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I think this place is a little better than the average rating on here. Sure, it has its flaws. The decor is a little hokey. The Sushi Chef isn't the most animated guy on the planet.
But I'm glad this place is across the street from me. It isn't the best sushi in Irvine, but I've never disliked anything I've ordered. The service is very attentive. And due to the lack of clientèle, we've never had to wait to sit at the sushi bar.
Here's why I have a soft spot in my heart for this place- for 60 bucks, me and my fiancée eat a ton of good sushi, drink a gallon of beer, and stagger home. How cool is that? I'm just sayin', everyone should be so lucky.
I went there with high hopes for the sushi... Yelped it before and saw that most didn't like the Teppan tables, but enjoyed the sushi... so my hubby, neighbor & I walked over there to try out the Sushi bar. After reading the reviews I expected decent sushi for a reasonable price.
**edited to say: I should have known... When many say 'there's never a wait', just back away from the MSG sushi rolls**
The bill was $120 for the three of us and my hubby & I didn't even have any alcohol. The quality of the fish was 'ok'... I would MUCH prefer going to Goro on Alton and Culver. Better quality and better food. The crunchy roll was a Cali roll with this fried crumb stuff sprinkled on top. And the fried piece of shrimp on the inside was greasy and rubbery.
Plus one star for being in walking distance & one star for having good sea weed salad. Minus one star for rude-ish sushi chef (when handing my hubby a plate... he didn't notice the chef was stretching his hand out and said 'hey!' to get his attn. WTF) Minus another star for sub-par cut rolls (there was an an intense mayo flavor in the volcano roll YUCK) & minus one more star for being $120...
WAY too expensive for what you get.. oh! And the ambiance is terrible. No wonder there's never a wait... Should have known.
I remember the good 'ol days when teppan style cooking was the craze...and so was big hair! The teppan chefs had crazy knife skills, threw utensils around like it was no one's business, and the whole dinner was like the Ringling Bros, Barnum & Bailey Circus. Well, like big hair went away...so have the real teppan chefs of yester-year...
I went to Koki's because my 10 yr old nephew wanted to go for his birthday, so we had a rather large party of 11. Service was attentive, they acommodated all of our requests and my iced tea was always refilled without having to ask, but some of the waiters/waitresses were a little difficult to understand...no biggy though.
Among the 11 of us, we ordered a variety of teppan style entrees...steak, chicken, salmon, scallop, lobster and veggie. The sauces were a bit watered down, the salad dressing had a neon orange hue to it, and the soup was some kind of clear meat broth with a couple slices of mushroom and thinly fried onions.
As far as our chef, well....we must've gotten the same chef that Ashley W. got during her visit. Don't get me wrong, our chef was nice and all and did display a certain level of skill...although he did fumble a bunch of times and had to repeat tricks over...but at least he kept on going like the Energizer bunny. But all I could comprehend out of the chef was "mumble, mumble...noodles...mumble, mumble...oil...mumble, mumble...butter"....you get the idea.
Anyways, the food was okay, but it was drenched in butter and oil...and lacking in any real flavor. I'm giving Koki's 2.5 stars. My nephews really seemed to enjoy the show...but I can't honestly say that I would go back anytime soon.
Where have all the real teppan chefs gone????
We were ravenous on night and decided on sushi. Boy was this a disappoinent! Seasoned sushi fan stay away. The fish was not fresh, each piece was stuck to a bowl of rice, and the rolls had more imitation crab than actual fish. A friend had the teppan chicken and that was below par too, it was overly salty. Only Highlight-very friendly service.
My boyfriend and I were exploring the area when we saw this place, so we wanted to be adventurous and try it. Twice I turned around heading back to the car because I wasn't really up for it, but my boyfriend finally convinced me to do so. BUT...
as soon as I walked in and saw the Cantonese speaking manager/ owner, I knew I was definitely not in for a Japanese style food. I really should have walked away...
The decor (or lack thereof) was bland, the service was not attentive at all, and our chef was totally bored out of his mind. He just mumbled in a monotonous voice, stare blankly at the food being cooked, and seemed like he hated his life. My entire night was filled with a huge Cantonese family reunion or something like one. Strangely it reminded of the atmosphere whenever I'm at a dim sum restaurant.
I must say though that the food is decent. The fried rice and the Filet Mignon is good. However, I also thought that their choice of vegetables (bean sprouts, mushroom, celerly...) was unappetizing. Oh and the chef really needs to go easy on the butter and oil. All the food was practically drenched with a heavy layer of oil.
Decent enough, but not enough for me to come back.
Koki's has NOTHING on Benihana's (and I'm not even that big a fan of Beni's so that's really saying something). I've come for their regular sushi as well as their Teppanyaki and neither section was very impressive.
The Teppanyaki was mediocre and bland... and the chef seemed bored and not very skilled with the whole knife flipping action and onion volcano type tricks. There's this one teppanyaki place all the way out in Puente Hills that's soo good (called Kingswood). Now give that place a shot if you want true, authentic Asian style teppanyaki!!
Now onto the sushi - very very average fish. With all the other mediocre sushi places in Irvine, you really should just skip this place and go somewhere else. The ambiance is dark and dim and never really bustling with customers. What a lame dining experience this was.
As a member of the "cult of Endo" the former sushi chef, we were disappointed when he left and were in a bit of a funk when we stopped in to sample the fare from the new guy behind the bar. I reviewed that earlier. But since we had to stop by this large strip mall complex for a visit to Petco, we decided to stop in once more. After all, if this guys' greatest sin is that he's NOT Endo, maybe we should cut him some slack and deal with him on his own terms.
I ran through my usual samplings and think he acquitted himself well. Tuna, yellow tail and albacore sashimi; quite nice except the tuna seemed to be slipping into the gamey territory. Ikura (salmon eggs) were much better this time around. In my last visit he had put some sort of sake (I think) on top, but I had him forego it this time and they were excellent.
The wife likes to get a scallop hand roll and she wolfed it down. Also basic yellow tail and tuna nigiri were tasty. Didn't really care for the uni, but I think we'll go back again if we need a quick sushi fix.
One more point, perhaps Thursday nights are slow, but we walked in to an empty sushi bar. We were there just under an hour and only one other chap wandered in. I expect that many of the Endo loyalists have cleared out. I can understand this, but also think the the new guy, Johnny, has gotten a bit of bum rap. Perhaps we should evaluate him based on who he is rather than who he's not. I think he's been thrown into a tough situation and he seems like a nice chap.
Oh.....woe is me!! The chef, Endo is gone. We stopped by a few weeks ago to find a couple strangers… Read more »
I'm vegetarian so I got the "Vegetable Delight" or whatever it was from the Teppan side (thanks pops).
That shit was $17. Plus about $15 worth of Asahi. I can't believe I just had a $32 meal and I am neither full nor satisfied. Could this have been my most expensive meal ever??
The vegetarian plate was basically just some bok choy and other leafy greens fried and mixed with some sauce. A small handful of udon noodles, maybe two mushrooms, half a carrot. Two small squares of sliced tofu. I can not believe they want you to pay $17 for what amounts to a lukewarm salad!! The main course was boring and totally not worth the money.
However, it also comes with miso soup, and although I am no fan of miso soup - that shit was delicious. I hope it was vegetarian.
I guess you're paying more for the Benihanas-ish experience than you are the food. That's fine. My dad and brother seemed to love it, but this is probably the only asian place they've ever been to in their life, so it's easy for me to discredit them. Americans, you know?
A friend's pregnant fiancee was craving teppan so I obliged with a fake smile. I hate teppan - food is usually overcooked, its overpriced and the show is blah. Once you've been to teppan (benihana or any one for that matter), there is no need to ever go again.
Lean back in your seat or be prepared to get scorched. Something wrong about a guy standing over a hot griddle with a squeeze bottle of oil in one hand and a bic lighter in the other. Don't they know that this thing could flash back into the bottle?
I'm not going to even get into the food since it's standard teppan. The show... standard teppan - lots of banging, flames, tossing food around.
The main thing to share about this place is the ambiance... the teppan side is depressing. It has this gray, dull feel that made me feel like I was in a hell-hole in the midwest in the middle of winter. I couldn't wait to get out of this place.
And of course, once you're out... you carry with you the stench of a having hung out in a greasy joint... because you just did.
Love the place and love the atmosphere. The chef at the sushi bar is quite a character; always smiling, very upbeat, and always has the beatles and the eagles playing on all his TV's for customers at the sushi bar! there are a TON of sushi options to choose from, but my personal favorite is the koki's special house roll. The roll's here are very fresh, on par with some of the higher-rated sushi bars in the OC. I kid you not. however, the prices are a little high. if koki's lowers their prices a bit, i would definitely come here more often
The chefs at the teppan are very very talented and can put up quite a show with the food, cutlery, and flames! one of the choices even catapult-fed me a zucchini....yeahhhh...this place is cheaper than benihana's too and offers a very similar experience. give it a try!
My first time coming to this restaurant was actually sort of by default. I drank too much at Outback next door and nobody would let me go home yet. So I sat, I ate bits and pieces of their meals and decided to actually come back again for an actual sober dinner.
And come to find it was just as good without any alcohol coursing through my veins!
I come here often but try to stop in during lunch...the food is cheaper and there really isn't a crowd.
I have to say that this is one of my favorite places to eat.
I mainly came here due to the coupon from http://restaurant.com. Then again, I've noticed that all the places I've been to are from that website. Saves a lot of money.
The teppan chef looked like he was bored... then our food was quite bland. He just cooked and didn't put on a show like the chef at the next table. Eh, probably because there were only two of us.
Then they added the tip onto the bill for a two person party... i would have given the 18% anyways but oh well, probably not returning here. after coupon our bill came out to 14/person after tip/tax.
Food: Was really reluctant to go since I'm not a fan of teppan but went anyway after studying at the nearby Tea Station. To my surprise, the food wasn't all that bad. The shrimp was good, the fish was good, the fried rice was good... but not good enough to deserve 4 or 5 stars.
Ambiance: Simple, clean, not much to its decor.
Staff: Friendly
Price: $$
The first time I went with my sister was on a weekend and it was packed. Most people seem to visit Koki for their teppanyaki but we were in the mood for sushi so we sat at the sushi bar. We were seated fairly quickly compared to the teppanyaki crowd. Our sushi was good and the sushi chef was really attentive.
We went again late last night and it was really empty. They sat us in the teppanyaki area but then we found out we can't order sushi if we sit on that side so we asked to be moved. We were moved to the single table in the sushi bar area. The sushi chef was having a good time with all the sushi bar patrons so our sushi was a bit slow. It was so-so last night. I felt the rice was a tad overcooked.
I would recommend staying away from the gyoza. It's not very tasty. Their miso soup comes with mushrooms - I never had miso with mushrooms before.
If I hadn't had the good experience before, I definitely would not return to Koki's but since I had one bad and one good, I'm giving them 3 stars.
I'll be back.
I frequent this place when the urge for teppanyaki hits me, since this is the nearest teppan place I know of. Teppan dinners are roughly $20 per person. There are the usual steak and prawn selections, and they also offer various combos. The teppan chefs make an effort to entertain, but you can tell sometimes that their heart's not into it - I suppose doing the same routine over and over and over will do that to you.
It's not a bad place all in all, but it could be better. If you sit in the teppan area (as opposed to the sushi area), the waiters say it will take a while if you order sushi, which blows since I like having sushi with teppan. The lighting could be better (it's pretty dim inside), and the furnishings could stand some updating. I usually go to places for the food and not the ambiance, so the fact that I am noticing the surroundings probably means that the food isn't good enough to hold my attention. Then why do I keep going back to this place?
As a general disclaimer, I've only been to Koki's for the sushi but the sushi chef, Endo, makes great sushi and is reasonably entertaining. Apparently Endo has been making sushi since he was a teenager and came to America from Toyko back in 1983. Bottom line, Endo has some mad sushi making skills.
I was actually pleasantly surprised with all of the fish and rolls, although Toro and Abalone were no longer available due to the scaling market prices. The quality actually reminded me of Sushi Gen sushi in Little Toyko but more limited in the fishes offered. I would definitely come back again for more Endo action!
I came here with some friends for some AYCE sushi, I guess it's new here. This place is owned by Cantonese, who didn't really speak English, when we asked for the dessert menu, we confused them. I'm not a sushi snob, so I though the sashami and rolls weren't too bad. One thing I base my AYCE places is their baked scallop dynamite, this place isn't really good, it's really watery, and lacks scallops. The reason for the 2 stars, was because I've had better at place like You + I Sushi, and the service was really slow. You sit at the sushi bar for the AYCE because the other tables are primarily reserved for the teppanyaki. There is only one person making the sushi. Also the rolls and sashami had way too much rice!! I'm a noob at this, so I ate all of it, and was way too full afterwards!! I think the combination of super slow service, and lots of rice, they purposely do that so you won't eat too much. This place is also kind of expensive, tax and tip came out to $32! I probably would go to other places before I choose to come to this place again.
teppan - yuck
sushi - yuckier
sorry, but i don't even want to waste my energy and time writing a review for this place.
disclaimer: this is a review of the sushi and not the teppan (which was pricey!)
i'll start with the BIG plus - three of us ate our fill of sushi here for under 10 bucks a head! i know, blows your mind doesn't it?
the sushi chef is slow, but he knows what he's doing. free edamame to start, and i am quite the sucker for free food. the fish was fresh - very standard offering of rolls - nothing too innovative, he keeps it traditional. i loved that the nigiri wasn't all rice, the fish to rice proportion was just perfect, but the rice was a bit overcooked and dense. however, twas not too bad for having opted to forego the killer wait at taiko for this place. cheap good sushi? nothing wrong with that.
I was sufficiently impressed my first time to come back with a large group. It's a great place for a group dinner, entertaining in addition to pretty good food. I don't know if it's my timing, but I've never had to wait long, even with a group of twenty or so girls. The chefs are impressive and amiable.
Went here after work on a Saturday. We decided to eat at the sushi bar. I have read reviews on yelp stating that the sushi chef was slow, and he was but we did not mind. The food was definitely worth the wait. The sushi was not the best I have had, but was really good. A little pricey, 9 bucks for a crunchy roll. They also play concerts on the TVs using a DVD player. While we were there we watched The Who, Celine Dion, and Kylie Minogue. I did not sit down for teppan. If your coming for sushi then this place is a good place to go if you're not crunched for time and want some good sushi. If you are pressed for time I would suggest you go somewhere else.
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