Sushi Wazen

This place is quite busy but the food is pretty good. Service is slow due to only had 2 servers. I’ve been here about 5 times & will come back again.

Absolutely amazing. So glad to see this establishment has been here way before I started living in Lake Forest, and hasn’t changed. That’s solid in my opinion. Absolutely friendly service, but above all, the fish was of high quality as where the Chefs. Even more outstanding is how high quality the service was as well. I see many complaining of slow service, but they haven’t had real sushi before. A real Chef sushi chef is very much so a perfectionist. I literally have found my go to sushi place now. Can’t wait to visit next time.

Love this place!!! Been here several times and can’t stop coming back. The salad is insane, fresh crab salad with ahi, so good! I don’t think I’ve had a lack luster meal yet. Feels very authentic when it comes to the staff and food. When you see a lot of what could be considered FOBs in the restaurant dining, you know the food must be authentic and good. The sushi menu board is not main stream at all, even thought they have the main stream note pad check list for sushi. The value for what you get is surprising, it’s not cheap, but it’s very fair for what you get. The quality of the food is excellent! By far my favorite Japanese restaurant in the OC, second is Fukada. It is a small place, so come early if you don’t want to stand outside waiting to be seated.

We needed to get our sushi fix, and they didn’t disappoint. The specially rolls are some of the best I’ve ever had. The wait staff was spot on, nice and cheerful. I think we’ll use then for an upcoming house party.

If I could give half stars, then this would be 3.5. Great prices and combinations for lunch. I got the sushi special, which comes with 8 pieces of nigiri, 3 pieces of super seafood roll (a large maki of assorted things inside), salad, and miso soup. All of this for $ 12. The food is great and definitely the reason why the place was packed for the Tuesday lunch rush.
The stars start falling off due to slow inconsistent service from the wait staff. Patrons who came later got menus before we did. The lady next to me almost finished her meal before getting the hot tea she ordered. Also, the interior does not have the best ambience. Definitely a more casual place.
Also, there’s only one sushi chef. Chef Nobu I believe is the name. Like what many others have said, he seems to be a perfectionist and takes a while to craft your meal. Great output, but just prepare to wait. This is definitely a place you want to take your time eating at and avoid if you’re in a rush or are an impatient person.

Update: For those of you who are in a hurry they will reserve a table for you if you call ahead! We went there on New Year’s Day and made a reservation ahead of time. When we got there even 15 minutes before our table was already ready for us.

This place is amaaaaaaaazing. The chef really takes care in selecting his ingredients to the presentation of the food. They have a casual yet private/​classy vibe. I recommend wazen-​style nigiri and they have unique specials all the time.

Best Japanese restaurant in Lake Forest! We have been going here for a few years now and it still is consistent and affordable. Note that this is a true Japanese restaurant, compared to most of the other places around that are actually not run by Japanese. We like the El Toro roll and the combination dinner plates. Be sure to order with Japanese rice which has a nice mix of vegetables in it! The tempura is excellent.
The place is usually empty on weeknights, so that’s when we usually go. Lunchtime during the week can get pretty crazy and expect slow service during rush times since they have minimal staff.

Service is sloooow. I ordered 2 different types of rolls to go one evening. There were only a few people in the restaurant, it looked like they all had their food. So my bf and I sat down and had a beer while we waited, thinking we may have to chug it if the food came fast. But by the time we finished, the food to go had still not come. I would say the wait was about 25 minutes for a California roll and a crunchy roll. Too long of a wait in my opinion for such simple orders.
When I got home and ate the rolls, I was sadly disappointed. Both of the rolls were mediocre and not memorable. And the two rolls basically tasted the same.
Overall my experience was nice as the workers were friendly and the place was clean. Unfortunately, I’ve had tastier rolls at «fast food» sushi joints. I probably won’t be back.

Wazen Sushi is a gem in an unassuming plaza in Lake Forest. You’ll be pleased with the fresh and delicious Japanese food made by a family of Japanese chefs. The chefs are always welcoming, smiling, and consistently turning out beautiful and elegant dishes. Occasionally you’ll spot the adorable Japanese grandma behind the sushi bar bringing hot food from the kitchen; she is barely taller than the sushi counter!
Their dinner set menus are great if you want multi courses; be sure to ask for Japanese rice which is rice mixed with mountain veggies. We love picking items from the seasonal dishes and the specials posted on the wall and from the white board and share everything family style. Ankimo (monk fish liver) is a must, so is the Yellowtail Jalapeño Sashimi. Shiokojiyaki Black Cod is hands down one of the most perfectly prepared fish I have ever had.
We love their efforts with homemade seasonal desserts. The strawberry panna cotta and red grape sorbet were great!

Please read the previous review. However disappointing the second visit (Sept. 4^th, ’15) was, it’s worth noting that the food’s great here, so clearly made w. love :) + it’s still worth a try. I’m hoping the following’s more rare and we’ll try again in a while.
1. Order messed up, awkward responses:
–The waiter initially insisted I hadn’t said the cold shoyu *combo, which I would’ve understood if he wasn’t as aggressive & if I had really just said shoyu. I had specifically asked whether the cold shoyu combination was available for dinner, then ordered it by name when he said it was, and he interpreted my order as the hot pork shoyu alone…
–Because my order was wrong, we asked whether it was possible to at least get the salad that came with the cold shoyu combo (that incl. miso soup, salad, and mini sushi) I had originally asked for, which was met with an «I guess so…» which was incredibly awkward: (. Having spent 4+ years in the food service industry, I always try my best to make life easy for my fellow food countrymen (not leaving a mess, not making extra/​unreasonable requests), and this experience was so uncomfortable.
2. Laggy service + great food:
–Food then took 45min; my husband’s sushi combination didn’t arrive for 35min. If it weren’t for the girl (not Sayaka like last time, but another) noticing we never got water, and that my husband never got his miso soup/​salad, we weren’t sure whether it would ever have come.
–As for the pork shoyu ramen, it was delicious. Noodles had perfect chewiness, the pork was tender, and the bean sprouts, cucumber, nori, & that amazing broth created an umami flavor.
–Things got better after the business had died down and our waiter came by to apologize. It was sincere & he explained he was new. For this and how delicious the food was anyway, we’re not giving 1 star & we’ll come back at another time, since the food’s that good. Plus the chefs + service were great the first time.

One of my favorite sushi places in my neighborhood! Sushi is delicious, prices are reasonable and service has always been very friendly.
The only reason I gave 4 stars is because the restaurant is small so occasionally we haven’t been able to get a table or we had to take out because the wait is too long.

Reallly good sushi spot for lunch. Fresh sushi and authentic. I’m a FAN of the food (that salad oooo man!)
However, the place is small and service is meh. But I didnt care cause the food was so good

This review is not for their food, but for their service.
Expect:
— long wait time for everything: drinks, water, foods
— nobody refills your drink
— only 1 waiter and she is also the hostess
— chefs running all over the place, at one point the sushi chef helps bringing out the water, soups, etc
we ordered miso soups, nothing in 40 minutes. our sashimi came out randomly. we ordered bunch of appetizers, none came. We looked around and people rarely got any food. This is by far the worst service I’ve ever experienced. We had to get the check and left because it was getting so ridiculous that we were so confident we were not gonna get any food. We left this place feeling upset, so don’t let it ruin your day.

Worst service ever! We waited forever for our sushi. None of our food came out after 40 minutes. They only have 1 waiter who happens to be the hostess. Some people don’t even get seated because nobody would greet them.
My family got very upset and we left. We asked for the check and the chef messed up the sushi order, basically they over charged us.
Honestly I don’t think a restaurant like this should even operate at all. They simply don’t respect their customers. This put a shame to Japanese food. I feel like I got so traumatized that it will be a while before I try another sushi place in Lake Forest.

A hidden little sushi restaurant in Lake Forest. This place is actually owned by Japanese people; a huge plus for me. The menu is pretty small but they have a specials board that has interesting fish and dishes. The service is always a little slow because they usually only have one or two servers.

Love coming here — like the fact that the place is small and quaint. Enjoy sitting at the sushi bar. Usual orders are the sushi, hand and cut roll.
Nobu-​san makes a special salmon sashimi with avocado and raw onions wrapped within — comes with ponzu dipping sauce — try it.
Another favorite is the baked avocado with crab.
Read the signs and the black board for specials that are not on the menu itself.
Don’t expect fast service though.

Great sushi at wonderful prices. Very friendly and attentive staff. All guest are greeted with free edamame. I got the sushi deluxe dinner ($ 20.95), the blue crab hand roll and a glass of wine for under $ 30! Generous pieces of fresh fish! The deluxe dinner also comes with sweet shrimp and uni! Will be back soon!

Expensive, limited fresh fish, run down…
Menu is very small I ordered salmon salad for lunch $ 8.00 Lettuce was fresh but very few pieces of greens, dressing was nice however– the salmon was outdated, overcooked, dry, and strong smelling. Service was stand– off– ish and Iwas by myself in a pretty empty restaurant. A japanese lady next to me seem to have ordered off menu with something that looked more appealing

Unfortunately for this place, I came to eat by myself and I’m bored so I am writing this review as I eat so I am going to comment on everything that comes up.
I don’t know what I’m doing here. I’m in the area for work and wanted to eat at Wing Stop but the line was too long so I came here instead. I’m not a sushi snob and will usually enjoy any type of Japanese restaurants but the menu is sooo limited that I literally did not know what to order. I just ordered the chicken teriyaki lunch special to be safe but requested to get teriyaki sauce separate on the side. Of course my waiter forgets. When I asked if I could substitute a bowl of rice for miso soup or salad, they said they have to charge me a dollar extra. I typically try to support small family businesses but not if they try to nickel and dime customers. There was one waitress for the entire restaurant so service was pretty slow and food came out separately with a lot of time spaced in between.
The salad is pretty impressive for a side salad except that it has ranch dressing. At a Japanese restaurant. The miso soup had too much of a fishy taste to it. The chicken absolutely had no taste and the teriyaki sauce was mediocre. The vegetables in the tempura was undercooked and the sauce had way too much ginger in it.
But what did I expect? I’m in some town called Lake Forest. I will say that the value for the lunch combo is pretty good though. $ 9.99 for chicken teriyaki, rice, soup, salad and tempura is a good deal.