Van L.

Honestly, the reviews speak for themselves since although the mango parts of our shaved ice were good, it still ended up being 90% unflavored ice... nonetheless, service was great and it's a quiet spot if you're looking for a calm dessert spot!

Melissa P.

Kiyoraka's Golden Crunch Kakigori was immensely impressive. Superzied super light and fluffy shaved ice topped with mango puree, mango chunks and whipped ceeam. The ice was ao decadently light and refreshing. Definitely an experience in a cosmic themed modern and sleek dining room. There was a lone server during our after dinner visit on a weekday and she worked efficently to serve the post dinner stream of customers inquisitively wandering in to check it out!

Chinh N.

The place appeared (on the outside) very hip and futuristic. It was vacant when we went. Most of the items were sold out. Got what was left and recommended, which I believe is their matcha with cheese. Their workers seemed uninterested - even saw on person on their cell texting away...but then again, it was only us there so there's nothing for her to do but watch the co-worker help us. For the price and overall taste of the match/ice/cheese, it is not worth it at all. It lacked the taste of matcha.

Tina N.

It was quite a bit of a wait. There is indoor and outdoor seating. However, the seating was kind of sticky and did not feel wiped down. The shaved ice was okay, but quite expensive in comparison.

Catherine S.

This place honestly looked so cool on IG but it did not live up to the hype. Ambience first of all was very odd given the location and the vibes didn't really match the food. Parking itself was very plentiful and easy in the plaza. Service was odd since it's not that busy but they only have a kiosk that you use to order it yourself. We ended up choosing the matcha. It was very powdery and tasted very artificial and bitter. The ice itself was also very icy and just wasn't what I had expected.

Mike C.

Supposedly this place imported japanese ice but i dont taste the difference at all. For $17, it's a pretty expensive especially the portion isnt that big. The shaved was pretty good, but other places have similar ones for way cheaper. Side note: The interior of this place was very aesthetically pleasing.

Charrise L.

Located across the street from the entrance to Tanaka Farms, in the Parkview Center, first level. Plenty of parking in the shared lot for the shopping center. This shopping center has been here for some time as the parking aisles are nice and wide. Kiyoraka Kokigori is a unique Japanese shaved ice experience that is more than a dessert shop, more than a frozen dessert treat. It cannot be compared to ordinary shaved ice that we have all had in our pasts. Kiyoraka staff are artisans and each dish is a culinary masterpiece that they are creating for the experience. There are only SIX choices on the menu on any given day and there may be seasonal ones only offered for a short period of time depending upon the availability of the fresh ingredients. Daily hours are 12:00PM - 10:00PM because each morning, the staff is making the sauces, creams, chopping nuts and fruit for the shop's offerings. Once they run out of the ingredients, that item is removed from the available choices on the menu. The daily available choices is also monitored in their digital system for the kiosk and the register manned by the manager. Kiyoraka is a cashless shop for efficiency too. The shopping center has shared patio tables and Kiyoraka has a dining area as well as bar seating. The décor along one dark "galaxy" wall with colorful twinkling lights/"stars" and "shooting stars" every few seconds. This is paneled along the length of the shop. The bar area, the counter is a lit "marbled" surface that servers will place final orders on and customers will use as eating surfaces. It is a wide counter. The seats are very cool, they are blue in the shape of waves or blue "leaves" and there is a spring when you sit down. Very comfortable and unique. I chose a seat at the bar because I wanted to watch the artisans design the dishes. Food scales are used in every preparation. Each dish has a specific list of ingredients that is crafted in a specific order. The Japanese shaved ice requires a special machine and what appears to be special blocks of ice that are packaged as blocks in sealed plastic. In other words, do not try this at home. The empty dish is placed on the food scale and as each ingredient is added, it is done on the scale as well, making each creation exactly the same. Some of the shaved ice needs to be molded and lightly pat down to create the rounded shape. It was fascinating to observe but all of this takes time. Each dish takes 5-6 minutes to make and nothing in done in mass production nor are any of the dishes "pre-made" in any way. I visited Kiyoraka after hearing about it from Purelux Scalp Spa that I visited earlier in the day. Go read my reviews there - love that service! My Kiyoraka visit was around 4:15 PM, but the place was pretty full. The manager let me know that Strawberry Pistache was the number one favorite, followed by Golden Crunch and that Yogurt Kiwi was a seasonal offering that could be leaving at any time. I chose the Tiramisu Hikari and the manager said "that is the last one for the day." I felt like I was just awarded the golden ticket. As of 19 Jul, dishes range in price from $14.98 to $17.98. While this may seem like steep pricing, once you see the work that goes into each dish, you understand the value of the cost. Each order comes with a card with a drawing of the creation and the ingredients. Tiramisu Hikari contained lemon curd, mascarpone cream, caramel hazelnut, coffee cookie, coffee milk syrup, Japanese shaved ice (2 applications) and brown sugar that is heated with a blow torch right in front of your eyes!! Holy Moly! Each dish is about 5" tall AND YOU CAN'T TAKE THE LEFTOVERS HOME - PERIOD! Staff is very nice, accommodating and one artisan actually told me "they are super fun to make!" There you have it! While enjoying my delicious treat, I saw many Strawberry Pistache and Golden Crunch being ordered. Dishes are made to be shared, but I don't think younger children would like the flavor combinations. This is just my opinion. And why would you want to waste these yummy treats on the kids? Save this wonderful place for a teen to adult outing and make it special for "adults only!" Don't bawk about the price nor the wait time, just indulge yourself. You only live once. Ok, bye

Andrew N.

Saw this on TikTok and wanted to try Japanese shaved ice for the first time. Irvine has an endless selection of dessert places and this place more unique compared to other shaved ice places because of the detail that put into the shaved ice. It takes a while to serve so just be careful. They are carefully handcrafting the shaved ice. Matcha Shiro (5/5): This comes with a creme brulee like top and matcha power on top. The shaved ice is also matcha flavor and it comes with matcha cream on the inside. I thought the flavor was very elegant and the creation of this was very thought out as it was a really unique try. However, I wished it was a bit sweeter. Would love to come back to try different flavors

Brian K.

Nice employees, but overall not a great experience. Agreeing with a lot of other comments, definitely not worth the cost. It really wasn't substantial enough and the sauce didn't even go all the way through. It was mostly plain ice inside. We got the golden crunch and the matcha and both had issues. The matcha was for sure missing something that was shown in the card they give you that shows what's supposed to be in it. They also gave us the wrong order so we had to wait until they remade what we actually ordered. We also couldn't eat inside because the whole place smelled like a strong bathroom cleanser. I'd only go again if the prices were lowered.

Jamie N.

Beautiful interior! You'll be dazzled by the wall lights, lit up bar seating and the custom shaped bar stools. Your senses, specifically smell, will be entertained too because it was a mix of sewage/perfume lol Thank goodness they kept their door open and had outdoor seating available. We chose the Strawberry Pistachio ($17.98) and shared between 2 people. When the shave ice is ready, they give you a graphic card that details the layers so it's not a surprise. This one had a base of cherry jelly, pistachio syrup, pistachio paste, strawberry cream with candied strawberries, cookie crumble and finished with a dollop of strawberry cream and candied strawberry. In reality, ours didn't have any candied strawberry bits but more of a strawberry syrup. Fortunately, the roasted nutty flavor from the pistachio syrup was prominent and perfectly highlighted. The cookie crumbs were a pleasant crunch too. The only item we weren't impressed with was the cherry jelly as it tasted out of place or an afterthought. Overall, it's a wonderful sweet treat and would like to give Golden Crunch or Matcha a try! It does feel a bit pricy at almost $20 with tax, but it looks like they will be adding food & drinks to their menu soon. Excited to see what they will offer!

Eileen L.

Perfect treat for the hot days to come this summer! the interior was cool, the bar seating was vibey, but the long line right down the middle was not a vibe and took away from the cool interior. The store definitely did not have enough seating. Objectively speaking, I thought the shaved ice itself was really good! I liked that toppings were hidden inside and that there were cool layers to unveil. I hit the strawberry pistachio and it was really yummy! Now if we consider the portion size and the value, I'd say this was not worth your $20. Cool to try once but I'll likely not want to pay $20 for shaved ice again.

Jung Min L.

Loved the taste of the shaved ice! The texture was incredibly soft--almost cloud-like--and it melted right in my mouth. The flavors were rich and balanced, not overly sweet, which I appreciated. We were hoping to try the strawberry pistachio flavor, but it was unfortunately sold out during our visit. Definitely planning to return to try it next time! The ambiance was nice overall, but one downside was the strong restroom-like odor inside the shop. It made the environment feel unappetizing and a bit unsanitary, especially for a dessert spot. Because of that, we chose to enjoy our shaved ice outside instead. Still, the dessert itself lived up to the hype we saw on social media--it really was delicious!

Mai T.

I finally visited Kiyoraka after seeing the Yelp reviews and decided to try the Tiramisu flavor. It turned out to be a good choice. The ice itself was very fine and fluffy. The Tiramisu flavor delivered a good balance of coffee and marscapone, reminiscent of the dessert but in a lighter, iced form. It wasn't overly sweet, either. I also really liked the crunchy cookie bits inside - they added a nice textural contrast. Overall, I enjoyed it as a well-executed dessert more than syrup flavored shave ice.