If you don't feel like driving to Benihana's then this is your best bet. Service is great, food is good, but not quite Benihana good. The steak, chicken and shrimp for 2 is a pretty good deal. Been here a few times, will definitely be back. read more

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First time back here in 10 years. Would assume after our experience that either management has changed or that their standards have changed. - The hostess was wearing grey sweats and I was confused if she actually worked there. She didn't give a rip about the customers - she looked mad - not smiling not talking. On her phone texting... very odd. The first impression walking in with that going on brings down the overall feel and standards of the restaurant. If you thought you were going to a "nice" restaurant for a date - that is no loner the case. Don't even bother to put a nice shirt on - just roll in with a T-shirt and flip flops. Makes me feel sad about the future - standards are be compromised all over the place. read more

My first time here the hibachi and sushi is amazing and also the experience. The cook super amazing and very nice. He made it so enjoyable. Will be going again soon. read more

Ooka Japanese Restaurant - Habachi, combo for two - Japanese Near Me - Riverside, California

Ooka is a great way to have an entertaining dining experience with friends or family. Their hibachi chefs always deliver a good show. We opted for the dinner for two, with lobster scallops and shrimp. My only note I'd give would be to not cook the lobster first since it cooks so quickly and becomes rubbery which is what happened with us. Other than that we like coming and dining here. The service is always great, quick and efficient. read more

Ooka Japanese Restaurant - Blueberry lemon drop=delish!! - Japanese Near Me - Riverside, California

Pretty meh for the price, $20 reservation and sticky seats. The only good thing about the experience was the excellent chefs that cooked our food and entertained us immensely! read more

This was the worst tepinyaki dinner we have experienced. The service was so fast we had sakad, soup, and sushi apps still on the table when they started the grill foods. Food and sauces were bland. I've attached a pic of the unckeaned shrimp. All the food was over cooked which is amazing because of how fast it was prepared. The over cooked chicken was slimy and we could not eat it. It also was a birthday and they did serve a dish of ice cream. Table next to us also had a birthday but they gat a nice plate with a birthday wish written in chocolate and a fancy dish of ice cream. Avoid this place at all cost!! read more

Ooka Japanese Restaurant - All the shrimp was dirty and disgusting!! - Japanese Near Me - Riverside, California

Food is good, but the service????? I'd get better service getting sushi from Vons. What is the deal? Why is the service soooo bad? I don't get it. The only good service is from the Sushi chefs who give you your food straight from the sushi bar. Servers aren't good. Servers take forever to get you your check. Each time I've gone there I ALWAYS have someone else bring me my check. I'm thinking bad service is due to bad management. Owners listen: do a better job. I'd go there more often if I thought it would be pleasant. Now I only go only when really craving sushi and I stay away from dining room and hibachi. read more

It's been a while since I've been here and I can definitely say it lost it's way! I had one of the worst visits ever first it's overpriced, then I was overcharged on a side of shrimp, I payed $20 for a side of shrimp and that was only 4 pieces! Then there's no refunds no exchanges you eat it and like it no questions. The manager is extremely rude and not only denied a refund on the garbage shrimp but also denied another customer her refund when she complained the food wasn't what she expected. The cook seemed bothered and the whole vibe here feels like a Ramsay's kitchen nightmares episode. Such a trash restaurant I'll be surprised if it last another year. read more

Great place to bring guests from out of town. Food is good and drinks also are good. Friendly staff. We had a great time. Thank you. read more

I really enjoyed this hibachi grill. The steak and seafood was great. Also the show was energetic and fun.

Great location, in the center of Riverside Plaza. The Kumamoto oysters were delicious but was too small of a portion. Sushi is pretty good, however I loved the bento box with the teriyaki salmon. Presentation was beautiful and was a large portion. Very delicious! Calamari and soimai were excellent appetizers. My only complaints were the food was a bit on the pricier side. Also, I would have loved to see pictures on the menu. Overall, great experience and food. Have been here a few times now and will continue to return. read more

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We came in here on Christmas Day hoping to have a nice meal to end a nice day. We ordered quite a spread. Ordered my son California rolls. I got the pork katsu and my husband had the tonkatsu ramen. We shared the ooka roll, New York roll, out of control roll, and the New Zealand mussels. My husband ordered sake and we all drank hot tea. Everything was tasty and nice until we left. My husband and I both had something bothering us as soon as we got back to the car. I laid down for a minute as soon as we got home but then got up to throw up. My son had hives on his legs in the morning and my husband had bubble guts all night long. You'd never expect to get food poisoning from a place like this. Unfortunately we won't be returning. I gave 2 stars because I'm sure this isn't a common occurrence here and the food and atmosphere was nice. You would just expect better from a pricier restaurant. read more

My bf and I came around 6/7ish so it was a wait but nothing too bad. Around 10 minute wait so reasonable. The service was amazing we didn't have dirty plates on our table for more then 2 minutes before someone picked it up and the stayed on top of refilling waters as well which is great and something I usually struggle with when we go out. The food is worth every penny we got the taste of Ooka and everything on it was perfect! I will be coming back ! read more

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Would be great if this place would take the time to update their hours of operation. Food is good when we're here, but sometimes service feels rushed. For the money I'm paying with a family of 6 when I come to eat out I'd appreciate to not feel rushed while I'm trying to have a family dinner read more

Came here yesterday for my cousin birthday dinner. It was a party of 12 Everything was great The food was really good Thank you It's next to a movie theater read more

My advice is to not come here past 8 because you will feel rushed. Server told us the deluxe would be enough portion for two people but when the food came out, it looked too little. Adding on, the server forgot to put our order in and the kitchen had already closed so we ended up missing an item. I understand mistakes do happen but it was just a very unfortunate situation as it was my friends birthday meal. Also the food that we did receive was super salty and doused in sauce. The chef cooking and server both just looked so miserable maybe we just had a one off experience read more

I love this place! Came here for a birthday lunch with the boyfee and furbaby. Food: I got the bento box that comes with everything! Cali roll, tempura, dumplings, salad, sweet honey red potatoes with sesame seeds as garnish. Main course was the Angus roll. With sweet onions asparagus. Soooooooo DELISH! I So Lived for it STINKEY ROLL: Is a must try. We upgraded to snow crab meat instead of imitation crab. It's so yummy that you don't even need the soy sauce or wasabi. Tempura mix: best tempura medley I've had yet! Light crunchy, and paired with a ponzu sauce. Scallops plate: tender yummy. Sweet melt in your mouth scallop with a hint of sweet read more

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Great food!! We had a great cook this time!! Wish it would be a little more affordable so we could go more often

While I am not a cheap tipper and usually tip well for service, Ooka is now charging an 18% tip to the bill, which isn't really out of line. But they put the tip on the bill and then charge you 8.75% sales tax on it. Why should I have to pay that tax? read more

The sushi was great! My server did he's job amazingly and I have no complaints, I recommend this place for solo dates, dates or little get togethers :) read more

Regular that come here at least 2 to 3 times a day but Today Vivian the manager refuse to sit me and my wife because she said that we only tip the cooks and not the servers so the servers don't wanna service anymore wow I can't believe that should be the last time I ever come here read more

Love the place very nice service and entertaining and funny highly recommend. Pricey but worth it

It was good food I love Teppan this one was a little too pricy being that is all we got for a three adults and two kids , I had gone too shiki sushi got appetizers, sushi roll and paid less there , but over all the food quality and taste were great. Would recommend this for a date night. read more

ZERO stars Let me start by saying that my job entails running a hospital lobby, so I understand what it means to run multiple check ins, checkouts and tracking waiting times. That being said, there is no excuse for the two hostesses at this location to overlook a party of SEVEN waiting in their empty lobby. My cousin checked in our party at 6pm while the rest of our party waited outside of their small lobby, they told her it would be a 30-45 min wait time. Ok, sounds good. The rest of our party moves to sit inside when the couch opens up at about 6:05. After about a 50 min and no other people coming into the lobby, my cousin goes back up to the hostess desk and asks if we'll be seated soon. Keep in mind, this entire time both girls at the desk have been sitting and chatting away with each other. The same hostess who originally checked her in states that we are not checked in yet but can check us in now since our whole party is there now, and now it'll be another 45 minute wait. We have been here the entire time, we state. "Well you didn't tell us" is what their excuse was. Well, when we checked in for a party of 7, we were telling you there were 7 of us there, and at no time did they ever clarify or mention asking whether the whole party was there (we were). So you mean to tell me that this entire time you didn't think to acknowledge the 7 people who have been sitting right in front of you for almost an hour?!? Not even a "hi, what are you guys waiting for?" Ridiculous. Their restaurant owner was the worst of all. She witnessed our check in, saw everyone there, and instead sided with her hostesses saying "well you guys should've told them you were here". No kindness and no professionalism anywhere in the staff here. "Go somewhere else then" is the goodbye we were given. No food anywhere is good enough to be this arrogant and stupid enough to let a 7 people ticket go. Whatever, California Pizza Kitchen across from them was delicious and their staff are world class aces. read more

I really enjoyed dinner here with the family. We celebrated a birthday and the food and entertainment was superb. My family and I are definitely going back for more. Make reservations because they get busy. I recommend the whole hibachi experience. read more

Food was good. Our Server was very attentive. Only thing that was questionable was the automatic gratuity fee for parties of 4 or more, and after 8pm it's automatically added to your bill even if you eat alone. Even though our server was good, and we are by no means cheap, our $31 added tip was a bit too much. Hopefully the owner gave the full amount to our servers, because their was actually 2, and didn't use the money to help pay the monthly gouging gas bill ! read more

They automatically filled in the tip amount without any way for me to change it. Avoid this place

Mandatory tip for servicing a party of two? Wow.. this is their new policy.. I can understand a party of 6, but two??So where is the incentive for the servers to work harder? He/she can give crappy service and still get 18%? This will be the last time I will go here and I have been coming here for years.! read more

I wanted to order to go from this restaurant, the waiter told me on the phone i need to place the order on their website. What i wanted wasnt on the online menu, however its their original menu. I called back about how can i order the item its in your menu but i cant order online and they replied that they dont take any orders and hang up on me which was exteremly rude. They have attitude especially the lady answers the phone. I dont recommend this restaurant read more

Outstanding, amazing, fun, interesting, convenient, very fair pricing for a top venue, and perfect for a group meeting. I won't forget this experience for a long time read more

About two ounces of ice berg lettuce as a starter . Soup is literally water with seasoning. Extra salty . Service is not there . Waitress is nowhere to be seen when chef cooks . We needed sauce and refills and she was Mia. We waited for the chef to finish cooking . Right after he left , plate full of food she finally re-emerges asking if we needed Togo boxes and a check Not a place where I would return . Food is not memorable. Same seasoning for lobster and chicken we picked at each other's food and where basically overwhelmed with seasoning . We didn't pick up any scallops or lobster taste . It all tasted the same . Meh . 02/10 read more

Very disappointing, they would not let me dine at the Hibachi grill because I was alone. I eat out alone A lot...

My husband and kids come here all the time because of the convenience of having a ramen, sushi and hibachi restaurant just a couple of minutes away from home. We love the fact that it is located in the heart of Riverside Plaza, right next to the movie theaters. It is the perfect date spot. The reason for my review today though is because I want to thank the staff from last night 12/12/2022. My husband and I took our 2 boys out for dinner to celebrate our anniversary on a Monday night. When we were finished eating and finished paying our bill, one of the staff members (I wish I got her name), whispered that I should close my kids eyes when walking out due to the emergency situation they were having right by the entrance/ exit door. As a nurse, I asked her if they need any help because I can provide medical emergency within my scope of practice, and she informed me that they are already have EMT and firemen doing CPR. I was shocked to even know this was going on while we were eating. I thought it was super professional of them to handle this manner quietly. The staff in the front were all in shock, but they tried to act normally for their customers. As we were walking out, I did cover my kids eyes (they are 2 and 5) and just told them to cover their eyes because I had a surprise for them (I didn't want to scare them). Thank you to the staff who acted professional during this event. Very proud of this restaurant. Also, sorry but the reason its a 4 star is because I do think the hibachi chefs are quite awesome and respectful, but they do add too much soy sauce to the stir fry noodles and fried rice. It's a bit salty to my taste each time we do hibachi, but other than that we love the show! Also, eating here can be very pricey, so be prepared to bring your paycheck lol. ;) read more

Walking up to the restaurant the patio was in complete disarray- although not apparently being used it looked very yucky for a restaurant. Service was good - server was polite and responsive. I ordered toro- (its my fave) and it Was full price which i expected- what I didn't expect was to get a piece of crappy yellowtail or rando fish in place of my toro. It didnt taste good and was clearly NOT TORO- the rolls and the sushi was cut incredibly small- which for the prices i thought didnt make a Lot of sense. I wont be going back- overall just another mediocre sushi spot. read more

My FAVORITE restaurant period. We've been going here since they opened. This is our go to restaurant for all of our celebrations. The chefs are so welcoming and fun. We always choose hibachi grill because ...why not ?! I've eaten about every combination including the vegetarian option on the hibachi menu and NOTHING disappoints. They also offer sushi rolls as appetizers from the sushi bar which are delicious as well. The soup that's serous the appetizer is my favorite soup of all the teppanyaki restaurants. It's simple and clean flavors are so palate pleasing. There is a wait so I highly suggest making reservations. That is the only downside to this place. Other than that. Please check out Ooka. read more

Great food!!! If want really great food & a great show & a super talented Chef, ask for Chef MANNY. We've had him the last few times and we had a great time!! You won't be disappointed!!! He's super polite, funny and an amazing Chef!!!!!! read more

I've seen the owner and "managers" yell at the staff, Unprofessional is a word they don't even comprehend. Food is great. The look on the staff's face was enough for me to never return though, Management should be trained somewhat if at all. read more

Not sure why there's such bad reviews. This place was great. Wait wasn't too bad on a Saturday night (about 15 min). We sat at the grill and ordered the chicken/steak/shrimp special. It was really good! The only complaint I have is the large amount of butter they use..but hey, I guess it's either that or oil to grill! Also, pricing is a little high for what it is. $5 to upgrade to fried rice, really? Lol but I would go again! read more

We used to go here all the time. The service used to be great and the food was always consistent. Sadly, after a couple bad experiences (Like being told we had to wait until all the other tables got their food for ours to get "remade" even though they brought out the wrong food to us TWICE. And on another occasion being told they could not take our "to go" order because they were just to busy to take anymore orders. (Umm what kind of a place turns away business and from regulars??)...we stopped going here. Tonight we decided to give it another try after not going for almost a year. Frustrated to discover that it has only gotten worse. Service was terrible with the exception of one person. We asked for a back both because the table they were seating us at had torn up booth leather and we were wearing shorts. We didn't feel like scratching up our legs up. We asked for a booth (and there were 2 of them open) and were told we could not have a big booth in case a larger party came in. It was 830 when we arrived. We asked if there were reservations and were told no, But, they are not allowed to seat us there. Oddly enough our little party of 3 had sat at those tables several times in the past. Later we were told by someone else that that was false and we could absolutely sit there. Didn't order much because we were frustrated at this point. But, we watched as some servers did lots of work and others didn't go to their tables much at all. This could have something to do with the 18% gratuity that All checks have added to them now. So, sad to say that this place used to be are go to for dinners out but after several rude encounters, literally being told they can't take our order because they are to busy and terrible service we will be avoiding it all together. read more

Best food in the ie hands down! The hibachi, the sushi and the drinks are always amazing !!!! Never had a bad time here.