Nara Japanese Restaurant

Just had our last meal at Nara’s. Tonight was the straw that broke the camel’s back. We have been coming here for sixteen years. A few years ago Narasan sold the restaurant. We still continued to patron Nara’s. We seen a change in the quality of the meal we have been ordering. We choose to continue to dine. Especially during Lent. It just was convenient and nostalgic for the two of us. Well tonight we entered the establishment and where not greeted. This was the third week in a row there was no greeting. Three strikes and you are definitely out! Of course the waitress heard from my husband. Thank goodness our food was served on time tonight. We were given a couple of desserts. of course they didn’t know I gave this up for Lent. My husband on the other was not going to eat anything that was delivered to him after his critique of the service. So, saiyonara to you all and good luck. We will not come back again.

Small and great place for a family dinner, even better for a date, great rolls and chicken! Try the fried kalamari! I’m sure it will be a great experience for any new customers.

We have been going here for awhile now. It never really disappoints. We always get the Chino Horse roll, the spicy tuna over crispy rice appetizer and miso soup. If we have the kiddies with us, we get a bento box for them. Simple, but like I said, for our experiences they have been consistent. I don’t recommend take out, it was been hit or miss because they would forget the sauces drizzled over the rolls. Other than that, the only other issue is that service is most of time — slow.
That’s because there’s usually only 1 or 2 servers when it’s busy.
Well Nara, you’re our local go-​to spot.

This is the number 1 spot in chino to go I come here everyday they have the best service and the best sushi chefs ever!!! I have never been to a place that has this fresh fish. I don’t go anywhere else anymore this is my number one place!!! Don’t go to a diffrent place Nara is number 1!!!

1−11−16
We’re regular customers
at Nara but when it changed ownership and went back to eat, we noticed they changed some of the menu and even took out the free ice cream on the dinner menu. Even their baked longistino changed and was told they used a different ingredient. We told them the food tasted a bit differently. We stopped for some months but since we liked it so much here we decided to give it another try. The serving is still generous and their food got back to their original taste. They added a TV and free wifi. On lunch they gave out half the price for the sushi. Their dinner menu price remained the same.
Last Friday we brought in friends here and my son wanted iced coffee. We tried to
out but he finished the coffee already leaving only the ice. Server promised him to maje another iced coffee when we come back. Today we decided toeat here after church and after we finished our meal she brought out 2 iced coffees which was really a sweet gesture.
My previous review…
8−13−12
our fave japs food to dine in the area! their sushi and sashimi are fresh, with generous serving and reasonably priced especially when you come here for lunch and order their combination dishes that come with rice, miso soup and salad. Dinner is priced higher than the lunch which is expected and it comes with additional green or red tea ice cream.
our favorites:
— tempura and sashimi combination lunch /​dinner
— beef teriyaki and sashimi combination
— crunchy rolls for our son
— separate order of baked longostino
— spicy tuna (hand rolled)
and their very fresh salmon sashimi
we eat here whenever we get the chance coz the food is really good and we love it!

Fresh sashimi, nice presentation and excellent service! The hamachi (yellowtail) and karaage chicken are to die for!
A cozy, well lit (warm, aesthetic, not bright) restaurant with an unassuming sign outside that just reads Japanese Restaurant. My first dining out experience in Chino Hills was a very nice surprise. Nara is hardly news to local residents. Many tout they offer the freshest sushi in town. I have no reason to dispute the disclaimer based on my recent visit.
A very friendly, knowledgeable crew consists of a couple of servers, cooks in the kitchen and the sushi chef. (From what I can gather looking at the pictures, there are up to four sushi chefs.) Ours this evening was the notable Nara-​san himself. He did not fail to impress.
The sushi boat selection varies by selection and, therefore, in price. The must-​try salmon, albacore, tuna, toro and, my personal favorite, the fatty textured yellowtail are some of the freshest you will find at a ($$$ range) restaurant.
If sushi does not suit your palate, other familiar non-​sushi dishes like teriyaki, donburi bowls, sukiyaki, bento boxes, udon, soba, gyoza, yakitori, tempura and katsu are on the menu as well and all look amazing. The tempura was exceptional: light but crispy and delicately seasoned. Among appetizers, my recommendation is the aforementioned karaage chicken ($ 5.75). It was crunchy, juicy, well seasoned and oozing with flavor. The green tea ice cream ($ 2.30) is creamy, rich in matcha flavor, delicious.
I reluctantly concede that I probably need to temper my overall evaluation of Nara at least until I come back to try more dishes. Perhaps then I could offer a broader perspective. It will not underscore, however, the top scores I would give it for freshness and texture of the sashimi and high marks also for presentation of the sushi. Moreover, really good karaage chicken is like my crack! I have to have it! Certainly a recommended choice for sushi enthusiasts and those seeking a family friendly Japanese restaurant. There will be return visits when I am in the area again.

My husband and I ordered take out. We had the hector hand roll, salmon mango salsa roll, flamingo roll and albacore roll. Food was done in 10 minutes (nice). We both were excited to dig in since its been 2 yrs we last ate there. Hector roll was a size and looked amazing too bad the crunch wasn’t there. Tasted as if they used old tempura, what a disappointment. Flamingo roll was ehh looked better on Unilocal.Mango salmon roll was good but was missing all the toppings. Where was the jalapeño? Probably out last visit. Quality has definitely gone down, it was our go to place for sushi… oh well next

Ok let’s start this, Nara is not bad. It’s got pretty decent food and the service is all right.
I’ve been going to Nara for a while now and when it first opened at it’s prime, it was really good. Like 5 star good. But as the years went by, the quality has taken a nose dive, probably because of the changing of owners.
I mean it got bad at one point we started having to go to other japanese restaurants because of it. So after going back after so long, it’s still not quite as good as it use to be, but it’s still pretty decent. It could possibly be because we now know there is better stuff out there so we have something to compare it too, but a part of it is also the quality.
The beef from the bent box was a little dry and overcooked, the tempura flakes on the sushi tasted like they’ve been sitting out under the heat lamp for some time, and I’m being nit picky at this point, but their kisses (yes the chocolates wrapped in foil) was melted and old. They just put in in the fridge… didn’t think I wouldn’t catch that.
Overall this place isn’t bad, it’s just that with other japanese places near by, it’s hard to pick this one when you know there are better ones out there. I would still check this place out, who knows you might like it a lot better than what I described. If so then that’s great. But for me, I’ll only see myself coming every once in a whole. 3 stars.

This place is so good. The new lunch menu is so amazing. For only 4.99 you can get a spicy tuna bowl, spicy salmon bowl or a spicy albacore bowl. That’s a great deal compared to Oke Poke (not the best fish there) next door. The food. The quality of fish is exceptional here. I’ve never had a meal here that wasn’t top quality.

I took my daughter and my little cousin for our usual weekly date night and I realized, all of the years it has been there, I’ve never dined at Nara before.
We came in at 5P so it wasn’t busy yet. I can imagine this place getting packed quickly though because it’s quite small, with the sushi bar and only a few tables.
Service was good. We were checked on numerous times.
The kids ordered the pork tonkatsu and tempura bento, as well as a bowl of udon. I got the sukiyaki. We also shared some gyoza and agedashi tofu.
Our entrees came out within good time and were presented very nicely.
agedashi tofu — meh, skip this, I’ve had this better elsewhere
gyoza — not bad at all, but what stood out to me was that delicious dipping sauce
udon — flavorful broth, lots of noodles
tonkatsu/​tempura — my kid enjoyed her tonkatsu and ate it all up
sukiyaki with noodles — good sized portion, thinly sliced beef and cubes of tofu, the broth was just ok.
The kids said they would love to come back. I certainly wouldn’t mind, but I would suggest other japanese places first prior to opting for this one.

This is only Sushi Bar we go to. Sushi is fresh, good portions.
Other places serve small/​thin portions, the hand rolls at Nara’s are huge, need two hands to hold it.

This is a great place around Chino Hills for sushi. The food is prepared well, the servers are nice, and the sushi chefs are super chill guys. I’ve been there around a dozen times for lunch and I’d definitely recommend it.
If you go at dinner time, it can get busy. Also, finding the place might be tricky since the sign only says «Japanese Restaurant».
On the whole, a great sushi option that’s not too expensive in an area with few good sushi choices like this one.

Just tried Nara after long time away. It was fabulous! We had sashimi, spicy tuna roll, dragon roll and langoustine rolls. All very fresh and yummy! Will definitely be back, soon! Service was great, very friendly staff.

It was the worst sushi restaurant i have ever been to. Server was really slow and my food came out 40 minutes later during lunch time. I ordered pork katsu donburi and it tasted vinegar. Pork katsu smelled very porky and server kept on avoiding my call, tried to take our plate while we are still eating without asking.

The spicy tuna donburi bowl that I used to come here for all the time has gone down in quality and gone up in price. Now $ 9

I must admit, Nara Restaurant has made improvements. The past two times I picked up my family’s dinner from there, we have been pleasantly surprised. No longer do I feel let down.
Their prices aren’t my favorite and they could use some more finesse on their sashimi pieces, but hey, I don’t feel like I didn’t get enough to eat for once ! And my family actually enjoys our meal. They’ve regained stars by being less stingy with their portions and for being more organized and accurate with our take-​out orders. It’s always a good thing when I don’t get frustrated by my experience and become reluctant to eat somewhere again. I’ll continue to patronage Nara as long as they maintain what they’ve got going now.

Been to Nara a couple of times since I work next door :)
I’ve only gotten to-​go, service is still really good! So yummy and fresh.
Love their spicy tuna hand roll and baked salmon roll. Servers are super nice~

I had the most amazing experience here. We sat at the bar and the chef was really friendly and honest about which fish was fresh that day. The service was fantastic! All of the rolls and sashimi were all fresh and tasty. I will definitely be coming back!
Tip: If you do come here, look for the chef with the glasses! He is so generous about the portions he gives out and gives the best recommendations!

I thought that I would visit an old favorite that has new ownership. However, this turned out to be a Very disappointing experience at Nara’s.
They have changed a lot for the worse since the owners changed. The food quality has gone down and the prices have gone up.
This used to be one of my favorite sushi places in Chino Hills but now they are just another Japanese restaurant. There are now much better sushi places in Chino Hills.

I was told about this place by a couple I met at a reunion. They’ve mentioned that don’t live anywhere near this place but drive here because it’s the best sushi around.
I’ve driven by this place for almost 5 years and never thought about stopping in.
OMG we’ve got a real sushi bar in Chino Hills. HOT DAMN! Who knew?
I don’t know if it’s the best sushi around but it is very excellent. If you’re in the area this is the place to get sushi.
Fresh food reasonably priced and a very friendly staff.