Clean and great staff service. Server Conner great customer service very attentive. Chef Chris was funny and amazing cook. Will be back soon

Still the best hibachi and I can never go wrong with the morning after roll I can't recommend it enough. The Red Sea dragon or Red Sea something roll was amazing too read more

Picked up a central roll today and the avocado was over ripe and black. This is bad for business as it was terrible to the taste. The chef should have clearly seen that the avocado was bad. read more

Amazing flavors from end to end. All dishes that were ordered made a statement. Our host gave her own personal recommendations and chatted us up! She was thoughtful and made sure we were enjoying our time. Perfect for a romantic date night or even a family outing! I thoroughly enjoyed the "Roasted Maple Leaf Farm Duck Breast". That day I wanted something savory and sweet, this dish fulfilled every request. The sweetness from the sweet sake soy reduction and the savory of the roasted duck breast, with a fork of the Asian pear and a piece of soft texture from the taro potato, creates the perfect bite! We also ordered the scallops which is a MUST ORDER. Delicate, fresh, and lightly creamy. The wagyu was enjoyable and the seasonings, wasabi was a delightful experience, leaving you to want more. The Pan roasted sea bass is served with a caramelized pumpkin sauce, orange miso glaze, paired with edamame fragranced with wasabi and basil. Would come back again to try their other dishes. read more

Ooka Japanese Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Riverside, California

Great service and although Jill was a new waitress and was training she WAS MARVELOUS! Tuna tar tar was fresh! Omg and the cook shut down our deluxe seafood dinner! Cooked it to perfection! $20 tip for just for him wonderful night! Great location and great job Ooka ! read more

Ooka Japanese Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Riverside, California

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I have yet to have a bad experience at Ooka. This was my 4th time going and I have to say....it is better than shogun!! Their noodles are so good they're addicting! When I visit, I always order the deluxe (filet, shrimp, scallions). Not pictured is the salad and clear soup. The salad dressing is so tasty and the mushroom soup is a great starter. I love the teppanyaki because you get SO MUCH FOOD! I easily get two meals from this one trip because of how filling the meal is. This place is amazing to go to for celebrations or just on days you're very hungry. Ambiance and service are both great. My only complaint is if you do not have a big party with you, you get crammed in with strangers and don't have much personal space to yourself. Other than that, this is a must visit!! read more

Ooka Japanese Restaurant - Filet, shrimp, and scallop teppanyaki - Japanese Near Me - Riverside, California

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I went in April, I really liked the sweet potato fries. The presentation was eye catching and unique; it was like little jenga tower! Our server was nice and helpful. I asked for salmon recommendations and she did a phenomenal job! We enjoyed our dinner here! Thank youu read more

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The establishment automatically adds an 18% gratuity to the bill, regardless of party size. Christine's poor service from the outset justified the automatic tip. While the food quality is good, this policy seems excessive. We will not be coming back. read more

i ordered two rolls (one with lobster and one that was like an elevated Philadelphia roll) and they were amazing !!! the quality of the ingredients was fresh and flavors were just melting together and overall was satisfying. the waiter knew all about the menu and was nice. i sat on the left, dining area, and it was low lit and the booth was spacious! i just wish i had made it to happy hour but overall 10/10 !!!! read more

Ooka Japanese Restaurant - Baked Philadelphia Roll Lobster Dynamite Roll - Japanese Near Me - Riverside, California

We have been coming here for years and the service has gotten so bad. The hostess was so dismissive condescending and frankly rude. We were all sitting with our empty salad bowls in our hands while being served and when we asked a waitress to help us with a pre-bus she too was dismissive and walked away saying she would send someone else. I was utterly astonished at how rude at least 3 People we came in contact with was so rude. We will not be continuing to patronize this place. I dont know what happened to the great welcoming service but its gone. read more

I've been here a few times and am really impressed with their teppanyaki section. Tables have enough room for large groups and the chefs are very entertaining. I love that they include side items with your meal that other teppanyaki places charge extra for. The food is fresh and cooked right in front of you. They have a great bar with some very unique drinks. This place can get very busy so timing your dinner is necessary due to wait times. Inside I really enjoy they have a wait area that includes the bar so that I can order a drink while I wait to seat. Keep up the great work! read more

I went down there tonight with my 3 kids because I was craving sushi to go. The 951 Roll sounded like something up my alley, so I ordered it. Thing is, it was $22 plus tax, so I ended up paying $24. It seemed worth it to me. I got home, opened it up dipped it in my wasabi and soy sauce mixture like I always do with sushi and ate it. It was DISGUSTING! Super fishy!!! The rice was crunchy!! My daughter wanted to try it, I told her it was gross but she wanted to try one anyways. She immediately ran to the kitchen to spit it out. I called Ooka and spoke to the receptionist and let her know my situation. She went and spoke to her manager and her manager told her because TWO pieces were eaten they couldn't refund me my money if I brought them back the rest of the meal. I had one piece and my daughter had one piece. I would NOT eat 2 pieces of that myself, it was so gross. I'd rather eat sushi from Vons. Needless to say, I will not be returning. I am very unsatisfied with my experience. read more

Ooka Japanese Restaurant - 951 Roll - Japanese Near Me - Riverside, California

The service here is terrible. They lie about their hours of operation. The sign on the door states last seating is at 8:15 but they refused to sit our party at 8:07 despite closing at 8:30pm. read more

Ooka Japanese Restaurant - Hours - Japanese Near Me - Riverside, California

Reviews for this restaurant are all over the place for a reason. Both the food and service here are inconsistent; I've had good experiences here and bad ones, so I'll give it three stars. First off, the interior is nice and clean, but the outside patio isn't always; I've seen cockroaches, both dead and alive, on two separate occasions, so I always sit inside now. Food-wise, it's about what you'd expect from a somewhat-Americanized Japanese restaurant. Flavors are good but not outstanding, though I have to give props to the quality of the ingredients, which has never let me down. Their sushi rolls are good; I almost always get the purple roll (eel and eggplant) and the pumpkin tempura roll. But I absolutely recommend coming in for lunch over dinner, because the prices for the lunch combos are significantly better. Dinner combos are overpriced for what they are--and in general, prices are a little inflated. One strange thing that happened recently: I ordered the miso black cod, which is one of my favorite appetizers here, and it arrived startlingly smaller than usual. I've included pictures here for reference, that the fish was not that much bigger than a piece of eggplant or even a California roll, and this was not normal. When I told the server about it, she was very defensive and insisted that this was the usual portion and that it was 4 oz-- It was not. I had a picture from several months ago and it's easy to see that the sizes are wildly different. Also, I know what 4 oz of protein looks like and this was closer to 2. Eventually another piece was cooked for us (which I did appreciate), but it was also small. My takeaway from this is that the portion sizes are being shrunken to save on costs, but the prices are also going up. Definitely something to keep in mind. read more

Ooka Japanese Restaurant - "4 oz of fish" Note the size of the leaf compared to the fish. In the picture from last year, the fish spanned across the leaf and more. - Japanese Near Me - Riverside, California

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I been coming here since they opened and it's not what it used to be at all. Staff are RUDE and they automatically add the gratuity on the bill. Food quality has declined. read more

Some of the best sushi I've ever had!! Prompt service, very Japanese atmosphere, great taste!

Over priced. Rolls are not that good. Service is ok. Save yourself money and get sushi from somewhere else. This restaurant has dropped quality and raised prices like crazy!! read more

Ooka Japanese Restaurant - Morning After Roll - Japanese Near Me - Riverside, California

I don't recommend this place sushi is ok prices in the hi side ..nothing extra ordinary in the dishes ..the service is good low rated place 3.4 Star read more

The best hibachi grill in Southern California. Fantastic service and great food! I definitely recommend this to anyone.

Ooka is a nice restaurant located on a strip mall, it doesn't look much from outside but is very nice inside, it has one side of regular tables, the other side serves hibachi style meals. We seat at the regular tables side, just because... Ooka's Service is good and attentive. It's food is delicious, and you can tell that it was made with good ingredients. What did we have? A Bento box, which was really good, and some yummy sushi. To drink we had Japanese beer and Umeshu (plum wine). If everything was so nice why 3 stars?? Well I understand people are busy but a public place like a restaurant should pay attention to the details, like dust, it was dust in the lamps, next to the table etc. That never looks good specially in a food place. About coming back, I probably will to the Hibachi side. read more

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Food and service was fantastic as always! Lola never disappoints!! Though is was a very busy Friday night we didn't wait too long..

Took our family for a birthday celebration. So fun and the food and cocktails were delicious

Great service, quality sushi, upscale vibe (and prices). That being said, I've never had an issue anytime I've dined here and even celebrated a friend's birthday here. I recommend their BBQ squid and their seared yellowtail roll read more

Tasty food, good service and a cozy interior. I'm not sure why all the reviews are so all over the place. My husband and I love Ooka over on the east coast and went there all the time when we lived there. The food at this location was solid. The Out of Control roll was my favorite. read more

Food was great . Just the waitress, never came to our table to see if we needed something else.

Stopped in on a Friday night for a Girls Night Out Xmas Dinner. The Wine, Food and service were all great! The atmosphere was enjoyable! Thank you for a great Friday night! read more

Great experience for my son's 7th birthday !! Nice family quality time . Server was excellent and the chef was amazing read more

Delicious food and fast + attentive service. Complimentary edamame was nicely done. Highly recommend any of their ramen. Would like to have an option for spice levels, though. On the pricier side but would come back. read more

Ooka Japanese Restaurant - Shio Ramen - Japanese Near Me - Riverside, California

Have been coming here since they opened and have had many celebrations here from daughter's first birthday to staff parties. We've eaten on both sides on the sushi dining and the hibachi grill. Both are our favorites. The restaurant is beautiful and love the modern feel of the restaurant. The wait staff is amazing each time we have visited. Bento boxes are a must order with the fried rice ($4 extra) & worth it. They offer teriyaki salmon, chicken, beef negamaki, tempura salmon and have tried all of them. This is our Favorite sushi restaurant and love love love it here. The only recent negative is they are now charging 15% tip across the board and we normally tip at 20-25% so the other customers probably were not tipping which is rude on the customers end so I understand why they are doing it just wish we could add more gratuity. Lunch special is M-Friday 12-3pm. read more

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First time eating here passed by a handful of times. If you ever want the experience of food being made in front of you as well as catching food with your mouth this is the spot! The food was absolutely AMAZING! The chef was entertaining & interacted with everyone at the table. The restaurant was clean, well kept & HUGE! Service was absolutely amazing! You have three options sushi, hibachi & steakhouse all in different areas of the building. read more

Ooka Japanese Restaurant - Volcano - Japanese Near Me - Riverside, California

I've been to Ooka twice now - once for their regular dinner menu (sushi focused) and a second time for their teppanyaki/hibachi style dinner. Let me save you the time and money and say, ONLY come here for teppanyaki/hibachi because their regular dinner is very, very average. // Sushi dinner review // (2/5 stars) We ordered several appetizers (agedashi tofu and fried calamri), both of which were just OK. Why? Because both FRIED appetizers came out LUKEWARM. As you can imagine, fried food is best served hot, so it was so subpar we brought it home to heat up in our air fryer later, which tasted better. We ordered 2 rolls that tasted better - the dragon roll and the red sea roll. The sushi was fresh but flavors were not mind-blowing. We also ordered some nigiri sushi - our favorite was the yellowtail sushi! Buttery, fresh and super yummy. The o-toro (fatty tuna) nigiri was expensive and just OK - it tasted a bit fishy to be honest which is kind of disappointing. Overall, sushi dinner was very mediocre and would not come back for it again. // Hibachi / Teppanyaki dinner review // (4.5/5 stars) DELICIOUS! Boyfriend and I chose the "Ooka special combo for 2" and ordered the Lobster, Shrimp & Scallop combo for $65. It comes with clear soup, salad, steamed white rice, hibachi shrimp, hibachi noodles, and vegetables. We swapped from white to fried rice for an extra $3.95 each, and also upgraded the clear soup to miso soup. Review broken out by items: Miso soup - delicious and warming to start the meal Hibachi noodles - I've never had fried noodles come with teppanyaki and this was such a pleasant surprise; it was buttery, flavorful and perfect Fried rice - just as good as any other spot; it was full of flavor Lobster, shrimp and scallop - the lobster was THE STAR of the show; super plump, fresh and yummylicious! The shrimp was also really good quality. The scallop was good but wish I could swap out with steak. Overall, the hibachi dinner was a blast and not a bad price for the quality as well as quantity of food served. The chef cooking for us was fun to watch and interactive as well - cheers to good teppanyaki!! read more

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We have been going here for years...since it opened. Birthdays and anniversaries. The kids love sitting and watching the show the chef puts on. The food has always been exceptional, even in the dining room.... Until the last time we ate in the dining room. The server was GREAT...The food, no. The rice was flavorless as well as the noodles. My crunch roll was cold, not just cool...but COLD as well as the morning after roll. The chicken was rubbery and the filet was the smallest steak Ive ever had. For the price we paid, it should have been much better...I don't do negative Yelp unless I have had a really bad experience. The quality of their food has declined it seems. Dont know if we will be back read more

Came here last night and was seated promptly with no wait or reservation. As we sat the waitress brought us waters and asked about our drink order. We ordered the ginger drop and the cucumber smash which were delicious. We ordered some apps like salmon sashimi which was delicious and the gyoza which was also good. Our chef came out to cook the meals and was fun and friendly as expected. I ordered the filet and chicken combo which was where the drop in stars come. The filet was perfect and savory but the chicken was a little dry and chewy which was disappointing. The noodles and veggies were great but the fried rice lacked a little flavor. We didn't have to ask for anything either as our chef and waitress were very prompt. I even asked for a side of garlic butter which was a nice addition to the meal. read more

Ooka Japanese Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Riverside, California

The food was great, customer service was top notch and the staff made my family feel like at home.

Great place for sushi or a regular Japanese dinner or to go to the hibachi tables. You can't go wrong. This is a favorite of ours. Recommend you make reservations. It gets busy. read more

The food was not all that great. We normally go there and yesterday's food was not that great. We had chicken and filet mignon and it got my party sick, including myself read more

Food tasted like charcoal and the plate served was 96% onions and 4% food and veggies were almost so hard that they didn't seem cooked just heated up. Fried rice and White rice also was super hard. read more

Ooka Japanese Restaurant - Shrimp Teriyaki Dinner - Japanese Near Me - Riverside, California

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Ooka Japanese Restaurant offers teppanyaki, sushi, and regular Japanese lunch options. LOCATION Ooka Japanese Restaurant is located at the Riverside Plaza off Central Ave. and Riverside Ave. You can easily find this establishment next to the Regal movie theater. AMBIENCE / INTERIOR The restaurant is split into 3 different sections: Teppanyaki area (right), Sushi Bar (middle), regular dining (left). In the Teppan area, the chefs entertain the guests with their tricks using the teppan grill and their utensils. From a steaming volcano to a beating heart-shaped fried rice, this entertainment is fun to watch even if the tricks had been seen before. The Teppanyaki area is usually the loudest section. FOOD While I haven't dined at Ooka's sushi bar, I have enjoyed several teppanyaki dinners with friends here, as well as a number of their bento boxes for lunch. For lunch, I like ordering their Chicken Teriyaki Lunch Bento Box because it has a little bit of everything from shrimp and veggie tempura, steamed rice, California rolls, salad and ice cream. RESERVATIONS I recommend making reservations when dining at Ooka. My coworker and I were even able to call ahead to reserve and place our orders since we had a limited window for lunch. SERVICE I have always had great service at Ooka over the years. The staff is friendly and they always get my orders right. The staff is very attentive and they keep the tables clean for us. Overall, Ooka Japanese Restaurant may not be my first choice for dining but I won't turn it down if one of my friends suggest to dine here. The service is really great, which makes it easy to come back to. read more

Ooka Japanese Restaurant - Chicken Teriyaki Lunch Bento Box - Japanese Near Me - Riverside, California

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Food was delicious BUT menus were filthy, bathrooms were filthy, dirty cleaning rags were just thrown on the floor in the walk ways, vents were almost about to drip grease on us because they were so dirty. Drop ceiling tiles are stained and gross. The emergency flood lights are also just covered in grease. If you can't even wipe off menus, there's a problem! read more

Small portion and nothing special. I had the teriyaki shrimp and it's just gmo vegetables with onion and 5 pieces of shrimp. Friend had some bento dish and the sushi looks like 7 eleven sushi. Service is nothing special either. No enthusiasm to work face. Slammed water at our table. One of my worst restaurants. read more