Yen Sushi & Roll

Really nice sushi chefs! They make great rolls! Very clean. Nice vibe inside, good music & cool ambient lighting. Fun for date nights or with friends. Laid back family vibe during the day.

I have been going to this restaurant for years. I bring friends or just hang out with
my sons. I love the sashimi salad and my son loves the Bento Boxes and some of the rolls.
It’s relaxed and fun!

It’s okay. Nothing special. Food is descent price is fair. Service was average. Like most sushi restaurants, it is owned by Koreans so it’s not that authentic.

This place has been going downhill for awhile, it’s smoke and mirrors because they stuff everything full of crab meat and rice but skimp on everything else like that yummy fish – ya know – the reason most people eat sushi in the first place. Everything has a «sour» flavor so I’m guessing either everything is soaked in vinegar, or it’s not as fresh as it could be. It’s down the street from my place so I go there out of convenience for a sushi fix.
They are suppose to close at 10pm on weekends… I tried to call in a pick up order at 9:45pm on a Sat night, but a woman rudely told me «closed early»…I could tell she just didn’t feel like taking down the order. I’m sure the business owner does not know the employees are being that lazy & turning down business during business hours.
It’s rude to customers, especially if you are driving out there and counting on food. Good luck to Yen surviving in Irvine these days on garbage sushi, rent here is sky high other places are way better — in fact, Mazuria is just across the street.

Been here a few times with my fiancé and the food is pretty good the place looks a little different then the last time I went but over all the food is good, price is not bad and the waiter are nice.
Haven’t really had a bad experience yet and price was not bad.

I’m going to keep this simple. I have eaten here more than 30 times and have yet to have a negative experience. The food speaks for itself and they have some great rolls here.
I don’t agree with the bad reviews here, this is one of my favorite sushi spots in Orange County.
I don’t know how you could have something bad to say about this place. I’ve eaten a lot of fish in OC and this place is on point. Don’t listen to the hate. This place is a huge treat for my girlfriend and I.
Unilocal is losing its luster. Did you know you can pay to have a bad review removed? All integrity is gone in my opinion.

Overpriced, mediocre, disappointing. None of the food looked ANYTHING like the pictures on the menu. The baked green mussels were $ 8 and they were literally just open shells with a squirt of soy and mayo – then baked. So lame. Then we asked the sushi chef to «make us something with yellowtail, just not a Cali roll» and he gave us yellowtail sashimi. Really?! What a joke. Bill was $ 45 for mussels, sashimi, and two mediocre rolls. First visit, last visit.

I’m not quite sure why this place gets so much hate. The waiters and waitresses were on point, and not once did I feel like I was being given any «attitude.» They paid close attention not only to me, but also to the others around me, and this was during a moderately busy hour. My order was promptly taken when they noticed that I had put my menu down, and it came just as promptly several minutes after it was taken. Waters were refilled properly, the bill came quickly, and there was no rush.
I suppose the hate comes from the fact that most of the bad reviewers simply have a bloated sense of entitlement and a severe lack of common sense and decency. Your waiters and waitresses are human beings with schedules to keep and quotas to meet for running and closing the restaurant. Treat them like human beings and you will receive the great service that you deserve. Then again, basic human decency is usually too much to ask for from the idiot customers that seem to frequent this place, so I suppose the highly biased negative reviews here are an inevitability.
The food was good. My baked salmon roll came out quickly, was very well-​made, and tasted great. Same with my chicken yakisoba. Nothing was too hot or too cold; they know their stuff. It’s unfortunate that such an establishment is constantly hounded by pathetic, self-​entitled children with no sense of basic respect for other human beings. Five stars for you guys for the great service and for your ever-​impressive ability to deal with idiotic, affluent filth on a daily basis.

The food is pretty good. Tender and fresh. Not unforgettable. The reason why this place gets 2 stats from me is because they’re seriously SO cheap! I have been coming here for years, and they never change in their complete lack of generosity. Let me explain: I asked for more ginger with my 2 sushi rolls (because they literally have me 3 pieces) and she said, it’s $ 1 extra. What?! I’m not cheap, but come on. You didn’t give me enough to begin with. SAME thing with the snowcone sauce I asked for. Waitress: «ohh! Snowcone sauce? $ 1!» $ 1 for a tiny tiny ramekin of sauce. Then I asked for the baked salmon roll. The ingredients states that it’s a salmon tempura on top of a cali roll. Well, I just wanted bakes salmon on to, not tempura. Yup! You guessed it! $ 1 extra! Finally I got annoyed and said, «but it’s LESS ingredients! How can you charge me extra for less ingredients? They made me pay it regardless.
The two Korean sushi chefs stand in the back and do as they please with little to no regard for customer satisfaction. I’ve been coming here for YEARS. Today was the last time. After spending over $ 40 to dine by myself (over 4 of those charges being «extra charges for condiments and ginger and refills) I realized, they can suck it. I say NO to you Yen. And the only reason why you even get 2 stars at all is because your cali rolls are always on point! The end.

What I want to know is, what’s with all the race comments? Let it be about the food, and experience. Don’t be that entitled customer that thinks their opinion matters; it’s subjective. Don’t be that person who starts running their mouths about race; that’s a whole different issue! Don’t be inhumane pricks. There’s already too much hate in this world. No I don’t work there I’m going to be trying this sushi for the first time today.

I wish I could give a 0 star. seriously this place sucks.
I will never ever go back to this place. The food is terrible and the service is even worse.
the owner was there when I visited and she was very rude. there was lipstick stain on my water cup but she blamed on me
instead of an apology. I still prefer my food since I went with my family. I didn’t want to ruin the night.
but the food was so bad. u gotta learn how to treat ur customers lady!

I haven’t been going to Yen for sushi in quite a while, but since the other sushi places in the area were disappointing, I decided to give them another try. I’m sure there has been change in ownership over the years, and for the most part, I didn’t see a big change in the quality of the food. But now I have to say that it is noticeably different. I don’t know who the chefs are making rolls for, as I believe these are supposed to be bite sized little delights, and yet the cut roll pieces are much too big to be bite-​sized. If you are female and can successfully get an entire piece in your mouth, it will delight your date, but you are guaranteed to not look pretty trying to chew. The imitation crab must be relatively inexpensive, as the rolls I got seem to be stuffed with a lot of it. The balance of the tastes and textures are off. Disappointing. It’s really a bummer.

My girlfriend and I dined here on a rainy night. We were seated close to the front door, which, when opened, sent a blast of cold air in, making me shiver! But the seating itself was almost as uncomfortable. The small tables along the wall had bench-​type seating on one side of the tables, but the other side had large wooden «cubes» as seating!!! Hard, with no support! Not only that, because the restaurant is so tiny, the tables are so close together you can hear all of the conversations of those seated to either side!
Another couple of negatives: My friend got her Udon noodle bowl long before I got my sushi combo. (We should have been given food at the same time.) And I was given a tiny, glass, one-​ounce shot glass for my hot sake, which, whenever I tried to pour it, went all over the table (the first time I’ve ever had trouble pouring sake!)
Last negative: The kitchen was right next to the restroom, and I had to wait outside the restroom for at least 4 – 5 minutes, observing a not-​so-​clean kitchen area where dishes are washed & bus staff carrying trays of dirty dishes, speak Spanish, etc… (the curtain was open).
The positive of the experience dining at Yen was the friendliness of the servers and the sushi, which tasted pretty good, despite the cuts of fish being so small! (Be sure to ask for NO garlic or green onion all over your sushi, as Koreans must own this place and do not prepare or serve the sushi in authentic, Japanese style.)
Needless to say, I probably will not go back!

If I could give 0 stars I would.
Another Korean-​run japanese sushi joint. All their rolls have excessive amounts of imitation crab, cream cheese and avocado. You bite in to any of their sushi rolls and it’s just a creamy mushy bite and all you taste is the fake crab. The sashimi is partly frozen. Anyone who scores this place higher than 1 star is either high or has never experienced quality sushi. They are better off going to an all you can eat sushi buffet. Ill give them one thing, it is cheap. While the service is pleasant they are forgetful about the drinks. Koreans should stick to Korean BBQ and leave the sushi up to the Japanese.

I’m obsessed with this place and I’m sorry I haven’t left a review sooner. It’s really close by and the employees are super sweet and accommodating. Occasionally we have odd requests and they are very nice about it, but then again people will usually respond nicely and cater to you if you are nice to them as well! *hint hint for all you cranky people demanding good service* :)
My friends and I go here ALL the time… well maybe not ALL the time but once every 2 weeks or so. I’ve dined in and also ordered for pick-​up, both experiences have been wonderful.
My faves:
–poporn lobster roll
–Disco shrimp roll
–superman burrito
–snowcone roll
–baked oyster roll
–some other stuff I can’t remember!
I heart sushi!

I have three simple rules to determine weather or not a Japanese place is worth while before you even get your food, and this place passed all three, however, once I got the food, I was a tad disappointed.
But! Before the food, the three rules:
1. They yell their greeting at you. Right when the door opens, they yell a Japanese greeting welcoming you to their restaurant, I love it!
2. The place isn’t too American. You know those places that have neon lights with techno music… Not my jam.
3. Free miso soup for everyone. OK, I kinda lied, I got miso soup with my combo, but my friends didn’t. Miso Soup is like chips and salsa at at Mexican restaurant, everyone should get some!
So, Yen passed this test, and the service was great! I was well on my way to a great time!
The prices were fair, and had a lot of good combos, including a KILLER lunch special!
However, the fish wasn’t very flavorful. I always get sushi when I go to a new Japanese place (not a roll, but just fish and rice). The rice here was even a little bland from what I am used to, and the fish was bland. It’s tough because I loved everything about this place from the atmosphere to the service, but the fish wasn’t that great. Do with that as you may.

I’m done with this place.
Used to come here semi-​regularly since it’s the closest sushi place to my house, but I can’t take it anymore.
First off, the quality is poor. Other reviews will back me up on this.
More egregious, however, is that the chefs don’t know how to cut sushi. I would sometimes get the Superman Burrito but the fish was cut so poorly that you can barely chew through that rubberband-​like piece of fat in the middle.
The final straw was when I asked them to make a spicy tuna roll extra spicy. They said it would cost $ 1 more. Really, $ 1 more to squirt in a little extra Sriracha? Come on.
The waiters/​chef/​staff do not speak English that well and come across as terse and impolite. I just don’t like dealing with them.

My wife and I stopped by this place since we were in town. This is the place we met at so we wanted to eat here again for old times sake.
We ate around 3pm and there wasn’t anyone there. It was nice since it was private. We ordered a miso soup, crunchy dragon roll and the hungry roll. All the food was good.

I’ve been dying for a sushi burrito but haven’t had time to go all the way to LA for the Jogasaki truck. Yen sushi is a couple miles down from my house and it was the closest option. The boyfriend was nice enough to place a takeout order since I had some studying to do and reading other reviews I didn’t like that the restaurant suggests how to tip, etc.
We ordered the Vegas roll, popcorn lobster roll, and the Superman burrito. It’s actually surprisingly large and I was soooo excited to bite into it. It comes with a sauce that I think may be a mixture of spicy mayo, sriracha, and unagi sauce – it’s really spicy! I picked up my half of the burrito, took a bite and the texture was nice, but I literally did not taste anything besides soy paper and sesame seeds. I thought something was wrong with my taste buds, so I dipped my second bite in some sauce. I could definitely taste that. I took a bite of the rice alone: not seasoned at all! I took a bite of the crab, it was creamy but again, lack of flavor. The tuna was okay, it seemed like it just came out of a long siesta in the fridge. The salmon was also bland! I have NO idea how they managed to do this. I was almost amazed by the fact that the burrito tasted like nothing.
The Vegas roll actually had some flavor and was the best out of the three. Credits here for them seasoning the sushi rice, but I think this one went overboard. It had shrimp tempura, spicy tuna, salmon, and imitation crab. The popcorn lobster roll was just okay, there was nothing really memorable.
I’d save my money and go elsewhere; nothing is really spectacular about this place and it costs as much as any other sushi restaurant, so there’s really no reason to come here.

Superman burrito & their bento boxes!
Superman burrito: super huge, fat sushi burrito filled with crab, raw tuna, and salmon. The special sauce was good, and if you mix wasabi in there you got more of a spice kick!
Bento boxes: really cheap for 2 combos! Chicken: I suggest you not get their chicken in the bento box, it was dry, plain, and had no flavor at all. Their sushi rolls are decent.
I also got their udon. The broth was good, but the chicken was soooooo flavorless! Not even a taste of chicken. It was grilled nicely though, but I don’t know why it didn’t have flavor.
Overall: cheap, decent sushi. Great for a sushi craving.