Closed Permanently. 3/25/26 Sadly this wonderful great place has closed. This was a surprise as we Just dined here a few days ago and it was busy and great! Word on the street is the owner retired. We wish him well in the next chapter of life. read more

Izakaya Tenko - Closed. All cleared out. - Japanese Near Me - Lake Forest, California

4 Stars for Bento options and Yakitori. Great flavors and taste between the two. The third item we ordered was salmon and scallop sushi, which resulted in a 3.5 star rating. Sushi rice was underwhelming and brought the collective experience down. But since the other two items scored higher, 4 stars is warranted for overall meal. Service was decent tonight. My only gripe is the second serve had very little knowledge of the menu. She couldn't identify the difference of the two scallop sushi which took us back a bit. If you don't know what you are serving, what should your guests be expecting to be eating is the question. Food for thought here. Inside is small and culturally decorated to meet its cuisine and country. Love the vibe with jazz music. We both enjoyed this aspect. Overall, love their offerings and friendly service. A few areas to improve upon but all else is great. read more

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Very cute little restaurant. Plenty of parking but kinda far from the freeway. Appears to be more of a local spot. On a Saturday evening around 5pm it was relatively empty. But started getting full by the time we left. The service was wonderful and attentive. Food came out promptly. We had yakitori. Sashimi. And the fried rice. Everything was delicious but would skip the fried rice next time. Will be back to try some other dishes. We were too full at the end. read more

Izakaya Tenko - Japanese Near Me - Lake Forest, California

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Yummmy! Amazing place, excellent service! Very kind people, seems like locals come here often and recognized by the waitress. She was very sweet and welcoming. There is lots of options for food, seating for large party of 10 available. Seating of 4 people 6 tables, additional bar area seating for additional 8 people. Very clean area, lovely relaxing atmosphere and music. Will come back! read more

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I love when a spot has happy hour that doesn't end at 5 pm. They have happy hour tuesday-thursday 4:30-6:30 pm. We got greeted and seated immediately. The service here is incredibly attentive. We had multiple servers come up to us to check if we had questions, refilled our water, etc. As someone who doesn't eat raw fish, there are SO many options here that are yummy. The spicy crunchy shrimp roll and caterpillar roll was YUMMY. I would skip the karage (nothing special) and the crispy pork belly was a bit over cooked for my liking (I like the juiciness of the fat) but they did say it would be crispy, so I can't fault them for that. Don't skip their skewer options, the garlic beef and salmon belly- they are literally melt in your mouth. The eel nigiri was SO smokey and juicy. I would get that again. I will 1000% be taking my parents here! I love the food, service, and family vibe here. They have lots of regulars. read more

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Amazing local Japanese restaurant! The staff are super friendly and chatty, and looks like there were a few regulars sitting at the bar on a Monday night. Our server gave some really good recommendations and here are the highlights: Salmon belly skewer: 10/10, it will literally melt in your mouth Tuna nigiri: 3/5, it's a lower quality cut of the loin with very little fat Caterpillar roll: 5/5, super generous with the amount of eel and avocado This place is going into our rotation of local spots! read more

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Decided to try out Izakaya Tenko as a birthday dinner celebration with my boyfriend and it did NOT disappoint between ambiance, service, food, drinks & price! We will absolutely be back. We went in hungry but not starving so we split a bento box, ordered an extra miso (1 already comes with the bento), and 2 beef skewers paired with a Saporo and sake! The beef skewers we asked to be served medium & had so much flavor, literally melted in our mouths! Miso soup was hearty, & served perfectly warm! With the bento box we got the crispy pork belly & teriyaki beef which came with white rice, salad, and potato salad and of course an orange slice. All of it was very flavorful, and we continued to be more and more fulfilled with every single bite! Staff was super sweet and FAST! Like I said, will absolutely be back!! read more

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Still the best izakaya around! Love Vila, Amy, Kazuko, and Miss Maggie! The chef is the absolute best. Mapo agedashi tofu is now a special, so get it while you can. The ambience is perfect for a date or just a relaxing fam dinner. TV is viewable, watched a Dodgers World Series game here and it was so much fun. Beer on tap, best hot sake I have ever had. I love this restaurant. It is top notch. Period. read more

We still go out of our way to get their dinner bento. Such a great deal for the variety and portions. Staff is always very friendly and food has been consistent. read more

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It's a clean modern joint although its location across from school/daycare seems out of place. The service was decent but for this price point I expect much better quality food. This place is expensive- sushi rolls are $17 and up. Hand rolls are $10 and up. $5-$10 skewers are per 1 skewers not the usual 2. The food itself was meh - the only item that warranted high price was the beef skewers which were done to perfection and of good cut (not Wagyu but high quality Angus). Their pork belly appetizer was also good. Fried oysters had too thick of batter and was overcooked. Likewise liver skewers were overcooked. Gizzards and hearts were just ok. Dinner for 4 was $125 and we all left hungry but the food simply wasn't good so we stopped ordering and opted to go elsewhere. read more

Same here after a Soka concert, Mostly empty on a Sunday night. Pleasant Japanese decor and soft jazz music. Ordered a bunch of grilled stuff -- mushroom, salmon, zucchini, beef tongue, chicken meat balls, shishito beef - all very good. My favorite was the beef tongue. Also ordered - agedashi tofu (not good - soy sauce instead of dashi broth, tofu too crispy and hard); spider roll (good taste but too soggy) Good attentive water and tea service. Would I come back again? Yes, for the skewers only. read more

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Stopped by this Japanese restaurant in lake forest on a Friday night with family. We sat down promptly and the service was fast. Tried an assortment of sushi and hand rolls edamame cucumber salad and their spicy beef bowl. All gray and fresh although the the spicy beef bowl wasn't spicy and was more sweet than anything else. Overall a solid 4. read more

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The best sushi I have ever had! This place beats all my other experiences with Japanese cuisines. I was here for a business dinner and we ordered chef's specials, sashimi, garlic edamame, chef's choice of sushi rolls (8), wagyu, blackened cod and seared scallops the sashimi quality, preparation and presentation was one of the best, same with sushi. The scallops were cooked to perfection and I loved the sauce it came with, the cod was tender and juicy and again cooked perfectly. I don't eat beef but colleagues cudnt stop talking about how good the wagyu was. The service is good and ambience was perfect for a business dinner, not too casual or loud or formal. Enjoyed my dinner and the experience here. Will be back again to try out their hotpot. read more

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Service is bad. It was starting to get bad pre-Covid. But post-Covid it's really gone downhill. Table are often not cleaned. Bar surface isn't cleaned. You have to ask for that. I used to come here a lot. But no more. read more

Service wasnt as friendly/attentive. The iced green tea had low matcha quality. The sashimi wasn't as fresh. I enjoyed the skewers, garlic pork belly, shrimp tempura. - 1 star. read more

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So glad that this place is now on the LF gift card list! 4.5 but rounded up because of service and LF gift card eligibility. They have HH Tues-Thurs and Sundays which lasts until 6:30pm. There are a decent amount of items on there that's worth ordering including a skewer sampler and sushi rolls. It's nice that the yakitori grill is behind glass so that it doesn't smell smokey inside. We haven't been able to try a bento since we've been sticking more with the HH and skewers but we'll eventually try it! Plenty of parking and we haven't had an issue with wait time for a table. There are some high tops at the bar area too with a tv usually playing sports. Overall definitely worth a try for some delicious Japanese food. read more

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We're always on a hunt for yakitori and this place really surprised us! We love finding local gems. Reminds me of Honda-Ya in Tustin. Also important to note that if you're coming here for Yakitori, they only serve this during dinner time. Came in for dinner on a Sunday and we were seated fairly quickly. Not the biggest dining room, but they also have bar seating available. We basically ordered a little bit of everything to try. Tried their rainbow roll ($17.95) which was decent. Chicken gyoza and crispy garlic pork belly for appetizers. The garlic pork belly was served sliced and on a bed of shredded cabbage, it was amazing. I'd order that again for starters. The cucumber salad was okay. BBQ pork ramen was delicious, 2 big pieces of BBQ pork, half an egg, and the broth was so flavorful. The yakitori menu ranges from $3.75 to $14.99 per skewer. Great selection but we tried the chicken leg meat w/ sauce and one with pepper and sea salt only, chicken meat ball (3 pieces in a skewer), garlic pork belly (fave!), prime rib eye beef, prime garlic rib eye beef, zucchini (2 skewers in an order), shitake mushrooms, and quail eggs. Amazing flavors, we really enjoyed all the yakitori. Service was great despite the short staff, they attended to us in a timely manner. This place makes it to our list of date nights. Highly recommend! read more

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We've been here numerous times over the past few years and sad to say the food quality has been on a steady decline while the prices have risen significantly. We usually order a mix of yakitori, sushi rolls, appetizers, etc. but have recently left the restaurant always feeling like we overpaid. Their service is a hit or miss and the last time we tried to order takeout, we were put on hold for almost 10 minutes. We hung up and just drove there to order. It took them 20 minutes to prepare 1 fresh cut roll and 4 hand rolls. The nori they used to wrap the hand rolls were already soggy/chewy and looked like a kid prepared them. This is most likely the last time we eat from here. read more

Izakaya Tenko - Really sad California hand roll - Japanese Near Me - Lake Forest, California

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This was our 4th visit and I finally remembered to check in! Our new go to for Japanese food. Service is always good, food is delicious, and $5 happy hour beers! It's a small place so we get there early before it gets too busy. We love their Bento Box dinners. Lots of food! read more

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I go into this place to order some food to-go and ask for a Diet Coke. They charge me $5.50 and as I'm waiting for my food, they bring me a glass of Diet Coke. When I'm getting ready to leave, they bring me the smallest plastic cup, and say that that's and say that's they don't have any to go cups and say that's there to go drink, and that if I want, I should drink the rest of my Coke and the restaurant. I haven't even tried the food, but any place they tries to rip off their customers with six dollar extra small fountain drinks, and a rude "eat your food and get out" attitude is a place that you should avoid.. read more

Izakaya Tenko - I got ripped off with a six dollar fountain drink to go - Japanese Near Me - Lake Forest, California

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The service here is hit and miss. It depends on which night you go to and which server is serving you. Sometimes you call, they'll tell you no wait, but you go, there's a wait. It's a great place for yakitori if you don't want to wait in the long line at popular yakitori places. Is it the most authentic? No it's not. I think this place used to be owned by a Japanese owner, but not it's not. There's no food here that really stood out, but if you're craving for a few skewers or some light Japanese food and don't feel like waiting, then this is your type of place. The restaurant is located in a small shopping center next to The Gooddard school. There's plenty of parking for how few people actually comes to this restaurant. read more

Not as good as before. Been coming here for years and service and food was disappointing. Told to use soy sauce from table next to us . Good things don't last. The sushi roll fell apart when picked up. Last time we will come back. read more

Came here with friend. Food very good portions and tasty. Nice cozy ambiance. Great service from our server Maggie. Cheers! read more

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I ordered BBQ Beef Ramen and a Sashimi Sampler.. I was pleasantly surprised. The Sashimi was very fresh and melted in my mouth - almost TORO LEVEL! The RAMEN seemed like it was from Japan with ingredients not normally found in Ramen. The miso broth was very favorable. I couldn't finish my dinner and had to take the Ramen home! This restaurant is well worth your time.. read more

Izakaya Tenko - BBQ Beef Miso Ramen and Sashimi Sampler for $51.90- well worth the price - Japanese Near Me - Lake Forest, California

Decided to drive out to Izakaya Tenko for some delicious authentic Yakitori. It did not disappoint! The yakitori looks so good and smelled so wonderful, that I forgot to take my usual pictures. The servers were prompt and a bit intense. When the yakitori was served, we weren't sure which ones were served and which ones we ate. They were very serious in ensuring we got the order right! Bottom line, the yakitori was excellent and better yet, it was happy hour, so adding a Kirin was an added bonus. The restaurant was small but had a very clean, comfy, upscale vibe. It began to fill up fast around 6pm, so it's a good idea to get there early. My favorite? pork belly. Give it a try! read more

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Came here on Saturday night around 9pm & there was one table open when we walked in. Appreciate that they are open til 10pm because not many dine-in restaurants are open this late in this area. To note, they did do a last call for food around 9:30pm. Small spot in a cute little plaza, the servers were fast & sweet. Plenty of parking. Everything we ordered was made well & very tasty. We ordered 2 mushroom soups to start, 2 fresh shitake mushroom yakatori, 2 avocado rolls, 2 vegetable rolls with cream cheese, sauteed greens beans with garlic, & 2 beers. The green beans & shitake mushrooms were my fav! The sushi rolls were generous with the veggies and avocado, same goes with the mushrooms in the mushroom soup. We definitely over ordered for 2 people & had left overs (sushi rolls). We'll definitely be back soon! read more

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Really enjoyed our meal here. Place is small but very nicely decorated. Staff is super friendly and attentive. We had a mix of sushi/ yakitori/ udon/ and appetizers. Everything was very well cooked and seasoned. We had a wonderful time and will def return. Arigato gozaimasu read more

Came here on a whim, and I loved the vibes way more than the food. We got seated at the bar just because she didn't want us to wait for a table which was nice. Don't recommend the fried rice. It smelled weird. The rolls were good, but I'm not a fan of that tuna(?) tempura. It was pretty odd. The edamame was good though! Probably wouldn't come back again unless I really wanted sushi in this area LOL. read more

Izakaya Tenko - Spicy Crunch Salmon Roll - Japanese Near Me - Lake Forest, California

I've been coming here for 6 years now and they have consistently been good. I recommending getting the curry fried rice with salmon, the salmon belly yakitori, pork belly and garlic belly yakitori. The service is great as well. They're so friendly and attentive. This place can get busy on the weekends especially since they get a lot of to-go orders. read more

Delicious! For Lake Forest locals, this resto would be a good spot to put into your regular rotation for dinner. They have a nice happy hour deal for drinks, too! We had: Pork belly appetizer w/yuzu - this is a must! It's so good! Salmon tatami w/IKura roll - love the chunks of roe on top and the sear on the salmon. Sashimi platter (menu noted it's belly of all the different fish, it's not, but still decent!). Yellowtail negihama. Simple, but delicious! Eel cucumber roll. Same as above. Total came out to around $100 and worth every penny. Quality of sushi is pretty good! read more

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Nice local spot. Came right before the rush and got seated at the bar. Items were fairly priced and staff was very attentive to their guests. Ordered a hand-roll and some yakitori and they were pretty good! read more

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Great fresh sushi. The fried rice is good and the service was prompt and easy to pick up my order.

The salmon cut rolls are perfect for little kids. The scallop and sashimi rolls were yum. 4 fancy rolls and 4 salmon rolls for around 110

The sushi rolls were yummy but the salmon roe was a bit too salty for me. The poke salad was delicious and very pretty. The yakitori was pretty pricey, so I'm not sure if I'd get it again. The service was nice and fast. read more

Izakaya Tenko - Salmon ikura front and Rainbow Roll back - Japanese Near Me - Lake Forest, California

Came here for dinner tonight and we started off with some saki, wine and beer. I thought the sushi was okay. The salmon nigiri was probably the best item I had. I ordered seaweed salad and it was way too sweet. I always order seaweed salad as a starter at sushi restaurants and the seaweed salad tasted purely like sugar :/ The rainbow roll didn't taste fresh and the sashimi roll wrapped in soy paper came out soggy :/ I was really bummed because I had been wanting to try this place out for a while now. I will say our waitress was really nice but we had asked her to bring water for the table twice however, she forgot the first time and the second she only brought one cup. I probably won't be coming back read more

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Great place for Yakitori. Pork Katsu was also delicious. Staff was friendly and service was fast. Cozy ambiance with background music and bar seatings. read more

Izakaya Tenko - 10. Mixed Tempura CA Roll (8 Pieces) - Japanese Near Me - Lake Forest, California

this place has such a cozy and comfortable feel to it. i feel like a lot of regulars come to this spot. it's a great place to go after a long day. i do believe they raised their prices, but in my opinion the food is still really tasty!! their skewers are definitely something worth getting and aren't too expensive, you are limited one skewer type per though! service is always good & you are taken care of. i always come here when im having a bad day and it lifts my spirits. i treat this as a comfort food option hehe but definitely spending about 30$ a person. read more

Izakaya Tenko - Asahi on tap - Japanese Near Me - Lake Forest, California

Incredible flavors and attentive staff. Hard to find Izakaya in Southern California, so this was a gem. Very generous portions on the nabe hotpot - be wary of this. read more

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Sorry I didn't snap any photos!! But it was very good! The food was tasty and it was kind of pricy ( hence the 4 stars ) so that's why I didn't give it a five. The inside is VERY small, there were people waiting on the benches for about an hour before being let eat since I went at a very busy time, but luckily we came at a perfect time when someone left so we ordered instantly when we got there. The service was good! The food took about 30 mins which was kind of long but for sushi I understand! I went on Father's Day and will be coming back for more! read more

Took my Dad for Father's Day as he requested Japanese. I didn't call to ask about reservations, but we arrived 10 minutes prior to opening so I wasn't worried. Upon walking in I was asked if we had reservations and saw there were tables reserved already. Fortunately, there was a cancellation and our party was seated immediately. There were 5 of us and everyone ordered Bento boxes that looked and tasted wonderful. Wanting something different, I ordered skewers as my entrée. I got shrimp, chicken, beef tongue, beef wrapped asparagus and zucchini. They were all tasty, however the tongue was much tougher than I expected (I eat it often at Korean BBQ) so not my favorite. I should mention that the Miso soup was one of the best I have had. With that in mind, I think I'll branch out to some of their soups next time. On another note, recall I mentioned they asked if we had a reservation and there were already tables reserved? While eating, I overheard a phone call where staff told the caller "we don't take reservations". Very curious. Anyway, we will be back as everyone enjoyed their meals. read more