Jinbei is located in the Orchard Hills Shopping Center near the intersection of Culver Drive and Portola Parkway. It's a Japanese restaurant that looks to be owned and staffed by actual Japanese which to me is a plus. I ordered the assorted tempura which you can't go wrong with since it's fried. I also enjoyed the Chirashi bowl which contained sashimi that was both fresh and high-quality. It's important to note that the restaurant closes at 830 pm every night. We dined at 730 and I won't speak for the rest of my party, but I felt rushed because it seemed like the staff was overeager to close up shop. Every time we finished a plate, a server immediately came over to take it away. I don't appreciate feeling rushed when I'm trying to enjoy a meal which is why I feel my average rating is more service based. We likely won't be making a return visit. read more

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We didn't have time to wait so we decided to try this place since I kept seeing it on social media. No wait. Friendly service for sure! The salad and miso soup were good. I liked the variety of tempura offered but the batter was ok. The shrimp was a little mushy. The sashimi was 5 pieces so I should have ordered just the sashimi. It was ok for us. read more

Jinbei - Tempura sushi combo lunch - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

When I walked in I felt like I wasn't in OC as the decor had an izakaya feel as if you're in Japan. We sat at the bar and was able to order right away with the sushi chef. My daughter enjoyed the salmon roll variety. There's no omakase but they had a great selection of fish. The tempura was perfectly made. Not greasy and lightly battered with a perfect crunch. Will be back to try other dishes read more

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11.6.2025 dinner It has been awhile since coming back to Jinbei especially since we no longer live in the area. Came here on a weekday with the kids for a family dinner. The service was great and the food was quite delicious! Everyone was welcoming and it was the same cozy local restaurant feel as I remembered. The chirashi bowl was beautifully prepared as was the sushi platter. These were both the same price and they were equally delicious - truly a matter of preference. The fish was fresh and well prepared. The kids enjoyed their udon, assorted tempura and rolls. Everything was delicious. So glad we came back! Will definitely be making more visits. read more

Jinbei - Chirashi - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

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We always request to eat at the counter with Sushi Chef Burton! He's our favorite chef because he consistently makes the most delicious sushi, and is fun to talk to. Last night we brought new friends to try it with us, and they loved it, too! read more

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Honestly, this place is so good and conveniently located close to where I live! I love how it has been newly renovated, the interior is a lot more authentic than before, service could have a bit more improvement in terms of pace, but it definitely has improved before the renovation took pace. Now the food. I actually really like the food here! I would say this place is an upscale casual place to have lunch or dinner. My family and friends always enjoy having meals here so I'm sure you will too :)! One thing is, I wish they had more selections on their menu! But the food here is very good :) read more

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You can't go wrong with omakase at the sushi bar with Burton! He is amazing and makes an awesome variety of fresh and high quality sushi! This time we also got a bottle of sake, and it was perfectly chilled and so refreshing. We always have such a wonderful experience here. read more

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Tried to call to make a to go order for tomorrow but first try, they hung up on me and 2nd and 3rd attempt, it went to voicemail. Surprised by this action. Guess they don't want my business anymore... read more

March 2026 This place is back to its original glory. The fish quality is very good at this price range and the sushi chefs are very good. I've been back a few times now over the past few weeks and I think it's better than it's ever been. They also added the mentaiko and uni spaghetti back on the menu. read more

Been coming to Jinbei for over 20 years and over the three different owners, this is by far the worst. The long lines at lunch are gone. The fresh fish and seafood is gone. The signature squid ink tamago is gone. Even friendly sushi chefs that enjoys a drink with you is history. Of the triangle for success, value is a zero, quality and taste is a zero, service is a zero. Only a matter of time, history repeats itself. read more

My new favorite place in Irvine for Japanese food! Everything was done exceptionally well! The service was attentive and friendly! And the food was great! We had nigiri, shrimp tempura, two rolls albacore and spicy tuna, and Takoyaki. The three of us, my husband, son and I, loved all of it! All items were fresh and well prepared. We can't wait to go back and explore more of the menu! Everything we ordered and would order again! read more

I came here on a Saturday for lunch with my mom and my dear friend to celebrate her entry into med school + her bday. It was my first time here, and luckily there was no wait. We were promptly served the hot tea and water we requested, and the food we ordered also came out very quickly. The presentation and amount of food we ordered was great for the quality and price. The unagi don was really delicious, and the little bit of salmon I had from my mom's chirashi set was also fresh and yummy. I would highly recommend this place if you're looking for a bite of Japanese cuisine in Irvine. I was surprised there was such a hidden gem in this plaza. I want to try coming back for their dinner menu as well sometime! read more

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Our friends raved about the sushi bowl from here so we came to check it out. We also got the uni pasta ehivh we saw other tables ordering. The uni pasta was creamy but the uni was a bit small and wish we got a bigger portion of the uni. The sushi bowl taste fresh but it also included a lot of fish that i personally dont really eat like the squid, tomago, shrimp, and other seafood. I did really like the salmon and tuna and yellowtail , they were fatty and fresh. But our friend did earn us that we have to go right when they open because they only offer a limited amount of bowls a day. When we got there, there was a short line already. read more

Jinbei - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

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Came here for lunch from San Diego. I had the tempura and sashimi lunch combo and my husband had the eel bowl. We also had the takoyaki. Tempura was delicious and light. Sashimi was fresh. Hubby enjoyed his eel bowl with the pickles and plum. Takoyaki had generous chunks of octopus and was nice and crunchy. Would come back when we are in the area. Customer service was great! read more

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Great sushi spot The fish is incredibly fresh, the presentation is beautiful. A great place to enjoy quality sushi read more

Jinbei - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

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This used to be my favorite go to spot in Irvine and after my recent visit I probably wouldn't return...this place definitely decreased in quality but heavily raised their prices. I've always loved their uni pasta and get it everytime but now I see it's almost $30 when it used to be around $22-23. But since this place is so good, I didn't mind paying the price. However, it was extremely disappointing to see that the pasta was very dried out and it had barely any sauce to go with it. Do not get this dish unless you want to waste your money. Another point was the service. Now I knew the service is always a bit slow but especially today we only ordered 2 dishes one for me and my friend. My friends order didn't come out until 30 minutes after I got my pasta. Even then it was hard to grab our server as well because this place is very busy but too understaffed. This place used to be a quality restaurant I used to frequent but I'm sad that this has dropped to a 2 star rating in my eyes. read more

Jinbei - uni pasta - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

Good food and ok service. I always order the lunch special which is great! They remodeled the entire restaurant recently. read more

Visited Jinbei to catch up with a mentee on a Thursday night. No wait, although the restaurant was busy and I can imagine how packed it gets! Everything was delicious, we got the uni spaghetti, the salmon skin salad. Yellowtail nigiri, and a spicy tuna roll. The uni spaghetti was a delicious umami filled bowl of pasta, definitely recommend! Overall, nice spot for a dinner or catchup. read more

Jinbei - Uni spaghetti - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

this place is always great if you want quality sushi. I'll have to admit, its a bit pricey with each specialty roll being nearly $20, but 1 roll is enough for you to walk out satiated. the staff are also very friendly and attentive, and constantly checking up on your party to make sure you're enjoying your meal there. read more

Jinbei - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

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Lunch special "sushi lunch" is so yummy and the perfect portion size. Fast service and cozy ambiance at the sushi bar. Fresh wasabi and hot green tea so good! read more

Jinbei - Sushi lunch - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

Just re-opened. Bright, cozy and new menu. I had the tempura and new style Kobore sushi (means overflowing of goodness) Check it out! Cheers. read more

Jinbei - New style sushi - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

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We had a awkward dinner last night at Jinbei. We love the food and know the staff works really hard to please the crowds there. I think it is a family restaurant. The problem was a group of men drinking and shouting at the sushi bar. It is a small restaurant, so their shouting disturbed everyone. This one group of men were super loud, and obnoxious. My wife says they were yelling in Korean. We mentioned it, and the owner spoke to them, but had zero effect on them quieting down. It's ironic because Japanese culture honors quiet? Next time, we will go somewhere quieter and more peaceful. read more

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Such a hidden gem! Easily one of the best sushi spots in Orange County and I'm shocked more people don't know about it. Perhaps because it's tucked into an unassuming neighborhood plaza. Everything tastes incredibly fresh and thoughtfully prepared. The black cod is outstanding, and the salmon belly and scallop nigiri are pure perfection. I was thrilled to see the UNI PASTA IS BACK ON THE MENU. The sashimi salad is refreshing, and the hot udon is so comforting, especially on a cold night. Can't recommend it enough! Dare I say, better & cheaper than Ohshima. Ask for Chef Burton, he'll take great care of you! read more

Excellent tempura. The lunch is a great value, and the staff are all very nice. The ambiance isn't fancy, not a fancy date place or anything. read more

The people working here were amazing and very fluent in Japanese which was heartwarming for my mom especially. The ambiance here was pretty good, I liked the gentle music playing, but my mom was puzzled when she heard jazz music in a sushi restaurant. I think maybe it's a thing in Japan though in some places. The food was so contrasting that I think they have a limited budget here and the manager is prioritizing some things over others. The most amazing food was the sashimi fish... it tasted super fresh and tender, and likely was sourced from premium locales including Japan. The rice, however, was just shocking and it wasn't even the usual short-grain rice that Japanese restaurants serve with sushi, it was like maybe jasmine rice or basmati rice or something, and it was also yellow, hard, and tasted so awful we didn't eat more than a couple of bites. The salad and tofu were pretty good. The miso soup water tasted questionable (not filtered) so I didn't drink it after my first sip. The best things about Jinbei are the employees and the sashimi fish! read more

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My favorite sushi spot in OC. Awesome sushi chefs and service. Fresh sushi and the best uni pasta.

Great spot for affordable but delicious Japanese food. They have a great uni pasta that doesn't break the bank, and yummy sushi combos. read more

Jinbei - Udon - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

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Jinbei is great. I think they do a great job with quality control by not having a massive menu. One of the sushi chefs, Burton, is great. I always sit in front of him and chat and he just puts stuff together for me. It's reasonably priced, has a nice new remodel and the food is good. Definitely recommend. read more

This place has always been a bit odd - like they take themselves too seriously for a sushi spot imo. ie can only order chirashi at certain times when it's lunch / no take out. And I get it, that's alright, a bit odd but alright - it's your place. But that takes us to today: 1. the waitress told us to wait in line to be seated even though our whole party was there (two were just in the bathrooms). 2. I got a salmon skin hand roll and the salmon skin was soggy and not crispy - and they didn't offer to replace it. I've had plenty of salmon skin sushi and salmon skin salads - it's always crispy. Maybe I'm wrong but I could have been offered at least an exchange. 3. Then the waitress got weirded out that we asked to cancel one of the rolls we were waiting 30ish mins on? Like they weren't busy, not sure why we waiting so long - anywho, yeah odd service and experience. Their sushi I would also say okay/average quality. read more

Super authentic Japanese izakaya serving some of the freshest fish in orange county. Chefs are very kind and it's always a treat getting to watch them at the sushi bar. read more

Jinbei - Premium nigiri set - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

From the moment I walked in, the service was amazing - attentive, and welcoming. The food is phenomenal. You can tell they source top-tier fish because the sashimi literally melts in your mouth. We tried a few specialty rolls and every bite was a 10/10. To top it off, they have a fantastic selection of amazing sake that paired with our meal. I'll definitely be back! read more

I went here twice with my boyfriend- once for Valentine's Day and another time for one of our monthaversaries. Jinbei had amazing and high quality fish for their sushi's, and I could definitely tell that it was fresh and the rolls were made with precision unlike most places where the cut rolls would look super messy. The first time I went on Valentine's day, my boyfriend and I sat at the bar tables where we could see the food being made and it was honestly entertaining to watch. The wait for both times I went was around 30 min- 1 hour, but it was worth it because of the quality of the food. The servers were also very friendly and checked up on me and my boyfriend several times respectfully without being too overbearing and bothersome. The inside of the place itself was very aesthetic and I honestly really liked the darkness of the restaurant, it adds a sort of dark ambience that plays well with the Japanese aesthetic. Overall, great food and great staff. Thank you Jinbei for the great dinners from me and my boyfriend! read more

Jinbei - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

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Damn Best service, best aprons. Ok on the real. Sushi is undeniably delicious. Chefs know quality and what they serve is demonstrated in every execution. Love the atmosphere and engagement whenever I'm here. 10/10 read more

Jinbei - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

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If you're reading this review, do yourself a favor and DONOT try this place. It was the worst sushi I've ever had - no exaggeration. Even the pre-packaged sushi from the fridge at Pavilions next door tastes better. This used to be a decent Sushi place before, but the quality has gone completely downhill recently. The sushi is overpriced, especially considering it's worse than supermarket sushi. But what really shocked me was the service - easily the worst part. I have to emphasize the service is ALWAYS BAD!!!!!! The female servers are consistently unfriendly and cold. Every time I've been here, they greet customers with a scowl and a bad attitude. It's honestly uncomfortable to even speak to them. Food gets 1 star. Service deserves zero. read more

Hard for me to write this review b/c I think a lot of people would prefer to gatekeep this spot. Not everyone can afford to eat here often because the prices for dinner are pretty pricey, but the lunch is quite affordable and the food quality is top notch. The service here is also great. No matter if we sit at the bar or at a table, the staff is friendly and attentive. It is also noteworthy that almost the entire staff speaks Japanese which helps create the illusion that this place could be in Japan. There has never been a time or a dish that we ordered that was not special. Each dish is handled with care and the basics are done quite well. If you eat J food a lot, you can tell quite a bit about a place by the inexpensive/overlooked items that you consume. Think about miso soup, most people think of this as a free item that is just to hold you over. Here they use real tofu, real miso and seaweed. Even something as simple as wasabi, they will give you fresh wasabi when ordering certain dishes. Their fried foods are also done to perfection. And you can tell they take the extra care to ensure your food is cooked properly (not over or underdone). We have to be careful not to come here too often because it can get expensive, but each time we do come here, it is definitely worth while. I feel blessed to have found this place and we wish the owners/staff all the best. read more

I had had Jinbei bookmarked on Yelp for a while but never really was in the area until I was yesterday randomly and did a Yelp Search of my bookmarks sorted by map distance and decided to finally try out Jinbei. I can pretty much sum up my experience thusly: Mediocre sushi but AMAZING Uni Spaghetti. So, 3 stars for sushi, 5 stars for Uni Spaghetti - hence 4 overall stars. I ordered a few rolls and they were fine, nothing special. Also it's a bummer they don't do the little toppings/sauces on the nigiri anymore - the nigiri is just plain. However, the Uni Spaghetti was phenomenal. Yes it is pricey at $22 and there weren't large pieces of Uni as shown in the menu photo but it was still delicious: so flavorful and perfectly cooked! Service was nice and I was able to get a table on a Monday around 5:45pm as a walk in, no problem. I noticed as it got later in the evening it filled up and some people had even reserved tables beforehand. I would come back here if I was in the neighborhood but instead of ordering sushi I would instead insist on everyone in my party ordering the Uni Spaghetti - that way we wouldn't have to share! read more

Jinbei - Uni Spaghetti - delicious but pricey at $22 - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

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underrated authentic Japanese food that is better quality than most. Great service from friendly staff as well read more

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Had dinner with family here over the weekend! Got seated really quickly at the sushi bar, and waiters and chefs were all very friendly. Service was also incredibly fast. The restaurant was full, but not too loud. We had these dishes in this order: Saba (Mackerel) Sushi: Topped with a sheet of marinated sushi, ginger, scallions, sauce. So yummy! Definitely has a "fishier" taste than most of their other sushi options and may take getting used to, but so well balanced with the rice. Uni (Sea Urchin) Sushi: Creamy and fresh, so delicious! Seaweed was so crispy and the uni to rice ratio was perfect. Ika (Squid) Sushi: Texture was amazing, and it was topped with a yuzu and jalapeño paste. Paired so perfectly! Hamachi (Yellowtail) Sashimi: Buttery and so fresh- this was one of my favorites for the night! It comes with shredded radish, seaweed, shiso leaf, and snap peas. All of these fresh elements balance the creamy fish so well. Red Snapper Sashimi: More chewy, with a ponzu dipping sauce. Very refreshing! Tamago (Marinated Egg) Sushi: Compared to other sushi restaurants, this egg has more of a savory taste and depth to it rather than just being sweet, which I really enjoy. Highly recommend ending your meal with this! The chef also gave my dad some marinated sardines and radish to go with his beer, and also honey marinated kumquats for dessert for my mom and me! These were so delicious as well, and it was so kind of him to provide this! Loved our experience here, and the chefs are wonderful. This is one of our go to restaurants for a good reason :) - definitely a must try in Irvine! read more

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Went to Jinbei a little before they opened for lunch and there was already a line of about 20 people. We were seated at a table and the waitress went to each table in the order we were seated to take orders. By the time she got to us, 10 sushi lunch were sold but we managed to get the last 3 of 10 lunch chirashi bowls and also one mixed roll lunch special. The fish in the chirashi bowls were very fresh and they were thick slices. It is definitely worth the lunch price if you can manage to get a bowl. The only thing I don't like is how they a lot of different pickles on top of the sushi rice under the fish. There are a lot of small chopped up pieces and they kind of ruin the flavor of the fish and rice when I try to eat some sushi rice along with the fish. I wish they would put the pickle to the side so people can choose how/when/if they want to eat the pickles. Other than that, the portion is big and we all only ate half the rice. read more

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I'll start by saying, just go. Go to Jinbei. Stop reading reviews and just go. Jinbei serves up happiness. It's called udon, but it should be called Soul Healing Super Soup. Depending on when you arrive, there likely may be a wait. If you can wait, wait. Take a walk around the block, play games on your phone, but wait for a table. It'll be worth it. I'm selling Jinbei so hard because it's the single best stand alone bowl of udon noodles I've had in a very long time. I got the beef udon + a karaage appetizer. I was stunned. I loved the option to add protein to my udon, but even without it the broth and noodles shine. The soup has a mild, light, but confident flavor. It feels like a hug on a sad day. It's a blanket when it's raining. It's a smile when you need it most. The noodles are firm and soft all together. And the serving size is fair. You will get full simply on one bowl. My experience got even better once the karaage arrived. This chicken means business. It is full, juicy, flavorful, fresh, well plated, and has a satisfying crunch without being heavy. I would almost say that the chicken outshined the noodles, but that would be crazy talk. So delicious. The service was great too. We had our order taken quickly, waters refilled, and were checked on frequently. Jinbei's dining room is small. It's a cozy, warmly lit, and well decorated room. It's not big, which explains the long wait, but it doesn't feel intimate either. Somewhere in the middle. You can hear the conversations happening next to you, but you don't feel like you're eating with them. A good date spot, good for friends, but I wouldn't take my young kids here. Jinbei is a love letter to great food. It stands on such solid ground and then reaches for the stars. You have to try it. read more

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