Wafu of Japan

I am loving this sushi place. It’s quaint and small. Quality is good, flavors are good. Service is good. I don’t think I have anything bad to say.

Friendly employees, really good food and dessert especially the tempura banana with ice cream, my fav. The food is amazing, the beef udon is also my favorite.

My family has been coming here for sushi for over 10 years! The owners are so friendly and the food is delicious. Always fresh fish and I love their sesame chicken. A cute cozy ambiance and everything to cure your Japanese cravings! I’m a lifer!

I’ve known the owner of this restaurant for many years and the food here has remained a blessing throughout. From the attentive and genuinely pleasant service to the welcoming ambience and atmosphere, Wafu of Japan perfectly provides authentic Japanese flavors, delivered with a distinctly humble touch, to all guests.

Wafu of Japan became our favorite sushi place. It is small, I believe there are only like 7 tables to sit at (and bar area) so especially Friday and Saturday nights get busy but wait is doable and quality of food is worth it. Dragon balls became our favorites, give them a try. We order at least 2 plates of those every time we come. 2 sushi chefs work fast so food is served in timely matter. We visited multiple sushi places in OC but this is the best so we don’t go anywhere else anymore!

Lady friend and I got the dinner plate and shared it I knew she would like that since she isn’t a huge fan of raw fish. Everything was tasty, the beef was tender, the tempura shrimp was fresh, and the crunch roll was very good. I was impressed with the selection and freshness of the menus under the table. You know it’s a good place when they have a menu that changes and offer things not on the regular menu.
Place has a nice ambience and décor. Staff is friendly and polite. Would recommend.

This place is simply amazing I haven’t had one bad thing here. My favorites are the Bluefin Tuna, Snapper w/​spicy yuzu and the green tea mochi ice cream. The wait is never long and some how they always seem to save our seats at the sushi bar unintentionally. Seriously a great place to eat!!! And the only place we eat sushi. Authentic with a twist.

Great lunch specials and THE BEST miso soup
I decided to write this review because of the bad experience I have had at Flame Broiler a few doors down. If you eat anywhere else in this small shopping center you have let yourself down.
My father in law swears by the miso soup here.
I love this place!

Love the sushi here! After being disappointed for a long time I’ve finally found a good sushi restaurant. I had a huge craving for hand rolls. I tried blue fin tuna, salmon, scallop. There was also monkfish liver on the menu which is hard to find lately.
I found my new regular spot, thank you Wafu!

This is not your typical sushi in a gas station spot… It’s the best you! They have the best best sushi. A couple of their signature dishes that are a must– dragon balls n samurai burrito!

I love this place! It’s small and quaint, but we’ll worth it. Excellent Sushi, service… A++++

Small place but good food. The service is friendly and the rolls are good. The garlic edamame takes the crown on this one. It’s local and convenient.

One of my friends from school introduced me to this place a couple years ago, and I am so glad she did. This is the best sushi I’ve had in the OC. I literally crave their sushi, cucumber salad, and samurai burrito after only a week of having it. Their sushi is always so delicious and fresh (we always get the salmon, tuna, yellowtail, and albacore) and their samurai burrito is to exquisite. Consistently amazing food here; it’s not surprising that it’s always busy. Friendly staff and clean restaurant are added bonuses.
The only cons: difficult parking and that they don’t open earlier on weekends. (This is heartbreaking when I get a sushi craving around lunch time on Saturdays!)

I came here with one of my lady friends for a light dinner on a Tuesday. So I’m sometimes very bad with directions, and I ended up taking a few wrong turns (3 to be exact) before I finally made it. It’s located in a tiny plaza with the gas station at the corner. Luckily when I got there, there was parking and seating both available! Double yay. My friend ordered the Sexy Roll and I got the Samurai Burrito.
Sexy Roll —
My friend enjoyed it. I tried a little bit, and for some reason I was really surprised with the flavors. This roll has no rice, and it was replaced with crab. Not that I didn’t like it, but it’s something I probably wouldn’t order again myself.
Samurai Burrito —
Tasty! Presentation was good too! Even the people sitting in the table next to us asked what we ordered. Sauce was good and not too overpowering like how many sushi restaurants do it. There was lettuce inside the roll which added a pleasant crunch to every bite. However, the rice seemed really tightly packed, and on top of it, there was soy paper wrapped = chewier than I’m used to in terms of larger rolls.
Service —
On top of it, nice, and very helpful. But what confused me was when we were already looking through the menu for a few minutes, the waitress came back and asked us if we wanted a dinner menu. I’d expect the dinner menu to be there from the start if we go in at 7PM and not just the sushi menu. But that’s minor. At the end of our meal, we each got an orange slice.
Overall I had a good experience, but it wasn’t AMAZING aka 5 stars, but I’d go back again.

This restaurant is allllllrighttttt, but I wouldn’t come here again for a meal. My experience already went downhill when I had to drive in circles trying to find it. This tiny restaurant is located in the Arco plaza under the sign «Sushi». It isn’t until you pull into the plaza that you see the sign on the glass window above the door.
Again, the restaurant is tiny and the atmosphere isn’t fit for a loud party or anyone with a loud friend. It seemed as if the crowd was either singles eating by themselves at the bar or on a date.
Food:
Dragonballs (~$ 5.95 for an order of 2) — their specialty dish (a «meatball» combination of imitation crab, shrimp, avocado, drizzled with sriracha mayo sauce). The dish itself was OK. I actually found the little side that comes with it more appetizing (I can’t recall what vegetable it was, but it was yummy).
Samurai Burrito Hand Roll (~$ 5.95) — a soy-​wrapped hand roll (shrimp tempura, spicy tuna, imitation crab). It was also OK. There wasn’t anything special to the roll, no orgasmic flavors… very mediocre like everything else.
Calamari (forgot the $) — the flavors were there, but they drench the calamari in some sort of citrus ponzu sauce on top of a small shredded cabbage salad, which makes the calamari soggy quick.
Service: the staff was friendly and as attentive as you could be before closing time. We got sat an hour before they closed and I felt rushed to order in the beginning.
Prices are average, but the quality does not make it worthwhile.

As you can imagine being from Orange County, I probably have tried millions of Japanese Sushi Bars. And every time I walk into a new one, I’m always hoping for something different than the rest. Unfortunately, most of the time I leave disappointed. But this time, however, was different.
It was like going to see The Dark Knight in IMAX. I went into the restaurant with high expectations after reading all the Unilocal reviews, and I left with my mind blown. Wow. where do I even begin…
I always going into a Japanese Sushi Bar judging off of only 3 criteria, freshness, uniqueness, and service, probably like everyone else.
Freshness: The fish was on point. I ordered the sushi special that came with different pieces of fish on top of japanese rice. My friend order the sashimi. The sashimi pieces were more than generous. Every piece just melted in my mouth. I couldn’t decide if I liked the sushi or the sashimi better.
Uniqueness: Every Japanese Sushi Bar always serve the typical rainbow rolls or some fish on top of a california roll. Wafu of Japan serves this Samauri Burrito that is a roll that I have never seen before. It is definitely a must try. I didnt get a chance to try all the Special Rolls on their menu but every single one sounded like nothing I’ve ever had at a Japanese restaurant.
Service: This place has one of the best services I have ever experienced. Our server, Mei, anticipated every one of my needs. As I was about to ask for a refill, she was already coming over with the water jug. After we gave our compliments to the chef, the sushi chef, Harry, personally thanked us as we left.
If you’re looking for a Japanese restaurant to impress someone, this is it. I dont think it can really get any better than this. Definitely coming back for more with friends and family.

I’ve seen this place plenty of times and finally made a stop. It’s a very small hole in the wall but the staff is warm and friendly. I had the teriyaki chicken dinner special which comes with the chicken, rice, miso soup, California roll, shrimp veggie tempura, and salad. It’s a lot of food and it was very tasty. The teriyaki sauce was not too sweet and the dressing for the salad was so good. It was pretty busy during dinner time with lots of regulars it seemed like.

We have been to Japanese restaurants and sushi bars with «sushi fusion». But no place as humble, respectful, and excellent as Wafu of Japan.
As a starter, definitely consider trying the garlic edamame (request spicy if you don’t mind a little zing). When it comes to specialty rolls, you must try the Samurai Burrito if you are looking for an innovative twist on a traditional «Alaskan Roll».
Last but not least, if you have room for dessert, share the Tempura Banana Ice Cream.
Taste is something that can’t be put into words as much as emotions from grand hospitality can’t — explaining why we can’t spoil the surprise.
Definitely pay this place a visit when you are about 15 – 20 min away or less. It’s worth every moment!
ヾ(＠ー＠)ノ

Sushi Imari’s line was too crowded (le sigh)…fortunately my partner in crime found this gem off bristol. Walking distance and not too crowded, hustled on over to get our sushi fix.
Ambiance
Parking | It’s in a small plaza that can size about 20 cars. Though it’s small you shouldn’t have a problem after 5 since that’s the only store in the plaza open.
Seating | Seating is pretty tight but can fit about 40 people. You have the choice of bar seating, standard, and outside seating.
Feels | It’s a nice pretty intimate hidden gem. Aesthetics around it isn’t so attracting or fun. If you want to hide from the hustle and bustle of the malls and hype then this is a good place. You can catch up with a friend or even on sports at the bar. With nice lite rock music playing in the background, it gives me
Food:
Dragon Balls (Recommend)
* Delicious! Cold crab meat mixed with spicy mayo and other goods. It’s an fortunate that they only serve two.
Samurai Burritto (Recommend)
* Delicious! I enjoy the soy wrap, the spice and the crunch. Very similar to the dragon balls but without the crunch.
Sashimi Mix (Recommend)
* For a healthy taste, this is a great choice. Healthy greens with a diverse mix of sashimi.
Salmon Belly (A-​OK)
* I am glad they have salmon belly. Good but not great.
Water
*Not to be nit picky but their lemon water was served with only a piece of a lemon rather than standard slices.
Customer Service:
Good. Our wait behind 3 groups wasn’t too long. Probably an honest 10 minutes. Though our orders came a bit later, I’m glad the waitress addressed it.
Overall:
4 stars. Maybe I’m comparing it to my sushi experience across the street. The price is reasonable, selections are diverse, and food was good (kudos to creative names). Great place to be if you want to lay low.
TL;DR Tips:
* Great place to be lowkey for a date night or a simple hangout
* Samurai Burrito is still a sushi roll.
* If you’re driving on Bristol and you see the sign «Sushi» in neon lights. That’s «Wayfu of Japan»

4 stars (I recommend)
I am glad my coworker introduced me to this little Sushi joint near our office. It is a great sushi place for lunch time, I really like their lunch special menu. Overall their quality isn’t bad, I highly recommend it. It isn’t the best quality sushi restaurant, but for the price and area it is a great choice. The only drawback is the parking because the overall shopping center has very limited parking.
Pro Tip: Their parking is limited, so carpool and/​or give yourself time to find parking if you go during lunch.