cucumber.
-Nice crunchiness and sour taste and works great as a refreshing palate cleanser between bites of other dishes. I liked the radish one the best!

9) Shikwasa Juice:
-Non alcoholic beverage. Shikwasa is is a citrus fruit that can be found in Okinawa, Japan and in Taiwan. It's a flat lime/lemon.
-Reminds me of a calamansi juice. It's sweet and not tart. Refreshing and yummy.

10) Awamori:
-This is apparently a hard alcohol that is indigenous to Okinawa. It's made from long grain indica rice that's distilled in the same manner that shochu is.
-There's a couple brands you can choose from and my boyfriend got the Shimauta one.
-The tiniest sip I took, it did NOT taste alcoholic in the slightest. It was pretty light and fruity honestly despite not having any fruit in it I think. I can imagine this being dangerous and destroying people who have too many.

Service was attentive and friendly despite being packed and busy. I LOVED the personality in the decor that the restaurant has. Make sure you use their restroom too, the stickers and posters are really neat.

Apparently the "habu" in Habuya is for a pit viper that can be found in Okinawa, would be SO COOL if they had merch of that for sale as well (I saw a t-shirt but didn't get a chance to inquire).

Cute hole in a wall Japanese restaurant in OC.
Highly recommend here for a small party dinner.
My BF and I were able to get in without a wait for early dinner. Parking is not hard since it's in a plaza with bunch of other restaurants.
We ordered the salmon skin salad ($15), spam wasabi onigiri ($3.95), goya chanpuru ($8.5), negi shio chicken gizzard ($7.5), truffle corn tempura ($7), and yuzu ramen ($15). For drinks we got the pink beer ($7.5), Okinawa margarita ($8.5), shochu ($6.5) and high ball (off menu).

salmon skin salad (8/10)-fresh and light, the salmon was fried well and dressing was refreshing.

spam wasabi onigiri (7/10)-pretty spicy but well made and hearty.

Truffle corn tempura (10/10)-best dish of the night, super crispy and had a hint of truffle!

Goya champuru (8.5/10)-high protein and not overly salty, had eggs, tofu, and goya

Negi shio chicken gizzard (9/10)-simple flavor but well cooked, gizzard had no after taste.

Yuzu ramen (9.5/10)-light in flavor but very strong in yuzu, I loved it since I'm not a huge fan of tonkotsu ramen.

None of the dishes are a miss and drinks are relatively cheap!
Would definitely come back here and try the other dishes!

We're always on the hunt for a new Japanese spot, and Izakaya popped up. It was advertised as a more traditional eating experience by other reviewers and this hidden gem did not disappoint. We should preface that we did need a to join a waitlist but stepping in you understand why. The spot is smaller but filled to the brim with solo diners, pairs, and family enjoying good food and company. The crew made us feel right at home along with everyone.

When dining at a spot that's out of our culture it's definitely a good sign to us when native diners fill out most of the crowd as in our experience it's a recipe for great food. The Tonkatsu did not disappoint and the Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen didn't last long enough to get a decent picture. Instantly one of our favorite spots in OC.

Note: The menu is not very descriptive aside from the name of food items (the rest is in Japanese) so you may need to use your phone!

Food: found this place on a whim while scrolling through yelp in the area, and so glad we got to try the Okinawa cuisine! My favorite was scallop truffle carpaccio, which was absolutely packed with the truffle flavor all the while preserving the freshness of scallops that melted in my mouth. The second favorite was soki soba, the soup was savory in all the right ways and the squiggly noodles were perfectly cooked. And omg you cannot go without Okinawa draft beer, it complements all the dishes so well. The curry was delish but slightly tad too sweet for me, but the corokke was crunchy on the outside and soft in the inside. My bf had me try goya chanpuru, and it was my first time ever eating bittermelon, I wasn't a fan, I think it's more of an acquired taste

Price: menu pics attached! Prices range widely but mostly in $5-15 range, depending on the dish, I'd say it's pretty reasonable

Ambiance: this place was so quaint and cozy, we loved it so much as soon as we stepped in. It felt like I was transported straight to a late night izakaya bar actually in Japan, the interior is dimly lit with many themed decorations adorning the walls. Space is a bit small and cramped with about 8-10 tables, but that's part of the experience.

Service: very nice people taking our orders, checking in to make sure our waters are refilled and our dishes are served in prompt manner

Parking: located in the corner of a fairly decently sized strip mall with parking lot, had no trouble finding an available spot

You wouldn't know this place existed unless you were looking for it. And for those who do know about Habuya, well, keep it well protected and keep the business going.

So Okinawan Dining might be little different from Japanese food that you're used to, but in a good way. But I think I'll just show rather than tell.

Scallop Truffle Carpaccio: melt in your mouth deliciousness with truffle that just complements everything perfectly. This is my absolute favorite. No further words needed.

Goya Chanpuru: I love bitter melon, so when they offered a bitter melon, spam, tofu, and egg stirfry I knew I needed it. And yep, it was every bit yummy as I'd hoped it'd be. This could be your introduction to bitter melon if you never tried it before!

Soki Soba: My second favorite dish of the night. The pork rib was tender beyond description and the soup and noodles were unique and refreshing. This is the type of dish to make you go "ahhhh" after slurping up some noodles and soup.

Corokke Curry: The corokke was nice. The curry was sweet and addictive though. I found myself just.. uhh eating spoons of the curry over anything else in the bowl oops. No regrets though!

So there you go, we loved everything we had and shoot, we'd go again. This restaurant is small and cozy so if you're planning to go during peak hours, join the yelp waitlist! The vibes are quite immaculate otherwise!

The best kept secret in Tustin for Japanese cuisine in my opinion. This is a self labeled traditional, Okinawan cuisine place.

Just starting off, call ahead of time or place your reservation on yelp because this place does tend to get crowded. And for good reason because they are worth the wait.

The food was amazing. We had a couple of different lineups, but ultimately it did not matter what you ordered. You were going to be satisfied. Highly recommend the yellowtail. But then again, I am also biased to yellowtail as it is my favorite fish.

Their service is amazing, although you might have a few missed words here and there with the staff, they are definitely patient and try their best to accommodate you.

Overall, if you're looking for an authentic Japanese cuisine with an amazing environment, this is the place to go. I hear some of the nights they actually have a live performance, unfortunately, I did not go to one of those nights, so I cannot speak on that, but I look forward to coming back and experiencing that first hand. Will definitely be back again.

I was always very curious about this place since I drive by this strip mall multiple times a week - a Japanese restaurant nestled in the back corner of the strip mall?!

I was blown away when I walked in, sort of like taking a quick flight to an Izakaya spot in Japan. The interior is very uniquely decorated. The service is friendly and attentive, and the food is even better!

If you're looking for fine dining Japanese food, this spot isn't it. However, this spot does have high quality sashimi and a lot of delicious Izakaya options! Definitely found a gem and excited to come back!

- salmon sashimi 10/10
- scallop truffle carpaccio 10/10 (ordered twice!)
- beef sukiyaki 9/10
- soft shell crab 9/10
- pork belly stew 8/10

We really appreciated the authenticity of this restaurant! It felt like we were back in Japan eating at a local spot. The restaurant is on the smaller side and has a time limit to dine in so it's good to go at an off hour because it can get crowded. Fortunately, we came at a good time so we were seated right away. The restaurant is quaint and we liked how it had a family-owned vibe to it.

The menu is expansive with a lot of options. We ordered the pork rib soba, miso ramen, white corn tempura with truffle salt and spam musubi. We enjoyed all the dishes and they all had a great savory flavor. The pork rib soba had a delicious soup with supple and tender pork. The miso ramen had a delicious garlicky broth with tasty pork slices. The white corn was also a hit with the crispy tempura and yummy truffle flavor. The spam musubi also had a home made vibe and scrumptious as well.

Overall, we enjoyed our meal here. Pricing is excellent and we completely understand why this restaurant is so popular. It's definitely a gem in the neighborhood. Now we want to come back and try other items on the menu.

I came here with my cousin and it was my first time at an izakaya.

Food Consensus: My favorite items were the corn tempura and the ceviche/sashimi. I'm not sure the name of the sashimi/ceviche dish exactly because it was apart of the specials on the wall. I'd say to pass on the salmon ikura bowl because it wasn't anything to rave about. Definitely try the takoyaki. My cousin loved it but I'm not the biggest fan of takoyaki so I can't say.

Service / Ambiance: The service was decent and our food came out pretty fast. I really enjoyed the atmosphere and decor, it made the place seem very cozy.

I would come back again to try some different items but I wouldn't go out of my way.

The food is wonderful!!! The store is a bit small so it does have limited seating. But they do have a Yelp waitlist and the food comes out very fast! I highly recommend the nasu miso, takowasa, and the wagyu beef sukiyaki bowls! Everything was so deliciously made! It was a very intimate atmosphere and I loved it!