Nara Japanese Restaurant

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iequeen

Joined 4 years ago

Best in the US. Nara’s is an old school kind of sushi bar, with limited atmosphere. Nara himself is typically there 6 days a week, getting up at the crack of dawn to get the freshest fish for the days sushi. Thurs – Sun can be a bit of a wait, in the old day, that wait could be up to 2 hours before you see the inside of the place (very small). It’s always been worth the wait. Prices have crept up in the last few years, although quality hasn't suffered. The lines are a bit shorter now than 10-15 years ago, but they still can get rather long. Overall if you want fresh sushi and ice cold Japanese beer (on tap!), Nara’s still can’t be beat! It’s really too small for little kids, so I would leave them with the sitter.

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ackerwine

Joined 5 years ago

Best in LA. Yes, Indeed. You have got to be kidding me about "old sushi". This Sushi restaurant is "THE" best in town. I've tried numerous sushi placed on the west side and orange county. This place is definitely as good if not better. I think the service is okay because they are always so busy. I recommand everyone to go at 6pm or before or 8pm and after. If you arrive around anytime in between, expect to wait at least 30 min to 1 hr. Try their spicy scallop handroll.

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hamsta74

Joined 6 years ago

Best Variety of Quality Sushi I have ever had!. You have got to be kidding me?!!? Old sushi?! Wow! This place has the freshest sushi that I have ever been to. For you non sushi connoisseurs, this place has great rolls like one of the previous reviewers put down. The hand rolls are indeed like snow cones. ENORMOUS! Don't think that it does not taste because it is so large, cuz it was one of the best hand rolls I have ever had. (I had a salmon skin roll cajun-style). The only reason why the previous reviewer could have put a negative review in my opinion is so they can hog this restaurant to themselves. My cousin took me there and he says that he drives all the way out to Chino Hills from Irvine to get sushi here. Totally worth the drive. The BEST thing about this restaurant is the specials sushi menu. He personally goes out to the fish markets and brings back new and unique types of sushi. Fishes that you would not find at a normal Japanese restaurant. If you do not like sushi other than rolls and tuna, you may not like this place as much as a sushi connoisseur might.

In regards to the service... to be honest, I do not really remember. I think it was because I was raving about how good the sushi tasted that nothing else really mattered.

Conclusion: Once you eat here, other japanese restaurants will seem like yoshinoya compared to this place. Plan on returning whenever I can.

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vintagec

Joined 8 years ago

Best Sushi Place in Town. You usually have to wait a while to be seated Thursday - Saturday evenings... But the food is worth the wait! Big portions, fresh fish, great rolls makes this my favorite sushi bar in LA! I've been to many of them and none can come close. The service is not great at all, but you can overlook that with what you get.

For first time goers, try the CD Roll or Chino Hills Roll (Shrimp Tempura based Rolls). Another must try is the Spicy Tuna Roll, its the size of a snow cone and incredible. Langostino is another must try, but its loaded with mayo sauce so stay away if you don't like it.

Doesn't Recommend

kakajiang

Joined 8 years ago

never again. for the price that i paid, i expected good service, if not food. the food tasted old, like it was out too long. the waitress was rude. after being sat, we watched her chat with another waiter for 30 minutes before she took our order. during that time, we tried to get served by another waitress but it was "not her table" so she wouldn't.